Billion-dollar right wing bash

~ susie ~ 3 Comments

the Crusades were shameful, bloody, and tragic affairs

So much money working against us, but they still can’t stop us from voting:

Have you heard of “The Gathering,” a conference of extreme hard right Christian funders, which starts Thursday in Orlando FL?

“The Gathering,” an event put on by Washington’s shadowy hard rightwing “Church” known only as “THE FAMILY”/”THE FELLOWSHIP” (“THE FAMILY” also puts on the Presidents Prayer Breakfast every February in Washington DC); “THE FAMILY” brings together big names in Evangelical circles to advance a hard-right agenda:

destroy gay rights, destroy women’s right to reproductive decision-making, privatize public schools, Evangelize the world, attack opposing religions, and destroy public opinion about climate change

Attendees include the Green family from Hobby Lobby, the Cathy family from Chick-Fil-A, the Coors family, and David Brooks from the New York Times, among many others.

“The Gathering” espouses 7 Mountains Dominionism, aka New Apostolic Reformation theology, and funnels Billions of dollars every year into extreme hard right political candidates and “FAMILY”-friendly organizations to help infiltrate secular media.

$2 trillion in the hole

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

IMG_3116

Thanks, Wall Street! Time to expand Social Security:

The 25 largest U.S. public pensions face about $2 trillion in unfunded liabilities, showing that investment returns can’t keep up with ballooning obligations, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

The 25 biggest systems by assets averaged a 7.45 percent return from 2004 to 2013, close to the expected 7.65 percent rate, Moody’s said in a report released today. Yet the New York-based credit rater’s calculation of liabilities tripled in the eight years through 2012, according to the report.

“Despite the robust investment returns since 2004, annual growth in unfunded pension liabilities has outstripped these returns,” Moody’s said. “This growth is due to inadequate pension contributions, stemming from a variety of actuarial and funding practices, as well as the sheer growth of pension liabilities as benefit accruals accelerate with the passage of time, salary increases and additional years of service.”

U.S. states and cities are contending with underfunded worker retirement systems. The 18-month recession that ended in June 2009 wiped out asset values and forced cuts to contributions. Now, liabilities are crowding out spending for services, roads and schools.

No argument here

~ susie ~ 3 Comments

Gee, I wonder why we didn’t hear this on the teevee:

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blamed the rise of violent extremism on “certain states” and on unidentified “intelligence agencies” and said it was up to the region to find a solution to the problem.
“Certain intelligence agencies have put blades in the hand of madmen, who now spare no one,” Rouhani told the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.