The late Frank Zappa was way ahead of his time. Yes, Absurdity is the new Reality! Just a glance at the day’s news is evidence of that.
I began today’s show with the news that hell has frozen over. The best explanation I’ve seen thus far about the DC Circuit Court ruling that rendered Net Neutrality dead comes from Fox “News”‘s Shepard Smith! And then, he called his corporate shill of a guest a “corporate shill!”. Once you pick your jaw up off the ground, watch this:
Today, the Senate Finance Committee (under the exiting Max Baucus) will mark up the bill granting Fast Track Trade Authority (intro’d by the despicable soon-to-be-former Senator Baucus) which would likely usher the TPP into law. Congressman Alan Grayson is fighting it – and sent this letter to his colleagues in Congress:
Here the the graphs he included, both dealing with the Trade Deficit that Dave Johnson mentioned during our conversation about it earlier this week.
For more info of the absurd… This morning, Howie Klein returned to the show. Howie blogs at Down With Tyranny and runs the Blue America PAC with Digby and John Amato, and knows more than anyone else I know about how the political machine inside the Democratic Party works. I’ve learned a lot about that over the years too. But what I read on DWT yesterday blew my mind, as I’d never seen it laid out so clearly before.
An anonymous guest blogger pulled back the curtain behind the organizations that solicit for political contributions, ostensibly to help elect more Democrats to Congress.From the DNC, DCCC, DSCC to others like Emily’s List – are making a killing off of the donations.
This morning Roll Call ran a story about how people running PACs and consulting firms have become very very wealthy raising money that purports to be for causes and candidates their targets believe in. They work the same way the DCCC and the NRCC work, separating the suckers from their cash and pocketing a chunk for their allies. “Recently released tax forms,” reports Eliza Carney, “shed light on the big salaries that an elite corps of political organizers earned during the 2012 elections– and those who made the most often boasted the fewest wins.”
You really need to take a few minutes to read the guest post and then Howie’s follow up, and start acting accordingly. We’ve got to stop the madness!
Amy Simon joined in from She’s History to give us her take on Maria Shriver’s new Shriver Report.
And Julianna Forlano of Absurdity Today helped us laugh as we head into the weekend.