10/18/12 10/18/12 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is "democracy now!" >> marriage is more than a commitment between to loving people. it was made by god for the creation in care of the next generation. marriage is an issue that should be decided by the people, voting yes secures traditional marriage in the constitution. >> if two people, gay, straight, commit to each other and want to take responsibility for each other through marriage, there is the reason for the government to get in the way of that. the constitution protect our freedom, not take it away. love is bigger than government. >> same-sex marriage is on the ballot here in minnesota.

will voters passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, effectively banning same-sex marriage? then we go to freeport, illinois, were six more people have been arrested protesting plans by mitt romney's former company bain capital to close a plant and move their jobs to china. >> bank capital board has made their decision. the sensata ceo has made his decision. so we believe the only person in the world who can stop these jobs from being moved is mitt @romney, because of his relationship with the bain board, his financial investment in bain capital. >> a new exposé by investigative journalist greg palast, in a

"mitt romney's bailout bonanza: how he made millions from the rescue of detroit." >> part of a massive bailout, it u.s. taxpayers paid $12 billion to save u.s. auto parts corporation. 3 billion years and their partners to in a profit of over $4 billion. one big winner, a profit of over 4000% for the silent partner, ann and mitt romney. of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we're on the road in minneapolis. the alleged mastermind of the september 11 attacks khalid sheikh mohammed told a courtroom on@nesday the united states has killed more people in the name of national security than he is accused of killing on 9/11.

he drat addressed the court during a hearing at of his troffer coordinated attacks. speaking through a translator, khalid sheikh mohammed said that while about 3000 people were killed on 9/11, the u.n. is states has killed thousands or even millions. he said -- a u.s. drone attack on a

farmhouse in southern yemen has nine people suspected -- has california -- killed nine people suspected of the militants. residents said they found remains of nine bodies, including a senior al qaeda militant. authorities have arrested a 21- year-old bangladeshi man they say was attempting to blow up new york's federal reserve building with fake explosives provided as part of an elaborate sting operation. officials say quazi mohammad nafis believed he was remotely detonating a 1000-pound bomb. on wednesday, new york police commissioner raymond kelly said nafis had come to the united states to commit some sort of jihadi. >> this individual came here for the purpose of doing a terrorist act. he came here in january of this year. he gets a student visa under the pretext of being a student in a college in missouri, and he comes here with the purpose of

committing some sort of jihad here in the united states. @he goes to the new york stock exchange, sees their significance to carry and shifts his target to the federal reserve bank. >> nafis was charged with conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction and providing material support to al qaeda. he could face life in prison. authorities alleged he tried to make contacts and form a terrorist cell to carry out an attack, but one of his recruits was an fbi informant who then introduced him to an undercover fbi agent rea to the fbi said it had controlled the "entire operation" in order to ensure public safety, a clan that has raised the specter of entrapment. in the past, the agency has been accused of enabling and entrapping terror suspects who may have been unable to act on their own. an article in mother jones

magazine last year examined more than 500 terrorism related cases and found nearly half of prosecutions involved the use of informants, many of them incentivized by cash rewards. in greece, tens of thousands of people have joined the country'@ second general strike in two weeks to protest austerity measures. on wednesday, greek doctors, journalists, and other workers walked off the job to protest austerity measures they say will worsen unemployment, which is already over 25%. one reporter said the situation is bleak. >> for as journalists, the crisis is permanent. there is no media company that is not firing its workers or driving them to poverty. wages are extremely low, and are very few professional reporters that are still being paid properly.

>> students protested across spain wednesday as part of the student strike that's seen thousands take to the streets to protest education cuts. in the capital madrid, over 1000 people chanted and blew whistles to protest fee hikes and reductions in scholarships under government austerity. one student said cuts would impact the quality of education. >> we will finish our studies without learning anything, and we will be of the fine work because if they're going to have interns working for free for nine months, who are they going to hire? >> we have to chase down the rich and take their money now. it is the only solution. we will be lost if we do what they say. >> the protests come as european leaders gather in brussels for the opening of a two-day summit on the future of the eurozone. french president francois hollande signaled his opposition to the strict austerity approach backed by germany. in an interview with the european newspaper, he said --

the time has come offer a perspective beyond austerity. human rights groups say at least 28,000 people have disappeared in syria after being abducted by soldiers or militia during the 19-month conflict between syrian president bashar al-assad and rebels seeking to topple him. turkey has fired into syria after a syrian mortar shell landed just inside its border. tensions had previously risen between the two countries after a similar blast from syria killed five turkish civilians earlier this month. turkey and iran have both declared support for a by u.s.-arab league envoy lakhdar brahimi that was the holiday ceasefire between the rebels and the syrian government. during a trip to the region wednesday, brahimi warned the turmoil in syria could spread. >> the neighborhood countries have two concerns -- first, no one can ignore the pains to

syrian people -- the syrian people are suffering. i don't think any person is happy with what is going on inside syria. secondly, those countries should realize as we have heard from officials today in lebanon that this crisis cannot remain within syrian borders indefinitely. either it will be addressed or it will fall and be all consuming. >> with less than three weeks to go before the presidential election, president obama hit the campaign trail in iowa wednesday, taking a jab at republican challenger mitt romney's remark during tuesday's debate that he had beenrought binders full of women while picking cabinet members in massachusetts. >> i have got to tell you, we do not have to cut a bunch of binders to find qualified, talented, driven young women ready to learn and teach in these fields right now. >> mitt romney campaign in the

battleground state of virginia wednesday. he's facing criticism over conference call from june where he told employers they should give their staff advice on how to vote. romney made the remarks during a talk with small-business owners. >> i hope you make it very clear to your employees what you believe is in the best interest of your enterprise, therefore, their job and future. and whether you agree with me or president obama or whatever your political view, i hope you pass those along to your employees. >> talks between the colombian government and its largest rebel group opened wednesday in norway. the revolutionary armed forces of colombia has been fighting the government for nearly 50 years. past attempts at peacemaking between the two sides have @ailed. reports have emerged a cia officer was among two u.s. intelligence officers killed over the weekend in a suicide bombing by an afghan guard in afghanistan's kandahar province. the attack also killed two

afghan intelligence officials. such insider attacks have been on the rise in afghanistan, accounting for about 15% of coalition troop deaths this year. new government data reveals the number of violent crimes in the united states increased 18% last year, the first year-to-year increase in violent crimes in nearly two decades. a judge has set a trial date for the self-appointed neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed the unarmed florida teenager trayvon martin. george zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder for the february 26 attack in sanford, florida. he appeared in court wednesday and this trial date was tentatively set for june 10, but simmons defense team said it like to request a hearing under florida's controversial stand your ground law that would allow zimmerman to make the claim before the trial that he acted in self-defense. measure legalizing firstd a trimester abortions and the president is widely expected to

sign it into law, making over one of the few latin american countries to legalize abortion for any reason. those seeking abortion money to appear before panel of health care professionals to describe the situation, explai. >> they are the sexual and reproductive rights of women. no woman can be obligated to carry out a pregnancy she does not want. that is violence against women. giving women the right to not just be a body where a future life can be held has taken many years to separate. >> the newly released document shows israel calculated the precise, of calories residents of the gaza strip would need to eat in order to avoid malnutrition during a strict israeli blockade that lasted until 2010. an israeli military spokesperson said wednesday a mathematical formula was created to avoid a humanitarian crisis, but tonight it was used to restrict food into gaza.

those are some of the headlines. this is "democracy now!,"@ democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. road in our 100- city tour in minneapolis. voters in maine, maryland, and washington will decide on november 6 whether to recognize same-sex marriage, potentially marking the first time such marriages are legalized by popular vote. meanwhile, here in minnesota, opponents of same-sex marriage hope minnesota will become the latest data passed -- to pass a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and woman, effectively banning same-sex marriages. a yes vote on the minnesota ballot would prohibit laws to legalize gay marriage. the group minnesota for marriage is spearheading efforts to pass the amendment. >> marriage as the union of a man and woman has served society well for thousands of years. marriage is more than a commitment between to loving people. it was made by god for the

creation in care of the next generation. marriage is an issue that should be decided by the people. voting yes secures traditional marriage in the constitution and insures@y the voters can determine the definition of marriage in the future. please, vote yes on the marriage protectant amendment. >> meanwhile, civil-rights groups are organizing to defeat the ballot measure, and are being joined by a growing number of churches sympathetic to what they say is equality for same- sex couples. one of the groups at the forefront of the movement for marriage equality is minnesotans united for all families. the government is not telling people who they can follow-up with, so the government should not be telling people who they can marry. we're supposed to be the home of the brave, land of the free. if two people, gay, straight, commit to each other and want to take responsibility for each other through marriage, there's now reason the government should in a way of that. constitution is supposed to protect our freedom, not taken away. i am voting no.

love is bigger than government. >> activists on both sides of the marriage and in the debate are benefiting from a last minute infusion of cash from groups inside minnesota. the human-rights campaign from a group that represents lgbtq people announced wednesday it has invested an additional $200,000 in minnesota to defeat the amendment. the catholic church as but at least $1.1 million to oppose same-sex marriage, not only in minnesota, but also in washington, maryland, and maine. for more we're joined by minnesota state senator scott dibble who represents district 60, which includes portions of the city of minneapolis. he is openly gay and married his husband, richard leyva, in california. however, their marriage is not recognized by the state of minnesota. he helped found minnesotans united for all families and has been active in promoting equal rights for lgbtq people for decades. "democracy now!" also invited

the pro a mammoth group minnesota for marriage to join us on the program, but they declined our request state senator dibble, welcome to "democracy now!" can you explain exactly what this constitution amendment would mean? >> thank you very much. i am pleased to be here. i appreciate the invitation. the constitutional amendment very simply put would p the constitution a limitation for the foreseeable future on the ability of same-sex couples to get married. that is the current state of lot in minnesota. it would enshrine that statement in the constitution. it would limit people's freedom to marry. it would make it illegal to marry the person you love and minnesota. it would be very divisive and harmful to a lot of families. >> tell us how this came about. >> well, we have been involved

in this debate for quite awhile. you might be aware that my good friend michele bachmann, now in congress, priebus the running for president, was in the state senate. when she can to the state senate, that was her banner issue. she really launched an issue to do as many other states have been doing at the time. this was about six-eight years ago. we offended that off. in fact, turn the whole conversation around fairly effectively. a lot of this was being pursued for larger electoral purposes. it was pretty obvious. we made a lot of gains despite their best efforts. in 2010, minnesota experienced the same electoral outcome as was expressed across a large part of the country. the senate, which had been in democratic hands for 40 years, fell into republican majority hands. the house also flipped into

republican majority. it is a simple majority vote of both chambers. the governor has no authority to veto. and so it was pretty much ramrodded through the legislature and placed on the ballot last year. we have been at this for about 18 months now. >> i want to play another ad that was put out by the pro- amendment, anti-same-sex marriage group minnesota for marriage. >> who should decide the definition of marriage? we think is to be the people, not judges or politicians. right now there's a court case to redefine marriage. some powerful legislators wanted to the same thing. if they succeed, voters will have lost their say. everyone has a right to love with each huge, but never has a right to redefine marriage. please, vote yes on the merit protection amendment so voters

always have the final say. >> your response? >> actually, i appreciate that commercial because it really gives us the opportunity to have discussion in a civil manner. i think the commercial seeks to alarm, and we can replace some of those alarmist messages with a civil discussion, but really affirms this idea that no one is redefining marriage for everyone. in fact, we are up holding the fundamental values of things we all cherish across minnesota that marriage is about love and commitment and taking responsibility for each other and protecting your family, and about having strong families that are the foundation of strong communities. that has been tremendously effective in really engaging folks to really think about what really matters in our state. the other side has been talking

about politics and politicians and judges and redefining. we were able to simply replace a lot of that that information with really good information to connect people to the values they already hold dear. >> can you tell us your own story, scott dibble? >> sure. this has been difficult. i have to admit that. it is personal. we do this work in the legislature, forming policy, developing relationships with people who have different political perspectives so that we can have compromise and debate and move forward on important public policies. this one cuts really close to the bone, though. it is a vote that my colleagues took that exclude me and my husband forever from the freedoms that we were born with, the freedoms that are guaranteed in our constitution. sir richard and i have been to gather for eight years, got married four years ago to the

congratulations and support of many of my colleagues. this has been a difficult journey for me, really reconciling how a number of my colleagues could take this step and make this act and place is very hurtful amendment on the ballot. >> i want to ask you about frank schubert, a former corporate public relations executive who ran the $40 million push for proposition 8 in california in 2008. then he successfully campaigned to defeat same-sex marriage in maine and north carolina. now, he's aiming to quash same- sex marriage initiatives in maryland, washington state, in maine, and here in minnesota. >> what is it about homosexual marriage that requires us to

abandon the idea of monogamous relationships? what is it about homosexual relationships that allows us to eliminate the interest of children from our marriage laws? what is it about homosexual america that forces us to forget about families and only consider the desires of the two adults involved in the relationship? >> your response, state senator scott dibble? >> all of these are playing up prejudice, fear, lack of familiarity, fanning the flames of intolerance, frankly, they are lies. that is why i'm so encouraged by the campaign here in minnesota. here's frank schubert, from out of the state, being paid over $300,000 just from the minnesota campaign -- lord knows how much money he's making with these other three campaigns he is in charge of around the country -- coming in and try to tell minnesotans what they should be doing.

we have this campaign that is just an amazing coalition with over 700 organizations, and over 400 are comprised of faith communities, engaging in really one-on- worker to worker, a church member to church member conversations to completely counter at the kind of lies and distortions that frank schubert just told. this is absolutely about love, commitment, responsibility. it is about making sure we all enjoy the freedoms that we are guaranteed in the constitution, that should not be illegal to marry the person you love. this is a government intrusion into our lives. in minnesota, we treat everyone with dignity and respect, the way we want to be treated ourselves. >> i want to turn the minnesota congressman on mayor michelle bachmann, tea party favorite and former republican contender the presidential election. she identified as a conservative

christian and is a fierce opponent of gay marriage. she is in a tight race for her congressional seat. speaking last year she commented on new york legalizing gay marriage and the constitutional amendment in minnesota i stand that marriages between a man and woman. i think minnesota, for instance, just about a month or so ago, passed up the legislative level the constitutional amendment to allow the people to decide what the definition of marriage would be so that ballot question will be on the ballot in 2012. the people of new york came to a different conclusion. i think what we know is ultimately, you have all -- >> state senator scott dibble? state senator scott dibble? >> you will need to respond to michelle bachmann? >> yes. and also, what this means in her own race and how her race is going right now because this very much to be playing into it. >> right, right.

folks should be aware that michelle bachmann never did exit the stage in terms of pushing this amendment on the minnesotans. she was very involved behind the scenes, really putting a lot of pressure on those republican legislators to vote for this amendment to place it on the ballot, putting a lot of pressure -- we know how much money she has raised for her campaign. the truth is, the tides have changed fairly dramatically in nnesota. i think michele bachmann will come up short in her own election this year. i think she a cynically taken this issue and propelled it in a way to propel her own candidacy and her own political fortune. i think it is the classic grabbing onto issue that is divisive and confusing to a lot of folks in order to improve your own fortunes. but absolutely she is out of step with where minnesotans are. i think she will find out very,

very quickly that this is -- has not been very useful to her. she herself as a lesbian sister. her lesbian sister has come to the capital to talk about the kind of harm this has caused in the kind of division this has callecost michelle bachmann's own family. i think it is just a tragedy. what they're willing to foster in order to serve a different political agenda. >> the polls right now, if the vote were to happen today, scott dibble, what would you expect? >> i think it is neck-and-neck. i think it will be really about who shows up and votes. i do believe the level of enthusiasm, the so-called intensity measure, the momentum is on our side. i think the polls show was a

little bit ahead. and that is extremely encouraging because we came from a fairly significant deficit. we were behind by some measure. but i think if the vote were held today, we would absolutely win. particularly if folks show up to vote who have said they are opposed to this measure. of course, that is a lot of young people, maybe young people who have not yet dead -- register to vote or got into the habit of putting regularly. it will be continually supporting the conversation with minnesotans that this is about supporting an affirming what they already know to be true and cherished ir own lives and their own families and what they think about the democracy in which we live, and making sure that young people are fully aware of the stakes of this election, what is that state. nothing less than people's freedoms to marry the people they love is at stake.

i have been doing a lot of knocking on doors in my own district it my district turns out in droves. still a lot of young people just don't vote. i'm in as apartment buildings, talking to those young people. we have a huge presence on college campuses across the entire state. i think i am confident we're going to win, but it will be hard corporate >> scott dibble, thank you for being with us. state senator here and minnesota which represents district 60, including portions of the city minneapolis. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. when we come back, investigative journalist greg palast. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we're on the road in minneapolis. tonight we will be in nevada city, california. then we're moving on tomorrow to los angeles. i will be speaking at the immanuel presbyterian church tomorrow night at 8:00 -- 7:00. on saturday, we are traveling through california. right now we turn to a major new exposé on the cover of the

nation magazine called, "mitt romney's bailout bonanza: how he made millions from the rescue of @etroit." investigative reporter greg palast reveals a republican presidential nominee made at least $15 million on the auto bailout and that three of romney's top donors made more than $4 billion for their hedge funds from the bailout. he filed this report for "democracy now!" >> detroit, motor city, mo town. 2009, the auto industry's collapse and bailouts filled the news. general motors, once the world's largest corporation, died today. >> bailout is a dirty word these days. a >> bailout of the auto industry. >> of the money returned. >> just over two months ago, i spoke with you and the challenges facing our auto industry. i laid out what needed to be done to save two of america's most storied automakers. general motors and chrysler. >> a part of a massive

government bailout, u.s. taxpayers paid $12 billion to save on a parts maker delphi corp. it out of that taxpayer money, three billionaires and their partners to attend a profit of over $4 billion. one big winner? profit of over 4000%, ann and mitt romney. they made at least over $15 million paid as much as $115 million. our investigation began in africa in the congo. this is greg palast reporting. we were hunting for vultures, so-called french -- will trephined finance year. vulture fund financiers. tactics are not outlined

all over the world, but not in the u.s.a., and not in detroit where we found his of vulture funds feasting on the corpse of a another fund, the local auto parts of general motors. >> delco battery, made by the >> as the biggest customers, gm and chrysler collapse. delco, noun and delphi, went bust rid downs >> the vultures. they bought delphi for just 67 cents a share, bloated by $12 billion in taxpayer auto bailout subsidies the shares blue up from 67 cents to $22 a share. the auto task force chief called it extortion. extortion paid big time.

so far, romney and partners of pocket over $4 billion. the billionaires' give romney a $1 million each for the republican campaign nevertheless, obamromney accused obama of conflict. >> i think there are a number of people on the president's team that do not want this story to get out critics romney said he was opposed to the bailout >> i said absolutely nine. do not write a check for $50 billion. >> these documents reveal a government bailout check was in fact cashed by none other than ann romney. it says she had a hunk of fortune in elliott management, a vulture fund. we wanted to ask mr. singer about his special deal with the romney's but he turned us down. the romney campaign refuses to tell us exactly how much they made from the belau, nor reveal

their 2009 taxes. >> we have given you all you need to know and understand about our financial situation and how we live our lives for it to cover up their pay date and avoid taxes, the vulture funds have been helmoved headquarters to the isle of new jersey off the coast of france, a notorious tax haven. governor romney wrote "let detroit go bankrupt. and it did. of the 25,000 uaw members at delphi, every single one lost their jobs. delphi once had 29 factories in the u.s., now just one. today, jim still gets parts from delphi, shipped from the plant the romney hedge funds have moved to the people's republic of china. for "democracy now!" this is greg palast. >> his expos is part of a film in progress called "romney's

bailout bonanza." his the author of a recently released new york times bestseller, "billionaires & ballot bandits: how to steal an election in 9 easty steps." his piece is just out today in the nation called, "mitt romney's bailout bonanza: how he made millions from the rescue of detroit." welcome back to "democracy now!" one of the creepy as stories i have investigated and a long time. mitt romney, through ann romney's blind trust, which was not so blind, gave their money to pull the vulture singer, a guy we have been falling for five years. singer, with two of his hedge fund buddies, bought up the auto parts division of general motors for only 67 cents a share. they were able to turn 67 cents a share in 2 $22 a share by threatening gm and u.s. treasury

with a complete shutdown of the auto industry. they had complete control. all of the steering columns of every corner america rid gm would have been liquidated. they threaten to shut down gm. so they -- the government simply billion, about half of that was straight from the u.s. treasury in a takeover of delphi's pension fund. once they got the money, they eliminated 28 of 29 auto plants in the u.s. they eliminated every single job of every uaw member, over 25,000 members all lost their jobs. almost every plant would then move by the romney group to china. delphi is making a fortune today. you have 25,000 workers who lost their jobs to china. three hedge fund managers made at least $4 billion, and romneys

had made at least $15 billion, but the evidence suggests it is more like $115 million for the romneys, about 4000% profit. will we cannot get from them at this moment, this may be the reason why they are not releasing their 2009 taxes because that would give us the better hint. unfortunately, that not only moved the company operation to china, but move their incorporation of the auto parts division, general motors, from troy, michigan to the isle of jersey in the miniature nancy, which hides their taxes and also hides their accounts. >> how did you get this information? >> i've been tracking poll the vulture singer and his hedge fund for five years, as you saw, from the condo to england to south america.

i was stunned, absolutely stunned to find out the romney's had given what abc called a vast chunk of their money to elliott management, but it was well hidden. that only with your and romley's blind trust, but the blind trust was put in a special limited liability partnership with paul singer, which they then hid their levels of investment. plus by putting it in an romney's -- remember, every time she has comes your husband. they did not have to declare a exactly how much money they made here, only that it was more than a million read we were able to calculate it was at least 15 million and more like the $115 million. >> so talk about mitt romney opposing this the very well- known position he has had, opposing the auto bailout and how that plays in here. >> let's bring in paul ryan as

well. number one, mitt romney said, let detroit go bankrupt. and everyone thought this was a great position. he wanted to go bankrupt so he@s division for literally pennies, 67 cents a share. then flip it for 30, 40 times that amount. in addition, dr. get this is to park money, money that comes from the u.s. tax payers. paul "the vulture" singer, according to the wall street journal, forced romney to accept ryan as his running mate in part because paul ryan, despite his speeches against tarp and the bailouts, paul ryan voted for both the bank bailout and the auto bailout very much in reaching his number one donor. so that is the politics of it.

romney has made paul singer and a key economic adviser and in addition, considered the most important donor to the mitt romney campaign. >> if you can explain more who paul singer is and his significance in republican politics? >> according to fortune magazine and forbes and the wall street journal, he is considered probably the most important of romney's billionaires. his original one million-dollar donor to the 37 billionaire pacs colorado "restore our future." he is the guy whose signals the other billionaires where to put their money. singer is very important to mitt romney. the most import is that mitt romney and paul singer, for five years as we've been following him, has been using water called vaulter tactics. he buys companies out

bankruptcy. he buys nations out of bankruptcy, then threatens them, the diggers out a way to hold them ransom as he did here with the auto parts were he said, we're literally going to withhold all the parts for every auto maker in america unless you pay me my ransom. this is how he operates. his tactics are illegal now -- since our last broadcast, actually, that went out on bbc, paul 's tactics have been outlawed in england, all throughout europe, south america, but not in the usa -- except, and this is very important, which may be why singer has backed romney, the obama administration, president obama and secretary of state clinton have gone to federal court asking the federal courts to put paul singer out of business, basically, by selling his of vulture tactics are a threat to the world economy and in violation and opposing united

states foreign policy. so basically, obama and clinton want to put singer out of business, and romney -- we don't expect he will because his member one foreign policy adviser should he get elected president would be expected to be danced nor to take over as secretary state pri his day job is working for paul singer. >> specifically, the auto bailout money that paul singer got? >> his hedge fund so far has picked up $1.29 billion. that is about 42 times what he paid for the delphi division of general motors. basically, this one guy and his hedge fund has earned over $1 billion, and some of that has been pieced off to an romney and

mitt romney. that is how they have made the big cash. >> delphi corp., its role in outsourcing jobs to china, greg palast? >> basically once the romley group, a singer, romney, two other big hedge funds or three other big hedge funds, got a hold of delphi, they decided proudly tick that we do not have a single north american united auto workers member anymore. closed every plant and move them to china. it was not supposed to be that. the administration and general motors cut a deal with the owner billionaire, a flint boy like michael moore. he was going to buy delphi and keep at least half the jobs in michigan and in the united states. but because of this -- because

of really extraordinary financial maneuvering, the romley group was able to overturn a deal that had already been made with general motors and the treasury to keep delphi jobs in the guinness states. once the of vulture papp took over, they said, we've got our money and $12 billion from the u.s. government, see you later. they shut down every plant except one. >> i want to turn to a clip of mitt romney in the presidential debate. >> one thing the president said, which i wanted to ensure we understand, he said i said we should take detroit bankrupt. that is right. my plan was to have the company go through bankruptcy like macy's and 7-eleven did, continental airlines, and come out stronger. i know he keeps saying, you want to take detroit bankrupt read the president took detroit bankrupt, took chrysler

bankrupt, took general motors bankrupt. when you say i wanted to take the auto industry bankrupt, you actually did. i think is important enough that was a process that was necessary to get those companies back on their feet so that the start hiring people. that is what i recommended and ultimately what happens. >> that was that romney the presidential debate on tuesday at hofstra. >> he left out basically wrong is taking credit for the fact the administration put in billions of dollars of funding to save the jobs at general motors. the also could in billions of dollars of funding to save the jobs at general motors number one supplier, delphi, their old delco division. we did not say was mitt romney did not say he and his own co investors in a partnership overturned the deal the u.s. government had made to say that auto parts division, and shut it

down. they bought it out, shut it down and moved it to china. romney seems to have left that one out of the next freed once putn, i guess, thdelphi was through bankruptcy, but because of the romley group's actions come at every single uaw jobs lost. >> i was wondering before we go if you could talk about your latest book, "billionaires & ballot bandits: how to steal an election in 9 easty steps." talked about the whole issue of voter rights, voter suppression. >> as the title says -- this story, hunting down mitt romney and his money with the vultures, it is in "billionaires & ballot bandits: how to steal an election in 9 easty steps." we have been here before. i did this story about how katherine harris knocked of tens of thousands of black voters of the voter rolls, calling them

felons. but their only crime was voting while black. that was in 2000. that felon purge, other kyrgyz are back with a vengeance. we have lost 3.2 million people off the voter rolls who are legal citizens who should be allowed to vote. in the last election, 2.7 million ballots -- an official number, 2.7 million ballots were cast and not counted. they called those, by the way, spoiled ballots. votes do not spoil because you leave them out of the refrigerator, but because someone is challenging those ballots. right now, you have a massive new challenge machine created first by the koach brothers who have a -- koch brothers have a machine that cannot out voters, is mainly fundeds funde by paul singer and his buddies,

has updated trust which they have used -- we have caught them -- to challenge voters of color throughout the nation. they are using old purging system, challenging both called spoiling, something called caging, in which we of caught karl rove sending letters, if you can imagine, active-duty soldiers. they sent letters to active duty soldiers at the military bases and right -- do not forward. those letters come back. the voters, who are active duty soldiers, lose their vote because they have been challenged as fraudulent voters. in other words, if you go to afghanistan and you are a black soldier in florida, you can expect to see your ballot challenged. you don't even know it. we talk to one of the voters who said, i got to melamine valid from overseas.

-- he said, i got to mail in my ballot from overseas for he did not realize it had been challenged. bobby kennedy wrote the introduction to the book is the dean of law school at pace university. he said, this is a felony crime. so some of the nine ways that they burgle the vote, not only are they creepy, but in fact, they are illegal. this is one of the things we're trying to say. here the nine ways they take your ballot from you, but we also include, and very in port for people, is at the back of the book, we have what we call the ballot condom for safe voting for it seven ways to beat the ballot bandits so you can protect your own vote. i don't you listen, my god, i'm not going to vote, i give up. do not do that read do not let them shoplift your ballot. one of the things we of said,

and i was talking to people here in the studio, check your registration. we have these seven ways to beat the ballot and its poster ballotbandits.org, you can download to protect yourself. the guy who downloaded the poster for me did not check your registration but he showed up and was listed as an inactive voters approved 9 million people are listed as ive voters. as if they know you have not been doing more situps. you lose your vote could please, check your registration but that is why we're telling you not only the nine ways they steal the election, the seven ways to sort of steel it backward when i say "we," there is a 50-page comic book in the middle by another author. this is put out by not-for- profit foundation for the purpose -- it is nonpartisan. we just want people to be aware

that their votes can be shoplifted. here is how you can save them. >> it is interesting, this news just came out today, greg, came out of sheriff arpaio's maricopa county in arizona that spanish copies of the election information were sent out with the wrong election date abc 15 reports that the error appears on a document containing a voter i.d. card. in addition to the id card, the piece of paper it comes and lists of other information such as important election dates. in the corner of the document, is as november 6. in english. but in spanish, it reads november 8. of course, election date is november 6, not november 8. >> district has been going on for by the way, in my book, you'll see a picture of me going into joe arpaio's infamous tent city prison because he claims

that he is not profiling mexican-americans to charge them with crimes or the act of illegal voting. so we went into his prison to see who he was gathering up. there's a big sign a walk by the says "no aliens allowance when i went in with my chief investigator, my assistant. she is not an american citizen, but she did bring her white spend so the did not ask her for her papers. to say they do not profile in arizona, this is happening all over the place but in fact, we did see in wisconsin during the recall vote, we did see in wisconsin during a recall vote that the koch femas operation did send out letters, again, to democrats, giving false information on the date of the election. >> we have to leave it there, greg palast, author of the now

new york times bestseller, "billionaires & ballot bandits: how to steal an election in 9 easty steps." his piece out in the nation today is called, "mitt romney's bailout bonanza: how he made millions from the rescue of detroit." this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. when we come back, we go to bainport, illinois, that is what the workers are calling freeport, illinois. they are about to lose their jobs. bain capital owns sensata plant, closing their plant and moving to china. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as returned to freeport, illinois, where six more people have been arrested protesting plans by mitt romney's former company bain capital to shut the sensata technologies plant and the operations to china. 170 jobs will be lost. on wednesday, six community supporters were arrested in the lobby of the plant during a sit- in demanding full severance pay for those who lose their jobs. we turn to tom gaulrapp, one of the workers will lose his jobs.

thisws last week when people laid down on the road to stop machinery from the plant from being moved out of the sensata technologies plant owned by bain capital. can you give us the latest? >> good morning. excuse me, i have lost my voice. yesterday, six community members who support us completely walked over to the planned and had with them the petition the employees had signed requesting that we receive full severance. they asked for a meeting with the plant manager and told the plant manager was not available. the and then ask for a meeting with a human resource person. they were told she was not available. they sat down in the foyer of the plant and the police were called. there were asked to leave. they said it would not leave until they had a meeting.

the police arrested six people. >> what is going happen now? ey out? >> yes, yes, they were released with in less than an hour of the time they were arrested. >> what will happen to you, tom? when do you lose your job? >> right now the schedule is my last day of work will be november 5, the day before the election. that is always subject to change. they may move it up or move it back a week. the way it looks right now, we may be done a little earlier than that. that is the plan right now. >> a lot of people are coming to town. senator dick durbin just visited with folks at the encampment you set up across the street from the bain capital plant? >> shias, he was there to stay -- yes, he was there tuesday.

congresswoman jan stokowski is coming on monday. >> we will be going back to bainport to get the latest report. what the workers are calling this in canada across the street, bainport -- call this encampment across the street, bainport. tom gaulrapp has worked at the plant for 33 years. thank you for being with us. and continue our 100-city election tour. we're looking for volunteers to lend a hand at upcoming events could go to our website to find the event in your area. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]