Article post with courtesy of Mother Jones.
If you have a ton of cash and a political agenda, it's easier than ever to make powerful friends and influence people. Here's a handy how-to guide to the complex, cash-drenched world of federal campaign finance.
Article post with courtesy of Mother Jones. Mother Jones has charted the red giants and blue dwarfs spending millions to influence the 2012 election.
If Citizens United was the Big Bang of a new era of money in politics, here's the parallel universe it formed: rapidly expanding super-PACs and nebulous 501(c) groups exerting their gravitational pull on federal elections. A group's size in the chart below is based upon all known fundraising or spending since 2010…so keep an eye out for dark matter. Go back to the link below for regular updates.
According to a series of reports sent to Congress on September 10, 2010 by the Interior Department's inspector general, department employees have engaged in serious misconduct throughout the last several years. Allegations include rigging oil contracts, taking money as oil consultants, having sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives, and drug use (Watch an MSNBC video on the same topic here).
But two of the highest-ranking officials involved in the scandal will likely avoid punishment, reports The New York Times.
The report focuses on the Mineral Management Service’s royalty-in-kind program. MMS receives $10 billion annually in royalties from oil companies.
by: Steve Kroft| November 13, 2011|CBS News
Washington, D.C. is a town that runs on inside information - but should our elected officials be able to use that information to pad their own pockets? As Steve Kroft reports, members of Congress and their aides have regular access to powerful political intelligence, and many have made well-timed stock market trades in the very industries they regulate. For now, the practice is perfectly legal, but some say it's time for the law to change.
The current world revolution is defined by people wanting to hold accountable their rotten, failed institutions. With most certainty the majority of people wants to see major investigations into the conspiracy between government officials and corporate criminals. The U.S. government is held hostage by a handful of financial institutions and the U.S. Congress has literally, repeatedly betrayed its oath to the public. The whole world needs to unite and create a worldwide pressure on the international community and prevent the shadow entities who have taken over the USA to further destroy the planet, massacre innocent human beings, and wage more wars based on lies and deception.
Watch this CBS investigation on 60 Minutes.
