''The Electoral-Industrial Complex: Fortunes Made by Consultants on Campaign Spending''

From FireDogLake
By David Dayen

''When the information on just how lucrative our elections are for the ad placement agents and strategists who manage them, I suspect this anger will go through the roof. And it should, on both sides. If the arms race continues to bulk up, we may have to add “electoral” to the familiar line about the military-industrial complex.''

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''Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, the No. 1 super PAC contributor with more than $53 million in giving, backed eight losers''

poor bastard.................From NBC NEWS

''Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson poured $53 million into the 2012 elections via controversial super PACs to back these candidates. All lost. Mitt Romney, Connie Mack, George Allen, Allen West, Joe Kyrillos, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, David Dewhurst and Newt Gingrich. West is demanding a recount, however, claiming 'disturbing irregularities at the polls.''

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''Presidential Elections: Powerful “Special Interest Groups” Won Again''

From Global Research
Dr Paul Craig Roberts

''As readers know, I don’t think that either candidate is a good choice or that either offers a choice. Washington is controlled by powerful interest groups, not by elections. What the two parties fight over is not alternative political visions and different legislative agendas, but which party gets to be the whore for Wall Street, the military-security complex, Israel Lobby, agribusiness, and energy, mining, and timber interests.

Being the whore is important, because whores are rewarded for the services that they render. To win the White House or a presidential appointment is a career-making event as it makes a person sought after by rich and powerful interest groups. In Congress the majority party can provide more services and is thus more valuable than the minority party. One of our recent presidents who was not rich ended up with $36 million shortly after leaving office, as did former UK prime minister Tony Blair, who served Washington far better than he served his own country.''

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Pepe Escobar: ''Billion-dollar, one-party machine behind Obama victory''

From RT.com

''Notes on the Decline of a Great Nation''

the view from germany............From Spiegel Online

''The United States is frittering away its role as a model for the rest of the world. The political system is plagued by an absurd level of hatred, the economy is stagnating and the infrastructure is falling into a miserable state of disrepair. On this election eve, many Americans are losing faith in their country's future.''

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''The war over '‘entitlements’'

From Reuters
By Michael A Bernstein

''It’s all in the wording. Throughout this presidential campaign, voters have heard a stream of claims and counterclaims about “entitlements” – payments the federal government makes to individuals.

The power of words to frame political ideas can’t be overemphasized. How we label specific practices and proposals affects the ways we think about them. Decades ago statisticians and economists used a neutral phrase, “transfer payments,” to describe various government disbursements: unemployment assistance, old-age pension support, food for the hungry, disbursements to veterans and federal employees.''

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''The World After November''

From Project Syndicate
By Javier Solana

''On November 6, either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney will emerge victorious after an exhausting electoral race, setting the wheels in motion for the coming four years. An ocean away, on November 8, more than 2,000 members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will gather in Beijing. Approximately a week later, the members of the Politburo Standing Committee will walk out in hierarchical order, preparing to take charge of a growing country of 1.3 billion people.''

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Nomi Prins: ''Before the Election was Over, Wall Street won''

another must read from...................From Nomi Prins.com

''According to a comprehensive analysis of data compiled from regulatory documents by  Bill Moreland and his team at my new favorite website, www.bankregdata.com, some really scary numbers pop out. Here’s the kicker: ZIRP costs citizens and disproportionately helps the biggest banks, by about $120 billion a year.

Between 2005 and 2007, US commercial banks held approximately $6.97 trillion of interest bearing customer deposits. During the past two quarters, they held an average of $7.31 trillion. During that first period, when fed funds rates averaged 4.5%, banks paid their customers an average of $39.6 billion of interest per quarter. More recently, with ZIRP, they paid an average of $8.9 billion in interest per quarter, or nearly 77% LESS. In dollar terms - that’s about $30.7 billion less per quarter, or $123 billion less per year.''

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Nomi is working on a new book!!...........check it out at.......... http://www.nomiprins.com/

''Obama: The unreported truth''

From Red Pepper
By Oliver Eagleton ......a fifteen year-old school student from Dublin, Ireland

''With the final presidential debate upon us, liberals and ill-informed leftists will no doubt be jumping on the Obama bandwagon once again. The astoundingly charismatic president already holds a well-deserved award for 'best marketing campaign 2008,' along with an almost laughable Nobel Peace Prize; but before one goes door to door for good ol’ Barack, a look at his lesser-known foreign policy is in order. I will try to steer clear of issues which were given any substantial coverage in the mainstream media, and any domestic policies, such as healthcare and tax-reform, where he has made crippling compromises. Instead, my goal is to display the continuity and, in many ways, escalation of hostile Bush policies, and to show the smiling democrat for what he really is.''

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Pat Buchanan: ''Will Obama Paint Romney As Warmonger?''

From Buchanan.org

''Aware of this war weariness, especially among women, President Obama and Vice President Biden seem intent on appearing before the nation on Election Day as the sole peace party. This fact leaps out of a close read of Biden’s debate transcript.

Lost in his manic grinning and mocking laughter at Paul Ryan’s points and rude interruptions was a recurring theme: President Obama ended the war in Iraq and is dialing back the war in Afghanistan, but Ryan and Romney seem to be looking to new military interventions in Syria and Iran.''

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''Don't Vote For Evil''

From Foreign Policy Journal
By Dr Paul Craig Roberts

''Back during the George W. Bush neocon regime, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela in his UN speech summed up George W. Bush for the world: “Yesterday, the devil came here. Right here. Right here. And it smells of sulfur still today, this table that I am now standing in front of. Yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this rostrum, the president of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer as the devil, came here, talking as if he owned the world. Truly. As the owner of the world.''

''While Washington and the EU preach neoliberalism–the supremacy of capital over labor–South American politicians who reject Washington’s way are being elected and reelected in Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia.''

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''Obamney vs Robama: an Anarchic view of America's Economic and Political Duopoly!''

From RT.com.....................''Welcome to Capital Account. Last night the two main contenders for US President debated issues including tax policy, jobs, energy, and the national debt. During the debate President Barack Obama proposed "the way we're going to create jobs here is not just to change our tax code but also to double our exports." But to whom, exactly, can we export? The Eurozone, the US's largest trading partner, is contracting, and major emerging markets are slowing down. On the other hand, Mitt Romney stated that, "On day one, I will label China a currency manipulator." China is the largest foreign customer for US debt; do we really want to start a trade war with China? And where was the discussion of lobbying, of special interests and of the favorable treatment for connected, too-big-to-fail firms? What about a serious conversation that delves into how we may finally begin slicing into the sacred cow of military spending and the major firms that benefit from it? Perhaps when it comes to these issues, the candidates are not very different; our guest, Joel Bowman, Managing Editor for The Daily Reckoning, describes the candidates as "Obamney" and "Robama." We talk to Joel Bowman about why he feels the two candidates are not so different after all.''

''Presidential Debate 1992''

That sucking sound (NAFTA) Ross spoke of was pretty loud...................so much has happened since this debate..........screw romney/obumer.............

''Do the debates unfairly shut out third parties?''

From CBS News

''George Farah, the author of "No Debate: How the Republican and Democratic Parties Secretly Control the Presidential Debates" and the executive director of Open Debates, calls the 15 percent criteria "absurdly high," noting that candidates who reach five percent support qualify for public funding if they reached five percent support in past elections.''

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'Oil & Israel get US candidates elected'

From RT.com...................''RT's Gayane Chichakyan talks to John Esposito, former consultant to US state department, discussing America's current foreign policy.''

''War, economic collapse, and personal devastation await Americans no matter who they vote for - and what we should do instead''

From Land Destroyer

''A vote for Obama will bring war with Syria, Iran, and eventually Russia and China. The economy will continue to suffer in order to bolster the interests of off-shore corporate-financier interests, while  the collective prospects of Americans continue to whither and blow away. A vote for Romney, however, will also bring war with Syria, Iran, and eventually Russia and China. The economy will also continue to suffer in order to bolster the interests of off-shore corporate-financier interests, while the collective prospects of Americans continue to whither and blow away. Why?''

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''Analytic Brief: A Romney Foreign Policy in the Southwestern Pacific''

a great blog and a great read..................From 36th Parallel
By Dr Paul G Buchanan

''If elected it can be expected that Mr. Romney will continue to advance the US “pivot” towards Asia announced by President Obama. He will, however, have a more militaristic edge to his agenda vis a vis the PRC, as he appears to tie trade and security relations much more tightly than  Obama has done and has spoken of confronting China as a trade cheat and military rival. He will re-focus US attention on Russia, which in a Cold War throw-back he has called the “greatest geopolitical threat” to the US. He will reaffirm US support for Israel, to include its position on occupied territories, negotiations with Palestinian authorities and dealing with Iran (in fact some analysts have suggested that Romney’s personal friendship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has essentially allowed the latter to dictate the candidate’s approach to the Middle East).''

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''Romney Foreign Policy Speech Promises Bigger Government and New Wars''

From The New American

''As conservative journalists and television pundits praise Mitt Romney for “hammering” President Obama during his foreign policy speech today at the Virginia Military Institute, a closer reading reveals very little difference between the two major party candidates on issue that are important to constitutionalists.

In fact, going by the content of his address today, a Romney presidency would see the continued growth of government and the expansion of the U.S. military’s role as international regime topplers. Neither prospect, of course, should please those looking for an alternative to the status quo and a return to the limited government and non-interventionist policy preferred by our founding fathers.''

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''As Obama, Romney Hold 1st Debate, Behind the Secret GOP-Dem Effort to Shut Out Third Parties''

MUST WATCH...................From Democracy Now.................''DemocracyNow.org - As President Obama and Mitt Romney prepare to square off in Denver, Colorado tonight, we look at how the Democrats and Republicans manage to shut out all third parties from the presidential debates. The Obama and Romney campaigns have secretly negotiated a detailed contract that dictates many of the terms of the 2012 presidential debates. This includes who gets to participate, as well as the topics raised during the debates. We're joined by George Farah, founder and executive director of Open Debates, and author of the book, "No Debate: How the Republican and Democratic Parties Secretly Control the Presidential Debates."

To watch the entire weekday independent news hour, read the transcript, download the podcast, search our vast archive, or to find more information about Democracy Now! and Amy Goodman, visit http://www.democracynow.org.

Expanding The Debates.......

Pepe Escobar: ''The $5 trillion question''

From Asia Times

"In his eagerness to spew out all matter of memorized talking points in virtually any intervention, as if he had a date with destiny (he actually had), 47% Mitt seems to have forgotten that for months he's been running a campaign in which one of the central planks is to lower the taxes of everyone in the US by 20%. Every worthy independent analysis in the US has concluded that this will mean a revenue deficit of $5 trillion over 10 years.

Here's what Mitt had to say about it when confronted by POTUS:

I don't have a $5 trillion tax cut. I don't have a tax cut of the scale you're talking about. I think we ought to provide tax relief to people in the middle class. But I won't reduce the share of tax paid by high-income people. … I'm not looking to cut massive taxes and to reduce revenues going to the government. My number one principal is, there will be no tax cut that adds to the deficit. I want to underline that no tax cut will add to the deficit.''

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