Breibart Leads the Way for Sorry State of Right Wing Media on Paul Krugman Bankruptcy Satire article from The Daily Currant

Breitbart.com recently blasted The Washington Post for falling for a satirical The Daily Currant report which claimed that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had accepted a job with Al Jazeera.

Let me get this straight -- it is okay for Brietbart.com to attack the Washington Post for falling for a report from The Daily Currant but when Breitbart does the same thing, they immediately take down the story with no explanation?  Took most of the morning for Breitbart.com editor at large Larry O'Connor to Twitter they had been duped.  If they had bothered to do fact checking like bankruptcy court filings, they would have discovered it was not true but in their haste to run a negative story on Paul Krugman, they showed how little journalistic integrity they have - zero, zip, nada.

Breitbart.com was also one of the sites touting Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaking to Friends of Hamas along with accepting money for his speech which Ted Cruz used in his attacks on Hagel.  It was another false story this time from a reporter at the NY Daily News who was joking with a Senate aide who took it seriously,  Why check facts when a story fits your narrative?  This is more examples of the sad state of the media puppets on the right who think Fact Checking is a dirty word.  

When I read these comments from Paul Krugman this morning from his NY Times Blog, I burst out laughing.  Breitbart and other right wing media got scammed again because they refuse to check sources as they run with any story that fits their narrative to push the hard right agenda which attacks any liberal/progressive who might actually have facts on their side.  

March 11, 2013, 9:13 am

Breitbarted 

OK, I’m an evil person — and my scheming has paid off. 

On Friday I started hearing from friends about a fake story making the rounds about my allegedly filing for personal bankruptcy; I even got asked about the story by a reporter from Russian television, who was very embarrassed when I told him it was fake. But I decided not to post anything about it; instead, I wanted to wait and see which right-wing media outlets would fall for the hoax. 

And Breitbart.com came through! 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go give a lavishly paid speech to Friends of Hamas.

The way Krugman has handled this is hilarious - he kept quiet to see which right wing media would take the bait to rush to declare that Krugman had declared bankruptcy. Breitbart.com answered the call.  Media Matters has detailed how this all went down that has left Krugman and a lot of progressives grinning from ear to ear.

In the March 11 post, Breitbart.com editor at large Larry O'Connor mocked the Nobel Prize winning economist and New York Times columnist for his alleged financial mismanagement. 

Unfortunately for O'Connor, the report that Krugman went bankrupt is clearly a joke and originated from the satirical website The Daily Currant. O'Connor has since deleted the post without explanation. (Update: O'Connor tweeted, saying he "trusted Boston.com as the source for that Krugman piece, but they were duped by Daily Currant, therefore, so was I!") 

In his post, O'Connor jabbed Krugman for supposedly spending "$84,000 in one month" on Portuguese wines and "a dress from the Victorian period," and concluded that "apparently this Keynsian [sic] thing doesn't really work on the micro level." O'Connor sourced the report to a Boston.com post written by "Prudent Investor." The post by "Prudent Investor" sources an Austrian website, which reprinted the original Daily Currant story. 

O'Connor is scheduled to participate in the "CPAC 2013 All Star Panel" at this week's Conservative Political Action Conference. 

Screenshot of the post before it was deleted:

This is (at least) the second major embarrassment for the Breitbart sites in recent weeks. Breitbart editor Ben Shapiro was recently the target of widespread criticism and ridicule after he wrote a post highlighting the Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's ties to a nefarious, non-existent group called "Friends of Hamas." 

Breitbart.com recently blasted The Washington Post for falling for a satirical Daily Currant report which claimed that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had accepted a job with Al Jazeera.

Excerpt:  Read More at Media Matters

First Shapiro at Breitbart reported Secretary of Defense Hagel had spoken to the group Friends of Hamas which was the idea of a New York reporter pulling the chain of some Congressional aide who reported it to Breitbart and then Sen Cruz used it against Hagel in the confirmation hearing.  BTW it seems Cruz never apologized for using a phony report. Now Breitbart has reported the false rumors of a Krugman Bankruptcy while the Washington Post only has the Palin story on joining Al Jazeera as their satirical story passing for fact. Breibart is now one up on the Washington Post with a score of 2-1.

I sat and laughed at this article from Raw Story on the Krugman Bankruptcy. It confirms the obvious that  Breitbart never bothered to check if this story was true or not.

If you have a story to plant on the right, just go to Breitbart because their fact checking is missing.  Karl Rove must love Breitbart since he enjoys planting stories but come to think of it as hard right as Breitbart has become, they might not take a Rove story like the Washington Post, Washington Times, or NY Daily News would.

Breitbart uses satire website to smear Krugman with false bankruptcy report
By David Edwards
Monday, March 11, 2013 10:56 EDT  

Breitbart.com’s Big Journalism website on Monday fell for a fake report on a satire website which claimed that Nobel Price-winning economist had filed for bankruptcy.
Business Insider reported that Big Journalism’s Larry O’Connor ran with the satirical report from The Daily Currant in an effort to smear Krugman. 

Although Breitbart.com deleted the story — without posting an explanation — a copy preserved by Media Matters did not indicate that O’Connor had attempted to verify the report.
“Apparently this Keynsian [sic] thing doesn’t really work on the micro level,” the Breitbart columnist snarked. 

In a tweet, O’Connor blamed a March 7 report by The Boston Globe‘s website, which linked to a report in Austria’s Format website that cited the satirical Daily Currant. 

By Monday, the Format report has been updated to note that the source was a satirical website and that “the truth of the message accordingly low,” but the Globe‘s report had not been corrected by the time of publication.

Excerpts:  Read More at Raw Story

Then there is this from The American Spectator who is truly disappointed it wasn't true:

Earlier this morning, Breitbart News had posted an article about Paul Krugman filing for bankruptcy after years of lavish spending, seeming to show the irony of someone recommending big spending being done in by those policies on a personal level. 

It is a story that has been making its way around the web for a few days, and was picked up at the relatively reputable Boston.com except that it appears to have been posted by a blogger rather than a reporter. That blogger picked up the story from an Austrian magazine, Format. The Austrian magazine noted at the end of the piece that they got the story from the web site The Daily Currant which is a satire site, like an online version of The Onion. 

In short, the story about Krugman going bankrupt is an amusing bit of satire, one which many non-leftists might hope to be true — but which isn’t true. 

If you see the story being passed around as fact, you are now armed with the truth. I don’t like seeing “our side” passing around untruths because it makes us seem less credible. To be clear, the story was obviously explicitly satire given the source, and the fault with making it seem as if it were a real story lies with those who aren’t doing the one minute of fact-checking needed to recognize where it came from.

Another site to add to the lack of fact checking - Boston.com according to Business Insider who actually captured the screen shot of their report:

Boston.com's version was taken down early this afternoon. It appeared to originate from The Prudent Investor blog, which sourced Austria's format magazine. Here's a screenshot of what Boston.com's piece looked like:

Boston.com

Read more: Business Insider



While the right over the years has accused the left wing media of being biased, they have now caught up and seem to have taken it to a new low with running articles with no basis in fact.  When you are posting satirical articles as legitimate, maybe it is time to take a hard look at your organization because it has jumped the rails when satire passes for facts.

This is a sad commentary on the state of affairs for so-called journalism on the right starting with Fox News which it would take several blog posts to detail the lies and spin that come out of Fox anchors on a daily basis.  Murdoch has taken a once reliable business journal, The Wall Street Journal, and made it a laughingstock since he took over.  Their pages sometimes have the integrity of a gnat.  The day big business was allowed to own so many media outlets is the day that journalistic integrity started taking a real hit.

The mantra from the right that it is fault of the Mainstream Media just doesn't fly today -- it is a tired, worn out narrative that people have caught on to but the GOP still uses it today.  Another reason the GOP as a Party is in trouble - they have trouble with recognizing the truth.

Must admit at the end of the day, this whole debacle started by The Daily Currant, a satire site, has left me chuckling.  It is Monday, day after daylight savings time, and for the first time in years, I am laughing at reports of the Krugman bankruptcy being false instead of moaning about daylight savings time has started.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is on the Ground in Afghanistan Today

“That transition has to be done right,” Mr. Hagel said. “It has to be done in partnership with the Afghans, with our allies.” He emphasized the importance of “our continued focus and energy and attention on Afghanistan” even as the number of American troops sharply declines. 

The fact that Secretary of Defense Hagel is now on the ground in Afghanistan to visit the War Zone "in a surprise visit" should not surprise anyone as he is going to be a proactive Secretary of Defense for President Obama.

World News Syndicated New US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel in Kabul on surprise visit 

NEW US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel landed in Afghanistan on Friday on an unannounced visit nine days after he was sworn into office, vowing to ensure a successful withdrawal of international troops. 

Mr Hagel arrived in Kabul as the US-led military coalition prepares to pull out by the end of next year and leave Afghan security forces to battle the Taliban insurgency that has raged across the south and east of the country.

What I didn't realize was his last visit to Afghanistan as a Senator was made with then Senator Obama.  No wonder he was Obama's pick to be Secretary of Defense.  Obama knows he can trust Hagel as well as sharing similar views on the military.

His most recent visit was in July 2008, when he accompanied a Democratic senator from Illinois — Barack Obama, who as president nominated Mr. Hagel to his current post. Since retiring from the Senate in 2009, Mr. Hagel has not been as directly involved in Afghan policy as was his predecessor, Leon E. Panetta, who arrived at the Pentagon from a tour as C.I.A. director.

Secretary of Defense Hagel traveled to Afghanistan as ForeignPolicy.com put it:

"Sgt Hagel visits troops in Afghanistan" 

That is exactly what makes him the perfect choice for Secretary of Defense - he knows what it is like to be that infantryman on the ground.  The E-4 flying Command Post was used for the visit to Afghanistan by the Secretary of Defense:

Chillin' on the Doomsday. Hagel is on his first trip on the famed E-4B Airborne Command Post, a 1970s-vintage "survivable" flying command center from which the defense secretary can "execute emergency war orders" and is known affectionately as the "Doomsday" plane for its Cold War-era capabilities, antiquated-looking telephones, leaky roof and oddly-long tail antennae. Hagel, who's known for vectoring in on whatever enlisted people are around, visited with the Doomsday's Nebraska-based crew - Nebraska being his home state. "He mingled with them, the press corps, and the traveling DoD delegation," Situation Report is told. And began his remarks to the press with a tribute to the Doomsday's crew. 

Love the description of the E-4B which has been undergoing major upgrades and overhaul by Boeing - should have been upgraded long before the boondoggle of the F-22 and F-35 which were the brain child of the fighter pilots who move up the ranks with their 'shiny and new' philosophy.  Global Security has the unclassified information on the E-4B and its status.

Our troops have to be very happy to see SecDef Hagel because he has walked in their shoes during Vietnam  -- they know he will put the men and women of our Armed Forces with their safety first.  Obama will be getting a fair and honest assessment of the reality of what is being faced with the draw down in Afghanistan.  Hagel is a straight shooter who will deliver the facts to the President so he can make informed decisions.

New Defense Chief Visits ‘Reality of Combat’ in AfghanistanBy THOM SHANKER 

Published: March 8, 2013  

KABUL, Afghanistan — In his first overseas trip as defense secretary, Chuck Hagel landed Friday in Afghanistan, a country fast fading from political debate and public interest at home, but where 66,000 American troops continue to experience what he described as “the ugly reality of combat and the heat of battle.”  

“We are still at war,” said Mr. Hagel, who earned two Purple Hearts while serving as a combat infantryman in Vietnam. 

Before landing in the Afghan capital, Mr. Hagel said a significant focus of his visit would be assessing the detailed plans for transferring responsibility for security to the central government, army and the police here by the time the NATO combat mission expires in December 2014 (snip)

Mr. Hagel has visited Afghanistan four times before, while serving as a Republican senator from Nebraska. His first trip, in January 2002, came just a month after the rout of Al Qaeda fighters and the Taliban government that had provided Osama bin Laden safe haven. 

(snip)

Given the evolving mission, Mr. Hagel acknowledged that another goal for his visit was “to better understand where we are in Afghanistan” as the American and allied role shifts from combat to a mission focused on training and advising. 

“Even as we move into more of a support role, this remains a dangerous and difficult mission,” Mr. Hagel said in a separate statement to American and coalition personnel issued upon his arrival. “But the goal we have established — to have Afghans assume full responsibility for security by the end of 2014 — is clear and achievable.

Read More at NY Times
 

Hate and Extremism has NO Place in the United States

Since Obama’s first term, our numbers have doubled and now we’re headed to a second term, it’s going to triple,” one Virginia Klansman told WTVR-TV in Richmond. 

Some of us who were Republican have been complaining about the hard right extremist groups for years that are anti-government and filled with hate.  That was in the late 90's when we went after them on conservative sites for their hate rhetoric and anti-government talk.  That was nothing compared to the hate groups today which have exploded all over the Country since President Obama was elected.  Some of it is because he is black but it is also an excuse for the people in the shadows to become more mainstream in the Republican Party.  Started with the Koch Bros Tea Party movement which was orchestrated not something that grew out of dissent - hatred became the name of the game for a lot of these people who took to the streets demanding their rights be returned when they hadn't been taken.

Some of the usual hard right loons stepped up to the plate with their hate rhetoric to drive some of these hate filled groups even harder right.  Today if I see the word 'Patriot' in an email, I automatically assume it is hard right and get off their mailing list.  I have never signed up to any Patriot group but I keep getting added.  Someone has sold mailing lists -- RNC and local State GOP is my guess.  These people are scary with their comments that are not true (my bold):

“Freedom ends. Tyranny begins,” tweeted Fox News Radio host Todd Starnes. “Get ready,” TeaParty.org said. “Right now government gun grabbing plans are being covertly organized.” 

“MARTIAL LAW IN THE UNITED STATES IS NOW A VERY REAL POSSIBILITY!” added the ConservativeDaily.com’s Tony Adkins, responding to Obama’s use of executive orders to further gun control with a doomsday prediction that could have come straight from the Patriot movement. “SUSPENSION OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION IS A VERY REAL POSSIBILITY!” The Conservative Monster, a similar website, concluded that the president was conspiring with a variety of foreign enemies “to force Socialism on the American people.” 

Even further to the right, the reaction was more intense yet.... 

Chuck Baldwin, a Montana-based Patriot leader long associated with the Constitution Party, made the unusual claim that Christ had ordered his disciples to carry “their own personal arms” and vowed to refuse to register or surrender his firearms. The Oath Keepers, a conspiracy-oriented Patriot group of current and former military and law enforcement officials, issued a threat — “MESSAGE TO THE OATH BREAKERS AND TRAITORS: We will never disarm” — and added that gun control plans were “unconstitutional filth.” Judicial Watch founder Larry Klayman called the proposals “a declaration of war against the American people” and demanded “liberation” from the “evil clutches” of proponents.

Anyone who knows me know that I have zero respect for Chuck Baldwin or Larry Klayman who is nothing but a media hog out to make his own millions using any cause that will help him make money.  Frankly think the all mighty dollar drives a lot of these so-called leaders with their radical comments.

The John Birch Society that the Koch Bros Dad helped found was kicked out of the Republican Party but now it is back and has a voice in the GOP?  Koch Bros seemed to have bought and paid for the GOP today which would explain some of the extremism in the GOP Platform:

The latest and most dramatic example of that may be the completely baseless claim that Agenda 21 — a United Nations sustainability plan that was signed by President George H.W. Bush but has no mandatory provisions whatsoever — is part of a plan to impose socialism on America and strip away private property rights. 

That claim has been pushed heavily by, among others, the John Birch Society, a conspiracist Patriot organization that was exiled from the conservative movement a half century ago after claiming President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a Communist agent.... "Last year, the Republican National Committee passed a plank opposing Agenda 21 and describing it as a “destructive and insidious scheme” to impose “socialist/communist redistribution of wealth.” The state of Alabama passed a law barring any policies traceable to Agenda 21 without “due process.” 

RNC passed a plank about Agenda 21 a UN sustainability plan with no mandatory provisions?  Get that NO MANDATORY PROVISIONS yet it ends up in the GOP Platform like the Government wants to impose "socialist/communist redistribution of wealth."

With all of this, how can today's Republican Party be shocked they are losing long time members and activists.  Some have their heads buried in the sand and refuse to admit they have lost their original base who had common sense to be replaced by some really scary people who want to take to the streets to defend their homes against the Government that is not coming to take anything.  These people are being preyed on by the ilk of the hard right and don't even realize that are being used because they have become so mad they refuse to listen to reason.  Facts mean nothing it is the narrative which is frankly frightening.

People like Wayne LaPierre (NRA), Sarah Palin, Rand Paul, Larry Klayman, Chuck Baldwin, Hannity, Rush, Glen Beck, and most of Fox Entertainment News for starters know better but are pushing their hate rhetoric to these people who believe what they say.  It is despicable but also very scary that the hard right media is stirring all this up because a black man was elected President instead of one of their chosen ones?  Small minded, despicable people IMHO who I wouldn't walk across the street to hear speak, buy one of their books, or watch on my TV.  Hate mongering is not welcome in my home.

This new report out by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on Hate and Extremism Groups should make everyone stop and think that this could end very badly.  Time for everyone to ask what they can to help diffuse the situation.  Hate filled right talk radio with an agenda and narrative not facts needs to go the way of the dinosaur.  There should be some law that says you cannot spew lies day after day to enrage/incite listeners to the point they want to go take action against other people or the Government.  The days of right wing talk radio being entertainment are gone - now it is hate filled.

Have excerpted parts of the the synopsis of the SPLC below which gives me chills but it is only a synopsis to their full report on Hate and Extremism in America:

The Year in Hate and Extremism
By Mark Potok, Senior Fellow, Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) 

Capping four years of explosive growth sparked by the election of America’s first black president and anger over the economy, the number of conspiracy-minded antigovernment “Patriot” groups reached an all-time high of 1,360 in 2012, while the number of hard-core hate groups remained above 1,000. As President Obama enters his second term with an agenda of gun control and immigration reform, the rage on the right is likely to intensify. 

The furious reaction to the Obama administration’s gun control proposals is reminiscent of the anger that greeted the passage of the 1993 Brady Bill and the 1994 ban on assault weapons supported by another relatively liberal Democrat — Bill Clinton. The passage of those bills, along with what was seen by the right as the federal government’s violent suppression of political dissidents at Waco, Texas, and Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in the early 1990s, led to the first wave of the Patriot movement that burst into public consciousness with the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The number of Patriot groups in that era peaked in 1996 at 858, more than 500 groups fewer than the number active in 2012. 

For many, the election of America’s first black president symbolizes the country’s changing demographics, with the loss of its white majority predicted by 2043. (In 2011, for the first time, non-white births outnumbered the births of white children.) But the backlash to that trend predates Obama’s presidency by many years. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of hate groups rose from 602 to more than 1,000, where the count remains today. Now that comprehensive immigration reform is poised to legitimize and potentially accelerate the country’s demographic change, the backlash to that change may accelerate as well.

(snip) 

The Hysteria MountsEven before the Dec. 14 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, gun and ammunition sales shot up in the wake of the re-election of the country’s first black president, the result of shrill conspiracy theories about Obama’s secret plans to confiscate Americans’ guns. When the killings actually did spark gun control efforts that clearly had not been in the Obama administration’s plans, the reaction on the political right was so harsh that it seemed to border on hysteria. 

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) proposed a law that would nullify any executive gun control actions by Obama, accusing the president of having a “king complex.” U.S. Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.) said the president could be impeached for those actions. State lawmakers in Arizona, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee proposed laws that sought to prevent federal gun control from applying to their states. 

Richard Mack, a former Arizona sheriff who sued the Clinton administration over the Brady Bill’s imposition of background checks on gun buyers, claimed that of 200 sheriffs he’d met with, most “have said they would lay down their lives first rather than allow any more federal control.” Matt Barber of the anti-gay Liberty Counsel said he feared that the nation, which he described as already on the brink of civil unrest, was headed for “a second civil war.” 

(snip)  

Progress and BacklashesEven before serious talk of gun control began in Washington, the far right was already in something of a meltdown in the immediate aftermath of Obama’s re-election, which came to many who got their campaign news from right-wing sources as a jarring shock. Hundreds of thousands of Americans signed petitions seeking the secession of each of the 50 states. Right-wing outfits like TeaParty.org said a “Communist coup” was under way. The anti-gay Family Research Council charged Obama with “dismantling” the country. 

Polling after the election showed how broad antipathy toward President Obama remained in a deeply polarized America. A Public Policy Poll survey found that 49% of all Republicans believed that ACORN — a community organizing group that went belly up in 2010 after attacks from the far right — had stolen the election from Mitt Romney. A quarter of GOP members in the same poll favored secession. A January 2013 poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind project found that 36% of all Americans still don’t believe Obama is a citizen, despite the 2011 release of the president’s “long-form” birth certificate. 

As they did in 2008 and 2009, groups on the radical right clearly benefited from that antipathy. “Since Obama’s first term, our numbers have doubled and now we’re headed to a second term, it’s going to triple,” one Virginia Klansman told WTVR-TV in Richmond. Daniel Miller, president of the secessionist Texas National Movement, said that his membership shot up 400% after Obama’s re-election. White News Now, a website run by white supremacist Jamie Kelso, said that it had had “an incredible year” in the run-up to the vote, reaching more people than ever. 

To the surprise of many prognosticators, anti-black racism in America — not just that limited to the far right — actually rose over the four years of Obama’s first term, according to a 2012 Associated Press poll. The poll found 51% of Americans expressed explicitly anti-black attitudes, compared to 48% in 2008, while 56% showed implicitly anti-black attitudes, up from 49% four years earlier. Another AP poll, in 2011, found that 52% of non-Latino whites expressed explicitly anti-Latino attitudes, a figure that rose to 59% when measured by an implicit attitudes test.

(snip)

The American Family Association issued predictions for the future that included the claims that conservative Christians will be treated like African Americans before the civil rights movement, that the state will take charge of children at birth, and that cities with names like St. Petersburg will be forced to change their names. Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality said the 2012 election of openly gay Tammy Baldwin to a Senate seat representing Wisconsin signaled that America is “falling apart.” The volume of these kinds of comments seemed higher than ever before. 

Conspiracies and Terror 

Another factor driving the expansion of the radical right over the last decade or so has been the mainstreaming of formerly marginal conspiracy theories. The latest and most dramatic example of that may be the completely baseless claim that Agenda 21 — a United Nations sustainability plan that was signed by President George H.W. Bush but has no mandatory provisions whatsoever — is part of a plan to impose socialism on America and strip away private property rights. 

That claim has been pushed heavily by, among others, the John Birch Society, a conspiracist Patriot organization that was exiled from the conservative movement a half century ago after claiming President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a Communist agent (see story, p. 24)."Last year, the Republican National Committee passed a plank opposing Agenda 21 and describing it as a “destructive and insidious scheme” to impose “socialist/communist redistribution of wealth.” The state of Alabama passed a law barring any policies traceable to Agenda 21 without “due process.” 

The radical right last year produced more than its fair share of political violence. Most dramatically, a neo-Nazi gunman stormed into a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, murdering six people before killing himself. In Georgia, meanwhile, officials arrested 10 people, most of them active-duty military, who were allegedly part of a plot to take over the Army’s Fort Stewart, among many other things. The group is accused of murdering two former members suspected of talking. 

Then, this January, an Alabama high school student was arrested for allegedly plotting to attack his black and gay classmates and bomb his school. Former friends of the student said he and a group of up to 11 other students regularly shouted “white power” and gave stiff-arm Nazi salutes in the halls of their Seale, Ala., school but were ignored by school officials and security officers. 

These were only the latest incidents of just over 100 domestic radical-right plots, conspiracies and racist rampages that the SPLC has counted since the Oklahoma City bombing left 168 men, women and children dead in 1995. 

Now, it seems likely that the radical right’s growth will continue. In 2012, before Obama’s re-election and the Newtown, Conn., massacre, the rate of Patriot growth had slackened somewhat, although it remained significant. Anger over the idea of four more years under a black, Democratic president — and, even more explosively, the same kinds of gun control efforts that fueled the militia movement of the 1990s — seems already to be fomenting another Patriot spurt. 

Even before the election last year, self-described Patriots sounded ready for action. “Our Federal Government is just a tool of International Socialism now, operating under UN Agendas not our American agenda,” the United States Patriots Union wrote last year in a letter “sent to ALL conservative state legislators, all states.” “This means that freedom and liberty must be defended by the states under their Constitutional Balance of Power, or we are headed to Civil War wherein the people will have no choice but to take matters into their own hands.”

Excerpts:  Read the full synopsis at SPLC

If you witness anything out of the ordinary in your community that could lead to a tragic event like the Murrah Bombing in Oklahoma City which was perpetrated by domestic terrorists with ties to the militia movement, please get in contact with federal authorities in your state - FBI is a good place to start or the US Attorney's office who will protect your identity.  This is not something to take lightly as you will read in this report:

Terror From the Right: Plots, Conspiracies and Racist Rampages Since Oklahoma City

At 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995, a 7,000-pound truck bomb, constructed of ammonium nitrate fertilizer and nitromethane racing fuel and packed into 13 plastic barrels, ripped through the heart of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The explosion wrecked much of downtown Oklahoma City and killed 168 people, including 19 children in a day-care center. Another 500 were injured. Although many Americans initially suspected an attack by Middle Eastern radicals, it quickly became clear that the mass murder had actually been carried out by domestic, right-wing terrorists. 

The slaughter engineered by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, men steeped in the conspiracy theories and white-hot fury of the American radical right, marked the opening shot in a new kind of domestic political extremism — a revolutionary ideology whose practitioners do not hesitate to carry out attacks directed at entirely innocent victims, people selected essentially at random to make a political point. After Oklahoma, it was no longer sufficient for many American right-wing terrorists to strike at a target of political significance — instead, they reached for higher and higher body counts, reasoning that they had to eclipse McVeigh's attack to win attention. 

What follows is a detailed listing of major terrorist plots and racist rampages that have emerged from the American radical right in the years since Oklahoma City. These have included plans to bomb government buildings, banks, refineries, utilities, clinics, synagogues, mosques, memorials and bridges; to assassinate police officers, judges, politicians, civil rights figures and others; to rob banks, armored cars and other criminals; and to amass illegal machine guns, missiles, explosives and biological and chemical weapons. Each of these plots aimed to make changes in America through the use of political violence. Most contemplated the deaths of large numbers of people — in one case, as many as 30,000, or 10 times the number murdered on Sept. 11, 2001.Here are the stories of plots, conspiracies and racist rampages since 1995 — plots and violence waged against a democratic America.   

See details at SPLC

With living in Norman just south of Oklahoma City, have been to the Bombing Memorial and Museum countless times.  Also was at the University of Oklahoma Football Game when the 'lone suicide' bomber blew himself up instead of the stadium when they wouldn't let him enter the stadium at halftime.  It took 18 trips to ammo dump by the City of Norman/Cleveland County Sheriff to remove all the explosives from his apartment.  I live five miles away ammo dump but when they blew up the chemicals, it rattled my windows.  They made 18 trips because if it blew it up in one trip, it would have taken out at least a city block.

With that in mind, I am probably a little more tuned in then some people about the possibility of homegrown terrorists but it is a fact they exists and the hard right media is helping rile them up along with hard right of the Republican Party.  This needs to stop now which is not going to happen when there is money to be made from sale of guns, etc.  However, it is our responsibility as American citizens to try and keep any more domestic terrorists attacks from happening.  Implore everyone to be aware of your surroundings and not be afraid to report something that is not right.  Honest people are not going to be arrested but you could maybe save a life including your own by asking law enforcement to please check out a situation that could get out of hand.

Maybe everyone should be required to visit the Bombing Memorial and see the cubicles of the people murdered that display their treasured items with pictures and see the children that were murdered in that bombing.  Children have a right to expect protection from harm but as we saw at Sandy Hook Elementary when those first graders were gunned down, there are some sick people in the world with guns in their hands or in the case of the Murrah Building - bombs.

Enough of my lecture for one day, but I am not through as you will be hearing this same theme over and over again.  We need to stop the HATE NOW!

Oklahoma Governor Fallin Accepts Delivery from Chrysler of CNG Dodge Ram Trucks

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin is taking the first step in bringing the State of Oklahoma fleet of vehicles into the 21st Century with taking delivery today of 242 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Pickup Trucks.  Cannot even fathom the amount of money that will be saved by OK State Government over the years by not having the large bills for gasoline used to power the fleet.  All I know is when I drive by the CNG fill up station in Norman, the price per gallon is around $1.25 compared to over $3.45 for regular gas.  

City of Norman is converting to CNG garbage trucks.  University of Oklahoma started the trend as the only CNG station was on the North Base of the University as they converted to CNG for their vehicles except the big semi's used for athletics.  Then it spread to the City of Norman for its vehicles and now State Government. CNG fill-up stations have sprung up around Oklahoma.

Was so happy to see that Governor Fallin counted this a priority when she took office.  She started working with Democrat Colorado Governor Hickenlooper - since then other states have joined in the effort to convert state fleets to CNG to save a lot of money.  Maybe the Federal fleet of vehicles should be doing the same thing since it is a lot cheaper. 

Last year (2011) , Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, a Republican, banded together with Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado to propose a multi-state initiative to add natural gas vehicles to state fleets. 

The initiative has gained support from governors from thirteen other states, and in April this year those governors sent requests to major automakers to express their interest in the vehicles.

That 15 states has now grown to 22.  The winning bid was announced in the fall and now Governor Fallin has taken delivery of 242 Dodge Ram trucks for the State Fleet.  This is a perfect example of what can be done when Governors of both parties meet and work for the common good of their states.  Shame the obstructionist in Congress don't see the value of working together for the good of America.

We may have our crazy politics in the State Legislature and some of the people sent to Congress.  We also have some forward looking leaders.  A lot of our electricity comes from wind farms owned Oklahoma Gas & Electric who is also instituting the smart grid with smart meters in four years with stimulus money instead of five.  It has become a model for other power companies.  OGE with wind power will not have to build new coal fired power plants - green energy is alive and well in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin: " An exciting day as we accept delivery of

CNG Dodge Ram trucks that will be used by @OKDOT & other state agencies!"

Chrysler Group LLC Begins Delivery of 242 Ram Compressed Natural Gas Pickup Trucks to State of Oklahoma

March 6, 2013 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Chrysler Group LLC announced today that it has begun the delivery of 242 new 2013 Ram 2500 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) pickup trucks to the state of Oklahoma, the Company’s largest customer order since production of the unique trucks began in October. 

Peter Grady, Vice President of Network Development and Fleet – Chrysler Group LLC, presented the keys to one of the Ram 2500 CNG pickups to Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin today at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) in Oklahoma City. 

The Ram 2500 CNG is the only OEM-built compressed natural gas-powered pickup truck in North America. ODOT will use the Ram CNG pickups primarily as service trucks on the state’s roads and highways.

Gov. Fallin is leading a bipartisan coalition of 22 states seeking to use more CNG vehicles in their state fleets. CNG-powered trucks offer cost and emissions benefits, using an abundant, domestically-sourced fuel, which reduces America’s dependence on foreign oil. CNG lessens the environmental impact of greenhouse gas and reduces smog-producing pollutants up to 90 percent.

The governor announced the CNG project at the inaugural Governor’s Energy Conference in 2011. Since then, Gov. Fallin has worked with other state officials and governors, met with automobile manufacturers, including Chrysler Group, and issued and received bids for more affordable CNG vehicles for use in state fleets. 

“Chrysler Group is delighted that we can deliver these unique Ram pickup trucks today to Gov. Fallin, a steadfast champion in the use of compressed natural gas vehicles in state fleets,” Grady said. “Through the governor’s tireless efforts to form a coalition of states, 13 Ram Truck dealers have landed contracts with 19 states to supply their fleets with the new Ram 2500 CNG pickup trucks.”

The Ram CNG pickups delivered today were purchased by the state of Oklahoma through John Vance Motors, a Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Truck dealership in Guthrie, Okla., north of Oklahoma City.

“Converting the state’s fleet to CNG will save taxpayers millions of dollars in fuel costs,” Gov. Fallin said. “The use of cleaner-burning CNG fuel is good for the environment and promotes Oklahoma-made natural gas which in turn supports the creation of more Oklahoma jobs. Our multi-state bidding process was aimed at encouraging automakers to provide states with more affordable and more functional CNG vehicles. We are very thankful for the team at Chrysler for their help and leadership throughout that process. The state of Oklahoma is excited to add quality CNG trucks to our state fleets from manufacturers like Chrysler.”

The Ram 2500 CNG is actually a bi-fuel vehicle that uses compressed natural gas as its primary fuel source, but automatically switches to gasoline when the CNG tanks are emptied. In use, the Ram CNG transitions from one fuel to the other with little discernible difference in operation or capability.

“These are heavy-duty trucks and we have highway crews in every county in the state who will put them to work immediately,” said Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation Gary Ridley. “I’m grateful that ODOT has the opportunity to work with Governor Fallin and the auto industry to cut costs and improve our operations.”

In vehicles, CNG achieves nearly identical mileage figures as unleaded regular gasoline – with a retail cost more than 50 percent lower than the average price of a gallon of gasoline. The Ram 2500 CNG system was fully engineered and tested by Chrysler Group and assembled at the company’s Heavy Duty truck plant in Saltillo, Mexico. Production of the Ram 2500 CNG began in late October in the Saltillo plant. ### Additional information and news from Chrysler Group LLC is available at: http://www.media.chrysler.com

All Signs Point to Koch Brothers Owning the Republican Party along with Congressional Republicans

Given their strict adherence to the principals of transparent free markets, the Kochs’ secrecy seems hypocritical. 

The United States Government has been in a period of  orchestrated chaos by Koch's and others since the 2008 elections when the economy tanked following the massive spending during the Bush 43 years.  We have never heard so much about a debt ceiling being held hostage until recent years.No wonder President Bush prefers to paint rather than get involved after the economic mess he left for President Obama to clean up.  The worst thing that happened to this Country IMHO was the bought and paid for Republicans taking back the House of Representatives in 2010 as it has been nothing but orchestrated chaos made even worse with their obstructionists tactics.  It was bad enough with the GOP filibusters in the Senate but the House has made a mockery of governing preferring to be in DC for only 3 days a week.

If you have any doubt who is in charge of today's Republican Party and members of Congress, read about the email the John Bircher/Libertarian leaning Koch Bros' front group, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) sent out.  Koch Bros have been working on this for years to take over the GOP by getting hard right Ayn Rand supporting people elected to all levels of Government.  Their Dad was a founder of the John Birch Society along with Harry Bradley, the anti-union head of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.

They Kochs and other wealthy donors have finally done it - they have bought themselves a political party, The GOP, and the Republicans  in Congress making sure their puppets Boehner and McConnell stay in charge to do their bidding.  Boehner should be ashamed to even face the hard working farmers along with the blue collar workers that permeate his district.  He wasn't raised like that but it seems greed and power have changed the man into a spineless puppet of the Koch Bros.  A lot of that going around the Republican Caucus today as spineless puppets represent the Republican Party in Congress and around the Country.

In an email, Koch brothers’ front group, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), sent congratulations to Republicans and their supporters around the country for helping push sequester cuts AFP says are “an important step forward for economic growth.” The email continued, “Americans for Prosperity thanks Speaker John Boehner and House Republicans for standing up to President Obama and making sure the $85 billion in much-needed sequester spending cuts took effect,” and it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Koch brothers and Republicans own the sequester and are giddy at the prospect of a recession and killing millions of jobs. One aspect of sequester cuts little mentioned is that the devastating $85 billion for 2013 is just the beginning of greater domestic spending cuts, devastating effects on anti-poverty programs, Medicare, and without cessation, the end of recovery. 

The sequester is a ten year plan that cuts $1.2 trillion across the board, and because they began in March, $85 billion is about 70% of the next nine years of cuts coming in at about $123.88 billion every year. It spells the end of recovery because experts estimate that by the end of 2013, $85 billion in cuts means nearly a million jobs will vanish, and GDP will fall between .7% and 1.7% in the first year alone. Kochs, AFP, teabaggers, and Republicans are celebrating austerity that deliberately tanks the economy, creates massive poverty, and all to avoid closing tax loopholes for the richest people in America. Republicans claimed 2013 sequester cuts would devastate the economy, and yet they are celebrating nine more years of 30% higher cuts, and are a reminder of the damage Willard Romney would have imposed. Romney took time to weigh in on the sequester and accuse the President of campaigning instead of working with Republicans to avert the cuts they were destined to enact. 

According to Willard, “The president brings people together, does the deals, does the trades…the president leads, and I don’t see that kind of leadership happening. He’s campaigning.” Romney also suspected President Obama blamed Republicans for rejecting attempts to avert the sequester because “there may be more interest in showing pain in saying, See what the other guys did?” President Obama did attempt to trade, deal, lead, and bring Republicans together, but the sequester was the means Republicans used to impose austerity, and unless Obama agreed to void defense cuts and replace them with more austerity and domestic cuts, the sequester was going forward as part of Republicans’ four-year war on the economy. 

(snip) 

Republicans won the austerity battle, and Americans will now know what it feels like to live in “socialist Europe” that imposed austerity, massive unemployment, negative growth, double and triple-dip recessions, and no hope for recovery anytime soon. Maybe there were two bits of good news yesterday after all; Willard is not president, and  sequester damage in 2013 will be the least for the next ten years. Because if $85 billion is devastating, kills a million jobs, and cuts GDP by a percentage point,  then nine years of $123.88 billion each will certainly eviscerate the economy; it was Republicans’ plan all along. It is just tragic, though, that they imposed austerity by injecting two words into every discussion about the economy; deficit reduction. It’s no wonder teabaggers, Republicans, and Americans for Prosperity are celebrating and congratulating each other; they won with two words.

Excerpt:  Read More at Politicususa 

Congratulating themselves on putting people out of work -- way to go.  Now the House Budget Committee wants to restore the cuts to the DoD while social programs continue to suffer.  There are some crude terms you could use but in the end suffice it to say they are trying to take care of their other puppet masters Big Defense contractors.  How much are the wealthy GOP donors invested in the defense industry?  The Republicans in Congress will sacrifice education, benefits to the poor, children, women, seniors, college students to prop up Big Defense because they donate to GOP causes.  Just wait until they see the oil, gas, and coal subsidies from the Government start to go away - the screeching will be unbearable from the GOP in Congress as it is another sector that has bought their votes.

This is the worst bunch of Republicans I have seen in my lifetime.  I am sure that Abraham Lincoln must be spinning in his grave as he free'd the slaves and now the Koch Bros want to force minorities into segregated schools.  Their aim is to make schools private instead of public so they can control the curriculum and make money from private schools.  An article after the election in the Dec 24, 2012, issue of Forbes magazine on the Koch Bros goes into in-depth coverage of their plan for reshaping America -- frankly scares me they are close to getting their way.

Koch Bros have taken over The Republican Party and now want to take over America. The voters in 2014 are standing in their way as Democrats, Independents, and Republicans join together to defeat the Koch Brothers and other wealthy Republican donor candidates/incumbents.  It is important to know your enemy which is the Koch Bros and their wealthy friends out to protect tax loopholes for themselves on the backs of the middle class and poor who they see no need to help.  Ask yourself why you would ever vote for a Republican after reading this article on the Koch Empire.  My guess is that you won't!

Here are some excerpts from the article by Daniel Fisher entitled, Inside The Koch Empire: How The Brothers Plan To Reshape America:

The November elections–which David, in a separate interview shortly after the results were finalized, termed “bitterly disappointing”–seem to confirm Charles’ last point. Not even the Koch brothers, who spent tens of millions of dollars during this election cycle (they won’t disclose the exact amount) funding direct political contributions and issue-driven “nonprofits,” could coerce voters to back their candidates. Mitt Romney’s loss was a huge blow to them, both in terms of likely policy outcomes and personal reputation. 

But those who think the brothers, older and chastened, will now fade away don’t understand the Kochs. Not a bit. Obama’s victory was just a blip on a master plan measured in decades, not election cycles. “We raised a lot of money and mobilized an awful lot of people, and we lost, plain and simple,” says David. “We’re going to study what worked, what didn’t work, and improve our efforts in the future. We’re not going to roll over and play dead.”

The goal has always been, Charles says, “true democracy,” where people “can run their own lives and choose what they want to buy, choose how to spend their money.” (“Now in our democracy you elect somebody every two to four years and they tell you how to run your life,” he says.) Both Kochs innately understand that–unlike the populist appeal of their fellow midwestern billionaire Warren Buffett and his tax-the-rich advocacy–their message of pure, raw capitalism is a much tougher sell, even among capitalists.

So their revolution has been an evolution, with roots going back half a century to Koch’s first contributions to libertarian causes and Republican candidates. In the mid-1970s their business of changing minds got more formal when Charles cofounded what became the Cato Institute, the first major libertarian think tank. Based in Washington, it has 120 employees devoted to promoting property rights, educational choice and economic freedom. In 1978 the brothers helped found–and still fund–George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, the go-to academy for deregulation; they have funded the Federalist Society, which shapes conservative judicial thinking; the pro-market Heritage Foundation; a California-based center skeptical of human-driven climate change; and many other institutions. 

All of these organizations, unknown to 99% of the population, and their common source of support, unknown to most of the rest, have provided the grist for conservative thinking since Reagan. It’s a measure of Koch’s success that 40 years after Richard Nixon was stumping for national health insurance, Paul Ryan’s Ayn Rand-tinged economics are just a little right of center. That the Supreme Court’s conservative majority led by Chief Justice John Roberts has issued a number of pro-property rights, anti-government decisions in recent years that read like they came straight out of a Federalist Society position paper. That when George W. Bush sought a watchdog on regulation costs, he appointed a top Mercatus executive. And none of this was accidental–it just took millions of dollars over decades of time. You can see the same process at work in David’s quest to find a cure for cancer. A prostate cancer survivor like the rest of his brothers, he has given $215 million to fight the disease so far, including $100 million to fund his own research center at MIT.

First, it displays the muscle that comes from having a private company that has no net debt and that spews out cash. Charles spent $6 billion upfront to buy Georgia-Pacific, and rather than satisfy quarterly earnings estimates or dividend-hungry investors, he immediately directed the new division’s cash flow toward paying down the $15 billion in liabilities that it inherited. “Like we should pay dividends and borrow big money?” Charles asks, before answering his own rhetorical question: “That puts the company at risk.” 

More critically, it reveals the business roots of their worldview. Koch Industries essentially applies the ideas of Friedrich Hayek to the art of making money. Hayek, the dean of the so-called Austrian School of economists, celebrated the chaos of decentralized decision-making as a way for every individual to decide what’s in his or her best self-interest. So while ownership is concentrated in the hands of two men, Charles–who has had management control since his father designated him as chief executive in 1967–tries to train each of the company’s 60,000 employees to act as if they own the portion of the business they oversee. The Kochs have trademarked their take on Hayek: Market Based Management.

Koch Industries has no centralized pay scale. It doesn’t peg bonuses to firm-wide profitability, and even the salaries of machine operators are often calculated in part on how efficiently they run the processes they oversee. Middle managers can earn far more than their base salary in bonuses, which are determined partly by the long-term return on the capital they invest. Market Based Management dictates that they can earn far more by turning around a faltering business than playing it safe in a consistently profitable one. “We try to evaluate how much value an employee is creating here and reward them accordingly,” says Charles, in an inversion of Marx’s famous equation.

Given their strict adherence to the principals of transparent free markets, the Kochs’ secrecy seems hypocritical. While Charles has never been shy about enunciating his goals, his annual retreats for rich conservatives look from the outside like conspiratorial cabals. While the ACLU joined Koch-affiliated groups like Cato in opposing limits to cash-fueled political speech, as decided in the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United case, conservatives have traditionally touted both unlimited speech and unlimited disclosure. The Kochs’ large-scale efforts to hide their political activities by funneling millions through Americans for Prosperity and other putative charitable organizations–something both sides of the spectrum do, and something widely acknowledged as a blatant end-run around disclosure requirements–don’t seem to jibe with their convictions. 

Charles responds that he follows the law and defends anonymous giving as necessary. “We get death threats, threats to blow up our facilities, kill our people, we get Anonymous and other groups trying to crash our IT systems,” he says. “So long as we’re in a society like that, where the President attacks us and we get threats from people in Congress, and this is pushed out and becomes part of the culture–that we are evil, so we need to be destroyed, or killed–then why force people to disclose?”

After reading the entire article at Forbes on the Koch's, this one item jumped out at me:

they (Koch's) have funded the Federalist Society 

How many times have we heard Conservatives tout the Federalist Society and now learn they were started by the Koch Brothers.

The Federalist Society is one of the most powerful and unique organizations in the conservative orbit, describing itself as "a group of conservatives and libertarians interested in the current state of the legal order." But that simple description doesn't do justice to the influential network the group has built up, in addition to fundamentally changing the way that conservative ideas on the law are discussed and received in mainstream legal circles. 

The Federalist Society gained widespread attention in 2007 for the power of its members within the Bush administration Justice Department. Since then, there has been less attention on the group, but according to legal experts, the group is quietly continuing to thrive in an environment where lawmakers and activists are increasingly touting constitutional law as the talk of the day.

Is this why Supreme Court Justice Scalia doesn't hesitate to speak at Koch Bros' functions?  Food for thought on how many members of this Supreme Court came via recommendations of The Federalist Society to Republican Presidents since the group was founded in 1982 at Yale Law School.

Bottom line of all of this is that the Koch Brothers IMHO pick and choose parts of various economic ideas to chart their course but one thing remains a constant is their desire to take over the Government through their puppets and install their libertarian/John Bircher agenda to the whole Country.  Romney was the perfect person for them to pick as he would do anything to have the pomp and circumstance of being President.

We dodged a huge bullet with Romney's defeat now it is time to roll up our sleeves and Take Back the House and Keep the Senate in 2014 along with State Governors and State Houses.

"We Shall Overcome" as True Today as it was in the 60's

Rep. John Lewis (R-GA) was moved to tears on Saturday by an apology from a police chief in Montgomery, Alabama, who said his department utterly failed to protect civil rights marchers as they disembarked from a Grayhound bus into a segregated terminal in 1961.

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Lewis was one of 21 protesters who stepped off that bus and into an angry melee as more than 300 white southerners attacked the group with baseball bats and other blunt objects. Despite an order by U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy to protect these so-called “Freedom Riders,” police backed off in Montgomery and let the mob have its way.  

Appearing with Lewis on Saturday after a symbolic march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge near Selma, Alabama — where 600 civil rights marchers were brutally attacked by police in 1965 — Montgomery Chief of Police Kevin Murphy formally apologized for the bus terminal incident and presented Lewis with his badge.

As someone who grew in the 1960's, I remember watching the Civil Right's clashes and wondering why they were happening as it made zero sense.  Why deny anyone the right to vote?  Made no sense then and even less sense today to have voter suppression or make people stand in line for hours to vote in minority precincts.  Shame on the new Hard Right Republican Party for condoning this in the states.  People fought and died for everyone's right to vote but now the new GOP doesn't believe in one man, one vote for minorities as we saw during the election and have been seeing since as white hard right legislatures try to rig the electoral colleges.  Despicable human beings.

As a teenager from an all white small town, I grew up in the Church of the Brethren but our minister was nondenominational because the Church didn't have enough pastors.  Rev Higgens was the leader of the largest Church in our small town and encouraged our youth group to give back.

Learned the song "We Shall Overcome" when our youth group with others from around the area went to Dayton to help refurbish a church for a new Black Community Church Congregation.  Our minister had gone to college with the new leader of this church.  There were youth groups with advisers from our Church of the Brethren, Methodist Church, Temple Israel, and members of the youth group of an AME Church all working together to restore  this beautiful old church. We were there to help paint, clean, and fix up the Church.  Denominations from around the area each took one weekend to help them out.  A month later the Church was ready to host their first service. They invited us all back when they held their first service in the new church with a luncheon following the service - best food ever.

We all were working together to make an old church new again where voices would once again be heard singing.  While we were working, the AME group started singing as they worked and pretty soon singing filled the Church with  "Rock my Soul in the Bosom of Abraham" which had kids, singing, painting, and dancing.  Remember thinking these old gospel songs are so full of energy as more and more gospel songs were sung.  We ended Friday night with the song "We Shall Overcome" which most of us didn't know but by Saturday night we knew the words.  On Sunday morning our pastor and the pastor of the new black church held a worship service which ended with "Let Their be Peace on Earth."  Pastors helped that afternoon from around the area to do some of the heavier work while some of us went outside to do a little landscaping.  As we all held hands on our last evening and sang "We Shall Overcome" most of us had tears in our eyes.  We were just kids and had no idea what was ahead for blacks in this Country.

When the race riots hit West Dayton in 1996 after reports a bootlegger was shot and killed by a group of white men, all I could think of was that old Church we had helped fix up was going to be destroyed but no one touched the Church.

To this day I never understood suppression of voting rights or the segregation of schools and in doing the research for this timeline of black history in Ohio found a reason why - it was the area I grew up in that didn't have segregation:

1885: Piqua schools become integrated when the only school for black children, Boone Street School, closes because of low attendance. Source: Dayton Daily News archives.

Piqua is about five miles east of where I grew up - my Dad was raised in Piqua.  No wonder I was shocked to learn that schools in other parts of Ohio like Dayton were segregated.  Never knew anything but local schools like Troy and Piqua that had some really great black football players who went to Ohio State and clobbered us in scrimmage games.

Was at Wright-Patterson AFB when the NAACP lawsuit was filed to end segregation of Dayton schools - I was shocked as I assumed by then all schools were the same as those in Piqua and Troy as Dayton was only 25 miles south of us.  To me segregation was for schools in the south not in my backyard.  I was wrong and to this day do not understand why blacks were put in schools separate from whites in any part of the Country.

1972: When it filed a federal lawsuit against the Dayton school board and the state in 1972, the NAACP reached back to 1912 to present a history of school segregation in the district to bolster its case that school board policies had created and maintained a dual school system, one for blacks and one for whites.

Today blacks once again along with other minorities are fighting for their Right to Vote as we saw in the 2012 election when states including Ohio, PA, MI, FL and some other states tried to suppress the votes of minorities.

If voter suppression wasn't bad enough, in Wake County, North Carolina,  a conservative school board voted to end integration and go back to segregation in 2009.  They were voted out in the next election and schools returned to normal.  This is the 21st Century and blacks are still fighting to vote and keep schools segregated?  What has happened to this Country?

In a powerful new video short (see video below this article) from Robert Greenwald and his Brave New Foundation, the fifth and latest installment in the foundation's "Koch Brothers Exposed" series, we hear those watchwords tumble from the lips of newly-elected school board members, juxtaposed with footage of 1960s-era segregationists uttering the very same phrases. (Full disclosure: Greenwald serves on the board of directors of the Independent Media Institute, of which AlterNet is a part.) 

The members of the Wake County school board's new majority won their seats in 2009 with organizing by the state chapter of Americans For Prosperity, the Tea Party-allied astroturf group funded by Charles and David Koch, in one of the most expensive school board races in the state's history. North Carolina retail magnate Art Pope, who serves as a director on the Americans For Prosperity Foundation, is deeply involved in the effort, as the Washington Post reported earlier this year. 

“The Koch brothers have more than $42 billion to make public policy out of their anti-government ideology,” said Brave New Foundation founder Robert Greenwald in a statement. “Their assault against public education epitomizes their tactics to remake our nation.” 

In the Wake County installment of "Koch Brothers Exposed," we meet two school board candidates, Karen Simon, who is black, and Rita Rakestraw, who is white. Both were defeated by AFP-backed candidates. "We came to a gunfight [armed] with knives," Simon says ruefully.    

Excerpt:  Read More at Alternet 

Here is the latest update on Wake County schools where the Democrats have taken back the school board from the hard right Koch Brothers school board members.  Their problem now is the Republican County Commission who allocate school funding.

Not only are blacks fighting for voting rights today along with other minorities but they are fighting school board members who are backed by the Koch Brothers and their group Americans for Prosperty who are behind a movement to return public schools to the days of segregation .  In answer to my question above about "What has happened to this Country?" you need to look no farther than the Koch Brothers, Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Scaife Foundations (4), Pete Peterson and other Republican wealthy donors backing the hard right with large sums of money to take over the Country to make it a vision of the John Birth Society.  Koch Brother's Father was a founding member of the John Birch Society along with Harry Bradley who have now taken over the Republican Party and its puppets in the Congress except for a few willing to speak out.

"We Shall Overcome" needs to be a rallying cry for the 2014 elections, when Democrats, Independents, and Republicans come together to oust the Koch Brothers Tea Party members/candidates from the House.  The Republican Party is dead to me today after years of activism because I put what is good for my Country over a hard right political party.  Many of today's Republicans did a good job of hiding their hard right beliefs as we elected them but those days are over - won't vote for any Republican who stays silent or supports the hard right Tea Party, militia movement, or hard right social conservative ideas which means I am supporting, voting, and donating to progressives in this election who do have the best interest of the Country at heart.

United as one group from across the political spectrum, we have come together as part of Organizing for Action and now on Twitter as part of Unite Blue to take back the House in order to move our Country forward.

Sequestration Meeting with Obama Cut Short as McConnell and Boehner Had Flights to Catch After Working Three Days This Week

Unlike previous budget clashes over the last two years, neither Obama or the Republicans showed any interest in trying to negotiate a last-minute deal. Obama said a country like America should not be forced to run its economy making deals on a month to month basis and he is looking for a long-term solution: what he referred to as a balanced approach, a combination of spending cuts and new taxes.

Minority Leader McConnell (R-KY) and Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) did the bidding of the Koch Bros and other big donors in a short meeting at the White House on Sequester and then left to catch a plane.  Since Boehner abdicated the role of the House in the Sequestration process to the Senate and GOP Senators made sure no bill passed out of the Senate, it is up to the President to order the cuts throughout the Government.

May I make a few suggestions?

• Stop all Air Force air travel for members of Congress - no more boondoggles on the taxpayers nickle.
• Demand that Congress cut even more then DoD - say 18% which would be double.  Trim their office and committee staffs which have grown over the years since GOP took over under Bush.  My bet is the American people would be happy too see the Congress budget slashed.  If Rand Paul did not use $600K  for office/staff, it is time the rest cut corners.  Sen Rubio (R-FL) going to Israel and Jordan on our nickle right before sequestration shows a total disregard for the American taxpayer.  He is all about Rubio and nothing else just like a spoiled selfish brat.  He votes against Hurricane Sandy relief and then goes to Wall Street to raise money.  
• Cut all emergency aid for states where members of Congress voted against Hurricane Sandy relief
• Shut down Cabinet people testifying to Congress - no need to hold hearings and waste money
• Suspend production of F-35 which has not completed flight test.  DoD lowered the Specs because the F-35 couldn't meet the original specs and now fleet is grounded due to a crack in a fan blade in the engine.  Stop millions going to Lockheed and other big Defense Contractors on programs they are over budget and behind schedule.  Lot to cut at Defense - cannot wait to see SecDef Hagel start slashing unnecessary programs.
• Suspend and cancel all big oil/gas subsidies.  Note:  This should be permanent
• Don't approve Northern Keystone pipeline - not enough inspectors
• Time for GSA who controls all Government buildings/transportation/utilities to cut transportation used by Members of Congress.  Stop reimbursement for travel as well.  Cut back on utilities as Congress doesn't need heat or cooling in the Chambers since they only work three days a week.  BTW, Senate has not approved new head of GSA as they have an acting director since April 2012 like ATF has had an acting director for seven years.

Those are just a few suggestions and could come up with plenty more out of Defense.  Very happy that SecDef Hagel was confirmed before sequestration happened as you are not going to fool him - he knows how Congress and DoD operates.

As someone said on Twitter, the USPS employees want to work six days a week while the GOP in Congress want to work three days a week.  Time for new Dem leadership in the Senate as Reid is almost as bad - only one with a backbone is Nancy Pelosi.  House and Senate Dems are mostly staying in DC to try and get something done.  Reid got snowed by McConnell on the filibuster because of the NRA and the Country is paying for it today because of the Senate had been able to pass a bill instead of not getting 60 votes to pass, the pressure on the House would have been huge on Sequestration.  Reid was played for a fool by McConnell.

Republican House is out of town now as they have spent their three days in DC.  Time to get Friday and Monday off back in their Republican districts where no one can find most of them.  What a bunch of scum who live off the taxpayers of this Country while all they care about is making sure that their big donors keep tax loopholes while the rest of the Country suffers.  Where is the House Budget?  Excuse me, as I forgot that Boehner said let the Senate do it when it comes to Sequestration even when bills dealing with the budget are to originate in the House.  It seems the Constitution that gives the House the primary role in the Budget is just a pesky document until it says something they want like the 2nd amendment.  Even then they have a lack of reading comprehension - a well regulated militia is the State National Guard not the rogue militia that the Tea Party loves.

Speaking of reading comprehension how did the House GOP come up with the fact that taxes were raised for the wealthy when it was the Bush tax cuts expiring.  Big difference between expiring and raising taxes from scratch.  IMHO, taxes for the wealthy should have risen even more.

Republican House members Cantor and Ryan have now taken responsibility for sequestration idea - so much for Boehner blaming Obama.  I am happy to see that Obama has now come out publicly blaming the GOP for 'dumb' and 'arbitrary' spending cuts.  Tea Party is getting what they want with a tanked economy along with slashed Government spending that will hurt seniors, middle class, and children the most, but preserves tax loopholes for the wealthy.

Obama blames Republicans for ‘dumb’ and ‘arbitrary’ spending cuts
By Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian Friday, March 1, 2013 15:44 EST 

President warns US to prepare for drawn-out standoff after futile meeting with congressional leaders over scheduled cuts 

Barack Obama is due to sign an order before midnight on Friday to implement $85bn in spending cuts, a move he described as “dumb” and “arbitrary” and that he blamed on the intransigence of Republicans in Congress. 

Speaking at a White House press conference after a futile meeting with congressional leaders, Obama warned Americans to prepare for a drawn-out confrontation that could last for months and will be painful for working-class people. 

Federal agencies will spend the weekend redrawing their budget plans and beginning the process of sending out letters to federal workers giving them 30 days notice of shorter hours, furloughs and even lay-offs. The White House budget office also has to inform Congress of where the spending cuts are to be made. 

The hardest-hit department will be the Pentagon, which will have to find more than $40bn in savings between now and September, about 9% of its overall budget. But almost every government department, from aviation to the park service, will be hit, with cuts amounting to about 5% of their overall budgets. Only Medicaid and welfare benefits such as food stamps are exempted. 

Obama met Republican congressional leaders Mitch McConnell and John Boehner and their Democratic counterparts Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi at the White House on Friday morning but it was a largely pointless exercise. The meeting broke-up after less than an hour without any hint of a deal in the offing. 

The impact of the budget cuts, known as the “sequester”, will be felt almost immediately in some areas but most will be a slow burn, not coming into effect until next month. 

Obama, after being asked why he had not been able to push the Republicans in negotiating, said: “I am not a dictator. I’m the president.” He could not force them to sit down in a room to do a deal, he said. “So ultimately if Mitch McConnell or John Boehner say ‘We need to go catch a plane,’ I can’t have secret service block the doorway.” 

“We will get through this. This is not going to be an apocalypse, I think as some people have said,” Obama said. “It’s just dumb. And it’s going to hurt. It’s going to hurt individual people and it’s going to hurt the economy overall,” he said.

Read More at Raw Story

Robert Reich's article from yesterday details the Sequester and the Tea Party Plot that is driving this.  Remember when you see Tea Party to automatically say Koch Brothers who are behind the Tea Party and have bought and paid for many members of the GOP along with other big donors.  Obstructionism, arrogance, and stupidity are alive and well in today's GOP.  Can you say John Birch Society in action?

The Sequester and the Tea Party Plot  

Robert Reich 

Thursday, February 28, 2013 

Imagine a plot to undermine the government of the United States, to destroy much of its capacity to do the public’s business, and to sow distrust among the population. 

Imagine further that the plotters infiltrate Congress and state governments, reshape their districts to give them disproportionate influence in Washington, and use the media to spread big lies about the government. 

Finally, imagine they not only paralyze the government but are on the verge of dismantling pieces of it. 

Far-fetched?  Perhaps. But take a look at what’s been happening in Washington and many state capitals since Tea Party fanatics gained effective control of the Republican Party, and you’d be forgiven if you see parallels. 

Tea Party Republicans are crowing about the “sequestration” cuts beginning today (Friday). “This will be the first significant tea party victory in that we got what we set out to do in changing Washington,” says Rep. Tim Huelskamp (Kan.), a Tea Partier who was first elected in 2010.Sequestration is only the start. What they set out to do was not simply change Washington but eviscerate the U.S. government — “drown it in the bathtub,” in the words of their guru Grover Norquist – slashing Social Security and Medicare, ending worker protections we’ve had since the 1930s, eroding civil rights and voting rights, terminating programs that have helped the poor for generations, and making it impossible for the government to invest in our future. 

Sequestration grew out of a strategy hatched soon after they took over the House in 2011, to achieve their goals by holding hostage the full faith and credit of the United States – notwithstanding the Constitution’s instruction that the public debt of the United States “not be questioned.” 

To avoid default on the public debt, the White House and House Republicans agreed to harsh and arbitrary “sequestered” spending cuts if they couldn’t come up with a more reasonable deal in the interim. But the Tea Partiers had no intention of agreeing to anything more reasonable. 

They knew the only way to dismember the federal government was through large spending cuts without tax increases. 

Nor do they seem to mind the higher unemployment their strategy will almost certainly bring about. Sequestration combined with January’s fiscal cliff deal is expected to slow economic growth by 1.5 percentage points this year – dangerous for an economy now crawling at about 2 percent. It will be even worse if the Tea Partiers  refuse to extend the government’s spending authority, which expires March 27. 

A conspiracy theorist might think they welcome more joblessness because they want Americans to be even more fearful and angry. Tea Partiers use fear and anger in their war against the government – blaming the anemic recovery on government deficits and the government’s size, and selling a poisonous snake-oil of austerity economics and trickle-down economics as the remedy. 

They likewise use the disruption and paralysis they’ve sown in Washington to persuade Americans government is necessarily dysfunctional, and politics inherently bad. Their continuing showdowns and standoffs are, in this sense, part of the plot.   

(snip) 

I suggest the President forget about a “grand bargain.” In fact, he should stop talking about the budget deficit and start talking about jobs and wages, and widening inequality – as he did in the campaign. And he should give up all hope of making a deal with the Tea Partiers who now run the Republican Party.Instead, the President should let the public see the Tea Partiers for who they are — a small, radical minority intent on dismantling the government of the United States. 

As long as they are allowed to dictate the terms of public debate they will continue to hold the rest of us hostage to their extremism.

 Read More from Robert Reich

If that is not enough to make your blood boil, then read the real truth about the founding of Tea Party that has been discovered during an investigation.  The results are going to surprise you but when you connect the dots, it makes sense.

IMHO Koch Brothers, Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Scaiffe Foundations, Pete Peterson and others who have loyalty to the John Birchers are behind what is happening to the Nation right now.  These big wealthy donors want unions destroyed along with the minimum wage and middle class to have an elitist group of people with all the money who run the Country while we get the scrapes.  Right now President Obama is standing in their way along with Nancy Pelosi and Democrats in the Senate like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and others who are fighting for the Middle Class against the wealthy GOP donors.

We need to make our voices heard in 2014 and kick out the Tea Party not only from the Congress but from the State Houses.  It is time for a coalition to form of like minded citizens no matter the party who see the danger coming from the hard right and Tea Party members of Congress.  All the various groups working together can defeat the Tea Party and, in turn, the wealthy Republican donors who are driving this campaign to wreck America for their own selfish reasons.