REWIND - A Week of Quotes & Cartoons

SUNDAY

Quote of the Day
April 10, 2011

'Instead of taxing the superrich on the bonuses
dispensed by top corporations such as Exxon, Bank of
America, General Electric, Chevron and Boeing, all of
which managed to avoid paying any federal corporate
taxes last year, the politicians of both parties in
Congress are about to accede to the Republican demand
that programs that help ordinary folks be cut to pay
for the programs that bailed out the banks.

'It is a reality further obscured by the academic
elite, led by economists who receive enormous payoffs
from Wall Street in speaking and consulting fees, and
their less privileged university colleagues who are so
often dependent upon wealthy sponsors for their
research funding. Then there are the media, which are
indistinguishable parts of the corporate-owned culture
and which with rare exception pretend that we are all
in the same lifeboat while they fawn in their coverage
of those who bilk us and also dispense fat fees to top
pundits. Complementing all that is the dark distraction
of the faux populists, led by tea party demagogues, who
blame unions and immigrants for the crimes of Wall
Street hustlers.'

Columnist Robert Scheer
The Nation
April 6, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3tgcoyd

Toon of the Day
http://tinyurl.com/3tppp7g
Magic Beans
David Horsey - Seattle PI

MONDAY

Quote of the Day
April 11, 2011

'It is hard to exaggerate the disaster that passes for
American democracy these days. Have a look at today's
news. A "historic" cut in spending has been achieved,
the "largest in history," $38.5 billion. Yet what is
actually in this spending cut? There is no report of
that. You can't find the list of cuts in the New York
Times, the Wall Street Journal, or anywhere else. The
negotiations are a show, a TV cliffhanger, not a
negotiation over actual programs affecting 300 million
Americans.

'Does the list of budget cuts even exist? Were the
negotiations about a number ($38.5 billion, or $61
billion, or something else) but not specific programs?
If there was no list, how did the negotiators decide on
how much to cut? If there is a list, why haven't the
American people seen even a glimpse of it all week,
even after the negotiations have been concluded? '

Jeffrey Sachs, economist and director
of the Earth Institute, Columbia University
Huffington Post
April 11, 2011

http://tinyurl.com/3nhbtyu

Toon of the Day
http://tinyurl.com/3vtalrp
Suffering a Complex
Khalil Bendib

TUESDAY

Quote of the Day
April 12, 2011

'The rich are already at the table, as are the
Democrats, the Republicans, the Tea Party and the
unions, the business interests and the money interests.
The poor can't afford for you to forget about them, and
you cannot afford it either. Of all Americans, the poor
are not just the real victims of this recession; they
are the victims of a 30 year campaign of smear and
neglect, to strengthen the rich on the backs of the
rest of America in the dim and ultimately futile
fantasy that the rich getting richer will somehow
"trickle down." Well, it hasn't trickled down. While
middle class wages have declined in the face of
unparalleled wealth and technology creation since the
80's, the poverty rate in our country is the highest it
has been in 51 years-that takes us to the early 1960's.
Shame on all of us who otherwise take pride in the
achievements of this rich and powerful nation.

'If you don't put the poor at the heart of your
policies for the next two years, with the interests
aligned in favor of the rich, too many of the middle
class will join them in their suffering. That is the
"trickle up" of poverty that has impoverished nations
with unfair concentrations of wealth at the top. That
is what destroys great nations.'

Hip-hop producer, entrepreneur
and activist Russell Simmons
'Dear Mr. President, Forget The Poor, Lose Your Soul '
blog
Global Grind
April 12, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/42mrmar

Toon of the Day
http://tinyurl.com/3k69r3e
Head for the Exits
Pat Oilphant

WEDNESDAY

Quote of the Day
April 13, 2011

'In Portugal's fate there lies a clear warning for
other countries, the United States included. Portugal's
1974 revolution inaugurated a wave of democratization
that swept the globe. It is quite possible that 2011
will mark the start of a wave of encroachment on
democracy by unregulated markets, with Spain, Italy or
Belgium as the next potential victims.

'Americans wouldn't much like it if international
institutions tried to tell New York City, or any other
American municipality, to jettison rent-control laws.
But that is precisely the sort of interference now
befalling Portugal - just as it has Ireland and Greece,
though they bore more responsibility for their fate.

'Only elected governments and their leaders can ensure
that this crisis does not end up undermining democratic
processes. So far they seem to have left everything up
to the vagaries of bond markets and rating agencies.'

Robert M. Fishman, a professor of
sociology at the University of
Notre Dame, is the co-editor of
"The Year of the Euro: The Cultural,
Social and Political Import
of Europe's Common Currency."

New York Times
April 13, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3qy7pqq

Toon of the Day
http://tinyurl.com/3h6x7tk
Swipe Fees
Signe Wilkinson

THURSDAY

Quote of the Day
April 14, 2011


'The report pulls back the curtain on shoddy, risky,
deceptive practices on the part of a lot of major
financial institutions. The overwhelming evidence is
that those institutions deceived their clients and
deceived the public, and they were aided and abetted by
deferential regulators and credit ratings agencies who
had conflicts of interest.'

Sen. Carl Levin (D.-Mich), co-chair
Senate Permanent Subcommittee, on
Investigations on the panel's report:

'Wall Street and the Financial Crisis:
Anatomy of a Financial Collapse.'

'Naming Culprits in the Financial Crisis'
http://tinyurl.com/3g8bsks
&
'In Financial Crisis, No Prosecutions of
Top Figures'
http://tinyurl.com/3kvcqsq

By Gretchen Morgenson and Louise Story
New York Times
April 14, 2011

Toon of the Day
http://tinyurl.com/43uyaq8
Good Shooting
Jim Morin - Miami Herald

FRIDAY

Quote of the Day
April 15, 2011

'You control our world. You've poisoned the air we
breathe, contaminated the water we drink, and
copyrighted the food we eat. We fight in your wars, die
for your causes, and sacrifice our freedoms to protect
you. You've liquidated our savings, destroyed our
middle class, and used our tax dollars to bailout your
unending greed. We are slaves to your corporations,
zombies to your airwaves, servants to your decadence.

You've stolen our elections, assassinated our leaders,
and abolished our basic rights as human beings. You own
our property, shipped away our jobs, and shredded our
unions. You've profited off of disaster, destabilized
our currencies, and raised our cost of living. You've
monopolized our freedom, stripped away our education,
and have almost extinguished our flame. We are hit. we
are bleeding. but we ain't got time to bleed. We will
bring the giants to their knees and you will witness
our revolution!

'Sincerely, The Serfs.'

'Letter to the Ruling Class'
Jesse Ventura
April 1, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3r24fkr

Toon of the Day
http://tinyurl.com/3s38lns
IRS Siege
Pat Oliphant

SATURDAY

Quote of the Day
April 16, 2011

'Do you wonder (like I do) what the tax accountants and
executives are doing over at GE this weekend?
Frantically rushing to fill out their IRS returns like
the rest of us?

'Hardly. They're taking the weekend off to throw
themselves a big party and have a hearty laugh at all
of us. It must really crack them up to see us like
suckers scurrying around to make sure we report
everything to Uncle Sam -- and even send him a check,
if necessary.'

Filmmaker Michael Moore
Common Dreams
April 16, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3b5utaq

Toon of the Day
http://tinyurl.com/3zhxwxc
Dear Mr CEO
Ed Stein

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