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In addition to the new political players spending millions to persuade voters, there are the lobbyists in Washington D.C. working around the clock to win the votes of elected officials. Lobbyists are derided and blamed for advancing the interests of the powerful over the will of the American public. As a candidate in the presidential primary, President Obama railed against the influence of lobbyists, mounting an effective attack against Hillary Clinton as a friend of special interests who accepted campaign donations in return for votes. A new documentary, The Best Government Money Can Buy, goes beyond the standard criticism and delves into the world of lobbying. The film is filled with interviews with lobbyists and the watchdogs who work to curb their influence. It offers an overview of …

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Glen Ford is a writer and radio commentator and the Executive Editor of The Black Agenda Report. This week’s commentary is the One Nation Rally.

Visit www.blackagendareport.com for more information.

“The government, which was designed for the people, has got into the hands of the bosses and their employers, the special interests. An invisible empire has been set up above the forms of democracy.” — Woodrow Wilson

We’ll cover the death of Nestor Kirchner, former president of Argentina, his tenure, and how business interests have reacted. And, special coverage of money in elections, leading up to the most expensive mid-term elections in US history. Amanda Terkel, writer for the Huffington Post, and film maker Francis Megahy whose brand new documentary is called The Best Government Money Can Buy will join us. Plus the Black Agenda Report.

Uprising host, Sonali Kolhatkar interviews Gan Golan, co-author with Erich Origen, of the new book The Adventures of Unemployed Man.

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The Tea Party movement may be a loose network of ultra-conservatives that don’t always agree with one another, but they have managed to alter the political landscape in a very short time, likely affecting the outcome of next week’s election. A new book published by OR Books, and edited by journalist and writer Laura Flanders focuses on the Tea Party, its politics, and progressive responses to it. The book’s title summarizes it well: “At the Tea Party: The Wing Nuts, Whack Jobs and Whitey-Whiteness of the New Republican Right… And Why We Should Take It Seriously.” At the Tea Party has essays by Max Blumenthal, Alexander Cockburn, Lisa Duggan, Bill Fletcher, Glenn Greenwald, Arun Gupta, Chris Hedges, Katha Pollitt, Sarah Posner, Tim Wise, Alexander Zaitchik and many others. Yesterday …

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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a budget for the state of California on October 8th, one hundred days into the fiscal year, ending the longest budget stalemate in the state’s history. As in previous years, a major battle over the budget caused an impasse that had direct and immediate impacts on the ability of government agencies to provide services. Since California is one of three states in the nation requiring a two-thirds super majority to pass the budget, balancing the books often turns into a bitter partisan battle with the Republican minority holding out their voting bloc for spending cuts and business tax breaks. Proposition 25 on next week’s ballot would require only a simple majority to pass the budget. According to a new LA Times/USC poll, the measure has 58% …

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According to a USC/Los Angeles Times poll released last Sunday, Carly Fiorina is slowly gaining ground against incumbent Barbara Boxer in the California senatorial race. Boxer is up by five points: 43 to 38 percent, with 13 percent of voters remaining undecided. In spite of Boxer’s 2.3 million voter advantage over Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO’s approval ratings have risen by 2 points since September. To reach out to independents, Fiorina recently boosted campaign spending by $4 million. Out of the $4 million, $1 million was from her own personal funds, and $3 million came from the coffers of the National Republican Senatorial Committee—bringing total GOP contributions to her campaign to $8 million, the most that Republicans have ever spent in a single race for California senator. Meanwhile, Fiorina was …

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The Right Hook, a weekly segment which covers the machinations of the right wing, from the Republican Party to the Tea Party Patriots, and beyond. By Chris Bennett

Last week, Juan Williams created a media firestorm by declaring his fear of Muslims on Bill O’Reilly’s show The Factor. Williams said that when he gets on a plane and sees people in “Muslim garb,” he gets nervous and scared. NPR, the organization formerly known as National Public Radio, fired Williams. Williams experienced unemployment for half a day or so before Fox News signed him up for a $2 Million dollar contract. Since the firing, Sarah Palin and Jim DeMint have called for a complete defunding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). This would pull the …

“Compromise is but the sacrifice of one right or good in the hope of retaining another–too often ending in the loss of both.” — Tryon Edwards