The Firm Created for the sole purpose of giving Mitt Romney 1 MILLION DOLLARS - thank you, Citizens United

This is what Citizens United hath wrought. The Democrats SHOULD HAVE, when they had both Houses of Congress, did as the President requested and passed a DISCLOSURE LAW.

Simple thing - you give political money, you must declare yourself and how much. But, they listened to those lowlife weasel Blue Dogs, who never found a principle they would stand for it meant helping the common good.

For all we know, Al Qeda is giving money to Mittens.

From MSNBC.com:

Firm gives $1 million to pro-Romney group, then dissolves
By Michael Isikoff
National investigative correspondent

A mystery company that pumped $1 million into a political committee backing Mitt Romney has been dissolved just months after it was formed, leaving few clues as to who was behind one of the biggest contributions yet of the 2012 presidential campaign.

The existence of the million-dollar donation — as gleaned from campaign and corporate records obtained by NBC News — provides a vivid example of how secret campaign cash is being funneled in ever more circuitous ways into the political system.

The company, W Spann LLC, was formed in March by a Boston lawyer who specializes in estate tax planning for “high net worth individuals,” according to corporate records and the lawyer’s bio on her firm’s website.

The corporate records provide no information about the owner of the firm, its address or its type of business.

Six weeks later, W Spann LLC made its million-dollar donation to Restore Our Future — a new so-called “super PAC” started by a group of former Romney political aides to boost the former Massachusetts governor’s presidential bid. It listed its address as being in a midtown Manhattan office building that has no record of such a tenant.

The Boston lawyer, Cameron Casey, dissolved the company on July 12 — two weeks before Restore Our Future made its first campaign filing of the year reporting the donation from the now-nonexistent company, the corporate records show.

“I don’t see how you can do this,” said Lawrence Noble, the former general counsel of the Federal Election Commission, when asked about the contribution from the now defunct company.

If the only purpose of W Spann’s formation was to contribute to the pro-Romney group, “There is a real issue of it being just a subterfuge” and that could raise a "serious" legal issue, Noble said. Even if that is not the case, he added, “What you have here is a roadmap for how people can hide their identities” when making political contributions.

Casey, the Boston lawyer, did not respond to requests for comment. Tim Larimer, a spokesman for her law firm, Ropes & Gray, said he couldn’t discuss who was behind W Spann LLC or any other matters relating to the campaign contribution. “The firm won’t be making any comment on this matter at this time,” he said in an email.

'Not something we normally ask'
Restore Our Future also declined to answer any questions about the W Spann LLC donation, one of only a handful of seven-figure donations the group has received this year.

"That’s not something that we normally ask a contributor for (and nor does any other political organization that I'm aware of),” Charles Spies, the committee’s campaign treasurer, said in an email response to a query about the owners of the firm and the limited information on its corporate registration. … “Restore Our Future has fully complied with, and will continue to comply with, all FEC disclosure requirements.”

Rachel Maddow did a piece on this.

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UPDATE: Donor Revealed As Bain Executive

Mystery solved! The person who donated $1 million to a pro-Romney group through a barely existent company, W Spann LLC, has outed himself after campaign watchdogs demanded a federal investigation.

Ed Conrad, a former executive at Bain Capital, which Romney co-founded, told Politico on Friday that he had funneled the money to Super PAC Restore Our Future on the advice of his lawyers.

"I am the individual who formed and funded W Spann LLC," he said in a statement. "I authorized W Spann LLC's contribution to Restore Our Future PAC.I did so after consulting prominent legal counsel regarding the transaction, and based on my understanding that the contribution would comply with applicable laws. To address questions raised by the media concerning the contribution, I will request that Restore Our Future PAC amend its public reports to disclose me as the donor associated with this contribution."

THIS IS JUST ONE QUESTIONABLE DONATION. WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS?
....................................


Rachel Maddow had a follow-up piece on it last night.

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The President Speaks on the Credit Rating, and two good pieces about Standard and Poors and their iffy math

President Obama took to the mic this afternoon to address the dreaded S&P downgrade.

"On Friday, we learned that the United States received a downgrade by one of the credit rating agencies — not so much because they doubt our ability to pay our debt if we make good decisions, but because after witnessing a month of wrangling over raising the debt ceiling, they doubted our political system’s ability to act."

He dismissed S&P decision to drop the country’s credit rating down a notch to AA and blamed the downgrade on political gridlock in Washington.

"Markets will rise and fall, but this is the United States of America," Obama said in his press conference. "No matter what some agency may say, we've always been and always will be a triple-A country."

.............

Lawrence O'Donnell on Standard & Poors - it was something to behold.

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Rachel Maddow also did a pretty good piece on it, explaining how Republican brinksmanship and threats to allow the U.S. to default on its debt led to the downgrade by Standard and Poor's.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The United States Credit Rating Downgraded for the first time in history

This is the TEA PARTY DOWNGRADE, and is the responsibility of those economic terrorists and the GOP Leaders who collaborated and coddled them.

Go Senator Kerry!


Sen. John Kerry(D-MA) on The 'Tea Party S&P Downgrade'






From We Are Respectable Negroes:



The Debits of Whiteness: Of the Tea Party GOP's Racism and the S & P's Credit Downgrade of the United States

from S&P:

More broadly, the downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges to a degree more than we envisioned when we assigned a negative outlook to the rating on April 18, 2011.

Since then, we have changed our view of the difficulties in bridging the gulf between the political parties over fiscal policy, which makes us pessimistic about the capacity of Congress and the Administration to be able to leverage their agreement this week into a broader fiscal consolidation plan that stabilizes the government's debt dynamics any time soon.

The Tea Party GOP got what they wanted. Their game of economic terrorism has resulted in one more step towards economic calamity for the American people. The austerity recession is here, if not already fully arrived.

The other shoe has fallen as well: although America's AAA credit rating made it through two world wars and a Great Depression intact, it could not survive the country's first black President. The Tea Party GOP can sit in the corner, smugly smiling now, as they prepare to carve up Barack Obama just a whee bit more as the 2012 election approaches.

Let us be frank and state the obvious...a reality that so many in the mainstream media are loathe to admit: The Tea Party GOP and its highwayman want to destroy President Obama because he is a Democrat. But, they despise him because he is Black.

The intransigence and obstructionism that the President experienced at every turn, especially as seen in what is almost always a routine decision to raise the debt ceiling limit, has been--pardon the pun--deeply colored by the bugaboo that is white racism.

My claim is not one that is lacking in nuance, where it is "only" white racial resentment and hostility that drives Right-wing, Tea Party GOP opposition to Barack Obama. In a moment of extreme political polarization ideology is made to trump all. The Right-wing rage machine has made compromise, normal politics, and reasonable discourse all but impossible. Race, as the third rail in American political and social life intersects all of those variables. Thus, White racism is a sweetener of sorts that amplifies an already high stakes game of political poker and brinkmanship.

Read the rest at the link above.

This is what a GOP Jobs Program Looks Like, aka how the GOP is endangering air travel right now

Rachel Maddow does a piece on the FAA Shutdown, and how this is about UNION RIGHTS. The GOP has thrown thousands of people out of work. This is the GOP Jobs Program - right here, in your face.

And, of course, an FAA Partial Shutdown doesn't effect Airline Safety?

REALLY?

and Delta Airlines and their ANTI-UNION STANCE is in the middle of this

From Washington Monthly:

August 03, 2011 9:20 AM
The costs of the FAA fiasco
By Steve Benen

Just to follow up on yesterday’s item, there was a flurry of activity in the Senate yesterday in the hopes that a partial FAA shutdown could be averted, but in the end, the Republican scheme prevailed. It won’t be resolved until September, at the earliest.

A last-minute Obama administration effort to get the Senate to accept a funding extension that would have returned 4,000 Federal Aviation Administration employees and about 70,000 others to work failed Tuesday as Congress headed home until September

.

The House Republicans’ stunt will cost the government $1.2 billion. It will also lay off 70,000 construction workers in the middle of the construction season, which isn’t exactly what this economy needs right now.

Americans who fly this summer will see no notable difference as a consequence of the 4,000 furloughs and layoffs of airport construction workers and support personnel. In addition to airport renovation and expansion projects, the furloughs put a halt to work on a complex navigation system that is seen as the future of the aviation system.

All because Republicans want to make it harder for airline industry workers to unionize.

President Obama referred to the mess as “another Washington-inflicted wound on America.”

Alas, there have been a lot of those lately.

our poster coop talks about Democrats and Messaging.

Well, the DNC needs to take money from their bank account and do some political ads in every district affected by these layoffs.

GET some of the workers on camera, talking about not having employment in the middle of CONSTRUCTION SEASON.

Call this what it is - this IS A GOP JOBS PLAN. This is what they think about it.

They should run this EVERY DAMN DAY THAT CONGRESS IS ON VACATION, with the end being the telephone number of the local Congressman.

EVERY Democrat who goes on any tv show should bring up these LAYOFFS and the right-wing assault on WORKERS is costing this country.

THIS is a message for 2012.

And, the President is incorrect: This is NOT a ' Washington-inflicted wound'. This is a REPUBLICAN -inflicted wound.

PERIOD.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY, Mr. President.

Today is President Barack Obama's 50th Birthday.

Good wishes for today.

Read more »

Sounds from Mixcloud

Flyjack! by Heavysoulbrutha on Mixcloud

Busy week (& month) coming up. May be AWOL for a bit.

Millions of Hostages Win Release After Ransom is Paid

American hostages have finally won release from Republican hostage takers... in the boldest and biggest hostage standoff in history. The ringleaders, Eric Cantor & John Boehner, got just about everything they demanded. They would not guarantee that this wouldn't happen again. In fact, the hostage takers have now been emboldened to use their extreme measures in the future.

And while America continues to drown in her own vomit... I still can't find a decent job.

Most Americans found themselves this past week asking... what in the world is going on... what just happened here?

Obama & Co. were taken to the cleaners once again. I have grown to accept the fact that Obama has few (if any) smart, competent advisers. Because someone should have told him to rally the troops much earlier... not 7 days before a deadline to default. The original debt ceiling proposal (a routine vote over much of the last century) was voted down back in May. Even before that, the Republicans telegraphed their plans to everyone...making it clear what their intentions were. They had been planning this stunt for a year. The debt limit itself was actually reached in June. The U.S. Treasury has managed this long by creating liquidity and finding extra funds. The point is... this was no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention. A surprise to the average American? Yes.. because they are fixated on Reality TV and American Idol. But for those who read the paper daily...and keep up with government... this was no surprise. So why in the world was the White House behaving as if they were caught flat footed.... yet again? I have mentioned the poor strategy & PR within the White House before... and it seems to keep rearing its head again and again. And as long as this problem persists... we will get the same results. Whispers from the White House suggest that Obama just didn't believe that the Republicans would be this evil... that they would hold the Country hostage to protect private jet owners. Yes Mr. President.. they are really that evil. Time and time again Obama & Co. seems to demonstrate a lack of imagination regarding just how tacky and low the Republican Tea Party could be. Was Obama being naive again?

President Obama should have taken his case to the people much earlier... 5, 6, 7 weeks before... telling the public exactly what the Republicans were planning to do. That would have forced the Republicans to confirm or deny and would have put them on the defensive. He should have told Americans the truth about what could happen to their benefits, and to the economy as a whole. Once people would have been informed about the potential hardships...and that we have never been held hostage quite like this before... that would have put tremendous pressure on Republicans. Obama could have effectively isolated the Republicans and forced them into a corner by preempting their plans. Obama (had he acted earlier) could have made it much harder for Republicans to go through with their plan.

But like so many other times before... the Obama Administration was not proactive. Instead... they reacted to whatever the Republicans wanted to lull them into. The White House actually believed that the Republicans planned to negotiate in good faith... when in reality..the Republicans were just dragging the President along... trying to get as close to the deadline as possible. They had no intention of coming up with a deal before the last 3 days or so. They were following their plan.

I don't know what it is about Obama & Co. and Democratic strategists... but something has to change. They always seem to react...(and even then...often too late). They are rarely proactive when it comes to their strategy for dealing with Republicans... even when they know the Republican playbook...and even when the Republicans announce their plans.

Will Obama be prepared for the next fight? The next fight will likely be the Affordable Care Act...(Healthcare Reform). Republicans plan to defund certain pieces of the legislation as a way of killing it.

We will go from one problem to another with this Congress. In fact... the reprieve will be short. There will be another budget fight in September...and a government shut down (while not likely) is possible. It isn't likely because the Republicans are actually afraid to go through with it. They remember what happened after their effort to shut down the government in 1995. They came away as the bad guys. But this Republican caucus is much more extreme. So these fights are not over... they are only getting started.

Meanwhile the world is watching...amazed at the level of dysfunction within the U.S. system. Global bond holders & investors may now have second thoughts about U.S. Treasuries... so damage has been done. The world is questioning the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency (have been for a while... but especially now). Not only that... but now the credit rating for the Country could be under review. The economy...already weak, has been wounded yet again. The Dow Jones has fallen over 500 points (or about 4%) over the past week. All because the Republicans resorted to draconian measures... blaming Obama for the debt... most of which was racked up under the previous 4 Presidents (but they were white). More from the New York Times. Now the Republican Tea Party wants the debt problem solved instantly...which will cause more problems. Cutting spending too drastically will be a drag on an already slow economy. As if that wasn't enough... the political uncertainty & instability (caused by Tea Party nuts) will cause consumers and business owners to sit on their money. These Tea Party extremists didn't say a word when Bush put the Country into two wars...paying for them with emergency supplemental appropriations (outside of the standard budget process...adding to the deficit but hiding the cost).

It will be frustrating to watch Obama & Co. stumble from one debacle to another.... (including manufactured crisis) appearing unprepared..and surprised.  They will be reactive instead of proactive... allowing the Republicans to get the biggest deal that they can get. But unfortunately, this has been the m/o for Obama & Co. since 2009. The latest ploy was simply the most public example of a strategy deficit that has been a drag on the Obama Administration for quite some time.

Bootsy Collins Sampler

Never been a huge fan of Bootsy - I tend to prefer the sounds of Stanley Clarke, Paul Jackson, Marcus Miller, Ron Carter, Christian McBride, & Ronnie Baker (I lean towards the Jazz bassists). I could probably throw Larry Graham in there too. But Bootsy is the preeminent bassist when it comes to Funk. His impact on music and the bass is undeniable. When you ask who the great modern bassists are... there is a reason why his name is often in the top 3, 5, or certainly the top 10.

Voter Suppression 2012 - an update on a previous story

Melissa Harris-Perry discusses the GOP plans for VOTER SUPPRESSION 2012 with these VOTER ID Laws popping up around the country.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

An update on a previous Voter Suppression 2012 story. From North Carolina:

N.C. GOP fails to override veto of voter-ID photo mandate

By Gary D. Robertson

RALEIGH, N.C.

Republican lawmakers failed Tuesday to override a veto by Gov. Beverly Perdue that would have required voters to show photo identification before casting an in-person ballot.

The North Carolina House voted on party lines 67-52 in favor of the override, five votes short of what's needed to move it to the Senate. Republicans performed a parliamentary maneuver, however, that keeps the voter ID issue alive.

Republicans argued the photo ID mandate would discourage voter fraud and build the public's confidence in voting. Democrats said the requirement is unnecessary because reports of fraud are few and that it would only lead to voter suppression, particularly among older people, minorities and women.

The override question spurred passionate debate for more than an hour about voting in an era in which citizens show identification to enter government buildings or get on an airplane but only a half-century since blacks in the Jim Crow-era South were discouraged from voting because of the color of their skin.

"This bill is an insult to me. It's an insult to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King," said first-term Rep. Rodney Moore, D-Mecklenburg. "Right now, I feel like my rights have been raped. Yes I do because there is no substantive problem in North Carolina with voter fraud and this is purely, purely an attempt at voter suppression."

Perdue vetoed the measure last month.

"I want to thank the legislators who stood firm in the belief that every North Carolinian has the constitutional right to vote and that the state should not be creating obstacles to stop them," Perdue said in a statement after the vote.

GOP legislative leaders contend polls show strong support for voter ID and that Perdue vetoed the measure to please her Democratic base. Several Republican House members have said voter identification is one of the most important issues to their constituents.

"How can you possibly vote against a requirement where in one instance you have to show a photo ID (in Winston-Salem) to panhandle but not show a photo ID to do the most important and sacred thing that we do as citizens?" said House Speaker Pro Tempore Dale Folwell, R-Forsyth.

Democrats argue the bill was purely partisan. Others have suggested ID requirements would make it harder for President Obama to win North Carolina's electoral votes next year after winning them for Democrats in 2008 for the first time in 32 years.

Voter fraud is a felony in North Carolina. The State Board of Elections referred 43 cases of potential fraud to district attorneys in 2008 and 21 in 2010. Meanwhile, about 147,100 active black voters do not have photo ID, according to the election reform group Democracy North Carolina. The bill didn't even consider potential fraud problems with obtaining absentee ballots, said House Minority Leader Joe Hackney, D-Orange.

"Everyone is interested in the integrity of the elections and it does appear that common sense says that people should show an ID," said Bob Hall, Democracy North Carolina's executive director. "But when you look at the data, there are more people that are hurt that requirement than would be helped."