THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN. It’s “The Chinese Professor” scare again. Or is he a party commissar?
The following piece of putrid crap is currently circulating on our small screens. This is but one of the latest efforts from the same filthy crowd that has been trying to sell us the “shrink the government” mantra for more than 70 years now, meaning of course cut all social services to the people, and that’s just counting the postwar period. A couple of comments on YouTube actually sum up quite well the proper reaction to this cybernetic excrement, which does the rounds only because the grotesque and utterly criminal usurpers of power in this nation have the means to produce disinformation 24/7, while the corporate media, in their pockets, can’t be bothered to set matters right. Thus the Big Lie sails practically unchecked in an ocean of ignorance and manufactured indifference.—PG
WATCH VIDEO BELOW
The producers of the spot actually have the cheek to ask for contributions to supposedly sustain their work.
“Donate to help end wasteful deficit spending at www.cagw.org. This new ad is part of an ongoing communications program in CAGW’s decades-long fight against wasteful government spending, increased taxes, out-of-control deficit spending, and a crippling national debt that threatens the future and survival of our country…”
The actual social and political role of this group, as many of you already guess, is to front for corporate and reactionary initiatives and policies. According to Wikipedia:
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States. It functions as a think-tank, ‘government watchdog’, and advocacy group for fiscally conservative causes. The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) is the lobbying arm of CAGW, organized as a section 501(c)(4) organization, and therefore permitted to engage in direct lobbying activities. CAGW has been criticized for its links to the tobacco industry and to lobbyists including Jack Abramoff. According to their web site, “CAGW is a private, non-partisan, non-profit organization representing more than one million members and supporters nationwide. CAGW’s mission is to eliminate waste, mismanagement, and inefficiency in the federal government.”
Throughout its history, CAGW has been accused of fronting lobbying efforts of corporations to give them the appearance of “grassroots” support.[16] In part, this is because CAGW has accepted donations from Phillip Morris, the Olin Foundation, the Bradley Foundation, Microsoft, Merrill Lynch, and Exxon-Mobil.
According to the St. Petersburg Times in 2006, the Pig Book has been used to benefit corporate donors, specifically health clubs who donated to CAGW. The Pig Book listed federal grants to YMCAs who compete with those health clubs as waste. CAGW’s president countered that “The Ys are there because they qualify as pork. Period.”[16]
A Senate Finance Committee investigating ties between CAGW and other non-profits and Jack Abramoff in 2006 stated in a report that the non-profits: ‘probably violated their tax-exempt status “by laundering payments and then disbursing funds at Mr. Abramoff’s direction; taking payments in exchange for writing newspaper columns or press releases that put Mr. Abramoff’s clients in a favorable light; introducing Mr. Abramoff’s clients to government officials in exchange for payment; and agreeing to act as a front organization for congressional trips paid for by Mr. Abramoff’s clients.”‘[17]
In 2007, CAGW supported a bill that would limit damages resulting from malpractice lawsuits.[18] Many consumer watchdog groups opposed the bill.[19]
In 2009, CAGW had been lobbying against the F136 alternate engine for the F-35 JSF made by GE/Rolls Royce. A GE Aviation spokesperson said it was always a strong suspicion that CAGW was funded by Pratt & Whitney(which manufactures the F135 engine for the JSF)[20] but a Pratt & Whitney spokesperson said they weren’t funding CAGW’s lobbying efforts.[20]
In October 2010, CAGW introduced a television attack ad suggesting that economic stimulus spending, health care reform, and other actions characterized as “turning their back on the principles that made them great” would lead to the downfall of the US and an economic takeover by China.[21][22] (The current spot is the latest version.)
