The Gold-Standard Hustle

Does Anyone Here Speak Paul-Tard?

Mark Ames writes at The eXiled:

Does anyone here in this house speak goldbug-babble? Anyone who can make sense of Dr. Paul’s logic in the clip below, I’m curious what the fuck this man is trying to hawk to his 1988 C-SPAN viewers. I mean I know it’s snake-oil, but even snake-oil pitches have a logic to them. This one just sounds like bat-shit blather.

As far as I can tell, the reason why the Koch brothers hire tools to promote the gold standard is the same reason that robber barons of the 19th century loved the gold standard so much: Gold locks in the power and wealth of those who have all the power and wealth; and gold locks out everyone else who’s not so lucky, condemning them to serfdom. Which leads to Populist uprisings, labor unrest, and all that century-old misery. That would explain why Koch fronts like Ron Paul hustle the gold standard to us suckers as the equivalent to “freedom”–just like coal companies pitching the public the lie about “clean coal”–you want the suckers to believe that a gold standard will offer them the very opposite of the misery it delivers.

That part of the scam I get. Fair enough. But this 1988 gold standard pitch? Makes no sense.

Over the years, Congressman Ron Paul, hero of the libertarian cult, has hawked his beloved “gold standard” as the cure-all for [NAME OF CURRENT CRISIS], logic be damned. In this video, Dr. Paul promises that the gold standard will solve the trade deficit with Japan, the hot topic in 1988–in fact, Dr. Paul says there won’t even be a trade deficit to worry about if there’s a gold standard, and moreover, people won’t even have to keep accounting records anymore! ...>more

The Big Troubles of James O'Keefe and His Sponsors

"Project Veritas" DC Office On M Street Turns Out To Be Rental Mailbox

Wade Rathke writes at the Chief Organizer blog:
New Orleans: It turns out that just like the song says, “it’s hard on a pimp” or a “punk” or a “pretend pimp,” which turns out is the case for video-sting-man James O’Keefe and his futile attempts to “come clean” and pull off his greatest ironic caper: boy journalist.

You know it’s a dog pile when something as staid, boring and nose-in-the-air as The Chronicle of Philanthropy takes a look down at your problems, but sure enough, O’Keefe wants to make sure he gives his right-wing buddies a tax break for supporting his chicanery, so he’s applied for tax exempt 501c3 status for his paradoxically named “Project Veritas,” which used to be Latin for truth, but who knows what O’Keefe thinks it stands for. But here’s the Chronicle’s cut:

“An attempt to visit Mr. O’Keefe at Project Veritas’s official address in Washington—2100 M Street N.W., Suite 170-241—was also unsuccessful. Suite 170 is a UPS store and No. 241 is a small mailbox that rents for $35 a month.

Project Veritas’s first step in getting an exemption is to file an application with the IRS known as Form 1023.

As part of that application process, Project Veritas must meet key requirements about how the group is organized and operated and spell out what charitable mission it will pursue.

Organizations must also prove that their assets do not unjustly enrich board members or officers and that board members do not pursue business activities unrelated to their tax-exempt purpose. Applicants must also show that they do “not engage in activities that are illegal or violate fundamental public policy.”

…Mr. O’Keefe pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor crime after he and three others entered the office of Sen. Mary Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana, last year pretending to be telephone repairmen.

The fact that Mr. O’Keefe has stated in public that he would do it again, albeit “differently” would probably be the biggest stumbling block to gaining charity status, said Marc Owens, a Washington tax lawyer who formerly oversaw the IRS division that monitors tax-exempt groups.

“If he is proposing to do something that is, in fact, illegal, can the IRS believe, with any degree of credibility, what he is saying?” Mr. Owens said. “Is he going to continue to enter government offices illegally? He pled guilty to it once and said he would do it again. It’s reasonable to conclude that the organization may be engaged in criminal activity in the future.”

Bottom line: They are not sure you should get tax free donations when you announce that you may break the law with the money. Geez, they have kind of a point there.... >more

How Long Has "New Media Strategies" Been Trolling Wikipedia on the Kochs' Behalf?

It’s official: the Kochs pay social media PR companies to troll the Internet on their behalf.

Yasha Levine reports at The eXiled:

According to Lee Fang over at ThinkProgress, an internal Wikipedia investigation revealed that a number of Wikipedia users making pro-Koch edits were actually sock puppets set up by employees at an Internet marketing company called New Media Strategies. After being outed, a New Media Strategies rep all but confirmed the findings of the Wikipedia investigation:

Soren Dayton, a GOP operative and executive at New Media Strategies, is reported to be the contact for Koch Industries at NMS. Reached by phone yesterday by ThinkProgress, Dayton exclaimed, “I’m not going to talk about this, thanks,” before hanging up. Lyndsey Medsker, a senior account director for NMS, spoke to ThinkProgress today. She explained that NMS also maintains the Koch Industries Twitter page, Facebook page, and has an active team working on promoting Koch Industries in the comment section of blogs and news websites.

Reading Lee Fang’s post, I couldn’t help but think that the name of the company, New Media Strategies, sounded oddly familiar. ...>more

Nevada Teabagger Diva Launches 2012 Congressional Campaign

Angle's Disappointing Inaugural Campaign Ad Lacks Over-The-Edge Zaniness that Gave '10 GOP Ads That Special "Zing"



Alriiiiigghhht! She's running again! Bring on the LULZ!

US Anti-Muslim Rally Raises Fears

Fascist Yahoos Shout Abuse, Insults at California Fundraiser Attendees



via Al Jazeera English:

The US-based advocacy group, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has published a video of an anti-Muslim protest, at a fundraising event in California last month.

Muslim residents say the demonstration has raised fears in their community.

Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds reports from Yorba Linda in California's Orange County.

BOO YAH! "Anonymous" Nails Americans For Prosperity!

"Shadowy" Collective Calls for Boycott of Paper, Other Products Manufactured by Koch Industries

Christopher Weber reports at Politics Daily:

The shadowy activists who call themselves "Anonymous," and who made headlines last year for attacking websites opposed to WikiLeaks, have entered the Wisconsin budget fight fray.

The group temporarily knocked out a site belonging to Americans For Prosperity, a political organization backed by David and Charles Koch. In a press release, "Anonymous" said Sunday's denial of service attack was to protest the billionaire brothers' support of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is seeking to end collective bargaining rights for state workers' unions.

From the release:

The Koch brothers have made a science of fabricating 'grassroots' organizations and advertising campaigns to support them in an attempt to sway voters based on their falsehoods. Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth and Citizens United are just a few of these organizations. In a world where corporate money has become the lifeblood of political influence, the labor unions are one of the few ways citizens have to fight against corporate greed. Anonymous cannot ignore the plight of the citizen-workers of Wisconsin, or the opportunity to fight for the people in America's broken political system. For these reasons, we feel that the Koch brothers threaten the United States democratic system and, by extension, all freedom-loving individuals everywhere. As such, we have no choice but to spread the word of the Koch brothers' political manipulation, their single-minded intent and the insidious truth of their actions in Wisconsin, for all to witness.

...>more

Walker PWN3D!

Buffalo Beast Crank-Yanks Wisconsin Guv, Exposes Plans To Crush Workers