TODAY'S TOPICS: Death Penalty Abominations (s), Class Warfare, Elizabeth Warren, New Obama and Progressive Movement

The Death Penalty and State Sanctioned Murder

I’m behind on these due to the amount of work I’ve got on my plate this time of year (legislation signing time)…So let me get right to what affected me most last week…and that was the state sanctioned (Georgia) murder of what appears to be an innocent man – Troy Davis. Of course, I can’t be SURE he was innocent, but that’s the whole point about why the death penalty (one of MANY reasons) should be abolished.

What we do know is that 7 of the 9 eyewitnesses that fingered him have recanted their testimony (not something easily done, to essentially admit you have erred in a way that will cost a person's life)…saying it was coerced through intimidation by the police and prosecutors – a common practice in our justice system, especially when it’s a murder case and the defendant is a black man. In addition, there was hard NO evidence connecting Davis to the crime. Add to that the fact that a number of the jurors now say they would have decided differently having known this information.

The coalition pleading for this man's life included police, the WARDEN, human rights stalwarts like the ACLU to Amnesty International, Attorney Generals, and the list goes on and...the only request was "please don't kill this man until he gets a retrial based on the ASTOUNDING amount of evidence that he his innocent (or by the least not proven guilty)."

Former FBI Director William Sessions wrote, “The evidence in this case — consisting almost entirely of conflicting stories, testimonies and statements — is inadequate to the task of convincingly establishing either Davis’ guilt or his innocence.”

Davis maintained his innocence up until his death, telling the family of the murdered police officer, as he was about to die: “ I was not the one who took the life of your father, son, brother.” He even urged they continue the search for the real killer...tragic...

We are joined by a few last remaining countries that still kill its citizens…others include China, Iran, North Korea and Yemen. There is something stunningly grotesque and telling about the company we keep…and its for good reason all other leading democracies of the world have ended the death penalty…from the fact that it targets, as evidenced by enormous amounts of data, minorities (esp. in our system…because racism is alive and well in our system…particularly in light of the number of right wing judges that now occupy our courts), it is based on wealth (the poor are the ones that can’t afford adequate legal defense), it REGULARLY results in the murder of innocent people...a crime (by our state no less) that is unrivaled in my mind (and DNA testing in some cases has shown as many as half of those on death row to be innocent…like in Illinois for instance), it doesn't serve as a deterrent to violent crime, its incredibly costly (more so than just live without parole), and, simply stated, its barbaric…and based on revenge, not justice.

As for Davis’s execution, as Robert Scheer notes, “That is a compelling argument against the death penalty—no room for correction—but there are others. The most egregious argument for capital punishment is the claim that the finality of officially condoned killing is a necessary guarantor of civilized order...It is obvious from the experience of those nations without the death penalty and our own 17 states that have banned capital punishment that this barbaric custom is not a necessary, let alone efficient, means for ensuring public safety. Due process in the United States, which claims to have an enlightened legal system, requires death penalty procedures that are costlier than appropriate incarceration.

Governments that cling to this primitive ritual of state-sanctioned murder do so not to induce respect for law but rather to indulge a lust for vengeance. Toward that end it would be far more honest to have the bound prisoner stoned to death by the governors, state legislators, prosecutors and judges who support the death penalty rather than employing lethal injections by disengaged technicians. Forcing them to be the executioners in actual practice rather than as a matter of legal theory would compel a far greater sense of personal responsibility than politicians and some others tend to exhibit on the matter. 

From my own experience as a journalist covering this issue, the vast majority of politicians who defend capital punishment do so out of rank opportunism, which they demonstrate, particularly when the conversation is off the record, by citing polling numbers rather than evidence of the death penalty as a capital crime deterrent.

This case was so freighted with contradictions that a stay of execution was clearly in order. As Amnesty International spokesperson Laura Moye stated: “Today Georgia didn’t just kill Troy Davis, they killed the faith and confidence that many Georgians, Americans, and Troy Davis supporters worldwide used to have in our criminal justice system.”

By the way…we’re about to kill ANOTHER innocent man…named Reginald Clemons' (yes, he's black) in Missouri. He's ended up on Death Row even though he was never convicted of the crime committed - the rape and murder of two white teenagers. Under the prosecutor's theory of the case, Clemons was an accomplice. This fact sheet on the case will blow your mind...check it out here.

In addition, after the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals stayed his execution it turned out there is a rape kit from one of the victims in the police evidence room that has never been tested and was never brought forth at trial...gee...sounds fishy no? If it showed guilt, why in the world would they not have used it?

Our clear ABUSE of the death penalty also exposes American hypocrisy and undermines our credibility as an advocate of democracy and human rights.

Let’s remember, Dick Cheney’s lies and wars led to the death of as many as a million Iraqis, Goldman Sach’s and others like them, by jacking up food commodity futures prices killed thousands and drove even more into poverty, and polluting industries, including chemical and pharmaceutical companies, that kill millions every year…often knowingly, and with intent to keep this evidence, in order to make more money, from the public. But in these cases, unlike Troy Davis, they get financially rewarded...go on celebrated book tours...and continue to have incredible influence over public policy and opinion through campaign contributions and/or media attention and undue deference.

AS Mike Elk notes, "Last year on April 5, 29 miners died in a methane explosion caused by poor ventilation at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, W.Va. A report by the Mine Safety and Health Administration ruled that the event that caused the explosion could have easily been prevented by Massey Energy, which was well aware of a long history of safety problems in the mine. In the year leading up to the explosion, the Upper Big Branch Mine was cited 458 times for safety violations, with 50 of those violations being willful violations of the law — nearly five times the national average for citations of a single mine.

An investigation by the Mine Safety and Health Administration also revealed that Massey kept two sets of books—it recorded a clean safety record in one log book, which it provided to mine inspectors, while maintaining a private, internal log of known safety problems and the efforts made to fix them. Despite this evidence of the willful violation of safety laws that could have prevented the miners' deaths at Upper Big Branch, and despite evidence of widespread lying to federal investigators by Massey officials, CEO Don Blankenship is a free man allowed to enjoy the splendorous life of a multi-millionaire."

In California we came close this year to getting a Loni Hancock bill to the Governor’s desk that would have ended the death penalty here…next year we should all do our bit to make our voices heard in support of her attempts to do so again.

It’s Capitalism Stupid: Economic Injustice, Millionaire Politicians, and Wealth Disparity

You probably didn’t know this due to the media blackout, but HUGE demonstrations are taking place out front of Wall Street this past week – watch some of the police brutality caught on video by protesters here. 

This of course leads to the question…why is this not a MAJOR media story? Well, as we know, the media simply doesn't cover left wing demonstrations...particularly when they're against wars, Wall Street or big business. Not only is big business ALSO big media's major funder (through ads, shares, etc.), most of the executives that sit on the boards of the big 5 media companies also sit on the boards of Wall street firms, big oil, big chemical, pharmaceutical, etc. So...that's why they don't cover stuff like that...it would be like covering attacks on THEMSELVES (it also exposes the medias own failure in covering such economic issues).

Of course, get a band of 25 racist teabaggers together blathering about death panels and its non-stop coverage, from CNN to CBS to Fox.

Class Warfare…and Elizabeth Warren 

If you haven’t seen this clip of Elizabeth Warren...watch it…this is THE ARGUMENT I’ve been making, and advocating that Democrats start making, day in, day out, for years. Warren of course is the brilliant Harvard professor who came up with the idea of a consumer protection agency...one that Obama was able to include in his Wall Street reform legislation...a great idea...designed to protect PEOPLE from banking and lending scams (or at least make them more aware of their choices)...largely just through increased transparency and simplicity.

Of course, once the GOP said they wouldn't allow her to head the agency she created, Obama dropped her (could have appointed on during recess)..and they've blocked ANYONE from heading the agency since...so it sits  there waiting for leadership. This was part of my problem with that bill (though still worthy of passage)...it opened up opportunities for the GOP to defund, block, and prevent the claimed regulations from actually working or even going into law...thus, the bill is turning out to be a shell of what it could have been, and needed to be.

With that said, Elizabeth Warren was targeted by the GOP over and over in committee hearings about this agency....and remember, she's a Harvard expert on consumer issues, bank fraud, and depression style economics...so she handed them their asses every day...and, because she's SO GOOD, a huge grassroots effort convinced her to run as a Democrat (obviously progressive) in Massachussetts AGAINST teabagger Scott Brown. It will be the senate race to watch.

On the issue of class warfare, here’s a couple more videos you should watch…The Daily Show’s “moneybrawl” and Chris Hayes breakdown of theACTUAL tax contributions made by the rich – debunking some of the primary talking points being made by the GOP and the right wing echo chamber.

A couple of the talking points Hayes debunks are the claims that the top 10% pay 70% of taxes, and that "the lower 51% don't pay any taxes."

Paul Krugman adds to this critical defense:

The budget office’s numbers show that the federal tax burden has fallen for all income classes, which itself runs counter to the rhetoric you hear from the usual suspects. But that burden has fallen much more, as a percentage of income, for the wealthy. Partly this reflects big cuts in top income tax rates, but, beyond that, there has been a major shift of taxation away from wealth and toward work: tax rates on corporate profits, capital gains and dividends have all fallen, while the payroll tax — the main tax paid by most workers — has gone up. 

And one consequence of the shift of taxation away from wealth and toward work is the creation of many situations in which — just as Warren Buffett and Mr. Obama say — people with multimillion-dollar incomes, who typically derive much of that income from capital gains and other sources that face low taxes, end up paying a lower overall tax rate than middle-class workers. And we’re not talking about a few exceptional cases. According to new estimates by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, one-fourth of those with incomes of more than $1 million a year pay income and payroll tax of 12.6 percent of their income or less, putting their tax burden below that of many in the middle class.

SNIP

On one side, we have the claim that the rising share of taxes paid by the rich shows that their burden is rising, not falling. To point out the obvious, the rich are paying more taxes because they’re much richer than they used to be. When middle-class incomes barely grow while the incomes of the wealthiest rise by a factor of six, how could the tax share of the rich not go up, even if their tax rate is falling? On the other side, we have the claim that the rich have the right to keep their money — which misses the point that all of us live in and benefit from being part of a larger society...Which brings us back to those cries of “class warfare.”

Republicans claim to be deeply worried by budget deficits. Indeed, Mr. Ryan has called the deficit an “existential threat” to America. Yet they are insisting that the wealthy — who presumably have as much of a stake as everyone else in the nation’s future — should not be called upon to play any role in warding off that existential threat.

Well, that amounts to a demand that a small number of very lucky people be exempted from the social contract that applies to everyone else. And that, in case you’re wondering, is what real class warfare looks like.

On that note, let me provide some more context on this whole class warfare/taxation debate…remember that 48 percent of Congress members are millionaires while only 1 percent of all Americans are millionaires; 55 members of Congress have an average wealth of $10 million and 8 members have an average wealth of $100+ million; During the worst part of the recession 2008-2009, the median wealth of a congressional member rose $125K; The median wealth of a House member is $700,000+, while the median wealth for a senator was over $2 million; and, 5 of the 6 Republican members of the new Super Committee for the Budget are millionaires. In the Senate, the vast MAJORITY are millionaires…so its not as if they really represent, or are in touch, with "regular Americans" (particularly when you look at their big contributors).

Also, according the Economic Policy Institute, between 1994 and 2000, the richest 10 percent of Americans gained 71 percent of income growth. What remained was spread among the lower 90 percent. Look at what happened from 2002 to 2007, the period featuring the tax cuts of George W. Bush: The bottom 90 percent received only 13 percent of the income growth, while those at the top banked 87 percent.

Between 2003 and 2007—following the economic “dot-bomb” slump—job growth was at the slowest pace of any previous economic recovery this century. Those meager employment gains were more than wiped out by the 2008 economic implosion caused by Wall Street.

As Alan Grayson points out, “we have this bizarre notion that if we keep stuffing our money into the pockets of Big Business, we might get some of it back.  That is a big, big error.  It’s not going to happen.  Believe me, if corporate welfare could reduce joblessness in America, our unemployment rate already would be minus-56 percent.  Corporate income taxes in America have been cut from $354 billion in 2006 to $191 billion in 2010.  Then there was the $700 billion in bailouts by the Treasury.  Then there was the $15 trillion or so in other bailouts.  And how many private sector jobs has all that private sector candy created?

Apparently, none.  There are one million fewer private sector jobs in America today than there were ten years ago.  Despite the fact that there are 27 million more people in America today.

On the other hand, we have:

• spent four trillion dollars on the War in Iraq alone, which is roughly eight percent of our entire national net worth, thereby wrecking our economy,
• killed 8000 American soldiers and contractors, and left around 15% of all US troops serving in Iraq with permanent brain abnormalities, and
• killed somewhere between 100,000 and 1,000,000 Iraqis, and made millions of Iraqis and Afghans homeless refugees.
• Attacking Social Security While Defending Wall Street?

He continues, "For 76 years, through good times and bad, Social Security has paid out every benefit owed to every eligible American. The most effective way to strengthen Social Security for the next 76 years is to scrap the payroll tax cap for those earning $250,000 a year or more.

Right now, someone who earns $106,800 pays the same amount of money into Social Security as billionaires like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. That is because today, all income above $106,800 is exempt from the Social Security tax. As a result, 94% of Americans pay Social Security tax on all of their income, but the wealthiest 6% do not.

Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.

It is wrong that in the United States of America, a teacher or a nurse or a construction worker who earns $50,000 should pay higher tax rates than somebody pulling in $50 million. Anybody who says we can’t change the tax code to correct that, anyone who has signed some pledge to protect every single tax loophole so long as they live, they should be called out. They should have to defend that unfairness — explain why somebody who’s making $50 million a year in the financial markets should be paying 15 percent on their taxes, when a teacher making $50,000 a year is paying more than that — paying a higher rate. They ought to have to answer for it. And if they’re pledged to keep that kind of unfairness in place, they should remember, the last time I checked the only pledge that really matters is the pledge we take to uphold the Constitution.

Here’s some more facts from the Center for American Progress’ Director of Fiscal Reform Seth Hanlon:

• 1,470 households reported income of more than $1 million in 2009 but paid zero federal income tax on it.
• The average federal income tax rate of the richest 400 people in the country, the so-called “Fortunate 400,” in 2008 was 18.11 percent. In 2007, it was 16.62 percent. That is only a little more than just the payroll tax on wages — normally 15.3 percent on a worker’s first $106,800 in wages, counting both the share that workers pay directly and the share their employers pay, which comes out of their wages — let alone the federal income tax on those wages.
• The tax rates paid by the “Fortunate 400” have plummeted since the mid-1990s, when their average effective rates were about 30 percent.

So yes...there is class warfare underway...and the top 1% is winning in a landslide...and want more...

The New Obama: Why The Change and What Does it Mean?

As I have said, President Obama has suddenly transformed into the man we all voted for…now, yes, part of this is because its campaign time again, and he better start reaching out to his base. It could also be that he’s tired of getting kicked around by the GOP and understand he can't work with them, realizes that jobs spending is what’s really necessary to turn this economy around, AND now understands that it also happens to be this progressive, populist message that is his key to victory? Likely its some combination of each...

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying because Obama is now saying all the right things…and he’s really starting to get good by the way (watch him outside that bridge saying “if taxing billionaires more is class warfare then call me a warrior for the middle class!” Hell yes!)…and in no way does this indicate I have forgotten all that he has done to hurt this country and the "left", and hasn’t done to defend the people against corporate power (which I won’t go into again here today). Nor am I saying this means he’s now going to truly fight to implement a progressive agenda (his plan is still very moderate). But, even if its simply the realization that the populist message, not the conciliatory centrist one, is what wins…that’s STILL VERY IMPORTANT.

We need this fight out in the public…and if he starts making the case, as he has been, and calling out the GOP by name…and arguing for fairer taxation, jobs, and the middle class…then this does benefit all of us...because NO one has a bigger microphone than the President...and few are more charismatic when speaking truth.

This does not mean I’m a new Obama fan…just that no matter how you look at it, from a purely cynical "he's doing it to get the base back for election time" to the more hopeful "he’s truly starting to see the light (again, not to say he will become a progressive…but at least a fighter for the middle class and basic democratic values)...we should still be very happy about this transformation.

And perhaps the MOST IMPORTANT reason to be happy about it is the direct connection it seems to have with the increasing mobilization and focus of the progressive movement (and adversarial one at that) – one notable example being the American Dream Movement.

I want to share Lux's analysis, which is very good....and reinforces the argument I’ve been making for so long…we NEEDED TO KEEP on his ass and demand a different course…if we hadn’t, and just stayed quiet and supported what he was doing, this shift would NOT HAVE OCCURRED...although, as I also said, in NO WAY am I saying this shift is anything but an acknowledgment of what it takes to get re-elected...and might have NO EFFECT on public policy. I would also add, that while I think the American Dream Movement is part of the message needed...the REAL message and task before us is to begin to more forcefully addressing what's really happening in this country: a transition into a quasi fascist, feudal state....but that's for another post...

Lux has more in a piece entitled "The Gravitational Pull of the American Dream Movement":

Everyone has been buzzing over the last couple of weeks about President Obama’s turn to a more populist progressive positioning. I have done about half a dozen media interviews about it in the last few weeks, with reporters wanting to get the reactions of known lefties like me to the new turn of events. The main questions tend to be whether it is “genuine,” will it help Obama (both with progressives and in general with voters), will it be the long-term trend, and why is it happening? I will talk about each of these in order.

Is it genuine? I simply do not care. In case folks had not realized it, our President is a politician. And personally, I stopped caring about most politicians’ inner motivations and beliefs and psychology quite a while ago. I think too many progressives have spent far too much time and energy debating with each other whether Obama is a good guy or not, whether he is doing his best or is a sellout, etc., etc., ad nauseam.

What matters is what he does, and how he reacts to the political dynamics swirling around him. Whatever his personal opinions and values are, he will react to the situation in the way he thinks will most benefit him politically, and the country in general. Obama is moving the progressive direction because he understands it to be in his, and the country’s, self-interest- and I welcome him to the dance.

Will it help? Absolutely. There is a reason Democratic politicians tend to become more populist closer to elections. It’s because — contrary to Third Way arguments — economic populism does work. And the harder the times, the better off Democrats do with it. What all the establishment conventional wisdom groupies in D.C. keep forgetting is that on most economic issues, Democrats don’t have to choose between their base and swing voters (who are mostly working class folks). Swing voters and base voters are in agreement about not cutting Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits; they oppose raising the retirement age; they support more taxes on millionaires and billionaires, and want to close tax loopholes for big business; they think the big banks should have higher taxes and tougher regulations; they support spending more for public education, student loans, Head Start, and rebuilding our infrastructure; they want to invest in green jobs and rebuilding our manufacturing sector. In all these areas and more, progressives and swing voters are strongly in agreement. 

Here’s the other important thing about firing up the progressive base, though: Democrats who argue that the base has nowhere else to go don’t understand one of the most fundamental laws of politics, which is that you can’t win over swing voters without a fired up base to carry your message. Who do the ignore-the-base geniuses think is going to defend the President in office water cooler and lunch conversations, or in neighborhood barbecues? Who will knock on doors and make phone calls? Who will write the letters to the editor, and send the Facebook messages to their friends? You can’t win elections without swing voters, but you can’t win without the passion of activists and political junkies either. And this newly feisty Obama message is going to fire up the troops again.

Whether all this will be enough given the dreadful economy is tough to say, but the Obama strategy he is using today is the best shot he has.

Will it be a long-term trend, and why Obama is moving in our direction can mostly be answered with the same answer: it is up to the progressive movement. While there are multiple reasons Obama is trending progressives’ way rhetorically, including the calendar I alluded to above, one thing is clear to me, which is that progressives have created a center of gravity which is pulling Obama our way. Progressive organizers, bloggers, and activists have sent thousands of people to town halls demanding no cuts in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; Bloggers, MoveOn.org, and Rebuild the Dream have built huge online momentum and media attention toward taxing millionaires; labor with all their allies have created a groundswell for Obama and members of Congress to do something about jobs; the New Bottom Line campaign and their allies in progressive politics have stirred anger at the big banks and focused media attention on underwater homeowners. Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus have drawn a bright line on all these issues on Capitol Hill, creating a consistent drumbeat on behalf of progressive issues, and an inside-outside strategy that is impossible to ignore. 

In this kind of environment, with this kind of progressive gravitational pull being built, Obama has responded. He is sounding more like a progressive populist than he has since, oh, I’d say October of 2008. And if we in the progressive movement keep creating the political environment on these kinds of populist issues, Obama- being a politician- will naturally keep drawn our way. We need to keep creating the space to get Obama to move our way, in part by helping push for the Buffett tax and more jobs legislation, but in part by continuing to push for things that we know will be good both in terms of policy and in terms of the President’s politics by focusing on the things the administration can do without going through Congress: regulatory pressure on the big banks to do more on mortgage writedowns; Justice department action going after Wall Street fraud; EPA action going after the worst polluters, and Labor Department action to go after the worst OSHA violators; executive orders that promote good wages and benefits in federal government contracting and procurement. 

Progressives have created a new vitality in our organizing and messaging, and it is drawing Obama our way.