For some wealthy donors, it doesn’t matter who takes the White House in 2016—as long as the president’s name is Clinton or Bush.
More than 60 ultra-rich Americans have contributed to both Jeb Bush’s and Hillary Clinton’s federal campaigns, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission data by Vocativ and The Daily Beast. Seventeen of those contributors have gone one step further and opened their wallets to fund both Bush’s and Clinton’s 2016 ambitions.
After all, why support just Hillary Clinton or just Jeb Bush when you can hedge your bets and donate to both? This seems to be the thinking of a group of powerful men and women—racetrack owners, bankers, media barons, chicken magnates, hedge funders (and their spouses). Some of them have net worths that can eclipse the GDPs of small countries.
Larry Noble, senior counsel for the Campaign Legal Center, told The Daily Beast that it’s a common practice among a small number of people.
“Some of them will say they believe in the process, but the truth is you usually see them giving to people who will be most helpful to them if [the politician] gets into office,” he said. “They are not necessarily Republicans or Democrats, they are business people first.” (Read more from “The Duopoly at Work: Mega Donors Are Happy With Either Bush or Clinton, Donate to Both” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-08-06 03:57:572015-08-06 03:57:57The Duopoly at Work: Mega Donors Are Happy With Either Bush or Clinton, Donate to Both
President Obama’s hopes for a globalist pact integrating economies on four continents ran aground in Hawaii on Friday.
Trade negotiators from 12 nations announced Friday they failed to reach a deal on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, TPP.
TPP would be the largest-ever economic regulatory treaty, encompassing more than 40 percent of the world’s gross domestic product. Secretary of State John Kerry said the pact will merge the U.S. economy with Mexico and ten others nations, including Canada, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Islamic Sultanate of Brunei.
The latest round of talks in Hawaii had been expected to yield an agreement to conclude the TPP. The president pressed Congress to surrender its ability to amend the pact, saying that would enable him to quickly wrap up the negotiations. The House and Senate agreed, and gave President Obama the enhanced power, known as trade promotion authority, after a series of controversial votes in June.
But the president’s promises proved false.
Negotiations stalled when national governments failed to accede to corporatist demands to open their borders and allow “people, goods, capital and information to flow freely through the zone,” as Japanese Trade Minister Akira Amari described TPP’s goals at a news conference Friday evening.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said he agreed with Amari on what “we’ve been trying to achieve in these negotiations” and “the larger exercise here of integrating the Asian Pacific region.”
A key sticking point in the negotiations was pharmaceuticals, reported Associated Press.
Striking a deal over how long to protect data used to develop biologic drugs was described as the biggest source of frustration by a source from a non-U.S. negotiating nation.
U.S. drug manufacturers want 12 years, but Australia wants five. A compromise of seven or eight years is seen as a possible compromise.
“The US was on one side of the issue, while practically every other country were on the other side,” the source told Associated Press.
“Neither side was prepared to move and all claimed it as a red-line issue.”
That proposed pact would integrate the U.S. economy with one of the world’s most notorious slave states, Malaysia, where millions of men women and children are routinely sold into forced labor and the sex trade. WND has reported the administration came under fire for issuing a human rights report that critics say whitewashed Malaysia’s record in order to expedite the TPP negotiations.
The failure to reach an agreement assures TPP will be an issue in next year’s presidential contest. Insurgent candidates Donald Trump on the right and Bernie Sanders on the left oppose the deal, pressing establishment candidates to take a stand on a pact that is deeply unpopular with voters across the political spectrum. (Re-posted with permission from the author, “Obama’s TPP Trade Deal Hits the Wall”, originally appeared HERE)
A group of Chicagoans is suing nearby local governments, claiming Chicago residents have a “civil right” to force the city’s strict gun control laws on other locales.
The Associated Press reported last month:
The Rev. Michael Pfleger … announced the lawsuits against Lincolnwood, Lyons and Riverdale. The activist priest says many of the guns recovered from Chicago crime scenes came from stores in those communities.
Lawyers for the Coalition for Safe Chicago Communities filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court claiming the suburbs’ gun store regulations violate the Illinois Civil Rights Act.
Pfleger contends violence is a civil rights issue, and by failing to monitor the gun sales adequately, the stores are violating families’ rights by preventing them from doing regular activities such as walking to school and playing in parks.
(Read more from “Anti-Gun Activists Claim a ‘Civil Right’ to Abuse the 2nd Amendment” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-08-06 03:56:412015-08-06 03:56:41Anti-Gun Activists Claim a ‘Civil Right’ to Abuse the 2nd Amendment
The FBI investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s unsecured e-mail account is not just a fact-finding venture — it’s a criminal probe, sources told The Post on Wednesday.
The feds are investigating to what extent Clinton relied on her home server and other private devices to send and store classified documents, according to a federal source with knowledge of the inquiry.
“It’s definitely a criminal probe,” said the source. “I’m not sure why they’re not calling it a criminal probe.
“The DOJ [Department of Justice] and FBI can conduct civil investigations in very limited circumstances,” but that’s not what this is, the source stressed. “In this case, a security violation would lead to criminal charges. Maybe DOJ is trying to protect her campaign.”
Clinton’s camp has downplayed the inquiry as civil and fact-finding in nature. Clinton herself has said she is “confident” that she never knowingly sent or received anything that was classified. (Read more about the criminal probe into Hillary’s email HERE)
Freshman Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., found that President Barack Obama is already in direct violation of a law he just signed in late May regarding the Iran nuclear deal.
The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act specifically provides that Congress must receive “all nuclear agreement documents, including any related to agreements ‘entered into or made between Iran and any other parties.’ It expressly includes ‘side agreements.’ This requirement is not strictly limited to agreements to which the U.S. is a signatory,” Sen. Cotton and Rep. Mike Pompeo wrote in a joint op-ed in the Wall Street Journal last week.
Cotton and Pompeo recount that they traveled to Vienna a few weeks ago to meet with officials of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). There, they learned “that certain elements of this deal are—and will remain—secret.” They further discovered that those involved with the talks, including the Obama administration, specially allowed the IAEA and Iran to have two side deals.
The first has to do with the IAEA’s inspection of the controversial Parchin military complex. The site is a suspected location of Iran’s long range missile and nuclear development. The second side deal has to do with what the nation must reveal about its nuclear program to date.
The legislators argue that both are vital issues if the deal will have any chance of success. They also make clear that the administration has been inconsistent in its responses regarding the existence of these agreements and whether Congress will have access to review them. (Read more from “Senator Catches Obama Red-Handed Violating the Law He JUST Signed” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-08-05 03:59:442016-04-11 10:58:06Senator Catches Obama Red-Handed Violating the Law He JUST Signed
What was the purpose of conducting a vote to defund Planned Parenthood on a standalone bill immediately after blocking amendments to do just that on a “must-pass” bill? What is the purpose of voting to block taxpayer funding for abortions and then continuing to fund them in the Continuing Resolution next month – as Republicans have done 30 times before?
Evidently, the only purpose of this vote was to give Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Joe Donnelly (D-IN) a loincloth in order to cover their flaws on consequential votes. You read that right. The only outcome of this vote was to help Democrats maintain two Senate seats that Republicans must own in the long-run in order to command a secure majority in the upper chamber.
Knowing full well that the bill to defund Planned Parenthood would never secure 60 votes to proceed with debate, Manchin and Donnelly embraced the robust opportunity to shore up their pro-life bonafides in red states. Unlike wayward Republicans, red state Democrats know how to dissent from their party without doing damage – they only vote with their constituents when the outcome will never hurt their party bosses. (Editor’s note: Lisa Murkowski was also a beneficiary of this “show vote”; despite her radical pro-abortion history, she too voted for cloture. Murkowski stands for reelection in 2016).
Joe Manchin is very proud to proclaim himself a pro-life Democrat, yet on April 14, 2011, he failed is first test on the life issue as an elected senator. He voted against the enrollment correction (H.Con.Res. 36) that would have made changes to the final FY2011 budget bill to prevent funding for Planned Parenthood (Roll Call No. 60). When it really mattered and would have affected the budget, he voted to give taxpayer funds to this barbaric abortionist group.
Then, on July 16, 2014, he voted to proceed with a Democrat bill overturning the Supreme Court’s “Hobby Lobby” decision, which protected the religious liberty of employers. This bill would have forced private employers to cover abortion-inducing drugs in any compensation package for employees. Needless to say, Donnelly voted with the Left as well.
As such, this entire charade was a show vote within a show vote for these two Democrats.
Aside from the fact that Republicans have shunned the opportunity to stand for life on consequential legislative vehicles, they also declined to fight for life even on the one standalone bill that could have made it to Obama’s desk. Earlier this year, they had an opportunity to nullify a law passed by the D.C. City Council requiring all district employers to cover abortifacients in their employee benefit packages. The procedures for passing such a resolution of disapproval are privileged and not subject to a filibuster. Yet, McConnell refused to schedule a committee markup on the resolution.
In many ways this vote was emblematic of what is wrong with the modern-day Republican Party. They stand for all of the right things except for when it actually matters and when they could actually affect the outcome. This lesson has become all too painful on numerous occasions since the midterm elections. But if they have no intention to fight for us in a meaningful way, do they have to go so far as to help red state Democrats maintain their seats in the Senate? (Re-posted with permission from the author, “Planned Parenthood Show Vote and the Two Faces of Red State Democrats”, originally appeared HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-08-05 03:59:182016-04-11 10:58:06Planned Parenthood Show Vote Designed to Help Two Red State Democrats (and Lisa Murkowski)
What might the election of America’s first female president look like? But not just any first female president — the election of President Hillary Clinton?
Here, with a little imagination and a little kicking back, is the inside track on what Hillary Clinton’s highest policy priorities might be during her first 100 days in the Oval Office, should that come to pass.
Domestic Policy
Make college affordable: In launching a new consumer-friendly college loan program, Hillary takes her inspiration from former Fannie Mae CEO Frank Raines, who promised the agency would underwrite $3 trillion in subprime mortgages to help the “little guy.” After all, homeownership is a civil right. The ensuing mortgage meltdown was just bad timing. But it was Bush’s fault anyway. Well, a college education is a civil right too!
In explaining her rationale for the program, Hillary describes her touching personal brush with poverty and her enduring identification with the lower classes. “We came out of the White House not only dead broke, but in debt. We had no money when we got there and we struggled to piece together the resources for mortgages, for houses, for Chelsea’s education. It was not easy.”
Hillary’s new program guarantees that no American (including the Clintons) will ever have to suffer the deprivation she and her family were forced to endure in order to send Chelsea to Stanford University.
Tax Policy
Wealthiest pay their fair share: Hillary’s tax policy is simple — the rich make too much money. It is not fair! As senator, she heroically opposed the Bush tax cuts, saying, “Many of you are well enough off that the tax cuts may have helped you. We’re saying that for America to get back on track, we’re probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.” She brings this refreshing attitude to her new job. Her new plan promises to “Reform our tax code so that the wealthiest pay their fair share.” After all, the top 20 percent of income earners pay a mere 84 percent of all income taxes. Clearly, not enough.
Middle class tax cut: Yes, you read that right. Hillary proposes a big middle-class tax cut just like hubby Bill did in his 1992 campaign. But don’t worry. Remember what Bill did after his election? Raised everyone’s taxes! Hillary plans to do the exact same thing. Bait and switch. Tee, hee, hee. Like our good friend Jonathan Gruber says, those stupid Americans will believe anything.
Economic Policy
Raise middle-class incomes: Hillary says “it’s time to raise incomes for hard-working Americans.” She plans to do this by 1) increasing the minimum wage (because $15 an hour just isn’t enough); 2) expanding overtime (whether companies need it or not); 3) encouraging companies to profit share with employees — about time; 4) strengthening Obamacare; and 5) increasing workers’ pay and benefits, plus a lot more paid leave.
Why hasn’t anyone ever thought of this before? While it may seem that all these things cost companies money, Hillary has an answer to that too: Expand employment opportunities.
Foreign Policy
As we all know, foreign policy is one of Hillary’s strong points given her time as President Obama’s secretary of state. Her tenure was marked by numerous foreign policy challenges, all of which she met with characteristic Clinton class and determination. Benghazi, as we all know, was Bush’s fault. And for those who question her handling of the affair, she asks in her characteristically presidential tone, “What difference, at this point, does it make?”
When queried about her vast knowledge of Islam and Islamic terrorism, Hillary credits, surprisingly, her daughter, Chelsea. “I have to admit that a good deal of what my husband and I have learned [about Islam] has come from my daughter. [As] some of you who are our friends know, she took a course last year in Islamic history.” Think of it. A woman with such a breadth of foreign policy experience credits her daughter! She took a course. That makes Hillary a true expert.
Energy Policy of a New Hillary Clinton Presidency
Power the economy of tomorrow: This brilliant program expresses the aspirations of millions of Americans in reducing our carbon footprint. In announcing her plan she says, “You know, we can’t keep talking about our dependence on foreign oil and the need to deal with global warming and the challenge that it poses to our climate and to God’s creation and just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people.”
Hillary’s plan is to put 500 million solar panels on roofs across America — for free — and increase green energy to 33 percent of the total by 2027. Of course, to see it through will require a third Hillary term, but who could oppose that?
While American energy producers will suffer after years of raping the planet, China and Taiwan, which produce 70 percent of the world’s photovoltaic cells, will prosper immeasurably, redistributing income to those parts of the world that really deserve it. So this environmentally friendly measure will be a boon for international trade.
But not all U.S. companies will suffer. Perish the thought. Hillary will made sure tax dollars flow in the right direction and boost the American economy at the same time. Companies to benefit include First Solar, whose investors include major Obama campaign bundlers, billionaire Paul Tudor Jones, green thumber Al Gore, Ted Turner, Goldman Sachs.
First Solar’s CEO is Michael Ahearn, a former fundraiser for both Obama and Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada. Another one, NRG Energy, got a $1.2 billion Department of Energy loan guarantee from the Obama administration, whose bundler, Arvia Few, was married to then NRG executive vice president Jason Few. What a coincidence, no? NRG will now be able to afford even more green energy jobs.
Finally, it looks like Elon Musk, president of SolarCity, Tesla Motors, and a major Clinton Library donor, will be able to snag even more tax money to fund his government-subsidized electric sports car.
In this scenario, we now have a president willing to tackle America’s greatest national security threat, global warming, while boosting the world economy at the same time. It is not for nothing that Hillary Clinton has been called “the smartest woman in the world.”
Hillary 2024! Because, after all, the first woman president deserves at least three terms.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-08-05 03:58:232016-04-11 10:58:07Hillary’s First 100 Days: Imagining a Clinton Presidency in Its Earliest Stages
Donald Trump — who Fox News said literally will be at the center of its GOP primary debate on Thursday — is already feeling the heat from network hosts.
On Tuesday, Fox’s Bill O’Reilly grilled the billionaire businessman on his claim that as president he will get Mexico to pay for a wall on the southern U.S. border to help prevent undocumented immigrants from crossing into the United States.
“Bill, they are making a fortune, Mexico is making a fortune off the United States, it’s becoming the new China in terms of trade — they’re killing us at the border,” Trump said after O’Reilly pressed him twice on the same question.
The third time O’Reilly asked, Trump said, “I’m gonna say, ‘Mexico, this is not going to continue, you’re going to pay for that wall,’ and they will pay for the wall. And Bill, it’s peanuts, what we’re talking about.”
Trump has been critical of Ford Motor Company for a proposed $2.5 billion Mexican plant and has said under a Trump presidency he would impose a tax on Ford parts imported from there to also subsidize the wall. (Read more from “Trump: Mexico Will Pay for Wall Because I Say So” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-08-05 03:57:512016-04-11 10:58:07Trump: Mexico Will Pay for Wall Because I Say So
A sheriff in Mississippi says authorities are searching for two men who fired gunshots from a vehicle at soldiers at a military facility. No injuries were reported.
Perry County Sheriff Jimmy Dale Smith tells WDAM-TV (https://bit.ly/1UlrHi6) that the shots were fired just after noon Tuesday. The soldiers were training at Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center in Hattiesburg.
U.S. Special Forces Command designated Camp Shelby as one of the sites where a multi-state military training exercise, “Jade Helm 15”, was expected to take place, according to The Army Times . . .
A vehicle matching the description of the two suspects’ truck was found near New Augusta off Old Augusta Road, according to WDAM. The suspects were driving a red Ford Ranger with the words “broken arrow” on the windshield.
Conspiracy theory websites have noted that a logo used in a “leaked” slideshow presentation for the “Jade Helm 15” exercise featured broken arrows in its design. In military terminology, “broken arrow” is code used to signal for assistance when a unit or camp is overrun. (Read more from “2 Men Open Fire on Soldiers at Jade Helm Training Site in Mississippi” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-08-05 03:57:222016-04-11 10:58:07Two Men Open Fire on Soldiers at Jade Helm Training Site in Mississippi
Photo Credit: The Daily Times Employees at the Four Corners Power Plant in Fruitland were evacuated Monday after three suspicious devices were discovered in one of the power plant’s generating units.
Arizona Public Service Co. spokeswoman Jenna Shaver said Monday the devices, which are approximately six inches in length and capped at both ends, were discovered inside unit 4 of the power plant before 9 a.m. APS is the plant’s majority owner.
FBI spokesman Frank Fisher confirmed Monday evening that three suspicious devices were investigated at the plant, but declined to say whether they contained explosive material . . .
Shaver said Monday evening the suspicious devices had been removed from the plant and normal operations will continue today, with appropriate security measures in place . . .
Farmington police spokeswoman Georgette Allen said the Farmington Police Department’s bomb squad responded to the plant after receiving reports of a suspicious package, but the FBI was the lead agency in the investigation. (Read more from “Suspicious Devices Found at Arizona Power Plant” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-08-05 03:56:492016-04-11 10:58:08Suspicious Devices Found at Arizona Power Plant
For some wealthy donors, it doesn’t matter who takes the White House in 2016—as long as the president’s name is Clinton or Bush.
