Newsflash:
A Budget That Tightens Belts by Emptying Stomachs A time-honored tactic of conservative lawmakers is to “starve the beast”by defunding government programs. In the case of food stamps—the quintessential whipping boy for budget hawks—they’re going a step further by trying to starve actual people. Read the Full Story
Top Democrats React to Low-Wage Federal Workers’ Strike “I work at Quick Pita in the food court of the Ronald Reagan Building. I work nearly 12 hours every day serving lunch to the thousands of people who work in the building. But I am not here to tell you how hard I work. I am here to tell you that my employer does not follow the law,” testified Antonio Vanegas before a hearing of the Congressional Progressive Caucus yesterday. Read the Full Story
The Axe Falls on 50 Chicago Public Schools At times, the meeting of the Board of Education of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) on Wednesday took on the air of a mass mock trial; at others, it seemed like a public execution. On the dock were 53 elementary schools and one high school charged with underutilization of space and underperformance. Read the Full Story
The End of the Perpetual War President Obama’s speech on Thursday was the most important statement on counterterrorism policy since the 2001 attacks, a momentous turning point in post-9/11 America.For the first time, a president stated clearly and unequivocally that the state of perpetual warfare that began nearly 12 years ago is unsustainable for a democracy and must come to an end in the not-too-distant future.       Read the Full Story
Banks’ Lobbyists Help in Drafting Financial Bills WASHINGTON — Bank lobbyists are not leaving it to lawmakers to draft legislation that softens financial regulations. Instead, the lobbyists are helping to write it themselves. Read the Full Story
Elizabeth Warren: Trade talks could weaken bank oversight Sen. Elizabeth Warren raised concerns Tuesday that negotiations over new trade agreements could be used as a backdoor way to water down financial regulations. Read the Full Story
Exclusive: Why I Spoke Out at Obama's Foreign Policy Speech On why Obama's policies themselves, not those who speak out against them, are rude Having worked for years on the issues of drones and Guantanamo, I was delighted to get a pass (the source will remain anonymous) to attend President Obama’s speech at the National Defense University. Read the Full Story
Pivoting From a War Footing, Obama Acts to Curtail Drones WASHINGTON — Nearly a dozen years after the hijackings that transformed America, President Obama said Thursday that it was time to narrow the scope of the grinding battle against terrorists and begin the transition to a day when the country will no longer be on a war footing.       Read the Full Story
New Terror Strategy Shifts C.I.A. Focus Back to Spying WASHINGTON — For more than seven years, Mike — a lean, chain-smoking officer at the Central Intelligence Agency’s headquarters in Virginia — has managed the agency’s deadly campaign of armed drone strikes. As the head of the C.I.A.’s Counterterrorism Center, Mike wielded tremendous power in hundreds of decisions over who lived and died in far-off lands.       Read the Full Story
Boy Scouts End Longtime Ban on Openly Gay Youths GRAPEVINE, Tex. — The Boy Scouts of America on Thursday ended its longstanding policy of forbidding openly gay youths to participate in its activities, a step its chief executive called “compassionate, caring and kind.”       Read the Full Story
PDA, Allies March Against Fracking in Maryland More than 100 "Fracktivists" rallied for clean air and water outside the Democratic Governors Association meeting in Maryland yesterday. Concerned about the controversial practice of extracting methane gas from shale rock formations known as hydraulic fracturing or "Fracking", Progressive Democrats of America, Food and Water Watch, MoveOn, Progressive Neighbors, and Progressive Cheverly members and others gathered to hear speakers and then matched chanting outside the high-level meeting. Read the Full Story
Congresswoman Barbara Lee Responds to President Obama’s Call for AUMF Repeal, Introduces Legislation Creating Greater Oversight of Drones Washington, D.C.— Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) released the following statement in response to President Obama’s speech focusing on drone warfare and national security. In advance of the speech, Congresswoman Lee introduced related legislation, The Drones Accountability Act. Read the Full Story
image A Budget That Tightens Belts by Emptying Stomachs
image Top Democrats React to Low-Wage Federal Workers’ Strike
image The Axe Falls on 50 Chicago Public Schools
image The End of the Perpetual War
image Banks’ Lobbyists Help in Drafting Financial Bills
image Elizabeth Warren: Trade talks could weaken bank oversight
image Exclusive: Why I Spoke Out at Obama's Foreign Policy Speech
image Pivoting From a War Footing, Obama Acts to Curtail Drones
image New Terror Strategy Shifts C.I.A. Focus Back to Spying
image Boy Scouts End Longtime Ban on Openly Gay Youths
image PDA, Allies March Against Fracking in Maryland
image Congresswoman Barbara Lee Responds to President Obama’s Call for AUMF Repeal, Introduces Legislation Creating Greater Oversight of Drones
Friday, 27 January 2012 01:08

When to Say "No"; Make that "Hell No!"

Written by  Alan Grayson
When to Say "No"; Make that "Hell No!"

Mitt Romney did not invent predatory capitalism.  It’s been around for a while.

 

Predatory capitalism was already alive and well in 1978, in Cleveland.  That was when the One Percent who controlled the banks, and pretty much everything else of value, decided that they wanted to steal the local power company from the people of Cleveland.

By way of background, Cleveland Public Power was founded by the Mayor of Cleveland, more than a century ago.  It provides the people of Cleveland with electricity -- without the price gouging, poor service, pollution and monopolization for which Big Energy seems to strive.

 

The One Percent didn’t like that idea at all.   So they invested in a private company called Cleveland Electric Illuminating.  They wanted to steal Cleveland Public Power from the people, and then jack up the rates, and make lots and lots of money.

 

They then issued this ultimatum:

(1) hand over the assets of Cleveland Public Power to us, or

(2) we will pull the plug on Cleveland.

 

By which they meant that they would boycott the City of Cleveland’s bonds as they came due, and drive the City into bankruptcy.

 

Which they then did.  The One Percent forced the City of Cleveland into bankruptcy.

 

But they didn’t anticipate one thing.  What the 32-year-old, first-term Mayor of Cleveland would say.

 

That was Dennis Kucinich.  And Dennis said no.

 

No matter what the banks said, Dennis said no.

 

No matter what the City Council said, Dennis said no.

 

No matter what the bankruptcy court said, Dennis said no.

 

A newspaper on December 22, 1978 quoted Dennis as follows:  “They are maneuvering to offer the city terms so bad that we will feel pressured to beg.”  And Dennis would not beg.

 

No.  Just no.

 

And Dennis paid a price for that.  The “Boy Mayor of Cleveland” went down to defeat that year. The One Percent made sure of that. But the people of Cleveland kept their power company.

 

Twenty years later, the Cleveland City Council honored Dennis Kucinich for having the “courage and foresight” to stand up to the banks, for the sake of the people.  They calculated that Dennis had saved the people of Cleveland $195 million in one decade alone.  And Cleveland elected Dennis Kucinich to Congress.

 

Let me tell you something.  There is not one person in a hundred -- Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, male or female, white, black, red or brown -- who would have the courage to do what Dennis Kucinich did.  For the good of the people.

 

That’s why we need Dennis Kucinich in Congress.

 

Thanks to Republican gerrymandering in Ohio, Dennis is facing the fight of his career.  His election is on March 6.  And absentee ballots in his district will be mailed out next Tuesday.

 

Dennis needs your help.  He needs to contact thousands of absentee voters, and that costs money.  If you helped him before, then help again.  If you didn’t help him before, then help now.  Please click on this special ActBlue link, and make a contribution to Dennis Kucinich’s campaign today.

 

Because Dennis has guts.  And that’s what we need in our leaders.

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