Thread: The Three Faces of Cronyism

August 1, 2014

The Three Faces of Cronyism

By C. Edmund Wright

There has been a lot said in recent years by Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, and other conservatives about crony capitalism – or if you prefer, crony socialism, crony government, corporatism – or just plain cronyism. Whatever you call it, this conversation is increasingly vital as government grows and continues to pervert markets by picking winners and losers as a way to obtain wealth for powerful lawmakers and their fund-raisers and friends.

This rampant cronyism is one of the most insidious outgrowths of a government gone wild, and has become a swirling vortex of self sustaining and systemic corruption. Thus, the focus on cronyism is necessary -- but missing from the conversation seems to be a distinction among the three very different genres of cronyism. And there are at least three very different varieties.
I submit there is too much focus on what I’ll call the first type, that of tax breaks and other incentives for big industrial plants, or professional stadia expansion projects and the like. Government should not be involved in these issues, but at least there is a potentially redeeming cost/benefit outcome for the taxpayers. This is not to advocate for these schemes, but logic dictates that at least cities and/or states are bargaining on behalf of their citizens against other jurisdictions. If a deal is a good one, there are more winners than just the directly involved companies. These are critical distinctions. More on this shortly.

The other two forms of cronyism have no redemptive value whatsoever, and are purely diabolical corruptions of power and influence. As such, this is where the focus of wrath should be. The first of these fiendish varieties would be the GE Jeff Immelt model, where a company cozies up to government in order to get regulations and laws passed that punish their competitors. We’ve also seen this recently with Costco and Walmart professing support for the minimum wage knowing that their smaller competitors would be squeezed by this. There are thousands of examples like these, not only at the Federal level, but also in states. In these cases, the government is picking winners and losers within their own jurisdictions.
Under this category I should probably include the booming “compliance industry,” where certain professions ask to be regulated by government as a way to construct barriers to new competitors in their markets. This often spawns the continuing education racket, not to mention the third party human resource industry, which has been boosted by ObamaCare forcing businesses to hire compliance specialists.

There are no winners in these models except for the companies and the lawmakers they have donated to. Shoppers and employees have fewer options – and naturally the direct competitors are the biggest losers of all. It is pure malignancy.

And yet – as ugly as it is, the version above is probably not as cancerous as the Solyndra model, where the crime is worse than just perverting a market. This is where a faux market is first fabricated out of utopian thin air, and vast sums of wealth are simply transferred to cronies as a way for them to painlessly enter these non-existent markets. This template generally fails by design because there is no real market -- and yet the initial owners, who are almost invariably big donors for the election winners, seem to always manage to walk away with millions they drew in salaries and consulting fees prior to bankruptcy. In this way, it’s nothing more than a money laundering scam. CEO Brian Harrison almost admitted as much. Again, almost everybody loses except the handful of donors, candidates and phony entrepreneurs involved directly.

Which brings us back to the first type: tax breaks and other incentives for major companies to locate or re-locate new plants and/or corporate headquarters. In the past number of years, very conservative South Carolina has aggressively used incentives to lure BMW to Greenville and Boeing’s Dreamliner plant to Charleston. Obviously, BMW and Boeing were winners in these situations. How about the politicians that pushed the incentives through? I would suspect they won also.

But so did all of Greenville. Two decades in, the plant has been even better for the area than anticipated. And Charleston, too. So did all of South Carolina. Citizens who had nothing to do with the crony recipes that landed these facilities still benefitted mightily, through jobs, property values, supporting small business opportunities and other spinoff activites. The governments that gave the incentives win through a long-term stream of increased tax revenues due to the local economic growth. Maybe it was a bit stinky to get pushed through -- and again this is not a blanket endorsement of these situations – but often they do end up as win/win/win outcomes. The Solyndra model or the GE model never end up this way.

As such, the tax incentive packages, while they smack of cronyism to a degree, are far less of a blight on the economy than the other two iterations of cronyism. And I can guarantee you that many hard-core Tea Party conservatives in the Palmetto State are extremely happy that BMW and Boeing came to South Carolina. I don’t think they are being hypocritical either.
Conservatives should certainly keep the pressure up on exposing and stamping out cronyism wherever they can. But let’s not get distracted. Our Founders charged us with establishing and maintaining a more perfect union, not a utopia. Stamping out the worst of the crony deals would be a lot more perfect situation than we have now.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2014/08/the_three_faces_of_cronyism.html


"Croney Capitalism", crony socialism, crony government, corporatism – or just plain cronyism are not any of the the name's I would call it...It is more like theft or thievery, traitorous dealings, stealing, or payola, it is why they spend so much money to get into politics..my opinion of course!!!!

August 1, 2014

Does 'No Impeachment' Fulfill Alinsky's Rule #4?

By Jeannie DeAngelis

Lately it’s hard to take John Boehner and his Coppertone tan seriously. However, when it appeared that the House Majority Speaker was proactively taking the wind out of Barack Obama’s ‘they want to impeach me’ sails, there was a glimmer of hope that someone on the right had actually grown a spine.

Republicans reiterating that impeachment was not an option exhibited a rare unified spirit. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) even hobbled up to the mic to reinforce Boehner’s proclamation that impeaching Barack Obama was a talking point that Democrats, not Republicans, were going on about.

Is that a pulse? Could it be that finally, after six long years of waiting, the geriatric wing of the Republican Party had actually mustered the strength to block the president’s desperate effort to divert attention prior to the midterms in November?

Or could it be that Obama’s pathetic attempt to garner sympathy at the expense of Republicans is a Saul Alinsky tactic?

Think about it -– the impeachment chatter on the left may very well ensure that the very thing Obama is accusing the right of wanting to do -– and goading them into vowing not to do it -– will clear the way for the president to do whatever he darn well pleases without obstruction.

After pointedly proclaiming that impeachment is off the table, Republicans will not be able to appropriately respond to impeachable offenses without looking like idiots who can’t keep their word.

Not for nothing, as they say in Brooklyn, but if this is the left’s strategy, it’s downright brilliant!

In Rule #4 of his book Rules for Radicals, Saul Alinsky advises his merry band of Lucifer-loving Alinskyites, one of whom is Barack Obama, to “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.” Saul says that after you do, “you can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules.”

Here is how the impeachment/no impeachment gambit would work:
Valerie, Barry, and the crew hatch the idea to accuse the Republicans of wanting to impeach Obama, and then they float the rumor that the allegation is just the left’s way of trying to divert attention before the midterm elections.
Responding according to plan, the Republicans crawl to the podium and with a unified front they issue a firm denunciation of impeachment. Pried from his tanning bed, John Boehner proudly calls impeachment talk “all a scam started by Democrats at the White House,” adding, “We have no plans to impeach the president. We have no future plans.”

This smacks of a Saul Alinsky Rule #4 “gotcha” if ever there was one, because John and Mitch may have been abruptly hooked by Barack Obama’s bait.

If they have, from the president’s standpoint this may be a bigger catch than Osama Bin Laden, because it paves the way for what Alinsky advised when he said, “make the enemy live up to its own book of rules” -- and that would mean that America loses.
How, you ask, does America lose by Republicans vowing not to impeach?

Easy! After Obama breaks the rules, thanks to their own proclamation, Republicans are now beholden to the rulebook they themselves created. As a result, this subversive president, against the will of the American people, can now dive without impediment into the impeachable offense of granting amnesty to millions of lawbreaking individuals.

After what looked like an attempt to blow the president’s scam and head off a stealthy maneuver, Republicans may have been majorly conned into tying their own hands, which, if that was the goal, is precisely what the president would have hoped for.

Now, if Obama acts without Congressional approval, if those who said they had no plans to impeach turn around and move to impeach, Barack ‘Alinsky Junior’ Obama is ‘fundamentally transformed,’ in the eyes of the public, into a misunderstood victim, persecuted by a band of bumbling politicians on the right who broke their word.

Either way, Barack Obama wins!

Obama accuses the right of wanting to impeach him, hoping that the Republicans will rush to the fore to disarm the ploy, which they do.
Then the Republicans who thought they were big and butch when they rejected the idea of impeachment are hamstrung by the very rules Obama provoked them into creating. Now, with the opposition securely hooked through the jaw, by fiat the president can inflict upon America yet another one of his destructive policies.

If all goes according to plan, amnesty will be granted to six million illegals by executive order, and because of an oath that should never have been made, Republicans will be forced to stand helplessly by, thus fulfilling Rule #4 of Alinsky’s radical rulebook.

Jeannie hosts a blog at www.jeannie-ology.com

http://www.americanthinker.com/2014/...ys_rule_4.html

Message Monday!
Every week we ask all Americans to include a simple message on their emails, tweets, FB, etc.
Check out bwcentral.org for the weekly message.

This week: Close the borders #youroathmatters
Then ask 3 people to do the same.

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Dear Americans:

I am proud of you. The calls from you stopped the worthless border bill that would have done nothing.
Enjoy today - but remember...

Your job is not over. They will be back again Friday. So keep calling. Tell them to stop entitlements to illegals. This will have a huge impact on slowing down the mass influx of illegals.

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866-220-0044 or 866-338-1015

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The year is 2014 and America is being transformed.

Do you like the results?


● OUR PHONES WIRELESS
● OUR COOKING FIRELESS
● OUR CARS KEYLESS
● OUR FOOD FATLESS
● OUR TIRES TUBELESS
● OUR DRESS SLEEVELESS
● OUR YOUTH JOBLESS
● OUR LEADERS SHAMELESS
● OUR RELATIONSHIPS MEANINGLESS
● OUR ATTITUDES CARELESS
● OUR BABIES FATHERLESS
● OUR FEELINGS HEARTLESS
● OUR EDUCATION VALUELESS
● OUR CHILDREN MANNERLESS
● OUR COUNTRY GODLESS
● OUR CITIZENS HELPLESS


It is up to you to make sure Americans are not POWERLESS!!

DOING NOTHING IS NOT AN OPTION!

In Liberty,
Karen Schoen

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Libertarians are the voice of the people and the constitution. Make history. Show the Republicrats you have had enough.

Vote for people who will represent YOU.

Libertarians do not take donations from special interest. When they get in office they will only answer to you.

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Did you ever feel as though you were having a conversation and you were talking about different things using the same words? Then you get frustrated and argue. You are not alone. This is done on purpose. So let's re-learn some definitions so we will all be on the same page.

Definitions:

International Trade: Trade with one sovereign nation to another sovereign nation.

Global Trade: No borders. There are no sovereign nations the United Nations is the government and all people must do and be the same.

Communism: The government control all resources of the country. No private ownership is allowed.

Socialism: A global program headed by the UN. Some private ownership is allowed a long as the government has its stake in the corporation.

Fascism: Nations can remain sovereign. Some private ownership is allowed a long as the government has its stake in the corporation.

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Let’s try a few...Did you knows…?

PPP Public-Private Partnerships where the Public pays and the Privates Profit. PPP's are fascist in nature, as the government now partners in business. Little oversight, much fraud.

DOT spends our tax dollars building sustainable developments and now they have no money to build roads and bridges.

DOE Education is all about sustainability. All roads lead to sustainability - teaching kids to do more with less. Communism.

NOAA Uses computer models, not actual models to determine fish populations. if you take the fish out of their program, there is a shortage of fish. NOAA then restricts fisherman, claiming shortages.

EPA Uses IPCC computer models to determine climate. GHG made up mostly of water vapor yet the IPCC did not use water vapor in their program to discuss climate. The sun, not humans controls our climate.

Debt Most people do not understand debt because they have been taught that the one with the biggest debt is the winner. They think you can leverage debt and become rich. People with debt are beholden to the debt holder.

Precautionary Principal Most agencies follow this principal, "If I can imagine it happened, I can legislate as if it did happen."

America Most people do not understand the concept of America because they are not taught about America in school. In America the individual is sovereign - controls themselves.

Freedom and Liberty Most people do not understand the concept of America because they are not taught aboutFreedom and Liberty in school. In America you are free to make choices. Liberty and morality guide your conscience to make the right choices. You are free to do whatever you want as long as you cause no harm to others.

Illegals If we want them to stop coming, we have to stop giving them free stuff. Stop illegal's entitlements.

Your money gives them power.

Sustainable Developments development pre planned where everything will be the same. a/k/a Central planning. Most have limited cars only mass transit, bike paths and walkways. Most have no houses only apartments. What will realtors and the auto industry do?

Calvin Coolidge "No plan of centralization has ever been adopted which did not result in bureaucracy, tyranny, inflexibility, reaction, and decline."

You will live they way you are told. Fascism works, according to Andre Duany. My question is, where?

"Regionalism must precede globalism. We foresee a seamless system of governance from local communities, individual states, regional unions and up through to the United Nations itself."
- UN Commission on Global Governance
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Those of you who have listened to my videos, seminars, and lectures learn that I always start the same, regardless of the topic being discussed. Why? Because if you understand that all of the plans have the same MO, then you can prepare with effective solutions. I am solutions oriented.

Look at the left column - under Things to Remember:

• everything is connected
• everything happens for a reason
• nothing is random
• everything is planned
• EVERYTHING (all disinformation disseminated by BOTH major political parties and the mainstream media to push their agenda and conform to the demands of the same special interest groups that fund BOTH parties) IS A LIE

To understand the motives of your leaders and "representatives," think in terms of relating every proposed/enacted regulation and program to:

• Money
• Power
• Control

Once you understand that, you can take back your power. Let's equate these principles with what is happening in America today and see how this premise applies.
Please Share this Newsletter

Posted 7/8/2014

View Candidate Debates! Defuniak Springs Part 1 http://youtu.be/4urwGgENETA Part 2 http://youtu.be/7ZFT8nFYRc4 ............................... Karen's webinar at the Save America Foundation conference on 5/14/2014 http://www.saveamericafoundation.com/videos/ .................................. Karen's Latest Article http://www.saveamericafoundation.com/2014/03/25/florida-legislative-betrayal-by-neil-rice-and-karen-schoen-agenders/ ............................. Join Karen! August 2 - 9am WAUSAU Possum Festival Join us on the Float! August 4 - 6:30PM League of Women Voters and WJHG Forum FSU Holly Center, PC August 5: 6:30 Bay Partiots Quality Inn, PC August 14 - 6PM Baptist Church Beth Church Rd Bonifay ............................. Karen's articles appear on: agenda21today.com americaismyname.us karenschoen.com saveamericanfoundation. com watchdogwire.com panhandlepatriots.com flcommoncore.net newswithviews.com ............................... Need a speaker for your group? Contact Karen: kbschoen@bellsouth.net 954-864-0530

In this issue

Illegal immigration-Border Muslims kill Christians Definition Lesson CCS

Listen to Karen

Co-Host of: AmericanFreedomWatchRadio Tuesday Night 8-10PM EST Call in to listen and join the show: 347-857-4364 or link: blogtalkradio.com/americanstatesman Guest this week: Bill Federer, author and historian Podcasts: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/americanstatesman

Things to Remember

everything is connected everything happens for a reason nothing is random everything is planned EVERYTHING IS A LIE Equate every regulation, every program to: Money Power Control

This is a enewsletter and should be read one section at a time. After each section take a breath, let it sink in, then think what is the opposite. There is only one way to beat the system, become the system. Run for office. Truth Education Conversation Action Share this with your friends.

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Tom DeWeese to host a series of FREE Webinars to teach activists how to stop Agenda 21! americanpolicy.org/webinar ------------------------------------

"Give me four years to teach the children and the seeds I have sown will never be uprooted." Vladimir Lenin ............................... "Your children's children will live under Communism. You Americans are so gullible. No you won't accept Communism outright; but we will keep feeding you small doses of Socialism until you finally wake up and find that you already have Communism. We won't have to fight you. WE'LL SO WEAKEN YOU ECONOMY until you fall like overripe fruit into our hands." Nikita Khrushchev, 1959 .............................. Ask your legislator, and your school board: What is Social Justice? Why is is taught in American schools? Social Justice is COMMUNISM. ............................... VERY IMPORTANT LINK: Common Core flow chart on agenda21today.com education page. http://americanfreedomwatchradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/CCSSsatellites-Final-1-pdf11.pdf Visit the agenda21today.com store and purchase or download the Education CD

NON-PC Vocabulary: Communism and all isms: “From each, according to his ability, to each according to his need.” A theoretical economic system characterized by the collective ownership of property and by the organization of labor for the common. Note: Isms never work because eventually you run out of other people's money. New World Order (NWO): a group of globalists who believe the the World should be under one government controlled by the United Nations' elite. Globalists: a world without borders controlled by the United Nations. No Sovereignty. Limited rights. International economy: Trade done between sovereign nations. Cognitive Dissidence: the feeling of discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs. beliefs don't match up with reality. When there is a discrepancy between beliefs and behaviors, something must change in order to eliminate or reduce the dissonance. Groupthink: a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people, in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an incorrect or deviant decision-making outcome. The group becomes more important than the truth. Psychologically Manipulative: techniques are used constantly to manipulate behavior. How do you get millions of people to act in opposition to their belief? YOU LIE to them. Useful Idiots: People trained to promote propaganda (lies) and implement them regardless of factual information. Sheeple: People who follow leaders blindly like a herd of sheep regardless of facts. Human Capital: What the NWO calls students. Assessment: A measure of value placed on a material object for the purpose of taxation. (Why are we assessing human capital?) Test: A measure of fact. Sustainable Development: A man made human settlement based on massive restrictions for humans as proposed by GREEN LIES in order to control wealth and activity.

Check out Lies from our Leaders on: http://americanfreedomwatchradio.com/?page_id=1238 Now learn who is lying from their own words: http://americanfreedomwatchradio.com/?page_id=313 Compilation of Quotes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZVP9aHdlQI

.................................. Important Petitions STOP FUNDING FRAUD chn.ge/1cC9iZD FL: Here is the site for FL 2nd Amendment Preservation Act. You can read the exec summary and the draft of the bill: www.fltac.org/2a GET US PUT OF UN paulbroun2014.com/un2/ Trans Pacific Partnership Individual (TTP) action.prosperousamerica.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=15930 and Group (TPP) action.prosperousamerica.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=15725

Stop Unelected Bureaucrats nomoreunelectedbureaucrats.com Vote No for Smart Grid Bill VOTE NO for HR 2685 --------------------------------- "It is the absolute right of the state to supervise the formation of public opinion." Josef Goebbels - National Socialist Minister of Propaganda "The purpose of government schools is to train the children to be obedient and to trust their leaders."

No matter what your issue, your life will be affected by these lies. Freedom is not free. You asked what you can do, this is it. Demand the legislature STOP Funding Fraud. Our petition is located here: Stop Funding Fraud Just click on the image or http://chn.ge/1cC9iZD

VOTE NO for FL Amendment 1 Land and Water Conservation Control

"A well educated countrymen is the best defense against tyranny."

For the useful idiots in Congress who support the Enlist Act - the Act allowing illegal invaders into our military, perhaps you forgot you are violating Federal Immigration Law, 8US Code 1324

• Voting for the best of evil is still evil.
• Time to "Cantor" congress.

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Stop Common Core!

Gov Scott sent Dr. Kim McDougal to get support for the new Florida Sunshine State Standards. I informed her that it is the same as Common Core.

We will not be fooled. I also asked her why the Governor thinks it is OK to teach our students Communism? I got no answer.

I do commend the Governor for "trying"to convince us.
I will not be fooled.

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COMMON CORE
Teaches your child what to think - not how to think.

CCS has failed in every state. Indiana just kicked CCS to the curb...

from Time.com - a blow to the WH:
Teachers Union Pulls Full-Throated Support for Common Core

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VICTORY IS OUR ONLY OPTION!!

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Support Documents can be found on agenda21today.com

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The AgEnders will be seeking both legislative and legal action. Help is needed. Contact us with your story.

Only the truth will set us free.

For now, please contact us at

Support Documents can be found on agenda21today.com


__________________________________________________ _

The AgEnders will be seeking both legislative and legal action. Help is needed. Contact us with your story.

Only the truth will set us free.

For now, please contact us at

agenda21today.com