Requiring Work For Welfare is a MUST!

FYI - From former Speaker Newt Gingrich/Gingrich Productions.

 

I don't often agree with Speaker Gingrich, but this is a MUST!

 

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-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

 

 

Requiring Paychecks for Food Stamps

Gingrich Productions

June 19, 2013

Newt Gingrich

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Just before we passed welfare reform in 1996, many on the left promised dire consequences for millions of American families if the legislation were to become law. They said the requirement that people go back to work after two years of taxpayer support was draconian. The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan actually characterized it as “the most brutal act of social policy since Reconstruction.”

Of course, the predictions of a return to the era of Oliver Twist were wildly off base. The reform proved to be one of the most successful social policies in American history. Two-thirds of welfare recipients got a job or went to school. Within four years, 4.2 million people rose out of poverty. In five years, child poverty was at an all-time low, having dropped by 25 percent.

The work requirement was at the heart of the law, and was the key to achieving these gains. As Peter Ferrara records in his book America’s Ticking Bankruptcy Bomb, the states which opted for the strongest implementations of the work requirement saw their welfare rolls reduced dramatically: Wyoming by 97%, Idaho by 90%, Florida by 89%, Louisiana by 89%, Illinois by 89%, Georgia by 89%, North Carolina by 87%, Oklahoma by 85%, Wisconsin by 84%, Texas by 84%, Mississippi by 84%.

Literally millions of people moved from dependency to independence, from welfare checks to paychecks. The work requirement worked.

People on both sides of the aisle now recognize the success of the reform. Even President Obama, who opposed the law at the time it was passed, said as a candidate in 2008 that he “was much more concerned ten years ago, when President Clinton signed the bill, that this would have disastrous results…It worked better than a lot of people anticipated.”

The reform’s work requirement applied to one of the largest federal welfare programs (TANF), but today there are 184 means-tested federal programs.

One in particular, the food stamp program (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP), is now approaching a level of bloat comparable to that which prompted the original welfare reform in 1996.

Nearly 50 million Americans — 1 in 6 — are receiving food stamps. Apologists for this incredible number claim the rolls have swelled because of the recession, but the fact is, spending on SNAP doubled during the 7 years before the crisis, too. The program now costs more than four times what we spent on it in 2000, and the government regularly buys advertisements in an effort to enroll more people.

That explosion screams for the kind of bipartisan reform that was so successful in 1996.
SNAP formally includes a work requirement, but it is riddled with loopholes. For one thing, it doesn’t apply if you have a dependent child. For another, states can obtain waivers to exempt all their recipients from the requirement. Forty-four states and the District of Columbia currently have such waivers. In 2011, fully half of food stamp households were headed by people who were neither working nor even looking for work. Only 22% were employed.

We’ve seen watered down work requirements before. In 2005 the Government Accountability Office found some states had implemented TANF to categorize as “work” activities like “bed rest, short-term hospitalizations … physical rehabilitation, which could include massage, regulated exercise … personal journaling, motivational reading, exercise at home, smoking cessation, and weight loss promotion.”

When the requirements are that toothless, however, they don’t have the intended effect of nudging recipients out of dependency and into self-sufficiency. They no longer incentivize the changes that would make peoples’ lives better.

Representative Steve Southerland, who leads the Republican Study Committee’s anti-poverty initiative, will introduce an amendment to the Agriculture appropriations bill later this week that would move SNAP along the path we charted with welfare reform. His legislation would give states the option to implement strengthened work requirements for SNAP. Under this plan, states could ask SNAP recipients either to find employment or to do things like job training or studying to get a GED.
If states were successful at moving people from food stamps to work and independence, Rep. Southerland’s bill would give them 50% of the savings.

As a candidate for president in 2008, Mr. Obama told Pastor Rick Warren at Saddleback Church that “we have to have work as a centerpiece of any social policy, not only because ultimately people who work are going to get more income, but because [of] the intrinsic dignity of work, the sense of purpose … .”

Rep. Southerland’s SNAP legislation is a chance for President Obama and Democrats in the Congress to prove that they really believe it.

 

• 

Pressure The 10 Senators Who Voted Against States' Rights to Label GMOs!

FYI - From the Organic Consumers Association.

This really blew my mind that Senator Paul, a supposed state's rights advocate, and Senator Warren, a supposed consumer freedoms watchdog both voted against this bill. WTF?

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OCA and Our Allies Pressure 10 Senators Who Voted Against States' Rights to Label GMOs

• Organic Consumers Association, June 6, 2013
  

Seventy-one senators voted against the Sanders Amendment to the Farm Bill, an amendment to uphold states’ rights to label genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our food.

It’s time to take action. The Organic Consumers Association has selected 10 of the 71 senators (listed below). With help from several of our ongoing allies in the GMO labeling battle, along with MoveOn.org, and some of the state GMO campaigns, we’re launching a campaign to start pressuring these 10 senators to support their state’s right to enact a GMO labeling law.

How? By organizing meetings at their Washington D.C. and home district offices. By submitting op-eds to their state newspapers. By encouraging consumers to email and call their senators, write letters to the editors of their newspapers, and post on their facebook pages.

Here’s what we want these 10 Senators to do.

•    Explain why they voted against the Sanders Amendment
•    Issue a public statement that they will not support any rider, amendment, or legislation of any kind that would preempt their state’s right to enact a GMO labeling law.

We’ve listed the 10 Senators below, organized by state. If your Senator is on the list, be on the lookout soon for an invitation to visit one of his or her district offices. In the meantime, you can start pressuring them now, by calling their offices or emailing them. Or posting on their facebook pages (we’ve included the links, next to their names). You can also write a letter to the editor of your local paper, “outing” you Senator as one of those who voted against your right to know.

ILLINOIS: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
https://www.facebook.com/dickdurbin

*$28,000 in campaign contributions from agribusiness

We’re sending people to Sen. Durbin’s office because he’s the Senate Assistant Majority Leader, and because the people of Illinois have been clear: They want labels on genetically engineered (GE) foods. Illinois has an active “Illinois Right to Know GMO” campaign and the state has GMO labeling legislation in the pipeline. The Illinois Right to Know movement turned out more than 2000 activists on May 25 for the March Against Monsanto. With all that activity, wouldn’t you think the senator who supposedly represents Illinois voters would support an amendment to uphold states’ rights to label GMOs? Apparently not.

GMO legislation:  On Feb. 13, 2013, State Senator Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) introduced SB 1666, legislation that would require companies to label foods containing GMOs. Sen. Koehler has chosen to hold off on a Committee vote in order to hold a series of hearings before the subcommittee of the Illinois State Senate Committee on Agriculture and Conservation. The hearings will be open to the public.

KENTUCKY: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky)
https://www.facebook.com/SenatorRandPaul

No significant campaign contributions from agribusiness

We couldn’t resist including Sen. Rand Paul on the list, even though there is no GMO legislation currently before the Kentucky state legislature. The king of state’s rights, himself, voting against state’s rights to label GMOs? Sen. Paul says he’s “fully in favor of consumers being fully informed of what they're buying, but he's incredibly cautious about handing government new powers to regulate food labeling.” We think it’s worth having an in-depth discussion with Sen. Paul on this issue, especially as there are already so many state laws already governing food and food labeling. Would he vote to overturn those laws, if given the chance?

Kentucky GMO legislation: None.

MAINE: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) 
https://www.facebook.com/susancollins

$17,500 in campaign contributions from agribusiness

Sen. Collins made the list for a couple of reasons. First, as a Republican, we were surprised to see her vote against states’ rights. Second, we were especially surprised, given that Maine has such a strong GMO labeling movement. The state is poised to pass GMO labeling legislation soon, thanks to the powerful Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, which is leading the charge. The overwhelming majority of Maine voters want GMO labeling laws. Maine’s Sen. Collins? Not so much.

Maine GMO legislation:  A GMO labeling bill has been passed out of a joint legislative committee and will be voted on by the state Senate and House any day.

MASSACHUSETTS: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) 
https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethWarren

Is Sen. Warren, who is so often on the right side of so many issues, just out of touch with the voters in Massachusetts? We were shocked to learn that she voted against the Sanders Amendment, especially in a state that is currently considering five GMO labeling bills. Sen Warren’s response to a voter who asked her why she voted no on states’ rights to label GMOs? She insisted that the Sanders Amendment would “take away the authority of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).” When the voter pointed out that the amendment merely would have preserved federal protection of states’ rights to safeguard consumers, she “wouldn’t hear of it,” the voter said. We’re hoping her hearing will improve if enough people show up in her office to talk about the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, and why voters in her state want the right to know what’s in their food.

Massachusetts GMO legislation: The Massachusetts state legislature is currently considering five GMO labeling bills. The Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture is debating H.808, introduced by Todd Smola (R-Palmer), which would require the labeling of foods containing GMOs and H.813, introduced by Ellen Story (D-Amherst), which would require the labeling of genetically engineered seeds. The remaining three GMO labeling bills have been referred to the Joint Committee on Public Health, including H.2093, introduced by Ellen Story (D-Amherst), H.2037, introduced by Michael Moran (D-Brighton), and H.1936, introduced by Stephen DiNatale (D-Fitchburg).

MICHIGAN: Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich) 
https://www.facebook.com/stabenow

$740,926 in campaign contributions from agribusiness

We chose Sen. Stabenow because, well, she’s such an easy target. She’s not only chair of the Senate Ag Committee, but she actually led the opposition to the Sanders amendment.  The fact that she took in more contributions from agribusiness in 2012 than any other senator, is just icing on the cake. Arguing against the Sanders Amendment, Sen. Stabenow said  that the amendment “ . . . would interfere with the FDA’s science-based process to determine what food labeling is necessary for consumers.” Stabenow’s statement shows either her ignorance of, or dismissal of, the existing scientific evidence that GE food has been linked to everything from allergies to kidney failure to cancer.

Michigan GMO legislation: None. But there’s an active GMO Right to Know movement in the state, and 12 cities mobilized marchers for the March Against Monsanto on May 25.

MINNESOTA: Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) 
https://www.facebook.com/Sen.Franken

$18,800 in campaign contributions from agribusiness

Sen. Franken’s vote was another one that had us scratching our heads. In a state with active Right to Know campaigns in major cities, and new ones being formed every day, you’d think Sen. Franken would have voted on the side of the people, not Monsanto. He can’t claim that he doesn’t know how Minnesota voters feel. Two GMO labeling bills have been introduced in Minnesota and, to date, three of Minnesota’s most-read newspapers, the Duluth Tribune, Timberjay (northern MN), and Star Tribune, have all endorsed the state’s labeling legislation.

Minnesota GMO legislation: On February 28, 2013, SF821, a bill to require the mandatory labeling of genetically engineered seed and food was introduced in the Minnesota legislature by Senators John Marty and Foung Hawj. A companion bill, was introduced by numerous members of the House on March 11, 2013. Both bills are being withheld from a Committee vote due to the need to build more support in the legislature through grassroots organizing and outreach.

MISSISSIPPI: Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss) 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Thad-Cochran/112579798754326

$71,500 in campaign contributions from agribusiness

No big surprise, here. Sen. Cochran, along with Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), is credited with trying to block the Merkley Amendment to the Farm Bill, an amendment introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) to repeal the infamous Monsanto Protection Act. We don’t hold out much hope of winning over Sen. Cochran. But as the ranking member of the Senate Ag Committee, we think it’s a good idea for Mississippi Right to Knowers to pay him a visit. We’re hoping the folks in Jackson, Miss., who marched against Monsanto will help us march into Sen. Cochran’s office.

Mississippi GMO legislation: None.

NEW JERSEY: Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) 
https://www.facebook.com/senatormenendez

$159,050 in campaign contributions from agribusiness

We have no idea why Sen. Menendez voted against the Sanders Amendment.  New Jersey has an active GMO labeling movement and bills are pending in the legislature. We did notice that more than a year ago, a New Jersey voter left a note on Sen. Menendez’s website asking him to please introduce a GMO labeling bill in New Jersey. It looks as if Mr. Menendez hasn’t responded. Maybe he’ll talk to voters if they organize meetings with him?

New Jersey GMO legislation: This year bills were introduced in the NJ Senate and House, but neither has been passed out of committee.

NEW YORK: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) 
https://www.facebook.com/senatormenendez
$198,883 in campaign contributions from agribusiness

One look at Sen. Gillibrand’s facebook page and it’s obvious that New York voters weren’t happy with her vote against the Sanders Amendment. There were plenty of questions about the vote on her page. But no answers. Meanwhile, GMO Free New York continues to push for a state GMO labeling law, with or without Gillibrand’s support.

New York GMO legislation: New York has two active GMO labeling bills in the state legislature: Assembly Bill A3525, sponsored by Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, D-Manhattan, and Senate Bill S3835, sponsored by Kenneth Lavalle, R-Albany. A3525 was voted down in the Assembly's Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection on June 4, 2013. Assemblywoman Rosenthal has vowed to find another way to bring the measure to a vote before the Legislature’s June 20 recess.

WISCONSIN: Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.)
https://www.facebook.com/TammyBaldwin

Wisconsin is one of those states where you just expect that leaders will do the right thing. So, again, we were surprised when Sen. Baldwin voted against her constituents’ right to know. Right to know Wisconsin is actively assisting local leaders in support of labeling GMOs while promoting more general awareness of the threats they pose to human health and the environment. We hope to engage Sen. Baldwin in a conversation about states’ rights to label GMOs, and win her over to our side.

Wisconsin GMO legislation: None.

For more information on this topic or related issues you can search the thousands of archived articles on the OCA website using keywords:

Organic Consumers Association · 6771 South Silver Hill Drive, Finland MN 55603 · Contact UsActivist or Media Inquiries: 218-226-4164 · Fax: 218-353-7652 · Please support our work: Send a tax-deductible donation to the OCA

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Greg Palast: The Idiot's Guide to the Voting Rights Act.

FYI - From Greg Palast/GregPalast.com and TheMudflats.net.

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-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

The Idiot's Guide to the Voting Rights Act Will the Supreme Court pull the teeth out of the law? by Greg Palast for TheMudflats.net Tuesday, 4. June 2013 This month –as early as tomorrow— the US Supreme Court will tell us whether Black and Brown citizens have the right to vote. Now, if you saw the film Lincoln, you probably thought that issue was settled about 143 years ago. But Honest Abe never imagined a High Court occupied by Dishonest Thomas and Scalia the Scurrilous. There’s been a lot of nonsense talk fogging the issue before the Court. To cut through the BS, the Palast Investigative Fund has made a little film, How Do You Steal a Dream? You could call it 'The Idiot’s Guide to the Voting Rights Act.' The idiots, of course, are on the Bench. We made How Do You Steal a Dream? in coordination with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization founded by Martin Luther King. Give me 14 minutes—watch this film--and I’ll give you something you can do to stop the return of Jim Crow. What’s at stake is Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Without Section 5, the Voting Rights Act’s teeth fall out, and the Justice Department loses any real ability to stop Jim Crow tactics used to keep voters of color (mostly Democratic Blue) from registering and casting ballots. Section 5 requires that 16 states with histories of Jim Crow voting restrictions “pre-clear” any changes in voting procedure with the Department of Justice. But the right-wing Supremes say that Florida and other states subject to Section 5 no longer play games with voting rights. Really? If you think that African-American voters are no longer vulnerable to registration purges, hours-long lines to vote in Black precincts, ID challenges and other impediments, I have two words for you: Katherine Harris. And if you thought “Purge’n General” Harris was bad news for minority voters, her Jane Crow act was nothing compared to Governor Rick Scott’s current push to purge 180,000 “illegal alien” voters from Florida voter rolls. Those 180,000 American citizens were only allowed to vote in last November's election because Section 5 was still alive. Pop quiz: How many “illegal alien” voters did Governor Rick ultimately bust? Go ahead, make a guess. You’re wrong! Get the answer in How Do You Steal a Dream? And don’t be an idiot: pass this on. This is the Civil Rights Movement… so let’s get moving.

For fourteen years, investigative reporter Greg Palast has exposed racial bias in US voting for BBC Television, for The Guardian and, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for Rolling Stone magazine.   Donate a minimum of $50 to support our renewed investigation of elections theft. As thanks, our foundation will send you a signed copy of Palast’s bestseller, Billionaires & Ballot Bandits. …And during this Voting Rights Month, we’ll include the full-color tarot-sized card deck, Jokers’ Wild, which includes the lovely Katherine Harris (as seen above), the Koch Brothers and more.   Your donation is tax-deductible—and boy, do we need it! So many evils, so little time—and so few resources. And thank you for keeping us alive for a decade of investigative scoops.  Follow Palast on Twitter | Like Palast on Facebook | Forward to a friend  Subscribe to Palast's Newsletter | Podcasts Share this with Copyright © 2013 Greg Palast, All rights reserved. You are receiving this Newsletter because you are a subscriber. Our mailing address is: Greg Palast PO Box 90 Greenport, NY 11944

Ralph Nader on Democracy Now Discussing Fascism and Crony Capitalism in the U.S.

FYI - From Democracy Now and YouTube.com.

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-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

 

 

 

Part 2

 



Greg Palast on the Koch Brothers Driving the XL/Keystone Pipeline!

FYI - From Greg Palast and The Real News Network/RealNews.com.

***PLEASE NOTE:   For all of my fellow libertarian brothers and sisters, regardless of what they pay lip service to, the Koch's are NOT our friends!  They are the epitome of special interests and corporatism/fascism!  This is a MUST watch for all of us.  Please pass it on!!!

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-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Senator Sanders won't give up on GMO-labeling

FYI - From Thom Hartmann/The Thom Hartmann Program.

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-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Thom's blog Senator Sanders won't give up on GMO-labeling   A week ago, the U.S. Senate voted down an amendment that would have required the labeling of genetically modified foods, but Senator Bernie Sanders said he's not giving up. In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Senator Sanders said, "I have not the slightest doubt that the momentum is with us. There are about 27 states in this country that are moving forward on the labeling of GMO food."   As if to underscore the importance of Senator Sander's determination, just one day after that interview, Reuters reported that unapproved GMO wheat was discovered in Oregon. In that report, a Chicago-based commodities broker said the discovery would harm wheat sales from the Pacific Northwest, because the wheat would be denied the non-GMO stickers that buyers in other countries require.   Not only did that story illustrate the danger of GMOs contaminating our entire food supply, but it demonstrated that U.S. food producers are perfectly capable of abiding by labeling requirements. Apparently, food producers think consumers in other countries are entitled to know what's in the food they eat, yet continue to block Senator Bernie Sanders' efforts to ensure Americans have that same right.   Currently, lawmakers in Connecticut, New York, and Vermont are considering legislation to mandate GMO labeling. As more and more states call for the labeling of genetically modified foods, it's good to know that there are Senators fighting for every person's right to know what's in their food.   -Thom

Monsanto Screws The 10th Amendment!

FYI - From The Young Turks and YouTube.com.

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-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Worldwide Protest Against Monsanto Kick Off!

FYI - From Russia Today TV/Margaret Howell.

The Monsanto Company is what you get when you add subsidizing special interests to a Congress that doesn't listen to its constituents, along with no market competition and no government transparency.

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-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Adam Kokesh on Sequestration vs. Marine & Navy "readiness."

FYI - From Adam Kokesh/AdamvstheMan.com and YouTube.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Act For America: Benghazi Hearings Part 2.

FYI - From Act For America and YouTube.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

The Koch Brothers vs. Murray N. Rothbard

FYI - From David Gordon/LewRockwell.com.

Not all libertarians are fans of the Koch Brothers.

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The Kochtopus vs. Murrary N. Rothbard

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

 

Act For America: Benghazi Whistleblower Hearnings.

FYI - From Act For America/YouTube.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Greg Palast & Alex Jones: Koch Brothers Exposed!

FYI - From Greg Palast/GregPalast.com and Alex Jones/InfoWars.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Billionaire Bankster Breaks Into Obama's Cabinet.

FYI - From Greg Palast/GregPalast.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Billionaire Bankster Breaks into Obama's Cabinet By Greg Palast  Thursday, 2. May 2013 You made fun of me when I suggested that President Barack Obama would nominate a confessed bank scammer, a loan-sharking mortgage predator, to his cabinet.  But thar she blows! Today, Obama has named Penny Pritzker Secretary of Commerce. As the President says, It’s a milestone:  the first female fraudster to hold that post. No longer will criminal bankers have to lobby the administration - because now they'll have one of their own in the Cabinet.      The following is taken from the Chapter, “Penny’s from Heaven?” you’ll find in my bestseller, Billionaires & Ballot Bandits.  [Get a copy, I’ll sign it, and you send it to the President.] We never heard of this guy Barack Obama until 2004. Less than three years before taking the presidency, he was in the Illinois state senate, a swamp of scammers, backhanders, and party machine tools - not a stellar launch pad for the White House. And then, one day, state Sen. Barack Obama was visited by his fairy godmother. Her name is Penny Pritzker. Pritzker's net worth is listed in Forbes as $1.8 billion, which is one hell of a heavy magic wand in the world of politics. Her wand would have been heavier, and her net worth higher, except that in 2001, the federal government fined her and her family $460 million for the predatory, deceitful, racist tactics and practices of Superior, the bank-and-loan-shark operation she ran on the South Side of Chicago. Superior was the first of the deregulated go-go banks to go bust - at the time, the costliest failure ever. US taxpayers lost nearly half a billion dollars. Superior's depositors lost millions and poor folk in Sen. Obama's South Side district lost their homes. Penny did not like paying $460 million. No, not one bit. What she needed was someone to give her Hope and Change. She hoped someone would change the banking regulators and the Commerce Department so she could get away with this crap. Pritzker introduced Obama, the neophyte state senator, to the Ladies Who Lunch (that's really what they call themselves) on Chicago's Gold Coast. Obama got lunch, gold and better - an introduction to Robert Rubin. Rubin is a former Secretary of the Treasury, former chairman of Goldman Sachs and former co-chairman of Citibank. Even atheists recognized Rubin as the Supreme Deity of Wall Street. Rubin opened the doors to finance industry vaults for Obama. Extraordinarily for a Democrat, Obama in 2008 raised three times as much from bankers as his Republican opponent. This article is based on the chapter Penny's from Heaven? From Palast's New York Times Bestseller Billionaires & Ballot Bandits with comics by Ted Rall. Donate and get a signed copy. So what did Citibank's Rubin get for showering Obama with gold? Obama agreed to take care of Rubin's poodles, Larry Summers and Tim Geithner. They became Obama's first cabinet picks: Summers as Economics Czar and Geithner as his czarina, Secretary of the Treasury. Geithner and Summers were the gents who, under Treasury Secretary Rubin, designed the deregulation of banking. In effect, they had decriminalized the kind of financial flim-flammery that brought the planet to its knees while bringing Rubin, Pritzker and the banksters loads of lucre. So, in 2008, Summers and Geithner were put back in the saddle - Obama's horse but Rubin's saddle. Rubin received more than $100 million from Citigroup, the gargantuan commercial bank/investment bank/casino created by deregulation. It is worth a mention that Rubin's centi-million-dollar payoff went unchallenged by Citi's new owner, the US Treasury, which had put up more than a trillion dollars in loans and guarantees to pull Rubin's creature out of bankruptcy. Rubin rocked, but Penny was pissed off. Pritzker had taken this state senator/community organizer from the ghetto, made him a US Senator, then, as Obama's campaign finance chairwoman, raised a mind-blowing three-quarters of a billion dollars to make him president. In return, in 2008, Obama decided to make his patron Penny the Secretary of Commerce. But then, in November 2008, just as Obama was about to submit her nomination to Congress, a bunch of Pritzker's victims marched on Washington. They were not from her busted bank, but unhappy workers from the lucrative nursing homes that her family owns through a string of complex offshore trusts. Obama slammed the door on Penny pronto. The Pritzker family made its billions mostly from Hyatt Hotels and Hyatt nursing homes. Penny, on the Hyatt board of directors, is an infamously combative anti-union apostle. UNITE HERE, the union that represents Hyatt workers, has called for an international boycott of Hyatt hotels. In 2012, UNITE HERE and its parent, the AFL-CIO, were crucial to Obama's winning Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. So, in this last campaign, Obama had to keep his billionairess heiress on the down-low. Obama appeared to keep the door shut on Pritzker throughout the 2012 campaign, reducing her to hosting an election fundraiser at her Gold Coast digs, which she had to bill as a Goldman Sachs PAC event. This marks possibly the first time and last time anyone used Goldman Sachs as a PR cover. But today, with the unions' money and votes already pocketed and counted, Obama can give working folks The Finger and give Penny her pound of flesh: the Commerce post. The New York Times says that, "At Commerce, Ms. Pritzker could provide the president with a new way to reach out to the business community." The last time Pritzker reached out to the business community was to sell them sub-prime mortgage securities, worthless bags of financial feces manufactured by Superior Bank. By giving Penny, the Piggy Banker, Commerce, we have to change Obama's rating to sub-prime. I do note that some woman’s organizations are applauding the appointment of the first female to the Commerce post.  But I prefer to honor the victims of the Chicago femme fatale.  Most of Penny’s victims, busted bank borrowers and underpaid health care workers, are women, too. But, unlike those wounded and destroyed by Pritzker, she worked hard for her money: it was not easy inheriting her first billion from her daddy.

Greg Palast earned his degree in finance at the University of Chicago but has since gone legit.  View his reports for BBC Television, Vice Magazine and more at www.GregPalast.com. Palast is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, Armed Madhouse and the highly acclaimed Vultures' Picnic, named Book of the Year 2012 on BBC Newsnight Review. Visit the Palast Investigative Fund's store or simply make a contribution to keep our work alive! For media requests contact us.  Follow Palast on Twitter | Like Palast on Facebook | Forward to a friend  Subscribe to Palast's Newsletter | Podcasts Share this with Copyright © 2013 Greg Palast, All rights reserved. You are receiving this Newsletter because you are a subscriber. Our mailing address is: Greg Palast PO Box 90 Greenport, NY 11944

Bill To Nullify Warrantless Drone Use In TN Passes - Sent To Gov. Haslam's Desk!

FYI - From Lesley Swann/Tennessee Chapter of the Tenth Amendment Center.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Bill To Nullify Warrantless Drone Use In Tennesse Passes, Sent To Gov. Haslam’s Desk

Posted by Lesley Swann


The Tennessee legislature gave final approval to a bill restricting drone use in the state and sent it on to Governor Bill Haslam’s desk on the last day of the legislative session.

A conference committee hammered out differences and both chambers gave approval to SB796/HB591 Friday. The Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act requires law enforcement to obtain a search warrant before deploying a drone.

The act allows four exceptions for drone use without a warrant.

1. To “counter a high risk of a terrorist attack by a specific individual or organization” identified by the Department of Homeland Security.

2. When the law enforcement agency “possesses reasonable suspicion that, under particular circumstances, swift action is needed to prevent imminent danger to life.”

3. To “provide continuous aerial coverage when law enforcement is searching for a fugitive or escapee or is monitoring a hostage situation.”

4. To “provide more expansive aerial coverage when deployed for the purpose of searching for a missing person.”

Even when operating under these exceptions, “the use of a drone to gather evidence or information shall constitute a search. Any law enforcement agency that uses a drone, or other substantially similar device to gather evidence or obtain information, shall comply in all respects with the fourth amendment to the Constitution of the United States and article I, § 7, of the Constitution of Tennessee. ”

A provision allowing for the use of drones “to protect life and property during crowd monitoring situations,” in the House bill was removed in the final version.

The House approved SB796 after approval in the conference committee 72-17 with two representatives not voting. The Senate initially gave its approval 32-0.

Rep. James “Micah” Van Huss (R-Jonesborough) and Sen. Mae Beavers (R-Mount Juliet) sponsored the legislation. They told the Knoxville News Sentinel that the bill strikes a balance between allowing use of drones where needed for a legitimate purpose and avoiding governmental intrusion.

Whole some of the exceptions are troubling and vague, currently Tennessee lacks any statute regulating drone use. If Gov. Haslam fails to sign the bill, law enforcement in Tennessee will be able to deploy drones any time, any place and under any circumstances. Even with the exceptions, this act will greatly restrict the use of drones in the Volunteer State. It also leaves the door open for further restrictions in the future.

And make no mistake, Tennessee will use drones. Just last year, the Nashville Police Department procured two drones with a Department of Homeland Security grant.

DHS grants serve as the primary engine behind the expansion of drone surveillance at the state and local level. The goal? Fund a network of drones around the country and put the operational burden on the states. Once they create a web over the whole country, DHS steps in with requests for ‘information sharing.’ Bills like HB591 put a dent in this kind of long-term strategy. A drone industry lobbyist testifying in opposition to a similar bill in Washington State confirmed this, saying such restrictions would prove extremely destructive to the drone market and industry.

The bill does not address drone use by individuals or corporations, but Beavers and Van Huss said they may propose legislation on that topic next year.

ACTION ITEMS

1. Contact Gov. Haslam and ask him to sign the Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act. If you live in Tennessee, contact the governor’s office and politely but firmly ask him to sign this bill restricting drone use and protecting privacy. You can find contact information HERE.

2. Encourage your local community to take action as well. Using model legislation from the Tenth Amendment Center, you can introduce legislation to nullify Drones in your city, town, and county with the Privacy Protection Act.
You will find model legislation HERE.

3. Share this information widely. Please pass this along to your friends and family. Also share it with any and all grassroots groups you’re in contact with around the state. Please encourage them to email this information to their members and supporters.

Lesley Swann is a Co-Host for Tenther Radio and the state chapter coordinator for the Tennessee Tenth Amendment Center. She is a native of Anderson County, Tennessee.

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