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The Biggest Scandal in US History That We’re Still Not Talking About

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Pentagon_Money_lost
The above is roughly what 8.5 Trillion dollars would look like… and those are $100 bills.    Take another look and let that sink in for a bit…   I find it absolutely astonishing that the pentagon could lose track of this much money and for there to be no MSM coverage of this scandalous amount of mismanagement and fraud.  Where is the demand for accountability?  Why is the first question to ANY candidate for president not “What would you do about the massive fraud and waste at the Pentagon?”  Where are the hearings, nay indictments, that are warranted when a sum equal to  1/2 of our national debt can be sent to the pentagon to never be accounted for.  More below.

We progressives need to work this scandal into every political conversation we engage in, especially when we talk to conservatives. Cutting government spending and accountability aresupposed to be core GOP values.

Combine “Known” Pentagon waste (like the 1.5 Trillion dollar F35) with missing pentagon money and you have a good chunk of our entire national debt represented.

“What’s that?  Body cameras for all cops will be too expensive?  How bout we find 1/10,000th of the money we sent to the pentagon.”

“Oh really?  There’s 500 million in provable food stamp fraud going to poor people how bout the 8.5 TRILLION the pentagon can’t account for?”

“Oh really?  You think Obama care is going to cost us almost a trillion dollars over 15  years?  How about the 8.5 Trillion that just disappeared into the ether at the pentagon? What’s you’re take on that?”

“Oh really, you’re concerned about deficit spending and the debt?  Fully 1/3 of the national debt it is money we sent the Pentagon and they can’t tell us where it went.  It’s just gone.”

“College for everyone will cost too much? You must be really pissed at the  8.5 Trillion, with a ‘t’, dollars the pentagon’s spent and can’t tell us where it went.”

Bringing up this “open secret” exposes their hypocrisy, and draws attention to the lack of corporate media attention to this HUGE SCANDALOUS level of waste by the Military/Industrial/Media (<-should be new addition to the lexicon) complex ownership of government.  It seems for few hundred million in “be all you can be” ad buys the MSM will keep it’s mouth shut.  We need to press so called journalists to bring this issue front and center.   No candidate should be allowed to talk about government waste or big government with out being asked the follow up “What would you do about the massive 8.5 Trillion dollars the pentagon can’t account for?”

In short; nothing reinforces our position that the money for valuable social and infrastructure programs (that have provable returns on investment) is actually there than this scandal.   We need to harp on this until we get some answers and we need to leverage it more to shut down debate about desperately needed social program spending.       Money visualization grabbed from this site you should check it out HEREhttp://demonocracy.info/…

Here’s an additional point :   8.5 Trillion dollars represents about $70,000 from each of the 123 Million US households. Also of note is this is scandalous because the Pentagon has been required by law to be “audit ready” since 1996, but still has no real accounting systems.

(Source: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/19/1413372/-The-Biggest-Scandal-in-US-History-That-We-re-Still-Not-Talking-About)

Fighting Corruption Polls Off The Charts

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A huge majority of Americans favor aggressive measures to stem the influence of money in politics, according to new poll results. The survey also suggests that framing the issue as an effort to fight corruption could help win even more support for the cause.

The poll, commissioned by the group represent.us and obtained exclusively by msnbc, found that 90% of respondents said they’d support a law that imposes tough new campaign finance laws. When “campaign finance” was changed to “corruption,” that figure rose  to 97%, with 72% saying they would strongly support such laws.

There was essentially no partisan difference on the issue: 82% of Democrats and 83% of Republicans said reducing corruption is important.

Other results offer similar takeaways: 71% of respondents—including nearly 80% of independents—said the election system is biased in favor of the candidate with more money. And 51% believe most politicians are corrupt.

The poll also tested the popularity of some potential reforms, giving respondents a menu of 11 options and asking them to pick three. Forty-seven percent picked barring politicians from taking money from industries they regulate—an additional sign, perhaps, that the potential for corruption is at the heart of voters’ concerns about money in politics. Thirty-seven percent picked dramatically reducing the amount of money lobbyists can give to candidates and parties, while 31% picked putting tough limits on super PACs.

Represent.us wants legislation that would reduce the power of money in politics, and seeks to reframe the issue around the corruption idea. “Corruption is un-American” reads the tagline on its website. Among the group’s advisers are Lawrence Lessig, the Harvard professor and internet activist, and former Federal Elections Commission chair Trevor Potter.

The poll results come at a time of uncertainty for efforts to limit the role of money in politics. The issue has long polled relatively well, but has struggled to gain traction on Capitol Hill, where many incumbents are wary of changing the rules of a game that has worked to their advantage. Meanwhile, in the wake of the 2010 Citizens United decision, more money than ever is flowing into elections, much of it undisclosed. And the Supreme Court could be poised to strike down another key pillar of campaign-finance law in McCutcheon v. FEC.

(Source: MSNBC article by Zachary Roth, see the original post here.)

Fracking Politicians!

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Politicians (n.) – The last line of defense from Corporations against the people. Someone who is unaware of what fiduciary duty means. A person who practices politics. “Politics” is derived from the words “poly” meaning “many”, and “tics” meaning “blood-sucking parasites.”

Fracking industry contributions to congressional campaigns spiked 231 percent between 2004 and 2012 in districts and states with fracking activity, according to a report released Wednesday. “Like many industries under increasing scrutiny, the fracking industry has responded by ratcheting up campaign donations to help make new friends in Congress,” CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan said in a statement. The fracking industry’s level of contributions increased steadily from $4.3 million to just under $12 million between 2004 and 2012, according to the report, just as fracking’s importance to the U.S. energy industry grew.

Source: Huffington Post

As you read this, the Obama Administration is poised to let fracking run roughshod over our natural heritage — inside national forests, next to national parks and across millions more acres of our treasured public lands. Here are just a few of the special places at stake: Virginia’s George Washington National Forest … Ohio’s Wayne National Forest … Colorado’s White River National Forest … California’s Los Padres National Forest … even lands outside Montana’s Glacier National Park and Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park.

Make no mistake: this is not just a full-frontal attack on our natural heritage, which would be frightening enough. It is also a direct threat to millions of American families who get their drinking water from pristine water supplies that originate in national forests and other public lands.

Source: NRDC Online

There are really a lot of reasons why money should get out of politics, the best, I guess, would be straightforward honesty when making decisions that affect the lives of millions that have no voice other than the people they elect to represent them.

Best of #AskJPM II

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It’s been 4 days and the #AskJPM hashtag doesn’t seem to slow down. Here is a compilation of some other creative Tweets:

(this post is a sequel of the first Best of #AskJPM post, which you can find here)

Best of #AskJPM

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So, it all started with a proposal from JPMorgan on twitter (yes, the JP Morgan from the foreclosures, lobbying, bribery and corruption) for a small Q&A session, where they supposedly were trying to connect with the public.

Seemingly they forgot they are part of the problem. Or perhaps, they thought we forgot they were one of the agents responsible for bringing the world’s economy down to its knees, exploiting the poor and buying politicians for profits and 7 figure bonuses at the end of the year. Well, the public made themselves heard well enough. At the time of this post I believe it’s been a never ending stream of twitter posts (I believe should be close to 30.000 now) for 30+ hours of trolling, payback and candid sentiments of repulsion. Here is a compilation of the best:

Some considered the PR stunt to have gone horribly wrong. I have to disagree. I believe most people found it extremely amusing and we can’t but wait for them to post another one of these soon enough.

“Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November”

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Tens of thousands of individuals around the world have taken to the streets to participate in the Million Mask March which took place on November 5th. Supporters of the Anonymous hacker-activist group orchestrated rallies globally. The date coincides with Guy Fawkes Day, a day of remembrance for a 17th century British revolutionary who attempted to blow up Parliament. Those in solidarity with the cause have descended upon numerous cities sporting the over-exposed Fawkes mask.

While reasons for getting involved with the march vary among supporters, the general consensus appears to be the objective of bringing to light current social injustices, and corruption being perpetrated by authority figures. Events took place in dozens of countries: Canada, United States, Japan, Australia, England, New Zealand, Mexico, Belize, Brazil, Poland and others. Canadians took to the streets in numerous cities wearing Guy Fawkes masks covering their faces, even though recent legislation was passed which prohibits citizens in the nation from doing so if they are protesting, those caught could face up to ten years in prison for covering their face. A law which many deem violates their Constitutionally-protected right to freedom of expression.

Although the event had no official organizers or websites, thousands still managed to seek out others in solidarity within their communities, and organize effectively to bring awareness and attention to the issue. And to no surprise, the mainstream media newscasters had other narrative priorities for the day, which didn’t involve shining any light on the growing public disappointment and disapproval for the rulers and government in general. The people are tired of the debt, wars, economic disparity, lies and corruption from supposedly democratic representatives. The event also managed to attract the attention of celebrity funnyman Russel Brand, who recently made headlines with his comments during a BBC interview, he also took to the streets in London wearing a Fawkes mask. The event was broadcast live and reported from various platforms.

One of the largest protests of the night took place in central London, as well in Parliament Square, protesters burned energy bills to oppose the rising cost of fuel, and there were minor clashes with police in riot gear as protesters also gathered near Buckingham Palace, where a fire was started just yards away from its gates, and glass bottles were alleged to have been thrown. Those taking part in the events had a plethora of grievances and issues which they were upset, and there to express about, fueling their initiative to take part in the demonstration.

Hundreds more gathered outside of the White House in Washington, as well as in numerous other locations. American protesters were heard chanting “No justice, No Peace” and “Obama come out, we got something to talk about.” Many involved asserted that they were there to demonstrate and bring awareness to greedy corporations and corrupt governments around the world.

The first of the protests started in the east in Lebanon, Thailand, Indonesia, and Philippines, followed by Canada, the US, Australia, South Africa, and other nations. The Livestream of the protest which took place in front of the White House was viewed by more than 200,000 people. The overall event had no major reports or incidents of violence, and only minor arrests took place.

Regardless of having been ignored by the mainstream media, supporters were able to effectively and peacefully organize themselves using social networking platforms, to orchestrate their demonstration around the world. Present authorities have maintained a repeatedly-proven corrupt and relatively fascist economic system of disparity, designed to fuel inequality and poverty, while supporting a select few of the financial elite, propping up billion-dollar corporations and banks, funded with the peoples’ money. The Million Mask March is one of many social demonstrations which has taken place over the past few years, as we have seen economic conditions worsen in many areas, to bring attention to the growing issues at hand and crimes being perpetrated against the people. With no real solutions having come about or explanations been given by any authority figures. The corruption is continuing, and we can expect these demonstrations to continue.

(Source: Exposing the Truth)