Rand Paul’s newspaper ad touts endorsement of ‘the Curbstomper’

By Stephen C. Webster

Victim says attack was premeditated: Paul supporters surrounded her, talked about how to 'take someone out'

If there were more than just a week left until Election Day, "the Curbstomper" might have become a campaign meme.

A man who stomped on a progressive activist's head -- identified by police and fellow tea party activists as Rand Paul campaign volunteer Tim Profitt(R-dickless) -- had his name featured on the campaign's newspaper ad that occupied the entire back page of Kentucky's Herald Leader on Tuesday.

Profitt has been served with a criminal summons by Kentucky authorities, according to local reports. The Paris, KY resident will be required to appear before a judge in Fayette County.

His partner in the assault, tea party activist Mike Pezzano -- who actually wore a "Don't Tread on Me" sticker as Proffit stomped the woman's head -- has not yet been targeted by law enforcement.

Republican Senate hopeful Rand Paul has cut all ties with the man, who has been affectionately dubbed "the Curbstomper" by Kentucky liberal blog Barefoot and Progressive.

That same blog was first to notice that the Paul campaign had printed Profitt's name on their recent advertisement.

Lauren Valle, his victim and a longtime MoveOn and Greenpeace activist, suffered a concussion and a sprained shoulder.

Valle said she represented "Republicorp," a creation of MoveOn, and was trying to give Paul a faux "employee of the month" award when his supporters took her to the ground. She claimed to have never been within five feet of the candidate.

Though a statement from the Paul campaign insisted that "violence of any kind has no place in our civil discourse," Paul took to Fox News on Tuesday and didn't call the incident an assault: he labeled it a "crowd control problem."

"And it is an unusual situation to have so many people so passionate on both sides jockeying back and forth," he said.

After the man was identified as a volunteer for the Paul campaign, the tea party favorite released an even stronger statement condemning the assault.

"The Paul for Senate campaign is extremely disappointed in, and condemns the actions of a supporter last night outside the KET debate," their statement reads. "Whatever the perceived provocation, any level of aggression or violence is deplorable, and will not be tolerated by our campaign. The Paul campaign has disassociated itself from the volunteer who took part in this incident, and once again urges all activists -- on both sides -- to remember that their political passions should never manifest themselves in physical altercations of any kind."

Contacted by media, Valle spoke out about the assault on Tuesday afternoon.

"What happened last night was that about five minutes before Rand Paul's car arrived they identified me and my partner, Alex, who was with me," she explained. "They surrounded me. There was five of them. They motioned to each other and got behind me. My partner Alex heard them say 'We are here to do crowd control we might have to take someone out.'

"When Rand Paul's car arrived a couple of them stepped in front of me so I stepped off the curb to get around them to get back out front. At that point they started grabbing for me and I ran all the way around the car with them in pursuit. The footage is after I've run all the way around the car and I'm in front of the car and that is when they took me down. One or two people twisted my arms behind my back and took me down... It was about two-to-three second after that that another person stomped on my head. And I lay there for 20 seconds or so and my partner Alex came and got me up and that's the point where there is the media clip of me speaking."

Valle was scheduled to appear on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann on Tuesday night to discuss her ordeal. RAW STORY has video of the incident, available here.

Recent polling showed that Paul, a tea party favorite, was leading Democrat Jack Conway 53-40%.

This ad ran on the back page of the Herald Leader newspaper in Kentucky. (Click for a larger image; Profitt's name is on the bottom left.)

NPR Receives Bomb Threat After Juan Williams Firing

By Ben Armbruster The media firestorm that resulted from NPR’s decision to fire Juan Williams for making a bigoted remark about Muslims included rhetorical bombs lobbed from Williams’ cohorts at Fox News. As Media Matters noted, conservatives have used Williams’ firing as an excuse to

continue their war on NPR and to call for its defunding. “Juan Williams was put up against a wall and NPR shot him,” Glenn Beck claimed, who also said that “voices are being silenced” by “jack-booted thugs.” Many Fox Newsers even tried to explain NPR’s decision as some sort of George Soros-linked conspiracy. Today, the Washington Post reports NPR received a bomb threat today, and while the threat didn’t specifically cite the Williams saga, NPR officials said the “tone” suggested it was involved:

NPR received a bomb threat Monday, five days after its decision to fire news analyst Juan Williams sparked a hugely negative reaction.

Sources at the news organization said the threat was received via U.S. mail and was immediately turned over to local police and the FBI. The organization did not publicly disclose the threat or release details, on the advice of law enforcement officials.

The letter didn’t reference the Williams firing specifically, but people at NPR, who spoke about it on the condition of anonymity, said the timing and tone suggested it was sent after Williams’s widely publicized termination.

NPR warned its employees this week to be extra cautious, citing a general “security threat” in a staff memo. “We’re being more aware of who’s entering the building” and generally being more vigilant,” an NPR spokesperson said.

Rand Paul Supporters Drag MoveOn Supporter To Ground And Stomp on Her Head

By Ian Millhiser

Supporters of Kentucky GOP Senate candidate Rand Paul dragged a woman, MoveOn.org member Lauren Valle, to the ground and stomped on her head outside of today’s debate between Paul and his Democratic opponent Jack Conway:

Outside the Conway-Paul debate, a Rand Paul supporter pulled the woman’s blonde wig off and stomped on her head. She was representing the liberal organization MoveOn.org and claimed to be presenting Paul with an award from RepubliCorp. That’s a group created by MoveOn.org that focuses on what it calls the merger between corporate America and the Republican Party.

Watch it:

Valle was taken to a hospital, complaining of “injury to the temple area.” Police are describing her injuries as “minor.” A spokesman for the Lexington Police Department told the Huffington Post have not yet identified the man who assaulted Valle. The police department is reviewing news footage of the incident and “hoping someone can identify who the person is.” Until then, the spokesman said, it is a “pending investigation.”

MoveOn Executive Director Justin Ruben released this statement earlier today:

We’re appalled at the violent incident that occurred at the Kentucky Senate debate last night. Numerous news reports clearly show that the young woman–a MoveOn supporter–was assaulted and pushed to the ground by Rand Paul supporters, where one man held her down while another stomped on her head. This kind of violence has no place in American society, much less at a peaceful political rally.

Our first concern is obviously Lauren’s health and well being. She is recovering, and we will release more details as we have them. We are concerned that no arrests have yet been made, and we hope those responsible will be brought to justice quickly, and that Rand Paul will join us in condemning this horrible act.

This incident marks the second time in less than two weeks that supporters of a Tea Party candidate physically restrained a person to prevent them from confronting their preferred candidate — although Joe Miller’s (R-AK) private security force did not engage in such a brutal display of violence in order to prevent their candidate from being asked an embarrassing question.

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/10/18/miller-private-police/

Update "Everyone is hoping she is okay and I don't think anybody believes this sort of behavior is tolerable," said Mark Riddle, an adviser to the Conway campaign. "We can disagree on issues and be passionate about them but I don't think there is any room for someone throwing a young lady to the ground and stomping her on the head no matter how much they disagree with her."

Update A spokesman for Rand Paul said, "Violence of any kind has no place in our civil discourse and we urge supporters on all sides to be civil to one another as tensions rise heading toward this very important election." M.C.L Comment: These guys wouldn't have the balls to do that to a male MoveOn member, this is what the corporate elite has created a movement made up of old, white, hateful and violent people that's willingly to attack a 23 year old woman because she wasn't there to worship at the alter of Rand Paul and whatever that thing is on his head. This is why those who sitting on the fence about rather they should vote or not get the hell out of the house on next Tuesday or if you got early voting do it as soon as possible because this is the kind of crap that will be governing us for the next 2 to 6 years.

Beck and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones are two of a kind

From Media Matters:

Fox News' Glenn Beck increasingly echoes the theories and conclusions of Alex Jones, a fringe conspiracy theorist and host of a daily radio show promoting those theories. These include belief in the imposition of a "new world order" and global government, opposition to the Federal Reserve, and attacks on Cass Sunstein, John Holdren, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Jones touts his apparent influence on Beck

Jones to Beck: "I salute you." In a video published September 29 on YouTube, Alex Jones told Glenn Beck that after years of disliking Beck's programs, he recently watched his show and said, "I salute you, you are trailblazing, you are reaching tens of millions of people every week with the truth." Jones continued, "You are beginning to get on the right side of history," and added: "I'm really flattered, actually, that my research, my ideas, are having such an effect through you."

Jones to Beck: "Try to do what you can to redeem yourself." In a September 15 "open letter" on his Prison Planet website, Jones appealed to Beck to push his theories:

I appeal to you directly Glenn -- think twice about what you are doing, think twice about what you are a part of right now. Try to do what you can to redeem yourself and don't be a Benedict Arnold, don't be a traitor that takes legions of good-natured but hoodwinked people down the rat hole with you as America collapses because those who had voices and platforms used them to deceive and distract rather than tell the truth.

Alleged would-be Tides shooter a fan of both Beck, Jones

Williams: Beck "like a schoolteacher on TV." As Media Matters detailed, Byron Williams -- who reportedly told investigators that "his intention was to start a revolution by traveling to San Francisco and killing people of importance at the Tides Foundation and the ACLU" -- cited Jones' Prison Planet as a source of information. Williams also said that Beck "blew my mind." adding that Beck is "like a schoolteacher on TV."

Beck & Jones embrace "a new world order"

Jones: "There's a new world order." The idea of a "new world order" is pervasive throughout much of Jones' work. For instance, in a June 10, 2008, video, Jones promised to explain to the audience "Yes, there's a new world order" and "I assure you, my friends, that it is nothing less than total enslavement." Jones' website sells a video called Invisible Empire: A New World Order Defined, which purports to show how "men of power and influence have worked in stealth for centuries to establish an oppressive world government."

Beck: "A new world order" and "global government" is "being cobbled together today." On the April 26 edition of his radio show, Beck told his audience that President Obama "a new world order" and "global government" were "being cobbled together today and the Republicans are standing by and allowing it to happen." On his June 21 Fox show, Beck claimed philanthropist George Soros is "using their time to get filthy rich and create a new, new, new world order," while on August 18 Beck said on his radio show that Goldman Sachs was "setting themselves up for the new world order."

Beck & Jones fearmonger over "global governance"

Jones: Copenhagen climate summit designed to create global government using carbon taxes. In a video posted to YouTube on December 19, 2009, Jones claimed that the climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark had as part of its agenda a plan to create global government and global governance using carbon taxes.

Beck: "We're headed towards global governance." On his May 25 Fox show, Glenn Beck said, "We're headed towards global governance" if you "listen" to what the Obama administration says.

Beck & Jones share guests to talk about one world government

Jones hosted Damon Vickers to discuss population issues. On his January 8, 2010, show Jones hosted investment firm manager Damon Vickers to discuss population control and global government.

Beck hosted Damon Vickers to discuss the "one world government thing". On the November 17, 2009, edition of his radio show, Beck hosted Damon Vickers to discuss the "one world government thing." Vickers also appeared on Beck's TV show the same day, during which he mentioned that he "had the benefit of doing The Alex Jones Show last night."

Jones cites Vickers as an example of guests he and Beck share. In an October 4 Russia Today video, following clips of appearances by Vickers on Jones' radio show and Beck's Fox News show, Jones said that Beck has "guests that no one's ever heard of that we interviewed two months before he then has on."

Beck & Jones on regulation and the new world order

Jones: "The new world order" is "creating a network of international laws to regulate and control and dominate nations." In an April 7, 2009, interview with Russia Today, Alex Jones said: "The new world order is a private group of ultra-rich bankers who are off-shore. They're above the U.S., they're above Iran, Russia, Venezuela. They are international. And they are creating a network of international laws to regulate and control and dominate nations."

Beck: Regulation is the "cornerstone of the new world order." On his April 26 radio show, Beck claimed that regulation is the "cornerstone of the new world order" and that "what was conspiracy theory is quickly becoming conspiracy fact."

Beck & Jones attack the Federal Reserve

Alex Jones video: "Abolish the Federal Reserve." In a video posted to YouTube on September 30, 2008, Alex Jones burns a dollar bill as the Rage Against The Machine song "Freedom" plays. The video conlcludes with text saying, "Abolish the Federal Reserve."

Jones: "The Federal Reserve is a parasitic criminal organization." A November 2008 video depicts Jones outside the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas shouting into a bullhorn, "The Federal Reserve is a parasitic criminal organization, and we're here exposing you. ... These are the new world order criminals. The Federal Reserve is a private banking cartel and a criminal organization. These are the bloodsuckers engineering the depression we're going into."

Beck promoted book that said the Federal Reserve was created by a conspiracy of Jewish bankers. On the September 22 edition of Glenn Beck, Beck promoted Secrets Of The Federal Reserve, a book written by anti-Semite Eustace Mullins as an attack against the Federal Reserve System.

Beck & Jones repeat same falsehoods about Holdren

Jones: Holdren "says forced abortions and mass sterilization needed to save the planet." On the July 12, 2009, edition of his radio show, Jones asserted that White House science and technology adviser John Holdren, in a textbook he co-authored, "says forced abortions and mass sterilization needed to save the planet." A July 11, 2009, Prison Planet post similarly claims that "Holdren advocated forced abortions, mass sterilization through food and water supply and mandatory bodily implants to prevent pregnancies."

Beck: Holdren wants to "sterilize the drinking water to stop overpopulation" and "force abortions." On the November 18, 2009, edition of his Fox News show, Beck said: "One of the spookiest guys in the administration is John Holdren. He's the "Hey, let's sterilize the drinking water to stop overpopulation. Let's force abortions so we don't have too many kids." Beck repeated the claim on the December 11, 2009, edition of his radio show and on the May 13 edition of his TV show.

PolitiFact.com called claim "pants on fire" false. The website PolitiFact.com concluded that "the text of the book" at the root of Beck's and Jones' falsehood "clearly does not support" that Holdren supports "forced abortions" and "sterilants in the drinking water." PolitiFact added: "We think a thorough reading shows that these were ideas presented as approaches that had been discussed. They were not posed as suggestions or proposals. In fact, the authors make clear that they did not support coercive means of population control. Certainly, nowhere in the book do the authors advocate for forced abortions." PolitiFact gave Beck's claim "pants on fire" status. Indeed, Holdren and his co-authors advocated for noncoercive means of population control.

Jones suggested Beck following his lead on pushing Holdren claim. During the October 7 Alex Jones Show, Jones asked guest and Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano whether Napolitano has been "influencing" Glenn Beck because "he is getting more and more hardcore." Jones later suggested that Beck followed him on pushing the falsehood that Obama administration official John Holdren is in favor of "forced sterilization in the water."

Beck & Jones smear Cass Sunstein

Jones' websites compares Sunstein to Goebbels, claimed he created "blueprint" to silence critics. In May 21, Alex Jones' site Infowars.com compared Sunstein to Joseph Goebbels. From a January 15 Infowars.com article:

As Obama's "Information Czar", Sunstein effectively interprets the law for the Executive. Sunstein operates in a similar, but much more elevated, role to that of former Justice Department lawyer John Yoo, who infamously re-interpreted the law to legally sanction torture under the Bush Administration.

As we highlighted in our article yesterday, Sunstein has outlined plans for the government to infiltrate "conspiracy groups", including the 9/11 Truth Movement, in order to undermine them via postings on chat rooms and social networks, as well as real meetings.

Sunstein has effectively penned the blueprint for a Cointelpro "provocateur" style program to silence what have become the government's most vociferous and influential critics.

Beck called Sunstein "the man who controls everything." On the May 26 edition of his show Beck said that as White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) administrator, Sunstein "is the man that controls everything through nudges. He'll just nudge you. He'll never tell you what to do, he nudges." Beck then compared him to the director character in the movie The Truman Show, who gave the protagonist Truman the illusion of choice while controlling the world around him. Beck said Sunstein advocates a similar policy in his book Nudge, and that Sunstein has "wanted the job in the control room his whole life."

Beck also compared Sunstein to Goebbels. On the May 27 edition of his radio show, Beck called Sunstein "the most dangerous man in America," then said there were "very frightening, frightening similarities" between what Sunstein allegedly is doing and what Goebbels did.

Beck & Jones vs. Council on Foreign Relations

Beck: CFR helped control journalism. On the January 29 edition of his show, Glenn Beck claimed that the Council on Foreign Relations was partially created by Walter Lippman during the Woodrow Wilson era in order to control journalism by using the media "to teach" because they thought that "they knew better" than the public.

Jones has repeatedly attacked CFR. In an article posted May 12 on Jones' website, the CFR is described as "a global agenda organization filled with collectivists who advocated population and covert control over America and the world." An April 9, 2009, article on Jones' website PrisonPlanet.com said, "The Obama administration's announcement that it is to consider radical planetary 'geo-engineering', such as 'shooting pollution particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect the sun's rays', exactly mirrors recent publications penned by the elite Council On Foreign Relations." A November 7, 2008, Infowars.com article highlighted "Obama's leading foreign and domestic policy advisors and likely administration members, every one of them a prominent member of the Council On Foreign Relations."

Beck & Jones vs. International Monetary Fund

Jones published anti-IMF attacks. On the October 27, 2006, edition of his radio show, Jones described an "IMF World Bank riot," a conspiracy in which the IMF "destroy[s]" an economy "by design" then they "get to put in a dictator or a plutocracy and then they just have literal rule by the bankers over the people." In an April 23 Russia Today video, Jones called the IMF "a private holding company of the top 10 global banks worldwide. I mean, they've looted every Third World nation on the planet. They've raided Eastern Europe. They've raided Russia. They've raided country after country, and now they're doing to the West what they're doing to the rest of the world. ... They are the people that engineered the banking collapse."

Beck has promoted IMF conspiracies. On April 21, Beck claimed that the IMF was promoting a global tax that they might benefit from, when in fact the IMF according to a Financial Times report, "steered well clear" of proposing any such tax. Beck also claimed that the names of the members of the IMF couldn't be found, when in fact they are available on the IMF's website.

Beck & Jones on swine flu vaccines

Jones pushed swine flu conspiracy theories on Infowars.com. On June 17, 2009, Infowars.com reprinted an article titled "Swine Flu Vaccination Poses Serious Threat To Your Health," on July 24, 2009 an article claimed "12,000 U.S. Children To Be Swine Flu Vaccine Guinea Pigs." An October 30, 2009 reprint said "The Goal of Every H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine: Immunotoxicity, Neurotoxicity and Sterility." In a video posted to YouTube on September 23, 2009, Jones said, "New York nurse. Church told to take vaccine, what, did your clergy response team FEMA preacher tell you to take it our you'd go to hell?" During a discussion of vaccines on his August 18, 2009, radio show, Jones said that "if people knew how deadly vaccines were, they would never take them."

Beck: Refusing to take "mandatory" swine flu vaccinations could lead to being "put on a bus" by the government. On the September 30, 2009, edition of his radio show, Beck theorized that the government could make the vaccination "mandatory" and that refusal could led to people being "put on a bus" by the government. Like Jones, Beck also made the case that the vaccine could be deadly, claiming that, "If you say, 'Don't take the swine flu vaccination,' and then it turns out that the swine flu this particular wave is virulent and the vaccination would have helped, well then, you know, what role did I play in that? The opposite is true; I say, 'Everybody take the vaccination,' and that turns out to be deadly, what role did I play in that? I'm just not willing to do that."

Beck & Jones attack climate change science

Jones websites called climate change "a failed attempt to establish 'scientific dictatorship' "; Jones called climate change a "fraud." On October 27, 2009, Infowars.com published an article titled "From Global Warming to the New World Order", on August 31 it published "Climate Change: A Failed Attempt To Establish 'Scientific Dictatorship'." On November 23, 2009, Jones issued a "video press release" promoting the false "Climategate" story. In the video he claimed universities had been caught "faking" temperature data, and the idea that information supporting climate change had been proven "a fraud." Jones also claimed that "the global climate tax" had been exposed by the leaked e-mails.

Beck has consistently attacked climate change, describing at as a hoax and worse. On June 8, 2006, Beck said Al Gore's documentary on climate change, An Inconvenient Truth, was "like Hitler." On May 2, 2007, Beck spent an hour of his CNN Headline News show attacking An Inconvenient Truth, reiterating myths like falsely claiming that increases in carbon dioxide don't increase temperature or by promoting "the Oregon petition," an anti-Kyoto protocol petition signed by many non-experts in the field of climate science but presented as a scientific document.

Beck likened Gore's global warming activism to "Goebbels or Hitler." On the April 24, 2009, edition of his radio show, Beck said of Gore's global warming activism: "If I'm not mistaken, it was Goebbels or Hitler that talked about lies. The bigger, the more audacious the lie, the easier it is for people to buy."

Beck & Jones promote Chicago Climate Exchange conspiracy

Jones claimed, "Obama owns part of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange that's selling these carbon credits." On his December 19, 2009, show, Jones said, "It's in the news now that Obama owns part of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange that's selling these carbon credits."'

Beck claimed Obama was "bringing all of the money together for the climate change exchange in Chicago." On the April 29 edition of his radio show, Beck said that the Chicago Climate Exchange involves the "Joyce Foundation, Goldman Sachs, Al Gore," and Obama "bringing all of the money together for the climate change exchange in Chicago."

Beck & Jones attack United Nations

Jones claimed U.N. was "cutting the heads off little children," is "pure evil." On October 24, 1998, Jones gave a speech at the Texas State Capitol in which he attacked United Nations peacekeeping forces for allegedly "cutting the heads off little children." Appearing in a Russia Today video on September 23, Jones said that the United Nations is a "purely wicked organization," and a "green, Nazi, world-government, eugenics movement wrapped in a humanitarian package. It is pure evil." Jones also claimed that the U.N. "inherently was designed for fraud and corruption and taking over sovereign nations" and that its "mission is to set up a covert world government."

Beck: "The Constitution is being taken apart piece by piece through ... the United Nations." On the April 1, 2009, edition of his radio show, Beck said that "The Constitution is being taken apart piece by piece through international coalitions, through international law, and through the United Nations."

Tea Party groups admit Obama’s race is a factor

By Sahil Kapur Tea Party activists have fumed at accusations of intolerance and racism, insisting their concerns about President Barack Obama are policy-oriented. Yet dozens of Tea Party groups have openly admitted to the Washington Post that the president's race is a factor in their activism.

In a lengthy investigation into the fledgling political movement that has made tremendous waves nationally, Amy Gardner reported that the Post identified more than 1,400 Tea Party groups across the nation and spoke extensively with 647 of them about their philosophies and ambitions.

"Eleven percent said that Obama's race, religion or ethnic background was either a 'very important' or 'somewhat important' factor in the support their group has received," the Post concluded.

As per the Post's reporting, that amounts to over 70 Tea Party organizations (eleven percent of 647) that willingly concede Obama's race is fueling their members' activism.

Gardner quoted organizers questioning the president's citizenship and birth certificate, his Christian faith and "socialist" policies, with some going so far as to describe him as un-American. There are questions that don't get answered, like citizenship and his birth certificate," said Andy Stevens, 68, founder of the Tea Party Patriots in Anacortes, Washington. "I don't know why questions keep popping up all the time. If something is irrefutable, the questions wouldn't keep popping up."

Stevens was upset Obama doesn't invoke "the creator" when discussing inalienable rights.

The Post's investigation also found that the size and scope of the Tea Party movement has been "inflated" or misreported, concluding that some Tea Party organizations notably exaggerate the volume of groups or followers under their umbrella.

Self-identified Tea Party activists have overwhelmingly identified their main concerns as the growth of government, out-of-control spending and exploding deficits. They began organizing under the Tea Party banner just weeks after Obama's inauguration.

The movement that has upended entrenched elements within the Republican establishment and threatens to oust dozens of Democratic incumbents in November remains stubbornly against uniting behind a particular leader.

But when surveyed by the Post, their preferred public figure was former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (14 percent), followed by Fox News host Glenn Beck (7 percent) and South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint (6 percent).

Ford Announces $850 Million in Investment in Four Plants, Adding 1,200 Michigan Jobs

by: wizardkitten/Blogging for Michigan

Remember the American auto industry that the Democrats saved? Well, you are looking at some of the happy returns of that action.

Although Ford has been well-managed and didn't take any bailout money, they had borrowed to the hilt before the crash happened, and then they watched the bankruptcy proceedings of GM and Chrysler on pins and needles. Steve Rattner, in his book "Overhaul", explains how Ford management was rooting on the sidelines for everyone to succeed, because Alan Mulally "knew that the failure of GM and Chrysler would wipe out much of the supply base and make it difficult or impossible for Ford to produce cars".

Difficult or impossible. Others may claim that they would have benefited greatly from the loss of GM and Chrysler, but Mulally certainly didn't see it that way at the time it was happening. And chances are, if we had suffered the big meltdown and were still picking up the pieces at this point, Ford would not be in a position today to announce this:

Ford Motor Company announced Monday that the company plans to invest $850 million in four Michigan plants. They say their plans include the creation of more than one thousand Michigan jobs.

It is expected that 1,200 jobs will be created in Michigan. Of those, 900 jobs will be hourly manufacturing positions. Another 300 will be salaried positions.

The four plants are being upgraded as part of Ford's emphasis on six-speed transmissions.

The company says the investment will come between 2011 and 2013 at the following plants:

* Van Dyke Transmission * Sterling Axle * Livonia Transmission * Dearborn Truck

Rattner imagined the fallout of a GM and Chrysler failure, describing it like this: "The manufacturing sector was in turmoil. The state of Michigan was insolvent. A million or so people had been added to the unemployment rolls. The economy has received a terrible shock and was spiraling rapidly towards depression." Does anyone seriously think that Ford would be making this announcement in 2010 had that happened in 2009? The economy wouldn't have recovered like this. Car and truck sales would have still been in the dumps.

And most important, take note of where Ford is choosing to invest. Not Mexico. Not China. Not "down South", Mr. Shelby. Here. In Michigan. And yes, this is contingent on tax credits from MEDC, you know, the organization the Republicans want to tear down, apparently so other states can make these offers and steal the business from us. Seems kind of like crazy talk when you look at it that way, doesn't it?

Ford also announced today that they are adding 250 jobs at the Dearborn plant due to increased sales of the F-150. The Freep reports that fewer than 200 Ford workers are on layoff nationwide - so you'd imagine that the 1,200 jobs above will be new hires, thanks to the Democrats and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Just something to keep in mind next week as you head to the polls

REPORT: 49 GOP Congressional Candidates Join Ginni Thomas-Led Assault On Education

By Ian Millhiser Senate candidates Ken Buck (R-CO) and Sharron Angle (R-NV) have both received significant attention for their absurd claim the federal Department of

Education is unconstitutional, but because House races generally receive much less media attention than the higher-profile Senate contests, it’s unclear just how common this radical position is among the GOP’s full slate of candidates.

A questionnaire circulated by Liberty Central, the right-wing group led by Supreme Court spouse Ginni Thomas, sheds a great deal of light on this question — and the answer is not pretty. Of the 60 candidate questionnaires submitted by current GOP nominees for a House or Senate seat that ThinkProgress reviewed for this report, at least 49 expressly adopt a view that would declare much — if not all — of federal education policy unconstitutional.

The Liberty Central questionnaire includes the following question:

The overwhelming majority of GOP candidates who submitted this questionnaire answered “no” to this question, a position that would drastically limit the federal government’s ability to help struggling schools, and which could also threaten Medicaid and other essential programs. Several of these candidates offered ahistorical, ideological and occasionally paranoid constitutional theories:

• Robyn Hamlin (R-MS) explicitly calls for most of the Twentieth Century to be repealed, expressly listing “Aid to Dependent Children, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Food Stamps, unemployment compensation; federally subsidized housing or any of the other federal ‘Welfare’ projects” as constitutionally invalid.
• Joel Demos (R-MN) touts the “tenther” line that “[t]he original purpose of the ‘general welfare’ clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution was to connect Congress’s taxing and spending authority to already enumerated powers – such as regulating interstate commerce or building and sustaining a military.” This false view of the Constitution, which was rejected by President George Washington in the earliest days of the republic, would also lead to Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, unemployment insurance and countless other programs being declared unconstitutional.
• Merlin Froyd (R-CA) also sounds a dog whistle to the most extreme tenthers, railing against federal spending on subjects that aren’t “actually written in the Constitution.”
• Liz Carter (R-GA) calls for the federal government to “get OUT of education” altogether. That means no federal student loan assistance or Pell Grants for middle class students struggling to pay for college, and no education funds providing opportunities to students desperately trying to break into the middle class.
• Dan Sebring (R-WI) offers his own unique theory about what the Constitution allows, claiming that the “general welfare” is limited to programs that “promote personal responsiblity and enhance one’s ability to take care of one’s self.” Needless to say, Sebring does not point to a single word in the Constitution suggesting that this limit exists.
• Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) also invents a new constitutional theory out of whole cloth, claiming that general welfare does not include “social or collective welfare as currently utilized.”
• Bill Huizenga (R-MI) serves up a Glenn Beck-like rant, blaming nineteenth and twentieth century “Hegelian Progressives” who “successfully undermined the American Constitution using an organic interpretation of the document.”
• Eddie Zamora (R-TX) rails against an elusive enemy who acts “with no Fear of The LORD.”

To be fair, a handful of the candidates who answered “no” to Liberty Central’s question also indicate that their constitutional objections are limited in scope. Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-IL), for example, objects to No Child Left Behind, but also indicates that he would allow some federal education funding. Nevertheless, the candidates who embrace Ginni Thomas’ constitutional views would impose drastic new limits on the Department of Education and programs such as Medicaid.

The “General Welfare Clause” of the Constitution, also known as the “Spending Clause,” enables Congress to “provide for the . . . general welfare of the United States” by spending tax revenue on beneficial programs. Broadly speaking, this empowers Congress in two ways. Congress may spend directly to benefit the general welfare, as it does with programs like Medicare or Social Security, but it can also offer grants to the states which require the state to accept certain conditions if they take the money. Thus, for example, Congress requires states that accept federal Medicaid funding to actually spend that money on health care for the poor, and if a state doesn’t want to comply with this condition they can turn down the funds.

It’s not clear from Liberty Central’s question whether they object to all federal spending on matters that they view as “traditionally under the authority of the private sector, state, and local government,” or whether they merely object to laws that offer conditional grants to states. Yet, even if the candidates who answered “no” to this question only object to conditional grant programs, their position would make essential programs like Medicare and Title I education funds difficult or impossible to administer.

In other words, just like the many GOP Senate candidates who believe that the Constitution means whatever they want it to mean, much of the Republican slate of House candidates have no compunctions about inventing new and incoherent ways of reading the document in order to undermine laws they don’t like.

Center for American Progress Action Fund Intern Salvatore Colleluori contributed valuable research assistance to this report. A full list of the 49 candidates adopting Liberty Central’s position is below the jump.

Candidate (incumbents in bold, Senate candidates in italics)	State
Martha Roby	Alabama
Steve Womack	Arkansas
David Schweikert	Arizona
Gerald Hashimoto Merlin Froyd Ed Schmerling Bruce Brown Gary Miller	California
Stephen Bailey Scott Tipton	Colorado
Jerry Labriola	Connecticut
Steve Southerland Mike Yost Bill Posey Karen Harrington Sandy Adams	Florida
Liz Carter	Georgia
Don Manzullo Teri Newman	Illinois
Mariannette Miller-Meeks	Iowa
Mark Leyva	Indiana
Mike Pompeo	Kansas
Rand Paul Todd Lally	Kentucky
Roscoe Bartlett Charles Lollar	Maryland
Dan Benishek Bill Huizenga	Michigan
Joel Demos	Minnesota
Robyn Hamlin Todd Akin	Missouri
Ilario Pantano	North Carolina
Steve Austria Peter Corrigan Bob Gibbs	Ohio
Art Robinson	Oregon
Keith Rothfus Dee Adcock	Pennsylvania
Eddie Zamora Donna Campbell Stephen Broden	Texas
John Duncan	Tennessee
Morgan Philpot	Utah
Dino Rossi John Koster	Washington
Elliot “Spike” Maynard	West Virginia
Ron Johnson Reid Ribble Dan Sebring	Wisconsin

Rep. Bachus’ Message To Banks: Give Your Money To GOP And Make Me Chairman Of Financial Reform

By Pat Garofalo There have already been significant rumblings from Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee about revisiting the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform bill should control of the House switch in November. Particular ire has been reserved for the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which House Republicans have threatened to defund before it even gets off the ground.

The GOP’s zeal for repeal has led to an influx of money from the financial services industry. And according to Politico, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), who is slated to take over the House Financial Service Committee should Republicans gain a majority, told a crowd of 100 financial services lobbyists that they should be donating to Republicans, since Dodd-Frank “hammered them”:

When Republican Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama stepped in front of 100 financial services lobbyists at the Capitol Hill Club last month, he asked for an equal chunk of their campaign cash — and made clear he was watching closely. It is hard to believe, he told the crowd, that some in their industry were still giving more to Democrats than Republicans after, he said, Democrats hammered them with over-reaching Wall Street reform legislation, people familiar with the presentation said. Bachus told the group, for instance, that the Independent Community Bankers of America had given 68 percent of its contributions to Democrats, according to a lobbyist who was present.

And evidently Bachus’ spiel worked, as Independent Community Bankers of America Executive Vice President Steve Verdier said that “his group has started giving more heavily to Republicans and will end up giving 55 percent of its money to Democrats, down from the nearly 70 percent mark.”

But even if the ICBA gives a majority of its money to Democrats, it will be the exception in this cycle. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, “Republican candidates received 34 million dollars in donations from the finance, insurance and real estate sector since January compared to 23 million dollars given to Democrats.”

And when it comes to America’s “too big to fail” banks, as The Wonk Room explained, donations are all skewing towards the Republicans. For instance, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs are all giving a majority of their donations this cycle to the GOP.

Fright Friday: Monster Mash

Fox uses Juan Williams as excuse to continue its longstanding campaign against NPR

From Media Matters

Fox News figures have seized on NPR's decision to terminate Juan Williams' contract following controversial comments he made about Muslims on Fox News, and are using the story to continue their war on NPR and call for its defunding. Fox News figures, particularly Bill O'Reilly, have long crusaded against NPR.

Fox News attacks NPR, demands it be defunded

Fox Nation highlights Fox News employees calling for NPR to be defunded. On October 22 Fox Nation highlighted calls from Fox News employees Sara Palin, Newt Gingrich, Bill O'Reilly, and Mike Huckabee's "to defund NPR" as a top news story:

O'Reilly: Schiller "should resign immediately" and there should be "an immediate suspension of all public money going to NPR." On the October 21 broadcast of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, Bill O'Reilly attacked National Public Radio President and CEO Vivian Schiller as a "pinhead"; declared that she "should resign immediately because she is simply not smart enough to run a media company, even if it is NPR"; and called "for an immediate suspension of all public money going to NPR." He added, "No taxpayer dollars should be going to an outfit that abuses freedom of speech."

Hannity accuses NPR of "glaring hypocrisy." On the October 21 broadcast of Fox News' Hannity, Sean Hannity accused NPR of "glaring hypocrisy" in terminating Juan Williams' contract, citing controversial comments made by NPR analyst Nina Totenberg in 1995. He declared that "liberals do not believe in free speech in this country," and went on to say "everybody watching this program contributes to putting NPR on the air." Hannity asked, "Should we defund them?" Fox News contributor Dana Perino said that "it's a small amount of their budget that they get from the American taxpayer but maybe it is time to change that."

Hayes uses Juan Williams story to criticize Corporation for Public Broadcasting. On the October 21 broadcast of Fox News' Special Report, Fox News contributor Steve Hayes discussed NPR's decision to fire Williams and said: "Well, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that oversees this funding for public broadcasting, just requested $495 million for the fiscal year of 2014 in a world where we are running a $13 trillion debt and when you have got 600 satellite channels, you can watch poodle grooming on five of them at any given time. There is absolutely no excuse for taking taxpayer funds for taxpayer funded television."

Fox & Friends accuses NPR of a "record of offensive, bias coverage." On the October 22 broadcast of Fox & Friends, co-hosts Brian Kilmeade, Steve Doocy, and Gretchen Carlson repeatedly aired segments attacking NPR for its decision to terminate Williams' contract, often by accusing NPR of having a "record of offensive, bias coverage" and of having employees with "histor[ies] of intolerance." Fox & Friends said NPR is "partially funded with taxpayer dollars, and now some members of Congress are saying that possibly NPR should be defunded as a result of how they treated Juan Williams." Kilmeade asked viewers to weigh in on whether NPR should receive taxpayer dollars, "especially in light of what we now know they've done in the past" and what happened with Williams.

Fox -- led by O'Reilly -- has history of attacking of NPR, calling for defunding of NPR and public broadcasting

O'Reilly: "[S]hould NPR be called the National Propaganda Radio Network?" On the January 7, 2002, edition of his show (accessed via Nexis), O'Reilly asked if NPR should "be called the National Propaganda Radio Network." He later stated that "[t]he federal government gives [NPR] approximately $3 million in tax money each year. But for my money, NPR is an exclusionary, politically correct propaganda machine not at all interested in free speech."

O'Reilly suggested NPR is "censoring right-wing voices"; hosted Cal Thomas to bash NPR. On the May 20, 2002, edition of his show (accessed via Nexis), O'Reilly said that NPR "may be censoring right-wing voices, even though NPR gets close to $3 million a year in tax money, and much of that coming from right-wing voices." He hosted Fox News contributor Cal Thomas, who in O'Reilly's words, was "sacked" by NPR. Thomas later stated that "[m]ost of the news" at NPR "is filtered through the liberal prism, meaning bigger government is good, higher taxes to soak those terrible rich, successful are good. Gays are basically good. We ought to have gay rights for everybody. All feminist issues are true and correct." Thomas later stated that NPR is "[v]ery pro Palestinian."

Van Susteren asks O'Reilly, "Do we need to be spending taxpayer money" on PBS, NPR? On the December 5, 2002, edition of On the Record (accessed via Nexis), host Greta Van Susteren and O'Reilly discussed taxpayer funding of PBS and NPR. Van Susteren then asked O'Reilly, "Do we need, though -- do we need to be spending taxpayer money like that?" O'Reilly replied: "No, no. It's an outrage. It's -- it's ridiculous, particularly because PBS and NPR have a very, very tight agenda, which does not reflect many, many of the taxpayers' sentiments." O'Reilly later stated: "Why should we be paying this stuff? I mean, we're in a -- you know, the government doesn't have enough money anyway. We should cut out all of this stuff. We don't need it."

Mike Gallagher: "Liberals ... figured out how to get the federal government" to pay for NPR. On the February 17, 2003, edition of Hannity & Colmes (accessed via Nexis), Fox News contributor Mike Gallagher stated: "Liberals have had talk radio for years. It's called NPR. And, Sean, they even figured out how to get the federal government to pay for it." Co-host Sean Hannity replied, "Exactly." Gallagher then stated, "Unlike you and me who have to work for it."

O'Reilly asked, "How much longer do I have to pay for this outfit which is so blatantly unfair?" On the October 8, 2003, edition of his show (accessed via Nexis), O'Reilly discussed public funding of NPR and asked Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), "How much longer do I have to pay for this outfit which is so blatantly unfair, and uses it's power to, you know, advance left-wing and defamatory causes? What do I have to pay for this?" Stearns replied: "Well, I think you and the American taxpayers don't have to pay for it much longer. ... So the question for taxpayers and the elected officials have to say why do we have to fund NPR, particularly in light of, for example, the interview you did," referring to a confrontational interview that NPR did with O'Reilly.

O'Reilly: "Let's get [NPR] off the dole, right, and save money for the taxpayers." On the November 7, 2003, edition his show (accessed via Nexis), O'Reilly reported on a $200 million donation to NPR and then asked Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY): "So look, $200 million. Let's get them off the dole, right, and save money for the taxpayers."

O'Reilly promoted GOP congressman's investigation of Corporation for Public Broadcasting. On May 1, 2003, (accessed via Nexis) O'Reilly hosted Rep. Bill Tauzin (R-LA) to discuss his committee's investigation of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides funds to NPR. O'Reilly asked Tauzin, "So, if you find out that they haven't been fair and balanced, are you going to pull the dough?"

O'Reilly: "NPR and PBS should stop taking government money and compete in the media marketplace." On the October 20, 2003, edition of his show (accessed via Nexis), O'Reilly said that "NPR presents a progressive international and generally left leaning point of view. That's fine with me." He later declared: "But once again, it is not fine with me to have to pay for this. NPR and PBS should stop taking government money and compete in the media marketplace."

Kondracke, Krauthammer call for end to government funding of public broadcasting. On the May 9, 2005, edition of Special Report (accessed via Nexis), Fox News contributor Mort Kondracke stated that "there is no reason why the government" should be funding public broadcasting, saying that "it is time for PBS to be, quote, unquote, 'liberated.'" Later in the show, Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer stated: "I think that this is a completely obsolete idea of having a publicly funded network in an age of 500 cable channels" He added, "It's completely skewed politically, and it deserves a quiet, honorable death."

Pinkerton: "PBS has been the biggest inside joke for the left all along." On the November 19, 2005, edition of Fox News Watch (accessed via Nexis), Fox News contributor Jim Pinkerton said that "PBS has been the biggest inside joke for the left all along."

Beck calls NPR "state-run radio." On the August 26, 2009, edition of his Fox News show (accessed via Nexis), Glenn Beck stated that "[o]ur diversity czar has just proposed that radio companies pay 100 percent of their operating budget yearly" and that "[t]hat 100 percent tax would then be transferred to the state-run radio of NPR."

Hannity: NPR "is using your tax dollars yet again to showcase their liberal bias." Discussing syndicated columnist Mark Fiore's satirical animated video about the tea party posted on NPR's website, Hannity stated on his January 5 show (accessed via Nexis) that "National Public Radio is using your tax dollars yet again to showcase their liberal bias. Now in a new Web video NPR attacks the tea party movement. Now here's a portion of the 'Learn to Speak Tea Bag' video lesson. Keep in mind, you paid for this." After airing a clip of the video, Hannity said, "[W]e have NPR using your money to slam Americans who have the courage to voice their opinion."

O'Reilly: "The only problem is my money, your money, some of it's going to NPR. ... . And if it's going to be a left-wing Jihadist deal, I think that's wrong." Discussing the animated tea party cartoon on the January 6 edition of his show (accessed via Nexis), O'Reilly stated: "The only problem is my money, your money, some of it's going to NPR. Not a lot, but some of it. And if it's going to be a left-wing Jihadist deal, I think that's wrong. That's all."

Beck attacks NPR over Open Society Foundations grant. On the October 19 edition of his show (accessed via Nexis), Beck attacked NPR after it received a grant from George Soros' Open Society Foundations. Beck stated: "Soros' Open Society Institute just announced for you $1.8 million to add 100 journalists at NPR radio stations across the country. The only good thing here is at least George Soros is now just buying the reporters out in the open. So, that's great."

M.C.L Comment: What amazes me about this crap anytime someone on the left says something the right doesn't like scumbags on Fox News launch a all out campaign to ruin that person, when Rosie O'Donnell was on "The View" freaks like Bill O'Reilly and his equally hypocritical side kick Sean Hannity did was called for her head anytime she said something they didn't like. And didn't the tea party losers went after Marvel for one panel in a Captain American comic book? Or again the Dixie Chicks what did the right do to them?

The only fault I lay on NPR is they gave hypocrites like O'Reilly, Hannity, Beck and every slimeball liar that appear on that network a issue to fire up the super stupid that watches it.