THE FREE MARKET ... A FLAWED CONCEPT THAT GOVERNS OUR LIVES

This is the first week of class for the spring 2015 quarter. I'm teaching International Political Economy (Political Science 404), where we discuss the myths and realities behind what makes our markets tick.

As we work our way through the course one thing becomes clear: We don't operate in a free market economy.

Our choices, like our lives, are governed by rules that are manipulated so that wealth is created and redistributed in ways that have little to do with Adam Smith's "laws of justice," or his "invisible hand" of the market.

As I point out in my book, the state creates the conditions under which wealth is created, especially at the levels we see today.

Who succeeds in our markets today is not determined by hard work and talent alone. Favorable legislation (deregulation? bankruptcy protections? white collar crime vs. blue collar crime penalties?), rules about what can be traded (drugs? slaves? babies?), getting access and civil rights right (women? people of color?), regular bailouts (1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, etc.), commercial treaties (NAFTA? TPP?), tax issues (tax cuts for the rich? fees or taxes?), among others, have been instrumental in determining who succeeds in our markets today.

What this means is that - as former Labor Secretary Robert Reich has pointed out - modern markets don't exist in the state of nature. They are created and managed by humans, within a man made organization called the state.

These and other issues will be discussed during lecture this spring.

A brief history of how our modern economy evolved will be the subject of my next post.

- Mark

READING ON CESAR CHAVEZ DAY (March 31, 2015)

Former Maryland Governor O'Malley: Presidency "not some crown" families should share (Chicago Tribune).

Did Nazi doctor Josef Mengele produce any useful medical research (The Straight Dope)?

Global climate change: Antarctica hits highest temp recorded - 63 F (CNBC).

Watch: A nun gives a tea partier a lesson on poverty wages & corporate welfare (Occupy Democrats).


CESAR CHAVEZ
The fight in the fields: Cesar Chavez and the farmworkers' struggle (PBS).

10 things you may not know about Cesar Chavez (Mother Nature Network).

Cesar Chavez (History Channel).

Cesar Chavez' quiet yet complicated approach to leadership (Time).

[Late Addition] Cesar Chavez Celebration with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (USDA / Flickr).

INDIANA BACKLASH NOTES
Labor union becomes first to pull conference from Indiana (Indy Star).

Indiana's anti-gay law prompts thousands of businesses to stand up for diversity (Huffington Post).

Wilco exercises its religious freedom to not play in Indiana (AV Club).


WE'RE NOT A DEMOCRACY, WE'RE AN OLIGARCHY
Why the House of Representatives doesn't represent the will of the public (Truth Out).

Now we know why huge TPP trade deal is kept secret from the public  (Huffington Post).


HOW WE CRIMINALIZE AND EXPLOIT POVERTY
Federal government finally pays attention to legalized loan sharking: Payday loan stores (Buzz Flash).

Criminalizing poverty: A toxic and growing phenomenon (Buzz Flash).

Attorneys: Sterilizations were part of plea deal talks (Associated Press).


RIGHT WING NUTS & BOLTS
God help us all, Arizona Senator Allen would make church mandatory (KREM CBS).

Atheists have stronger family values than Evangelical Christians (Care 2).

Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson reveals bizarre atheist rape and murder fantasy (Huffington Post).

Ted Cruz launches his 2016 campaign by proclaiming God wants you to have no healthcare (Politics USA).

Georgia drops plans for 'religious freedom' bill after watching Indiana implode (Addicting Info).


SENATOR WARREN TAKES ON THE BANKS
Exclusive: Upset by Senator Warren, U.S. banks debate halting some campaign donations (Reuters).

Elizabeth Warren fires back after Wall Street threat (Huffington Post).

Anti-Wall Street public stands behind a resolute Elizabeth Warren (Buzz Flash).


GMOS AND PESTICIDE POLITICS
A pesticide banned, or not, underscores trans-Atlantic trade sensitivities (NY Times).

Lobbyist claims Monsanto weed killer is safe to drink, then bolts when TV host offers him a glass (Raw Story / YouTube).


MISCELLANEOUS
Walmart, Lowe's, Safeway, and Nordstrom are bankrolling a nationwide campaign to gut workers' comp (Mother Jones).

Paul Krugman on why Ayn Rand's economic disciples are dead wrong about the dollar (Alternet).

Germany now offering free college education to Americans (Slate).

To balance budgets, governors seek higher education cuts (PEW Trusts).

- Mark

HOW THE REPUBLICAN BUDGET HURTS AMERICA'S MIDDLE CLASS, AND AMERICA'S FUTURE

From Nation of Change, we get 5 ways that the GOP's proposed budget harms American families ...

1. JOBS: The GOP focus is on more tax cuts for millionaires (as if they need more) and deregulation (as if deregulation leading up to 2008 didn't do enough). 

2. HOUSING / FOOD ASSISTANCE: Budget cuts in food stamps and housing vouchers would kick millions of children, the elderly and disabled out on to the streets with no food or prospects of putting a roof over their heads. 

3. HEALTH CARE: Apart from repealing Obamacare, which would deny millions of newly covered people health care, the GOP budget raises costs for Medicare recipients by forcing them into a voucher system that isn't tied to rising costs. 

4. EDUCATION: At a time of rising tuition costs, the GOP budget proposal raises Pell Grant eligibility requirements for college students, and freezes the program at current levels. Head Start gets whacked too. 

5. TAXES: If you're not one of the top 1 percent when it comes to wealth your taxes will increase. While they claim not to raise taxes on the middle class, the GOP budget lets tax cuts for the middle class expire. 

So, this is what we have from the Republican budget:

A jobs bill with no jobs mentioned ...

Housing and food assistance cuts, from a party that claims Christian values ...

Eliminating Obamacare when it's already enrolled millions and helped to slow the growth in health care costs ...

Making college less affordable for those who need it the most ...

While the GOP doesn't technically raise your taxes, they still go up under the Republican's budget proposal because they let current tax cuts expire for the middle class.

All of this hurts America's middle class today, and well into the future.

If you're wondering, the GOP budget proposal is actually part of a long history of going after the middle class, which explains why we end up with these "absurd contradictions of capitalism" today ...

- Mark

* An astute reader commented that I needed to put  "proposed" somewhere in front of the GOP's budget. Fair enough, and done.

THE SECRET OF FREEDOM ...

This puts another perspective on rising tuition costs, and the more than $1 trillion owed on student loans that's been built up over the last three decades.

- Mark

RELAXING ON A FRIDAY NIGHT

A nice tune for Friday evening ...

- Mark 

READING (3-26-15)

Vendor sells 'Official Runnin' N****r Target' at South Dakota Gun Show (TPM).

It's official: Americans R Stoopid (Zero Hedge).

Why we're all over confident (PRI).

Market is rigged, High Frequency Trading is harmful, and nothing will change (Zero Hedge).


SOME GOOD NEWS
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announces 24 year prison sentence for leader of mortgage relief scam (Office of the Attorney General of California).

A Finnish lawyer solves world immigration (Ozy)? 

How reform is done ... Richmond police chief: 'All lives matter. That's really what community policing should be about' (Yahoo).

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY (and Ted Cruz)
Evangelical Liberty University received half a billion dollars in federal aid money (Salon).

Liberty University students faced $10 fine if they skipped Ted Cruz presidential speech (Politifact).

Here's how Liberty students REALLY felt about Ted Cruz speech: 'This is embarrassing' (Addicting Info).

WAGES, UNIONS AND "RIGHT TO WORK"
Wages, benefits and protections are lower in states with 'right to work' laws (Elise Gould / NY Times).

Income Rises when right-to-work laws are passed (Richard Vedder / NY Times).

Call it 'Right-to-Work-for-Less,' not Right-to-Work' (George Gresham / NY Times)


AMERICANS CREATING THEIR OWN REALITY 
'How to make your wife submit to your authority': Christian blog teaches men how to dominate their wives (Addicting Info).

Trillion dollar fraudsters ... the GOP's budget magic (Paul Krugman / NY Times).

Parents' beliefs vs. their children's health: Praying infectious diseases away (NY Times).


THINGS WE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT
TPP leak reveals extraordinary new powers for thousands of foreign firms to challenge U.S. policies and demand taxpayer compensation (Public Citizen).

The U.S. ranks first in incarceration rate ... and it's not even close (Ranking America). 

'60 Minutes' bungles another hit piece on Social Security (Michael Hiltzik / LA Times).

The conundrum of corporations and the nation-state (Robert Reich).


NATIONAL SECURITY STATE ISSUES
U.S. backed Afghanistan officials sanctioned murder, torture and rape (The Guardian).

CIA to create 10 new centers while expanding digital espionage (Pittsburgh Gazette).


MISCELLANEOUS
The art of King Kobra (Ozy).

The important things standardized tests don't measure (Washington Post).

Don't say "papaya" in Miami, and other lessons for wooing Latino voters (MSN).

The best place to live in the United States? Here are 9 maps to consider (Zero Hedge).

- Mark

WE AREN'T THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE

Our place in the universe, in 209 seconds ...

- Mark

WAR IS A RACKET ... PLUS OTHER THOUGHTS ABOUT AMERICA'S FINANCIAL ELITE, AND PERPETUAL WAR

Major General Smedley Butler (1881-1940) was the most decorated U.S. Marine at the time of his death in 1940. In spite of his battlefield heroics General Butler is perhaps most famous for exposing the fascist plot to seize the White House in the early years of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term.

Asked to lead a group of military veterans against FDR, General Butler flatly refused and worked to expose the plot concocted by some of America's wealthiest families and other financial elites.

In a strange twist, after Wall Street and America's financial elites had effectively wiped out the economy in 1929, a group of wealthy individuals convinced themselves that FDR was the one leading the country to ruin. They approached General Butler with a plan to overthrow President Roosevelt. The goal was to install a fascist dictatorship along the lines that we saw in Germany and Italy at the time. General Butler was viewed as the only man with the prestige and trust necessary for inspiring military veterans to go along with their plan.

Apart from providing money for operating expenses, one of the conspirators, Robert S. Clark, commented, "I have got $30,000,000 (about $540 million today). I do not want to lose it. I am willing to spend half of the $30,000,000 to save the other half." Clark was not alone.

After the entire affair was exposed General Butler came to the conclusion that America's financial elites weren't so much concerned about America as much as they were about making money, regardless of how it affected other nations, our soldiers, or our reputation abroad. General Butler reflected on how he saw his military service abroad:

I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902–1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested.

Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.

To reduce the proclivity towards war General Butler wrote in War is a Racket that we needed to take the profit out of the equation. To do this he called for national conscription for both people and industry during times of war. Specifically, he wrote:

You can't end [war] by disarmament conferences ... by resolutions. It can be smashed effectively only by taking the profit out of war. 

The only way to smash this racket is to conscript capital and industry and labor before the nation's manhood can be conscripted ...

Let the officers and directors and the high-powered executives of our armament factories and our steel companies and our munitions makers and our ship-builders and our air-plane builders ... as well as the bankers and the speculators, be conscripted - to get $30 a month, the same wage as the lads in the trenches get.

Let the workers in these same plants get the same wages ... yes, and all generals and admirals and all officers and all politicians ... Why shouldn't they? They aren't running any risk of being killed or having their bodies mangled or their minds shattered ...

General Butler concluded by saying that if everyone affiliated with making money off of war were to receive what the common soldier earns that the proclivity towards war would be "smashed."

I'm not sure if the tendency to make war would be "smashed" if we took profits out - humanity is made up of some seriously deranged people - but the story of the American empire would definitely be altered.

One final thought ...

- Mark

GLOBALLY WE SPENT $11,000,000,000,000 AFTER THE 2008 MARKET CRASH AND ALL WE GOT WAS ...

The amount of money created and spent by the world's central banks after the 2008 market collapse is $11 trillion. What did we get in return? A lethargic "recovery" and an elite class that is richer than they were before the market collapse. 

Zero Hedge has some interesting graphs and commentary on the topic here.

- Mark

INKA GOLD, UNCHAINED MELODY

I like this. From Inka Gold ...

- Mark

AMERICA'S DEMORALIZED PLUTOCRACY

From Salon ... 5 signs that America is turning into a demoralized plutocracy.

1. ELECTIONS FOR THE 1%: Both the Democrats and the Republicans are groveling to the richest and most powerful Americans.

2. PRIVATIZATION OF THE STATE: From the privatization of war (think mercenaries) to private prisons (heck, they want to privatize the libraries here in Bakersfield).

3. THE DE-LEGITIMIZATION OF CONGRESS & THE PRESIDENCY: While vying for power, both the White House and Congress have been throwing enough mud over the past 20 years that the only thing they can agree on is war and the national security state ... oh, and privatization of the state.

4. THE NATIONAL SECURITY STATE AS THE 4TH BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT: From the creation of the Department of Homeland Security to mercenary armies and our militarized border and police forces, we're told to be afraid of our own shadows.

5. THE DEMOBILIZATION OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE: With PR driven military campaigns and privatized mercenaries, Americans no longer care if wages are stagnating, poverty is on the rise, or if the rights of labor are respected. As long as we don't have a draft and we have our apps, we don't seem to care.

It's a bit lengthy, but you can read the article here.

And, yeah, I kind of added a bit to the narrative above. It needed a few more connecting points.

- Mark

ARCTIC SEA ICE PACK JUST SET A NEW RECORD LOW

Via NASA we see how the Arctic sea ice just set a new record winter low ...

For more check out this Wired article.

- Mark 

THE REAL JOB CREATORS IN AMERICA

And the real job creators in America are the Democrats ...



For more on the job creator myths that are out there click here and here.

- Mark 

WELCOME TO CLASS WARFARE IN AMERICA (BY THE NUMBERS)

We have already dumped $4.3 trillion into the bailout of Wall Street.

Collectively college students owe about $1.13 trillion on their student loans.

If we paid off every student loan in the country with the money we've handed over to Wall Street we'd still have well over $3.1 trillion left.

With $3.1 trillion we could then pay off every credit card in America.

After paying off every credit card in America we would still have at least $2.2 trillion.

Since this is education related, let's use the $2.2 trillion to pay the tuition for the roughly 14.2 million students attending a public university. With tuition costing roughly $3,030 per student in 2014-2015 we could pay for everyone who attends a four year public university through 2024 ... and still have about $400 billion left. 

Or we could take the $2.2 trillion and use it to pay down total mortgage debt ($8.1 trillion) of every household. This would wipe away a little over 25% of America's total mortgage. So, let's say you owe $200,000 on your mortgage. Afterwards you would owe a little under $150,000, which would put a big dent in your monthly payments.

So, think about the following. What would millions of Americans do without tuition, student loans or credit card debts to pay? How would a 25% reduction in your mortgage debt impact the life off working class homeowners in America?

One thing's clear: the economy would take off.

Unfortunately, Wall Street and the bankers said that they needed the $4.3 trillion to pay off their failed market bets, which was dumped on their laps primarily by the Federal Reserve.

So, why couldn't we have taken the $4.3 trillion to help pay down the debts of ordinary Americans, to help keep them financially stable? Because that would be socialism (cough, cough). Right?

Even if we proposed using the same terms (less than 1% loans) that were granted to our nations largest financial institutions to pay off these consumer debts it would still be labeled socialism.

Welcome to class warfare in America.

- Mark 

OPEN CARRY, EXPLAINED

- Mark

WHEN STUPIDITY MEETS REALITY ... ANTI-VAXXER LOSES $100,000 BET, JUDGE FORCES HIM TO PAY

From the BBC. This is a great story.

Stefan Lanka is a German anti-vaccination biologist who's certain that vaccinations don't work. He's also convinced that the measles aren't real. Lanka's so impressed with his scientific interpretations that he posted a challenge on his website saying that he would pay €100,000 (about $106,000) to anyone who could prove that the measles virus existed. 

His thinking - I'm guessing - is that vaccinations don't or can't work on something that doesn't exist. Hence his €100,000 challenge.

Someone decided to call Lanka on his self-indulgent bluff. 

German scientist Dr. David Barden put together a packet of the most recent research on the topic and sent it to the biologist's house. Ignoring evidence he didn't like, Lanka proceeded to build a strawman argument for the ages, and then declared the work of thousands of researchers and scientists invalid. 

Lanka, being the brilliant scientist that he is, determined that the measles is really just "psychosomatic illness." So, yeah, people who die from the disease are really just disturbed. It's all in their head. 

Case closed, right?

Not so fast. Dr. Barden wasn't about to let Lanka off so easily. 

Dr. Barden decided to take the matter to court and sued Lanka. A German judge reviewed the material and - surprise, surprise - agreed with decades of research and settled science (and common sense). Lanka was ordered to pay Dr. Barden €100,000.

- Mark 

A REAL SNAKE CHARMER

This is not for the snake lovers out there. Still, it's obvious this guy's been doing this for a while ...

- Mark 

READING FOR THE WEEKEND (3-14-15)

Cal State is tightening admissions criteria to control demand (Los Angeles Times).

Best state for businesss? Yes, it's California (Bloombert).

At Citigroup, it's the same as it ever was (Shah Gilani / Money Morning).

Simpsons co-creator, Cheers writer, dies at age 59 after giving most of his fortune to charity (The Guardian).


EUROPE
What Europe's hopeful left can learn from Latin America (The Conversation).

Eastern Europe's auto powerhouse (Ozy).

French: Lingua Franca (Ozy).


LOW WAGES AREN'T AN ACCIDENT
Walmart's wages are so low that you - i.e. the American taxpayer - are actually paying Walmart's employees through the welfare programs they have to subscribe to in order to survive (Mic).

IMF: Weaker unions = higher CEO pay (Inequality / IMF).

According to Forbes, $2.1 trillion is just about what U.S. corporations have stashed abroad (Forbes.)


BANKING TROUBLES
The biggest bank fines, to date (Reuters).

BNP joins growing list of foreign banks paying heft fines in U.S. (Market Watch).

It's not often that I agree with the Heritage Foundation, but their report on "Quantitative Easing, The Fed's Balance Sheet, and Central Bank Insolvency" is spot on (Heritage Foundation).


OIL / FRACKING NEWS 
Fracking's dark side gets darker (ECO Watch).

Since city of Denton banned fracking, Texas GOP moves to preempt local control (Truth Out).

Texas oil queen ... of the Texas Railroad Commission (Ozy).

California order 12 oil-field wells shut to protect groundwater (LA Times).

Hundred of illicit oil wastewater pits found in Kern County (LA Times).


ISSUES OF RACE IN AMERICA
Obama givers another greatest speech ever, this time in Selma (Naked Capitalism).

Colin Powell still sees 'dark vein' of intolerance in GOP (ABC News).

Beyond reform: Essays call for a sweeping reassessment of incarceration (Truth Out).

Yes, black America fears the police. Here's why (Pro Publica).

Madison police chief says officer shooting of unarmed man has similarities to Ferguson (The Guardian).


THE AMERICAN RIGHT
Reagan adviser to GOP: 'They are really rather stupid and not well read' (Daily Kos).

From white sheets to spread sheets ... Jim Crow becomes Dr. James Crow (Nation of Change)

How to become a conservative in four embarrassing steps (Nation of Change).

Republican presidential hopefuls scramble to support seditious Iran letter (Politics USA).


LIVING IN DENIAL
Florida officials ban term 'climate change' (Nation of Change).

Mayor of Ferguson rejects DOJ report, says there's 'no proof' city has a race problem (Nation of Change).

Charter school hailed by Jeb Bush ended in ruin ... but looks good on his presidential resume (NY Times).


MISCELLANEOUS
Senator expected to face federal corruption charges (Nation of Change).

Maine efforts to tax non-profits raises eyebrows across the U.S. (Seattle PI).

Holder says he's prepared to 'dismantle' Ferguson police department if necessary (Washington Post).

3 connections between climate change and extreme weather (ECO Watch).

- Mark 

THE ENVIRONMENT .... LET'S CALL IT THE "CLIMATE BANK"

Quoted in 2009 from Hugo Chavez, the former president of Venezuela.

- Mark

Correction: I've corrected the attribution here to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. Thanks to Ilya for catching the error. 

THE 3 BIGGEST MYTHS PUSHED BY CONSERVATIVES ... ROBERT REICH

Salon has a brief article presented by former Labor Secretary Robert Reich. He has several ideas on issues that we need to re-frame if we want to move forward as a nation.

1. The “job creators” are CEOs, corporations, and the rich, whose taxes must be low in order to induce them to create more jobs. Rubbish. The real job creators are the vast middle class and the poor, whose spending induces businesses to create jobs. Which is why raising the minimum wage, extending overtime protection, enlarging the Earned Income Tax Credit, and reducing middle-class taxes are all necessary. 

2. The critical choice is between the “free market” or “government.” Baloney. The free market doesn’t exist in nature. It’s created and enforced by government. And all the ongoing decisions about how it’s organized – what gets patent protection and for how long (the human genome?), who can declare bankruptcy (corporations? homeowners? student debtors?), what contracts are fraudulent (insider trading?) or coercive (predatory loans? mandatory arbitration?), and how much market power is excessive (Comcast and Time Warner?) – depend on government. 

3. We should worry most about the size of government. Wrong. We should worry about who government is for. When big money from giant corporations and Wall Street inundate our politics, all decisions relating to #1 and #2 above become rigged against average working Americans.

You can watch Robert Reich talk about these issues here ...

- Mark 

YOU DECIDE ... IS THIS WHAT'S WRONG WITH AMERICA?

- Mark

Hat tip to Tom for the meme.

THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY ... THEN AND NOW

I'm working on a few projects that I need to get out of the way, and I came across this map of California's San Joaquin Valley.

The map was put together by California State University, Stanislaus researchers, and depicts the transformation of the San Joaquin Valley from a water, wetland, and saltbush area to a region that is now dominated by irrigated farm land and creeping urban sprawl.

Where you could once navigate a small boat in the waters from Bakersfield to the Fresno area (including through Tulare Lake) after heavy Sierra Nevada snow and rainy seasons, things changed drastically by the end of the 19th century. Today the region is threatened by a drought that many believe will cripple agriculture production over the next five years if there is no change in current weather patterns.

And you definitely can't navigate a boat from Bakersfield to the Fresno area, even after heavy snow years in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

- Mark

IRANS FOREIGN MINISTER BECOMES THE ADULT IN THE ROOM ... AS GOP TURNS IKE'S WARNING INTO PROPHECY

Via Crooks & Liars we get the Iranian Foreign Minister's response to the 47 warmongering Senate Republicans who think they understand international law and the U.S. Constitution better than a sitting U.S. President. Here's what Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had to say about the Senate Republicans latest attempt to undermine ongoing negotiations between the President of the United States and another government.

Asked about the open letter of 47 US Senators to Iranian leaders, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Dr. Javad Zarif, responded that "in our view, this letter has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy.  It is very interesting that while negotiations are still in progress and while no agreement has been reached, some political pressure groups are so afraid even of the prospect of an agreement that they resort to unconventional methods, unprecedented in diplomatic history.  This indicates that like Netanyahu, who considers peace as an existential threat, some are opposed to any agreement, regardless of its content. 

Zarif expressed astonishment that some members of US Congress find it appropriate to write to leaders of another country against their own President and administration. He pointed out that from reading the open letter, it seems that the authors not only do not understand international law, but are not fully cognizant of the nuances of their own Constitution when it comes to presidential powers in the conduct of foreign policy.

Foreign Minister Zarif added that "I should bring one important point to the attention of the authors and that is, the world is not the United States, and the conduct of inter-state relations is governed by international law, and not by US domestic law. The authors may not fully understand that in international law, governments represent the entirety of their respective states, are responsible for the conduct of foreign affairs, are required to fulfil the obligations they undertake with other states and may not invoke their internal law as justification for failure to perform their international obligations. 

The Iranian Foreign Minister added that "Change of administration does not in any way relieve the next administration from international obligations undertaken by its predecessor in a possible agreement about Iran`s peaceful nuclear program." He continued "I wish to enlighten the authors that if the next administration revokes any agreement with the stroke of a pen, as they boast, it will have simply committed a blatant violation of international law.

He emphasized that if the current negotiation with P5+1 result in a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, it will not be a bilateral agreement between Iran and the US, but rather one that will be concluded with the participation of five other countries, including all permanent members of the Security Council, and will also be endorsed by a Security Council resolution.

Zarif expressed the hope that his comments "may enrich the knowledge of the authors to recognize that according to international law, Congress may not modify the terms of the agreement at any time as they claim, and if Congress adopts any measure to impede its implementation, it will have committed a material breach of US obligations.

The Foreign Minister also informed the authors that majority of US international agreements in recent decades are in fact what the signatories describe as "mere executive agreements" and not treaties ratified by the Senate.

He reminded them that "their letter in fact undermines the credibility of thousands of such mere executive agreements that have been or will be entered into by the US with various other governments.

Zarif concluded by stating that "the Islamic Republic of Iran has entered these negotiations in good faith and with the political will to reach an agreement, and it is imperative for our counterparts to prove similar good faith and political will in order to make an agreement possible."

Think about the following: Iran already has the ability to make a nuclear weapon, while the GOP's only suggested option is effectively more conflict, and war in perpetuity. So we need to ask ourselves, why is the GOP so bent on sabotaging President Obama's negotiations with Iran?

Here's a hint. The original sponsor of the open letter - freshman Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) - is now going to meet with the leading lobbying and professional group that represents military contractors like Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and Booz-Allen-Hamilton, among other firms. Senator Cotton is a big proponent of increased military spending.

Warmongering and torpedoing diplomatic agreements in tense regions like the Middle East serve both their interests.

You be the judge as to whether this stunt is just the GOP's way of ginning up financial support from the defense industry for the next election cycle, or if something else is at work here ...

- Mark 

REPUBLICAN PREDICTIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST ... OOPS

So, 47 Republican U.S. Senators have signed off on a letter warning Iran against coming to an agreement with President Obama on a nuclear deal. As if bringing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak in front of Congress last week wasn't enough of an insult to President Obama. Now the GOP wants to undercut President Obama's constitutional authority to negotiate agreements with other nation-states, as if they are the only ones who understand foreign policy.

It's at times like these that we all benefit from taking a look at the last time the GOP ran the foreign policy show, and how their predictions on the Middle East turned out ...

The reality is that the GOP has been getting the world wrong for the better part of 35 years, and don't have any kind of track record when it comes to domestic policy either.

On a positive note, Iran reacted with a degree of disdain, calling the Republican letter a "propaganda ploy."

So, yeah, the Iranians seem to be more mindful of protocols tied to President Obama's constitutional authority to negotiate on behalf of America than the GOP.

- Mark

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S RECORD OF SUCCESS

- Mark 

BAKERSFIELD TOPS THE LIST AGAIN ... WE'RE #1 WHEN IT COMES TO U.S. CITIES RUNNING OUT OF WATER

From Eco Watch and Natural News we learn that Bakersfield's #1 again. This time we're at the top of the list of U.S. cities running out of water.

And, no, Bakersfield has not imposed any water restrictions on its citizens.

Click here for the latest from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

- Mark

THE FERGUSON STORY THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

According to The Guardian, Ferguson, Missouri Judge Ronald Brockmeyer owes the U.S. government more than $170,000 in federal taxes. Here's the interesting part. Brockmeyer regularly jailed impoverished defendants who could not pay fines of one or two hundred dollars, and was unveiled this past week by the Department of Justice as the "driving force behind Ferguson's strategy of using its municipal courts to aggressively generate revenues" for the city.

One city council member was told that if Brockmeyer were no longer on the bench that the city would have to consider the revenue effect.

Brockmeyer is also named in the DOJ report as part of a larger group of white Ferguson officials who allegedly wrote off citations for themselves and friends, while punishing residents for similar offenses.

An influential Ferguson city clerk and two city police officers have already been fired for fixing tickets and racist emails. One of the fired officers was linked to an email that suggested Barack Obama would not be in office long because 'what black man holds a steady job for four years?'.

You can read the judges story here.

- Mark 

LOVE HAS NO ...

Interesting art form ... Love has no labels.

- Mark 

FRIDAY READING (3-6-15)

Injured workers suffer as 'reforms' limit workers' compensation benefits (NPR).

Climate change helped fuel the Syrian conflict, new paper finds (Huffington Post).

Gas industry's solution for toxic wastewater: spray it on icy roads (Newsweek).

The best explanation of redistricting (gerrymandering) you will ever see (Washington Post).


JUST INTERESTING
Behold, the bike cave (Ozy).

DEA warns of stoned rabbits if Utah passes medical marijuana (Washington Post).

Bank of Canada urges 'Star Trek' fans to stop 'Spocking' their fivers (Dangerous Minds).

And the Darwin Award goes to ... The drunk guy who let another drunk guy shoot a trash can off the top of his head. Oops (Addicting Info).

New map shows Koch's connection to Keystone (Nation of Change).


TRADE NEWS
Obama's Trans-Pacific Partnership rhetoric resembles Clinton's on NAFTA (Truth Out).

Dishonest White House attack on Sen. Warren (D-MA), who's exposing sham behind secret panel on trade deals (Truth Out). 

Despite FATC, U.S. companies stash $2.1 trillion abroad (Forbes).


HEAD SCRATCHERS
More people have been killed in America by non-Islamic domestic terrorists than jihadists (Vice / Southern Poverty Law Center).

Incredible ... Texas lawmaker on his fifth marriage files complaint against judge over same-sex marriage (Daily Kos).


NETANYAHU'S SPEECH
Chris Matthews livid after Netanyahu's speech: GOP assisted 'takeover attempt' by a foreign government (Raw Story).

Democrats on Netanyahu's speech: Bibi's never seen a war he doesn't want the U.S. to fight (Slate).

There it is ... Ted Cruz compares Obama to Neville Chamberlain and Iran to Germany (Slate).

Half of American voters think that inviting Israeli PM was a bad idea (Daily Mail).


OBAMACARE NEWS
Two Red States that embraced Obamacare have seen their uninsured rates plummet faster than anywhere (Huffington Post).

Obamacare sign-ups reach 6.4 million (Hufington Post).

GOP Gang of Supremes goes after Obamacare (Nation of Change).


MISCELLANEOUS
In Ferguson, DOJ probe only confirms what community has long known (Nation of Change).

Bill O'Reilly's cavalcade of lies: A handy collection of the damage - so far (News Corpse).

California orders oil companies to stop drilling near drinking water supplies (Nation of Change).

Private prison companies foresee increased profits as ruling limits immigration detentions (Truth Out).

Department of Justice finds pervasive racial bias at Ferguson Police Department (Mother Jones).

- Mark