News for today's 2018

Stink Tanks exposed as front groups for Koch brothers

A national network of <a href="http://stinktanks.org/national/" rel="nofollow"><strike>stink</strike></a> think tanks is quietly pushing the agenda of anti-worker groups with funding from Koch brothers-affiliated organizations, according to a report released today.<br /><br />Today our friends at the <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/" rel="nofollow">Center for Media and Democracy</a> exposed the State Policy Network, which claims to fund 'independent' think tanks in all 50 states. The State Policy Network, disturbingly, is tax-exempt and so are the stink tanks it funds. <br /><br />SPN's stink tanks use 'dark money' from the <strike style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.890625px;"><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2011/10/bombshell-kochs-sold-oil-equipment-to.html" style="color: #336699;">Benedict Arnold</a></strike> Koch brothers and their ilk to push an anti-worker, anti-consumer corporate-empowerment agenda in the states -- while pretending to be nonpartisan. <br /><br />If this is sounding a lot like the corporate dating service for state lawmakers known as <a href="http://alecexposed.org/" rel="nofollow">ALEC</a>, it is. Lisa Graves, executive director of the CMD, told Politico the SPN, like ALEC, is part of the <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/koch-brothers-think-tank-report-99791.html" rel="nofollow">Kochtopus</a>.<br /><br />According to CMD:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">SPN has played a major role in supporting ALEC, serving as a "chairman" level sponsor of the 2013 and 2011 ALEC Annual Conferences and acting as a voting member of several task forces. SPN affiliates push parts of ALEC's agenda in their respective states, and ALEC is also an associate member of SPN. SPN and its affiliates have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to ALEC. </blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>Politico quoted Graves today:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">“These aren’t just little think tanks that are doing nonpartisan research based on what’s happening in the state and really reflective of the culture of those states,” said Lisa Graves....“These are a lot of groups that put together pretty cooked books on the issues they are peddling and have been criticized in state after state for how shoddy their research has been.” </blockquote>In a <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/11/12302/reports-expose-extreme-pressure-groups-masquerading-think-tanks" rel="nofollow">press statement</a>, Graves said,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The 'experts' of State Policy Network groups get quoted on TV, in the papers, or in the legislature as if they were nonpartisan, objective scholars on issues of public policy. But in reality, SPN is a front for corporate interests with an extreme national policy agenda tied to some of the most retrograde special interests in the country, including the billionaire Koch brothers, the Waltons, the Bradley Foundation, the Roe Foundation, and the Coors family.</blockquote><br />Teamsters have tangled with these groups before. In Wisconsin, the <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2011/04/meet-think-tanks-paid-to-wage-war-on.html" rel="nofollow">MacIver Institute</a> promoted<a href="http://cognidissidence.blogspot.com/2013/03/scott-walkers-austerity-agenda-is-real.html" rel="nofollow"> <strike>job-killer</strike></a><strike style="text-decoration: underline;"> </strike> Gov. Scott Walker's union-busting Act 10 as good for the economy. <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/business/wisconsin-added-24305-private-sector-jobs-in-12-months-ended-in-march-b99106575z1-225348792.html" rel="nofollow">It wasn't</a>.<br /><br />In Michigan, the <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/01/koch-linked-mich-think-tank-accused-of.html" rel="nofollow">Mackinac Center for Public Policy</a> pushed job-killer <a href="http://www.snyderfails.org/" rel="nofollow">Gov. Rick Snyder</a>'s right to work for less law with the same arguments and the same results. In Missouri, it's the <a href="http://stinktanks.org/missouri/" rel="nofollow">Show-Me Institute</a>. In Ohio, the <a href="http://stinktanks.org/ohio/" rel="nofollow">Buckeye Institute</a>. And so on.<br /><br />If you're getting a whiff of foul odors from your state capital, check out the CMD's new website, <a href="http://www.stinktanks.org/">www.stinktanks.org</a>. If you think it's a stink tank, it probably is.

A national network of stink think tanks is quietly pushing the agenda of anti-worker groups with funding from Koch brothers-affiliated organizations, according to a report released today.Today our friends at the Center for Media and Democracy exposed…

EXTREME WEATHER: Winter Arrives Early In The Upper U.S. Midwest - Winter Storm Dumps Over A Half Foot Of Snow In South Dakota, Minnesota, And Nebraska!

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: yellow;">November 07, 2013 - UNITED STATES </span></b>- A storm that trekked from southern South Dakota and northern Nebraska  to northwest Iowa and central Minnesota Tuesday dropped up to 10 inches  of snow with rates of one inch per hour in some locations.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vAIuPxSPsxQ/UnuSBK3qsTI/AAAAAAABNVs/BQkudgXzp-I/s1600/usawinterstorm01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vAIuPxSPsxQ/UnuSBK3qsTI/AAAAAAABNVs/BQkudgXzp-I/s1600/usawinterstorm01.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />In South Dakota, as much as 9.5 inches of snow fell 5 miles east of the town of Porcupine. Sioux Falls, located in the extreme <a href="http://www.weather.com/video/southeast-regional-forecast-362?lc=int_mb_1001">southeast</a> part of the state, saw just over a half foot of snow. <br /><br />The top snow total in Nebraska was 10 inches in Gordon. <a href="http://www.weather.com/weather/today/North+Platte+NE+USNE0353?lc=int_mb_1001">North Platte</a> saw its first measurable snow of the season with a total of 2.2 inches<br /><br />Up to 10.5 inches covered the ground in Minnesota near Milroy. Minneapolis/St. Paul saw its first measurable snow of the season with 1.8 inches.<br /><br />Weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce says, "The snow will linger in northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan early on Wednesday before finally tapering off as low pressure heads into eastern Canada."<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7xKg7cpXxh0/UnuSMXxNnKI/AAAAAAABNV0/bCQwmhYxF9I/s1600/usawinterstorm02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7xKg7cpXxh0/UnuSMXxNnKI/AAAAAAABNV0/bCQwmhYxF9I/s1600/usawinterstorm02.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rod Evans shovels the season's first blanket of snow Tuesday, Nov. 5,  2013, outside his photo studio in <br />Sioux Falls, S.D. He just signed his  snow removal contract but it doesn't start until Nov. 15 so<br /> he had to do  it himself. (AP Photo/Carson Walker)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8b0c_C246r8/UnuSMzqJ5BI/AAAAAAABNWA/XX4pBq4qFA0/s1600/usawinterstorm03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8b0c_C246r8/UnuSMzqJ5BI/AAAAAAABNWA/XX4pBq4qFA0/s1600/usawinterstorm03.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This iWitness photo was taken by Joe Reklaitis 5in Concord NE.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9QnwqGZxWWg/UnuSMo3l84I/AAAAAAABNV4/nwpGtro3zcU/s1600/usawinterstorm04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9QnwqGZxWWg/UnuSMo3l84I/AAAAAAABNV4/nwpGtro3zcU/s1600/usawinterstorm04.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This iWitness photo was taken by Britt Griffith in Elgin, Neb.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />South Dakota farmers could use that break. The sunflower harvest is 31 percent done; the corn harvest is 63 percent complete; and the soybean harvest is at 92 percent, according to the latest U.S. Agriculture Department crop progress report.<br /><br />"Obviously, the snow will bring them to a standstill for a few days," said Keith Alverson, who farms near Chester, in the eastern part of the state. "But it looks like it's going to warm up and stay pretty dry, so hopefully it's a temporary shutdown."<br /><br />Alverson got all of his corn out Monday, though he still has field work to do.<br /><br />It's been an on-again, off-again harvest, he said.<br /><br />"We've had these small windows the month of October. It seems about once a week we'd get some rain or snow or something. We'd have two to three days off and go hard for a few days and then have a break, so we certainly made an intense push there," Alverson said.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8TUD4jC_8PE/UnuSVdzheSI/AAAAAAABNWM/LoD7T2PpjhY/s1600/usawinterstorm05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8TUD4jC_8PE/UnuSVdzheSI/AAAAAAABNWM/LoD7T2PpjhY/s1600/usawinterstorm05.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This iWitness photo was taken by Penny Wal 5 miles NE of Avon, SD.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vkN_E8cIA-c/UnuSVZHWEKI/AAAAAAABNWQ/-7No5UZvbgg/s1600/usawinterstorm06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vkN_E8cIA-c/UnuSVZHWEKI/AAAAAAABNWQ/-7No5UZvbgg/s1600/usawinterstorm06.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This iWitness photo was taken by Penny Wal 5 miles NE of Avon, S.D.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zbgoy0wjET4/UnuSVvK8BOI/AAAAAAABNWU/t6eEddrekHw/s1600/usawinterstorm07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zbgoy0wjET4/UnuSVvK8BOI/AAAAAAABNWU/t6eEddrekHw/s1600/usawinterstorm07.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Southeastern Minnesota. (Mark Tarello)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Kurt Stiefvater said the corn on his farm in Salem, about 45 miles east of Sioux Falls, will need a few days to dry. Otherwise silk on the ears of corn can clog the combine and the ground will be too sticky from the cold and snow.<br /><br />"It makes the ground conditions on top a little greasy," he said.<br /><br />The snow prompted the postponement of some events but otherwise had a minimal impact.<br /><br />"It's gotta happen sometime," said Rod Evans as he shoveled the heavy snow off the sidewalk outside his photography studio in Sioux Falls.<br /><br />He mailed his snow removal contract for the year on Tuesday morning, just before the snow started to fall. It goes into effect Nov. 15. <br /><br /><br /><span style="color: lime;"><b>WATCH: </b></span>Winter Arrives Early in South Dakota.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="333" id="BLOGGER-video-bfdebe016826d45d-16187" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz35RQuWxc23XlrJFTgvuiVDx9eJ-YPrB1LMqJ8vy7U2KbhQ2qB_86r4DK3H9rc6a65LhTcH_mbtRsIxHgDK1ohd9HxST0HivDptbvzkqbTy9vAs-LfdUCITAsseSFCRPaBAhEU" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="570"></iframe></div><br /><br /><br />In southwestern Minnesota, a trained spotter measured 8.5 inches of snow about 6 miles to the east-southeast of Marshall.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.weather.com/video/a-national-look-at-the-next-3-days-364?lc=int_mb_1001">National</a> Weather Service says a spotter estimated 8 inches of snow 5 miles north-northwest of Holland.<br /><br />Other <a href="http://www.weather.com/maps/maptype/forecastsusnational/ussnowfallforecast_large.html?lc=int_mb_1001">snowfall</a> reports include 3.5 inches near Kingston and in Granite Falls and 3 inches in Sacred Heart. - <a href="http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/snow-south-dakota-minnesota-nebraska-20131106"><span style="color: orange;"><b>TWC</b></span></a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>

Eastern Canada Gordon Harvest Low Pressure Michigan Milroy Minneapolis Minnesota Nebraska Porcupine Sioux Falls Snowfall South Dakota St. Paul Upper Midwest winter winter storm EXTREME WEATHER: Winter Arrives Early In The Upper U.S. Midwest - Winter Storm Dumps Over A Half Foot Of Snow In South Dakota, Minnesota, And Nebraska!

November 07, 2013 - UNITED STATES - A storm that trekked from southern South Dakota and northern Nebraska to northwest Iowa and central Minnesota Tuesday dropped up to 10 inches of snow with rates of one inch per hour in some locations.In South Dak…

Stink Tanks exposed as front groups for Koch brothers

EXTREME WEATHER: Winter Arrives Early In The Upper U.S. Midwest - Winter Storm Dumps Over A Half Foot Of Snow In South Dakota, Minnesota, And Nebraska!

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