Old home week Jamie Dimon and the politicians he buys

JP Morgan Jamie Dimon gets softball inside from political pals while abused by those on the outside

Once again in a reprise of government workers who hate other government workers Paul LePage, Republican Governor Of Maine, Calls State Workers 'Corrupt'

Paul LePage, Republican Governor Of Maine, Calls State Workers 'Corrupt':

'via Blog this'

In response, the governor said state government is too big and too costly and that the state workforce is part of the problem. LePage told the crowd that he has control over appointed state workers, but has little authority over middle managers and other unionized state employees.

"The problem is, middle management of the state is about as corrupt as can be," LePage said in remarks first reported by MaineToday Media.

With the remark buzzing around the State House on Friday, LePage sent an email to more than 11,000 state workers to clarify his remarks, praising the majority of state workers but saying that some union bosses and state workers are intent on maintaining the status quo.

Offering no apologies, LePage had a blunt message for those workers who've been "corrupted" by a bureaucratic mindset that's intent on "doing the same thing because it was always done that way" and for the "union bosses" who he said have urged workers to resist the administration's changes.

"If you are dragging your feet because you do not like the direction the administration is headed, then it is time to either get on board or get out of the way," he wrote.

Alec's laws for dummies

The BRAD BLOG : Ethics Complaint Filed Against 43 Republican WI Legislators Alleging Inappropriate Gifts from ALEC

The BRAD BLOG : Ethics Complaint Filed Against 43 Republican WI Legislators Alleging Inappropriate Gifts from ALEC

The War for Wisconsin continues.

In one of the latest Battles for the Badger State, Brendan Fischer of the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) filed a broad-based ethics complaint [PDF] with the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (G.A.B) charging that 43 Republican state legislators are in violation of both the state's ethics and lobbying laws. The named respondents in the March 23 complaint include three Republican Senators, Scott L. Fitzgerald, Van H. Wanggard and Terry Moulton, who are now facing recall elections.

The complaint alleges that lawmakers now serving in the Wisconsin state legislature violated state ethics laws by accepting corporate lobbyist-funded "scholarships", in order "to attend meetings of the American Legislative Council (ALEC)" and that many of them failed to list receipt of monies from the ALEC scholarship fund on their 2011 Statement of Economic Interests, as required by state law. In several instances, the complaint also asserts, legislators received prohibited "gifts" from corporations and their lobbyists in violation of Wisconsin ethics and lobbying laws.

The CMD complaint goes on to argue that the ALEC legislative "Task Force" system, in which "ALEC legislators and corporate lobbyists meet behind closed doors on 'model' legislation," violates Wisconsin's Open Meeting Laws. The serious charge speaks to the extent to which corporate power has not merely undermined but supplanted the very essence of "representative democracy"...

The Big Money Behind State Laws - NYTimes.com##

The Big Money Behind State Laws - NYTimes.com##

The American Legislative Exchange Council was founded in 1973 by the right-wing activist Paul Weyrich; its big funders include Exxon Mobil, the Olin and Scaife families and foundations tied to Koch Industries. Many of the largest corporations are represented on its board.

¶ALEC has written model legislation on a host of subjects dear to corporate and conservative interests, and supporting lawmakers have introduced these bills in dozens of states. A recent study of the group’s impact in Virginia showed that more than 50 of its bills were introduced there, many practically word for word. The study, by the liberal group ProgressVA, found that ALEC had been involved in writing bills that would:

¶¶Prohibit penalizing residents for failing to obtain health insurance, undermining the individual mandate in the reform law. The bill, which ALEC says has been introduced in 38 states, was signed into law and became the basis for Virginia’s legal challenge to heath care reform.

¶¶Require voters to show a form of identification. Versions of this bill passed both chambers this month.

¶¶Encourage school districts to contract with private virtual-education companies. (One such company was the corporate co-chair of ALEC’s education committee.) The bill was signed into law.

¶¶Call for a federal constitutional amendment to permit the repeal of any federal law on a two-thirds vote of state legislatures. The bill failed.

¶¶Legalize use of deadly force in defending one’s home. Bills to this effect, which recently passed both houses, have been backed by the National Rifle Association, a longtime member of ALEC

see the people buying the US government: http://www.alec.org/

At long last, Michelle Rhee's funders revealed | MinnPost

At long last, Michelle Rhee's funders revealed | MinnPost

According to Resmovitz, in response StudentsFirst named the Texas-based Laura and John Arnold Foundation and New Jersey hedge fund mogul David Tepper, who also founded and funds the group’s New Jersey offshoot.

The group also received $500,000 in startup funding from philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad’s Broad Foundation, which has championed a host of education reforms, most of them fairly characterized as conservative efforts.

Resmovitz then looked up the donors’ track records, using Federal Election Commission records:

Tepper has given upwards of $23,000 to the Democratic National Committee; $5,000 to Glacier PAC, a backer of Democratic Rep. Max Baucus -- and $5,000 to Mitt Romney for President this December. This January, he gave $375,000 to Restore Our Future, a Romney PAC….

Billionaire John Arnold, a former Enron trader, and his wife Laura, were slated to host in their Houston home a $10,000-ticket Obama fundraiser to feature Michelle Obama last October (the event was postponed). Arnold describes himself as a libertarian, and his wife Laura identifies as a Democrat. Still, Arnold was one of Obama's top 2008 donors, a bundler who gave the campaign between $50,000 and $100,000. According to Huffington Post's FundRace, he has given $35,800 to the Obama Victory Fund 2012….

Arnold is currently funding efforts to have legislatures convert the pensions of public employees, such as teachers, into 401k plans. According to the Arnold Foundation's most recent tax returns, it had $650 to $750 million in assets in 2010.

Back to Put Kids First Minneapolis: The local group was born before Rhee’s became a household name, when a handful of Minneapolis residents unhappy with the way MPS staffs schools began comparing notes. Many of the changes they seek are similar to the reforms that landed Rhee in the hot seat in the first place, although even a brief tour of their website will reveal a much more measured tone.

LP - It is stunning to find these groups not satisfied with bribing one side when they can bribe both. It's just a simple action of buying America's politicians so they can destroy America's social structure.

Wall Street Scored Big in the Last Elections

Groups offer $25K reward to expose secret corporate donations - Political Hotsheet - CBS News

Groups offer $25K reward to expose secret corporate donations - Political Hotsheet - CBS News

A coalition of liberal and nonpartisan groups today announced a joint effort to fight the influence of corporate money in politics with a range of tactics -- including a $25,000 cash reward to the first worker who can document their employer's secret use of corporate funds to influence an election.


"It's very simple," said Ethan Rome, executive director of the progressive group Health Care for America Now (HCAN). "We are serious about the business of exposing corporations who are trying to secretly steal our democracy and our government for the wealthy few. If corporations want to use corporate dollars to influence elections, we will expose them. They do so at their own risk."


Along with HCAN, the other groups involved include the liberal groups Americans United for Change, MoveOn.org, Occupy Wall Street and Campaign for America's Future. The labor organization Service Employees International Union is also participating, as are self-described nonpartisan groups like Common Cause, Public Citizen, Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) and the Coalition for Accountability in Political Spending (CAPS).

LP - People Power to fight corporate influence

Scott Walker and the Stench of Scandal | The Progressive

Scott Walker and the Stench of Scandal | The Progressive


The three arrests this week in the ongoing John Doe investigation in Wisconsin bring the stench of scandal ever closer to Scott Walker.

According To Huff Post. Apparently there are some government workers Scott Walker likes. The ones who blog for him while they are on the public dime.

Scott Walker, Wisconsin Governor, Eyed In Corruption Probe After FBI Raid On Cynthia Archer's Home

DINESH RAMDE 09/16/11 03:05 PM ET

MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Friday all he knows about FBI agents seizing items from the home of one of his top agency officials is what he's seen in the media and that his office has not been told anything about the raid.

The first-term governor said "it's hard to tell" whether he should be concerned about Wednesday's raid on the home of Cynthia Archer, who was his aide while Milwaukee County executive and followed him to work in state government when he was elected governor.

"We don't know what exactly is involved," Walker said Friday when asked about the raid following an unrelated event in Milwaukee.

"Until we know, obviously it's a concern but again, I don't know any more details than what I've seen reported

Full Story:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/16/scott-walker-cynthia-archer-fbi-raid-wisconsin_n_965899.html