We Must Fix Voting

(Wallace Ingalls, 2014)

We must fix voting. 

What they’ve done just cannot stand. 

We must fix voting. 

Repair the laws in our fair land. 

We must fix voting. 

Our elderly and sick can’t wait in line. 

We must fix voting. 

To get IDs they lost with time. 

We must fix voting. 

Have early days, stay open late. 

We must fix voting. 

No crazy laws in Red Gov states. 

We must fix voting. 

We owe it to our founding fathers. 

We must fix voting. 

No one should have to wait for hours. 

We must fix voting. 

While they fill the air with hate. 

We must fix voting. 

It’s this Tuesday, don’t be late. 

We must fix voting. 

Suppression is Evil. 

We must fix voting. 

Treat black and brown as equal. 

We must fix voting. 

Kick obstruction in the ass. 

We must fix voting. 

Give them all their own dunce cap. 

We must fix voting. 

They want to take us back. 

We must fix voting. 

But facts and brains they lack. 

We must fix voting. 

Citizens United is a sham. 

We must fix voting. 

Let’s swipe votes from the Koch’s hands. 

We must fix voting. 

Their machines flip blue to red. 

We must fix voting. 

So all of this, yes, must be said. 

We must fix voting. 

So you must show up. 

We must fix voting. 

ALL our votes might be enough. 

We must fix voting. 

Not requiring ID. 

We must fix voting. 

Just use our numbers of Social Security. 

They run large crowds through Disneyland. 

So I would say, Oh, Yes We Can!” 

To make it work, and have our say, 

We must fix voting, and fix it today!

The Policy Geek

It’s All About That Base: Each One, Reach One

How Do We Fight Back Against The Kochs’ Money?
This November, like most midterms, represents a turning point in the direction our country will go for the next two years or more. This time, we are fighting an ideology as reckless and short-sighted as any we’ve ever seen.

This time the issues at stake are enormous, as more and more misinformation leaks into the conservative base, and more and more voters disengage from the noisy din where nothing gets done. The less they know, the more they think they know, the more dangerous these uninformed voters can be. They tend to elect Rove/Koch party line misguided Republicans.

The crop of radical clowns they’ve got lined up to join Congress this year as members of the Republican Caucus have been saying things that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. That is, unless you’ve already heard this mess, in which case, we can only assume you haven’t been sleeping well as it is.

What Are The Messages The Koch’s Want Us To Believe

“Women Shouldn’t Swear”

“Overturning Citizen’s United Will Eliminate Free Speech”

“Climate Science Is A Hoax”

“The Minimum Wage is Evil”

“Entitlements Are Something One Can Apply For, But Not You”

“The Deficit Has Quadrupled Under A Democrat”

“Obama Hates White People”

“Obama Hates America”

“Obama Conspires To Increase The Immigration Rate”

“Obama Has Taken More Vacation Than Any Other President”

“Progressives Are Evil”

“Liberals Are Communists”

“Women Are Always Responsible For Being Raped”

“Women Should Make Less Than Men”

“The United States Is A Christian Country”

“Obamacare Is A Government Take Over”

“They Want To Take All Our Guns, Just Like Hitler Did”

“The Refugees At The Border Have Ebola”

“ISIS Is Coming To Attack Our Oil Through Texas”

“Education Is Evil”

“Gays Want To Behead Christians”

“99% Of Mass Shooters Are Democrats”

“Autism And Dementia Are God’s Punishment For Abortion/LGBT Rights”

“Public Schools Should Teach Students That Humans And Dinosaurs Lived Together”

“Unions Must Be Outlawed”

“Cap And Trade Is Evil”

“It’s Adam And Eve, Not Adam And Steve”

“Abortion Is Killing”

Do we need to go on? No. 
Now you think all that came from Tea Party radio hosts, don't you? You think Rush Limbaugh maybe.... Um, sorry, those are the actual platforms for republican 2014 congressional candidates.

Those nuttier-than-a-fruitcake phrases up above are what they actually say at stump speeches; this is what they are choosing to run on during these midterm elections. Real live candidates wearing buttons with elephants on them say these things.

Why? Because obviously they have no real complaint against the sitting President. No real issues to rail against. Nothing based on facts. If they did, they would surely use that as their rallying cry. But they don’t. So we have to listen to all of this nonsense, nonsense designed to activate their red base with red meat. Garbage in, garbage out.

You can’t be anti everything, you have to stand FOR something. You have to have ideas of your own. That’s how the GOP became the party of “No,” the party of gridlock, the party of obstructionism. They are the reason our Congress is broken, which is keeping our government broken.

What Can We Do About It
Vote. Really. Vote. I mean it. And make sure you bring someone with you. Or this kind of stuff will be minted on our coins.

It will be a slow change to turn this Congress around, and get them back on the road to true progress, making way for America to possibly lead once again in the areas of science and knowledge. But you, you can be the trim tab, you can make the difference. Don’t let them make you believe you can’t. Don’t let those conservative talking head whackos enter your consciousness.

You have time. Almost two months. A little less. You have to sit yourself down, and think of someone you know who doesn’t plan on voting this year. And you need to convince them to vote. Pick them up the day of, maybe get some coffee after, but get them to the polls. We have more Democrats in the U.S. than Republicans, so the more people that vote, the better chance the Democrats have of winning. We just have to show up.

Each One, Reach One. Everyone Bring One.

Do You Have Your One?

Conservatives Are Awful Liberal With Their Bias

Happy Labor Day
A lovely three-day weekend is soon upon us. It’s Labor Day, end of summer, yay! and it leads right into midterm election season. It’s that time of year where small and big neighborhoods nationwide kind of ignore whatever could be going on in favor of back-to-school errands, fishing out winter clothes, and looking for Halloween costumes. It’s only a midterm election, after all; how important could it be? So set up them chairs and eat up that BBQ, and then take a nap in the hammock.

You’ve listened to your news. And whichever side you listen to, they’ve told you they will probably come out as victors come election day. Have another sip of beer, and ahhhhh, the kids are in the pool, and, of course, there’s always the uncle, or the neighbor, or the friend who’s chattin’ about Obamacare and Big Gubment while hanging out in the kitchen.

If you have been listening to the news cycle, any old TV will do, you would think Halloween started months ago, dead unarmed kids, planes falling out of the sky and Russia invading people. Maybe you’ve been hoping it was all a dream you had after some bad food, hoping against hope that it’s been April Fool’s or War of The Worlds all along. But no. The scary talk just keeps coming. Syria, ISIS, Iraq, Hamas, Israel, Malaysian Airlines, Benghazi, drones, the IRS, and the NSA, are being name dropped more often than Kanye mentions Kim.

The creepiest manifestation of neoconservative ‘wisdom’ is the glee with which Fox and Friends spews their balanced fare. Each Rovian sculpted phrase is ripped off the word-of-the-day faked white papers popping out of Crossroads or Heritage and broadcast with extra drooly zeal. While there are liberal talk shows and blogs aplenty, the conservative claim that the entire media has a bias favoring liberals is just another piece of misinformation from their exclusive line of facts.

Today
Just in one day, here’s what you heard from FOX:

A top House Republican is charging that the Environmental Protection Agency
secretly drafted highly detailed maps of U.S. waterways to set the stage for a
controversial plan to expand regulatory power over streams and wetlands, a claim the EPA strongly denies.

Message: EPA IS EVIL.

Obama is reportedly plotting end-run around Congress on global climate change deal.

Message: OBAMA PLOTS.

Blame Obama’s anti-business, big tax agenda for Burger King’s Canada move.

Message: OBAMA IS BAD FOR BUSINESS AND NOW WE ARE GOING TO STARVE.

Misinformation is their trade, and they really don’t bother trying to hide their bias. It would be funny, if there weren’t officials just as eager to use the art of misinformation in order to rule over their districts.

Last October, Rand Paul said, “I never, ever cheated. I don’t condone cheating. But I would sometimes spread misinformation. This is a great tactic. Misinformation can be very important.” He went on to describe studying for a pathology test with friends in the library. “We spread the rumor that we knew what was on the test and it was definitely going to be all about the liver,” he said. “We tried to trick all of our competing students into over-studying for the liver” and not studying much else. Lovely. These are our elected officials. And these are the guys who want to home school their children.

Only voting will really tell us how we will fare after November. Getting out and voting. No matter what side you are on, grab someone who wasn’t planning on showing up to vote, or someone who doesn’t have a ride, and get them to vote. It’s the only way the outcome can reflect the will of the people. With as many people voting as possible. Every One Bring One. Seriously. Plan for it now, and bring a buddy to the polls.

From Now On
Here’s what we say. If you are listening to the red meat stations to hear what they are up to, great. Fight The Power. But, if you find yourself there accidentally, for God Sake’s change the channel. Be afraid of these news sources. Be very afraid. ‘Cause this is the stuff of urban myth. These are the lies, once repeated, that are taken as fact. These are the bad guys.

66 of the worst places you could go to get your news & information.

1. Fox News

2. The Rush Limbaugh Show

3. Glenn Beck

4. Savage Nation w/ Michael Savage

5. Alex Jones’ Info Wars

6. The Heritage Foundation

7. The Wall Street Journal Op-Ed

8. The Neal Boortz Radio Show

9. Sean Hannity

10. Bill O’Reilly

11. Rightwingnews.com

12. National Review

13. The Mark Levin Show

14. The Weekly Standard

15. Washington Times

16. The American Conservative

17. The Drudge Report

18. The Cato Institute

19. Media Research Center

20. Townhall.com

21. Red State

22. Andew Breitbart’s Big Government

23. The American Cause

24. Christian Coalition

25. The John Birch Society

26. Citizens United

27. Freedom Works

28. Tea Party Express

29. Tea Party Patriots

30. The Herman Cain Show

31. News Busters

32. News Max

33. The New York Post

34. Conservative HQ

35. Sirius radio “Patriot”

36. Conservative American News

37. Conservative Daily News

38. Judicial Watch

39. The Source Daily

40. Republican National Committee

41. American Spectator

42. Reason Magazine

43. Freedom Rings Radio hosted by Kenneth John

44. Conservapedia

45. The Right Side of the Web

46. CNS News

47. Michael Reagan

48. Family Research Council

49. Conservative Underground

50. The Hugh Hewitt Show

51. The Heartland Institute

52. The Blaze

53. The Gateway Pundit

54. The Free Republic

55. Anything from Sarah Palin

56. Conservative Post

57. Headline Politics

58. The Capitalism Institute

59. The Political Insider

60. The Daily Caller

61. National Report

62. AmericanNews.com

63. Hot Air

64. American Thinker

65. Tomato Bubble

66. The US Patriot

So if you didn’t know, now you know. You can’t tell the players without a program, and you can’t fight misinformation, if you can’t track down its source. What are your favorite, or least favorite, news sources?

Heavy Meddle

The Ring at the LME

(bullionstreet.com)

Who runs the London Metal Exchange? Soooooo glad you asked.

There are currently 12 Ring members (and a few known associates), with dealing privileges at the LME. i.e.:

• UBS
• JP Morgan
• Morgan Stanley
• Koch Metals (of course The Kochs are in this story)
• Goldman Sachs
• Credit Suisse (Europe)
• MAREX Financial
• Deutsche Bank
• Citigroup

What's Past Is Prologue, My Friend.

(Cargo Ships, 1859)

Back in the day, after buying aluminum at The London Metal Exchange, it would take months and months to acquire it. Long voyages incurred extra costs that could really add up. And who knew what the market would bear when your ship came in. Prices would fluctuate, and that cargo might be bought and sold many times before it actually arrived.

Hedge Hogs
LME - with the six primary metals traded on the Exchange, provided investors access to futures (hedge bets) and traded options (hedge bets) during those windows in travel time. The trades are done without the physical delivery, storage and transaction costs associated with the underlying commodity contracts. At the LME, the member banks just trade pink slips around. Tracking the storage of metal stockpiles through a vast network of approved warehouses, the LME has flourished, though never more so than right now in terms of trading volume.  In addition to whatever effect hoarding has on hedging, a warehouse storing the actual commodity makes bank on their tinny tenants.
.

Who's keeping an eye on American metal prices?
(Franklin Mint, 2006)

"In the days when the system worked efficiently, you could get metal out of the LME warehouse network in 48 hours. In those days, small- to medium-sized consumers regularly used the LME as a source of supply." said Lisa Reisman of Metal Miner, a leading global metals market rag, in response to Goldman Sachs' press release from last week.

Fashionably Late
This week, Metal Miner reported that in 2013 the current wait time for metal delivery is, wait for it, 19 months. 19 Months!! Why? The report was talking about Detroit. The city that went that to sleep. It's not like the trucks are getting stuck in traffic!

When translated, the July 23rd Goldman Sachs' press release reads: 'These are warehouse issues. These things just take time. We are only talking about 3% of the metal market, really. Most of these warehouses don't own what they store, you silly journalists, you. Seriously, there is nothing to see here folks. The warehouses don't HAVE to move more than 1,500 tonnes a day per warehouse company, per city, anyway.'

"The cynic may suggest, what is to stop the warehouse owners, such as Goldman, from buying and selling their own inventory while in storage, thereby artificially decreasing the amount of metal in the system, artificially increasing the sale price, and artificially adding to the wait time?" suggested Metal Miner. When pressed, Ms. Reisman offered, "We don’t have hard evidence of this, but in a self-regulated market, such practices could proliferate."

Associate Members of The Ring are all big traders as well as finance players. Glencore owns vast quantities of metal, and also owns the warehouse giant Pacorini. JPMorgan works the same way.

Gaining Weight
According to Forbes, "in 2010, metal stockpiles held in depots registered with the LME swelled to 6 times that of 2007's reported levels – bringing in unprecedented storage revenues from clients who stockpile their metals in warehouse locations. Through its purchase of Metro International, in 2007, Goldman Sachs owns the biggest warehouse in the LME system. By 2010, these Detroit hangouts held a quarter of the aluminium stored in the Metal Exchange’s facilities." That's right 25% of the world's aluminum. Not 3%. And that was back in 2010.

"It's driving up costs for the consumers, and it's not being driven up because there is a true shortage in the market. It's because of an issue of accessing metal ... in Detroit warehouses," said Nick Madden, chief procurement officer for Novelis, the world's biggest maker of rolled aluminum products.

By 2011, Goldman was raking in $378,000 per day in storage costs from those sleepovers in Detroit, which were imposed on customers for months even after they had requested to have their metal removed. In other words, Goldman Sachs was charging (just for storage of the commodities they were also trading) more than $11 million a month, for month after month, to store aluminum they were supposed to deliver upon purchase. They even encouraged clients to buy metals as part of their portfolios, and kindly offered to warehouse those investments as well.

Hoarding Aluminum

The Pause That Refreshes
In 2011, the only one complaining loudly about aluminum shortages was Coca-Cola, and how much sympathy can you really feel for Coke? So no one really listened. This had the effect of driving the cost of aluminum in the US to the highest level in more than a decade.


Of course, that was then. And this is now. And now we know that there are trucks pretending to actually deliver "physical commodities" traveling in circles, in lower Detroit. And every time they pass go, they collect.

With each delay, they collect. With each side bet on futures, they collect. With each transaction fee, they collect.

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Banker.
The banks owning these warehouses make money on mining, distributing, warehousing, hedge betting, distributing, trading, selling, more warehousing, distribution, smelting, and price fixing. It's not just a cent on a can.

It's easier to think of our corporations as responsible marketers and distributors of goods and services to the people. Stewards of the world's consumers, do no harm sort of thing. But then, we should know better. For some reason, when Americans hear all the gory details of this syphoning of cash from the monetary system, we just let the info self destruct. We go on no mission. We make no signs. Our eyes glaze over, and we crack a can of beer, sitting back in our aluminum lawn chairs made in China, BBQing on our aluminum grills on these hot days, and generally enjoying the sounds of summer.

"Walmart has everything we need" you say, "everything's made in China and that's pretty cheap, so what's all the hubub about?" You should be happy to know that The London Metal Exchange was wholly acquired by Hong Kong Exchanges Clearing Limited last December.

Gilt Complex
Then JP Morgan announced they were quitting the physical commmodities business. That happened. The announcement came just three days after a powerful Senate banking committee heard from experts who said that metals warehouses owned by Wall Street and other commodities traders were distorting markets and even driving up the cost of aluminum cans for beer and soda. "Some said allowing them to trade in physical markets was a risk to the financial system." - Reuters. Does this also mean that Morgan Stanley, JP's long lost cousin, is stepping out of The Ring? We'll have to just wait and see.

On the 28th, Forbes recalculated their original 3% theory. Goldman Sachs Actually Holds Close To 25% Of The US Aluminum Supply, Maybe More, they headlined.

Too Big To Fail
In reality, an apples-to-apples comparison would contrast metal stored in US warehouses against US aluminum production in 2012. Last year, Goldman stored 1.5 million tons out of a possible 2.2 million tons, or 68% of total US aluminum primary supply. And that's just one metal, and one bank, storing in one city, they were to big to help.

They know we are waking up. So now it's up to you? Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to share the information. Share it liberally. Break it down for those Republican friends of yours who think corporate tax rates are too high and it's stifling business growth.

This message will self destruct, only if you let it.

The Policy Geek