I suggested the other morning that there would be little point in voting hence forth, since Congress has been mostly bought and paid for. Naturally, this rubbed a few people the wrong way because it’s a sad assertion to make, but the facts keep piling up, nonetheless.
The year 2013 is barely halfway through, in terms of DC lobbying reports, and yet as we see on this page – maintained by www.opensecrets.org – the spending already lies somewhere between impressive and prodigious.
A few of the headliners up toward the top of their report here, which is sorted by number of finance reports filed, not by total dollars spent:
Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America has spent about $10-million so far this year. They were in the vicinity of $18-million in 2012.
#2 on the list have invested more than $10-million this year and north of $14-million last year.
Verizon was a shade over $7-million, doing $15-million last year…
AT&T has spent $8-million.
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association has spend $8.8-million this year.
General Dynamics is in for $5.5-million.
Microsoft: $5.49 million.
Lockheed-Martin: $7.6 mil.
Individually, you can see that that contributions at this level may not seem to frightening, but when you add it up, company after company, group after group, you can see where special interest money really begins to add up.
On each of the OpenSecrets pages there are 50 listings on each page 26,015 reports which specify an agency. But only 9.258 total clients.
But now we can take this, realizing we’re only part way through 2013 and assume that each client spends $2-million (just a guess thumbing through reports).
The astounding result? $18.516 billion being spent (ball park) on lobbying this year by nearly 10,000 special interest promoters…lobbyists.
In America we’ve got (rounding) 316-million people, but a much smaller number vote since the population count includes people barely a day old. Would you be happy using the voter turnout data from 2012? According to a report by www.nonprofitvote.org, the number of people casting ballots in the 2012 elections was 130.3 million. (Page 6 here).
So let’s see how “even” the field is, shall we?
$18.5 billion divided by 130.3 million voters pencils out to $142 dollars per voter.
Which means what?
Simply this: Unless you personally contributed $150 to national political officeholder campaigns (president/vice, senator, congresspersons) in 2012, you were outgunned by corporate money.
I, for one, didn’t give them a dime, so you need to donate $284, and Elaine didn’t either, so now you’re up to $426…
None of our kids and spousal units contributed, either. So that’s (to lazy to count) let’s call it 20-voters who vote but don’t buy. Which means someone interested in just doing the right thing, not buying an outcome, will need to pony up $2,840 just to match the corporate dough.
Then there’s the apathy issue: By year end, I’m better the number of lobbyists will pass the 10,000 mark and contributions this year? Maybe new records.
And why not? The corporate coup has taken place and the preferential treatment of corporations with more than 50-employees is obvious at all turns: Tax policy, skating on Obamacare, and that list goes on and on.
All made possible because of the fixers in Washington.
Jack Abramoff’s book Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America’s Most Notorious Lobbyist can be had in hardback for $18-bucks from Amazon and about half that for Kindle (here).
So this morning while the pseudo-debate rages in Washington, the facts demonstrated above prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, to my mind, that there’s hardly a point in calling Washington to earnestly express the notion that we await the facts from the UN before swallowing the hype for war.
Oh, and if it doesn’t work out and larger war results over winter from this, you’ll be able to take solace as you’re toning up your nuclear tan that it wasn’t really your fault, was it? You just got out-bid….just like on eBay.
Date Jitters Dept.
Good email from Linnette this morning…
“George… I am nobody and I sure the hell do not do math. But I was just wondering and perhaps you could please help me understand this discrepancy. The Mayans believed in the 26,000 cycle and in 5 worlds that were 5,126.00 well 5 x 5,126= 25,630 now if you subtract 26,000 from that number you get 370. Perhaps, If there were 370 days left until 26,000yr End. Then from Dec. 21st 2012 to December 26, 2013 is 370 days. I googled the date Dec. 26, 2013 and found a article link below about comet Ison close approach to Earth will be December 26, 2013. Since the Mayans watched the sky so much. I found it interesting but perhaps since I am no one..and I have it all wrong.
Nevertheless… I hope you read this.
Just the Art girl in Kansas
PS: I am optimistic I do not believe in all the bull on the Internet about comet Ison but it probably would have been compelling event to record if it is to be as bright as it is suppose to be. “
Hey! Speaking of Date!
That “number station” on Youtube, in case you hadn’t noticed, is still doing daily updates on how (as of yesterday) “Something is going to happen in 20 days.” the truly paranoid will remember that our crash date has been pegged as September 26th and this number counting stuff comes to an end on September 25th.
While there’s been lots of speculation that this will release to the release of a follow-on movie (Horror flick The Turning is due out on the 26th) I sort of prefer the idea that it has been an insider communication from the powersthatbe to everyone so they will be able to meet their weird (as in cues in movies) about telling people in advance of a major PTB event. I expect to listen to “How to Pronounce 19” later on this morning, but it’s grand jitter material.
I don’t suppose I mentioned that the 25th and 26th is not a major release date?
Beast of the Mark?
From reader Mark who’s been watching the war dance and end times talk on the net:
George,
That whole segment on wormwood and the 3rd angel, a third of the rivers and living creatures in the sea and all things related to three……..it all got me thinking that there is a message in there somewhere.
Worm Wood…first initials..WW…the 3rd angel and a third of the rivers etc…relates three…combine that and does it allude to WWIII? There sure is a lot of language out there talking about a third world war. Thoughts?
Ah…could it be the three w’s?: As in www? Time will tell…
Explorer Has Gotten Slow
Am I the only one who has noted big delays in website loading by Internet Explorer, or is that just some “agency” looking more closely at the sites I’m visiting? Anyway, back to FireFox for browsing now and changed router passwords and all the rest of it yesterday.
Pilot Note
Please click over to our www.dogwoodflyers.com website for the latest on the upcoming Experiment Aircraft Association (Chapter 1549) Fly-In on September 28th. Free lunch…pilots only, not the general public…. and yes, we may be wandering around there.
If you can add a bookmark to the site on any web pages you own, that would help…thank you.
September Peoplenomics Special
Limited time: Peoplenomics.com for $20 since people have asked for a shorter term, cheaper, easier to budget way to get our newsletter. Signup is over here. Five months for $20-bucks…
Write when you break even…
George george@ure.net