Soft Money Boosts McCain Campaign

(CBS)  The Skinny is Keach Hagey's take on the top news of the day and the best of the Internet.

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Ahoy! Here come the swift boats once again, paddling the political waters with silent oars made of soft money. In the 2004 election, shadowy advocacy groups like the one that attacked John Kerry's war record, used their non-profit status to skirt campaign finance rules and do serious damage to John Kerry's campaign.

This time around, there's an ironic twist.

The New York Times reports that a new variant of these independent entities, the Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America, has been paying for ads in South Carolina that glowingly portray John McCain, whose name is on the campaign finance laws the group was created to skirt. Kind of makes the head hurt, doesn't it?

The ads were ostensibly urging citizens of South Carolina to urge their congressional representatives to pass the Wounded Warriors Act, and happened to show positive images of McCain in the process. But the act has attracted nearly unanimous bipartisan support in Congress, and hardly needed the extra help.

The group that paid for the advertisement operates separately of McCain's campaign, but was set up and financed by his supporters seeking to help him as much as possibly up to the limits of the law.

As a registered 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation, it is allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts from individuals without any disclosure, as long as it can argue that it is more concerned with the promotion of an issue - like the final passage of the Wounded Warriors bill - than the election of a candidate.

McCain immediately called on the group to stop the ads when its existence was first reported by the Associated Press on Friday. He said he has not spoken to the group's leader because he does not know what his involvement is. But his opponents aren't buying it.

The situation in South Carolina is likely the tip of the very pricey and very opaque soft money iceberg in this election cycle, the Times reports. That's because in June, the Supreme Court struck down a ban in the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance laws on political advertisements by corporations, citing free speech.

In addition, the Federal Election Commission has made it harder to operate for the outside advocacy groups, so-called 527 groups, who are named after the tax code section that allows the to try to influence elections so long as they disclose their donors and expenses. (It was a 527 group that swift boated Kerry.)

As a result, the soft money is flowing away from 527s toward less transparent sources like the Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America, whose vague name is about all the public gets to know about it.

Gold Market Shines With Aura Of Dread

The last time the price of gold spiked to the levels it's been hovering around lately, the Los Angeles Times reports, soon-to-be-ex President Jimmy Carter was lurching into the last year of his economically troubled tenure. It was January of 1980, and the only thing less popular than the runaway inflation rate and collapsing dollar was disco.

Last Friday, gold closed at $852.50 an ounce, a bit shy of the Carter-era record of $850, but closing in fast. While most bull markets make investors happy, this one fills their bellies with animal fear.

"If investors are turning back to this ancient form of money, one implication is that they're losing faith in the modern financial system," the Times explains.

In other words, gold's rise heralds the end of days.

Heading for the bunker is not an entirely illogical response, the paper notes. After all, the dollar's in the toilet, banks are reeling from massive mortgage defaults and the stock market is melting down once again. Many investors are noting the apocalyptic writing on the wall and lining up for their shiny bits of metal.

Of course, there's a chance that it's just a phase. The paper notes that, adjusted for inflation, the price of gold is far from its peak, which would be about $2,200 in today's dollars. And much of what's been driving the price up since 2000 has been good stuff, like rising consumer wealth in China.

Larry Heim, whose gold-investment business has seen its client base double in the past year, puts it this way: "It's not the right thing to own forever. It will be the right thing to own for the next few years, though."

So apparently, like Fed boss Ben Bernanke said last week, it's gonna get worse before it gets better. May as well have something sparkly to keep you entertained during the ride.

Big Stars Take The Big Bucks, And Leave Writers (And Everybody Else) With Crumbs

One of the most popular images from the writers strike, now heading for its second week, is that of a movie star's face - often adorably unkempt in baseball cap and sweatshirt - lining up in solidarity on the picket line.

But the New York Times reports that behind this symbolic support is a grand theft on the part of the movie industry's biggest names that's draining profitability from the whole business of big moviemaking.

"As it turns out, the pot of money that the producers and writers are fighting over may have already been pocketed by the entertainment industry's biggest talent," Times reporter Michael Cieply writes.

That's the conclusion of a new study of the financial dynamics of moviemaking by the research company Global Media Intelligence in association with Merrill Lynch. The study finds that big movies don't make money anymore because much of the income gets paid out to stars, directors and producers in ballooning participation deals. A participation is a share in the gross revenue, not the profit, of a movie. Major studios "in theory" give away as much as a quarter of a film's receipts under such arrangements.

For example, a Hanks, Cruise or Carrey whose movie brings $600 million back to the studio from all sources might easily wind up with a $20 million salary, and an additional $50 million on the back end, with an A-list director and producer raking in tens of millions more.

The study looked at all films distributed in recent years by the six major studios and found that releases last years would yield a $1.9 billion loss after collecting revenue from an entire first cycle of sales to domestic theaters, foreign theaters, home video, pay television and every other source of income.

The effect of participation deals is huge, said Roger Smith, a former film executive who worked on the report, because "they can easily be paid out on money-losing pictures."

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[rowdytexan2]

Good Gawd! These crooks find ways around the laws they fooled people into passing, while all the time knowing how to get around it. Then they pat themselves on the back like they''re the shining example of .... pultritude!

Get rid of them!

[nextprophet]

RON PAUL IS THE NEW WAY
What we need is a President who will show us the way. Not the old way. Not the same way, but a NEW way. Think about this for a minute. What if we pulled all of our troops out of South Korea? They''ve been there for 50+ years. What if we quit worrying about Iran, but instead, realized that its having a nuclear weapon will not mean the end of the world? What if we pulled all of our troops out of the Middle-East, and brought them all home? What if we realistically addressed the National Debt, and paid attention to REALLY DOING SOMETHING about stopping illegal immigration? These are the ideas of Presidential candidate, Ron Paul. He''s a ten term Congressman and a physician who has delivered over 4,000 babies. He''s an intellectual who''s published four books, three of which are devoted entirely to sound economics and one to foreign policy. He was raised on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania as a pious Lutheran, but now he attends a Baptist church. Paul is given to mulling things over morally. Whenever he recollects the helicopter pilots he treated as an Air Force Flight Surgeon (Captain) during the Vietnam War, a war which he now says was "totally unnecessary and illegal," he laments, "They were gung-ho. I''ve often thought about how many of those people never came back." Candidates with the high level of personal integrity and proven track record of adherence to The Constitution, Congressman Paul has always demonstrated only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky.

[nextprophet]

RON PAUL IS NOT YOUR FATHER''S REPUBLICAN
Ron Paul represents a different Republican Party from the one that Iraq, deficits and corruption have soured the country on. It''s ironic that other GOP candidates are scared to death of his message, because his positions are more conservative than theirs. Being anti-war; pro-life; pro civil liberties; pro Second Amendment; pro States rights; pro secure borders; and in favor of a sound economics policy IS TOTALLY CONSERVATIVE. The Republican party has "lost its way," Paul said during a recent GOP debate. Like the limited federal government principles espoused by Dwight D. Eisenhower, his school of Republicanism stands for a certain idea of The Constitution that much of the power asserted by modern Presidents has been usurped from Congress, and that much of the power asserted by Congress has been usurped from the States. Though Paul acknowledges flaws in both The Constitution (it included slavery) and The Bill of Rights (it doesn''t go far enough), he still thinks a comprehensive array of positions can be drawn therefrom: against gun control; for the sovereignty of States; and against foreign-policy adventures like the ones currently being played-out in the Mid-East. After ten terms of service as a U.S. Congressman, Ron Paul has demonstrated a consistent track record of adherance to The Constitution unmatched by anyone in either party. Ron Paul does not represent your Father''s school of political thought. He represents your Founding Fathers.

[nextprophet]

RON PAUL''S STYLE OF CONSERVATISM IS NOT NEW
Ron Paul''s message is not new. You could have heard it in 1964 or 1975 or 1991 at the conclaves of those conservatives who were considered outside the mainstream of the Republican Party. Back then, most Republicans appeared reconciled to a strong federal government, if only to do the expensive job of defending the country against Communism. But when the Berlin Wall fell, the dormant institutions and ideologies of pre-cold-war conservatism began to stir. In his 1992 and 1996 campaigns, Pat Buchanan, who calls Ron Paul one of the Republicans he "most admires," was the first politician to express and exploit this change, breathing life into the motto "America First" (if not the organization of that name, which opposed entry into World War II). Like Buchanan, Paul draws on forgotten traditions. His top aides are unimpeachably Republican but stand at a distance from the party as it has evolved over the decades. His chief of staff, Tom Lizardo, worked for Pat Robertson, and Bill Miller Jr. is the son of Barry Goldwater''s vice-presidential nominee. His national campaign organizer, Lew Moore, worked for the late Congressman Jack Metcalf of Washington State, who was another Goldwaterite. At the grass roots, Paul''s New Hampshire primary campaign stresses gun rights and relies on anti-abortion and tax activists from the organizations of Buchanan and the state''s former Senator, Bob Smith.

[nextprophet]

RON PAUL CAN WIN THE ELECTION
Ron Paul can win the GOP nomination. If he does, I predict a landslide victory in November of 2008. Even the oddsmakers in Vegas aren''t willing to discount his chances. They''re currently giving him 3:1 odds to win against Hitlery if he gets the nomination. Romney, McCain and the globalist, sell-out Giuliani aren''t given anything better than a 35:1 chance of winning if they get the GOP nod. All it takes is for formerly apathetic individuals to get off the couch and nominate him in their local Republican primary or caucus process. Political parties are nothing more than tools. Those who read the manual and use the tools properly will win the nomination for their candidate. For the past 20 years, many good people have stayed at home and accepted whatever candidate they let others select for them. This year, those people are learning how to use their vote to make a difference. In order to do so, you must participate in the Republican primary election or caucus process in your county, precinct or district. Nothing else matters. If we do this, we win. If not, we lose. The GOP has been suffering from declining participation for decades. Fewer than 10% of registered voters have ALL the power because they actually participate. Now the remaining 90% must surge to use their vote as a tool to bring about positive and long overdue political change in this country. The time to act is now. The time for political revolution has come. The time for Ron Paul is NOW!

[nextprophet]

CBS NEWS PREJUDICED AGAINST RON PAUL
Most people can see right through the prejudice CBS News obviously has towards Ron Paul. In the few times they''ve covered him at all, I''m suprised they didn''t have one of their graphics artists Photoshop some devil horns on top of his head in that worst ever photograph they always use of him. CBS obviously thinks that if they pretend Paul isn''t a top-tier GOP candidate, then their readers and viewers will eventually think so too. Whenever they are forced to do a story on Paul, because some other mainstream source is covering him for some reason, the fact that their editors work overtime to slant their stories in such a way as to either marginalize his accomplishment, or present Paul in the most negative light possible, is obvious to anyone with a modicum of intelligence. "What about their polls?," you ask? As far as the CBS News poll is concerned, they don''t even include Paul on the list of GOP candidates which pollees can choose from, and then afterwards, report to you that Paul doesn''t even rank in their final tally. Ron Paul is getting major grass roots support nationwide. He has over 60,498 meetup group members in 1,155 Groups from 904 cities nationwide, with another 7,033 people more folks just waiting to hear when a new meetup group will start near them. He''s won ALL of the viewer phone-in polls in ALL of the GOP debates he''s been in, and has raised more money ($4.2 million) in one day than any other GOP candidate ever. Go Ron Go!

[nextprophet]

RON PAUL KNOWS HOW TO STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
The talk must stop. We must secure our borders now. A nation without secure borders is no nation at all. It makes no sense to fight terrorists abroad when our own front door is left unlocked. Ron Paul has a plan: (1.) Physically secure our borders and coastlines. We must do whatever it takes to control entry into our country before we undertake complicated immigration reform proposals. (2.) Enforce Visa rules. Immigration officials must track Visa holders and deport anyone who overstays their Visa or otherwise violates U.S. Law. This is especially important when we recall that a number of 9/11 terrorists had expired Visas. (3.) No amnesty. Estimates suggest that 10 to 20 million people are in our country illegally. That''s a lot of people to reward for breaking our Laws. (4.) No welfare for illegal aliens. Americans have welcomed immigrants who seek opportunity, work hard, and play by the rules, but taxpayers should not pay for illegal immigrants who use hospitals, clinics, schools, roads, and social services. (5.) End birthright citizenship. As long as illegal immigrants know their children born here will be citizens, the incentive to enter the U.S. illegally will remain strong. (6.) Pass true immigration reform. The current system, and those proposed by ALL other candidates, is incoherent and unfair, and would allow up to 60 million more immigrants into our country.

[nextprophet]

RON PAUL IS THE TAXPAYER''S BEST FRIEND
If he is elected President, Ron Paul will work to abolish the Federal Reserve System as well as the IRS, returning our country to the Gold Standard. He believes, as I do, that our current Income Tax System is unconstitutional, because it is a direct tax that is not equally apportioned as The Constitution requires. Whenever taxes are raised by the federal government, it should be done as The Constitution does require--in an indirect way, which is equally apportioned. This system would benefit all of us, creating more individual wealth, and allowing us to make more decisions for ourselves about our lives. As President, Ron Paul will also work to abolish the Federal Reserve, a group of private banks, run by unelected officials, which loans our government unbacked money which they are allowed to essentially print out of thin air, making each dollar in your pocket worth less all the time, and increasing our national debt to these banks. Worse still. Most of our debt is owned by China (25%) and Saudi Arabia who finance our runaway military spending overseas. This is a threat to our nation. We need to bring our troops home from overseas, and use the trillions we would save thereby to reduce our debt, and to re-invigorate our currency. We can use this money to ensure that Social Security and other essential programs will still be solvent in the future. Vote for Ron Paul. He''s published three books on the topic of sound economics. ronpaullibrary.org

[nextprophet]

RON PAUL TAKES ON FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke appeared before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee Member, Congressman Ron Paul on November 8th, and had to face some tough criticism concerning the fact that the Fed has been increasing the money supply while at the same time refusing to raise the Prime Interest Rate in order to curb inflation and devaluation of the Dollar. Paul accused the Federal Reserve of "robbery," telling Bernanke, "There''s a dollar crisis out there and people''s money is being stolen," Paul said. "People who have saved, they''re being robbed. I mean, if you have a devaluation of the dollar at 10 percent, people have been robbed of 10 percent." Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke attempted to dispel that notion by explaining, "If somebody has their wealth in dollars and they''re going to buy consumer goods in dollars, then the only effect it has on their buying power is that it makes imported goods more expensive." Paul disagreed, reminding Bernanke, "Yeah, but not if you''re elderly and you have your wealth in CDs. Their cost of living is going-up no matter what your CPI says," adding finally, "Their cost of living is going up, and they''re hurting. And that''s why the people of this country are very upset."

[nextprophet]

RON PAUL: A GUN OWNER''S BEST FRIEND
Like Ron Paul, I share our Founders'' belief that in a free society each citizen must have the right to keep and bear arms. They ratified the Second Amendment knowing that this right is the guardian of every other right, and they all would be horrified by the proliferation of unconstitutional legislation that prevents Law-abiding Americans from exercising this right. Congressman, Paul has always supported the Second Amendment and these are some of the Bills he introduced in the current Congress to help restore respect for it: H.R. 1096 includes provisions repealing the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act and the Federal Firearms License Reform Act, two invasive and unconstitutional Bills. H.R. 1897 would end the ban on carrying a firearm in the National Park System, restoring Americans'' ability to protect themselves in potentially hazardous situations. H.R. 3305 would allow pilots and specially assigned personnel to carry firearms in order to protect airline passengers, possibly preventing future 9/11-style attacks. H.R. 1146 would end our membership in the United Nations, protecting us from their attempts to tax our guns or disarm us entirely. In the past, he introduced legislation to repeal the so-called assault weapons ban before its 2004 sunset, and he has opposed all attempts to reinstate it. Congessman, Paul also recently opposed H.R. 2640, which would allow government-appointed psychiatrists to ban veterans experiencing any form of PTSD.