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Listening Post – The Palestine Paper fallout

On this episode of Listening Post: The massive leak of documents from the Middle East peace process and the media fallout from that story. Plus, the David and Goliath tale of corporate America versus documentary filmmakers.

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Arne Duncan

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Arne Duncan

Secretary Duncan on Early Childhood Education Wisconsin, Ohio SOCIALIST UNION WARS – Obama & DNC INVOLVED & BREAKING THE LAW Secretary Arne Duncan visits Manual High School’s Future Center Arne Duncan A biography and photograph of U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan . US Education Secretary Arne Duncan encourages LAUSD students to … U. S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan visited a Los Angeles Unified high school Friday as part of a nationwide effort to encourage more teens to think a… arne duncan | CosmEPIC Washington PostHouse blocks crackdown on for-profit collegesPittsburgh Post GazetteSecretary of Education Arne Duncan said Thursday, in a briefing with. fuznews.com – arne duncan arne duncan US Education Secretary Unified high school Friday as part of a nationwide effort to encourage more teens to think about teaching as a future career.http://www.mynews24.net/2011/02/ arne-duncan -us-education-secretary/ … arne duncan | Trendy Washington PostHouse blocks crackdown on for-profit collegesPittsburgh Post GazetteSecretary of Education Arne Duncan said Thursday, in a. WeBuyAnyCat says: Arne Duncan Talks Education Reform – http://top-vids.com/ arne-duncan /videos/ arne-duncan -talks-education-reform/

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As the crowds of protesters grow to more than 30,000, President Obama gets out in front of the Wisconsin union movement and actually takes a side – the side of workers: President Obama thrust himself and his political operation this week into Wisconsin’s broiling budget battle, mobilizing opposition Thursday to a Republican bill that would curb public-worker benefits while planning similar action in other state capitals. Obama accused Scott Walker, the state’s new Republican governor, of unleashing an “assault” on unions in pushing emergency legislation that would nullify collective-bargaining agreements that affect most public employees, including teachers. The president’s political machine worked in close coordination Thursday with state and national union officials to mobilize thousands of protesters to gather in Madison and to plan similar demonstrations in other state capitals. Their efforts began to spread, as thousands of labor supporters turned out for a hearing in Columbus, Ohio, to protest a measure from Gov. John Kasich (R) that would cut collective-bargaining rights. By the end of the day, Democratic Party officials were working to organize additional demonstrations in Ohio and Indiana, where an effort is underway to trim benefits for public workers. Some union activists predicted similar protests in Missouri, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Under Walker’s plan, most public workers – excluding police, firefighters and state troopers – would have to pay half of their pension costs and at least 12 percent of their health-care costs. They would lose bargaining rights for anything other than pay. Walker, who took office last month, says the emergency measure is needed to save $300 million over the next two years to help close a $3.6 billion budget gap. “Some of what I’ve heard coming out of Wisconsin, where they’re just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally, seems like more of an assault on unions ,” Obama told a Milwaukee television reporter, taking the unusual step of inviting a local station into the White House for a sit-down interview. “I think everybody’s got to make some adjustments, but I think it’s also important to recognize that public employees make enormous contributions to our states and our citizens.” The White House political operation, Organizing for America, got involved Monday, after Democratic National Committee Chairman Timothy M. Kaine spoke to union leaders in Madison, a party official said. The group made phone calls, distributed messages via Twitter and Facebook, and sent e-mails to its state and national lists to try to build crowds for rallies Wednesday and Thursday, a party official said.

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President Obama has entered the fray in Wisconsin, slamming what he calls Gov. Scott Walker’s “assault” on unions—and that’s not all. Obama’s political operation, Organizing for America, has teamed up with union organizers to help build the thousands-strong protest in Madison and assemble demonstrations at other state capitals—including…

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Today in History for Friday, February 18th

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is first published; Jefferson Davis is sworn in as President of the Confederate States of America; ‘Chicago Seven’ defendants in court; Dale Earnhardt, Senior dies. (Feb. 18)

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C-SPAN Caller: The Rich Don’t Get Rich Because of Government, They Get Rich Because of Themselves

Click here to view this media During a call-in session asking viewers what they think the federal government should cut from the budget, here is what a caller from Texas told C-SPAN Washington Journal host Steve Scully this Sunday. This is what happens to your brain after listening to too much right-wing radio and watching Fox. SCULLY: Next is John from San Antonio. Good morning. CALLER JOHN: Good morning. How we doing today? SCULLY: Fine thank you. CALLER JOHN: I missed a lot. I don’t think half the people calling in understand anything about government and how the rich get rich. The rich don’t get rich because of government. They get rich because of themselves and when they put a product on the line that the people buy. Government on the other hand, does not create wealth. They only create debt. Every time you hire one of these suckers, that’s one of me too. Every time you hire one somebody in the private sector’s got to pay a debt. Think about what we do for government. They are very, very rich and because of the private sector. They have a generous retirement pay. They have a generous health care pay and because of the private sector, not because of government. Government is like, like old Egypt, when they had the Pharaohs, and everybody else and the serfs had to go out in the field and give 90% of what they earned to government, just like we do in America here during the slave trade, during slavery time. Those guys are out in the field giving all of this stuff to the slave owner and that is exactly what we’re doing right now. We’ve got the ruling class, government, taking all of the riches of America unto themselves. And then got you believing the problem we have is the rich man who got up off his rear end and went to work and earned what he got today. I want to be rich one day and I darn sure don’t want government telling me when I can be rich and how long it’s going to take me to become rich as a result. Now in these budgets they’ve got, if they’re not cutting the costs, the labor costs of government, moving it down to the private sector area, then they’re blowing smoke and lying to us all. SCULLY: Okay. There are a lot of arguments you could make about how ridiculous and wrong every single thing this man had to say was, including being completely backwards when it comes to large corporations and people getting rich off of our tax dollars. But that aside, I wish someone would also ask this man to read or listen to this (the video is at the original post). Thom Hartmann: Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican : One of my favorites from Thom Hartman. His recital of John Gray’s Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican : “A Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican” Joe gets up at 6:00am to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and work as advertised. All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employers medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. Joe takes his morning shower reaching for his shampoo; His bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government subsidized ride to work; it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor. Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with excellent pay, medicals benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe’s employer pays these standards because Joe’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he’ll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some liberal didn’t think he should loose his home because of his temporary misfortune. Its noon time, Joe needs to make a Bank Deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe’s deposit is federally insured by the FDIC because some liberal wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae underwritten Mortgage and his below market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his life-time. Joe is home from work, he plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive to dads; his car is among the safest in the world because some liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans. The house didn’t have electric until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification. (Those rural Republican’s would still be sitting in the dark) He is happy to see his dad who is now retired. His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn’t have to. After his visit with dad he gets back in his car for the ride home. He turns on a radio talk show, the host’s keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. (He doesn’t tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day) Joe agrees, “We don’t need those big government liberals ruining our lives; after all, I’m a self made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have”.

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As if the book weren’t sloggy enough to read, now you can catch the movie — Part I, anyway. The trailer was unveiled at CPAC last weekend, much to the delight of randy Randians, who cannot wait for it to hit the big screen. Yes, Ayn Rand’s dog of a book has now been made into a movie — at least, part one of a movie. Guess which day it will be released? That’s right, April 15th. I’m not sure who the backers of the film were, but it’s fair to assume at least some of them are the usual suspects, given the ridiculous assertions on the film’s website about the relevance of Atlas Shrugged to today’s society : Ask yourself: What would happen, if our producers disappear – Steve Jobs, Sergey Brin and other industrialists fall off the radar, their companies shuttered and their creative genius no longer powering America? The answer lies in Atlas Shrugged Part I. For the millions around the world who have read Rand’s books, for those curious about her controversial philosophy, and for the uninitiated, and skeptical – the film, which only covers the first third of the book, is an opportunity to a faithful adaptation. Rand’s unique literary genius – which we hope to make accessible to a broader audience via film – is to show the price to be paid by the individual and society when the tragic words ” from each according to his ability, to each according to his need ” are carried out. Gotta say, I don’t think of Sergey Brin or Steve Jobs as industrialists, at least not in the Ayn Randian sense of things. This movie is just part of a larger strategy, one that Sarah Palin articulated when she told Sean Hannity that “pop culture is the influencer in this country “. As much as I hate to admit it, she’s on the mark with that, which is why her little reality show and Bristol Palin’s Dancing with the Stars appearances gave me heartburn. We’re a country that loves stupid more than serious. We have a coordinated attack on liberal values being mounted via popular culture, and this movie is just another weapon in the box. Early reviews on it are terrible, but I guarantee you it will spawn a cult of Rand-ites who memorize every word and cling to it like a religion. If it was good enough for L. Ron Hubbard, why not Ayn Rand? Maybe I’ll be less cranky about this when polls show people engaging in even a minimum of knowledge about the world they live in and the country they inhabit. I expect that to be about the time icicles drop on Satan’s head. Start the countdown clock.

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Darrell Issa Goes After Countrywide’s VIP Program. Gee, I Wonder Why?

enlarge Oh, look. Rep. Darrell Issa’s going after Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad: WASHINGTON. D.C. – In December of 2008, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA), then the Committee’s Ranking Member, launched an investigation into Countrywide Financial Corporation’s infamous VIP and Friends of Angelo Program that exposed the inner workings of Countrywide’s efforts to buy friends in critical government and industry positions affecting the company’s business interests. Today, Chairman Issa issued a wide-ranging subpoena to Bank of America for all documents and records related to Countrywide’s VIP program. “Countrywide orchestrated a deliberate and calculated effort to use relationships with people in high places in order to manipulate public policy and further their bottom line to the detriment of the American taxpayers even at the expense of its own lending standards,” said Issa. “This subpoena will allow us to obtain the information needed to answer the outstanding public interest questions regarding the full size and scope of the VIP program. The American people have a right to know the totality of who participated in the Countrywide’s VIP program and what they did in return for access to it. Our role is to get all of the facts so that the American people can judge for themselves who should be held responsible and accountable.” The subpoena compels Bank of America to produce the following by noon on March 7, 2011: All documents, including emails, related to covered borrowers serviced by Countrywide Financial through the Branch 850 and/or VIP and/or Friends of Angelo program. All documents, including e-mails, transmitted by Countrywide officials notifying a covered borrower of membership in the VIP and/or Friends of Angelo program. All documents, including e-mails, transmitted between and among Countrywide officials discussing the purposes and goals of the VIP and/or Friends of Angelo program. Documents sufficient to show the number of persons enrolled in the VIP and/or Friends of Angelo program for each of calendar years 1996-2008, and the city and state of residence of such persons who were covered borrowers. The term “covered borrowers” means at the time of the loan the borrower, or their spouse, was: A current or former officer or employee of a federal agency A current or former Member, officer, or employee of the U.S. Congress A current or former officer or employee of a government-sponsored enterprise A current or former officer or employee of a state or local government

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Time Magazine Shamelessly Touts Obama Anti-Terror Czar as ‘Secret Weapon,’ Completely Omits Fort Hood

The Obama administration hardly has a perfect anti-terrorism record. Start with the mass murder at Fort Hood. But Time magazine wants to pretend that never happened, even though it was a Time cover story (which didn't want to call Nidal Malik Hasan a terrorist). Their February 21 edition carries a gushy profile headlined “Just Don't Call Him Lucky. Antiterrorism czar John Brennan is Obama's secret weapon.”

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Wash. Teen Is America’s Fastest Texter

A Pasco, Wash. teen is America’s fastest texter. 17-year-old Michael Zhang’s time in the US Cellular Speed Text tournament was faster than thousands of other competitiors. He takes home a $10000 prize. (Feb. 17)

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