plutocracy

Suppose you found yourself in charge-- for a week. One week to clean up America. Would shooting plutocrats Sheldon Adelson, Rebekah (and Robert) Mercer and Foster Friess be part of the plan? (We’ll leave the Koch brothers out of this for a moment, because this post isn’t really about shooting anyone.)Who remembers when Adam “Howdy Doody” Putnam retired from Congress in 2009? Little Howdy Doody had one dream… to be governor of Florida.

I didn't realize that urbanologist Richard Florida was overtly political. I guess Trump is pissing him off as much as he's pissing off the rest of the country-- and the world.. Yesterday Florida tweeted that "It is the sole motivation of our plutocratic president & leadership.

The new issue of the Harvard Business Review carried an adaptation by urbanologist Richard Florida from his new book, The New Urban Crisis, warning about "a sterile sameness" that's been hard to miss taking over cities we all used to love and feel inspired by. I don't think Florida is as worried about it as I am...

Voters cast their ballots at Cynthia Mann Elementary School in Boise, Idaho, on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016. (AP/Otto Kitsinger)
SANTA CRUZ, California — (Insights) Whether viewed in terms of outcome or of process, the story of the 2016 presidential election is one so grim that it calls for a trigger warning for anyone of ethical sensibilities or faith in the workings of democracy.

Interest groups and lobbyists have been busy peddling their client’s interests since 1816 when Delaware manufacturer Isaac Briggs teamed up with his colleagues in an attempt to convince federal lawmakers to impose tariffs on the import of foreign made manufactures.

There is no better example in Congress of America's descent into plutocracy than southwest Michigan's 15-term Republican incumbent, Fred Upton. He was born into one of the state's wealthiest families and he has served the interests of his class-- and exclusively those interests-- since first getting into Congress in the 1980s. Blue America is supporting Paul Clements to replace Upton and his new TV ad (above) delineates the Upton policies to this day that have marked him as the servant of plutocracy.

Maryland's 8th congressional district was gerrymandered by a Democratic controlled state legislature eager to make sure just one Republican would ever go to Congress from Maryland. The district has a PVI of D+11 and Obama won there with over 60% both times he ran.

4.96/5 (25) In the wake of the Brexit referendum, Joseph has some High Octane Speculation about what it was about, and what may be next:
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The post SPECIAL NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE NEFARIUM JUNE 25 2016 ON THE BREXIT ... appeared first on Giza Death Star.

A lot of Democratic coalition Beltway organizations are reluctant to endorse in primaries, a terrible tactical error. But in the case of Maryland's 8th district, the choices are starkly clear... and so is the danger and organizations that would rather not, are stepping up to the plate.

DCCC found another rich crook to shove down Democrats' throatsWe've been writing a lot about Thomas Frank's thesis that the Democratic Party, institutionally-speaking, has abandoned the working class and transmogrified itself into a Republican-lite party that represents the interests of the professional class--as he calls it, "the top 10%." We've been making the point for almost a decade that the DCCC-- starting with Rahm Emanuel but accelerating