Average working Americans could get screwed. Republicans may agree to extend the payroll tax cut for middle class Americans after all…just as long millionaires and billionaires don’t have to cough up a dime. Yesterday – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Republicans are on board with extending the payroll tax cut – but are opposed to the Democrats plan, which pays for it with a 3% surtax on people who make more than a million bucks. Instead – Republicans will offer their own plan to pay for the tax cut – likely one that takes money away from the social safety net.
Essentially – Republicans are willing to let taxes go up on 113 million households to prevent 345,000 millionaires from a meager tax increase. That’s the definition of protecting the 1% at the expense of the 99%. But here’s a compromise – extend the payroll tax cut – and pay for it by eliminating the Social Security cap – so that millionaires and billionaires pay the same social security tax rate as janitors.
Not only that – lifting the cap keeps Social security solvent for the next 75 years. Let’s see if Republicans go along with that idea.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Cherry Picking by Randi Rhodes,posted Nov 30 2011 5:34PM
In Los Angeles, police used cherry pickers to pluck Occupy protestors from the trees. That’s appropriate—they’ve cherry-picked Occupy as a protest to crack down on as opposed to, say, a Tea Party rally. A cherry picker! We told you that police were using military equipment and tactics. Now it seems they’re also using farm equipment.
Speaking at a New Hampshire college, Rick Perry said “Those of you that will be 21 by November the 12th, I ask for your support and your vote.” The voting age is 18, for those of you who missed the 26th Amendment. I knew Republicans were trying to restrict voting, but this is getting out of hand. Amazingly, Perry squeezed another major gaffe into that one sentence. He mentioned November 12th as election day. For one thing, the general election is scheduled for November 6th, not November 12th. Second, that date will be meaningless to Rick if he doesn’t win the nomination, and New Hampshire’s primary election is January 10th. Congratulations, Rick—you just wrongly told most of your audience they’re too young to vote, and sent the rest of them to the polls on the wrong day. I have some advice for Republicans—do NOT put Rick Perry in charge of “get out the vote” efforts.
The New York Times is out with an investigative piece showing that Newt Gingrich’s “consulting” business is nothing but lobbying, pure and simple. The first clue? We’re talking about Newt Gingrich. Newt has been trying to portray himself as a visionary who offers his clients ideas. Newt, we’ve seen your ideas, and there’s no market for them. None of his clients gave a crap what Newt Gingrich knew. All they cared about was who he knew. Newt always tries to hide behind the fact that he’s not a registered lobbyist. That just tells you that we have to be a lot tougher about who has to register as a lobbyist. If Newt Gingrich isn’t a lobbyist, then nobody in Washington is a lobbyist. And that’s pretty much what Republicans would like you to believe.
Ginger White, the woman who had the affair with Cain, says Cain “consistently” gave her money, but it wasn’t “sex for cash.” Yes, and what Newt Gingrich did was not lobbying. Ginger, just say you were being paid to have sex. That’s better than having people think that you were having sex with Herman Cain because you wanted to.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Lucky 13 Years by Randi Rhodes,posted Nov 29 2011 5:46PM
Have you heard that Herman Cain is in a new scandal? My first question would be “Who was Herman Cain?” That name sounds familiar. Oh yes, now I remember. Herman Cain was last month’s Newt Gingrich. Herman is the one who replaced Dick Perry or Rick Perry, or whatever his name was. A woman has come forward to say that she was involved for 13-years in an extramarital affair with Herman Cain. The woman said the affair ended 8 months ago when Cain was preparing to run for president. That’s what prospective candidates have to do—end the extramarital affairs, wrap up the half million line of credit at Tiffany’s, and fire the landscapers that use illegal immigrants. Herman, learn to embrace these occasional scandals. From here on, that’s the only time anyone is going to pay attention to you.
Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich is every bit as consistently hypocritical as Mitt Romney is consistently inconsistent. Newt has absolutely no self-awareness. But then, if you were Newt Gingrich, would you want to be aware of yourself? There isn’t very much that Newt Gingrich should be able to criticize other people for, because there isn’t much that Newt Gingrich hasn’t done wrong himself. You know what they say about people who live in glass houses. Well, Newt Gingrich lives in a glass mansion on a glass estate, with glass guest houses, glass tennis courts, an Olympic sized glass swimming pool, and a 16-hole glass golf course.
Michele Bachmann has revealed that she wasn’t invited to junior or senior prom in high school. Too bad you didn’t know Marcus back in high school, Michele. I’m sure he would have taken you to the prom. In fact, I bet he would have offered to design your dress.
A battle is shaping up in the Senate over how to handle terrorism detainees. The legislation being considered would require that terrorism suspects be handled by military courts, with the possibility of a waiver if a civilian court seems preferable. Basically, the waiver gives the authorities the option of obeying the Constitution… if they want to. We aren’t supposed to be a country that’s run by a junta of generals like some South American banana republic. Even South American banana republics don’t operate that way anymore.
And yesterday was the biggest Cyber Monday ever! And nobody got pepper sprayed, shot at, or had their body trampled. My only question is, why wait until Monday to do online shopping? Anybody with a lick of sense would be shopping online on Black Friday instead of being involved in a fistfight over a $2 waffle maker.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Now more than 24 hours past their eviction deadline – Occupy L.A. is still camped outside of City Hall – and patriots are turning to the courts to keep it that way. According to the Los Angeles Times, Occupy L.A. filed a court complaint yesterday arguing that the city’s looming crackdown represents an “unconstitutional deprivation of access to [the] traditional public forum…for first amendment activity.” Occupy L.A. is also attacking “anti-camping” laws – claiming that police are selectively enforcing the law – arresting people with the Occupy movement for camping – but letting more than 500 people camp out without a permit just weeks ago while they waited for the new “Twilight” movie to open.
After the NYPD raided Zuccotti Park two weeks ago – a judge ruled that camping gear is not an expression of free speech – thus allowing the city to ban people from bringing sleeping bags and tarps into public parks – effectively killing any chance of rebuilding the Occupy Wall Street community.
Apparently we live in a nation where the courts have ruled that little green pieces of fabric – money – is a form of free speech, but big green pieces of fabric – tents – are not.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
If you went shopping on Black Friday, I hope you’ve recovered... literally, for some of you. There were fights, assaults, and even shootings at Black Friday sales around the country. On the upside, sales were bigger than ever. By the end of Black Friday, the only things left on the floor of a lot of stores were pools of blood, and the occasional body. People! Enough with the violence at the shopping centers! They don’t call it the “mall” because you go there and maul people!
A woman in California sprayed the crowd with pepper spray so she could get her hands on a discounted Xbox video game console. They say these video games encourage violence. Putting them on sale sure seems to. Video of the incident shows chaos as shoppers try to cover their burning eyes. I hope the Walmart had the good sense to announce a sale on Visine in the pharmacy department. At another Walmart, a riot broke out over $2 waffle makers. OK, fighting over merchandise is just plain wrong, and fighting over a $2 waffle maker is just plain stupid. What are you going to do with that $2 waffle maker this Christmas? The riot for it was all over the news—anybody you give it to will know that you only paid $2 for it.
The Occupy movement was urging boycotts of big chain stores. They couldn’t very well have tried to occupy any of the big stores on Black Friday—they would have had to have lined up way in advance along with all those losers waiting for a $2 waffle maker. I’m sure the Occupy people didn’t want to be anywhere near any Walmarts on Black Friday. They’ve had enough experience getting hit with pepper spray, thank you very much.
I thought someday the 99 percent would rise up and make their demands heard. I just didn’t think that their demand would be for $2 waffle makers. Maybe we could take some of the energy that’s being used to fight with fellow shoppers over cheap merchandise and direct it toward creating a standard of living for the 99 percent that doesn’t require us to fight over scraps.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Our culture is screwed. Fueled by Black Friday – total spending over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend hit a record of $52.4 billion. But the real question is – at what cost to our society? This year’s Black Friday featured its usual flare of violence, desperation, and death. At a Wal Mart in Little Rock, Arkansas dozens of shoppers rioted over $2 waffle makers. At a Wal Mart in Arizona – trampling injuries were reported as hundreds rushed the door when it opened. At the same Wal Mart – a man was pepper sprayed by police for shoplifting – giving nearby customers a dose of the chemical weapon as well.
Keeping up with the times – a woman in a Los Angeles Wal Mart resorted to pepper spraying fellow shoppers to clear the way toward X-Boxes that were on sale. There were gunshots outside a North Carolina Wal Mart – a bomb scare at a Phoenix Wal Mart – and a brawl at a Pittsburgh Victoria’s Secret over women’s underwear. But most disturbing was what happened in a West Virginia Target – where a man collapsed on the ground and was ignored by shoppers who simply walked over his body to grab bargains rather than helping him. By the time someone did help 61-year-old Walter Vance – it was too late – he died at the hospital.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
According to a new study – you’re better off watching no news than GOP TV's Fox so-called News. Farleigh Dickinson University surveyed New Jersey residents about the uprisings in the Middle East – and it turns out people who get their news from Fox are 18-points less likely to know that Egyptians overthrew their government compared to people who watch absolutely no news at all.
Similar results were seen when Fox viewers were asked questions about the Syrian uprising too. I guess all the chatter about the Muslim Brotherhood over at GOP TV distracted viewers from the actual news taking place.
So isn’t it about time to strip the word “news” from Fox – and just call the network what it really is – what Roger Ailes envisioned when he first proposed it to Richard Nixon in the 1970’s – GOP TV?
Listen to me Monday through Friday 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
President Obama has vowed to veto any attempt by Congress to avoid the automatic budget cuts that were mandated as the price of Super Committee failure. The President was essentially asking Congress “What part of ‘automatic’ don’t you understand?” The automatic budget cuts were set up to be the price that would have to be paid for failure to reach agreement. Now Republicans don’t want to pay the price for what they did. But then that’s how we got into this budget mess in the first place.
When they let the Super Committee fail, Republicans assumed they could renege on the deal. Now President Obama is telling them that they have to face the consequences of their action... or lack of action, as the case may be. The thing that killed any chance of a deal was Republican refusal to budge on taxes, not Democratic insistence on protecting entitlement programs. The problem wasn’t Democratic sacred cows, it was Republican bull. You should blame Grover Norquist. How can you know? Because the Wall Street Journal says you should thank Grover Norquist.
Herman Cain says he was relieved when he learned that a surgeon who was going to operate on him was a Christian. I look for a lot of things in a surgeon, but over-reliance on faith is not one of them. Cain said he was worried when he was told his surgeon’s name was Dr. Abdallah. Wow. Herman, you have some things wrong with you that no doctor can fix.
Finally, a new study shows that people who watch Fox News actually know less about what is going on than people who don’t watch any news at all. In other words, you’re better informed not knowing anything than you are knowing the stuff you get from Fox News. You’re better off being uninformed than you are being misinformed—uninformed people can find out the truth, but if you tell the truth to misinformed people, they’ll argue against it. A researcher said “there is something about watching Fox News that leads people to do worse on these questions than those who don’t watch any news at all.” That “something” has a name—and it’s Bill O’Reilly. And Brian Kilmeade. And Sean Hannity. And whatever the names of those blonde women are.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Epic Fail! by Mark Riley,posted Nov 22 2011 9:35AM
If ever there was a cynical, transparent creation in recent political memory, it has to be the so-called supercommittee that's just imploded in Washington. From the minute this foolishness was announced, anyone with eyes could see it was doomed to failure. That wouldn't be just ordinary failure, but, in the words of G4 TV, EPIC FAIL (this cable channel actually has a segment called that)!
So this supercommittee, charged with figuring a way to cut $1.2 trillion dollars from the nation's budget, came up with nothing. The traditional rationale is that Democrats wouldn't agree to gutting programs like Social Security and Medicare, while Republicans swore a blood oath not to raise taxes on anybody, regardless of wealth. And yes, all of that is true.
Yet it obscures the issue at hand. When will politicians start to take their work seriously? When will the GOP move off its agenda of making President Barack Obama look bad so they can recapture the White House? And when will Democrats devise a winning strategy for truly speaking to the concerns of the American people?
From the day the supercommittee was announced, it was doomed to failure and all the players knew it. It wasn't created with a tiebreaker (a 13th vote- too partisan), and unless somebody was ready to compromise nothing was going to happen. So now the American people have a series of automatic cuts to look forward to just after next year's presidential election (note the timing).
As is typical of congressional tap dancing, there are now some people who voted to create the supercommittee in the first place who now want to create an out such that the committee's fail has no consequences at all. They don't want to see the military budget cut (check and see how many have big defense contractors in their home states), and they're willing to risk looking like complete hypocrites to accomplish that goal.
President Obama is right to say he'll veto any attempt to do an end around the mandatory spending cuts. If only he'd gotten hard with these folks a bit earlier.
It looks like the so-called “Super Committee” is going to fail to reach a deficit reduction agreement. Democrats and Republicans can’t agree. You know what that means—Republicans won’t agree. Well, it’s not so much that Republicans don’t want an agreement. They would be fine with an agreement… as long as they agreed with everything in it.
The failure to reach a deal triggers big automatic spending cuts to defense spending. And Republicans immediately began trying to disarm the trigger. This is the only situation in which you will ever see Republicans in favor of a trigger lock. Republicans may be trying to avoid the automatic budget cut consequences of the failure to reach an agreement, but they can’t avoid the political consequences. Of course, for Republicans, the only consequences that matter are political consequences. Now the Bush tax cuts will be at the forefront of the 2012 election campaign. Pundits say this will make it easy to portray Republicans as the party of the rich. You know what else makes that easy? The fact that Republicans ARE the party of the rich.
Newt Gingrich has told the Occupy Wall Street protestors “go get a job after you take a bath.” Funny, every time I hear Newt Gingrich open his mouth, I want to take a hot shower. Ironically, the things that make Newt Gingrich dirty aren’t the kinds of things that wash off. If you sleep outside for several weeks, you can clean up with a bath. If you sleep with lobbying clients like Freddie Mac, the stain stays with you.
Newt also spoke out against child labor laws. Really. Most people look at little children, and they see the future. Newt Gingrich looks at little children and sees an untapped labor pool. “Hey! Why is that little kid just sitting behind a desk and pushing a pencil, when he could be pushing a broom?” Here’s Newt’s plan for schools: “Schools ought to get rid of the unionized janitors, have one master janitor and pay local students to take care of the school.” Kids don’t talk back. And they sure as hell don’t unionize. The beautiful part of Newt’s plan is that, with all the students spending all their time mopping floors, you can get rid of all those unionized teachers too! Really, I think Newt just came up with a way to turn our schools into workhouses.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
American patriots practicing their first amendment rights to free speech. Two campus police officers with the University of California, Davis are on paid administrative leave after video surfaced over the weekend of them dousing a group of occupying patriots sitting peacefully on the sidewalk with a can of pepper spray. In addition – calls on campus are growing for the Chancellor of the University, Linda Katehi, to resign, since she was the one who ordered the police in to break up the occupation. She has since apologized and has promised an investigation into the use of excessive force. Meanwhile – cops patrolling the Occupy Boston encampment are hoping the weather will finish off the patriots in Bean Town. In the last few days – as temperatures dropped – police have been confiscating materials like insulation and winterized tents.
As one member of Occupy Boston said about the police, “they are trying to cause people to freeze…they’re trying to flush us out.” On top of that – DC lobbying firms are getting in the game too. A leaked memo from a lobbying group outlines a plan to destroy the Occupy Wall Street Movement with “opposition research” and “negative narratives” for the small price tag of $850,000 – to be paid for by the American Bankers Association.
When it comes to the 99% Movement – free speech is literally being chilled.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Republicans are trying to turn President Obama’s words against him, by turning his words on their head. Both Rick Perry and Mitt Romney have been saying that President Obama called Americans “lazy.” I wish this was just a case of lazy editing, but it’s obviously a case of purposely deceptive editing. The President was talking to a group of CEO’s about US business practices and said "But we’ve been a little bit lazy, I think, over the last couple of decades" in attracting investment. Perry and Romney took that statement and claim that President Obama was calling American workers "soft and lazy." Hey, if you can’t find misstatements by the other side, why not just create them? In the speeches that Romney and Perry have been lifting quotes from, Obama also calls American workers "outstanding" and "the best workers in the world." Was President Obama calling American workers "lazy" and "outstanding" in virtually the same breath? No. The only way to be that self-contradictory is to be Mitt Romney. None of these Republican candidates have a chance running against President Obama, so they’re trying to run against a President Obama that they have created from scratch.
In the wake of his interview fiasco earlier this week, Herman Cain has backed out of an interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader. And since he’s Herman Cain, he even stumbled as he was backing out. At first, the Cain campaign tried to cut the time of the interview down from 75 minutes to 20 minutes. At least that shows that they’re starting to get it—the less Herman Cain says, the better. The problem is, if you’re trying to avoid embarrassing gaffes, believe me, 20 minutes is more than enough time for Herman Cain to supply riches of embarrassment.
Finally, Michele Bachmann says that she was told that the IRS had to approve procedures under Obamacare. She said she was told this by... honestly... a 7-foot tall doctor. OK... what else did he say, Michele? "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum. I smell the blood of an Englishman?" Why did she throw that tidbit in? Does Michele think that height conveys credibility? Take note, lobbyists. If you want to sway Michele Bachmann on any issue, all you have to do is send Shaquille O’Neal to talk to her.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Occupy America, Occupy Everywhere. The 99% movement took to the streets – and bridges – around the country yesterday to commemorate the two-month anniversary of the movement. And judging from the size of the crowds – estimated in New York City anywhere between 35,000 and 50,000 people – it’s clear the movement has just grown stronger and stronger over the last two month.
The day of action included marches on Wall Street in New York City – followed by a march across the Brooklyn Bridge – the same place where a month ago 700 patriots were arrested for engaging in civil disobedience. But last night – it was a different story as thousands – alongside families and children and senior citizens – peacefully crossed the bridge into Brooklyn and in some cases were even welcomed by police officers. Unfortunately – the same can’t be said about the earlier demonstrations in the day – when there were several reports of police brutality – and upwards of 300 people were arrested.
One of those people arrested was the President of the SEIU – Mary Kay Henry – who touts a membership of 1.8 million unionized workers. Meanwhile – in Los Angeles there were mass arrests as thousands marched through downtown and shut down traffic. And in Washington, DC – hundreds marched through the city and across the Key Bridge into nearby Virginia. Bridges were a theme of the demonstrations around the country yesterday to raise awareness of America’s crumbling infrastructure and the need to put people back to work rebuilding the nation. So now that the movement has survived two months – and appears stronger than ever – it’s anyone’s guess just how far it can go from here.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
The Fact Checker column in the Washington Post asks if Newt Gingrich is being misleading. That depends—is he talking? Newt claims he was not a lobbyist, and he makes a big deal about the fact that his contracts specify he will do no lobbying. Yes, and any deal with a hitman makes it specifically clear that nobody is to get hurt. Gingrich said that “Freddie Mac was interested in advice on how to reach out to more conservatives.” Hey, I know the answer to this one—hire a former Speaker of the House to lobby them, right? Nope. According to Newt his advice to Freddie was to stress “the historical success of public-private partnerships.” There you go, Freddie! That will be $1.8 million dollars, please.
At a campaign rally, Herman Cain sampled a Cuban delicacy and asked “How do you say delicious in Cuban?” Try “muy stupido,” Herman. For the record, Cubans speak Spanish. Maybe Herman thinks that the language of Cuban must be spoken by the people of Cubana. And of course, the people of Cubana are called Cubists. Cain doesn’t speak a second language. Heck, it’s debatable whether or not he speaks a first language.
Now Rick Perry has managed to say some things that are stupider than Herman Cain and more evil than Newt Gingrich. This is going to be a hard-fought primary alright. Perry said that President Obama “never had to go through what Americans are going through.” Wow. A perfect blend of ignorance and lies, seasoned with a generous portion of racism. Heat it up, and serve it on Fox News. Then Rick says “It’s like, his thinking that that he can go and negotiate because of his great debating skills anyplace in the world.” We need somebody like Rick Perry doing our negotiating—someone who will go in there with a list of demands... and then forget what one of them is.
Here’s where it really gets golden—Perry says Obama’s “thinking that he’s the smartest guy in the room has hurt America around the world.” Let me just state the obvious—I’m quite sure Rick Perry has never been guilty of thinking he is the smartest guy in the room. Hey, if he can stand with the rest of the Republican candidates and not think that he is the smartest person in that room, well it’s never going to happen.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
On Capitol Hill – Blue Dog Democrats have signaled a willingness to join Republicans in support of a Balanced Budget Amendment. According to a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – the Balanced Budget Amendment will kill 15 million jobs – double the unemployment rate – and shrink the economy by 17%. But instead of hanging this devastating economic policy solely around the necks of Republicans – Blue Dog Dems want to spread some of the blame around to themselves.
I guess they never listened to the advice of Harry Truman when he said – if voters have a choice between a Republican and a Democratic who acts like a Republican – they’ll choose the Republican every time. Truman was right – in the 2010 election – half of the entire Blue Dog caucus of Conservative Democrats was kicked out of office. And by supporting the Balanced Budget Amendment – it could happen again.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Zuccotti Park has reopened to the Occupy Wall Street protestors, but they are no longer allowed to sleep there. It’s kind of hard to “occupy” anyplace for very long if you can’t sleep there. That’s why houses have bedrooms. There’s a little irony for you—the protestors say we need to keep an eye on Wall Street, and now the authorities are forcing the protestors to keep their own eyes open.
Now the Occupy movement has the option of new paths to influence. And the good thing about a path, as opposed to an occupation, is that the very concept of a path involves going forward, while an occupation, by its very nature, involves staying in the same place. It’s hard to change the world when you’re not even in a position to change your underwear. Now OWS has to find ways to do things like impact the electoral process. It’s more comfortable than spending the winter outside, but in the long run, it’s actually a lot harder.
Herman Cain is responding to the coverage of his pathetic “answer” to the question about Libya. The good news for Herman is that this response can’t possibly be worse than his response to the original question. Cain said “The Libya comment was a pause to gather my thoughts.” Well, I can see how that could take quite some time. For Herman Cain, trying to gather his thoughts is a bigger challenge than BP faced in trying to gather all the oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico. Here’s the thing about pausing to gather your thoughts, Herman—you’re supposed to come out of it with at least a few thoughts. Cain’s interview raises big questions about his readiness to be president. And his reaction to all the fuss pretty much answers those questions. And the answer is Nein! Nein! Nein!
A new report says that Newt Gingrich got paid at least $1.6 million in consulting fees from mortgage lending giant Freddie Mac. After taking Freddie Mac’s money to avoid Freddie Mac being broken up, Newt Gingrich is now saying that Freddie Mac should be broken up. The lesson here? You can’t buy Newt Gingrich—you can only rent him. Newt’s loyalty lasts as long as the contract. If you don’t want to be back-stabbed after the contract is up, that costs extra.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
It was a tumultuous day for Occupy Wall Street yesterday. First came the violent eviction in the early morning hours – then the court ruling allowing the patriots to re-enter Zuccotti Park – then another court ruling forbidding them from bringing any tents, tarps, or camping gear into the park. But in the end – the patriots have resumed their occupation. Without gear – hundreds of Occupy Wall Streets demonstrators streamed back into Zuccotti Park yesterday evening where they remained through the night. However without tents – it’s unclear how long the occupation can last. Meanwhile – Mayor Michael Bloomberg – who led the eviction – may lose his job.
With polls showing wide majorities of New Yorkers supporting the rights of Occupy Wall Street to set up camp in Zuccotti Park – a right the Mayor took away yesterday – an online petition has been started by Change.org calling for Mayor Bloomberg to resign. His raid yesterday was notorious for its suppression of the media and maltreatment of journalists – many of whom were beaten and arrested. Last night – the NYPD released several of those arrested journalists. So, with the more than 200 people arrested in yesterday’s crackdown – the total number of Occupying patriots arrested around the nation in the last two months is now 4,049. At the same time – zero banksters have been arrested for their high crimes on Wall Street that caused the financial meltdown. Not only that – prosecution for financial fraud in general is at 20-year low in America – and that’s not because banksters are suddenly better behaved.
Bloomberg had the wrong target yesterday morning – instead of Zuccotti Park – he should have sent his cops clad in riot gear to evict Goldman Sachs.
Listen to me Monday through Friday 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
So NYC Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly pulled off an early morning police raid on Occupy Wall St. Congratulations, and for shame! The trumped up rationale for driving largely non violent protestors out of Liberty Square (Zucotti Park) was shameless and transparent. It was also expected.
Also expected was the police excess normally reserved for communities other than Lower Manhattan. The arrest and detention of City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez should cost someone at 1 Police Plaza their job. Sadly, the Mayor can't be touched politically. He's in the midst of an ill advised third term. Yet make no mistake. Mayor Bloomberg deserves to criticized for the raid on Occupy Wall St. the same way he was criticized for his handling of the blizzard.
For a sitting Deputy Mayor (Cas Holloway) to argue before a judge that OWS was stockpiling weapons sounds as hollow as GW Bush's "weapons of mass destruction" argument for invading Iraq. When the history of this time is written, it will be the police, not protestors, who will be remembered for their callous disregard for their fellow human beings. They didn't even have sense enough not to go around arresting journalists!
The stealth raid, complete with keeping journalists at bay, ought to make people concerned with basic liberties hang their heads. However, out of adversity comes opportunity. Occupy Wall St. isn't going away any more than other Occupy movements around the nation and world. People like Bloomberg and Kelly will find out you can't arrest, raid, beat down, or otherwise trample on an idea. The issues brought up by this movement won't go away. The powers that be will find this out sooner than most people think.
It's a RAID! by Randi Rhodes,posted Nov 15 2011 4:27PM
As of the wee hours of this morning, Occupy Wall Street was temporarily occupied by the cops, and then by a bunch of steam cleaners. Then for a few hours, the Occupy Wall Street encampment was like the thousands of foreclosed properties all over the country that were created by the greed of Wall Street—standing empty and not doing anybody any good. Now the protestors have already gotten a court order allowing them to return to the park. There aren’t a lot of effective defenses against a police officer’s baton, but a court order is one of them. Mayor Bloomberg said the city was trying to clarify the restraining order. Clarify? What part of “Stop it!” don’t you understand? Are you Herman Cain? In any case, protestors had already fled to another public space at Duarte Square, at least for the time being. That’s the thing about a true movement—it can move.
A new video shows Herman Cain “pulling a Rick Perry” so bad that we’re going to start calling it “pulling a Herman Cain.” The editors of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ask Herman if he agrees with President Obama on Libya. Herman says “OK, Libya,” and then just sits “George-Bush-on-9/11-frozen” for 10 seconds. Yes, 10 full seconds. That’s an eternity, even by clueless Republican standards. What Herman comes up with after the awkward silence is even more awkward, if such a thing is possible. The first thing Cain says is “President Obama supported the uprising, correct?” Wow. Herman, I think you just answered the wrong question. You just supplied the answer to the question “Mr. Cain, you have no idea what’s going on here at all, do you?”
Cain sent out his campaign spokesman J.D. Gordon to do damage control. He didn’t exactly do damage control. He did do more damage. Gordon said “We were all going on four hours sleep, so he was tired.” That’s his excuse? He didn’t get enough sleep? Hello! A President of the United States can’t spend all of his time taking naps! Well, except for Reagan. But that’s it! Gordon said that Cain had been spending anywhere from 10 minutes to several hours a day boning up on national security issues. Well, it shows. I mean, the part about “10 minutes.” Curiously, Gordon also insisted that “he got the answer right.” Yeah. Only if the right answer was “I’m lost here!” Still, in Herman Cain’s world, this is progress. He’s gone from groping women to groping for answers.
Listen to me Monday through Friday 6 PM - 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
There was a massive police crackdown in New York City last night. Shortly after midnight – hundreds of riot-clad NYPD officers surrounded Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan – and passed out flyers warning the occupying patriots to leave the park immediately or face arrest. Five hours later – the park was completely cleared – and as many as 200 people were arrested – and for the first time in nearly two months Zuccotti Park wasn’t home of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Everything in the park – from tents – to the makeshift kitchen – to the entire library collection of over 5,000 books was destroyed and tossed into nearby sanitation trucks. During the raid – police blocked all roads into Zuccotti Park in an effort to prevent journalists from witnessing what was happening. But according to reports from journalists who were already inside the park – police beat people with batons – sprayed tear gas – and even used sound cannons to disperse the crowd. After 5 a.m. – hundreds of people roamed the streets of New York’s financial district trying to figure out what happened and what to do next.
Eventually – the Occupy Wall Street patriots sent up camp in nearby Foley Square. There, the Occupy Press Team released a statement saying, “Such a movement cannot be evicted. Some politicians may physically remove us from public spaces – our spaces – and, physically, they may succeed. But we are engaged in a battle over ideas. Our idea is that our political structures should serve us, the people – all of us, not just those who have amassed great wealth and power. You cannot evict an idea whose time has come.”
Get ready for a turbulent day in the Big Apple.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Well, the never-ending GOP debate continued this weekend. This debate was carried on CBS. Well, it was carried for a while… and then they dropped it. After the first hour, CBS switched to an episode of the show NCIS. It wasn’t even a new episode of NCIS. It was a rerun. But I’m sure it seemed a lot fresher than the recycled crap the GOP candidates had been spewing. There weren’t a lot of references to South Carolina’s Civil War past, which is probably for the best. Michele Bachmann would have placed the attack on Fort Sumter in the wrong state, and Rick Perry would have put the entire Civil War in the wrong century.
Surprise! Most of the GOP candidates have no problem using torture. That should be obvious—look at the torture these people have subjected viewers to with these debates. The audience went wild when Michele Bachmann said she would use waterboarding. You know how these candidates pander to the bloodlust of the audience. I was afraid that Michele was going to actually start waterboarding somebody then and there. I’m sure Michele would have scored some big points with the audience by waterboarding Jon Hunstman until he agreed that waterboarding was good.
Herman Cain says that God told him to run for president. Herman, has it occurred to you that God wanted to use that opportunity to expose you as a serial sexual abuser? Herman said it took a while for God to convince him. Of course—not only does Herman Cain think that God talks to him, but when they disagree, Herman Cain thinks that Herman Cain is correct. Uh, Herman, the message you claim you got from God probably came from you. But then, in your mind, there’s no real distinction between those two entities.
Then Herman said “When I finally realized that it was God saying that this is what I needed to do, I was like Moses. ‘You’ve got the wrong man, Lord.” Herman, you are not like Moses. If Moses was as confused about everything as Herman Cain, then the Israelites would have spent a lot longer than 40 years in the wilderness. Besides, if Herman Cain was around in the time of Moses, he would still be advocating for the interests of the top 1 percent. And in that era, that would mean supporting the Pharaoh.
Listen to me Monday through Friday 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
As thousands of patriots around the nation get forced out of their occupations – they’re setting up camp on the lawns of homes on the verge of foreclosure, to save the families from getting kicked out too. The coalition of activists spearheading this movement known as “Occupy Homes” have been successful in many cases. In California – Fannie Mae was forced to hold off on an eviction when patriots held a vigil outside the home.
In Minnesota – a woman is crediting the Occupy Homes movement for buying her critical time to move out before her home was foreclosed on. And in New York – the movement occupied a boiler room in an apartment building until the landlord agreed to provide adequate heating to the tenants living inside.
From protecting foreclosure victims – to convincing people to move their money out of big banks and into small credit unions – to changing the dialogue in the media from the debt crisis to the jobs crisis – to getting even members of the Republican Party to talk about wealth inequality – the success of the Occupy movements so far have been substantial.
It’s Veterans Day! November 11th was originally called Armistice Day, and marked the end of the First World War. The fact that we had a Second World War made that occasion seem somewhat less definitive. Veterans Day is a day to express our gratitude to the men and women who have made such enormous sacrifices for our freedom, or as Jim DeMint calls today, “Friday.”
You see, yesterday, Jim DeMint was the only Senator to vote against a bill that gave employers tax credits for hiring veterans. DeMint said he voted against vets because “All Americans deserve the same opportunity to get hired.” That would be true if all Americans had the same risk of getting killed defending freedom thousands of miles from home. Jim, if you really want to give all Americans “the same opportunity to get hired,” maybe some hiring incentives for everybody would be in order. But no, DeMint doesn’t really want to give all Americans the same opportunity to get hired. He wants them all to have the same lack of opportunity to get hired. DeMint called the bill helping veterans find work “Inherently unfair.” Gee, Jim, are you also upset over all that money we spend for parades for these veterans. The non-vets don’t get parades! It’s discriminatory! It’s like we’ve created this special class of people called “veterans” and we give them things that others don’t get… like those little flags for their gravestones. Do you want everyone to be equal, Jim? You’re starting to sound suspiciously like Karl Marx. Or a song by The Clash. DeMint thinks the jobs measure isn’t the right way to express gratitude to the nation’s veterans. What would be the right way, Jim? By eliminating taxes on capital gains? By removing all regulations on Wall Street bankers. Thank you for your service, soldier!
Last night Rick Perry did the Top Ten List on the David Letterman show. Frankly, I think that stunt is beneath him… David Letterman, that is. And why would Rick Perry do this? I know one big reason—they have cue cards! Have a great weekend, but today, remember what our veterans have done for us.
And just this year, you might also want to remember what Jim DeMint did to our veterans.
Listen to me Monday through Friday 6 PM - 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600 and WWRL1600.com.
Yesterday – Jefferson County, Alabama filed bankruptcy – and became the latest victim of the high crimes on Wall Street. The decision made by Jefferson county to file bankruptcy represents the largest-ever municipal bankruptcy in American history. In a twisted scheme of corruption and financial manipulation – mega banks JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs allegedly paid off elected officials to invest in junk bonds to help finance a new sewer system.
But when the junk investments went bust – so too did Jefferson County – running out of money. Meanwhile – the mega banks were unscathed – making enormous profits off of fees. From ripping off customers with fine print and overdraft charges – to swindling an entire county – it’s all in a day’s work for the banksters on Wall Street.
That’s why all need to get out there and OCCUPY SOMETHING!
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Has anyone else noticed that the Republican debates are the best guilty-pleasure reality TV show on the air? I know this much—nothing anybody has ever done on The Jersey Shore or any season of The Real World was quite as painful to watch as Rick Perry’s meltdown last night. And I’ve never seen even any of those women on a Real Housewives show say anything quite as catty as Herman Cain calling Nancy Pelosi “Princess Nancy.”
That's right, Cain unbeivably called Nancy Pelosi “Princess Nancy” during the debate. That shows that Herman Cain does not understand the severity of the situation he is in. Well, add that to the list of things that Herman Cain does not understand—somewhere between the Palestinian “right of return” and “no.”
The audience actually booed any attempt to ask Herman Cain any question about the charges against him. Sad, but it’s even sadder that that’s far from being the saddest thing these Republican debate audiences have done. Herman actually said that for every person who comes forward to say he sexually harassed them, “there are thousands who would say none of that sort of activity ever came from Herman Cain.” What are you saying, Herman? That people don’t really know you?
Rick Perry stumbled badly on a question last night. Very badly. It could have been worse… if at the end of it, Perry’s pants fell down to around his ankles, he tried to take a step, and did a pants-down swan dive into the front row. But that’s the only way. Perry couldn’t remember the third of three federal agencies he wants to ax. I guess my first question would be, how do you have a brain freeze when you don’t have a brain? For the record, Rick Perry wants to cut the departments of Education, Commerce, and Energy. He couldn’t think of the Department of Energy. In terms of irony, it probably would have been worse if he couldn’t think of Education. At the end of his debacle, Rick Perry just said “Oops.” It was simultaneously the worst thing he could have said… and the only thing he could have said. Now Rick Perry doesn’t look qualified to be in the White House. He doesn’t look qualified to be in the eighth grade. The only upside for Rick Perry is that this will probably make people forget his lousy performances in the previous debates.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600 and WWRL1600.com.
Tonight marks the second airing of Clay Cane Live on WWRL 1600AM via Equality Pride Radio. Last week, my co-host, J'Nara Corbin, and I, jumped in -- headphones first! Even through tech difficulties -- the bobby-pins in J'Nara's phony pony upsetting the airwaves -- we rode it out and hopefully delivered some thoughtful and funny commentary. As I said last Thursday, "We are on the radio like Donna Summer!"
On tonight's show, we'll be live on the air from New York City. Our celebrity guest will be Broadway icon and original Dreamgirl, Jennifer Holliday on her phenomenal career and connection to the LGBT community. The Tony winner once said, "If it were not for the gay and lesbian community, I would really not have half the career I've had. Throughout the lows in my career, this community remained loyal, remained faithful, didn't care whether I had a hit record or not. This community supported me; this community fed me and paid my mortgage by letting me sing in the clubs at three, four o' clock in the morning." Ms. Holliday will be taking questions from callers.
We will also talk with theGrio contributor, Edward Wyckoff Williams, who wrote an article on me and Equality Pride Radio for the NBC-owned web site.
Plus, a plethora of topics from a film review of Adam Sandler's Jack and Jill to a man who claimed he “turned gay” after a stroke and the gag list -- our top five "gaggers" of the week. Be sure to call in with your own gaggers at 212.868.0975!
Also, we'll have a giveaway for the off-Broadway play Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays, which includes Mark Consuelos.
Please join in on the fun tonight at 11pm EST on the radio dial at WWRL 1600 AM and streaming online at WWRL1600.com.
The big message of yesterday’s elections across the country was: Tea Party’s over, folks. It’s last call on Lipton! Squeeze your bag and toss it, teabaggers! You’re about to go down! Though, I admit I will miss the double-entendres. These results bode well for 2012. Usually a bad economy is a death knell for the party in the White House, but voters seem to recognize that, while the economy is bad, the Republicans are far, far worse.
In Ohio, voters rejected a harsh new law that denied collective bargaining rights to public employees. Ohio is a major swing state, and that’s a major swing in the right direction. Even Republican Governor John Kasich seemed stunned by the magnitude of the defeat. He said the voters “might have said it was too much too soon.” No. They didn’t say they want less of this at a later time. They said they don’t want any of this ever.
We also got a big victory in Mississippi. And progressive victories in Mississippi are about as rare as blizzards in Mississippi. Well, we’re looking at a little political climate change. Mississippi rejected a law that would have given “personhood” to an embryo at the point of fertilization. Conservatives think fertilized eggs are persons. They think corporations are persons. They think everybody is persons except for people.
In Maine, voters rejected a Republican law that did away with same-day voter registration. It was one of those cases where you could actually vote yes on voting itself. Maine has had same-day voter registration for four decades without any problem. Well, they elected the Republican governor who tried to get rid of same-day registration, but that wasn’t the fault of same-day registration.
After their victories in 2010, Republicans all over the country over-reached. Now all Republicans are learning that you can’t get too grabby—just like Herman Cain. When you think about it, Herman Cain’s sexual harassment problems are just par for the course for Republicans. Every time they see an opening, they lunge for it.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Answer to the headline? My money's on the football coach from Penn State. Neither has conducted himself with dignity or grace, but Joe Paterno actually has an employer, the State of Pennsylvania. Herm Cain is a freelancer, at least for now.
Cain's news conference Tuesday was beyond inadequate. It was pitiful. His caterwauling about a conspiracy of the Democratic "machine" was quickly followed by a Cain refrain, "I don't have any proof of this". He said he never met the public accuser, Sharon Bialek, but couldn't come up with a logical reason why another accuser went public an hour before the press conference.
Just as pitiful was the media, who never bothered to ask Cain about the detailed allegations Bialek made. Did Cain, for example, upgrade her hotel room to a lavish suite? Did he have dinner with her? Was he ever in a car with her? Instead, we got inane questions about Mitt Romney's characterization of the latest revelations as "disturbing". Cain vows to press on with his campaign, and alleged that there are some who don't want to see a businessman in the White House. Who that would be is left to our imagination.
And then there's Joe Paterno. Sure, he's 84 and has run the storied Penn State football franchise for 46 years. Yet there's no excuse that, if a graduate assistant told him about alleged sexual abuse involving his former defensive coordinator and a 10 year old boy, his first move wasn't a call to the police. In fact, no one at Penn State called the cops, or even inquired as to the health of a child who was alleged violated sexually.
Joe Paterno was cleared of wrongdoing by a grand jury. That's all well and good. But in the end, Penn State has to force either his retirement or resignation. The university has been damaged, and it happened on his watch in a facility he supervised.
As for Herm Cain, his Republican homies will ultimately decide if the allegations of sexual abuse brought against him are a dealbreaker in his quest for the White House. At least he needs to hire some better players for his team.
Herman Cain is going to respond to the groping incident this afternoon. This week could be a bumpy ride for Herman Cain, though probably not as disturbing as the ride he gave Sharon Bialek in his car back in 1997. Bialek said that Cain suddenly thrust his hand up her skirt and tried to shove her head into his crotch. Wow, that’s exactly like what happened with Herman Cain’s campaign last month—it just came out of nowhere! Now Cain is thrusting his hand up the skirt of the Republican base, and trying to force the head of GOP primary voters into his crotch. And he’s finding that they’re a lot more cooperative than Sharon Bialek.
What’s up with Herman’s game? My leg has gotten more subtle sexual advances from my friends’ dog. I want to ask Herman Cain if his approach ever works, but I’m afraid the answer would be “Yes, if I can get the duct tape around her wrists quickly enough.” After breaking the ice with the old “crotch grab/head push” maneuver, Cain asked Bialek “You want a job, right?” just to make sure there’s no confusion, which is usually the case with Herman Cain. When you think about it, this encounter is the only example of Herman Cain being completely understandable and not sending conflicting messages. Maybe the only time Herman Cain is clear on his position is when he wants sex. Let’s face it, if Herman approached women the way he discusses the issues, the guy would never have sex: “I want to go to bed with you.” “I never said I want to go to bed with you.” The fact that Herman can’t seem to put together a coherent thought unless he’s demanding sex pretty much limits his range if he was President of the United States. “My fellow Americans, I was unable to reach an economic agreement at the G20 conference. But I did get to third base with Angela Merkel.”
While Herman Cain is imploding, it should be noted that Mitt Romney is out there gamely trying to sound even worse than Herman. In a classic moment, Mitt Romney told workers at a steel plant “I spent my life doing what you guys are doing.” You must be smart, Mitt—you’re the first steelworker ever to amass a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars. I don’t think so, Mitt—no steelworker in history had hair as beautifully coiffed as yours. And I’m including Jennifer Beals’ character from the movie “Flashdance.”
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600 and WWRL1600.com.
It’s Election Day – and there are several important issues up for vote around the nation. At the top of the list is the fate of SB-5 in Ohio – the law passed by state Republicans to strip public sector workers of their rights to collectively bargain. According to polling – the harsh anti-union law is headed for repeal today – as majority of Ohioans are against the war on labor and think Governor Kasich overstepped his mandate. Meanwhile – up in Maine – voters will have a chance to repeal several new laws passed by Republicans that make it harder to vote.
These new laws now require voter IDs – they make it more difficult for people to register – and they shorten early voting. Despite a secret conservative donor who has reportedly dumped a quarter-million dollars into the election to make sure these laws stay on the books – a slim majority of voters in Maine support repeal. So if all goes well – tomorrow – workers in Ohio will be allowed to collectively bargain again – and voters in Maine will be able to vote.
Unfortunately, down in Mississippi – voters will likely give personhood rights to fetuses – laying the groundwork for not only prohibiting legal abortion – but also prohibiting birth control and in vitro fertilization. Win some – lose some.
Listen to me Monday through Friday 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600 and www.WWRL1600.com.
Herman Cain says he won’t answer any more questions about the sexual harassment charges against him. He won’t answer any MORE questions? I wasn’t under the impression that he’s answered any so far. Herman, if you’re refusing to answer questions about sexual harassment because you think it will hurt your candidacy, maybe you should refuse to answer questions about foreign policy. Or economic policy. Or domestic policy. There is nothing that can come out about these sexual harassment charges that can be nearly as embarrassing to Herman Cain as his utter ignorance of the issues.
Cain’s handlers hoped to put the charges of sexual harassment behind them with last weekend’s debate against Newt Gingrich. What better way to do it than with a one-on-one debate with the worst example of family values this side of Casey Anthony? Newt Gingrich has been married three times—he’s been married to as many women as have accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment! Oops, I spoke too soon—a fourth victim of Herman Cain has come forward. This isn’t over yet! Maybe a fourth wife will come forward to announce that she was also married to Newt Gingrich.
According to Sarah Palin, the message of the Occupy Wall Street protestors is “Wall Street fat cats got a bail out, so now I want one too.” You know, it’s pretty easy to shoot down someone’s ideas when you put words in their mouth. So Sarah thinks the Occupy Wall Street people just want a handout. It’s not clear if she came up with that idea before or after sending out her latest fund-raising appeal.
Notorious lobbyist Jack Abramoff is out of prison, and he’s speaking out against the corruption of our political system. It’s so bad that Jack Abramoff can’t take it anymore. It’s like if there was a level of violence that was too much for Charles Manson. Jack Abramoff was sent to prison for buying off public officials and corruption. That kind of thing couldn’t happen today… being sent to jail for it, that is. The John Roberts Supreme Court has pretty much taken everything Jack Abramoff did and made it legal. Abramoff’s real problem was being ahead of his time.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
It's racism. It's a smear tactic. That is what Cain and his supporters say about the allegations, that keep growing against him with regards to sexual harrassment.
There are at least four (4) allegations of harrasment against Mr Cain; but the latest, has a name and soon will have a face. Ms Sharon Bialek. Now unlike Anita Hill, who was alone in her accusation against Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas, Ms Bialek comes forward with other women behind her. Her coming forward might even prompt others to follow, or the first accusers to reveal their identifies.
What most don't understand, and I do having been the victim of sexual harrasment more times than I care to mention, is this isn't easy. When we ponder if Ms Bialek's charges are credible, what does she stand to gain from doing this? Mr Cain can't pay her off while he's attemping a run at the Presidency. There probably won't be a book deal. What she will get is criticized by the right and Cain supporters; perhaps even from others who don't believe her or think she's looking for her quick 15 minutes of fame.
I believe her because it takes guts to say: this is what this man did to me, he's running for President, you need to know. Another reason I believe Ms Bialek? I had a man say the exact same thing to me..."You want a job, don't you?" Well, for this talk host, I didnt want the job that bad.
Listen to me Monday through Friday Midnight to 1 AM on WWRL AM 1600.
Bring it down! A bronze Ronald Reagan statue in Newport Beach was damaged early Sunday morning, as an unidentified driver tried to tear it down like we did the statues of Saddam Hussein. According to witnesses – at around 5:30 am – the man walked up to the statue, put a rope around Reagan’s neck that was also attached to his pick-up truck, and then tried to drive off – either to tear the statue down or to take it with him.
The man may not have held a political grudge against Reagan – as police noted that there has been uptick in copper and bronze robberies as a result of the poor economy…thanks to the economic damage of 30 years of Reaganomics. Ultimately – the man was unsuccessful in his heist to “tear down this Reagan statue” – but he did manage to flee the scene before police arrived.
Let me save the investigators some time here – I was nowhere near Newport Beach at the time of the crime…I swear.
Listen to me Monday through Friday 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
In late September, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that essentially allows New York City cops and firemen to hold onto their pensions even when convicted of a crime. Understand that the bill started as a home rule message from the City Council. It passed 49-0, without a word of dissent at a public hearing. It then went to the state legislature, where it passed by votes of 128-14 in the Assembly, and 61-1 in the Senate. What it means is cops and firemen will have to be convicted of a felony before their pensions are at risk. In fairness, corrupt politicians, even those convicted of felonies are still getting paid. The Governor did try to close that loophole with the introduction of a bill after the conviction of former state comprtoller Alan Hevesi.
Also to be fair, cops and firemen in other jurisdictions in the state already get to keep theirs unless convicted of a felony. However, with the spate of corruption investigations, indictments, and convictions of NYPD officers lately, you have to wonder whether everyone in the food chain thought this through. For example, former cop Kenneth Moreno was sentenced to a year in prison for official misconduct in connect with the infamous "cop rape" trial. That happened in August. If the bill Gov. Cumomo signed had been in effect then, Moreno, assuming he'd served for 20 years, would have kept his pension. That's because official misconduct is a misdemeanor. With government workers' pensios coming under increased scrutiny, does this pass the smell test?
Brutal cops thrown off the force, or even charged, tried and convicted for acts of brutality will keep their pensions. Now any cop facing even felony charges will be advised to retire from the NYPD between the time of arrest and verdict. The ticket fix cops, and many others recently charged with crimes, will walk away with a pension if not convicted of a felony. This whole thing seems to have flown under the radar, save a couple of articles in the tabloid press and an op-ed from Arnold Kriss in the Daily News. He's a former NYPD Deputy Commissioner, and sees the long term impact of taking away a police commissioner's discretion in punishing rogue or criminal behavior.
Mayor Mike Bloomberg was on the right side of this issue. He urged the Governor not to sign the bill. He lost on this one. By the way, at about the same time Gov. Cuomo signed this bill into law, he evtoed a measure that would have extended health benefits tomworkers laid off after OTB closed its doors. So let me see if I've got this straight. Crooked cops? Pensions. Laid off OTB workers? No health benefits.
What's wrong with this picture?
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 AM - 9 AM on WWRL AM 1600.
The October jobs report is out—the chance for President Obama to see how good he was able to do, and for Congressional Republicans to see how much bad they were able to do. This time, Obama wins, but not by much. Private payrolls rose by 104,000 jobs last month—not bad, and more importantly, not nearly as bad as Republicans were shooting for.
Yesterday the Senate killed yet another part of President Obama’s jobs plan. The Democrats have broken the jobs plan out into separate bills. Now the Republicans can’t just be jobs killers, they have to be serial jobs killers. The infrastructure bill would have been funded by a 0.7 percent surtax on people who make over a million per year. Republicans would rather see our bridges go down than to see the income of billionaires go down, even by a tiny amount.
Herman Cain has actually risen in the polls after the sexual harassment scandal broke. Wow. The Republicans not only have bad candidates, they actually like it when their candidates get worse. 7 in 10 Republicans say the allegations of sexual harassment don’t matter when it comes to picking a candidate. Here’s a news flash, people—they WILL matter when it comes to running that candidate. What sells in the Republican primaries doesn’t necessarily sell when you get to the general election. It’s kind of like the Republican primaries are the worst focus group of all time.
Ann Coulter says “our blacks are better than their blacks.” I don’t think so. And if it seems that way, it’s only because Republicans have so few blacks that they can lavish extra care and attention on them. It’s true. Take a look at Republican Allen West—every hair in place, all of his clothing immaculately pressed. Then take a look at Cornell West. He always looks like he rode to the interview on the roof of the car. So yes, their blacks might win the evening gown competition. But when it comes down to the part where they have to answer questions, our blacks come out on top.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
According to the Credit Union National Association – or CUNA – more than 650,000 people have moved their money into local credit unions across the nation in just the last 4 weeks – coinciding with the rise of Occupy Wall Street – and Bank of America’s decision to set up a $5 debit card fee…a decision the bank has since backed down from.
More people fled the big banks and joined credit unions in the last month – than they did through the entire year of 2010.
If Congress doesn’t want to do its job and end too big to fail banksters – then the people will just starve the banksters themselves. Move your money!
Herman Cain is accusing Rick Perry of orchestrating a smear campaign against him. There’s one way to tell for sure—if it’s a clever smear campaign, it’s not Rick Perry. Essentially, Herman, you can tell whether or not Rick Perry did something by whether or not it’s working. This so-called smear campaign seems to be working remarkably well, so I suspect Rick Perry is not behind it. But then why should anyone else try to destroy Herman Cain’s campaign? Herman Cain seems to be doing a marvelous job of that himself.
OK, I realize it could well have been Rick Perry’s campaign. Rick isn’t very good at debating, but he truly excels at hiring hatchet men. After all, Rick Perry was created by Karl Rove. He’s like Frankenstein’s monster. Heck, with those stiff, Talking Heads suits that he always wears, he even looks and moves like Frankenstein’s monster. Maybe that’s why Rick Perry always has those ridiculously high collars—he’s hiding his neck bolts.
Herman Cain has now blamed the victims, the liberals, the mainstream media, and Rick Perry. Who’s left for him to blame? Was it Colonel Mustard in the library with a candlestick? The bottom line for Herman Cain is that, when the allegations are true, it doesn’t really matter who leaked it. You can trace the source of your troubles back to you. To loosely quote the great Herman Cain, “If you’re looking for someone to blame, don’t blame the media or Perry, blame yourself!”
President Obama has been trying to promote his jobs plan. And Republicans in Congress have been trying to promote anything—anything—except jobs. The Republican House passed a bill reaffirming that “In God We Trust” is the motto of the United States. It’s already the motto. They’re just verifying that… like anybody asked. The House Republicans in the House are re-doing things that didn’t need to be done in the first place. You would think that if they did have trust in God, they wouldn’t be so worried about having to re-verify it. But no, the Republicans have to keep on reaffirming that “In God We Trust” is our motto, like some obsessive-compulsive who has to keep checking to make sure they turned off the coffeemaker.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM - 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Tens of thousands of people flooded the streets of Oakland yesterday to participate in Occupy Oakland’s call for a general strike. Banks, businesses and schools across the city shutdown – with about one-fifth of the city’s teachers skipping school to participate in the strike – the first of its kind in a major city in 65 years. As evening fell, roughly ten thousand patriots marched to the Port of Oakland. The peaceful crowd blocked all the entrances – and then mounted containers, cranes, and trucks - forcing the nation’s fifth busiest port and a major entry point for imported Asian-manufactured goods to shut down for the night.
But after the crowd dispersed and went home – the streets of Oakland were again turned into a warzone as a small group of protestors set a fire in the middle of the street. After midnight – tear gas canisters and flash bangs were deployed by police to disperse the crowds – putting a tumultuous cap on a peaceful day of action. Seattle, New York, and Washington, DC – as well as several other cities – held solidarity marches with Occupy Oakland as well yesterday.
America is beginning to look like Europe, with young people in open revolt against a system that only benefits the top 1 percent.
Thursday's UK Guardian contains a story that should give Americans a bad case of the yips. No sooner has the Libyan adventure ended than reports surface about a possible US military attack against Iran. The purpose is obvious. America has been nervous for quite awhile about the possibility that Tehran is developing nuclear weapons. They are, according to us, a rogue sponsor of terror who can't be trusted with the world's most destructive weapon.
Of course, the Iranians don't see it that way, but that's neither here nor there. The central question the Guardian piece raises is whether the US, Britain, and other fellow travelers are ready to put Iran's nuclear program out of business. Trust me, it won't be by gentle persuasion. Are we now ready for yet another war? Sure President Obama is pulling the troops out of Iraq, and Libya is done. But a single military strike, by drone, F-16, whatever, will indicate to the world that America and its NATO allies are using the so-called Libyan model to target an enemy.
Am I the only person who has a really bad feeling about this? The British are reportedly ramping up their own military preparedness in the event the US decides to move forward. To be fair, the Guardian says President Obama doesn't want to take action until after the 2012 election. His hand may reportedly forced by an IAEA report that says the Iranians are ramping up their program, leading some to think they're developing weapons.
In a perfect world, nobody would have nukes. Despite protestations to the contrary, the US, the only country to use nuclear weapons, now seeks to determine who gets to have them and who doesn't. The real solution to the Iranian nuclear program is disarmament, but we all know that won't happen anytime soon. In its absence, diplomacy, as messy and non productive as it sometimes seems, is the real answer. Anything but the prospect of endless war.
The New York Times says that one of Cain’s accusers was given a year’s salary of $35,000 to keep quiet. So it seems that Herman Cain’s rash behavior cost the National Restaurant Association at least $35,000. I assume that if he was elected President of the United States, he would do something that would cost us all a lot more than that.
When asked if he thought race was a factor in the accusations Cain said “I believe the answer is yes,” and then he added the standard Herman Cain qualifier, “but we do not have any evidence to support it.” Herman Cain throws in a quick disclaimer after everything he says, like he’s a commercial for some kind of erectile dysfunction medication. “Herman Cain’s statements are not for everyone. Avoid what Herman Cain says if you have high blood pressure, a history of rational beliefs, or you are allergic to lies or distortions.”
Cain may be the first candidate in the history of the world to be able to use a sex scandal to distract attention from his other, even worse shortcomings. A couple of days ago, Cain said he suspected that China is “trying to develop nuclear capability.” Really, Herman? What was the big tip off? The fact that China has had nuclear weapons since 1964? If we’re going to stop them from acquiring nuclear capability, we better act right now! Or even better, in 1962! Thanks for staying on top of the China situation, Herman. We’d also appreciate it if you could keep an eye on the Soviets—we have reason to suspect that they may have a nuclear program of their own. Oh, and it seems the Imperial Japanese Navy has designs on our fleet in the Pacific. And while we’re at it, I don’t trust that Kaiser Wilhelm guy as far as I could throw him.
Meanwhile, Herman Cain also said that he is comfortable with a “shooting war” against Iran. Uh, he is aware that Iran has gunpowder, right? I just want to make sure he doesn’t think that Iran is still the Persian Empire. Maybe Herman Cain thinks a war with Iran would involve fighting the Persian armies of King Xerxes like in the movie “300.” We can take those guys! All they’ve got is swords and spears!
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Today is the day for a planned general strike in Oakland – the first of its kind since 1946. Occupy Oakland is calling on workers in the city to stay home today – and join in on a march to shut down the Port of Oakland – the nation’s fifth busiest port. The Oakland Longshoreman agreed to participate in the strike – as well as several labor unions – and a number of schools across the city are also planning to shut down.
City officials wrote a letter to Oakland business owners encouraging them to deadbolt their doors to prepare for the general strike. And Oakland mayor Jean Quan gave the go-ahead for public employees to stay home from work and participate in the strike too. But Mayor Quan also has a mutiny on her hands, as Oakland police released an open letter to the mayor yesterday criticizing her actions in the crackdown against Occupy Oakland that left an Iraq War veteran in the hospital with brain damage. In the letter – the police say they are “confused” by the mixed signals she is sending both to the police and the demonstrators.
Things are getting very interesting in Oakland.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600 and WWRL1600.com.
Memo to Herman Cain: there’s one big problem with being in the lead—your backside is exposed. Herman spent most of the past couple of days answering questions about the allegations of sexual harassment, without answering them… which is a delicate balancing act. And balance is not Herman’s strong suit. I’ll say this—Cain had no problem coming up with answers. In fact he had several different answers, depending on which interview you listened to. It’s actually harder the way you do it, Herman. Pick one lie and stick to it.
The charges against Cain could cause serious doubts among moderate GOP voters. Luckily for Herman Cain, there is no such thing. The rightwing is rallying to his defense. Meanwhile, the left wing is just silently praying that Cain will still be able to win the nomination. It seems like everyone is on Herman’s side! Rightwingers called this “another high-tech lynching.” Well, then this should be impressive. Technology has really moved forward in the years since the confirmation of Clarence Thomas. This could be the first “high tech lynching” in 4G!
The worst thing about the sexual harassment scandal for Herman Cain’s campaign is that it’s far from being the worst thing about Herman Cain’s campaign. Case in point—everything else that Herman Cain says. Herman Cain compared formulating US foreign policy to making pizza. The only thing pizza-making has in common with conducting foreign policy is that I seriously doubt Herman Cain has the ability to do either. Herman Cain can’t even say the correct name for countries like Uz-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan. I hope he does better with ingredients like mozza-mozza-mozza-rella-realla.
Of course, Rush Limbaugh has weighed in with his opinion on the Cain controversy, and guess what—it was all about race! Rush said “This is about blacks and Hispanics getting uppity.” He meant getting uppity in the eyes of the Democrats, but I think Rush just enjoys saying the phrase “blacks and Hispanics getting uppity.” For once, Rush can say that phrase out loud on the radio, instead of just yelling it into his pillow all night.
Listen to me every night from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600 and WWRL1600.com.
Republicans are continuing to ignore the jobs crisis. There are no votes on the schedule in the House of Representatives to pass any portion of President Obama’s American Jobs Act – or any other legislation to put Americans back to work. Instead – House leadership is demanding a vote to ensure that “In God We Trust” remains the official national motto. Even though nobody is trying to change the national motto – Republicans think it’s vitally important to pass legislation to uphold it today.
The bill’s sponsor – Republican Randy Forbes from Virginia defended his legislation saying it, “sends a message that 'In God We Trust' is not only written in the halls of our federal buildings, but it is a bedrock upon which our nation is built.” Putting aside the constitutional violations of such legislation – this bill - just like the anti-abortion legislation passed the week before – and the defunding NPR legislation passed earlier in the year – will not create a single job.
Not one job. Republicans have controlled the House since January, so, Speaker Boehner and Leader Cantor, where are the jobs?!
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have made their point – they hate Obamacare. And, just in case anyone didn't get the message the first 36 times they made that point, they're about to waste even more taxpayer...
It turns out the IRS was investigating conservative organizations seeking tax-exempt status. Duh! And the TSA has been looking at people seeking to get on airplanes. None of the conservative organizations that the IRS was "targeting" were...
The Associated Press has accused the Justice Department of "massive and unprecedented intrusion." That's according to one of the AP's top executives, after learning that the government secretly acquired two months of the news...
It seems that the Republicans won't stop until their attacks over Benghazi are as vicious as the attack in Benghazi. The Republicans would have you believe that the Obama administration altered the talking points on Benghazi out of political...
According to the U.S. Supreme Court, Monsanto has the right to control our food supply. In a unanimous ruling released this morning, the nine Justices sided with the agricultural giant, and held that an Indiana farmer violated Monsanto's...
Yesterday, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives postponed all floor votes so they could hold their ninth hearing about Benghazi. Instead of working on any number of pressing issues effecting Americans, Republicans spent nine...
Oh, you crazy Americans! Here you are, obsessed with guns, thinking you need them to stop some leering thug from invading your home and taking everything you have. Truth be told, you don't have to worry about that nearly as much as, say, 20...
Now the abducted women are back with their families. Maybe now people will stop thinking of Cleveland as the butt of jokes and start thinking of it as a really weird and creepy place. This is a story straight out of… wow, I don't think...
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew appears to have the right ideas. But, it doesn't seem like any of our elected leaders are listening. On Monday, Secretary Lew sent letters to members of the House financial services committee, urging them to...
Last year, five major U.S. Banks and 49 state attorneys general agreed on a $25 billion settlement to compensate victims of abusive bank practices and foreclosure fraud. But, according to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, the...
