OurTown

If you have a gmail or google account, you should visit this site and turn off google's nosy peek into your personal web searches because they are going to make ALL of YOUR searches available to business!.

2012-03-02T17:45:00.001-04:00

Anybody with a Gmail or Google account who may be worried (and rightly so) about their privacy and how Google plans to use all your web stuff should check this site out and make sure your web history is (supposedly) turned off.

From boldprogressives.org

Protect Your Privacy

Here's what the Republicans really want! Do you want it?

2012-02-18T07:30:00.001-04:00

From crooksandliars.com:

A shorter version of the GOP platform:

On Women: All of your uterus are belong to us.
On Social Security: All of your pensions are belong to us and will be handed to Mitt Romney in Tax cuts.
On Medicare: Phase out, first we will take it from the under 50s and once its gone for them it will be easy to cut it for seniors.
On Health Care: We have a health care plan - you die.
On Foreign Policy: Bomb, Bomb Iran
On the Economy: Its tax cuts all the way down but only for the 1%
On the Environment: Drill baby, drill.
On Social Issues: Hate baby, hate.

Did I miss anything?

Are YOU a terrorist?

2012-02-09T09:56:00.001-04:00

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Ter·ror·ist (Noun): Anyone Who Disagrees with the Government

From Mills River Progressive

These are very important observations, and I'm re-posting the entire article here. People need to WAKE. UP. This is not what a democracy looks like!

From Washington's Blog:
I noted in 2009:
The Department of Homeland Security and police forces label anyone who they disagree with – or who disagrees with government policies – as "terrorists". Don't believe me?

Well, according to a law school professor, pursuant to the Military Commissions Act, "Anyone who … speaks out against the government's policies could be declared an 'unlawful enemy combatant' and imprisoned indefinitely. That includes American citizens."

And according to an FBI memo, peace protesters are being labeled as "terrorists"

Anyone who disagrees with the "acceptable" way of looking at things is a terrorist.
How is this different from Stalin or Mao's use of labels such as "enemy of the state"?

This may have seemed over-the-top to some, but events have proven it true. For example, the following is considered terrorism or suspected terrorism in modern America:

Protesting anything

Questioning war (even though war reduces our national security; and see this)

Criticizing the government's targeting of innocent civilians with drones (although killing innocent civilians with drones is one of the main things which increases terrorism. And see this)

Asking questions about pollution (even at a public Congressional hearing?)

Liking online privacy

Paying cash at an Internet cafe

Asking questions about Wall Street shenanigans

Supporting Ron Paul or being a libertarian

Being anti-tax, anti-regulation or for the gold standard

Holding gold

Creating alternative currencies

Stocking up on more than 7 days of food

Investigating factory farming

In fact – since 9/11 – virtually all dissent has been equated with terrorism.

As Paul Joseph Watson notes:

Of course, the vast majority of people who visit Internet Cafes use cash to pay their bill. Who uses a credit card to buy a $2 dollar cup of coffee? A lot of smaller establishments don't even accept credit cards for amounts less than $10 dollars.

Other examples of suspicious behavior include using a "residential based Internet provider" such as AOL or Comcast, the use of "anonymizers, portals, or other means to shield IP address" (these are routinely used by mobile web users to bypass public Internet filters), "Suspicious communications using VOIP," and "Preoccupation with press coverage of terrorist attack" (this would apply to the vast majority of people who work in the news or political blogging industry).

Searching for information about "police" or "government" is also listed as a potential indication of terrorism, as is using a computer to "obtain photos, maps or diagrams of transportation, sporting venues, or populated locations," which would apply to virtually anyone who uses Google Maps or Google Earth.

People who may wish to keep private the contents of a personal email or an online credit card purchase by attempting to"shield the screen from view of others" are also characterized as potential terrorists.

Business owners who spot patrons engaging in these types of activities are encouraged to call the FBI's Joint Regional Intelligence Center (JRIC), after first gathering information on license plates, names, ethnicity, and languages spoken.

In total, there are 25 different CAT flyers aimed at businesses from across the spectrum – everything from hobby shops to tattoo parlors.

As we have documented on numerous occasions, the federal government routinely characterizes mundane behavior as extremist activity or a potential indicator of terrorist intent. As part of its 'See Something, Say Something' campaign, the Department of Homeland Security educates the public that generic activities performed by millions of people every day, including using a video camera, talking to police officers, wearing hoodies, driving vans, writing on a piece of paper, and using a cell phone recording application," are potential signs of terrorist activity.

The CAT program again underscores how federal authorities are empowering poorly trained citizens to become terrorist hunters, stoking fears that America is sinking deeper into a Stasi-style informant society.

In modern America, curling up in a ball to avoid police violence may also be considered "active resistance" … justifying the use of more force, including baton strikes.

And even pointing out tyrannical trends may be grounds for harassment.

Note: Some also claim that copyright infringers are terrorists, and swat teams have been deployed against them. See this, this, this and this. I'm not condoning copyright infringement, but merely citing to the all-pervasiveness of the "terror" label. And given that even grandmas and children might innocently and unwittingly download copyrighted content, any tendency to use the terror label is troubling.

Let there be (wasted) light...

2012-02-07T10:22:00.001-04:00

From Bad Astronomy:

The candle is burning low...

Another often overlooked, overuse of fossil fuel. Coal and oil burned to excess to light the night while other methods could save much. Who cares?

This is a compressed 10 minute flight over the east coast of North America.

Watch it in HD and full screen.

Vol nocturne de la station spatiale internationale au-dessus de la côte Est de l'Amérique. from ASTROLab on Vimeo.

Slight editing for lifestyle reasons.

2012-02-05T10:00:00.001-04:00

They Fucking Hate You

by John Cole

DougJ wrote this:

In light of all of this, I just don't see why it's sad that liberals and conservatives give to different charities, listen to different music, patronize different restaurants, etc. The two groups don't agree on much and don't like each other. That's life. If people disagree with me about everything and dream of tasing/beating/shooting me, then why would they and I want to be part of the same organizations?

So many people just don't get it at all. I was a winger for years, and we can discuss that particular psychosis at a later date, but what I can explain to you right now is that they fucking hate you.

They just do.

They hate you because you respect gay people as normal human beings.

They hate you because you respect African-Americans as normal human beings.

They hate you because you respect Asians, Latinos, and everyone else who isn't a straight white male.

They hate you because you respect a woman's right to choose.

They hate you because you respect the right of people to be with who they love.

They hate you because you respect the right of anyone to adopt a child.

They hate you because you respect international law.

They hate you because you believe in economic and tax fairness.

They hate you because you respect the right of anyone to worship any way they want.

They hate you because you respect scientists and their collective knowledge.

They hate you because you respect teachers and the work they do educating Americans.

They hate you because you respect the human dignity of every American.

They hate you because you respect the rights of people over corporations.

They hate you because you respect nature and think we have a duty to take care of the environment.

They hate you because you respect your right to vote, and they don't think you deserve it.

They hate you because you respect the constitution and the rule of law.

They hate you because you respect laws against torture.

In short, they hate you. Period.

They masquerade their bullshit in the words of Jesus and the all-knowing free market, but it is transparent what motivates them. Not love for their fellow man, not love for their fellow citizen, not love for country- what motivates them is hate for the other.

You.

They fucking hate you. They want you, and everyone who speaks for you, and every institution that represents your values, whether it be Planned Parenthood or food banks or ACORN- you name it. They want it destroyed.

I just do not understand why more people do not recognize this. The Republicans have declared total war on America, and people are responding like this is politics as usual. It isn't. It really isn't. It's really all or nothing at this point. We put the birchers/tea party/conservatives back in their place and destroy the current GOP, or we deal with this shit for the next forty-sixty years.

I know I am Godwining this post, but we are at the point where we know who is going to set the Reichstag fire. Are we up to stopping them?

And you people trust Verizon, Comcast, Google and all the others to keep your information safe!

2012-02-04T17:07:00.001-04:00

Saturday, February 04, 2012

Anonymous intercepts FBI-Scotland Yard call

By Chris in Paris on 2/04/2012 11:50:00 AM
Retweet | Reddit | Facebook | Tumblr

And we're putting our trust in the FBI to keep the country safe? It should make many wonder about the quality of their work, not to mention the amount of leeway they are given to make decisions on about our personal freedoms.

Trading jokes and swapping leads, investigators from the FBI and Scotland Yard spent the conference call strategizing about how to bring down the hacking collective known as Anonymous, responsible for a string of embarrassing attacks across the Internet. Unfortunately for the cyber sleuths, the hackers were in on the call too — and now so is the rest of the world. Anonymous published the roughly 15-minute-long recording of the call on the Internet on Friday, gloating in a Twitter message that "the FBI might be curious how we're able to continuously read their internal comms for some time now."

Bullshit from Susan G. Komen for the Cure and their Right wing political agenda to kill poor women

2012-02-03T10:59:00.001-04:00

Friday, February 03, 2012

What will progressives do about apparent right-wing "fog shops" like Komen?

(See below for explanation of my term "fog shop.")

As you know by know, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the parent organization of the breast cancer fundraiser "Race for the Cure" (they of pink ribbon fame), suddenly cut off hundreds of thousands of dollars of funding for Planned Parenthood clinics to provide breast exams to poor women around the country. Komen claims the move wasn't politically motivated, but then admitted to the AP that a conservative House Republican's "investigation" of Planned Parenthood was a "key factor" in their decision.

Let's step back for a moment. First, we "knew" that the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, which ostensibly supports breast cancer research and treatment, was "non-partisan, apolitical."

How did we "know" this? Because "everyone knows that."

Peeling back the veil, however, reveals what everyone (conveniently) doesn't know.

■ Hadassah Lieberman, wife of Holy Joe "Short Ride" Lieberman, was one of their big angels and backers? The New Hampshire Register in 2006 (h/t FDL, my emphasis throughout):

This fight [the 2006 senatorial race] isn't exclusively being drawn along party lines.

U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, who often takes a conservative line on social issues, is facing a liberal Democratic primary challenge from wealthy Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont. But that hasn't stopped Lieberman from supporting the approach of the Catholic hospitals when it comes to contraceptives for rape victims.

Lieberman said he believes hospitals that refuse to give contraceptives to rape victims for "principled reasons" shouldn't be forced to do so. "In Connecticut, it shouldn't take more than a short ride to get to another hospital," he said.

Here's Hadassah's support for Komen:

Hadassah Lieberman has long been associated with Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, working with us on breast cancer education and awareness in other countries as a Susan G. Komen Global Ambassador. Her efforts have been invaluable and we intend to keep tapping her expertise to fulfill our goal to bring breast cancer programs to women in countries who have few resources to battle this disease. ...

It's been reported that Susan G. Komen for the Cure provides funding to pharmaceutical companies. That is simply not true. We have never funded pharmaceutical company research – our grants, totaling $450 million, have gone to research institutions in the U.S. and abroad. Another $900 million in Susan G. Komen for the Cure funding has gone to programs in communities world-wide. We will commit another $50 million to research in the coming year.

Why that disclaimer? Because of this — Hadassah's "other job". Joe Conason, again in 2006:

In bed with Big Pharma
Hadassah Lieberman worked for a powerhouse lobbying firm. Were her clients' special interests being served by her husband?

... [Lieberman campaign spokesman Dan] Gerstein went on to note that Mrs. Lieberman "has never been a registered lobbyist" according to records kept by the Senate clerk.

In my original column on Mrs. Lieberman's work for Hill & Knowlton, I carefully refrained from labeling her a lobbyist, since I knew that she had not registered as one. Whether she should have registered is difficult to determine, however, because neither Gerstein nor anyone else associated with either the Lieberman campaign or Hill & Knowlton will discuss what services she performed for the company, one of the biggest lobby shops in Washington, which hired her in March 2005.

Her vague title was "senior counselor" in the firm's "health care and pharmaceuticals practice."

This is Hill+Knowlton. Small-timers, right?

So that's one data point (and note the dates).

■ Karen Handel & Nancy Brinker. John Aravosis recently found this:

Yesterday we learned that a top Komen official is also a GOP anti-abortion activist who promised less than two years ago to shut down funding to Planned Parenthood.

Today we learn from Kate Sheppard at Mother Jones that Komen's founder, Nancy Goodman Brinker, is a major Republican donor who served as an ambassador in the George W. Bush administration, one assumes as payback for the more than $175,000 she gave to Republican candidates and the RNC since 1990.

More at the link.

■ Still not enough? Here's Jeffrey Goldberg at the Atlantic (via Digby, who adds her own comments):

[T]hree sources with direct knowledge of the Komen decision-making process told me that the rule was adopted in order to create an excuse to cut-off Planned Parenthood. (Komen gives out grants to roughly 2,000 organizations, and the new "no-investigations" rule applies to only one so far.) The decision to create a rule that would cut funding to Planned Parenthood, according to these sources, was driven by the organization's new senior vice-president for public policy, Karen Handel, a former gubernatorial candidate from Georgia who is staunchly anti-abortion and who has said that since she is "pro-life, I do not support the mission of Planned Parenthood." ... The decision, made in December, caused an uproar inside Komen.

Digby calls adding Handel to the team the "willing hire of a forced childbirth zealot." Amen.

■ And they appear to have gotten rid of their Democratic lobbyist before hiring Movement Conservative loyalist Karen Handel. Getting the picture? Rotting from the top down perhaps?

What does this add up to?

Komen's founder, Nancy Goodman Brinker, is a long-time "loyal Bushie" — a huge GOP donor and ThankYou recipient. An active arm, in other words, of the Movement Conservative project. She hires, among other people, Karen Handel as VP of "Public Policy". Handel is a former Palin-endorsed candidate for GOP governor in Georgia who is staunchly anti-gay, and who promised during her run for governor to defund Planned Parenthood.

Are you ready to believe that Komen's dropping of Planned Parenthood is an accident? If so, silly you, say I. Any guesses how many other Movement Conservative warriors are harbored (and very nicely paid, thank you) within those women-supported Komen walls? (Consider this a research project for you grad students. I'm serious. Twitter me links; I always give credit.)

I'm starting to believe, until proven otherwise, that the Susan G. Komen enterprises are dangerously close to becoming a right-wing "fog shop" — i.e., a Movement Conservative operation that functions on the surface as a "woman's rights"–friendly do-gooder op, while harboring within it the nasty seed of wicked right-wing intentions.

Here's Salon's Mary Elizabeth Williams this week:

It's not that Komen is some questionable, Wyclef Jean-esque mess. It gets high marks from both the Better Business Bureau and Charity Navigator. Yet this is an organization that has repeatedly come under fire for its extravagant promotion of itself as an organization dedicated to a "cure," when only a small portion of its expenses go to, you know, curing cancer. Komen itself cops to portioning just 24 percent of its funds to research – and 20 percent to fundraising and administration. For an organization with reported revenues of nearly $350 million, that's still a lot of money for research. It's an awful lot for itself, too.

So which is the main show and which the distracting opening act? Is the do-gooder chocolatey coating (with only 24% pass-through of funds) more important to them? Or is it the truly nasty anti-abortion core, which they've hired to support?

In my opinion, if you bought the cover as the primary story, you're lost in the fog. Komen seems to think the fact that they do indeed do good, means that you'll be all a-muddle when their knife come out. Don't be confused by the do-gooder chocolatey cover story. It was designed to confuse you. Folks, always ignore the deflection and watch the hand with the knife.

Which leads to my question: What will progressives do about this?

        Walk away, withdrawing their support as they leave?
        Ask nicely by sending petitions?
        Pull out your own metaphorical knife and say, in effect, "Bring it."

I know what the other side would do. How? Because they've already done it. That knife in Planned Parenthood's back is theirs.

Action Opportunity

The moment is now, when it's news. If progressives (especially, but not exclusively, progressive women) handle this with petitions, every apolitical woman who "runs for the cure" will think Komen is just an apolitical group caught up in a accidental political war. And they will continue to support them.

The "fog" wins, and Komen continues to fund-raise.

You can stop Komen, the way the right-wing stops everyone on our side — by spreading the truth and burning their "apolitical" brand to the ground, salting it so it never rises again.

But those are just my thoughts; I'll leave it to the pros to game this out. Brighter minds than me should be thinking this through.

My only point is in the title of this piece. What are progressives going to do about that knife in their back? Stay confused? Or teach someone a lesson.

Educationally yours,

GP

Apple really sucks, and those who support it are not much better.

2012-01-30T14:21:00.001-04:00

The human cost of your iPad and iPhone: child labor and poisoning the environment

We covered Apple earlier, but there's a lot more to the story than just loss of U.S. jobs.

Props to the New York Times for making the "human cost" point a feature story, and making it so well. Given the Tabloid Saint status of Steve Jobs these days (Tabloid Saint: He of whom no ill can be publicly spoken), this is quite a brave act.

But yes, children, there's a human cost to your iPad, your iPhone, your iLife. And it's not a small one.

The article's overview (my emphasis):

In the last decade, Apple has become one of the mightiest, richest and most successful companies in the world, in part by mastering global manufacturing. ... However, the workers assembling iPhones, iPads and other devices often labor in harsh conditions, according to employees inside those plants, worker advocates and documents published by companies themselves. Problems are as varied as onerous work environments and serious — sometimes deadly — safety problems.

Employees work excessive overtime, in some cases seven days a week, and live in crowded dorms. Some say they stand so long that their legs swell until they can hardly walk. Under-age workers have helped build Apple's products, and the company's suppliers have improperly disposed of hazardous waste and falsified records, according to company reports and advocacy groups that, within China, are often considered reliable, independent monitors.

More troubling, the groups say, is some suppliers' disregard for workers' health. Two years ago, 137 workers at an Apple supplier in eastern China were injured after they were ordered to use a poisonous chemical to clean iPhone screens. Within seven months last year, two explosions at iPad factories, including in Chengdu, killed four people and injured 77. Before those blasts, Apple had been alerted to hazardous conditions inside the Chengdu plant, according to a Chinese group that published that warning [pdf].

"If Apple was warned, and didn't act, that's reprehensible," said Nicholas Ashford, a former chairman of the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, a group that advises the United States Labor Department.

The whole article is eye-opening and painful.

But maybe not eye-opening at all. Let's look at just two pieces of it:

Piece 1 — I highlighted a short list of sins in the paragraphs above. Stand till you can't walk. Under-age workers. Ordered to use poisons as cleaning agents. There are other kinds of abuse, but just take those.

What does this add to? Pre-union conditions in U.S. manufacturing plants — 12-hour days, child labor. Standing on assembly lines until you couldn't stand; peeing in a can because if you left the line you'd get fired. Unsafe machinery (think loss of hands and feet, arms and legs). Unsafe chemistry, including acids with toxic fumes.

Economic servitude created those conditions; and control of bought political actors (retainers) by giant economic predators (the Rockefellers and Pullmans of the world) perpetuated it.

Apple — that self-advertised faux-hip company with the secret control-freak center, just like its founder — is one of this-gen's major predators, eaters of men, heirs to the Carnegies and the Pullmans.

(Why do I keep mentioning Pullman? Read on. The Pullman Company, like Apple, is an actual demon, not just a tabloid one; and Eugene V. Debs, its victim, is a Labor Saint.)

That's what you do when you buy an iPad; you enable Apple in its two pronged assault. The right hand of Apple makes ads that make you look cool; the left hand of Apple lays waste to workers you'll never be allowed to see, kills in another country.

Not to put too fine a point on it (my favorite phrase these days) — Our hipster life is bought with Dickensian blood; loss of limbs; loss of life. Or, to paraphrase Mel Brooks, "It's good to be the middle-class in America" — at least for now. (Don't worry, you who love justice; our day is coming, I fear.)

Piece 2 — You thought that last part was bad? How's this — Didn't you always know this? As I said, maybe not eye-opening at all.

Maybe it's time for us, we as a nation, to unite behind Labor, to Occupy the Truth and act differently. Not just economically; but politically.

And isn't it time for Labor to actually pick a side, instead of just pretending to? There may not be a ton of time left to decide.

GP

Un- F'n believeable!

2012-01-24T10:52:00.002-04:00

For all you holier-than-thou Santorum supporters:

Is this what all you demented Christians who support this shitty piece of anal dropping think?

I sincerely hope your wife or daughter is never in a position that you have to accept the words of a certifiably insane son of a bitch like Santorum.

PLEASE! I want any supposed, hypocritical, pretend Christian to hear their defense to this piece of shit's (Santorum's) ramblings. And if you support Santorum in any way for ANYTHING and you condemned Joe Paterno for his supposed "crime", then you are worse than anything he or Sandusky ever did.

From Firedoglake.com

Last Friday, CNN's Piers Morgan asked Santorum to clarify his reasoning behind such a callous position. Insisting that "it's not a matter of religious values," Santorum explained that sexual assault victims should "accept this horribly created" pregnancy because it is "nevertheless a gift in a very broken way" and that, when it comes down to it, a victim just has "to make the best out of a bad situation":

SANTORUM: Well, you can make the argument that if she doesn't have this baby, if she kills her child, that that, too, could ruin her life. And this is not an easy choice. I understand that. As horrible as the way that that son or daughter and son was created, it still is her child. And whether she has that child or doesn't, it will always be her child. And she will always know that. And so to embrace her and to love her and to support her and get her through this very difficult time, I've always, you know, I believe and I think the right approach is to accept this horribly created — in the sense of rape — but nevertheless a gift in a very broken way, the gift of human life, and accept what God has given to you. As you know, we have to, in lots of different aspects of our life. We have horrible things happen. I can't think of anything more horrible. But, nevertheless, we have to make the best out of a bad situation.

Uh-huh! Don't listen to the words, pay attention to the hidden meaning,

2012-01-19T08:38:00.001-04:00

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (a left leaning newspaper)

Before anyone gets too excited that Obama stopped the TransCanadian Pipeline from polluting the U.S., make sure you read between the lines. No where does he say he’s rejecting the Pipeline period - only that he need to re-evaluate it in more time…just like he did with NDAA. And we all know how he feels about that and how it turned out! Can you say More 2008 Election Bullshit Promises, Stupid American People?

Mr. Obama said a Feb. 21 deadline set by Congress as part of the two-month payroll tax-cut extension had made it impossible to do an adequate review of the project proposed by TransCanada, but he left open the door to the possibility that a new proposal might pass regulatory muster.
"This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people," Mr. Obama said in a statement.

"The DEADLINE made me do it!" Just the fraking DEADLINE! Not the protests or the scientists or environmentalists data. Just the "arbitrary nature" DEADLINE! Like it might have been ok if the Republicans gave him until, say, November 7th instead? We just might all forget by then and won't be able to do anything about it, either, after he's the once and future king.

Further, a couple of “VERY” Blue Dog DINOS from Western Pa. have shown their complete stupidity and partiality to Big Business over the concerns of the people and environment, not to mention that they either can't read, won't read or those bought-off staffers advising them won't...or they just are too concerned that they might lose contributions from that person known as Big Business!

(The ref to Tim Murphy being a “D” by the Washington Post is a Fox News gem…Timmy's a rabid Republican and Tea Bag supporter. But someone at the PG must be a closet conservative to let that slip by!)

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said, "President Obama has been trying to campaign against a do-nothing Congress, but he is the one who is impeding job creation adn economic growth. ..."
Similarly, Pennsylvania Reps. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, Mark Critz, D-Johnstown, and Tim Murphy, D-Upper St. Clair, all decried the potential lost jobs [temporary jobs- my insert] and "immense implications to our country's domestic energy, economic and national security needs," as Mr. Critz put it. Mr. Murphy called upon Congress to overturn Mr. Obama's decision.[The U.S. is getting virtually NO oil from this Canadian Pipeline. It's all going to China and the Middle east.]

Here’s the interesting point that shows Altmire and Critz don’t give one damn about the people. And by the way, Canada, not TransCanada, has already sold that oil to China while they plan to pipe it dangerously through the U.S. and not across "beautiful" Canadian Provinces (America's amber waves of grain and purple mountain's majesty are for business to do with as it pleases!). That Canada has business relations with numerous American Companies and investment firms and banks, there’s no way Barry is going to let Canada and by extension those American Companies, lose that money. Nice!

Here's the curious part:

The jobs issue has been a major point of contention. Ads taken out by supporters say the pipeline would create 20,000 jobs. In fact, TransCanada's Mr. Girling has said Keystone XL would create 20,000 "job-years" -- including 13,000 for direct construction and 7,000 among supply manufacturers. But construction would last two years, and the actual number of construction workers employed each year would total only 6,500, Mr. Girling has said. Moreover, TransCanada has already spent $1.9 billion buying pipeline parts, which would reduce the number of supply chain jobs created in the future.

Just another delayed double entendre lie by Obama to add to his growing cache. You have to wonder how much more room there is in his political container for lies! Maybe he uses rar to compress it.

Speak now or FOREVER hold your tongue

2012-01-18T10:16:00.002-04:00

If you've never done any calling to your representative to complain about ANYTHING, this is the one thing you MUST do! If you value being able to access ANYTHING on the Internet, express yourself on the Net, Twitter, Facebook or a host of others, if you want to be able to read true news from sources other than U.S. "approved" sites, if you want to be able to even share photos of your family or vacation that JUST MIGHT have a background picture in it of a business, a magazine, a movie poster, a book, a newspaper or your neighbors name(yes, his/her name IS copyrighted by law), or literally any business (mainly) or individual who feels you've infringed on their turf, you MUST call your Representative and Senator and tell them you adamantly oppose the PIPA (Senate) and SOPA (House) bills.

In addition:

This will especially affect any of you who has enrolled your child in Internet dependent charter schools. Some curricula, information, videos or pictures they use may be banned. Not so with printed media and books...yet! So far public schools are currently safe (give the MPAA and RIAA time and they will remove books that might refer to a movie or song they own) but it's only a matter of time before those legal people they employ twist the laws to suit the greed of their masters.

Call your local Representative and Senator today and tell them to keep the Internet free and open.

Below is a list where you can get more information if you need.

It's from Bad Astronomy

- Google (!)

- reddit (they also have this page with many links to help you take action)

- Adam Savage at Popular Mechanics

- Forbes (though it’s clearly not correct to say SOPA is dead, and I no longer trust Obama will do as he says after signing the NDAA)

- Mashable

- Wil Wheaton

click to enlarge

Click to enlarge and animate

The Problem With Tim Tebow

2012-01-16T09:49:00.001-04:00

Stu Kreisman

Author and Emmy Award-winning Writer and Producer

The Problem With Tim Tebow

Posted: 1/15/12 03:17 PM ET

From Stu Kreisman at Huffington Post

If you were watching Saturday night's Patriots-Broncos playoff game, you probably noticed a commercial that CBS aired in the second quarter. A group of young children quoted bible passages. The spot was brought to us by the right wing evangelical group Focus on the Family.

Now if you're like me, you don't want to be bothered with politics and religion while watching football. Unfortunately that barrier has been shattered forever thanks to Tim Tebow.

Tebow, along with Sarah Palin, George W. Bush and numerous right wing republicans support the group which sponsors religious prayer in schools, funds pregnant woman who are considering abortion to to view live sonograms of their developing fetus, and according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, FOTF is one of the "major groups (which) help drive the religious right's anti-gay crusade."

Sports used to be a refuge from the division and hatred which permeates the media nowadays. Not anymore. This all began in 2010 when Tebow and his mother starred in a controversial pro-life commercial sponsored by FOTF during the Super Bowl aired by CBS. What made it so controversial is that CBS had already turned down ads from left-leaning organizations like PETA and MoveOn.org. There was no room for their message on Super Sunday, but just like last night CBS has no problem airing evangelical right wing messages.

Of course the reason the FOTF commercial was aired in the first place was because Tebow was playing in the game. The Tebowization of the NFL will continue in this year's Super Bowl as Randall Terry (Who is running as a conservative Democrat challenging President Obama) plans to air a gruesome commercial featuring aborted fetuses. The Right has found their savior in Tebow and the NFL, which is obviously willing to turn Denver Bronco games into Christian recruiting lovefests.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm sure that Tim Tebow is a nice guy. However when you make the decision to wear your religion on your sleeve, you are pushing your beliefs on people who do not want to hear or see them, especially during an NFL playoff game. I don't begrudge anyone their own personal beliefs. When you push them and use your position as an NFL player as a platform to foist them on the public, that's out of bounds. Tebow also energizes the evangelicals who see him as a vessel to push their political agenda. (Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann have already co-opted the Tebow mystique.)

Thanks to CBS and Tebow's followers, we are headed down a slippery slope. Would it be too much to ask that sports be declared a no-religion zone? Could we have at least three hours of relaxation during a game instead of interrupting it with evangelical in-your-face messaging? Apparently CBS and the NFL agree that progressive and left wing messages have no place in sports. It would be nice if they treated the right wing the same.

More Republican lies

2012-01-14T10:09:00.001-04:00

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Krugman on the Post-Truth Election: Not one word of Romney's stump speech is true

There's nothing like just saying what you think. The Professor (my emphasis):

I was deeply radicalized by the 2000 election. At first I couldn't believe that then-candidate George W. Bush was saying so many clearly, provably false things; then I couldn't believe that nobody in the news media was willing to point out the lies. (At the time, the Times actually told me that I couldn't use the l-word either). That was when I formulated my "views differ on shape of planet" motto.

Now, however, Mitt Romney seems determined to rehabilitate Bush's reputation, by running a campaign so dishonest that it makes Bush look like a model of truth-telling.

I mean, is there anything at all in Romney's stump speech that's true? It's all based on attacking Obama for apologizing for America, which he didn't, on making deep cuts in defense, which he also didn't, and on being a radical redistributionist who wants equality of outcomes, which he isn't. When the issue turns to jobs, Romney makes false assertions both about Obama's record and about his own. I can't find a single true assertion anywhere.

The post contains other examples, but the bare fact stands. In the literal sense of "literally," it's literally true that every assertion in Romney's stump speech is false. Each one.

Has the entire media-candidate nexus turned into a huge PR & ad campaign, in which words are chosen only for their effectiveness in moving the listener to action, just like a Walmart or Viagra (or beer-sanctioned "manliness") ad?

The answer, of course, is Yes, and has been for a while. The good news? People are actually noticing.

And you have to believe that Krugman is throwing down the challenge especially in the face of this.

Occupy the Truth, sir.

GP

There's a piece of vile excrement living in the Pa. Mansion...

2012-01-11T22:39:00.001-04:00

Pa. Governor Tommy "Space Cadet" Corbett...is lower than the microbial slime that festers in cesspools. This "thing" that thinks it's human is a stain on humanity along with his Tea-publican ilk.
He needs to have all of his power and money taken away, then see how long he and his out of touch family can live.
And how any caring human can support this waste of flesh has to mean they, themselves, are as reprehensible.

From Crooksandliars

January 11, 2012 04:00 PM

PA's Gov. Tom Corbett To Bar Food Stamp Recipients For Having Assets

By Susie Madrak

enlarge

Everything Gov. Tom Corbett does comes right out of the ALEC playbook. But because he rarely speaks to the press, preferring to fly under the radar, there are no outrageous sound bytes on the local news and public outrage is hard to generate. Maybe this latest decision will finally get Pennsylvanians to speak up. From the Philadelphia City Paper:

Republican Gov. Tom Corbett has announced a major assault on the food stamp program that feeds 1.8 million Pennsylvanians, including 439,245 in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania's Department of Public Welfareannounced that on May 1, people under 60 with more than $2,000 in savings or other assets will be barred from receiving food stamps. People over 60 would have a $3,250 cap.

As the Inquirer points out in a detailed look, the move to cut food stamps is way out of line with what other states are doing: "Pennsylvania plans to make the amount of food stamps that people receive contingent on the assets they possess — an unexpected move that bucks national trends and places the commonwealth among a minority of states."

The trend during the Great Recession, with millions falling into poverty, has been to remove such barriers to assistance. Gov. Ed Rendell eliminated the state's asset test in 2008. Pennsylvania now joins 11 states with asset tests — including Indiana, Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota.

Eliminating "waste, fraud and abuse" is an old and recurrent refrain from those who seek to dismantle the country's social welfare system. But it's a cynical ruse: 30 percent of those eligible for food stamps in Pennsylvania don't receive them. According to federal data, the Inquirer notes, Pennsylvania has a fraud rate of just one-tenth of 1 percent.

Conservatives frequently bristle at the idea that poor people might have nice things while receiving public assistance ("they have a television on welfare!"). But Pennsylvania will now create the most bizarre of disincentives: dissuading poor people from saving.

"We all know that families need to save money to get off government assistance and achieve self-sufficiency," according to a press release from Carey Morgan, Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger.

"So it's not only inhumane, but counterproductive to force people to drain their savings before they can get any help. Someone with less than $2,000 in the bank would easily be wiped out by one visit to the emergency room."

[...] "Food stamps are really the only functioning part of the safety net," the New York Coalition Against Hunger's Joel Berg told The Nation. "It's the only thing left."

HEy Frothy Ricky? Why pay for insurance when you're healthy and don't need insurance?

2012-01-07T13:10:00.001-04:00

From Think Progress:

Santorum To Mother Of Cancer Survivor: Sick To Blame For Pre-Existing Conditions, Should Be Charged More

By Igor Volsky on Jan 6, 2012 at 12:06 pm

During a town hall in Keene, New Hampshire this morning, Rick Santorum told a mother whose son survived cancer that people with pre-existing conditions should pay more for health care coverage because they make poor health care choices. While specifically exempting the woman's child from personal blame, Santorum insisted that the sick cost more to insure and insurers should charge them higher premiums:

MOTHER: The comments I heard you make in New Hampshire, comments that you support insurance companies' right to refuse to insure people with pre-existing conditions and that you also agreed with higher premiums for people who are sick, well my son graduated college and I pray that he gets a good job. Why is it alright for him to possibly be denied health care insurance or have to possibly pay a fee that he would not be able to afford or for a company not to hire him because he was five years old and he had cancer? …

SANTORUM: Insurance works when people who are higher risk end up having to pay more, as they should. In your case, your son obviously did nothing wrong. Obviously there are a lot of other people that increased their health risk that did do things wrong and as a result, it resulted in higher health care costs.

Watch it:

The woman asked the question in response to remarks Santorum made in Merrimeck, New Hampshire, where he defended insurers for denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and argued that individuals who are sick should pay higher premiums. "I'm okay with that," Santorum said.

At today's event, Santorum claimed that the pre-existing conditions clause in the Affordable Care Act — which will prevent insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions or charging them more for coverage — would increase health care costs because people would wait until they're sick to purchase coverage and refuse to heed the mandate. But as the Massachusetts health law demonstrated, the mandate will likely encourage younger and healthier people to purchase coverage before they fall ill and help reduce the number of so-called "free riders." Reform also expands the risk pool so the costs of the sick people are paid for with the premiums of the healthy. Once they fall ill, their costs will be borne by the next generation of healthy beneficiaries.

Santorum is certifiable...

2012-01-07T12:12:00.001-04:00

From balloon-juice:

This POS masquerading as a human is so certifiably nutz that only those who think he's right are crazier...and stupid on a level unmatched in idiocy.

"Santorum, That's Latin for Asshole"

by Anne Laurie

Thanks to commentor Yevgraf for linking this 2003 Jeffrey St. Clair article that quotes more of Santorum's infamous Man-on-Dog theo-pathology:

Rick Santorum had only been in the senate for a few weeks when Bob Kerrey, then Senator from Nebraska, pegged him. "Santorum, that's Latin for asshole." It was probably the funniest line the grim Kerrey ever uttered and it was on the mark, too.

Such a stew of sleazy self-righteousness and audacious stupidity has not been seen in the senate since the days of Steve Symms, the celebrated moron from Idaho. In 1998, investigative reporter Ken Silverstein fingered Santorum as the dumbest member of congress in a story for The Progressive. Considering the competition, that's an achievement of considerable distinction…

Santorum is the self-anointed prophet of family values on the Hill, who issues frequent jeremiads on the threats Hollywood fare poses to the "fabric of American culture." Of course, these sermons are hard to swallow from a man with Santorum's resume. After all, before entering Congress Santorum worked as a lobbyist. His top client? The World Wrestling Federation…

So it came to pass that on April 7, Santorum sat down for an interview with AP reporter Lara Jordan… After a brisk discussion of the degeneracy of American culture, the interview turned to the subject of the pending Supreme Court case on sodomy laws. Like most religious zealots, Santorum is obsessed not just with homosexuals but with visualizing the postures and physical mechanics of homosexual love. He seized on her question with an enthusiasm many Republicans reserve for discussions of the tax code…

AP: OK, without being too gory or graphic, so if somebody is homosexual, you would argue that they should not have sex?

SANTORUM: We have laws in states, like the one at the Supreme Court right now, that [have] sodomy laws and they were there for a purpose. Because, again, I would argue, they undermine the basic tenets of our society and the family. And if the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything. Does that undermine the fabric of our society? I would argue yes, it does. It all comes from, I would argue, this right to privacy that doesn't exist in my opinion in the United States Constitution, this right that was created, it was created in Griswold – Griswold was the contraceptive case – and abortion. And now we're just extending it out. And the further you extend it out, the more you – this freedom actually intervenes and affects the family. You say, well, it's my individual freedom. Yes, but it destroys the basic unit of our society because it condones behavior that's antithetical to strong, healthy families. Whether it's polygamy, whether it's adultery, where it's sodomy, all of those things, are antithetical to a healthy, stable, traditional family.

"Every society in the history of man has upheld the institution of marriage as a bond between a man and a woman. Why? Because society is based on one thing: that society is based on the future of the society. And that's what? Children. Monogamous relationships. In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing. And when you destroy that you have a dramatic impact on the quality . . ."

At this point, even the unnerved reporter tried to rein in Santorum. "I'm sorry," Jordan interjected. "I didn't think I was going to talk about 'man on dog' with a United States senator, it's sort of freaking me out."

But the man was on a roll and there was no stopping him. "And that's sort of where we are in today's world, unfortunately," Santorum said. "The idea is that the state doesn't have rights to limit individuals' wants and passions. I disagree with that. I think we absolutely have rights because there are consequences to letting people live out whatever wants or passions they desire. And we're seeing it in our society."

"We"—as in, The Government, but not the individuals under that government—"absolutely have rights… to limit individuals' wants"? That wouldn't sound so good even in the original German. Seriously, I think the 'man on dog' paragraph is the one that got repeated so often because it's the least creepy part of Santorum's little rant. I don't even wanna think about what's going to come out once his unfortunate offspring are old enough to write their own memoirs.

This man is certifiably insane!

2012-01-06T14:42:00.001-04:00

From Wonkette:

Click the title (link) below to read some hilarious, but sad for frothy Ricky, comments

Sexy Rick Santorum's Top 10 Sex Tricks To Drive God Wild In Bed

by Wonkette Jr.

1:24 pm January 5, 2012

173 Comments 6863 Views

Now that he's just eight paid Romney supporters away from being the most popular Republican presidential candidate in all the land, Rick Santorum is getting a "second look" from many who had mostly forgotten about the Pennsylvania oddball back when he lost his Senate seat by 17 points, to a Democrat, in Pennsylvania. But Rick Santorum has not quit being Rick in the half-dozen years since history tried to wash him away like a weird stain. And now that he's theoretically closer to being the Republican nominee, it also means it is scientifically possible he could end up as president of the United States. Many gentleman and ladies will be wanting to know some of his sex tips!

All of these are REAL THINGS RICK SANTORUM HAS SAID, about sexytime and its tragic consequences:

Stay clear of homo sex, lest you start humping dogs: "In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be."
The best way to die is by auto-erotic asphyxiation, alone on a hilltop somewhere, to prevent gay marriage: "The battle we're engaged in right now is same sex marriage, ultimately that is the very foundation of our country, the family, what the family structure is going to look like. I'll die on that hill."
Please don't make Rick put on a condom! That makes sexytime "deconstructed," which sounds liberal: "And all of a sudden, it becomes deconstructed to the point where it's simply pleasure."
In fact, all contraception — especially stupid condoms! — should be illegal, the way Jesus wanted it back when He wrote The Bible: "One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before, is I think the dangers of contraception in this country. It's not okay. It's a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be."
But if you insist on enjoying sexytime, you should have sex in public: "The right to privacy … doesn't exist in my opinion in the United States Constitution."
If you are a bear in the woods, don't scratch your ass on a tree, because this is liberal: "My colleague Senator John Ensign of Nevada told me a story that epitomizes the selfishness of our culture: 'When I was a teenager, I had a sticker in my car with a picture of a bear scratching himself on the tree, and under it was the saying, 'If it feels good, do it!' That was the motto of the '60s and the '70s, and certainly it is the motto today. The image of the bear scratching himself highlights a view of human beings as animals, and that people should do what pleases them at the moment without a thought to the broader long-term consequences of their actions."
Rick Santorum wants you to take him home so he can fuck your mother: "I may not be the guy that the girls are initially attracted to when they walk into the dance hall, but ultimately once you get to know all the folks, I'm the one you want to take home to Mom."
Let's just say this is 10, okay? There they are, the Top 10 Sex Tricks To Drive God Wild In Bed, courtesy of Sexy Rick Santorum!

You may be wondering, after enjoying this erotic collection of mental misfires, if anyone outside of a few thousand deranged weirdos in Iowa trying to "teach Mitt Romney a lesson" ever took Rick Santorum seriously. Well, yes, there was one person. Peggy Noonan. Peggy Noonan took Rick Santorum seriously. Probably still does. This is what she actually wrote for publication about Rick Santorum in 2006, the year he was brutally thrown out of office by Pennsylvania's repulsed voters:

But here's an exception: the state of Pennsylvania, which has been this year a bright patch of meaning. Its U.S. Senate contest has been the great race of the cycle, the one about which conservatives in their hearts most care. And not only conservatives, but those who know, for whatever reason and in whatever way, that there is something truly at stake here, something beyond mere red team and blue.

That would be Sen. Rick Santorum. The sense among so many people — including politicians and journalists — is that the Senate needs his sort, his kind.

Never forget.

http://wonkette.com/459517/sexy-rick-santorums-top-10-sex-tricks-to-drive-god-wild-in-bed#more-459517

Another Wingunt that wants to control your life and especially your sex life.

2012-01-05T06:43:00.001-04:00

Bullets, lube and paper tigers: a beginner's guide to Rick Santorum

The ultra-conservative Republican who came good in Iowa has tried out a variety of discomfiting positions

- Lizzy Davies
- guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 January 2012 08.14 EST
- Article history

Republican presidential hopeful and former US senator Rick Santorum. Not to be confused with a byproduct of anal sex. Photograph: Steve Pope/EPA

Mitt Romney may have – just – emerged as the victor in Tuesday's Republican caucus in Iowa but, for many, the night belonged to his rival Rick Santorum, the most socially conservative of all the Republican candidates and a man who once declared: "I just don't take the pledge. I take the bullets."

Not one to shy away from making his voice heard, the 53-year-old from Winchester, Virginia, has peppered his political career with divisive pronouncements ranging from the hawkish and reactionary to the plain offensive. Here, in a few choice examples, is the world according to Santorum.

Gay marriage

During the Iowa campaign Santorum explained that not only would he support a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, but he would also be in favour of annulling all currently legal same-sex unions. Not that this should come as much of a surprise: in 2003 the devout Catholic provoked outrage by appearing to compare homosexuality with paedophilia and bestiality. "Every society in the history of man has upheld the institution of marriage as a bond between a man and a woman," he said. "In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing. And when you destroy that you have a dramatic impact on the quality." He later insisted that the remark was not homophobic and that he had been speaking from a legal point of view, but the damage had been done. Sex advice columnist Dan Savage launched a readers' competition to find a new definition for "santorum" – and the winner was "the frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex". Even now, the definition is among the first results for "Santorum" yielded on internet search engines.

Iran

Ever a critic of "Islamic fascist" regimes – as he calls them – Santorum recently yanked his rhetoric on Iran up a gear, declaring that he would bomb the country's nuclear sites if the authorities did not open them up to inspections. "I would be saying to Iran either you open up those facilities, you begin to dismantle them and make them available to inspectors, or we will degrade those facilities through air strikes, and make it very public that we are doing that," Santorum said on the TV programme Meet the Press. Obama's preference for diplomacy risked making the US look like a "paper tiger", he added.

Birth control

Santorum raised eyebrows on Monday when he reiterated his opposition to a supreme court ruling that prevented the state of Connecticut from banning contraception. In an interview with Jake Tapper on ABC News, he said he believed all states should have the right to ban birth control. "It is not a constitutional right," he said. "The state has the right to pass whatever statutes they have." This would appear to tally with earlier statements on contraception: in a 2006 television interview he said that although he had voted for birth control he was "not a believer in birth control". "I don't think it works. I think it's harmful to women," he said. "I think it's harmful to our society to have a society that says that sex outside of marriage is something that should be encouraged or tolerated, particularly among the young."

Climate change

"It's just an excuse for more government control of your life," Santorum declared on Rush Limbaugh's radio show last year. "And I've never been for any scheme or even accepted the junk science behind the whole narrative." For Santorum, it's simple: "I believe the earth gets warmer and I also believe the earth gets cooler. And I think history points out that it does that and that the idea that man, through the production of CO2 — which is a trace gas in the atmosphere, and the man-made part of that trace gas is itself a trace gas — is somehow responsible for climate change is, I think, just patently absurd when you consider all the other factors, El Niño, La Niña, sunspots, moisture in the air. There's a variety of factors that contribute to the Earth warming and cooling."

Evolution

According to Santorum, there are "legitimate problems and holes in the theory of evolution", a position which has led to his firm support for the intelligent design movement, even though that appears to have softened since writing in the Washington Times in 2002 that ID "is a legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in science classes". In 2005 he told NPR that he was "not comfortable with intelligent design being taught in the science classroom". But he said those "problems and holes" should be taught. Last year, when asked by a rival whether or not he believed in evolution, he reportedly replied that he did, in a "micro sense".

Child abuse

Santorum has repeatedly said that the city of Boston's "liberal culture" played an active role in Catholic child abuse. In 2002 he wrote: "When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the centre of the storm." Santorum did not apologise; three years later, he said he had singled out the city because it was the "epicentre" of the scandal at that time, and, for good measure, added: "I think what I'm saying is that the culture of liberal sexual freedom and the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 70s had a profound impact on everybody and their sexual mores. It had a profound impact on the church."

In a first, gas and other fuels are top US export

2011-12-31T23:52:00.002-04:00

This is how it ends. Not with a bang, not with a whimper,
but with a Ka-ching!

Pressdemocrat.com

By CHRIS KAHN
AP Energy Writer

Published: Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 3:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 1:38 a.m.

NEW YORK - For the first time, the top export of the United States, the world's biggest gas guzzler, is - wait for it - fuel.

Measured in dollars, the nation is on pace this year to ship more gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel than any other single export, according to U.S. Census data going back to 1990. It will also be the first year in more than 60 that America has been a net exporter of these fuels.

Read the rest...if you can stomach it!

Your internet is in danger

2011-12-27T19:53:00.001-04:00

In case you don't know, this bill will basically kill the internet as you know it now. At the "suggestion" of one of the sponsors, the Department of Justice can shut you down, have you arrested and jailed without any proof of charges against you.

And I mean ANYONE. If you post a picture on the net, facebook, twiter, etc. that may show a business in the background, you WILL be guilty of copyright infringement unless you get permission in writing from the company!

And that means ANY business including Mom and Pop stores!

Who supports SOPA & PIPA, the "Kill-the-Internet" bills?

SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) are bills before Congress and unattractive near-cousins. One is in the House (the more brutal of the pair) and the other is in the Senate. Both would end the Internet as we know it, in roughly the same way.

(For a backgrounder on why this is true, click here; there's a handy brief video for your perusal.)

The world of "greedy bastards" — Dylan Ratigan's elegant phrase for the Top 0.1% — loves these bills. The world of "increased state security" also loves them.

Geeks are generally opposed (though GoDaddy managed to step in it with their own support). Also on the opposition side are lots of Internet sites that feature user-content, everything from Reddit to Facebook to YouTube to DailyKos.

We'll let you make up your own mind — but don't wait too long; Big Money is racing to get these bills passed.

ACTION OPPORTUNITY — If you do decide to oppose these bills, here are a few things you can do.

1. You can contact companies and organizations that support these bills. The full list is here, along with contact info (h/t Gizmodo). There are some obvious entries (ASCAP, Comcast/NBC) you'll never sway — though don't let that stop you if you're so inclined. But there are also some interesting vulnerables. Here are a few that caught my eye:

Estée Lauder Companies: (212) 572-4200
Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)
Go Daddy: (480) 505-8800
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW): (202) 833-7000
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
International Union of Police Associations
L'Oreal: (212) 818-1500
Major League Baseball
Marvel Entertainment: (212) 576-4000
MasterCard Worldwide: (800) 622-7747
Minor League Baseball (MiLB)
National Center for Victims of Crime
National Crime Justice Association
National District Attorneys Association: (703) 549-9222
National Domestic Preparedness Coalition
National Football League
National Governors Association, Economic Development and Commerce Committee
National League of Cities
National Narcotics Offers' Associations' Coalition
National Sheriffs' Association (NSA)
Revlon
The United States Conference of Mayors: info@usmayors.org
Tiffany & Co.

A lot of these folks have IP "content" — the NFL, for example — but also fan vulnerability.

And what about the unions (IBEW, Fraternal Order of Police)? Also, why do organizations like the Sheriff's Association care about IP law? A little something extra in the retirement-fund Christmas basket? Or maybe groups like these just haven't heard from the rest of us.

Given who's on this list, I'm kind of waiting for the Catholic Bishops to weigh in.

2. My personal favorite way to complain — call these so-called "progressive" Senators. They're not just supporters; they're co-sponsors:

Sherrod Brown [OH] – (202) 224-2315
Al Franken [D-MN] – (202) 224-5641
Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY] – (202) 224-4451
Amy Klobuchar [D-MN] – (202) 224-3244
Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI] – (202) 224-2921

We'll be watching this closely, along with a great many others. This law really matters.

GP

But you never see the lies that you believe

2011-12-27T09:41:00.001-04:00

from balloonjuice

by DougJ

Esquire (via):

There are some truths so hard to face, so ugly and so at odds with how we imagine the world should be, that nobody can accept them. Here's one: It is obvious that a class system has arrived in America — a recent study of the thirty-four countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that only Italy and Great Britain have less social mobility. But nobody wants to admit: If your daddy was rich, you're gonna stay rich, and if your daddy was poor, you're gonna stay poor. Every instinct in the American gut, every institution, every national symbol, runs on the idea that anybody can make it; the only limits are your own limits. Which is an amazing idea, a gift to the world — just no longer true. Culturally, and in their daily lives, Americans continue to glide through a ghostly land of opportunity they can't bear to tell themselves isn't real. It's the most dangerous lie the country tells itself.

Meanwhile, the Times reports:

Largely insulated from the country's economic downturn since 2008, members of Congress — many of them among the "1 percenters" denounced by Occupy Wall Street protesters — have gotten much richer even as most of the country has become much poorer in the last six years, according to an analysis by The New York Times based on data from the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit research group.

Go figure.

A huge part of the conservative/establishment media project will be devoted to explaining the collapse of the middle-class is a good thing—it's the Bell Curve-style IQ stratification that maximizes efficiency, all the awesome modern conveniences like Facebook an flatscreens make up for it, etc.

More hypocritic BS from our Representatives like Altmire who will do anythign for big business

2011-12-19T20:17:00.001-04:00

December 19, 2011 09:00 AM

CRS Report: Movie Industry Demands SOPA While Enjoying Record Profits

By Susie Madrak

While the entertainment industry cries poor and insists that the Stop Online Piracy Act be passed to protect the artists (and politicians like Chris Dodd and Lamar Smith lobby behind the scenes), this fascinating information comes to light. Via Raw Story:

Movie industry lobbyists like to say that online piracy costs their clients billions of dollars every year, and it's getting worse — but that's doesn't quite seem to be the case, according to data released this week by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS).

The CRS report (embedded below) shows that the movie industry is doing very well, earning record profits and paying executives more than ever, even as it hires fewer workers than it did just a decade ago.

Although a recent National Crime Prevention Council ad campaign tries to make the point that piracy kills jobs, the CRS found that total gross revenues and box office receipts have doubled in the last 15 years. Grosses went from $52.8 billion in 1995 to $104.4 billion in 2009, while box office receipts went from $5.3 billion in 1995 to $10.6 billion in 2010 — yet hiring still went down.

One thing that has gone up, higher than ever, is executive pay. The CRS report noted that News Corporation paid CEO Rupert Murdoch $33,292,753 in 2011; Viacom gave CEO Philippe Dauman made $84,515,308; Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes took home $26,303,071; while Disney CEO Robert A. Lger earned $29,617,964. Sony CEO Howard Stringer was at the bottom of the bunch at $4.3 million, having taken a 14 percent pay cut due to losses.

Those salaries are quite hefty compared to the top earners just a decade and a half ago. At Disney, former CEO Michael Eisner's total compensation was $10 million in 1994, while Time Warner was compensating former CEO Gerald M. Levin $5 million, the CRS reported. Historical data for the other executives was not included.

[...] Despite what the industry's lobbyists are telling lawmakers, it's impossible to say whether a minor slump in hiring is really reflective of piracy's effects. That seemingly proves the industry's biggest concern is not the Jack Sparrows of the Internet, but rather Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.

2011-12-12T21:39:00.001-04:00

It's no too late to face facts.

2011-12-11T19:47:00.000-04:00

But the Tea Party and Republicans and Altmire think Medicare and Medicaid should be reduced or eliminated.

2011-12-08T19:36:00.001-04:00

Between 2008 And 2010, 30 Big Corporations Spent More Lobbying Washington Than They Paid In Income Taxes

By Zaid Jilani on Dec 7, 2011 at 10:35 am

Today, thousands of 99 Percenters will march on K Street in Washington, D.C. as a part of an action called "Take Back The Capitol," taking aim at the lobbying firms that corporate interests use to influence the federal government.

A report released this month by Public Campaign demonstrates just how important it is for Americans to battle corporate special interests and reclaim our democracy. The group's research finds that thirty big corporations actually spent more money lobbying the federal government between 2008 and 2010 than they spent in taxes. For example, General Electric — one of the top 10 most profitable companies in the world — got a net tax rebate of $4.7 billion during this period. Meanwhile, it spent $84 million lobbying the federal government.

Here's the full list of the 30 corporations identified and what they paid in federal taxes as opposed to lobbying:

To follow today's actions, check out Take Back The Capitol's website, and find instant updates about the protest through the hashtag #99indc. ThinkProgress will be covering today's events at our 99 Percent Movement special topics page.

Hey Hypocrites! D you ge to pick and choose who you think should be punished for Child Sex Crimes? ho wabou tthis Bigoted, Racist, Tea Pary Republican

2011-12-05T19:59:00.002-04:00

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/53045761-68/office-police-arpaio-cases.html.csp

FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2011 file pool photo, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio testifies during the State Bar of Arizona's ongoing disciplinary hearings against former Maricopa County attorney Andrew Thomas and two assistants, at the Arizona Supreme Court in Phoenix. According to some current and former police officers, hundreds of sex-crimes investigations were allegedly mishandled by Arpaio's office. (AP Photo/Jack Kurtz, Pool, File)

Police say 'toughest' sheriff botched sex-crime cases

By JACQUES BILLEAUD

The Associated Press

First published Dec 04 2011 12:26PM
Updated Dec 5, 2011 12:02AM

El Mirage, Ariz. • The 13-year-old girl opened the door of her home in this city on the edge of Phoenix to encounter a man who said that his car had broken down and he needed to use the phone. Once inside, the man pummeled the teen from behind, knocking her unconscious and sexually assaulting her.

Seven months before, in an apartment two miles away, another 13-year-old girl was fondled in the middle of the night by her mother's live-in boyfriend. She woke up in her room at least twice a week to find him standing over her, claiming to be looking for her mother's cellphone.

Both cases were among more than 400 sex-crimes reported to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office during a three-year period ending in 2007 — including dozens of alleged child molestations — that were inadequately investigated and sometimes not worked at all, according to current and former police officers familiar with the cases.

In El Mirage alone, where Arpaio's office was providing contract police services, officials discovered at least 32 reported child molestations — with victims as young as 2 — in which the sheriff's office failed to follow through, even though suspects were known in all but six cases.

Many of the victims were children of undocumented immigrants, said a retired El Mirage police official who reviewed the files.

The botched sex-crimes investigations have served as an embarrassment to an office whose sheriff is the self-described "America's Toughest Sheriff" and a national hero to conservatives on the immigration issue.

Arpaio's office refused several requests over a period of months to answer questions about the investigations and declined a public records request for an internal affairs report, citing potential disciplinary actions.

Brian Sands, a top sheriff's official who is in charge of the potential discipline of any responsible employees, declined to say why they weren't investigated. "There are policy violations that have occurred here," Sands said. "It's obvious, but I can't comment on who or what."

Sands said officers had subsequently moved to clear up inadequately investigated sex-crimes in El Mirage and elsewhere in the county. He said leads were worked if they existed, and cases were closed if there was no further evidence.

Arpaio's office was under contract to provide police services in El Mirage as the city struggled with its then-dysfunctional department. After the contract ended and El Mirage was re-establishing its own police operation, the city spent a year sifting through incomplete casework.

El Mirage Detective Jerry Laird, who reviewed some the investigations, learned from a summary of 50 to 75 cases files he picked up from Arpaio's office that an overwhelming majority of them hadn't been worked. That meant there were no follow-up reports, no collection of additional forensic evidence and zero effort made after the initial report of the crime was taken.

"I think that at some point prior to the contract [for police services] running out, they put their feet on the desk, and that was that," Laird said.

Arpaio acknowledged his office had completed an internal probe into the inadequate investigations, but said, "I don't think it's right to get into it until we get to the bottom of this and see if there's disciplinary action against any employees."

This is your Tea Party, Folks!

2011-12-04T18:32:00.001-04:00

Sunday, December 04, 2011

Everything you need to know about Republicans (but were afraid to ask).

By Myrddin on 12/04/2011 02:34:00 PM
View Comments

The full Grover Norquist 'Tax Pledge' is actually to never raise taxes on the 1%. Raising taxes on the rest of us is fine.
Republicans enjoy killing people: Electric fences are good, executions better, wars are best. They also like torture.
It is OK for a Republican to air campaign ads with intentional misrepresentations of opponents.
Allegations of sexual harassment and assault are not a bar to being the GOP nominee but alleged consensual adultery is.
Other things that do not disqualify a candidate include; not knowing the US embassy in Iran has been closed for 31 years or not knowing that China has nuclear weapons
It is OK for a Republican who demonstrates he knows absolutely nothing about Libya to trash the President's handling of the situation.
When a Republican says they know what they don't know, what they don't know is likely to be absolutely everything.
It is OK for what they don't know to include the fact that they are running for President of the United States, not elected dictator.
Contrary to claims of achieving an economic miracle, things have got so bad in Texas that the state faces an epidemic of horses abandonded because the owners can't afford to feed them.
They think that the Tea Partiers will reject a candidate who has spent all their time in Washington but accept a $0.50 billionaire instead.
The Republican idea of winning a negotiation is to force the President to accept some plan that his base hate, even when they are going hate it even more when they actually understand the implications and it is exactly what the President wanted all along.

OK, that is not everything you might want to know about Republicans (and it is very probably much more than you want). But it should be all you need to know.

2011-12-02T20:46:00.000-04:00

Knock! Knock!

2011-11-29T11:10:00.001-04:00

Who's there?

Sarah!

Sarah who?

Sarah Palin!

Sarah Palin who?

As I walk this land of broken dreams,
I have visions of many things.
Love's happiness is just an illusion,
Filled with sadness and confusion.

What becomes of the broken hearted
Who had love that's now departed?
I know I've got to find
Some kind of peace of mind
Maybe.

The fruits of love grow all around
But for me they come a tumblin' down.
Every day heartaches grow a little stronger,
I can't stand this pain much longer!

I walk in shadows,
Searching for light.
Cold and alone,
No comfort in sight.
Hoping and praying for someone to care,
Always moving and goin' nowhere.

What becomes of the broken hearted
Who had love that's now departed?
I know I've got to find,
Some kind of peace of mind.
Help me..

I'm searching though I don't succeed,
For someone's love, there's a growing need.
Oh, he is lost, there's no place for beginning,
All that's left is an unhappy ending.

Now what becomes of the broken-hearted
Who had love that's now departed?
I know I've got to find,
Some kind of peace of mind,
I'll be searching everywhere,
Just to find someone to care.
I'll be looking everyday,
I know I'm gonna find a way.
Nothings gonna stop me now,
I'll find a way somehow.
I'll be searching everywhere...

Sorry! What was that name again?

This is what the useful idiots in the tea party are fighting for…

2011-11-28T15:36:00.001-04:00

CAUTION! 4 letter words. If you're offended, don't read any further!

From balloon-juice

http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/11/28/i-get-by-with-a-little-help-from-my-friends/

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

by John Cole

It appears our Galtian Overlords really can't do anything right:

"When you see the dollars the banks got, it's hard to make the case these were successful institutions," says Sherrod Brown, a Democratic Senator from Ohio who in 2010 introduced an unsuccessful bill to limit bank size. "This is an issue that can unite the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street. There are lawmakers in both parties who would change their votes now."
The size of the bailout came to light after Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, won a court case against the Fed and a group of the biggest U.S. banks called Clearing House Association LLC to force lending details into the open.

The Fed, headed by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, argued that revealing borrower details would create a stigma—investors and counterparties would shun firms that used the central bank as lender of last resort—and that needy institutions would be reluctant to borrow in the next crisis. Clearing House Association fought Bloomberg's lawsuit up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the banks' appeal in March 2011.

The amount of money the central bank parceled out was surprising even to Gary H. Stern, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis from 1985 to 2009, who says he "wasn't aware of the magnitude." It dwarfed the Treasury Department's better-known $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Add up guarantees and lending limits, and the Fed had committed $7.77 trillion as of March 2009 to rescuing the financial system, more than half the value of everything produced in the U.S. that year.

Remember what was happening in March of 2009? On February 19th, 2009, Rick Santelli had his famous rant about a program to extend meager amounts of help to homeowners, while at the very same time the Fed was doling out trillions to his douchebag buddies. While these assholes were famously whining and screaming about socialism and government involvement in the markets (when people were discussing different compensation rules), they were behind the scenes taking trillions to help smooth over their fuck-ups.

This is what the useful idiots in the tea party are fighting for…

Welcome to the Third World

2011-11-26T07:24:00.001-04:00

Excellent Letter by Eugene Ceschini

It looks like the Republicans, the tea party and Blue Dog Democrats (Jason Altmire and the other 21 Republicans who have infiltrated the Democratic Party) are becoming successful in eliminating the middle class. With their excessive monies, they have paid television stations, radio stations and newspapers to spread their propaganda. They use the 3Gs (God, guns and gays) to get gullible people to vote against their best interest (health, clean air, safe food and safe water.) They are trying to eliminate all regulations (laws that keep crooks in line) that are keeping them from destroying all of our natural resources and destroying the good life we Americans have lived.

This movement to eliminate middle Americans, destroy our economy and eliminate Social Security started with the Reagan administration. They immediately raised taxes by eliminating tax deductions for the average man. If you were over 50, you were sure to get laid off because you were paid more than a young person.

They weakened the monopoly laws so many companies merged, such as the oil companies. This way they could control oil prices. They did everything they could to eliminate unions.

Due to many companies' greed, a working man needs a union. But some unions have become too powerful (like the teachers unions -- they do not lose anything when they strike).

Reagan's economics started all of America's great wealth moving up to the rich. With this money they control our Congress and our daily lives.

And then there came the Bushes, starting two wars, spending wildly and making middle Americans pay for it while protecting the rich from paying their fair share, even if they could easily afford it.

It should be obvious that the crew mentioned above is out to have everyone working for low wages and is heading our country into a system like many Third-World countries.

Eugene Ceschini

East Deer

They weakened the monopoly laws so many companies merged, such as the oil companies. This way they could control oil prices. They did everything they could to eliminate unions.

Due to many companies' greed, a working man needs a union. But some unions have become too powerful (like the teachers unions -- they do not lose anything when they strike).

Reagan's economics started all of America's great wealth moving up to the rich. With this money they control our Congress and our daily lives.

And then there came the Bushes, starting two wars, spending wildly and making middle Americans pay for it while protecting the rich from paying their fair share, even if they could easily afford it.

It should be obvious that the crew mentioned above is out to have everyone working for low wages and is heading our country into a system like many Third-World countries.

Eugene Ceschini

East Deer

And nearly ALL Tea Party Bigots are Fox Noise Viewers!

2011-11-21T19:16:00.001-04:00

Fox News Viewers Know Less Than People Who Don't Watch Any News: Study

First Posted: 11/21/11 05:28 PM ET Updated: 11/21/11 06:06 PM ET

Fox News viewers are less informed than people who don't watch any news, according to a new poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

The poll surveyed New Jersey residents about the uprisings in Egypt and the Middle East, and where they get their news sources. The study, which controlled for demographic factors like education and partisanship, found that "people who watch Fox News are 18-points less likely to know that Egyptians overthrew their government" and "6-points less likely to know that Syrians have not yet overthrown their government" compared to those who watch no news.

Overall, 53% of all respondents knew that Egyptians successfully overthrew Hosni Mubarak and 48% knew that Syrians have yet to overthrow their government.

Dan Cassino, a political science professor at Fairleigh Dickinson, explained in a statement, "Because of the controls for partisanship, we know these results are not just driven by Republicans or other groups being more likely to watch Fox News. Rather, the results show us that there is something about watching Fox News that leads people to do worse on these questions than those who don't watch any news at all."

This isn't the first study that has found that Fox News viewers more misinformed in comparison to others. Last year, a study from the University of Maryland found that Fox News viewers were more likely to believe false information about politics.

More used to be "well-to-do" now need to visit food banks to eat.

2011-11-21T12:18:00.001-04:00

Maybe someone needs to stand in front of the food banks to remind those who now need help and who voted for Republicans that the Republicans they voted for have caused this to happen.

November 21, 2011 06:00 AM

In Formerly Well-Off Communities, The New Poor Are Struggling To Eat

24 comments

By Susie Madrak

Isn't this heartbreaking? The country is now even more starkly divided into haves and have nots, and most of them are people who followed the rules but got screwed, anyway - and if that's not a recipe for social upheaval, I don't know what is:

In Forsyth County's rolling subdivisions near Atlanta, Easy Street seems to run forever. What recession? The average household here earns $88,000 - the highest in Georgia, 13th highest in America.

But for more families here, prosperity is a pretense. The job's lost, the savings are gone, and the big house is either in foreclosure or on its way. And just keeping food on the table is a struggle.

So Forsyth's newly-needy file into local food banks.

Yesterday's givers have become today's takers.

"People lost their jobs and went from great incomes to no incomes," said Sandy Beaver, Sandy Beaver leads The Place, Forsyth County's biggest non-profit center for social services. She calls those who visit The Place "the new poor."

The Place's main mission: Feed the hungry.

"Who are the new poor in this county?" asked Strassmann.

"The new poor could be you, me, your neighbor, your church member, somebody who has been affected by the economy," she said. "Many of our people who have come for assistance used to be our donors. And they'll say, 'I never thought I'd have to do this, never in my wildest dreams.'"

"People who two, three four years ago, the hunger would have been unimaginable?" asked Strassmann.

People like these married retirees in their 70s, too embarrassed to appear on camera. They said they could not feed themselves snow without help.

They retired comfortably in their early 50s. But now, after bad investments, a ruined portfolio, and costly medical issues, they qualify for food stamps - and could lose the house.

"Taking the food was really tough," the woman said. "The hard part was, we used to give it, and now I'm taking it back, you know?" she said, crying.

Nearly 15 percent of Americans are now receiving food stamps, a record level, and a jump of about two-thirds since 2007.

One in six Americans - 49 million people - say they have trouble putting food on the table.

At Forsyth County's Lambert High, eight percent of kids now get free lunch, double the number three years ago.

Gladys Sasso-Alvarez directs the district's help for needy students: "Sometimes they feel embarrassed that they are getting free breakfast and lunch. They think no one will know about it. But it was something deep inside of them, you know - they feel it is an embarrassment to eat for free."

REMEMBER! This is on of the companies Tea Baggies think should pay no taxes while raising your rates!

2011-11-15T21:59:00.001-04:00

November 15, 2011 12:00 PM

Verizon Paid a -2.9% Tax Rate From 2008-2010

By Kenneth Quinnell

Citizens for Tax Justice released a report Tuesday that shows that anti-union telecom company Verizon not only paid no taxes in the last three years, the company received nearly $1 billion in rebates from the government.

Verizon enjoyed some $14 billion in federal and state corporate income tax subsidies in the 2008-2010 period even though it earned $33.4 billion in pre-tax U.S. income during that time.

At the federal level, Verizon should have paid about $11.4 billion at the statutory rate of 35 percent during the three-year period. Instead, it got $951 million in rebates, putting its federal tax subsidies at $12.3 billion. Its effective federal tax rate was -2.9 percent.

Verizon has also managed to avoid most state-level taxes as well while pursuing a strong anti-worker set of policies that we have reported on previously. The company has demanded $1 billion in benefit concessions from workers despite paying no taxes and raking in profits.

Verizon has been one of the most efficient tax dodging corporations in the country:

At the state level, Verizon should have paid about $2.3 billion in corporate income taxes during the
period but it handed over only $866 million. Its aggregate state rate was only 2.6 percent, far below
the weighted state average rate of 6.8 percent. This gave it state tax subsidies of about $1.4 billion.

Verizon also used a special tax loophole called the ReverseMorrisTrust to avoid paying about $1.5 billion
in federal and state and local taxes on the sale of its landline assets in various states.

Verizon also aggressively seeks state and local tax subsidies through credits, abatements and exemptions. There is no centralized reporting on these subsidies but in this report we document $180 million
in special tax breaks and grants Verizon and VerizonWireless received in 13 states...

Despite conservative claims about these types of benefits leading to reinvestment in workers and research and development, Verizon has done the exact opposite, laying off tens of thousands of workers and cutting back on capital expenditures by $1 billion. On top of that, the company's CEO has made massive bonuses during this same period, completely eliminating any validity to claims that the company is in trouble and has a reason to demand concessions from workers.

I'm talking to you Wesolosky, Kritof and Bollinger.

2011-11-13T21:01:00.001-04:00

Steve Benen at the Washington Monthly: That there's still even "debate" over whether the United States should engage in torture is a national embarrassment, and the way it was addressed in last night's debate wasn't exactly encouraging….

But in light of the Cain and Bachmann responses, it's worth keeping a couple of things in mind. First, in GOP circles, support for torture remains painfully strong, even now. Post-Cheney, it's become practically a party norm to support torture techniques that America used to consider unthinkable. Though Rick Santorum didn't comment on this last night, it was just this summer when he said John McCain "doesn't understand how enhanced interrogation works," because the former prisoner of war opposes torture.

And second, Republican debate audiences continue to be a legitimate story in their own right. Over the last few months, we've seen GOP audiences cheer the execution of 234 people, cheer letting the insured die, boo an American soldier who happens to be gay, and now applaud torture.

The Green Thing

2011-11-12T22:02:00.000-04:00

The Green Thing

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana . In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smarty-pants young person.

But the rednecks in Westmoreland County can't hear.

2011-11-10T18:34:00.001-04:00

Sorry, GOP, But It Looks Like America's Bullsh*t Detector Just Went Off

4 comments

By RJ Eskow

It's great when we can disagree in a civilized way, but it's getting pretty hard to avoid the conclusion that the phrase "right-wing logic," as delivered by the GOP and mimicked by Mitt Romney, has become the mother of all oxymorons. They tell us corporations are people. But people? Not so much. That Right used that argument that in yesterday's elections, but it's starting to look like voters in swing states and the heart of Red America have had enough.

They love to preach the "corporate personhood" principle. IBM, Goldman Sachs, Halliburton: They're people! Why, they can even "speak"! Sure, they may be limited to the crude vocabulary of millions and billions, but you gotta admit: Come election time, they're fluent in it.

These corporations are endowed with freedom of speech, say Mitt and Friends, but employees of the same corporations aren't - especially when that speech involves forming a union. Follow the logic and the conclusion is inescapable: the Right believes that the company is a person but the people who work for it aren't.

Got that?

We're told that corporations have privacy rights, too. They have so much right to privacy, in fact, that when they throw millions of dollars of "speech" into an election we're not allowed to know who's speaking! But the Right says people with jobs don't have privacy rights. Employers can spy on them, say conservatives, even when they're at home using Facebook or Twitter

That anti-human, pro-corporate definition of personhood is part of what Ohio voters soundly rejected yesterday when they overturned the laws passed by its Republican Governor and legislators, who forbid union activities on the part of state employees. In a radical redefinition of the personhood principle,these voters decided that teachers and administrators and other state workers are actually ... people. And as people, they have the right to organize and bargain for themselves.

Some on the Right, including its new recruit Mitt Romney, has also argued that fertilized eggs should have all the rights that accrue to a fully-formed human being. But a full-grown person who happens to be female doesn't have the rights of personhood when it comes to determining how her own body is used.

Some people on the other side of this contentious issue have a genuine difference of belief, a spiritually-based moral code that's worthy of respect. We may disagree vehemently, but we do it with respect when speaking with these people of integrity. It's easy to tell which ones they are; they're the ones who are against killing in all forms. The others believe in a person's right from the moment of conception until the moment they're born without health insurance.

The Mississippi initiative argued that an egg has more rights than the woman carrying it. Voters didn't go for that, even in rock-ribbed fundamentalist Mississippi. Not even the tacit endorsement of new-found "redneck Mitt" - who's started sporting plaid shirts, saying he makes less than working people, and using the song "Born Country" by the group Alabama at his campaign appearances, could persuade them. Even the Tommy Bahama-sportin' hillbilly himself couldn't push this initiative over the line.

Sorry, cowboy.

In Ohio, Mississippi, and Maine, it's beginning to look like America's bulls**t detector just went off. Voters gave Obama and the Democrats a sweeping victory in 2008, with a clear mandate to clean up the economy, make the rich pay their fair share, rein in the banks (and indict the criminals), and put people back to work. When that didn't happen, they decided to look the other way on some of the crazy stuff and give the Republicans another shot.

Who knows? They may do that again in 2012. But this November, it looks like they could only tolerate so much B.S. and not a shovelful more.

It's good to know that good ol' American common sense is alive and well - in New England, the Rust Belt, and the Deep South. And it's good to see extremists on the Right get a well-deserved drubbing. But Ohio's rejection of the individual healthcare mandate should be a warning to Obama and the Democrats too. The President campaigned against it, but the bill included it anyway - without a public option - and that made the detector start buzzing.

In 2012, politicians better be prepared to give voters the real thing. If they don't, who know what that detector might do.

Free Liberal Media, My ass!

2011-11-10T11:49:00.001-04:00

If there are still any of you who thinks there's anything remotely resembling a fre or liberal media in this country, watch this.

CAUTION! FOur letter words used to describe the assholes of Mississippi!

2011-11-09T08:05:00.001-04:00

Update: Sanity has won out and the idiotic, moronic anti women's rights law was defeated!

JERKS

Angry Troll Leading Personhood Campaign That Bans IVF Has IVF Kids

by Kirsten Boyd Johnson

5:04 pm November 8, 2011

321 Comments 4659 Views

The generally obese, illiterate citizens of Mississippi are for some reason voting today on an insane initiative widely billed as a litmus test on "how fucking backasswards can Mississippi possibly be?" that will determine whether the state adds a constitutional amendment defining fertilized egg blobs to be "persons." The rest of you humans, fuck off! Enjoy your lifelong destiny as poverty-stricken uninsured criminal slobs. In addition to banning all abortions and certain types of birth control, the vaguely-worded amendment would also outlaw in-vitro fertilization, which is oh, a little weird considering that Mississippi "personhood" leader Brad Prewitt's kids were the result of this common medical procedure.

From Salon:

"It just seems so unfair that you got your two children and now you're taking the rights (away) for others," said Cristen Hemmins yesterday.

Hemmins, the most visible face of the movement to defeat Mississippi's now-notorious Personhood Amendment, heading for a close vote today, was talking to Brad Prewitt. He's the campaign director charged with passing the initiative, which defines life as beginning at fertilization. He's also a father through in-vitro fertilization, which fertility specialists say Initiative 26 would make practically impossible.

"Nothing's fair," Prewitt replied, according to a recording, and walked away.

Prewitt is the perfect representative for why the grim little anti-choice goblins are insufferable, because this is an issue that is forever and ever about what other people choose to do and the gaggle of righteous idiots feeling like they deserve to have an opinion about it. "Do as I say, not as I do" according to American Jesus, etc. [Salon]

Oh Noes! Poor, Poor Herman Cain!

2011-11-08T10:04:00.001-04:00

I guess Mr. Wesoloski of Freeport. a probable Republican, ignores the fact that 4, count 'em, 4 women and all Republicans, have come forward to call out the fool Herman Cain for sexual harassment.

Mr. Wesolosky also seems to suffer from Conservative Alzheimers, you know, that disease when Republicans have done something in the past similar to the Democrats but is conveniently forgotten now when a Republican does it!
What a hypocrite you are Mr. Wesolosky. The Clinton situation was between CONSENTING adults. The Cain sex thing was without the women's permission.

I don't know if you have any daughters or are married Mr. Wesolosy, but do you have any objections to any man fondling your wife or daughter without their permission? Because according to what you write, you think it's ok.

I wonder if it was ok for Herman to have a cigarette after he sexually harassed the women? Huh, Mr. Wesolosky?

Fraking hypocrite!

Cut Herman Cain some slack

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

There probably is no male alive, in his interactions with women since puberty, who did not at some point sexually harass a member of the opposite sex.

The Democrats, the politically correct crowd and the liberal media are all exercised that Herman Cain may indeed be a threat to Barack Obama come next November.

They're making fun of Cain's smoking ad. But Cain -- by his own admission -- is not a slick politician and not always politically correct, endearing him to many people.

Then there are the supposed sexual harassment charges leveled at Cain while he was president of the National Restaurant Association. The Democrats are really salivating over this, figuring this will sink Cain before he gains more favor and more traction.

At the risk of sounding somewhat misogynistic or callous: There probably is no male alive, in his interactions with women since puberty, who did not at some point sexually harass a member of the opposite sex, either intentionally or unintentionally, overtly or by oversight.

Not all ill-advised, inadvertent comments toward one of the opposite sex should be put in the same league as a sexual deviate or pervert -- as some Democrats would tell you about Cain.

A year from now, we will be electing a president, not a pope. We are not electing someone for sainthood. None of our past presidents could be remotely considered for sainthood.

So let's cut Herman Cain some slack. If sainthood is high on your list of qualifications for president, then I suggest we elect a female to that office. Women would have a better shot at it sainthood than us guys.

George L. Wesolosky

Freeport

Think these guys care about your homes?

2011-11-07T18:24:00.000-04:00

November 07, 2011 12:00 PM

USGS Report: Link Between Fracking and Oklahoma Earthquakes

By Susie Madrak

It is odd, isn't it? All of a sudden, areas that rarely experience earthquakes are seeing an increase (like Saturday's 5.6 in Oklahoma - a total of 10 earthquakes in 24 hours!) -- and they just happen to be areas where drilling companies are using hydraulic fracturing. Gee, I wonder if there's a connection?

In a surprising turn of events, Cuadrilla Resources, a British energy company, recently admitted that its hydraulic fracturing operations "likely" caused an earthquake in England. Predictably, this news quickly sent a shockwave through the U.K., the oil and natural gas industries, and the environmental activist community. And it certainly feeds plenty of speculation that the same phenomenon could be occurring elsewhere.

Speculation that would be well-founded, evidently. Right on the heels of Cuadrilla's announcement, news is spreading that the United States Geological Survey has released a report (pdf) that links a series of earthquakes in Oklahoma last January to a fracking operation underway there. Evidently, a resident reported feeling some minor earthquakes, spurring the USGS to investigate. They found that some 50 small earthquakes had indeed been registered, ranging in magnitude from 1.0 to 2.8. The bulk of these occurred within 2.1 miles of Eola Field, a fracking operation in southern Garvin County.

The U.S.G.S. determined that "from the character of the seismic recordings indicate that they are both shallow and unique."

From the report:

Our analysis showed that shortly after hydraulic fracturing began small earthquakes started occurring, and more than 50 were identified, of which 43 were large enough to be located. Most of these earthquakes occurred within a 24 hour period after hydraulic fracturing operations had ceased. There have been previous cases where seismologists have suggested a link between hydraulic fracturing and earthquakes, but data was limited, so drawing a definitive conclusion was not possible for these cases.

The report is still under peer-review, and even then, the correlation between fracking and the quakes is inconclusive. The U.S.G.S. notes that region has historically been seismically active, though the summary states that the "strong correlation in time and space as well as a reasonable fit to a physical model suggest that there is a possibility these earthquakes were induced by hydraulic fracturing."

Remember this next time any Republican tells you how hard they work

2011-11-07T12:46:00.001-04:00

Mon Nov 07, 2011 at 08:01 AM PST

John Boehner defends his leadership of Congress: 'My job is to make it work. And it is working.'

by Jed Lewison

It was a close call for John Boehner when Occupy Wall Street came up on
ABC's This Week, but he managed to avoid bawling.

Apparently not doing a single damn thing to create a job while reaffirming that the national motto is "In God We Trust" qualifies as doing a great job to John Boehner:

President Barack Obama has been urging Congress lately to get to work on helping the economy, most recently calling out Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and mocking the House for voting on approval of the phrase "In God We Trust."
According to the speaker, though, Congress is operating accordingly.

"Listen, the founders gave us a committee of 535 people," Boehner said in an interview aired Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "Frankly, it was designed not to work. My job is to make it work. And it is working."

Yeah, it's working. It's working real hard. And next year it'll be working even harder:

This year Cooperstown. Next year Canton.

Talk about shallow thinking!

2011-11-05T10:26:00.001-04:00

We have another winner in the "I can't see past ignorant Fox News/Republican Scare Propaganda."

The letter to the editor is filled with so many inaccuracies, it's difficult to determine where to start.

Lenders will always lend money to people regardless of credit as long as the Government backs up the shoddy loans. Business has defaulted on trillions in loans the last 8 years yet the banks that got the bailout money still loan money to those failed businesses. Pay attention to what's going on in the financial world, Richard.

It would seem that Richard has no qualms about putting the burden of the bailout to unscrupulous banks and Wall Street on the backs of the people but then complains that giving students a chance to gain employment without having to go into debt that even Richard can't fathom. And what about the atrocious pay back rates these students must endure, Richard? Business gets 1% while students pay upwards of 5 to 8%! Seems fair to you to take gross profit from the students and in most cases the parents who must foot the bill. Really short sighted there, eh, hoser?

And pray tell, Richard, where are all the jobs these indentured college grads are to get? Huh? Your friends on the Right have no plan for jobs. Laws benefiting business only, created by three Republican controlled Congresses since 1992 and signed by one Crazy Republican and two center-right democrats have allowed business to export American jobs while gutting American Production (however, business still gets their money when sweat shops in Asia pay pennies per hour for products sent to America that are priced as though sold at Neimann-Marcus!)

Tax breaks for the wealthy and businesses have not produced jobs since Bush created the Tax Cuts in 2001 and 2003. Rather, businesses have pocketed the money or bought out competition. Look no farther than PNC as one fine example of greed. Please provide examples to your idiocy.

Do you actually read what you write? Bush and Obama have given everything to Wall Street and the Banks that they've wanted and more while we're paying for it already and you're bitching about giving something to an increasing number of jobless AMERICANS that would help pay (through taxes) for your roads, health care, retirement and other "Socialist" programs.

No, Mr. Krauland, if that IS your name. I imagine you are well enough off to not worry about where your next meal is coming from. Or whether you'll have enough money for retirement. Or maybe you didn't lose money when Bush and business created the recession. So you probably have no concept of what it's like to struggle. However if you think you do, you must have forgotten what it was like to have little or not enough to get by. So sad!

When you complain about the massive free money you and I are giving businesses that don't give a damn about the American Worker THEN and only then can you complain about forgiving student loans.

Here's the moronic letter, folks!

No student loan forgiveness

Saturday, November 5, 201

President Obama and the Occupy Wall Street group both talk about forgiveness for all student loans. This is a great example of shallow thinking.

If all students loans are not repaid, then guess what? No one will ever lend money to a student again!

Without student loans, how many people will be able to afford an education in the future? How many professors will lose their jobs for lack of students? How will our high-tech economy flourish without well-educated employees?

Everything the president is proposing is equally shortsighted and foolish. He wants to give something away and the rest of the world can pay for it.

I wonder how many politicians will back these damaging ideas. Hopefully, America is still a good enough country to reject this.

Richard J. Krauland

O'Hara

Another misinformed letter from Kathleen Bollinger of Fawn

2011-11-03T14:45:00.001-04:00

Following this reply is a letter to the editor of the VND by Kathleen Bollinger of Fawn. It's enlightening that certain letters agreeing with the views of the VND and its Liberal hating editor can be published but a Progressive rebuttle to an asinine post will never be published. For those of you who complain about a "liberal media", please give me an example.

*******************

It's both hard and sad to read letters to the editor written by people who persist in listening to only one side of anything. When you take something you hear on television or radio or read in one newspaper as fact, you can't offer any credible comment or even opinion unless you can present facts to back you up. You may be "entitled" to your own opinion, but not to your own facts.

Take for example the recent letter by Fawn's Kathleen Bollinger. Here are some statements she makes that come from only one source, Right Wing Fox Broadcasts.

"The are many reasons Social Security is in trouble now. Congress raided Social Security funds for other entitlements and left only IOUs."

Various Congresses have indeed raided Social Security but not to provide "entitlements" as Ms. Bollinger erroneously states. Money "borrowed from Social Security has been used for defense, national disasters and subsidies for Corporate America.

"Illegal immigrants and dead people fraudulently collect Social Security checks."

I'm not sure how dead people fraudulently (or even legally) collect Social Security Checks. Facts Ms. Bollinger? We'll wait.

"Raising the amount of taxable income for Social Security is just another way to increase taxes on the rich. People with class envy love this idea."

Ms. Bollinger fails to note that once she or anyone earns(?) more than $106,000 per year, she and/or they no longer have to pay any more Social Security Tax. BUT, they are "entitled", her words, to receive Social Security that others work for and have to pay into even though they pay no more tax. Class envy? Yes! That is class envy, and rightly so. And unfair. If you don't know why it's ok to have additional money free and clear to use as you wish while others must provide for your "entitlement", you have no idea of that which you speak.

"Social Security was meant to supplement a worker's savings. Some workers sacrificed and did save; many didn't."

Evidently Ms. Bollinger didn't lose any of her retirement "savings" when the Conservative Created Recession of 2008 occurred; when most Americans with 401Ks and pensions and investments lost just about everything they "saved" for. Where is the supplement for those hard working Americans Ms. Bollinger and who should have to pay for their losses?

"Social Security is going bankrupt? I feel for recipients, but we can't afford to continue. I would like my daughter to get some Social Security too."

This is perhaps the most egregious exaggeration and lie being fostered by the Right and either totally uninformed or intentionally misleading people like Ms. Bollinger. At today's present rate with no adjustments, Social Security is solvent until 2037 and then, if even nothing is done, payouts would be decreased by 22%. It isn't bankrupt. Contact the CBO. It's non partisan and will show you the facts.

But to correct the situation the solution is so simple people like Ms. Bollinger can't or don't want to see it. All that's needed is to eliminate the ceiling earnings level on which Social Security is taxed. Doing this means those who earn over $106,000 per year will not have their taxes raised, contrary to Ms. Bollinger's incorrect assumption, but will realistically start paying their fair share just as the rest of us would. And before Ms. Bollinger complains about fairness, she needs to remember that it was her hero, Reagan, who increased the taxable limit on Social Security in 1983 then preventing a deficit in the fund.

As for your wishes for your daughter, I would suggest she starts saving right now. Of course that means she'll have to lead a more austere life and miss out on many things she may feel "entitled" to. And if there's another financial collapse in the future and she loses her savings and pension and Social Security, then I'm sure someone will berate her for being foolish in her youth for not being more frugal and making better, safer plans for her future.

"What happens when the government runs out of money?"

Why, Ms. Bollinger. You know as well as the rest of us what the government will do. They will do what you and I would do, take out a loan, probably from business or a foreign country. And as long as the government doesn't squander the loan by bailing out businesses who enrich their CEOs with hundreds of millions of your daughter's tax dollars, America will pay that loan back.

I never saw one letter from Ms. Bollinger complaining about the Bush/Cheney 2.5 trillion dollar (with interest) bailout to business in 2008. I never saw one letter from Ms. Bollinger when Bush/Cheney lied us into two wars that increased the deficit from 2 trillion to 10 trillion dollars.

And now, as per her letter, Ms. Bollinger wants seniors and the poor to sacrifice so the wealthy don't have to pay their fair share. Class envy? Or Middle and low class distain, Ms. Bollinger?

Try changing the channel once in a while Ms. Bollinger. Try to get information from sources other than Fox, Redneck States Blog, Ann Coulter or any Republican.

Social Security and Ponzi

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Why do we usually give 50 million retirees an annual COLA allowance when Social Security is going bankrupt?

Charles Ponzi, a scam artist in the 1920s, started a phony investment company. He collected cash from investors and paid them profits from the money of new investors. He finally ran out of new investors and the scheme collapsed. The newest investors lost everything.

Now substitute some words. Replace "Charles Ponzi" with "the federal government," "phony investment company" with "Social Security" and "investors" with "workers" (first reference) and "retirees" (second reference).

Social Security is a Ponzi scheme.

The are many reasons Social Security is in trouble now. Congress raided Social Security funds for other entitlements and left only IOUs.

Illegal immigrants and dead people fraudulently collect Social Security checks.

Social Security was meant to supplement a worker's savings. Some workers sacrificed and did save; many didn't.

When the program started, few workers lived to age 65. Retirees live much longer today. That means many more years of getting current workers' money.

Why do we usually give 50 million retirees an annual COLA allowance when Social Security is going bankrupt? I feel for recipients, but we can't afford to continue. I would like my daughter to get some Social Security too.

Raising the amount of taxable income for Social Security is just another way to increase taxes on the rich. People with class envy love this idea.

Charles Ponzi would be proud. The federal government is running a legal, immoral Ponzi scheme. What happens when the government runs out of money?

Kathleen Bollinger

Fawn

They want to tax Social Security but not the wealthy!

2011-11-02T00:14:00.001-04:00

Supercommittee of the One Percent Won't Even Think of Taxing Wall Street

Dean Baker

Taxes | Wall Street

by Dean Baker | November 1, 2011 - 8:53am

If anyone still questioned who owns Washington, the Congressional supercommittee charged with reducing projected deficits by $1.2 trillion seems determined to end any doubts. According to press accounts, both the Republicans and Democrats on the committee support a plan to reduce average Social Security benefits by 3 percent.

While whacking our parents and grandparents with a big cut in Social Security benefits apparently draws bipartisan support, the supercommittee will not even score a plan to tax Wall Street financial speculation. No committee member from either party is prepared to make a simple request to the Joint Tax Committee of Congress that would allow a speculation tax to be one of the items considered in the mix.

It's hard to know which part of this picture is worse. The plan to cut Social Security benefits at a time when seniors are more dependent than ever on them is incredibly pernicious. The people who would see their benefits cuts under this proposal paid for their benefits contributing to Social Security over their entire working career.

Most retirees have little other than Social Security to support them in their retirement. In large part, this is due to the economic mismanagement of the supercommittee types. If they or their friends, like former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan, actually had been doing their jobs, we would not have had the huge housing bubble that wrecked the economy. The collapse of this bubble caused most of the wealth that retirees and near retirees had accumulated in their home to disappear, leaving them with nothing other than Social Security to sustain them in retirement. Now, they want to cut Social Security as well.

This particular cut is especially pernicious since it will hit the oldest and poorest beneficiaries hardest. A person who is in their 90s and has been getting benefits for 30 years would see a reduction in benefits of close to 9 percent under the new cost-of-living adjustment formula apparently supported by members of the committee.

The benefit cut is being justified by claiming that the current cost-of-living adjustment exceeds the true rate of inflation. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics index that measures the cost of living of the elderly indicates that the current adjustment understates the rate of inflation experienced by retirees. There should be no doubt, this is a proposal for cutting Social Security benefits; it has nothing to do with making the cost-of-living adjustments accurate.

While the supercommittee has plenty of time to think of ways to make life more miserable for seniors, it won't even countenance the idea of taxing Wall Street speculation. In spite of the repeated pledges that everything is on the table, taxing Wall Street speculation is absolutely off the table.

In order for a tax bill to be considered by Congress, it must be scored by the Joint Tax Committee (JTC). While many members, including some very senior members from both houses, have requested a score from the JTC of a bill taxing financial speculation, the supercommittee has the JTC completely tied up meeting its requests. By refusing to include a financial speculation tax (FST) in its scoring request, the supercommittee is preventing this idea from even being included in the discussion.

Given the role of Wall Street in both creating the conditions for the crash and prospering at the expense of the other 99 percent, it might seem reasonable to include a tax on speculation in the mix of items to consider. This is not a radical proposal. The European Commission is currently on the edge of approving a FST. Its leading proponents are the conservative leaders of Germany and France.

It is easy to see that this could be a very substantial source of revenue. The United Kingdom already has a FST. It raises the equivalent of 0.2 to 0.3 percent of gross domestic product ($30-$40 billion a year in the United States), by just taxing stock. If options, futures, credit default swaps, and other derivative instruments were also taxed, it is easy to believe that we could raise three to four times as much money in the United States.

But the supercommittee doesn't want to think about a proposal that would impose serious costs on Wall Street. It is more interested in taking away Social Security and Medicare benefits from the old and disabled.

This contempt for the 99 percent coupled with protection for the 1 percent is the reason Congress has an approval rating of 9 percent. When both parties in Congress work against the interest of the overwhelming majority in order to protect a tiny elite, it is not surprising that most of the country would return the contempt.

republican bullshit 101

2011-11-01T13:12:00.001-04:00

Maybe mom and dad can pay for your college out of THEIR pockets?

November 01, 2011 09:00 AM

Ron Paul Tries To Justify His Desire To End Federally Backed Student Loans

31 comments

By John Amato

I am no fan of Ron Paul's libertarian beliefs. There are some components to his ideas that align with liberals such as civil liberties and ending unjust wars, but if young people who recently jumped on his boat realized what his economic policies are outside of attacking the Fed, anti-Iraq/Afghan war and phrases like "economic liberty" and "freedom," they would drop him like a hot potato.

Candy Crowley asks him to explain his beliefs that federal student loans should not exist to the millions of college students that depend on them.

They are so 1965.

CROWLEY: One of the things that you have proposed there have been some controversy about is to begin to phase out, as you explain it, federal student loans to folks who want to go to college, federally backed student loans, that you want to phase out over time. At some point then you would have people who really don't qualify for private loans, who couldn't walk into a bank and say my son needs to go to college and I need a loan. They simply won't qualify. Are there just some people who won't be able to go to college that want to in a Paul administration?

PAUL: No, I don't think so. Anybody who's ambitious enough will get to go to college. The problem is college costs to much. And with the good intentions of giving people houses at discount, you know, it ends up with a house bubble and the people who are supposed to be helped lose their house, same way with the education. The attempt to help people in education, all you do is you don't get better education, you end up actually pushing the price of education up. So we've delivered now hundreds of thousands of students graduating with a trillion dollars worth of debt? And no jobs? So it is a totally failed policy.

Only a generation ago we didn't have government programs and people worked their way through college. And I was able to get through medical school and college. But it wasn't so expensive. So it's the inflation, the problems with the government. As soon as the government gets involved for good intentions, there's always unintended consequences and almost inevitably it back fires.

And besides, let's say it did sort of work -- and it does work for some people. Some people get an education at the expense of others. But why should people who are laborers who never get to go to college, why should they be taxed to send some of us through college? So it not even a fair system when it works.

But obviously it doesn't work. And that's why it is coming to an end. And now they have to talk about, well, we're going to have to bail out everybody, bail out housing and now bail out the student loans. But that's not the answer. The answer is looking toward the cause and the cause is spending, debt, printing money, inflation, too much government, loss of confidence in the free market, loss of confidence in liberty is what it is. And where is the responsibility? The responsibility is on the individual and family to take care of their needs, not federal bureaucracy. It just doesn't work.

CROWLEY: But would you admit that there are people who need federal help, be it an education or be it in housing, or food stamps, I mean that kind of thing.

PAUL: Yeah, there's always some needs. The market isn't perfect. But instead of having a trillion dollars worth of debt in a medical care system that's totally broke down, you would always have some needs.
But that was in existence before 1965 but there was nobody out in the streets without medical care, nobody out in the streets that -- there were more people under bridges now than there were back then.

And also, there were loans. People do loan. But even if they have difficulty, you know, sometimes it takes people six years to go through college and sometimes it takes people four years. But back then, there were jobs available. The whole thing was the cost was so much lower.

So, yes, it will not be perfect but what we have now is this catastrophic mistake where people have a pseudo education and no jobs and all debt. I mean we've indentured them for a long, long time to come. So we have to challenge the status quo on how we run our economy and run this country.

There were many more union jobs back in 1965 so I'd like that, but that's something he probably didn't think about. African Americans needed the Civil Rights Act passed as a beginning to start being treated like normal people, but he is against that along with the Disabilities Act. By the way, how does he know how many people were living under bridges back in those days? Let me ask Ron Paul a simply question: Does he know how much a single college text book costs for one class? How about as much as $400. if you're in your late teens and early twenties, how long would it take you to be able to afford that text book? Oh, maybe Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich's charitable supporters would just supply as many books as are needed for every student. Hey, I'm sure they'll pick up Newt's next Tiffany's bill at least. My bad.

More lies about Social security

2011-10-31T14:04:00.001-04:00

October 31, 2011 11:00 AM

Rich Eskow: It's Time To Accept The Fact That The Post Is No Longer A Reputable Newspaper

0 comments

By Susie Madrak

The Washington Post ran a startling story on their front page yesterday that would scare the crap out of most people -- if you didn't already understand how Social Security actually works, and that the Village elites will say just about anything to destroy it under the guise of "saving" it. Rich Eskow did a great job pulling it apart in this scathing HuffPost piece (you should go read it all):

If we had the space we'd deconstruct the entire piece. Instead we'll use a selected sample, beginning with the first line:

" Last year, as a debate over the runaway national debt gathered steam in Washington, Social Security passed a treacherous milestone. It went "cash negative."

Holy cow, that's a lot of deception in one sentence. First, the sentence conflates the national debt with Social Security. But Social Security is expressly forbidden by law from contributing to the debt! It must be entirely self-sustaining. So why connect the two in one sentence?

And that "treacherous milestone" isn't not treacherous at all. The plan's huge surplus, currently $2.6 trillion, was amassed because planners know that baby boomers would retire someday. That supposedly "treacherous" switch to "cash negative" has been anticipated for decades.

"Now, Social Security is sucking money out of the Treasury. This year, it will add a projected $46 billion to the nation's budget problems, according to projections by system trustees."

No. Social Security is entirely self-funded. This is a falsehood. And note the use of the word "sucking."

"Replacing cash lost to a one-year payroll tax holiday will require another $105 billion."

The President and Congress agreed to use the payroll taxes that fund Social Security as the mechanism for a tax break. That was a bad idea, in my opinion, precisely because it opened the program up to this kind of deception. But it's misleading at best to complain that this is adding to the nation's budget woes.

"Lawmakers in both parties are ducking the issue, wary of agitating older voters and their advocates in Washington, who have long targeted politicians who try to tamper with federal retirement benefits."

The word "ducking" is straight out of the Pete Peterson playbook. If you're not willing to back unnecessary cuts to Social Security to please billionaire political patrons like Peterson, you're somehow a cowardly politician.

Another Peterson trick is to ignore disabled recipients of Social Security and focus on the elderly, painting them as demanding, selfish, and cruel for expecting the benefits they'd paid for all their working lives. (Remember Alan Simpson's "greedy geezers" remark?) In Montgomery's case, these aggressive oldsters are "agitated" and have a practice of "targeting politicians" who cross them.

"In his February budget request, Obama ignored the Social Security blueprint put forth by his own bipartisan panel on debt reduction."

Get it? He didn't reject it; he ignored it. Coward. (Ed. note: The bi-partisan panel didn't agree on anything. What was released was the co-chairmen's report.)

"Social Security is hardly the biggest drain on the budget."

That's how one makes oneself reasonable, while at the same time reinforcing the lie. Social Security doesn't drain the budget at all.

"Many Democrats have largely chosen to ignore the shortfall ..."

See Obama, above.

"Last week, Reid softened his stand, backing a ... change in the Social Security inflation index ... "

Modest? Dean Baker can clear that one up for you. (He also explains the sleight of hand that's used by throwing Medicare into the equation.)

"Even that modest change to Social Security is drawing fire, however, from a powerful network of organizations representing the elderly, unionized workers and traditional liberals."

The reporter marginalizes groups working to protect Social Security as "traditional liberals," which in DC is like calling them "flat-earthers." Yet polls prove this is not a "traditional liberal" position: 75% of Republicans and 76% of Tea Party members oppose cutting Social Security benefits to balance the budget.

From C&L

2011-10-31T14:02:00.001-04:00

October 31, 2011 10:00 AM

What if the U.S were divided by income?

By Diane Sweet

Crossposted from Occupy America

What would the United States look like if it were divided according to wealth? The Congressional Budget Office confirms that the top one percent has tripled its income since 1979, while the upper middle class has increased its wealth much more modestly, and the rest of the country has seen only a small gain.

[Photo via Flickr]

Yes, that's the majority of us there in that little strip along the bottom of the map. And remember, there are a whole lot more of us in that little strip than there are in the top portions.

New Blog!

2011-10-26T12:32:00.002-04:00

This is to inform all of you that a new blog has been set up by some local liberals for the public to express progressive view points and comments to counter the Conservative Republican lies and distortions we are subject to from the VND, Fox Noise, Cable Television, Right Wing Hate Radio (104.7 FM and even KDKA Radio) and the Main Stream Media in general.

It is a chance for liberals and progressives to voice their opinions on political matters whether they are national, state, or local...and that includes local communities and all school boards.

Here is the link:

Liberaltymes

http://liberaltymes.blogspot.com

Watch these in full screen...(they look better!)

2011-09-19T09:17:00.000-04:00

It is to laugh...

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...and cry!

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2011-09-18T09:27:00.002-04:00

From Universe Today via

Bad Astronomy

The earth in a minute. 600 pictures by James Drake strung together to form a movie of the International Space Station circling the globe. View it at your highest resolution.

It always amazes me that the first thing the "morans" on earth complain about when money is tight is "we're wasting money in space when people on earth are starving or have no homes or no education" yet not once do I hear from these concerned humans that "if we weren't killing brown and yellow and red and black people, those on earth would HAVE food and homes and education!"

What a Wonderful World!

Kind of a shame we can't take some Congress Fools up there, and let them experience this...from outside the station! (EV Suits optional!)

More letters from the Right

2011-09-03T10:31:00.001-04:00

Bu...bu...but my remote's lost an...an...I don't know what to do!

This is what happens when adults(?) lose the ability to remember how to change TV Channels or to look for news from more than one source.

It also shows that P.T. Barnum was a right.

I present you with:

Another local graduate of the Fox News Vocational Rehab School of Journalistic Propaganda.

Why pay to study current events in today's "liberal colleges" when you can learn all you really need for free in just 24 hours sitting comfortably in front of your TV, on YOUR OWN COUCH?

Get the REAL story! Fox News!

IQ test for Congress

Saturday, September 3, 2011

I believe real unemployment is 20 percent or more. The national debt is over $14 trillion and spiraling upward. Programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are heading toward insolvency. Given these circumstances, I would think our leaders in the U.S. Congress would focus all of their efforts on resolving these major issues.

Instead, Democrat members of Congress like Maxine Waters, John Kerry, Jesse Jackson Jr., Nancy Pelosi, Diane Feinstein and Andre Carson spend their time attacking the tea party and Fox News. Why, rather than solving America's problems, do they spew vile insults, fuel class warfare and make incendiary accusations of racism?

The answer is that they spent the last six years implementing failed policies and realize that they have no accomplishments to offer in the 2012 election. The only cards they have left to play is to avoid the issues and focus on smearing their opponents. This is a despicable tactic at any time, but especially now, when so many Americans are being hurt by the prolonged poor economy.

The recent asinine statements from the aforementioned Congress members make a good case for instituting some type of IQ test to qualify candidates for Congress.

Michael G. Bitterice

Freeport

Never gonna happen here!

2011-08-29T17:22:00.001-04:00

Kind of a shame we have such greedy teachers in this district. Teachers who don't care about the community or even their peers...WAIT!

Oh, that's right. nearly half of them live in other districts and pay lower taxes, so they're keeping even more of Highland Taxpayer's Money!

Greedy bastards!

School superintendent gives up $800k in pay

Source: Yahoo/AP

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Some people give back to their community. Then there's Fresno County
School Superintendent Larry Powell, who's really giving back. As in $800,000 — what would
have been his compensation for the next three years.

Until his term expires in 2015, Powell will run 325 schools and 35 school districts with
195,000 students, all for less than a starting California teacher earns.

"How much do we need to keep accumulating?" asks Powell, 63. "There's no reason for me to
keep stockpiling money."

Powell's generosity is more than just a gesture in a region with some of the nation's
highest rates of unemployment. As he prepares for retirement, he wants to ensure that his
pet projects survive California budget cuts. And the man who started his career as a high
school civics teacher, who has made anti-bullying his mission, hopes his act of generosity
will help restore faith in the government he once taught students to respect.

Stuff from the "Liberal Media"

2011-08-22T09:16:00.001-04:00

While newspapers seem to be going the way of the Iron Horse, many remaining are owned by extreme right wingers. Such is the case with the epidemic of Graduate Readers and Viewers of Fox News writing letters to the editor of the Pittsburgh Based Tribune- Review. The “Trib” as it’s unaffectionately known is the extreme right wing rag owned by the Scaifes. (Tribune - definition from dictionary.com is:a person who upholds or defends the rights of the people.) Try not to laugh, you may be reported!

They own a number of newspapers in the Southwestern portion of Pennsylvania having bought out most of the Gannett Papers in the early 90s. Gannett, at least around here was reasonably neutral to left leaning, publishing editorial content from both sides of the aisle. That changed during the great purge of the 90s when Republicans decided to buy everything they could to try their hand at brainwashing the public.

This area used to be quite heavily Democratic but thanks to the propaganda the Scaife’s papers have spewed over the last 20 years, that is changing, and not for the good.

When only one view is offered in whatever media is available, truth suffers. (Case in point: Right Wing Talk Radio, primarily AM, over the last 20 years by the likes of Limbaugh and Company aimed primarily at the poorly informed elderly and not too concerned, no too bright youth.)

Here are some recent letters to the editor that the mindless automaton editor of one local paper makes sure gets VERY slanted Right Wing coverage.

These writers, for the most part, are currently enrolled or recent grads of the Fox News College of Propaganda.

However, not all letters are from right wingers. One or two are published every couple of months to try to make the rest of the radical right believe just how fair and balanced they are.

I don’t know how many of you have to read this kind of tripe in your papers. I’m especially fond of the recurring “liberal media” theme these less than grade school educated Fox Viewers continually exhibit.

Enjoy…if you can. This is the future of America.

Reliving history

Monday, August 22, 2011
Both sides of the political aisle have rewritten history. The Democrats turned FDR from the flawed power-hungry man he was into a god that pulled our country out of the Great Depression. What a pile of rubbish! Obama will probably use a few of FDR's tricks next year.
The Great Depression started in 1929 under Republican Herbert Hoover. During the election of 1932. FDR stated he would end the Depression. He won. The Depression hung on. In the beginning of 1936, a presidential election year, the economy seemed to improve. There were more jobs and money around. Things were looking better. FDR was re-elected.
All FDR had done was greatly increase government-created jobs in 1936. In 1937, he slashed government spending to pre-1936 levels and the economy collapsed into an even deeper depression.
Also, he directed most of the increased spending toward not solidly Democrat-controlled states. He was attempting to buy votes. It worked.
He did the same thing in the 1940 presidential election. It worked again. Some voters never learn.
In 2009, President Obama needed the stimulus package immediately to save our country from ruin. He had "shovel ready" jobs lined up. Most people do not realize that not all of that money has been spent yet.
2012 is a presidential election year. I predict that the held-back stimulus funds will be used to temporarily bolster the economy next year. Of course, the funds will truly be spent then and the economy will slump again in 2013. But if Obama gets re-elected, Democrats will consider it money well spent.

Kathleen Bollinger
Fawn Township

Can't wait for 2012

President Obama is using a taxpayer-funded, million-dollar bus to campaign for his 2012 re-election.
The audience may change but his message remains the same: higher taxes for all who pay taxes.
In the 2 1/2 years that Obama has been in office, our unemployment rate has remained above 9 percent, the housing market has tanked, the stock market is at new lows and our nation's credit rating has just been downgraded. Obama's excuse for his lack of leadership: former President Bush, the House of Representatives and, recently, the Tea Party. This president takes responsibility for nothing. It's always someone else's fault. Thank God, we only have another year and a half to put up with his nonsense.
When President Obama's party had complete control of Congress for the first two years of his term, what did he accomplished except passing an unpopular health care bill that may be unconstitutional? Where are all the jobs that his stimulus spending was suppose to create? The only beneficiaries have been teacher pension plans and public service unions.
Since President Obama took office, we have seen gasoline prices rise to $4 a gallon. We have seen him bypass Congress and appoint "czars" to fill critical positions. The president does this while the liberal news media looks the other way and pretends that this is normal operating procedure. Where are the cries of "It's the economy, stupid" that the elder President Bush endured? President Obama has taught Americans a valuable lesson: don't elect a community organizer to do a president's job.
Rudy Gagliardi

Tea party folks

Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The tea party came about in response to the out-of-control, bloated, oversized government. But according to recent comments from Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and former Democrat presidential adviser David Axelrod, the tea party people are fundamentalist, gun-totin' red-neck bigots — just a bunch of NASCAR-lovin' retards.
Actually, the tea party folks are people like you and me who are actually appalled at the size of our debt and appalled that our government is growing faster than our economy.
People like Kerry and Axelrod would have you believe the tea party folks are truly radical people with radical ideas. You know, radicals who believe in less government, less spending, fewer taxes and less regulation -- less everything from our supersized government. These are not progressive ideas. FDR was one of our first presidents to pass off big government and big spending as progressive -- code language for a more-caring, more-enlightened government.
But thanks to these tea party types, we are in the beginning stages at dismantling progressive thought and big government.
Many think we do not have much time to do this and they're right. We have exactly 16 months.

George Wesolosky
Freeport

If anyone can make sense of this next one, I'd really appreciate your perspective. A number of people have read this and are totally flummoxed by the less than obvious perception and depth of the author. However, this letter typifies the education of the Right Winger and Fox Viewer.

Are you a liberal?

Regarding the recent letters trying to define "liberal" and "conservative," and borrowing from comedian Jeff Foxworthy, here are a few of my observations:
• If you think it's OK to pick and choose which clauses in our Constitution are actually binding, you might be a liberal.
• If you think there actually is a "separation of church and state" clause in the Constitution and that religious people are our greatest threat, you might be a liberal.
• If you think pregnancy is a disease and should be controlled by government funding of birth control and abortion, or if you think parents should be notified if their teenage daughter wants her ears pierced but not if she wants an abortion, you might be a liberal.
• If you think people should go to work and submit to random drug testing so money can be taken away from them and given to people who don't go to work and don't have to submit to any drug testing, you might be a liberal.
• If you think the government has its own stash of money and it doesn't have to take it away from someone else to give it to you, you might be a liberal.
• If you are among those who want to change the traditional Judeo-Christian face and values of this country, but think it's the rest of the country that is radical, you might be a liberal.

Bob McBride
West Deer

And here is the token left wing letter of the last couple of months.

Tea party moms

Sunday, August 21, 2011
If you've ever had a child play a team sport, then you know this soccer mom: the "pitbull with lipstick."
She's the one screaming at the coach because her kid can't just play, but has to be the star -- the kid who has to take center stage despite not knowing the game's fundamentals or rules of sportsmanship.
This soccer mom has to get her way and doesn't care if she's the cause and effect of the loss. She walks away swearing that if everyone had just listened to her, the team would have won.
Come to think of it, terrible soccer moms are just like the tea party. Both have the same lack of honor — just self-interest — and the "How do I win?" mentality.
Our representatives take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution and do what is right for the country and the people, not just themselves and a few cronies.
Take a moment and think. Then get out and vote. It counts.

Everett Ream
Tarentum

2011-08-03T16:38:00.002-04:00

The same stupid people who put Wantland, Heasley and Wisner on the Highlands School Board are the very same ones who can't think for themselves to get rid of the POS Altmire and his master, Barry as they give everything you have and will have to the Corporations of America.

If you can't see that, you deserve the suffering that WILL come thanks to The Republicans, Democrats, President and Corporations.

Listen to this piece. I know it's 22 minutes long but you may learn something. And if any of you disagrees with this piece or me, leave a comment but tell me why you disagree...not just because Fox says something or the lame-ass media you so believe in tells you something.

Do yourself a favor and look for the facts elsewhere. If you don't, you're no better than the millions who followed the Germans in the 30s.

Very interesting at around the 8:25 portion!
But I'm sure it will fall on deaf-e-cate full ears.

"la-la-la-la...I can't hear you!", said the O-pologist!

Space Cadett Tommy Corbett can do no wrong - judging by stories ignored by the VND

2011-07-01T08:59:00.003-04:00

From Crooks and Liars:

The GOP-dominated PA state house approved their new budget last night, and thanks to a lot of tricky last-minute bills, amendments and little public input, it looks like a right wing Christmas list -- with Gov. Tom "I'm Owned by The Gas Industry" Corbett as Santa Claus. About the only bright spot in this mess is that a last-minute push for school vouchers failed -- but Corbett says he'll bring it back in the next session. The other highlight is that the budget displaces many, many costs to the local municipalities under the guise of "preventing" tax increases:

When is the local piece of paper trash and it's brown-shirted managers going to vent their collective spleens at the Republican Governor (Tommy "Space Cadet" Corbett) and the Republican run legislature for their "late night" meetings to screw the public?

VND reporter Tommy Yerace has no problem covering the Highlands board Meetings so his masters can bitch about questionable procedures and "illegal" meetings. The ultra right wing partisans at the editorial part of the garbage dump that passes itself off as a newspaper don't have the balls to report or editorialize about the "secret meetings" Pa. Republican lawmakers have held to add shit to the budget that will help big business and hurt the people.

Come on, Dom. Get your head out of Richard's butt and at least pretend to be a journalist or whatever you think you are.

Let's see a front page report on those late night Republican meetings and while you're at it, kindly show the residents here, especially seniors, how cutting spending like the asinine Ryan Plan, when there's no money coming in to workers, will lower the budget deficit in Pa. or the U.S.?
Betcha can't do it!

These are the people you residents voted for - at work late at night so that you have no input into what they decide is best for you.

Are you voters really so stupid to believe that the person with the best ads, biggest lies and nicest haircut are the most qualified to run this state? Why don't you vote for Paris Hilton or Britney Spears? They are as qualified and maybe more so!

But you know better and now you're bitching because Tommy Corbett cutting education funds so that your local taxes will go up; so that the costs of everything you buy will go up rather than see a Republican tax the Marcellus Gas Drillers , who, by the way, in case you live under a rock and only watch network TV, the majority of Marcellus Drillers have been bought by Exxon/Mobil and other big oil companies! Guess what that's going to do to natural gas prices? Don't forget, now that the Marcellus shit is owned by big oil, they don't have to pay any tax on the Pa. gas (thanks to "No Tax for Big Business" Tommy) they get while being able to charge you outrageous prices! Nice deal...for them. Screwing for us. And you're ready to blame everyone but yourselves for not trying to learn all you can about the issues...probably because it may take up 20 minutes of your valuable Dancing with the Stars or Survivor time.

That's right. The majority of the GAS rights in Pa. now belong to Big Oil with their subsidies and tax breaks. And you bitch about the deficit and Social Security and Medicare?

Remember! YOU voted to allow these Republicans to screw you, so don't complain...
at all!

Yep, even our own Space Cadet...

2011-06-25T21:08:00.002-04:00

From AFLCIO.org:

8 Signs Your Governor Has a Koch Problem

Andy Richards on our Field Communications staff describes the eight signs to look for to see if your governor is hooked on the Kochs.

The addiction of governors across the country to the Koch brothers’ agenda seems to be growing stronger every day. Here are some warning signs your governor might have a Koch problem:

1. Are they planning on attending the upcoming Koch brothers invitation-only strategy session in ritzy Vail, Colorado?

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has already confirmed his attendance. Just because your governor hasn’t announced his or her attendance doesn’t mean he or she is not planning on going. The Koch brothers hold biannual seminars but like to keep their strategy sessions secret so they don’t out their followers. If you have the opportunity, ask them!

2. Did your governor support attacks on collective bargaining rights for public service workers?

The Koch brothers’ front group, Americans for Prosperity, pushed attacks on the collective bargaining rights of firefighters, teachers, nurses, police officers and other public service workers in Wisconsin and Ohio and other states. During the Wisconsin struggle, Gov. Scott Walker was recorded taking a call from a prank caller he thought was David Koch and openly discussed the assault on working families.

3. Is your governor pushing massive tax breaks that would benefit the Koch brothers and other corporate cronies?

The Koch brothers fought hard for the Bush tax cuts to continue in December but they also took their fight for tax breaks for the rich to their Koch-addicted governors. In Ohio, Gov. John Kasich taped a personal thank you video for Americans for Prosperity for the group’s work pushing a repeal of the estate tax, which would only benefit the rich in Ohio.

4. Was your governor working to destroy environmental standards that would pay for their Koch addiction?

The Koch brothers—who own stakes in companies that purchase oil, ethanol and toxic chemicals—have long advocated against environmental standards and regulations in order to enrich themselves. Now, they are using their connections to governors like Scott Walker, John Kasich and Michigan Gov. John Snyder to push through their agenda to destroy policies that keep our neighborhoods free of pollution and water safe to drink.

5. Is your governor pushing privatization of schemes that would benefit the Koch brothers?

As collateral to satisfy their Koch addiction, many governors are handing over public assets and services to companies the Koch brothers have a stake in. The Wisconsin budget repair bill included language that was a blatant handout to Koch Industries.

6. Has your governor been behind efforts to suppress the vote and disenfranchise voters?

In order to maintain their stranglehold over governors and other legislators, the Koch brothers and their front group American for Prosperity have worked to get bills passed that would disenfranchise millions of voters across the country. In North Carolina, Americans for Prosperity bused in people to support a voter ID bill.

7. Does your governor and state legislators operate in secrecy and change the rules of the game to push their agenda?

One of the egregious examples of the Koch brothers influence in silencing democracy and allowing governors to operate in secrecy is Michigan’s emergency manager law. This law allows Gov. Rick Snyder to appoint an emergency manager to rule over cities and void decisions elected officials have made in the past. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy, which is founded through contributions from the Koch brothers, has been advocating for an emergency manager law since 2005.

8. Does your governor have a debt to pay to the Koch brothers after accepting money from them in the last election?

Based on numbers from the National Institute on Money in State Politics, the Koch brothers gave more than $600,000 to candidates in 2010 alone.

2011-06-23T22:02:00.001-04:00

Tip o' the hat to Anna at
millsriverliberal

Our Space Cadet strikes again

2011-06-21T09:04:00.003-04:00

This guy is an idiot. He's bad for Pennsylvanians, especially for seniors and the young who absolutely NEED to be educated.
He has no concern for anyone other than business and the wealthy.

But the most interesting and ridiculous comment he's made is :
Bluntly, Corbett said education is not a must have but a nice-to-have.

What a piece of fecal matter this space cadet is. Of course, he got his education in a public school then had enough money to go to college so now it's time for him to deny others the RIGHT of a basic education...unless you want to pay a private business to give you what ever they consider an education. The man is morally despicable.

The Corbett Dilemma: Close Schools, Build Prisons
by dymeck

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett's new state budget is expected to be put into law by July 1, 2011. That is when the new fiscal year begins for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
In his budget comes steep cuts for education but also, Gov. Corbett is continuing the plans to build more prisons.
Hence, the Corbett Dilemma. Close schools and slash funding for education and build more prisons.

Governor Corbett is demanding that there be $1 billion cuts in education. Meanwhile, the Governor is continuing with plans (initiated under previous Governor Ed Rendell) to build three more State Correctional Institutions. The cumulative cost of these three state prisons is expected to be at least $600 million.

In January, the Pennsylvania State Auditor General Jack Wagner warned against using taxpayers dollars to build new prisons.
He said the prison population has increased from barely 8,000 inmates in 1980 to more than 51,000 now.
The average cost of keeping one prisoner locked up, meanwhile, has nearly tripled from $11,000 a year to $32,000.

There were expected to be four prisons built but one project was cancelled. Unfortunately, the majority of Pennsylvanian's find acquiring gainful employment hard to come by and the cancelling of this state-run prison construction is going to cost the area of Huntingdon County nearly 650 would-be jobs.

The Corbett Dilemma is transfixed on cutting costs yet by maintaining a judicial system set on keeping people incarcerated, defunding education, and still not allowing a competitive market for job creation (outside of the prison-industrial complex), Corbett is dead-set on refusing to introduce new taxes, increase new taxes, or tax the booming natural gas industry in Pennsylvania.

Never mind you that Gov. Corbett was a lawyer for the energy industry earlier in his career.
Corbett's budget introduces cuts to services that help the disabled and the elderly as well as cuts to K-12, early, and higher education, as well as a proposed deduction in the state workforce by at least 1,500 jobs.

Times are tough. When simultaneously discussing the cuts to education and the desire to not tax the natural gas industry, Corbett said his budget was about the "must have's and the nice-to-have's."

Bluntly, Corbett said education is not a must have but a nice-to-have. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth is in a $4 billion hole and taxing the exponentially booming natural gas industry is not a must have.

The Corbett Dilemma is a fierce one. This can't easily be solved but one way to help steer clear of continued problems financially in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is to cut costs across the board with the Department of Corrections, which runs the prisons. Second, those costs which could be cut could open up to maintain the current level of funding plus some for education. Meanwhile, even more revenue will be generated by lightly taxing the natural gas industry and keeping the money in the areas where natural gas drilling is occurring to stimulate local development for those communities.

No, Corbett does not see things this way. He is continuing to maintain the status quo with the big natural gas industry while continuing to hit the regular folks the hardest.

Unfortunately for Pennsylvanians, the Corbett Dilemma is going to hit everyone hard. If Gov. Corbett was not raised in such a wealthy family he may understand this, instead, his values are paid in full by the energy industry.

This is what you got for your vote...

2011-06-19T18:22:00.004-04:00

For those of you who don't know, Supreme Court Justice (Ultra, Radical Conservative Right Wing Republican) Clarence Thomas, who was once charged with sexual harassment, has NEVER uttered a word during any Supreme Court hearing! Nothing! Not once. Never said anything! Never cross examined any witness, lawyer or anyone! Never offered an opinion! Never asked a question of anyone who appeared before him! Never fulfilled all the duties of a Justice of the Supreme Court!

Is this what you want in a Justice?

Now we learn his wife runs a political organization for Republicans that deals with issues Justice Thomas rules on.

Imagine if our local JP's husband had any influence with any of her decisions concerning people brought before her? Imagine if he didn't like you and you were NOT guilty of something but she had to decide your fate. Do you think she would be fair?

But, in Thomas' case, iokifyaar (It's ok if you are a Republican!)
Oh yeah. It seems there's a little matter of some questionable funds he seems to have forgotten to report...and get rid of BEFORE he became a mute Justice! Imagine that? A Republican that broke the law!

Important information about Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid for Seniors.

2011-06-04T15:42:00.009-04:00

There has been a lot of confusing talk about Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and what will happen to them. Regardless of what you may hear from television, Social Security is NOT in any danger until 2037 and that's ONLY if nothing is done now. The only consequence will be a reduction in benefits in 2037 of 23%. Again, that's if nothing is done between now and 2022.

To alleviate this situation all that needs to be done is for the upper limit on Social Security Earnings to be raised from the $106,000 ceiling today to a reasonable figure, say $500,000.

That increase in SS tax will not affect in any way 99% of the seniors on Social Security, Medical or Medicaid today! It will only affect people making over $106,000 per year!!!

That means there will be more than enough in the trust fund until 2087. You can check out the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) [click that link] for more information. The CBO is totally a NON PARTISAN organization. They have no agenda for Republicans or Democrats, Libertarians or any other group.

As far as Medicare goes, there are some problems. But those problems, too, are correctable without losing any benefits regardless of what you hear on TV or even from Congressional Representatives.

The Ryan Bill WILL DESTROY Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid as you know them today. Ryan and the Republicans want to replace Medicare Coverage with vouchers. Vouchers may sound nice but the amount you will get from this bill is totally inadequate for the health care today's seniors require especially if something catastrophic happens to you! Worse, once your voucher is used up, EVERYTHING else you require in the form of medical aid will have to be paid for out of your own pocket! No more low cost checkups. No more discounts on prescription drugs. No more discounts for hospital visits.

If you slip and fall and break a hip and you voucher is done or not enough on it, you will have to pay for the entire hip operation. Same for any broken bones, sickness, accident or drugs you may need. You will pay for it all yourself!
You will have to pay cash up front and if you can't, you WON'T get any care - because you will have NO health insurance!

I've attached an article that quotes directly from the Republican's own FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on the Ryan Plan. It asks a simple question:

"Will the Ryan Plan reinstate the donut hole for prescription drugs for seniors?"

The answer is yes, but they never admit that.

In addition the Ryan Plan will eliminate coverage for pre-existing conditions. it will eliminate the free checkups that would come into effect in 2014 in addition to other coverage scheduled to take effect then. It will, in effect, take you back to the coverage you got in 1979 but at today's costs!

One last item. My colleague on this blog has commented a number of times about our representative, Jason Altmire. He is leaning toward accepting the Ryan Plan. As garion has stated many times, Altmire used to work for UPMC and the Ryan Plan, if passed, would put millions of extra dollars in UPMC's pockets. Those would be your dollars.

I urge you to call or write representative Altmire here:

Natrona Heights Office
2124 Freeport Road
Natrona Heights, PA 15065
724-226-1304

and tell him you don't want ANY CUTS of ANY KIND to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.

Lastly, you probably have never seen any kind of information carried in the Valley News Dispatch concerning what will happen if the Ryan Plan is enacted. The reason for this is because the Valley News Dispatch is owned by the Scaife's who are ardent, radical Republicans and as such want to this bill to pass so their businesses and friends will stand to gain tremendously from it.

I also imagine the Upper level employees at the Valley News Dispatch have a very nice insurance package paid for by the Scaife's and your subscriptions. That's another reason why they show no concern for others. It would appear they have theirs and don't seem to care about anyone else.

I'll try to post more information on how the Republican House of Congress and many Democrats who support Republican Policies are planning to cut your Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid beneifts. The excuse they are using is this DEFICIT.

THE DEFICIT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SOCIAL SECURITY - NOTHING!!

So when you hear ANY of them, even Altmire say that we need to cut Social Security to reduce the deficit, they're lying to you...and they know it!

If you have any questions, feel free to email me here at:

ourtownpix(at) yahoo(dot) com

replace the (at) with the @ symbol and the (dot) with the period or .

Read this article for a better understanding of some of what I was talking about and pass the information on to your friends. It may be a bit long but it concerns your money and more importantly, your health.

5/26/2011

The Quickest, Easiest Ad Against Republicans, Written by Republicans:
Oh, this is funny. Check this out from the House Budget Committee website's own FAQ page on the Paul Ryan budget, which is part of "Setting the Record Straight" on the Ryan Medicare plan. Read this whole thing, and see if you notice the punchline:

"Q: Does this budget reinstate the so-called Medicare 'donut hole'?

"A: This budget repeals the Democrats' health-care law, including provisions that increase prescription-drug prices for everyone. In fact, the CBO confirmed that the law’s new requirements will drive up health-care costs, at odds with claims made by its proponents. In a letter to Chairman Ryan last fall, CBO stated that '[The] increase in prices would make federal costs for Medicare’s drug benefit and the costs faced by some beneficiaries higher than they would be in the absence of those provisions,' and that 'the premiums of drug plans will increase along with the increase in net drug prices, so the premiums paid by beneficiaries will increase slightly.' Like the rest of this costly new entitlement, provisions that increase prescription-drug prices should be repealed.

Okay, to review: The question is (and, remember, this is Republicans asking what is a "Frequently-Asked Question") about whether or not the Ryan plan will reinstate the prescription drug "donut hole." That'd be the part of the Bush administration's Medicare prescription drug plan that forced senior citizens who reached $2840 in drug costs to cover the full amount for up to nearly $3000. That was changed by President Obama and the Democrats' recent health care reform law, with rebates and discounts built in, heading towards a full phase-out of the donut hole in 2020. Any change to the health care law would mean a change in the donut hole filling.

So it's a legitimate question, no? And what do Republicans answer?

Well, they don't. All they say is that they want to get rid of the health care reform law and put in their plan without actually addressing the question. They asked a "yes" or "no" question of themselves that they are refusing to answer. Which really means, "Yes. Yes, it does reinstate the donut hole. And we're not sorry about it. You like dog food, don't you, granny?"

Again, and this can't be emphasized enough: This is part of the GOP-run House Budget Committee's own website, under "Setting the Record Straight." This is not a Democratic talking point. This is not a marching order from Rachel Maddow. This is what House Republicans are saying about the plan.

So you guys have fun running on forcing the elderly to pay more for drugs again and not telling the truth about it.

How you look when you have the I.Q. of a house plant!

2011-06-03T12:14:00.002-04:00

I...uh...but...ok...whaaa???...Aarrrrggggh!

Even the second graders at Highlands are more knowledgeable about Paul Revere than this moron.

Whose the more foolish? The fool? Or the fool who follows the fool?

Mind-numbingly stupid!
The mini ice cube she uses for a brain has thawed and dribble out her ears.
A walking, talking ad for birth control.
The poster girl for Republican Education.

If ANY of you out there believe even one word of anything this moron tries to say about politics or how this country should be run, after hearing the facts that she knows NOTHING literally about ANYTHING, you are worse than she is, stupider than she is and should either check yourself and family into the nearest mental hospital or just end your miserable life.

Can ANYONE think of any person who ever existed stupider than this POS?

'nuff said!

2011-05-31T22:05:00.003-04:00

This is the Republican "truth" about the deficit, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Healthcare and JOBS!

I'll wait for ANYONE to dispute this.

Mr. Speaker, where are the jobs?

2011-05-27T08:05:00.000-04:00

From kos:

Via chrississippi, here's Eric Cantor at today's House Republican news conference:

We've been focused as House Republicans, uh, since day one on jobs and the economy.

Actually, Republicans have focused on trying to repeal health care, reading a partially edited version of the U.S. Constitution, defunding NPR, threatening federal default, restricting access to abortion, putting more guns on city streets, protecting tax subsidies for oil companies, dismantling Medicare, and the list goes on. And on. And on.

Meanwhile, everybody else in America is still waiting for Day One.

More Republican heartlessness...

2011-05-24T16:28:00.005-04:00

Hey Right Wingers. Is this what you stand for? Not to help your brothers in emergencies but instead to give your tax dollars to greedy Wall Street people who have scammed the country?

You know? You people who knowingly support the Republicans and their giveaways to the rich may be worse than the Banksters and CEOs and Oil Companies put together. You have no heart, no morality and certainly can't legitimately call yourselves Christians. Let's hear your excuses now for Republicans holding Emergency Funding FROM the victims of the tornadoes unless Congress cuts other spending. But give 4 billion that we don't have to the oil companies each year. That's just as bad as giving $10,000 of your local tax money earmarked for Highlands Education to a badly manged public library.

What a pathetic excuse for humans!

From kos:

Eric Cantor, yesterday, saying Congress will only approve emergency funding for tornado victims if the emergency aide is offset by spending cuts elsewhere:

“If there is support for a supplemental, it would be accompanied by support for having pay-fors to that supplemental,” Mr. Cantor, Virginia Republican, told reporters at the Capitol.

Eric Cantor, last year, saying it didn't matter that cutting taxes on the wealthy without "pay-fors" would increase the deficit:

GUTHRIE: I just was wondering if you had any dispute with the notion that it [extending Bush tax cuts for wealthy] does exacerbate the deficit picture?
CANTOR: Well, what I said in the beginning is, if you have less revenues coming in to the federal government, and more expenditures, what does that add up to? Certainly you are going to dig the hole deeper, but you also have to understand if the priority is to get people back to work, is to start growing this economy again, you don’t want to make it more expensive for job creators.

Yes, you don't want to make things more expensive for job creators, whoever they may be. But the people who just experienced a horrific natural disaster? They can go pound sand.

****************

Here's an oldie for the Tea Bag crowd. Hopefully, you'll understand it. If not, ask a 4th grader to explain it to you.

Sure am glad our cops don't act like this...yet.

2011-05-24T07:59:00.001-04:00

This was up a couple of days ago. There are stories the guy in the wheelchair was drinking or flipped off the cops or maybe he even said good morning to them. There was even a report that he "attacked" one of the 250 pound, steroidal SS. Does it really matter? It's kind of a shame there were only two Dark Shirts to take care of this obvious threat to their safety.

In their defense, I'm sure they didn't have time to call for back up or reinforcements to help them subdue this heinous perp since the situation was near riot conditions. If they don't get a commendation for this, it'll be a crime. Then these jackbooted, above the law types will be able to use any type of force to justify action like this.

With this kind of behavior nearly now the norm, these palace guards need to go. I imagine it won't be long before mandatory pictures of the current president on the walls of Polizeistation are replaced with the idolized image of Heinrich Himmler. He must be so proud to see the fruit of his ideals become the status quo.

I wonder if this makes the likes of Lee Greenwood "Proud to be an American?"

How about it Tea Bigots and all you righteous Right Wing "morans" (tea bagger spelling!)? What if this were a relative of yours? Go ahead and justify it.

The ignorance of the masses...

2011-05-21T14:21:00.002-04:00

Those of you who swallow the bull that we need to cut spending and not increase taxes to reduce the deficit are fools. How can you reduce the deficit if no new money is coming in because there's no money to be made?

The biggest culprit, BY A LONG MARGIN, is the Bush Tax Cuts (remember him? he's the one who started this, not Obama) for the wealthy. Anyone who makes less than $100,000 per year and supported those cuts is a complete ass. You got nothing from them and will get nothing...ever, from them. But it's not possible to tell that to people who are so blatantly ignorant of what our Congress is doing to them.

And just a reminder, Jason Altmire voted for extending the Bush Tax cuts so the deficit would climb exponentially. He also voted to give Big Oil (you know, the guys who you are bitching about the gas prices over) continued Government subsidies; over 4 BILLION DOLLARS a year. That's enough to pay for all the proposed cuts Space Cadet Tommy Corbett and all the other Republican Governor Terminators are trying to take from your kid's education. Imagine that! We wouldn't have this problem right now if greedy, business sucking sycophants like Altmire stood up to big business and looked out for the people instead. But he's against health care, lower gas prices and higher home mortgages for you and me regardless of how he spins it.

Next time a tea bagger or Republican or Fox Watching jerk tells you we need to rail in spending, ask them why it's ok to give 700 billion to the already wealthy but make the other 290 million Americans pay for it! Bet they have some Foxricated (Fox fabricated) answer for you. But whatever it is, it'll be a lie. Do your own research. Look up different stories on the web, in other newspapers than the local rag, and for goodness sake, change the channel from Fox and try to watch some other news. But don't limit yourself to CBS, ABC, or NBC. There are lots of other places to get REAL information about where your money goes. If you don't know where to find it, email me.

From Huffpo and the CBO (Congressional Budget office);

If the Bush-era tax cuts are renewed next year, that policy will by 2019 be the single largest contributor to the nation's public debt -- "the sum of annual budget deficits, minus annual surpluses" -- according to new analysis from the non-partisan Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

These tax breaks for the nation's top earners, combined with the cost of fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, will account for nearly half the public debt in 2019, measured as a percentage of economic output, the CBPP's analysis shows. Even the cost of the economic downturn, combined with the cost of the legislation passed to stem the damage, won't be as burdensome as the weight of the Bush-era tax cuts, the chart below suggests. See if you can find the debt associated with the Trouble Asset Relief Program and the rescue of Fannie and Freddie:

Tax cuts for the highest earners were renewed late last year, as part of a deal that extended tax breaks for middle earners and reauthorized unemployment insurance. In an April speech, President Barack Obama laid out a plan to reduce the nation's deficit and debt, suggesting that he would strive to make sure the Bush-era tax cuts expire naturally in 2012.

If tax cuts do expire as scheduled, that would win significant debt relief for the government, CBPP says:

[S]imply letting the Bush tax cuts expire on schedule (or paying for any portions that policymakers decide to extend) would stabilize the debt-to-GDP ratio for the next decade. While we'd have to do much more to keep the debt stable over the longer run, that would be a huge accomplishment.

The more things change...

2011-05-19T10:16:00.005-04:00

Highlands School Board Primary

My condolences to those new comers recently elected to the Highlands School Board. If anyone thinks the next 4 years will better than the last 4, I have some choice housing to sell you in Natrona...cheap!

First there’s the insanity that is our Space Cadet Governor Tommy Corbett and his gallant peanut gallery of Republican Legislative Sycophants. All of you room temperature I.Q. morons (or morans, as the Tea Party Bigots spell) out there who voted for this house plant – I don’t want to hear you complain about your child’s education – EVER! Not only that but no bitching about jobs, local taxes or favors. We’ll get to more of Tommy Corbett Space Cadet in the future.

Secondly, it’s a rather good thing the Salego Board renovated Grandview, eh hosers? I mean, we have all these whiners coming out of the woodwork (NOW!) to bitch about proposed restructuring of the elementary schools. It may be difficult but try to imagine if Drama Queen Karen and her hand-maiden No-No Wisner (along with Highlands bestest gourmet, Chez Heasley) got their way and stopped the renovation. Where exactly would you whiners put your children? Try to imagine how much more it would cost today (IF Highlands could indeed get the funding!). Now imagine closing Grandview, trying to find a place for the lower grades and think of how much Karen and Judy’s new school would cost. The current budget short fall would seem like manna from Heaven.

It’s bad enough that for years money was spent on really ludicrous things by some of the worst qualified boards and their members only to enjoy self gratification and admiration from their friends but where is the money going to come from these next 4 years? To pay for interest on a stadium or for the ridiculousness of giving a greedy teacher’s union free health care? Oh sorry, my bad. They do pay for their health care…a freakin’ $55 dollars per month! And the residents pay the other $1145! Now that’s what I call fair and balanced since most of us pay $300 to $1000+ per month. And don’t get me started on the 25% increase they’ll get for their poor retirement in 2014. Yep! You get to increase their retirement cash and benefits by 25%! Think about it…if you can.

The teacher’s contract will be up during the term of these new masochists. How will they respond to the real concerns of the community? How will they respond to the mega tearful crying of the teacher’s reps complaining how hard it is to teach kids today and how it’s the responsibility of the parents and all the teachers should have to do is show up, write some things on the blackboard or computer (thank you former board member), assign homework; all of which will entail 10 minutes of the classroom time – then spend the next 30 minutes teaching a test (NCLB) so the school can lie about grades, get money from the state and feds and make damn sure the teachers keep their jobs so they can teach more tests and ignore real education?

Third, they’re going to find out balancing a budget that had more pork in it than a Canned Hormel Ham or slab of raw bacon ain’t as easy as they thought it would be. After all, we absolutely MUST keep giving away money for items like supporting a badly managed Public Library while ignoring the School one, providing more free health care for teacher's making $50,000+ (add $12,000 in your tax money for their health insurance - that's $62,000 per year for you math impaired - and even the starting pay of around $35,000 is in reality $47,000 - How's that grab ya, darlin'?) per year or dealing with the ever growing nasty problem of Charter Schools. Much more on that later.

But a teaser here…did you know that the Charter Schools are PRIVATE (which is what Space Cadet Tommy and his Republican/Business Peanut Gallery really want)…and here’s the kick in the groin…they get your public tax money BUT YOU DON”T HAVE ANY SAY IN WHAT THEY CAN TEACH! How ‘bout that, folk? Basically there is NO standard for curricula at any Charter School. It’s up to the whim of the business who owns the Charter School. And there ain’t one damn thing you can do about it. One school might teach science while another creationism or their choice of religious instruction!

Don’t like it when you find out what they’re teaching your kid? Tough Shit! Your choice is limited to putting the kid in another Charter School or back into the public system. But you better hurry because Space Cadet Tommy and the Business/Republican Legislature are planning to eliminate public education so their friends can suck more of your money away.
What about the kid’s education? Who cares? They don’t. Just as long as they get your money.
Yeah, It’s time to get back into bitching about the apathy of the community and how they are getting screwed.

But there is one tiny positive to come out of this…We’re finally rid of three of the most ineffectual, incompetent wastes of time this district has ever had representing the residents. One for over 26 years. Another for at least 8. And one who did absolutely nothing for 4 years…kinda like what he did as AD. Oh, and I’ll have a lot more on their accomplishment later…if I or anyone else can name one they actually provided.
In the meantime, a little tribute to Judy, Karen and Billy.

A little more about the dangerers of Fracking.

2011-05-12T16:10:00.000-04:00

Once again, politics (Bush's oxymoronic "Clean Water Act") takes care of business and doesn't care about the consequences...as long as they get their money.

Free speech? Only for some.

2011-05-12T13:49:00.000-04:00

From Op-Ed News:

The Corporate State's Public Image Execution of Rashard Mendenhall
By Andrew Steele

Last week, after Americans ripped the last bit of meat off the bones of the alleged bin Laden kill, the herds turned their rage onto football star Rashard Mendenhall for tweeting his opinions regarding the death celebrations and his suspicions about the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11.

Though Mendenhall's words reflect the opinions of many Americans, because of his celebrity status the media control machine quickly jumped into action, making sure that his public image execution was swift and brutal, and that other celebrities who might consider speaking their minds about 9/11 and the moral decline of America get the message loud and clear -- shut up and smile...if you even think about mentioning this stuff, your name is dead.

As USA Today stated in a paragraph that sounds more like a threat than an insight:

"The Steelers have also run away from Mendenhall's comments. Mendenhall issued a clarification Wednesday. But it didn't help. Just more proof that athletes and celebrities should be careful before they hit the send button on their tweets."

Though as words written on paper, the First Amendment remains in the books (for now), in reality the statist culture of 21st century America and the corporate media's control over public perception neutralizes free speech through pysops (like the bin Laden "death") and mass peer pressure. Like a wired piece of cheese that electrocutes the mouse that bites it, anyone who uses their free speech to express what the state deems "unpopular" opinion is imprisoned behind walls of manufactured public scorn. The government still occasionally gives lip service to constitutional rights of free speech, although less and less as time passes and as public indoctrination urging acceptance of the police state continues. The reality makers on TV and in newspapers have seized total control of a decadent mainstream American culture, turning it against anyone who dares to tell the truth.

People who question the official story of 9/11 have been featured as dangerous fictional villains on TV crime shows, have been falsely accused of supporting mass shooters by fake patriot mouthpieces like Glenn Beck, and associations with them have been portrayed as potentially criminal by vacant windbags like Bill O'Reilly. This is not by chance. It is part of a continuing media campaign designed to quarantine the 9/11 Truth Movement and squash any reasonable questions about the event that the general public may have before those questions catch fire and the nation's common sense is reawakened.

This is why, in a country that quickly forgives athletes who abuse women and do drugs, one who dampens the jubilation of the bin Laden death celebrations by holding a mirror to America's face, and who points out the obvious impossibility of the government's explanation for the Twin Towers' collapse, is essentially spat upon and crucified for all to see. As the intent of these image attacks become more obvious and more vicious...and as the lies and inconsistencies regarding events like 9/11 and the bin Laden "death" get bigger and bigger...the establishment shows its hand even more.

Years in the future, Americans may look back on this period of history with a more critical eye as an era of darkness and deceit. However, many who lived it will likely lie to their offspring and themselves about who they were during these years, secretly ashamed of their once narrow view of the world and their inability to acknowledge the reality of the situation in front of them until it became more popular to do so.

The solace for people who tell the truth -- like Rashard Mendenhall -- is that they'll have nothing to apologize for...not to the people overseas and at home who have died because of the American public's willful retreat from reality (as well as their consciences' surrender to brazen criminals), or to themselves for choosing to hide in the hollow embrace of acceptance by a culture that has now rebranded ignorance, death, and empire as "humanitarian" and patriotic.

That's something more important than fame, and which no amount of money can ever buy.

The Holy Right Wing Empire

2011-05-06T09:59:00.000-04:00

From Tom Wright at the Guardian:
Couldn't be any more on the nose!

America's exceptionalist justice

(Excerpt)
Consider the following scenario. A group of Irish republican terrorists carries out a bombing raid in London. People are killed and wounded. The group escapes, first to Ireland, then to the US, where they disappear into the sympathetic hinterland of a country where IRA leaders have in the past been welcomed at the White House. Britain cannot extradite them, because of the gross imbalance of the relevant treaty. So far, this seems plausible enough.
But now imagine that the British government, seeing the murderers escape justice, sends an aircraft carrier (always supposing we've still got any) to the Nova Scotia coast. From there, unannounced, two helicopters fly in under the radar to the Boston suburb where the terrorists are holed up. They carry out a daring raid, killing the (unarmed) leaders and making their escape. Westminster celebrates; Washington is furious.
What's the difference between this and the recent events in Pakistan? Answer: American exceptionalism. America is subject to different rules to the rest of the world. By what right? Who says?

Heh Heh Heh...

2011-05-04T18:50:00.000-04:00

President Bush Reacts to Osama Bin Laden's Death with Will Ferrell from Will Ferrell

2011-04-25T09:27:00.002-04:00

Thanks Paul Ryan, for reminding voters the GOP wants to kill Medicare & Social Security

From Wonkette
We’ve been too busy celebrating Pagan Earth Day with a bunch of wiccans and gay wizards, at Hogwarts, to notice the new consensus about nervous GOP weirdo Paul Ryan: He apparently finished off the entire “tea party movement” the Koch Brothers created by simply admitting what the Corporate Far-Right has been trying to do for half a century: Destroy Medicare, destroy Social Security, and leave 80% of the country (including the deluded working-class “GOP base”) to fuck off and die in old age, as soon as they’re no longer able to stand up at the Wal-Mart cash register. Congratulations, Paul Ryan! Also, congratulations to Stephen Goldstein at the Sun Sentinel for writing perhaps the most vicious description of GOP heartthrob Paul Ryan we’ve ever seen.

You really want to enjoy this whole column, but here’s the metaphysical kick in the crotch:

Whiz kid wannabe, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., will be the unwitting savior of the Democratic Party and cause of his party’s humiliating defeat. He issued his penny-pinching “Path to Prosperity” before the president spoke about our debt and deficit. For the unveiling, image consultants gave the Wisconsonite a new hairdo to soften his usual menacing part and ghoulish gaze, but they couldn’t change the mean-spirited, elitist strategy to which he committed Republicans: Adiós — Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid; Hola — tax cuts for the drowning-in-money.

No matter how much the demagogues pound away via their megacorporations’ megaphones, working people will show up at the polls in 2012 and they will wash out the anti-American extremists who were all hand-picked and financed by the Koch Brothers to destroy everyone who depends on a paycheck in this country. Everyone. That is the “philosophy” of Ayn Rand and those are the marching orders for this crop of Republicans in office today.

For average Americans, Ryan’s “Path” is a road to ruin. The Ryan Republican tea party would make a 65-year-old eligible for Medicare in 10 years pay nearly $6,400 more than people pay today — and force them into the private insurance market, where they probably won’t be able to afford, or even get, coverage. It swells the deficit by trillions and doesn’t achieve a balanced budget for decades. Through his calculated miscalculation and stubborn refusal to recognize that we have a spending and revenue imbalance, Ryan gave Democrats a gift that will keep on giving.

The American system, where “private property” and the unmitigated wealth of corporations has always reigned supreme over such faith-based falsehoods as “We the People,” survived the revolutionary turmoil of the 20th Century only by redistributing just enough wealth to maintain a buffer zone of relative comfort between the billionaires and the seething lower class. The absence of that minimal redistribution becomes most apparent when old people are tossed aside to die in sickness and poverty after working away their lives away. And even a loyal Rush Limbaugh listener is eventually able to comprehend the difference between having Medicare and Social Security and not having a monthly check to survive and a way to see the doctor, because it’s the difference between life and death.

Anyway, that’s the happy view. The alternate view is that the teabaggers would literally shoot themselves in the face with those guns they love so much if they thought it might also hurt the coloreds. [Sun Sentinel]

How many of these people do you know?

2011-04-21T09:37:00.000-04:00

The really sad part of this is how true it is. And those who have marginally more than some others think they are better than those who have less.

-g-

Hey John Bonner. Where are the jobs?

2011-03-23T10:31:00.002-04:00

Yeah, Tea Baggers. Let's vote for more Republicans. And you have the gall to bitch about Democrats?

By the way, hear much about the Republican agenda of no job creation and cutting corporate taxes (but not yours!) from the local toilet paper? You won't, either. Time to wake up people.
If you think you have nothing to lose, don't complain when Highlands raises our School Taxes 10%.
We can thank our Space Cadet governor for that one! Isn't that right Dom?

Courtesy of The Mills River Progressive

Top 6 things Republicans consider more important than job creation

From Raw Story:
WASHINGTON – Republicans won dramatic victories last November by promising to mitigate high unemployment. "This coming election is about one issue: jobs," soon to-be Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said weeks before election day. "It's about jobs that were promised to the American people by the current administration, and were never delivered."

But in the three months since taking over the House and expanding their voices in the Senate, Republicans have yet to pass a jobs-focused bill, instead prioritizing numerous social and cultural issues that are unrelated to job creation -- and have little or no chance of becoming policy.

Here are six such legislative goals they've been hard at work on:

1) Curtailing Abortion Rights
2) Defunding Planned Parenthood
3) Defunding NPR
4) Investigating American Muslims
5) Declaring English As America's Official Language
6) Reaffirming The "In God We Trust" Motto

Check out the details at Raw Story.

Are you kidding me?! Millions of Americans are losing their homes, kids' programs are being slashed, millions are unemployed, and this is the shit they're wasting our time and money on?!!
And I love how the righties are always screeching about "big government", and "government interference", yet feel it's entirely appropriate for government to decide what birth control we're allowed to use, what medical procedures we're allowed to have, what plants we're allowed to use, who we're allowed to marry, etc., etc...
These are the people who think that the government should have no authority to regulate industry, or to protect the safety of consumers - but demand that the government monitor what's happening inside a woman's uterus. Incredibly, a number of these folks actually claim to be "libertarians". It would seem that the meaning of the term has changed significantly over the past couple decades!

Dumb and Dumber...

2011-03-21T09:42:00.001-04:00

A little education for the little educated Tea Bigot and Deficit Hawks out there.
The Corporate States of America fired 20 Tomahawk missiles into Libya for whatever reason. Before you start the ridiculous "We're defending freedom" or "We have to fight them over there" bullshit, I know it's difficult for most of you but try to think for a minute.
You are complaining that the Corporate States of America is spending too much money on stupid things like education and food and help for those (Americans only!) who lost jobs, their pensions and life savings because of the two Bush/Cheney illegal wars (Obama inherited them, they're not his so don't cry about how he continues them. If they weren't there in the first place, Obama might have spent that money on something else...like infrastructure, road repair, better schools, etc.) yet not one of you room temperature I.Q.'d geniuses has complained about the cost of these missiles.
It costs $569,000 to fire ONE freaking missile! 20 were fired. Now I know most of you Tea Bigots and Deficit Hawks can't do basic math and that's one of the reasons you're so against better education in schools (you don't want your kids to learn or know more than you) so I'll do it for you.
20 missiles at $569,000 each is $11,380,000! That's just the compliment on one ship! And I'm sure we have more than one! Duh! Can't understand that amount because you lack any kind of basic math rationale? Let me put it to you this way.
NPR , which you anti first amendment asses want to defund because it's too expensive gets $100,000 per year from the government. That means one Tomahawk Missile fired could fund NPR for 5 years!
It also means those 20 just HAVE to be replaced (so we can kill more people who aren't a threat to us - like Iraq) at a higher cost estimate of $15,000,000 (thanks to rising costs of everything but wages).
That $11,000,000 (not counting replacement costs) would fund public food banks in Pennsylvania for 5 years!
That money could repair a lot of potholes and bridges here. It could provide increased police protection, something most of you fools don't realize we'll lose when Tommy Corbett Space Cadet's budget cuts mean local municipalities and school districts will have to cut their budgets to compensate for the lost taxes you already pay to Harrisburg. But you can't think that far ahead. Let's just cut spending, you scream. Fools! Who will pay for your water, subsidize your fuel, your electricity, the fleeing safety of your food? Yep! Let's cut spending and reduce corporate taxes so business can make more money...off of you.
I could go on , but what's the use? Those of you fools couldn't possibly open your minds to anything new until you or your family need help. Then you'll be the first to bitch and complain that the government didn't do anything for you.
Please contact our wonderful representative, Jason Altmire, and send a letter to our Space Cadet Governor thanking them for the cuts to everything we need but bailing out business.
Remember! According to Republican policy, cutting taxes on business means more jobs! And since our government instituted the Bush/Cheney tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 for business, we've created...no jobs! At least in America. But you don't care about that do you? Just that you think you're spending too much of your tax dollars on wasted programs.
So I agree with you. Let's cut everything! No more road repair, no more public anything, no mail delivery, no police or fire protection, no food safety...no nothing for your living standard. Then let's see how long it is before you blame someone else. I know i could hold my breath that long!

Education 2011 - Thanks to Tom Corbett, Space Cadet

2011-03-16T10:56:00.000-04:00

You have to wonder where the heads were of the previous school board when they caved on the current teacher’s contract.

I have been harping for years on the fact that the teachers are draining the tax base of this district. Recently, (like this morning) I got an email asking what the hell was going on with this idiotic governor and his band of hoods.

The email went on to question how this POS can cut education funding so much. There was a blurb in the local TP about it. Since I don’t subscribe (pay) to yellow journalism, I checked out the article on their wonderful and unbiased site. For those who may have missed it, here’s a brief summary:

Tommy Corbett, Space Cadet, wants to grade schools on merit!

From the VND:
“"We're not just going to give funding without results," Benefield (research director for the Commonwealth Foundation, a Harrisburg policy group) said, summarizing his interpretation of the governor's message for education.
The cuts to education come with recommendations to eliminate several mandates that limit school districts' ability to cut costs. Several legislators, most of them Republicans, are working on legislation that would end some state requirements, such as bidding for contracts below $25,000 and additional certification for school nurses.

"We want to help our school districts to be as competitive as they can be while keeping the costs under control," said Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, vice chair of the education committee and sponsor of a bill that would allow school districts to curb costs by furloughing teachers.

Folmer called this year's budget shortfalls "an opportunity to look at how we've been misspending."

"They've had the time, and they've had the money, but how have they done?" Folmer said. "I think, in a sense, we've created an education industrial complex. I'm not going to say it's become only about the people who work in it, but it should be about the children."

Folmer and other supporters of Corbett's proposal stop short of criticizing teachers unions, which are under fire from Republican administrations in Wisconsin and other states. Though Corbett's budget seeks concessions from teachers, such as a one-year pay freeze, it would not change the nature of unions' collective bargaining agreements with school districts.

However, it’s ok to give taxpayer funds to businesses that have consistently shown no interest in creating Pennsylvania jobs. Our Space Cadet has also taken money from the tobacco settlement, which has gone to help education, and is going to redistribute it (sound vaguely familiar all you tea bigots?) to businesses so “they will have an incentive to create jobs.” [Probably more low paying, no benefit jobs.]

And while Tommy Boy wants you to dig deep into your wallets and sacrifice to pay down this debt, while he gives even more tax breaks to businesses, he has magnanimously decided not to tax the (mostly out of state) Marcellus Drillers. That money alone could replace what this Ass-or-not from Mars or Shaler or wherever is making us pay. Guess what? We wouldn't have to have any tax increase! Make sense? Yep! To you and me it does. But not to Tommy's business buddies, the ones who gave him millions of dollars to buy the governorship! Oh, and it seems Tommy didn't cut a penny from his staff, their salaries, benefits or retirement packages. Guess they're more important than you and me...and more privileged

Which brings me to the main point that since the Space Cadet is fulfilling his promise not to raise taxes guess who will have to raise taxes to pay for the taxes Tommy doesn’t raise? Yep. The people of the state. But I’ve already heard from the terrible uneducated Right Wing that at least he’s keeping his promises.

I guess that means it’s ok if our current overall state taxes don’t go up but it’s sure ok if the locals fatten theirs to make up for Tommy Boy's promises.
As for our district, there are a couple of choices:

Layoff and/or fire teachers (The Space Cadet never said anything about cutting the wages or benefits of those in management positions, like superintendents, etc. Kewel!)

Get rid of the unions (They claim they won’t do this but if you believe that you are stupider than I’ve ever imagined)

Increase the local taxes to make up the lost revenue.

If you “listen between the lines” those are the only solutions you’ll hear. BUT…there is another, as Yoda once said. The residents of this district and most other districts are paying the salaries of the teachers. The average salary is around $55,000 and the shills for the teachers, the union reps, claim they are worth it. I don’t doubt they are worth the $55,000. What I doubt is they are worth us paying for their benefits.

In case you have had your head in the sand for the last 5 years, the average health care benefit of a Highlands teacher is over $1200 per month or an extra $14,400 in their(not your) pockets. 220 teachers times $14,400 equals $3,168,000 PER YEAR or just about what Tommy wants to cut from the local district budget.

Now I’m not the math wiz like my colleague on this blog but doesn’t it make sense to make the teachers pay their fair share? Because if they don’t, we’re talking about a huge, and I mean a really huge property tax increase.

Fair is fair. It’s about time the residents woke up and realized the gravy train for the teachers has to end.

Oh and by the way, there’s an interesting article in the TP about the wonderful extra benefits teachers get that most of us didn’t or don’t know. Click here to read it. After reading this I contacted a former board member, who happens to edit this blog, and he confirmed the facts. Teachers who show up for work for 15 years get an automatic “bump” in their salary provided they earn a Masters Degree (usually paid for by the residents, believe it or not!) approaching 80% of their current pay! Yep! A teacher making $40,000 with a Masters Degree in their 14th year (although that amount is so unlikely because they would be making MUCH more than that!) can look forward to a possible $30,000 plus pay increase. And those making $55,000 could go to $100,000. And don't forget what this does to their retirement benefits...that we end up paying for! But they claim they deserve their health care benefits paid by us.

So now this poor soul who was only making 40k per year (with us paying 14k of their benefits), now is making $70,000 for doing no additional work! Nice gig for them. Screwing for us. But the union reps say the teachers deserve it.

Remember all this when Highlands raises your property taxes through the roof.

Remember this when you hear a Tea Bagger or any Republican tell you that liberals are bad because they want to raise taxes.

Remember this when someone tells you we need to cut the budget problem those in Harrisburg (Republican controlled for the last thousand years and who wanted to cut the budget last year by 1 billion when Rendell said no) blame on you.

Remember this when you go to vote; those of you who know how to vote; those of you who care to vote; and those of you who try to learn about issues before you vote rather than listening to partisan hacks like the local newspaper, anyone of the Right or even a number of traitorous Democrats (much like our own Jason Altmire).

You have questions? Contact us here. You’ll get answers. You may not like them but you’ll get facts not bullshit.

PLEASE Everyone. Read this and pass it on to your friends

2011-03-13T11:48:00.002-04:00

Before you end up with more health problems, learn a new thing that the so-called Marcellus Shale Drilling is causing. When you're finished, see if you still believe that drilling for this fuel is worth your drinking water.
And even if you do, the increased cost of what will be necessary to purify your water will offset any imagined saving in the cost of natural gas.
By the way, those "jobs" the drillers keep saying Marcellus Shale will create...75% of the workers are form out of state, namely Texas and Ohio. And they don't pay any taxes to Pa. And the drilling companies will NOT pay any tax to Pennsylvania while funding is cut fr education. Make sense?

This is a long read from the Post Gazette. I don't imagine you'll ever see anything like it in the Valley News Dispatch.
One last thing. Newly elected governor, the man you all put in office instead of Onorato, has removed State Control of the discharge of Marcellus Fracking Water into the Rivers and Streams of Pennsylvania and appointed a man who is a known anti environmentalist and has contributed hundreds of thousand of dollars to Corbett since 2004. Coincidence

******************

Bromide: A concern in drilling wastewater
Sunday, March 13, 2011
By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11072/1131660-113.stm#ixzz1GUuq3e9O

Ballooning bromide concentrations in the region's rivers, occurring as Marcellus Shale wastewater discharges increase, is a much bigger worry than the risk of high radiation levels, public water suppliers say.
Unlike radiation, which so far has shown up at scary levels only in Marcellus Shale hydraulic fracturing wastewater sampling done at wellheads, the spike in salty bromides in Western Pennsylvania's rivers and creeks has already put some public water suppliers into violation of federal safe drinking water standards.
Others, like the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, haven't exceeded those limits but have been pushed up against them. Some have had to change the way they treat water.
Bromide is a salty substance commonly found in seawater. It was once used in sedatives and headache remedies like Bromo-Seltzer until it was withdrawn because of concerns about toxicity. When it shows up at elevated levels in freshwater, it is due to human activities. The problem isn't so much the bromide in the river but what happens when that river water is treated to become drinking water.
Bromide facilitates formation of brominated trihalomethanes, also known as THMs, when it is exposed to disinfectant processes in water treatment plants. THMs are volatile organic liquid compounds.
Studies show a link between ingestion of and exposure to THMs and several types of cancer and birth defects.
"Our biggest concerns are about bromide, which has become a problem over the last six months or so," said Stanley States, water quality manager with the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, which draws water from the Allegheny River for its 400,000 customers. "Trihalomethanes are strictly regulated because of the health risks. We've seen levels that are threatening the standards."
The federal safe drinking water standard for THMs is 80 micrograms per cubic liter, and removing them from finished drinking water is difficult. Keeping bromide levels in raw water sources low is a much easier way to address the problem.
Mr. States said the elevated bromide levels in the river could be coming from municipal sewage treatment plants and brine treatment plants handling Marcellus Shale drilling and hydrofracking wastewater or from discharges by coal-fired power plants water discharges. He said four municipal sewage facilities and four brine treatment plants are handling and discharging Marcellus Shale wastewater upriver from Pittsburgh's drinking water intake pipe in Aspinwall.
"Something's changed and it could possibly be related to the treating of Marcellus Shale drilling wastewater," Mr. States said. "There will be a lot more Marcellus Shale wells operating in the region before there are a whole lot less and our concern is in providing safe drinking water. We're not anti-Marcellus Shale. We're anti-bromide."
Problem through the region
Pittsburgh is not alone. The Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority issued a notice to its customers in January informing them of the bromide problem and said it was necessary to change its water treatment methods to stay in compliance with state and federal drinking water standards.
"Due to the sudden increase in bromide concentration in the Allegheny River, all water suppliers are beginning to have a problem controlling this trihalomethane formation," the authority wrote on its Web page. "All water purveyors on the Allegheny River System are working together to try and find out the source of the elevated bromide levels."
Mr. States said a study is under way on the Allegheny River and its tributaries to identify sources of bromide in the river.
The Department of Environmental Protection is participating in that river sampling study and another in the Monongahela River watershed.
Katy Gresh, a DEP spokeswoman, said the department plans to order the industrial brine plants, sewage treatment facilities and coal-powered power plants on the rivers to conduct sampling at their discharge pipes.
"We will get and review those results," Ms. Gresh said. "If we can control the largest contributors, that will help solve the problem."
Jeanne VanBriesen, a Carnegie Mellon University professor of civil and environmental engineering, said testing there showed an unusual spike in bromide levels in July and August. Although they've tapered a bit since then, they remain higher than normal, said Ms. VanBriesen, who has been studying water quality in the Monongahela River since fall 2009.
She said the two biggest sources of bromide in the watershed are Marcellus wastewater from sewage treatment facilities and wastewater from new smokestack scrubbers at coal-fired power plants. The plants cannot remove the bromide in wastewater.
Bromide levels vary in discharges from both sources, but bromide is generally found at higher concentrations in Marcellus wastewater.
"It's difficult to make a definitive statement about where it's all coming from, but we do know it's going into our drinking water treatment plants and affecting the treatment of our water," Ms. VanBriesen said. "The most logical way to fix that is to reduce the amount of bromide in the rivers and creeks."
Millions of gallons
Marcellus Shale drilling and hydraulic fracturing operations use an average of 4 million gallons of water to drill and "frack" each well. The drilling industry says it recycles approximately 70 percent of the wastewater from its well fracking operations, but millions of gallons are still funneled through 11 sewage treatment facilities and five brine treatment plants, then discharged into the state's rivers and streams.
Together, the eight facilities on the Allegheny and its tributaries are allowed to discharge an average of 1.5 million gallons of Marcellus drilling wastewater and hydraulic fracturing fluid a day, according to state Department of Environmental Protection records. Marcellus discharges from three treatment facilities on the Monongahela River total 185,000 gallons a day. Another 650,000 gallons a day flow into the Ohio and its tributaries.
Drilling companies and the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an advocacy and lobbying organization representing most of the companies doing shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania, said the industry isn't to blame for higher bromide levels.
"When you look at the amount of Marcellus Shale wastewater that is being discharged it's low" compared to the river flows, said Matt Pitzarella, a spokesman for Range Resources. "So those [bromide] increases are not an impact of Marcellus Shale." Range Resources recycled 90 percent of its wastewater last year and has set a goal of 100 percent for 2011.
"We certainly see this as a non-Marcellus issue," said Steve Forde, a shale coalition spokesman, who cited a 2010 U.S. Geological Survey study that noted higher bromide levels nationwide, especially in urban areas. "Road salt use has been identified as one of the culprits for that."
Ms. VanBriesen said that's not likely because road salt contains more chloride and little bromide, and her water testing didn't find a corresponding spike in chloride levels. Plus the bromide spike in the rivers first occurred in the summer.
"So to implicate road salt, well, I wouldn't buy that," she said. "The bromide spike happened in July and August when you wouldn't be applying road salt. So that wasn't a factor."
Changing treatment process
Whatever the origin of the bromide spike, Jerry Schulte, manager of source water protection for the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, said bromide is "absolutely an issue" for water treatment plants.
"We've identified bromide as a compound of concern," Mr. Schulte said, adding that ORSANCO's triennial review of pollution control standards in April will focus on developing a new, first-time standard for bromide in the watershed.
Discharges of bromides and bromide levels in rivers or streams are not now regulated by ORSANCO or by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Josephine brine treatment facility, also known as Franklin Brine, on Blacklick Creek in the Allegheny's watershed, discharges an average of 120,000 gallons a day of Marcellus wastewater that, at peak levels, contains high concentrations of bromide, chlorides and total dissolved solids, according to sampling done by the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Healthy Environments and Communities.
"There's pretty high bromide going into the creek. Certainly it is a public health threat," said Conrad Dan Volz, director of the Center for Healthy Environments and Communities. "And to remove brominated THMs, that's going to break the bank for public water systems."
Water treatment plants can get around the bromide problem by changing their treatment methods -- substituting chloramines for the chlorides they normally use in the disinfection process. That's what the Wilkinsburg-Penn water authority did.
The chloramines produce different, less toxic, treatment byproducts, but those can produce other problems, including causing lead and copper to leach out of old water pipelines and into drinking water as happened in Washington, D.C., when it made such a switch in 2000.
Ms. VanBriesen said water utilities making such a change can add phosphate to their finished water to prevent lead from leaching out of the pipes.
Another way to avoid THMs, she said, is to change the way water utilities mix, aerate and store their finished water, and a number of suppliers are considering that.
One water treatment facility that has had problems with keeping THM concentrations in finished water below the 80 parts per billion federal standard is Beaver Falls, in Beaver County, which was required to notify its 50,000 customers in 22 municipalities of the problem for the first three quarters of 2010.
The authority changed its treatment methods, from chlorine to chloramines, which don't form THMs, at a cost of approximately $15,000 last year. That allowed the water supplier to meet the standard for the last three months of the year, said Jim Riggio, general manager of the water system.
Although testing done by the state DEP hasn't been able to pinpoint a cause of the higher bromide levels in the Beaver River, Mr. Riggio said they coincided with upriver discharges of treated Marcellus Shale fracking wastewater.
"We went from non-detectable levels of bromide to increased levels a couple of years ago," Mr. Riggio said. "When I see the whole frack water thing taking off and the same time we start to have problems, well, until you can tell me different, that's what I assume it is. And it seems like a lot of the water suppliers on the Beaver and Mon rivers had similar problems to what we did."

Bruce F

How the Republicans, Blue Dogs and this Administration are screwing us.

2011-03-06T23:43:00.000-04:00

The next time you read some bullshit opinion (by the editors or letter writers) in the Valley News Dispatch or especially from our turncoat Representative, Jason "vote for big oil subsidies" Altmire and other idiot(s) who claim that we need to cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid and the deficit and spending or that "WE" have to sacrifice to pay for the excesses of the Bush Administration, show or send them this.
Ask his honor, Jason, how he can defend this.

Click the image to enlarge to really piss you off.

Weather or not...

2010-12-20T12:43:00.000-04:00

I’m not sure whether people are so misinformed, uninformed or just plain stupid about climate change. At a store over the weekend, I had the opportunity to overhear an exchange concerning climate change, or as they so archaic and eloquently and idiotically called it, “global warming” (a phrase used totally incorrectly by the morons who deliver you news by TV, radio and print).

These two were proud, self-proclaimed examples of the typical Fox News watcher. They were discussing the “hoax” of “global warming” and how it was a ploy to kill jobs and increase taxes. I couldn’t help myself, it was just too enticing. I asked them how they knew all this and wasn’t surprised when they told me that Beck and Gibson “learned them” all about it. So I asked what the facts were. They told me that hundreds (according to Beck) of scientists disputed global warming. When I asked them to name any one, they said that they couldn’t remember the names (because NONE was ever named by Beck) but had no trouble recalling the 20 minutes Beck ranted about it. I asked them how it would kill jobs. They told me that America would have to shut down electric companies because of the pollution requirements and that would cost jobs. I did ask if the companies polluted, wouldn’t it be better if we could stop the pollution and have the companies still produce electricity using cleaner methods? This caused some confusion.

They then told me that all I needed to see the proof of the hoax was to look at the “cold weather”; that shows there was no global warming. Imagine that! Cold weather in winter! Genius!

Rather than go into more idiotic arguments they had, I asked if they knew what happened when the air warmed, especially air above the Arctic. They looked at each other and said that the snow would melt…but that wasn’t happening, they said. And the pictures of the receding ice in the north and the glaciers in Antarctica were photo shopped and that was just propaganda. Wow! I was impressed!

When I asked them what happens when a mass of air is heated they decided it rises. Good for them. They actually got one right. So then, what happens to that air when it rises? Well, they thought and said it moves. Right again, guys, and when that air moves what happens to the other air around it? Something has to move in to take its place and that causes “wind.” That wind can move pretty fast, right, guys? They agreed. And when that other wind moves, what happens? Well, it takes air from other places. Right again! This was remarkable! Air starts moving all around because some air is heated.

So if that air moves that much, what happens to the weather where the air was? This was tougher. I told them that didn’t it seem logical that the stuff that moved had to be replaced by “other air?” Yeah. And when that other air moves doesn’t it set in motion other air, from other places; cold and hot places; mountains and deserts? Yeah.

So if a large amount of air is heated, rises and moves away and other air has to take its place, tell me about the other air. Is it warm? Not necessarily. Is it cold? Actually it is. When air moves, it cools. This confused them. So I told them to use the analogy of a fire at their hunting camp. It’s nice by the fire but doesn’t the air rushing into the fire and going “up” pull colder air in? Isn't that why your backs get cold but your front is nice and toasty? And don't you have to keep turning around to get warm all over?Well, yeah. Now do you see how air that was artificially warmed can cause changes in the weather? Not quite, they said.

After pulling some hair from my head, I continued. If it’s hotter over the northeast and the air moves and other air takes its place what happens? Oh! Different weather moves in from everywhere. And because it’s winter, that air from the north is colder, right? I didn’t want to go into too much discussion about moisture in the air from the warm waters of the south and how as it cooled (because it's winter and the sun is lower and thus provides less direct radiative heat) would help the air move faster and bring rain that would turn to snow up north.

I told them the same thing happens in the summer only in reverse. Hot air rises faster and pulls in more air. Because the sun is higher in the sky, the southern U.S. is warmer and that air is pulled north making it hotter here. And the hotter it gets, the more air rises and pulls more air from the hot south and we get hotter. Just the opposite of winter.
I could see a glimmer of understanding. It went on for a while. I explained how the air patterns could change the circulation all over the world because of heated air over other cities and countries.

I explained how the chemicals in the air trapped sunlight and therefore increased heat which caused the air to rise starting the process over and over. And if we dumped more chemicals into the air, the air would trap more heat and so on.

Then I really got them going when I explained how the changes in water temperature of the oceans could cause warmer or cooler air over the water and how it would affect that mass of air. It was becoming clearer to them.

The discussion went on for quite some time and they really appeared interested. However, they still clung to the notion that what they heard on TV was true. After all, why would TV (and Fox) lie? More hair removed! I gave them some sites to view and told them to just read the information with an open mind (right!) I then told them that it wasn’t “global warming” meaning everything would get hotter, but instead the warming caused the changes in weather patterns all over the earth, air and water circulation and that affected climate; that it was really “climate change.” Oh! They could understand “climate change”, but not what caused it. Now they had a better understanding of the reasons for the changes.

I told them lastly to listen the next time someone tells them it’s all a hoax. Did the person on Fox provide names, references or facts or just make unsubstantiated statements? Then I told them when they heard “scientists” talking about it to listen closely because those scientists would provide information these two could really check on.

It seemed I made some headway. They both agreed to look into the matter with a little less cynicism. Both told me they had never had it explained to them how this climate thing worked; they just accepted the comments made on Fox, which were offered without proof.
Maybe I helped in some way to quash some of the corporate bull that Fox has spewed. Maybe I instilled a bit of questioning in them so they don’t blindly accept everything anyone says, including me. I told them to get facts from other places and decide for themselves rather than just believing what they hear on TV. Baby steps.

Now, if they just would learn about how corporations and Republicans are using them to make the wealthy even richer… and as I walked away, I heard them discussing who was on WWE that night! Maybe it's not ALL Fox's fault!

Well, one thing at a time.

-g-

You'll Never Guess Whose Taxes Are Going To Go Up Because Of The Tax Cut 'Compromise'

2010-12-08T10:47:00.001-04:00

This needs to be seen by as many people as possible. If you do nothing, you're getting screwed by Congress. And read my post about social security at

younze.blogspot.com

You know, with all the talk about who is mad at President Barack Obama and who stands to win or lose what election over this tax-cut deal, not as much attention has been paid to the practical beneficiaries of the deal. Well, over at The New York Times tonight, David Kocieniewski's got the hard numbers, and finds that the deal is actually a very good one, as long as one or more of the following terms describes you:

--"the highest earners"
--"the wealthiest 1 percent of the population"
--"the wealthiest Americans"
--"hedge fund managers and private equity investors"
--"an individual earning $110,000"
--"4 million taxpayers with income in the mid- to high six figures"
--"Estates over $5 million"

To those of you who fit the descriptions above, congratulations! Really, is anyone not making out like a bandit, with this tax-cut compromise?

In fact, the only groups likely to face a tax increase are those near the bottom of the income scale -- individuals who make less than $20,000 and families with earnings below $40,000.
There's probably a way of looking at this that doesn't make it seem so bad, right?

Although the $120 billion payroll tax reduction offers nearly twice the tax savings of the credit it replaces, it will nonetheless lead to higher tax bills for individuals with incomes below $20,000 and families that make less than $40,000. That is because their payroll tax savings are less than the $400 or $800 they will lose from the Making Work Pay credit.

"It will come to a few dollars a week," said Roberton Williams, an analyst at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, "but it is an increase."

No worries! Poor people don't create jobs, anyway, I hear.

-g-

2010-09-16T07:38:00.002-04:00

Update:
There is another blog set up at:

younze.blogspot.com

or click

younze

You can read articles and leave comments there.
Shake and I will be more involved later this fall.

Bruce F

2010-02-21T17:51:00.002-04:00

younze.com

All posts will now be done on the new site as will all comments.
You can still make comments there as you would here.

Blogger is a very good provider but
younze.com has a lot more capability for posting. In addition to posts and comments, we now have the capability to insert our own videos (or yours if you send them to us), audio including podcasts, slide shows, interactive abilities that aren't available on Blogger including a forum to allow one on one discussions with other commenters.

Unfortunately, we will no longer be able to take comments on this site due to our provider being bought out by Echo.

Click on the younze.com at the top of this post to get to the new site.
Thank you all for your visits here.

Shake, Bruce, garion and Nick

2010-02-21T17:49:00.001-04:00

New site

New Site

$400,000.00 PLAYGROUND

2010-02-04T11:11:00.005-04:00

All the fun and frolic with the children at play. Garion’s comment; “$400.000.00 seasonal adventure. Waste of tax payers bucks just for political gain. I feel it should be yet another political joke. Hey Ferlo where’s my playground, where’s my restaurants. Remember election time.