RadioFreeLiberal.com

I'm a refrigeration, boiler, hydraulic, and diesel mechanic Roy. Field work, most of it being done on the tailgate of my truck. Not a lot of space there to leave things laying around or to be messy. Made my living doing it. Was good at it. My pants get pretty greasy.

The marks of being a mechanic leaves are little nicks and scars, and the physical build. The guy looked like an office butter ball to me.

I believe you, but it's anecdotal. I've known lots of mechanics--and machinists, that when they weren't working their trade, could have been tagged at being pencil pushers. I've also known office workers who looked like they were shoved through a giant pencil sharpener.

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"In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws - he would make a Trump." -British poster on Quora Digest.

TYT - Alison Hartson on Fighting Money In Politics. Wolf-PAC.com



Wolf-Pac

Companies face many dark perils when it comes to political money

As corporate titans AT&T and Novartis continue to stumble in explaining their respective $600,000 and $1.2 million payments to President Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, no explanation has been offered why these payments were structured to avoid public disclosure. The fact that these payments were intentionally shrouded in darkness means that they will remain a stain on the reputations of these companies.

http://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/389 ... ical-money

Wolf-Pac

TYT - Alison Hartson Loses, Feinstein and de Leon Advance



Wolf-Pac

TYT - Wolf-PAC's Next Big Fight Is Here



Wolf-Pac

ROF - FEC Ignores The Law, Allows “Dark Money” To Flood Campaigns



Wolf-Pac

California Shines a Light on Dark Money

This November, Californians will vote for 80 State Assembly members, 20 state senators, and a new governor, as well as face choices over a number of citizen-initiated ballot measures. With so much at stake, over 19 million voters can expect moneyed interests to try and influence the vote through blanketing the state with a flurry of advertisements. Yet in this upcoming election—for the first time—voters will have the opportunity to learn more about the organizations funding those ads.

A recently passed law known as the California Disclose Act requires greater transparency in political advertising and funding to help voters make informed decisions. The Disclose Act makes numerous amendments to the state’s flagship law that regulates campaign finance and electoral activity.

https://www.theregreview.org/2018/05/29 ... ark-money/

Wolf-Pac

California Bows to Payday Lenders on Interest Rate Caps

SACRAMENTO (CN) — Targeting minorities and veterans lacking access to fair credit, lenders pushing small loans with interest rates above 100 percent are flourishing in California.

With no law limiting or discouraging triple-digit annual percentage rate lending, the personal loan market has exploded since the Great Recession. Lenders dished out over 300,000 loans to Californians with interest rates above 100 percent in 2016, a stunning jump from just 57 in 2006.

https://www.courthousenews.com/californ ... rate-caps/

Wolf-Pac

TYT - Wolf-PAC Taking A Stand In Maryland



Wolf-Pac

Slamming the door shut to foreign meddling in America

Last month, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee released a batch of some 3,500 Facebook Kremlin-backed Facebook ads. They yielded further evidence of Russia’s campaign to sow national discord before (and after) the 2016 elections by exploiting weaknesses in the rules that regulate online political advertising.

As California Congressman and House Intelligence Ranking Member Adam Schiff said recently: “There’s no question that Russia sought to weaponize social media platforms to drive a wedge between Americans, and in an attempt to sway the 2016 election.”

http://thehill.com/opinion/national-sec ... in-america

Wolf-Pac

TYT - Bloomberg Dumping $80 MILLION On Election



Wolf-Pac

Corporate speech impedes city’s right to create municipal utility

Earlier this month, the citizens of Decorah, Iowa, voted against establishing a municipal electric utility— by three votes. The “no” campaign, financed exclusively by Alliant Energy, outspent the grassroots “yes” campaign 5-to-1, according to state campaign disclosure reports.

Iowa has experienced a “municipal electric utility drought” since 1974. This is in part due to the expensive and involved process to present a municipalization case to the Iowa Utilities Board. In Decorah, however, the impediment to our city’s right to municipalization was Alliant Energy’s meddling in our local democratic process. Alliant’s involvement started last year, when a local grassroots organization, Decorah Power, declared its intentions to explore municipalization.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story ... 663536002/

Wolf-Pac

A federal judge just knocked down major parts of Colorado’s privatized system of enforcing money-in-politics laws

The centerpiece of Colorado’s unique method of outsourcing enforcement of campaign finance laws to private citizens is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday in a scathing court decision that could drastically change the way the state regulates money in politics.

U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore said a constitutional provision and supporting laws that require individuals to submit and prosecute complaints against politicians and groups they believe have broken campaign finance laws, violates federal Constitutional provisions.

http://www.coloradoindependent.com/1706 ... nforcement

After Nevada GOP push, Treasury quietly changed lucrative policy benefiting one county

The Treasury Department last week quietly reversed itself after lobbying by Nevada Republicans and agreed to let a previously ineligible county reap huge benefits from the new tax law.

The effort was led by Nevada’s governor, Brian Sandoval (R), and Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), who separately spoke with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and pushed for Storey County to win designation as an “Opportunity Zone,” which was established in the law to help distressed areas attract money.

Wolf-Pac

Commentary: Florida forces victims to hire lobbyists. That’s just sick

Ten years ago, a school bus plowed into Carl Abbott, ending life as he knew it.

He was left permanently disabled, partially paralyzed and confined to a nursing home the rest of his life. The Palm Beach County bus had struck the 67-year-old as he attempted to use a crosswalk.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/ ... story.html

Wolf-Pac

Political Fundraisers Face Harassment From An Endless Stream Of Men With Money

Two years ago, Leah Olm, chief fundraiser for the grassroots progressive group Wellstone, said she was in a one-on-one meeting with a donor when he “stepped extremely out of line.”

The incident rattled her badly, but in her line of work, refusing to meet with donors in private is not an option. So Olm found alternative solutions: She attended a self-defense class paid for by her employer and took advantage of Wellstone’s lack of a dress code to wear her Adidas running shoes to private meetings. That way, “I can get away fast if a bad situation arises in the future,” Olm said.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/po ... e89e21d03b

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TYT - Wolf-PAC-Backed Antonio Hayes Wins Big



Wolf-Pac

$100 per vote. The cost to campaign for Rep.Darrell Issa's open seat was one of the highest in the country.

Candidates and political committees spent nearly $16 million while running for California’s 49th District, a whopping price tag driven by the costs of campaigning for a seat that straddles two of the country’s most expensive media markets.

At least $15.83 million was spent in the primary to succeed Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, a figure that includes financial data through May 16 will certainly grow after candidates and outside committees publicly report what they put into the race in the final weeks before polls opened on June 5.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/new ... story.html

Wolf-Pac

Democracy in America — and here in Alaska — is at a crossroads. Let’s choose the right path.

"Cabaret": It was a terrific show, wasn't it? Full of musical invention and the movement of people, both in dance and the swish of expressive walking, the crafting of character — it was all good. But did you get the accompanying theme of pending disaster as the democratic republic of Weimar Germany in the 1920s began crumbling under the pressure of Nazism — while everyone was having a good time? Did you catch the desperation with which the hero tried to extract Sally Bowles for a return to America, and her laughing rejection? She was having too good a time.

Did you for a moment think that there was a whiff of resemblance to our time, ever feel any anxiety or foreboding that not this but something like this might be happening in America? In some ways, this is nothing new. The unquenchable quest for power will always push to degrade democracy. So something is happening. As has been the case since democracy was emerging in the time of Solon, the people must always push back if democratic institutions are to maintain their full life. Maybe in Alaska we can make a start for America, set an example of pushing back.

https://www.adn.com/opinions/2018/06/13 ... ight-path/

Wolf-Pac

Will the Supreme Court’s Understanding of the First Amendment Thwart Laws Aimed at Limiting Foreign Influence in U.S. Elections?

By now everyone is familiar with attempts by the Russian government and others to interfere in U.S. elections. They hacked into at least 21 state voter registration databases, though there is no evidence they changed any data there or affected any voting or vote counting. Numerous Russian officials tried to gain influence over the Trump campaign, including though an offer to the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., of dirt on opponent Hillary Clinton. And there were the Russian-funded social media campaigns, some of which spread falsehoods, and others of which just tried to stir up the muck by posting on both sides of divisive issues like immigration, Black Lives Matter/police violence and gay rights.

Understandably, Congress and states are considering whether existing laws are sufficient to proscribe illegal foreign influence in our elections, or if new legislation is necessary. In this post, I want to call attention to perhaps the greatest impediment to effective limits on foreign influence on our elections: the United States Supreme Court.

https://www.justsecurity.org/57624/supr ... elections/

Wolf-Pac

TYT - Capital Gazette Shooting: Who's REALLY To Blame?



Wolf-Pac

Good grief, how would TYT know who's REALLY To Blame. They're obviously trying to bottle an assertion as sell it as THE TRUTH.

Cenk is not who you think he is. Who does he say is responsible, regardless? If the NRA then yes, they are surely partly so.

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"Corporate Democrat" phrase created at the same place "Angry Mob" was...People keep falling for rightwing talking points. How sad.

Via Twitter

Florida Democratic Party Executive Committee passes resolution banning private prison money and all affiliated PAC and lobbyist money in the Florida Democratic Party.

https://twitter.com/tomaskenn/status/10 ... 0648749057

Wolf-Pac