Dear Ron,
The media follows the golden rule. He who has the gold makes the rules.
With that in mind, let's ask a question. What do Boeing, AT&T, America's Natural Gas Alliance, CTIA, McDonald's, and Goldman Sachs have in common?
They are all advertisers in Friday's issue of the Politico, the insider political magazine that controls much of the dialogue in Washington, DC. And that's just one day's issue. In fact, for the last year, the back page of the Politico has been occupied by a full-page Goldman Sachs advertisement. That's a direct revenue flow of thousands of dollars from Goldman Sachs to the magazine most politicians in DC rely on for political gossip.
Interestingly enough, here are the last six headlines from the Politico on me.
Dems accused of tea party tampering
GOP foe sues Grayson over DVD
Kelly: Grayson may want troops to die
Who's not on the DCCC list
The Age of Rage
No repeat blockbuster for Grayson
Every single headline is meant to damage me, to gin up pseudo-scandals or keep them going. We recognize this. It's what the media did to Bill Clinton, to Barack Obama, to Al Gore, to Michael Moore, and really, to anyone who is either a Democrat or puts forward the concept that America should be run for the benefit of the people and not the corporations.
Showing posts with label Alan Grayson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alan Grayson. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
How Much Does a Congressman Cost?
Dear Ron:
You probably heard that a Republican tool in Washington, DC offered $100 last week for someone to punch me in the nose. But you may not have noticed to whom Dan Gainor extended that kind offer. Here is what he said:
"I'll give $100 to first Rep. who punches smary [sic] idiot Alan Grayson in the nose."
"Rep." means Representative, or Congressman. Gainor wanted to motivate a Congressman to hit me. And he thought that offering $100 was the way to do it.
We can't offer you a chance to punch Alan Grayson in the nose, but we can offer you a chance to support our campaign.
Now Gainor is not just any crank. He is the Director of the Business and Media Institute, a Big Business-funded Republican lie-tank in Washington, D.C. He meets with Republican Members of Congress all the time. And he seems to have an uncanny understanding of what motivates them. Dan Gainor thinks that if you give a Republican elected official money, and he'll do anything you want. Even punch someone in the nose.
The amazing thing is not that Republican Members of Congress are for sale. The amazing thing is that you can buy one for $100, at least according to Dan Gainor. And he ought to know.
For modest amounts of money, people like Dan Gainor think that they can buy a tax break. Or a lucrative government contract. Or exemption from regulations. Or a bailout. (Which is why the House Financial Services Committee passed the Shareholder Protection Act yesterday, based on legislation that I introduced months ago - to end the buying and selling of elected officials after the Citizens United decision.)
Now we have had almost 50,000 people contribute to our reelection campaign. (You can do so here.) And here's the thing. None of you has ever asked for a tax break, or a government contract, or a regulatory exemption, or a bailout. In fact, all you've asked us for is good government.
Dan Gainor probably thinks that that makes you a sucker. I see it differently. I think it makes you an American that I'm proud of.
No punches in the nose for sale here. But if you'd like to make a contribution to government of the people, by the people, and for the people, then click here. Maybe you can match Dan Gainor, dollar for dollar -- $100, or whatever you can give.
Let's punch back.
Truth,
Alan Grayson
You probably heard that a Republican tool in Washington, DC offered $100 last week for someone to punch me in the nose. But you may not have noticed to whom Dan Gainor extended that kind offer. Here is what he said:
"I'll give $100 to first Rep. who punches smary [sic] idiot Alan Grayson in the nose."
"Rep." means Representative, or Congressman. Gainor wanted to motivate a Congressman to hit me. And he thought that offering $100 was the way to do it.
We can't offer you a chance to punch Alan Grayson in the nose, but we can offer you a chance to support our campaign.
Now Gainor is not just any crank. He is the Director of the Business and Media Institute, a Big Business-funded Republican lie-tank in Washington, D.C. He meets with Republican Members of Congress all the time. And he seems to have an uncanny understanding of what motivates them. Dan Gainor thinks that if you give a Republican elected official money, and he'll do anything you want. Even punch someone in the nose.
The amazing thing is not that Republican Members of Congress are for sale. The amazing thing is that you can buy one for $100, at least according to Dan Gainor. And he ought to know.
For modest amounts of money, people like Dan Gainor think that they can buy a tax break. Or a lucrative government contract. Or exemption from regulations. Or a bailout. (Which is why the House Financial Services Committee passed the Shareholder Protection Act yesterday, based on legislation that I introduced months ago - to end the buying and selling of elected officials after the Citizens United decision.)
Now we have had almost 50,000 people contribute to our reelection campaign. (You can do so here.) And here's the thing. None of you has ever asked for a tax break, or a government contract, or a regulatory exemption, or a bailout. In fact, all you've asked us for is good government.
Dan Gainor probably thinks that that makes you a sucker. I see it differently. I think it makes you an American that I'm proud of.
No punches in the nose for sale here. But if you'd like to make a contribution to government of the people, by the people, and for the people, then click here. Maybe you can match Dan Gainor, dollar for dollar -- $100, or whatever you can give.
Let's punch back.
Truth,
Alan Grayson
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Oppose Funding of War - Alan Grayson
Dear Ron,
Next week, there is going to be a "debate" in Congress on yet another war funding bill. The bill is supposed to pass without debate, so no one will notice.
What George Orwell wrote about in "1984" has come true. What Eisenhower warned us about concerning the "military-industrial complex" has come true. War is a permanent feature of our societal landscape, so much so that no one notices it anymore.
But we're going to change this. Today, we're introducing a bill called 'The War Is Making You Poor Act'. The purpose of this bill is to connect the dots, and to show people in a real and concrete way the cost of these endless wars. We're working to get co-sponsors in Congress, but, we need citizen co-sponsors as well. Become a citizen cosponsor today at TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com. Act Now.
http://www.TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com
Next year's budget allocates $159,000,000,000 to perpetuate the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. That's enough money to eliminate federal income taxes for the first $35,000 of every American's income. Beyond that, leaves over $15 billion to cut the deficit.
And that's what this bill does. It eliminates separate funding for the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and eliminates federal income taxes for everyone's first $35,000 of income ($70,000 for couples). Plus it pays down the national debt. Does that sound good to you? Then please sign our petition in support of this bill, and help us build a movement to end our permanent state of war.
http://www.TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com
The costs of the war have been rendered invisible. There's no draft. Instead, we take the most vulnerable elements of our population, and give them a choice between unemployment and missile fodder. Government deficits conceal the need to pay in cash for the war.
We put the cost of both guns and butter on our Chinese credit card. In fact, we don't even put these wars on budget; they are still passed using 'emergency supplemental'. A nine-year 'emergency'.
Let's show Congress the cost of these wars is too much for us.
http://www.TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com
Tell Congress that you like 'The War Is Making You Poor Act'. No, tell Congress you love it.
http://www.TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com
All we are saying is "give peace a chance." We will end these wars.
Together.
Courage,
Alan Grayson
Next week, there is going to be a "debate" in Congress on yet another war funding bill. The bill is supposed to pass without debate, so no one will notice.
What George Orwell wrote about in "1984" has come true. What Eisenhower warned us about concerning the "military-industrial complex" has come true. War is a permanent feature of our societal landscape, so much so that no one notices it anymore.
But we're going to change this. Today, we're introducing a bill called 'The War Is Making You Poor Act'. The purpose of this bill is to connect the dots, and to show people in a real and concrete way the cost of these endless wars. We're working to get co-sponsors in Congress, but, we need citizen co-sponsors as well. Become a citizen cosponsor today at TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com. Act Now.
http://www.TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com
Next year's budget allocates $159,000,000,000 to perpetuate the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. That's enough money to eliminate federal income taxes for the first $35,000 of every American's income. Beyond that, leaves over $15 billion to cut the deficit.
And that's what this bill does. It eliminates separate funding for the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and eliminates federal income taxes for everyone's first $35,000 of income ($70,000 for couples). Plus it pays down the national debt. Does that sound good to you? Then please sign our petition in support of this bill, and help us build a movement to end our permanent state of war.
http://www.TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com
The costs of the war have been rendered invisible. There's no draft. Instead, we take the most vulnerable elements of our population, and give them a choice between unemployment and missile fodder. Government deficits conceal the need to pay in cash for the war.
We put the cost of both guns and butter on our Chinese credit card. In fact, we don't even put these wars on budget; they are still passed using 'emergency supplemental'. A nine-year 'emergency'.
Let's show Congress the cost of these wars is too much for us.
http://www.TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com
Tell Congress that you like 'The War Is Making You Poor Act'. No, tell Congress you love it.
http://www.TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com
All we are saying is "give peace a chance." We will end these wars.
Together.
Courage,
Alan Grayson
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
We Beat the Fed
Dear Ron,
The Senate just voted, 96-0, to audit the Federal Reserve. Soon, we will know what the Federal Reserve did with the trillions of dollars that it handed out during the financial crisis.
A few months ago, such a vote would have been unthinkable. One senior Treasury official claimed he would fight to stop an audit 'at all costs'. Senator Chris Dodd predicted that an audit would spell economic doom, while Senator Judd Gregg attacked accountability for the Fed as "pandering populism".
Today, both the Treasury Department and Senator Dodd support this amendment. As for Judd Gregg, he was just on the floor of the Senate discussing -- of all people -- 19th century populist Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan.
What happened?
People Power is what happened. We built a coalition of people on the right and the left, ordinary citizens and economists, ex-regulators and politicians, all with one question for which we demanded an answer: "What happened to our money?"
No longer can Ben Bernanke get away with saying, "I don't know."
Now, we're going to know who got what, and why.
Releasing this information will show that the Federal Reserve's arguments for secrecy are -- and have always been -- a ruse, to cover up the handing out of hundreds of billions of dollars like party favors to the Wall Street favorites who brought the American economy to the brink of ruin.
But our work isn't quite done. The Senate audit provision isn't as strong as what we passed in the House. The Senate provision has only a one-time audit, whereas what we passed in the House would allow audits going forward. There will be a conference committee that will merge the provisions from the two bills.
The need for audits and oversight over Fed handouts going forward is great. The financial crisis isn't over, and neither are the Fed's secret bailouts. Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve announced it was going underwrite the Greek bailout by lending dollars to the central banks of Europe, England, and Japan. The loans may never be paid back, the Fed accepts the risk that the dollar will strengthen in the meantime, and the interest rate charged by the Fed is very likely at below-market rates. So such loans are in effect just a subsidy, to bail out foreigners.
The Fed has not been chastened. It is bolder and more of a rogue actor than ever. It's clear that without full audit authority going forward, the Fed will continue to give out "foreign aid" without Congressional or even Executive permission.
And it will do so in secret.
So we will be fighting on to get a full audit from the conference committee.
But let's not lose sight of what we have accomplished so far - real independent inquiry into the Fed, and its incestuous relationships with Wall Street banks. For the first time ever.
Our calls, emails, lobbying, blogging, and support really mattered. We made it happen.
Today, we beat the Fed.
Courage,
Alan Grayson
The Senate just voted, 96-0, to audit the Federal Reserve. Soon, we will know what the Federal Reserve did with the trillions of dollars that it handed out during the financial crisis.
A few months ago, such a vote would have been unthinkable. One senior Treasury official claimed he would fight to stop an audit 'at all costs'. Senator Chris Dodd predicted that an audit would spell economic doom, while Senator Judd Gregg attacked accountability for the Fed as "pandering populism".
Today, both the Treasury Department and Senator Dodd support this amendment. As for Judd Gregg, he was just on the floor of the Senate discussing -- of all people -- 19th century populist Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan.
What happened?
People Power is what happened. We built a coalition of people on the right and the left, ordinary citizens and economists, ex-regulators and politicians, all with one question for which we demanded an answer: "What happened to our money?"
No longer can Ben Bernanke get away with saying, "I don't know."
Now, we're going to know who got what, and why.
Releasing this information will show that the Federal Reserve's arguments for secrecy are -- and have always been -- a ruse, to cover up the handing out of hundreds of billions of dollars like party favors to the Wall Street favorites who brought the American economy to the brink of ruin.
But our work isn't quite done. The Senate audit provision isn't as strong as what we passed in the House. The Senate provision has only a one-time audit, whereas what we passed in the House would allow audits going forward. There will be a conference committee that will merge the provisions from the two bills.
The need for audits and oversight over Fed handouts going forward is great. The financial crisis isn't over, and neither are the Fed's secret bailouts. Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve announced it was going underwrite the Greek bailout by lending dollars to the central banks of Europe, England, and Japan. The loans may never be paid back, the Fed accepts the risk that the dollar will strengthen in the meantime, and the interest rate charged by the Fed is very likely at below-market rates. So such loans are in effect just a subsidy, to bail out foreigners.
The Fed has not been chastened. It is bolder and more of a rogue actor than ever. It's clear that without full audit authority going forward, the Fed will continue to give out "foreign aid" without Congressional or even Executive permission.
And it will do so in secret.
So we will be fighting on to get a full audit from the conference committee.
But let's not lose sight of what we have accomplished so far - real independent inquiry into the Fed, and its incestuous relationships with Wall Street banks. For the first time ever.
Our calls, emails, lobbying, blogging, and support really mattered. We made it happen.
Today, we beat the Fed.
Courage,
Alan Grayson
Friday, March 5, 2010
Alan Grayson [D-Fl] Leads both Party Tickets
Republicans like a politician who stands up for what he believes -- even if he believes the Republican Party is populated by a bunch of "knuckle-dragging Neanderthals."
The candidate leading the Florida GOP primary to determine who will take on Rep. Alan Grayson, the Democrat who represents the Orlando-based district, is none other than Grayson himself, according to a poll paid for by his campaign. Grayson is a freshman congressman who has drawn scorn from the GOP and has quickly built a nationwide following of progressives.
The poll has Grayson leading the 13 Republicans -- among Republicans -- with 27.8 percent of the vote.
-Huffington Post
The candidate leading the Florida GOP primary to determine who will take on Rep. Alan Grayson, the Democrat who represents the Orlando-based district, is none other than Grayson himself, according to a poll paid for by his campaign. Grayson is a freshman congressman who has drawn scorn from the GOP and has quickly built a nationwide following of progressives.
The poll has Grayson leading the 13 Republicans -- among Republicans -- with 27.8 percent of the vote.
-Huffington Post
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