Monday, November 21, 2011
Bank Lobbying On Track To Reach Record High This Year: Analysis
Bank Lobbying On Track To Reach Record High This Year: Analysis
In its entirety, Wall Street firms have already spent more than $100 million in total this year on lobbying related to Dodd-Frank, according to The New York Times, with some success: Many experts claim that the Volcker rule -- a regulation aimed at curbing proprietary trading -- is so watered down it bears little resemblance to the former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker's original proposal. A handful of Occupy Wall Street protesters recently launched "Occupy the SEC" in direct response to what they perceive as the weakening of the Volcker rule.
And bank lobbyists are fighting back. A notable financial services lobbying firm hatched a plan earlier this week to spend $850,000 on a variety of projects including "opposition research" on the occupy movement in an attempt to undermine it, according to Slate.
But banks may have more to worry about than just the Occupy movement. Cg42, a firm that consults with banks, estimates that big banks will lose $185 billion in deposits over the next year if they don't address consumer concerns. Consumers and lawmakers derided banks earlier this year for proposals to charge for once-free account services such as debit card use. Read More Here | Analysis
John Nichols: Wisconsin turns against Scott Walker
John Nichols: Wisconsin turns against Scott Walker
Pocan's right to worry about the prospect of more shenanigans from the same political insiders who ran fake "Democrats" in last summer's state Senate recall elections, proposed to amend the state constitution to make it dramatically harder to launch recall campaigns, and triggered the current recall a week early so the governor could collect unlimited campaign contributions from out-of-state donors.
But it won't work.
As hard as they may try to game the process, to weight it down with out-of-state money, to foster the fantasy that the governor's "reforms" are "working," the Wisconsinites are seeing through the gimmicks, fantasies and lies.
The new St. Norbert/Wisconsin Public Radio poll shows that Wisconsinites favor recalling Walker by 58-38 percent. The governor claims the St. Norbert poll is "notoriously inaccurate." Yet just last year the poll predicted his election and came within two points of predicting his winning percentage of the vote.
The governor will say anything, do anything to try to save his political hide.
But the people of Wisconsin are on to him. Democrats want him out. Independents want him out. In fact, more than 20 percent of Republicans now say they want to see Walker recalled.
Michigan: Ground Zero for Democracy
Diane Hebert and Michigan Forward shared a link.
Filmed over the summer of 2011, Advancement Project,in partnership with Michigan Forward and New Media Advocacy Project,has produced a video detailing Michigan’s attack on democracy,voting rights and people of color. Michigan’s state legislature passed Local Government and School District Fiscal Accountability Act on ...March 16,2011. Also known as Public Act 4,this law greatly increases the power and authority of Emergency Managers who can be appointed by the Governor to deal with financial emergencies in schools,cities,villages and townships. Across Michigan voters have been disenfranchised in Detroit,Benton Harbor,Ecorse and Pontiac under this new legislation. More communities under the threat of Emergency Management are Flint,Highland Park and a potential 150 + school districts across Michigan. Join the Fight against Michigan's Emergency Manager Law log-on to michiganforward.org or standup4democracy.com TODAY! See More
Length: 7:00
From local roots, Bradley Foundation builds conservative empire - JSOnline
From local roots, Bradley Foundation builds conservative empire - JSOnline
From its headquarters at 1241 N. Franklin Place on Milwaukee's lower east side, the low-profile Bradley Foundation gives away millions of dollars every year, acting like a venture capital fund for conservative ideas.
Less than a week after being elected governor, Scott Walker and his wife met privately with one of the most powerful philanthropic forces behind America's conservative movement.
It wasn't the Koch brothers - the bogeymen for the American left.
On Nov. 8, 2010, the Walkers broke bread at the upscale Bacchus restaurant in the Cudahy Tower with the board and senior staff of the Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.
With more than $600 million in assets, the Bradley Foundation provides a cornerstone for the conservative movement in Wisconsin and across America. It has been the financial backer behind public policy experiments that started in the state and spread across the nation - including welfare reform, public vouchers for private schools and, this year, cutbacks in public employee benefits and collective bargaining.
Yet outside conservative circles, the foundation has kept a low profile. It receives a fraction of the attention given the billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch and the Scaife family.
But the Bradley Foundation is in a different league: From 2001 to 2009, it doled out nearly as much money as the seven Koch and Scaife foundations combined.
Michael W. Grebe, president and chief executive of the foundation, said there's nothing secretive about his organization. Rather, Grebe likened the Bradley Foundation to the 1960s Green Bay Packers, who ruled the football world with a fearsome ground game and a deceptively simple running play, the sweep.
"We're going to run off tackle, right over there, and we're telling you we're going to run there and we're going to knock you on your butt and carry the ball down the field," Grebe said during an interview inside the foundation's headquarters near downtown. "There are no surprises." Read More Here | JSOnline
Target given 190,000 Black Friday protest signatures | Reuters
Black Friday shoppers wait for a Target store to open in Lanesborough, Massachusetts November 26, 2010.
Credit: Reuters/Adam Hunger
MINNEAPOLIS |
MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Target Corp. received six red-and-white Target bags full of petitions Monday signed by 190,000 people to protest stores opening for "Black Friday" sales at midnight, the morning after Thanksgiving.
The petitions, delivered by Target employee Seth Coleman to a representative at the retailer's Minneapolis headquarters, were the result of an effort started by Anthony Hardwick, an Omaha, Nebraska employee who said the store's decision to advance its "Black Friday" opening time interfered with family gatherings.
"Thanksgiving is a holiday for family to get together," said Hardwick, 29. "If you're having your employees show up at 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, they're going to spend their day sleeping so they can get ready for the busiest shopping day of the year."
Target, Macy's, Gap, Kohl's, and Best Buy all plan to open at midnight on Friday morning in an attempt to boost sales. The stores have in past years started their Black Friday sales at 3 or 4 in the morning, but hours were moved earlier to boost sales and in response to customer demands.
Both Walmart and Kmart will be open Thanksgiving Day, as well as some Gap stores. Movie theaters and many drug and grocery stores are usually open on Thanksgiving.
In a statement, Target said that it valued and respected the rights of all team members to express their opinions.
"The decision to open at midnight on Black Friday was not one we took lightly," said Anahita Cameron, a Target director of stores human resources, in a statement. "As that is the busiest shopping day of the year, it is imperative that we be competitive. Our guests have expressed that they would prefer to kick off their holiday shopping by heading out after their holiday celebrations rather than getting up in the middle of the night."
Coleman, 29, a Target worker from Northfield, Minnesota, said he has been scheduled to work two shifts on Thanksgiving Day -- the first from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. to unload special sale items from trucks, and the second starting at 11 p.m.
Coleman started work at Target for $7.75 an hour a few weeks ago. He said that in past jobs working in delis he has had to work on Thanksgiving -- but he objects to working two shifts, which eliminates any possibility of time with family. Read Full Article Here | Target given 190,000 Black Friday protest signatures | Reuters
Northern California Grantmakers» Blog Archive » A Conversation With Van Jones: Understanding Movement Building–The Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street and Philanthropy
Blog Archive » A Conversation With Van Jones: Understanding Movement Building–
It’s Not a Movement, It’s a Swarm
Van Jones’ interest in making sense of the Occupy Wall Street movement evolved from his research in network building, brought about initially by a desire to better understand the Tea Party. As time progressed, and after the Arab Spring, it became clearer to him that something new was happening in the world when it came to movement building.
“How change happens, is changing…[We have to] recognize there’s terminology we don’t have. Occupy Wall Street isn’t a movement. It’s a swarm.”–Van Jones
What exactly is a swarm? It’s a leaderless movement that doesn’t need to depend on a charismatic top-down leader. Read Full Article Here | Van Jones: Understanding Movement Building
Foodies, Get Thee to Occupy Wall Street | Mother Jones| Occupy Wall St.
Occupy Wall St.
m.motherjones.com
The Occupy Wall Street protests grew out of anger at the outsized power of banks. But as they've expanded nationwide, the uprisings have evolved into a kind of running challenge to the way power is concentrated in all aspects of our economy—concentrated into the hands of people with an interest in m...
BLACK FRIDAY... OCCUPY THE STORES BUT DON'T BUY A DAMN THING!!!
We can stand in solidarity, we can fight and we can raise our voices but the big corporations don't give a damn about where we rest our heads at night unless we hit them in the pockets!! As a matter of fact, they are counting on us to spend our funds on Black Friday... counting on US!...
Rep. Deutch Introduces OCCUPIED Constitutional Amendment To Ban Corporate Money In Politics thinkprogress.org
thinkprogress.org
In one of the greatest signs yet that the 99 Percenters are having an impact, Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, today introduced an amendment that would ban corporate money in politics and end corporate personhood once and for all. Deutch’s amendment, called the Outl...
Adbusters editorial in the Washington Post offers a vision of the movement’s future.
www.washingtonpost.com
Adbusters editorial in the Washington Post offers a vision of the movement’s future.
Reporters For Right-Wing Publication Daily Caller Beaten By NYPD, Helped By Protesters
thinkprogress.org
The right-wing Daily Caller website has been anything but kind to Occupy Wall Street, even going so far as to condemn the protest movement as generating riots, murder, and arson. But when a couple of Daily Caller employees were at Occupy Wall Street this morning, it was the very protesters they had ...
Bernie Sanders Photo/Text
v Richey shared The Christian Left's photo.
Pretty sure we're going to post this every day for awhile. This truth needs to go viral. Please share.
105,000 Petitions Signed in Four Days: This Is What Momentum Looks Like www.wisdems.org
www.wisdems.org
At 12.01am Tuesday night, the historic grassroots effort to recall governor Scott Walker began and within 48 hours 50,000 Wisconsinites had signed petitions to set the tone for today's massive rally at the State Capitol in Madison.
Horrific Peek into Women's Prisons Finds: www.alternet.org
www.alternet.org
New book offers a horrific peek behind the walls of US prisons and reveals the human rights violations suffered by women in confinement.
In Must-See Video, Bill Moyers Slams Rule By the 1%: “Plutocracy and Democracy Don’t Mix”
Bev Richey shared a link.
www.nationofchange.org
One of America’s greatest journalists anticipated the entire Occupy Wall Street protests against the 1% back in 2010. This is from the final broadcast of Bill Moyers Journal, which included an intervi
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