Any points given for convicted white collar felons??

The closer these gigantic corporations get to government, the more free money they seem to start getting and the more people they start laying off. The banks have had Layoff Fever for years now.

Unfortunately Chris, even if these companies were run by non right wingers, they would be laying folks off due to automation. The tricky part is that the Apples and the googles and the Twitters are not creating enough jobs to replace those that are being lost by automatic check out stands, atms, and so on.

It's a tough problem- we have a lot of problems that are political, but this particular one is structural. I think the solution is that there has to be a balance between what a company takes in and how many people they employ.

Not sure how you do that, but if you don't, then there aren't enough consumers to buy the stuff we are making.

Go back and think again, just ask yourself how many jobs have they created in Iran which as of now, it has been illegal to do business with Iran. On one hand we have sanctions against them and on the other hand for a few dollars more the Koch brothers are undoing what we are trying to do. It goes to show you, the BULLIES usually do not care about the laws but about how good it makes them feel to go against the laws just to obstruct.

I wonder If they pay good living wages with health care and pensions. They deserve to get the union in there.

Unfortunately, Kansas is a right to work state....which means that they don't have to let the unions in. They would twist that law to keep them out.

Kochistan is not bad. Or...actually, no. Every other name I can think of veers sharply into pornographic. Never mind.

And they all require mastery of the phrase: "You want fries with that?"

Yeah I was wondering that too. Do you remember seeing any adds around Portland for oil riggers? Cause I sure don't. The only thing I can figure is they are for shipping jobs.

Oregon produces fiber and minerals.

Fiber comes mostly from trees, and Oregon is covered in pine, cedar, madrone, and redwood.

Oregon is also one of the domestic sources of platinum. This mineral is essential for the cracking process used to convert crude oil into gasoline, diesel, and other products.

I learned something new today. TY Crackhead ;-) I know about WA and OR's logging industry, but I didn't realize the Koch brother's had anything to do with fiber production. I also did not know that platinum was used in the refining of oil.

Thanks Crackhead.

also wonder if they are still pushing the LNG plant in Coos bay. that might have something to do as well.

Koch Industries owns Georgia-Pacific, which has manufacturing operations in Oregon.

The answer is: because George supports progressive causes. <shrug> MSNBC makes no particular bones about leaning progressive. They aren't going to use examples from their own "side" of how money influences election. That's just how it works.

A common criticism of FoxNews viewers is that they only watch Fox. Well, there are a lot of MSNBC viewers that don't watch anything else, but you aren't going to hear MSNBC point that out, you have to watch Fox to get that.

NPR...not suprisingly...isn't going to broadcast a show about how they don't need government funding.

Al Jazerra isn't going to broadcast pro-western news stories. American news media isn't going to broadcast pro-islam stories.

No one outlet is completely balanced and "fair." Despite what slogans they may have. That's just how the media works, and it's why it's important to get view points from multiple sources.

Soros doesn't do the same thing. Soros isn't wired into a well-organized, nationwide network of progressive think-tanks and front-groups because there isn't a well-organized, nationwide network of anything on the left.

No, he just funds a bunch of non-national progressive think tanks and front groups, instead of his money being funnels through one. It doesn't mean his money isn't influencing politics.

A. Get all the money out.

B. Show your math.

Influencing? Yes. Distorting the political fabric like a black hole distorts the fabric of space and time? No. It's important to make a distinction between Soros as a real person and Soros as the all-powerful bogeyman of right-wing paranoia.

True. I don't think Soros is an "all powerful bogeyman." I also don't think that the Koch brothers are the bogeyman that the progressive propaganda makes them out to be.

Whether Soros or the Koch's are people exercising influence for legitimate purposes or are "evil bogeymen" distorting politics kind of depends on which media outlet you hear/watch/read.

The problem isn't just about these three people. The problem of "big money in politics" involves lobbyists, super-PACs, industrial corporations, banks, and individuals. Even if Soros and Kochs stopped contributing money today, that wouldn't fix the problem.

@John-24 I watch mnsbc, cnn, cspan and attemt to watch fox to get the full view of the political landscape. Each news host puts thier own slant a on a story, I have no problem with that. Fox news is another story, thier slant is distorting the facts or out and out lies. If it is good political news they tend to gloss over or omit reporting, if a small problem arises they simply cannot report on anything else. Believe me, I have tried, I either laugh at thier stupidity or get so pissed I want to throw the remote. Fact checking much of what is reported you recognize the spin and mistruths and decide what channels are not worth watching.

Tamlea, I'm not saying you have to watch FoxNews to get that "side." There are plenty of conservative media sources. Personally, I don't watch that much TV media, I find the format extremely irritating.

TV news is pretty much crap. At least in the US. Rachel is more about analysis than the far more usual processed news mcnuggets, and she's an exception. TRMS is the only TV news I go in for. The rest is from a variety of Internet "print" sources. No matter how conscientious and diligent an on-air journalist is, and they do exist, there's only so much useful info that can be crammed into any given time slot. Hence this blog, I'm sure. At best, TV news can be a handy summation of news. Offler help anyone who actually relies on it for all of their news. And anyone who relies on Fox is in the hands of the insane Nuggan.

My general suggestion to people is that TV news will sometimes help give you deeper analysis of certain news stories of the day, but that you should turn to reliable print media sources (not random internet blogs) for information on what's happening in the world (and you should turn to multiple sources, not just one paper). This for me is the scariest thing about news papers going out of style. The TV news machine should not be your primary source of information. The point of Rachel telling us about news stories is in order to increase the amount of useful information that's available to the public. The point is that we will have read up through several papers about a singular story and then Maddow gives an in depth analysis to help us understand what was true about what we read, what was the most important emphasis of what we read, and what was untrue/least important.

Not to pick nits, but "print" news needn't come in the traditional hardcopy paper format.

The word is "reliable" which doesn't necessarily apply to all newspapers, in any case. My local paper seems to believe in the "use small words and don't print anything longer than 400 words" philosophy of journalism. I never thought I would say USA Today is a good paper, but compared to my local, it's literature.

*Nods* I didn't mean it necessarily had to come in print format (I actually figured you or someone else would call me out on that) I just meant papers that followed that traditional print paper format. I don't know if that makes sense outside of my own head ;-). Like, as an example, Christian Science Monitor is a great news paper that usually has very, very informative articles that are not usually biased and that are usually very good factually. This was a paper that started out as a print only medium, but now has switched to both print and online. My hope is that, as the print medium falls to the wayside, they will continue to be the same kind of paper, but just online instead of on paper. My hope would be that as things move towards the internet (or whatever comes from there) medium that they do not lose their substance as reliable sources of information. That was what I was trying to express. I figured I didn't get it out right the first time ;-). I just say this because I fear what happens when the only thing we can turn to for information is the TV or online blogs. That's not to say that every blog post is a stupid one or a partisan one, or that blog sites can't also be informative, or that TV news can't be informative; but w/ the way our media seems to be moving there is less and less incentive for TV and blogs to be factual and more incentive to be partisan, stupid, hyperbolic, and short on any actual analysis.

As for USA Today- they certainly will surprise you w/ their reporting at times...other times you get to indulge in 5 pages of "Brangolina's newest thing!" ;-)

George Soros donates to Democrats because he's not in it to see what he can get for George Soros.The Koch bros donate to republicans to see what they can get for the Koch bros.

Of course MSNBC isn't going to point out the billionaires who fund Democrat politics. It's similar to how they won't point out the actual video evidence of anti-Semitism at the OWS protests, while searching in every nook and cranny trying to dig up supposed "racism" at Tea Party rallies.

Of course Fox isn't going to point out the billionaires who fund Republican politics. It's similar to how they won't point out the actual video evidence of racisim at the OWS protests, while searching in every nook and cranny trying to dig up supposed "anti-Semitism" at Tea Party rallies.

This is probably what you meant to post, I fixed it for you.

I may have parsed that wrong lol. Too little sleep will do that.

are you talking about a binding arbitration clause in your employment contract?

I was going to apply for a part-time position with Coldwell Banker Barnett and after "completing" their 3 page application form and 4 pages of giving them the right to visit the birthing room with my mother, I came to the "I hereby willingly give up all rights to a jury procedure to investigate any real or imagined instances of discrimination, etc. etc. etc. regarding my employment by Coldwell Banker." That was a shock I wasn't prepared for and pondered for a long time.
Thank God, they hired someone else. I needed the job badly, but after I walked out I decided that it wasn't one I wanted to stick my foot in. My family agreed, thank heaven, I would have hated to turn down an opportunity, even though I felt it was the right thing to do. Willingly wasn't the way it happened, if you wanted the job, you knew not giving up your legal rights would close the door swiftly and permanently.

Ha, probably most significantly, see if you get any "energetic" resistance if/when you try to watch these films, i.e., does your energy decrease in any aspect (anger, fear, drowsiness, apathy)? There's one clue into what you are truly fighting. Wake up. Other cultures know about this; Americans are the last and clueless.

Personally, I get energetically "raped." And I can distinguish the energies ... Bush, Cheney, Orrin Hatch, + many more. **I just happen to be extremely sensitive and so can detect this. Read about Indigo children, and that may help you to understand what these type of people are here for and how they perceive.**

Disgusting, but I know I've hit a nerve and this is something to pay attention to. I'm telling you, you cower in fear, which we've all been conditioned by, and we as America and the world are in for a whole bunch of sh*t.

If you've heard politics is completely corrupt, you've no idea the darkness. And I'm sure I don't know the half of it, but certainly enough to "know."

Psywar:

Patriotism is a devotion to a certain place and people, contrary to nationalism, which is inseparable from lust for power. —George Orwell

This concept of patriotism remains elusive.

Yeah ... support for Iraq War = TRUE patriotism. And, of course, The Patriot Act.

Equating superpatriotism with militarism—military endeavor, military achievements, military struggles and victories—all supposedly a special manifestation of superpatriotism. And I argue that a real patriot wants something different for his country. He wants social justice. He wants peace and stability. He wants fairness. He wants an end to racism and sexism. He takes pride in his country's ability at social betterment rather than his country's ability to invade and knock around other countries. A real patriot feels an attachment to his country, but not at the expense of other countries. He or she may feel a special attachment to the history of his own country. He values the accomplishments of his country, like the abolition of slavery, the emergence of collective bargaining and the rights of working people for a better life, the gains made by women in terms of being able to get into public life …. These are the kind of things the real patriot would value.

Michael Parenti, Historian

..... If you actually go back and watch her show you'll realize you missed the point entirely. She isn't dogging the Koch Brother's for offering some jobs or even necessarily for laying people off. Her point is that they are doing so while actively attempting to prevent other people from getting employed.

...again missing the point here

Who are you comparing Obama's rate of failures/successes too?