Velcome To Arizona Baby

By blondesense liz





thanks brooke!

Oh dear lord...

By blondesense liz

Current Virginia legislation allows those with concealed carry permit holders to bring guns into establishments that serve alcohol as long as the gun holders don't consume any alcohol.

The law does allow law enforcement officers and commonwealth's attorneys to imbibe in bars and restaurants while carrying concealed weapons even when on duty.

The Virginia gun lobby thinks that's not fair.

Virginia gun lobby pushes for right to drink alcohol while carrying a gun in public.

.

Guys like this give the work I do a bad name:

(could also be filed under "Obligatory THURSDAY Sex Post"):
Israel jails man for 'holy semen' sex abuse
At least he did it in Israel; that way, he wasn't stealing my local action.

Green Aliens. Now Here's Something to Be Afraid Of

Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking in a Discovery series


He's not talking to Arizona citizens about Mexicans. He's talking about space aliens.

“To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational,” he said. “The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like.”

The answer, he suggests, is that most of it will be the equivalent of microbes or simple animals — the sort of life that has dominated Earth for most of its history.

One scene in his documentary for the Discovery Channel shows herds of two-legged herbivores browsing on an alien cliff-face where they are picked off by flying, yellow lizard-like predators. Another shows glowing fluorescent aquatic animals forming vast shoals in the oceans thought to underlie the thick ice coating Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter.

Such scenes are speculative, but Hawking uses them to lead on to a serious point: that a few life forms could be intelligent and pose a threat. Hawking believes that contact with such a species could be devastating for humanity.

He suggests that aliens might simply raid Earth for its resources and then move on: “We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach.”

He concludes that trying to make contact with alien races is “a little too risky”. He said: “If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.”

Proof that many conservative politicians are complete idiots

So this nut in Texas is continuing the meme that all the earth's natural disasters are direct punishments from God... so he declares that God's punishment for the U.S.A. is OBAMA!

"I believe that Barack Obama is God's punishment on us today," Rep. Leo Berman of Texas' 6th district told the audience at a Glenn Beck appearance in Tyler, Texas. Berman added, "But in 2012, we are going to make Obama a one-term president."

Oh he's a Glenn Beck fan. No wonder he's such a moron. What century does he want to take America back to anyway?

From the same article we learn that the governor of Texas is also a moron.

Perry "described Beck as a national leader of a powerful group sending a message to the current administration and Congress about Washington, DC, how to control spending and Americans taking their country back," the Morning Telegraph reported.

"I consider myself proud to be in that army," Perry said.

Proud of being an idiot? really? I'm beginning to think that Texas is God's punishment.

Let's take a look at Beck's insanity:

During his Monday radio show, Beck acknowledged something a bit unusual for him: the fact that President Obama has continued many of President Bush's policies.

That's very true. How shocking that Beck acknowledges it! Oh wait....

"What has [Obama] done that is different?" he asked. "I think he’s done exactly what George Bush was doing, except to the times of a thousand. I mean we’re talking about a progressive. And George Bush was a progressive. It’s the difference between a steam train and the space shuttle."

GW Bush was a progressive? hahahahahha Obama is a progressive? hahahahahha (well he's a bit more progressive than bush in that he sort of cares for regular people sometimes, but not too much.)

Beck compared President Obama's Afghanistan surge to the Nazi occupation of France, even as Obama pursued a strategy applauded by former Bush administration members.

Beck seems to have flipped on Bush, including him in that which he's so loathed: a political ideology that holds workers and individual rights above the moneyed interests, that promotes social justice and activism over apathy and acquiescence, that strives for peace, a public safety net and a level economic playing field, otherwise known as American progressivism.

To be clear, during his two terms Bush limited workers' rights, busted unions, rolled back bankruptcy protections, repealed large swaths of financial regulation, helped raise living expenses for the poor and middle class, slashed taxes for the wealthiest Americans, engaged in wars of aggression and then borrowed and spent more than every other U.S. president before him, combined.

What's progressive about that? Glenn Beck doesn't know what the hell he's talking about at all. Did he ever attend school? Did he ever read a book? Does he own a dictionary?

Or maybe he is deliberately appealing to the most idiotic political base ever known to man in the whole history of the world in order to make this one of the most fascist countries that ever existed?

I gotta tell you that based on some of my friend's Facebook posts, the likes of Beck has ordinary people completely duped into thinking that only corporatism can "save" our country. The disconnect with reality is just astounding.

S-oil-tenly!!!

We need to get the 3% more oil that's left off our shores.
Drilling is way safer today than years ago!
We need to be independent of foreign oil.
Drill, baby....etc.







Imagine if this happened off the coasts of Virginia, North or South Carolina.
Seems that I remember some rather nice beaches there. Oh well.







Now imagine this happening just before a major hurricane is about to hit the spill site while heading inland.
Not only would the beaches become oil polluted but I would venture that for miles inland, trees, houses, streets, buildings and other expendable property would need a few million gallons of "Dawn" and many, many extra billions of dollars for the clean up and even more billions to bail-out those states who lost revenue from their tourist trade.

With winds getting the oil air-born, I'm sure Washington wouldn't mind sandblasting the not-so-White House, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, etc.

The football team of Baltimore would truly be Raven Colored as would the stadium and the Baseball team would have to change its name to the Blackbirds.

Joey B. could get DuPont to repaint Delaware some snappy bright green. New Jersey beaches might not notice it for a while, though, being used to the garbage from NYC!

Philly would look just great with an oil-black Liberty Bell. And farther up the coast, if it turned into a Nor'easter, New York City, Lieberman's Home, Boston and the rest of New England would suffer as well.

And if it hit Florida or the Bahamas, well, Jeb and Marco would probably blame Clinton.

In the Gulf, Alabama, Mississippi and Texass governors and Senators Sessions, Barbour, and Perry would get new houses for themselves. Louisiana...sorry, too bad. You couldn't plan ahead. You get nothing but FEMA help from Brownie.

Yep! You betcha! The risks to get the cost of gas down 3 cents per gallon to satisfy the Republicans, teabaggers and Stupid American Public (SAPs) sure outweigh the billions we'd need to spend to correct big oil and big business's next bout of greed.

The cost of Katrina would pale compared to cleaning and resurrecting the East Coast or even the Gulf Coast when this happens. And don't kid yourselves, it'll be WHEN...not if.

Can this type of catastrophe be avoided? Sure! No drilling. But since that isn't going to happen and the actions we've seen from businesses like Massey and Exxon indicate they don't care about people or the consequences since they know the Feds will bail them out we need a simple law to make sure it won't happen. How? Make the companies involved...AND the legislators who approved it and the lobbyists who screwed for it totally, 100% responsible to pay for the cleanup. AND in the law, make sure the companies can NOT pass the cost of the cleanup on to the public. Then let them drill, baby!

Maybe Sarah and John and Lindsay and even Barry and all the others who are in favor of this potential disaster will be more than happy to volunteer their time and their own money to clean up the mess they allowed.

They're not just leaving ARIZONA!

Hell, no! They're getting out completely. Of the country, that is.
More American Expatriates Give Up Citizenship
Chellis Glendinning, Joe Bageant, Laura Knight-Jadczyk, Kevin (I can't remember his last name; you'll find him at cryptogon.com) have all flown the coop.

I was reading somewhere that when it hits, it's going to be world-wide so it'll just take a little longer where they are.

For a unique view of what IT is, I suggest following this link:
"The age of iron has no other seal than that of Death. Its hieroglyph is the skeleton, bearing the attributes of Saturn: the empty hourglass, symbol of time run out …" -- Fulcanelli.
Be sure to click on "Articles" once you get there,

Ramblin' Man....

Giving advice like this,
how can Mitt miss in World Politics?

Thought for the day: What if the teabaggers were black?

By blondesense liz

From Alternet
This is an excerpt. There are many more examples at the article. Please read it.

What If the Tea Party Were Black?
Imagine that hundreds of black protesters descended on DC armed with AK-47s. Would they be defended as patriotic Americans?

...

Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protesters — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic?

...

Imagine that white members of Congress, while walking to work, were surrounded by thousands of angry black people, one of whom proceeded to spit on one of those congressmen for not voting the way the black demonstrators desired. Would the protesters be seen as merely patriotic Americans voicing their opinions, or as an angry, potentially violent, and even insurrectionary mob? After all, this is what white Tea Party protesters did recently in Washington.

Imagine that a rap artist were to say, in reference to a white president: “He’s a piece of shit and I told him to suck on my machine gun.” Because that’s what rocker Ted Nugent said recently about President Obama.

....

To ask any of these questions is to answer them. Protest is only seen as fundamentally American when those who have long had the luxury of seeing themselves as prototypically American engage in it. When the dangerous and dark “other” does so, however, it isn’t viewed as normal or natural, let alone patriotic. Which is why Rush Limbaugh could say, this past week, that the Tea Parties are the first time since the Civil War that ordinary, common Americans stood up for their rights: a statement that erases the normalcy and “American-ness” of blacks in the civil rights struggle, not to mention women in the fight for suffrage and equality, working people in the fight for better working conditions, and LGBT folks as they struggle to be treated as full and equal human beings.

And this, my friends, is what white privilege is all about. The ability to threaten others, to engage in violent and incendiary rhetoric without consequence, to be viewed as patriotic and normal no matter what you do, and never to be feared and despised as people of color would be, if they tried to get away with half the shit we do, on a daily basis.

'Tis a Pity He's a Whore

Whore.

That's it - one word that describes my gut reaction to one Willard 'Mitt' Romney, the former Governor of Massachusetts, Mormon, and quondam Presidential candidate.

In order to get his sorry ass elected back in 2008, Romney switched positions on health care and gay rights so fast it gave me a crick in my neck. From his slick manner and amazing facility in flip-flopping, I knew he'd be no good at all for the country (and his choice of religion had most of the American Taliban considering him a vicious heretic).

But the depths of his whoredom were yet to be revealed, apparently.

You see, Mittens is posturing himself for a 2012 Presidential run by shifting his residence from Massachusetts to California and rebranding himself as a "West Coast" kind of guy.

Expect Certain People to start squealing that Mitt's embracing "San Francisco values," a la Nancy Pelosi.

But not me.

To me, Mitt will always be a Whore.

Sticks and Stones...

Got this in email from a friend who lives in Arizona.
It might be considered controversial but then again so is the New Republican asinine law.Talk about a New Order!

At last, the type of woman you want to read about

British beauty, Liv Boeree, 25, is a model, a television personality, a former Pony Club member and an astrophysics graduate. She lives with her mom and step-dad. She's not a gambler but signed up to test her analytical skills and poker face in the European Poker Tour and and won £1m. She plans to invest the money in property.

She's the kind of female that should be an example to all young women... and even us older ones. Why is it that the completely idiotic examples of our gender get all the attention? Bimbo's are NOT the norm. It's probably for the same reason why completely idiotic anything's get all the attention. It's really no wonder that so many of us just want to bang our heads against the walls when we read papers or watch television. Not this time.

From pony club to poker star: Glamorous British 'Iron Maiden' wins £1m in card tournament

Yeah right, Arizona

The governor of Arizona has vowed that no human rights abuses will take place by Arizona police when the new bill targeting illegal immigrants takes effect.

Sure.

Now cops can go up to any person and ask for their immigration papers if they suspect that they are in this country illegally. Somehow I don't see this working out for brown skinned folks living in Arizona.


UPDATE: Democratic Arizona Rep gets bomb threat for opposing immigrant crackdown

American truck driver handcuffed in Arizona for not having ENOUGH paperwork on him

.

Nature's Beauty... even in devastation

Sometimes you really can understand why humans created god...

Look at the northern lights and the lightning over the volcano in Iceland.





When I look at pictures of deep space-- the galaxies, nebulas, etc... they look so gorgeous and you just want to go there and bask in it... yet we're witnessing the most violent events in the universe.

As it is in the rest of the universe, so it is on earth.

understanding the world

Recently I sent the following quote to some fellow bloggers:

"Perhaps the most beautiful example I encountered of how profoundly the
Q'ero understand the energetic world came when my paq'o explained the
Quechua word, nakwi, in relation to one of my khuyas. He said that, in
Spanish, ‘nakwi' is usually translated to ‘eye,' but it's really more like
a ceque, a ley line, and comes from the Q'ero idea that when your eye sees
something a direct connection is opened up to that thing. In the case of
my khuya, he was saying, it is essentially a portal to the divine. But
another, equally fascinating implication is that one's eyeball can ‘touch'
things from far away. We may instinctively know this-think of how many
times you've ‘felt' someone staring at you-but our language doesn't
contain such notions. A culture that does surely grapples less with the
doctrines of separation.

"Separation is what Charles Eisenstein argues is at the root of all of
modern society's ills in his marvelous, exhaustive look at the topic, The
Ascent of Humanity . In one context, it can be understood to be the
decimating belief that when we look at a mountain, we are looking at a
pile of dead dirt and stones and not, as any of the above ideas suggest,
touching a living aspect or projection of ourselves. If the antidote to
separation is connection, the Paq'os are asking us to take it one step
further. Not only are we interconnected, but we are not alone:

"If you want to know that a mountain is alive, just ask it...."

I received the following response:

indeed peter. the difference in the mindset, in attitude is astonishing.

one of the apache holy men, whose named translated simply as "the dreamer," once said to cochise;

everything is alive, every breath a prayer.

trying to explain the difference can take pages, and often, just like jazz, if it's
something you need to explain, you're talking to someone who will never understand.

i've been spending most of my days these last few weeks in mexicali helping folks to dig out of earthquake. most of them are from southern mexico, guatemala, chiapas,
and sinaloa. very tribal people. yesterday we were passing out 50lb sacks of masa,
beans, 10lb bags of onions, and 5 gal bottles of water. one of the men at the front
of the line, as soon as he got his issue immediately began to divide his share up
with the folks he knew back in the line. that tribal, "we are all in this together"
mindset is a very indian outlook. he, and his family, would not be able to enjoy a
mouthfull of food or water in good conscience if they knew that there were
neighbors, family or friends with nothing.

going back into the states i remarked about what i had seen to the customs guys who were busily searching our empty fucking truck for what the fuck ever. i looked at him and said:

"do you ever wonder about the wisdom of protecting our country from people like that?"

Why aren't conservatives funny?

Bill O'Reilly was whining on his show that there aren't enough conservative comedians. Well duh. Conservatives are not funny unless you think that making fun of other people's hardships is hilarious... and that's a sickness.

Conservative politicians and religious leaders make for great comedy because they say and do such ridiculously idiotic, illogical, nonsensical things just about every day and get media coverage as if it were reality based. Their hypocrisy knows no bounds and it can make for some great comic relief if delivered by the right comedian.

No Bill, it's not a Hollywood plot to keep conservative comedians off the tv or out of the movies... it's just that there aren't any. Bill lacks the smarts to see what constitutes "funny." Hollywood wants to make money and if conservatives were funny, they'd get gigs.

What makes something funny is that it has to have truth to it so that people can relate to it. You also have to be very bright to be a comedian. How many bright self proclaimed conservatives are there out there? Haven't seen one yet. Would love to! They only repeat what they are told. Boring. And whomever is telling them what to say has zero sense of irony. You've got to be able to detect irony in order to be funny.

All you have to do is compare and contrast what a politician or religious leader says and does one day with another day and it's hilarious! Why? Because they can't keep their bullshit stories straight. That's what makes for good political comedy. That's why the Daily Show is such a hit. The stuff is true!

When a comedian becomes conservative, they become boring- Dennis Miller is a good example.

Obligatory Friday Sex Post

Epic Fail Tarzan Toy

Oh my!





From 15 Unintentionally Perverted Toys for Children

I know that y'all need a good snicker or even a belly laugh!

Apologies...personal

"Whatever world you live in or get your news from curt, please provide examples of how the Democrats ruined the economy in less than 2 years especially since no major legislation was enacted by them."

I asked a Right-Wing Commenter to answer the above question and got this reply.


I guess that in your world budgets aren't major legislation.

As for Clinton leaving a budget surplus, it never happened. It was a projected surplus. It evaporated in the recession that started in the last months of his administration.

My answer on Goldman Sachs is that if the investigation proves criminal activity took place, then those responsible should share a cell block with Bernie Madoff.

All the posturing going on now is no more than kabuki theater anyway. Both parties are ass deep in Goldman Sachs with the Democrats slighly deeper.



The above blurb is a sad example of the intentional evasion and ignorant distortion routinely provided by Right-Wingers commenters and one in particular on Left-Wing Blogs. We’ve all heard their talking points that only they believe unquestioningly to be true. We’ve all seen examples of their distortions and outright lies to try to prove a point at any cost by distortion, distraction, twisted spinning and outright lying. If that doesn’t work, they continually raise their voices to the point of trying to out yell the competition. However, when finally faced with facts they can’t counter, they usually resort to incessant talking and/or interruption of any conversation with the party they’re trying to convince. They exhibit a religious adherence to moronic pundits on Fox and Right-Wing radio who also fail to provide or cite facts to verify their ravings.

We’ve also heard it said many times that the right will spew a lie enough times thinking that will cause others to believe it to be true. Sadly, they themselves even begin to believe what they inaccurately repeat so often is true without checking for themselves before badgering others with their falsehoods.
In the above response there are two clear examples of right wing duplicity and evasion.

The person in question was asked to provide facts over his statement that “Well, things were going rather well with the economy until the Dems took over Congress in '06.”

I asked him to provide examples of that statement.
His reply? “I guess that in your world budgets aren't major legislation”
Budgets weren’t discussed in the original comment. But that didn’t stop the erstwhile wingnut from changing the subject to try to move his non-response away from the posed question. And why would he do that? Probably because he can’t answer the question put forth. So he feels the need to evade the question yet try to make it look as though I was incorrect through his evasion.
He then goes on to try to amplify his superfluous points by introducing a statement as (his?) fact without any proof (that there was a recession during Clinton’s last months, when economist agree it started in around March of 2001 reaching its worst point after September 11, 2001, which if you listen closely enough to Republicans, was during Clinton’s Administration, according to the knowledgeable on the Right! (See Perino, Giuliani and various Right-Wing Radio and Fox pundits for more Republican Talking Points about that bit of revisionist history). Adding a condition that not only wasn’t discussed but was also irrelevant to the point and false is a standard of the Right when they can’t refute with actual facts. Check here and here and here for more information on this issue.

He then goes on to further move the reader away from his inability to answer my question by introducing a meaningless sentence to the discussion concerning Goldman Sachs and Bernie Madoff(???). Then he finishes with a supposition and unsupported declaration that while both parties are dastardly, the Democrats are “slightly” worse, which begs another question. Which Democrats are “slightly” worse than which Republicans and who are they? I don’t expect an answer to that one either.


Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! He really should go back to Republican Talking Points Class. Frankie Luntz will be SOOO disappointed in him that he may not get the next few memos.

About his fictional rendition of the Clinton Surplus, he shows himself as a complete lock-stepping Right-Wing Youth (yeah, that’s a definite reference) to Republican Talking Points without the common sense or intellect to provide proof. There are numerous ways to check the authenticity or inanity of his comment but he chose none. So I will.

There’s an organization called FactCheck.org made of non partisans who do really look into statements made by people like himself. They even have a web site (I didn’t notice any ads for Quaker State or National Batteries on it, though so maybe he won’t accept their findings as fact after all).
It seems as though a lot of Right-Wingers have repeatedly perpetrated the surplus myth (that is that there was NO surplus from Clinton). FactCheck.org shows that Clinton left a 127 billion dollar SURPLUS into 2001 which was quickly squandered by the Bush Administration. Here’s their chart (they aren’t Democrat or Republicans, FactCheck.org is comprised of both…imagine that?)



Of course, I don’t expect him to accept the information on this chart because Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly or Mitch McConnell or especially Frank Luntz didn’t approve it. That’s sad but typical of the Right. So long as it is something they disagree with, it can’t be true unless it conforms to their fiction.



Again I pose the question to him:

“Please provide examples of how the Democrats ruined the economy in less than 2 years especially since no major legislation was enacted by them. “

I won’t even put him on the spot about the previous 4 years where he claims:
“Well, things were going rather well with the economy until the Dems took over Congress in '06.”

I dunno. Maybe things on E. Main Street in Flatland are different than the rest of the country. Just maybe reality is too much for some people to accept.

Mr. Sandman, give me a dream....

I wouldn’t expect my 90 year old grandmother, if she were alive, to understand how to program in C++ or even BASIC. And I wouldn’t expect that of any other 90 year olds.

I would, however, expect someone in their early 50s and 60s or even a person in good health in their early 70s to have a basic understanding of how life is in this new age. After all they didn’t get to be that age by being ignorant of the issues of the day or those new-fangled pictures on the dashboards of cars or even the computer-laser scanners at supermarket checkouts. And I wouldn’t even hold it against any of them to not be able to set the clock on their VCRs let alone do more than pop a DVD into a machine and press play.

But that’s the whole point: that at least they are aware of DVD Players; that VHS’s have gone the way of habeas corpus; that 6 guys no longer rush out to let you “Trust your car to the men who wear the Star…The big, bright, Texaco Star” and fill your tank, clean your windshield and check your oil.

Nearly all Americans today are hopefully aware this is the 21st Century and things have changed since “I Like Ike.” But maybe not all. And maybe the ones who need to be aware this isn’t 1955 with the Chordettes and Davy Crockett and Your Hit Parade...aren’t!

I expect the people who make the decisions that impact the lives of all Americans for years to come to be at least AWARE that this is, indeed 2010 and pay phones are as extinct and Palin’s Dinosaur Rides in Bedrock.

But I may be premature in that premise. Our own imitation of Papal Infallibility, the SCOTUS, may just be waiting to go home after a long day of making corporations as important as people or allowing sex-fetished crazies to legally kill animals, to turn on their old DuMonts and watch Chet and Dave show news film of the Andrea Doria and Stockholm collide then enjoy the “64 Thousand Dollar Question” or “21” after which they fall asleep to Steve Allen or Jack Paar only to awaken to the subdued tones of Dave Garroway.

In a case in front of supposedly educated, aware and prepared men and women who have the power to change elections and reverse the Constitution, a number of these “educateds” needed clarification on items 7 and 8 year olds understand today.

Oh It’s not that they need to understand that C++ language or how to create fission or even how to set that VCR Clock, it’s that it’s incomprehensible any of these powerful deciders of men (and women and children and animals) could be so out of touch with the lifestyle of even the last 10 years not to mention the last 25. Excerpted from Huffington post:


Sexting Case Befuddles Supreme Court

(snip)
The first sign was about midway through the argument, when Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. - who is known to write out his opinions in long hand with pen and paper instead of a computer - asked what the difference was “between email and a pager?”
At one point, Justice Anthony Kennedy asked what would happen if a text message was sent to an officer at the same time he was sending one to someone else.
“Does it say: ‘Your call is important to us, and we will get back to you?’” Kennedy asked.
Justice Antonin Scalia wrangled a bit with the idea of a service provider.
“You mean (the text) doesn’t go right to me?” he asked.
Then he asked whether they can be printed out in hard copy.
“Could Quon print these spicy little conversations and send them to his buddies?” Scalia asked.

This involves a rather cut and dry case of people using company provided equipment for their own personal use and complaining when their boss reads the private, sensationalist data of theirs on company provided equipment these people misused in the first place. Be that as it may, the disturbing part of this is two-fold.

First, that these Justices, these people charged with the power of life and death over all of us, these justices whom we expect to be if not informed, at least aware of life today have shown they have no business with the power to do what the Constitution gifts them. Arguments could be made that they simply wanted clarification. Bull! They had no problem understanding the differences between getting involved in a presidential election they knew to be none of their business; they had little trouble evidently understanding that Wall Street is more important than common people. I’m sure there are other examples (that’s sardonic wit for the sarcasm impaired!)

Second and more frightening is the implications for our future once these contemporary ignorants make decisions and how their new-found (late 20th, early 21st century) knowledge will impact their blatantly partisan opinions.
Scalia doesn’t understand that a text message (or probably any electronic message) doesn’t “go right to him” but rather, to his dismay, might be channeled through other vehicles that could jeopardize HIS privacy…or that of the corporations and CEOs he holds dear. You mean someone in the press or common population might learn in advance that Blankfein was planning to screw the public? Heaven forbid!

Roberts wants to know the difference between a pager and email. He should ask his grandson…or any kid on the street. Is he really 52? He didn’t live in a monastery, did he?

Imagine now the ramifications of some corporation interested in curbing and/or controlling information over the internet. One like, say, AIG, Wall Street…the U.S. Government! Now Scalia in his shock and stupification decides that it might just be better if either this medium didn’t exist, or more probably, that someone specifically control it – to prevent kids from getting printed out text of some joke about Bush or nasty comments about Cheney or, gasp, criticism of the (his) church! How would that affect his decision? Guess! And if he or the other fops on the bench couldn’t initialte such legislation, then they certainly could render a decision if the Republicans sued over Dandelion Wine being a threat to France’s Vineyards!

It’s time that a litmus test (the favorite Republican creedo) be administered to those on the bench and those seeking appointment to the bench. Let’s call it the FACTS of today’s life and let a group of 20 somethings ask the questions. Couldn’t hurt to employ that for Congress, too!

I don’t know about you, but I’d hate to be hauled before guys who thought that stealing a few songs from the internet was a more horrendous crime that bilking millions of Americans of their money.

It’s time for younger, more time-aware justices. And it’s definitely time for term limits on them.

News From States That Will Bring America Back.... back to what? I don't know... but back

Newsweek's cover features TEXAS- if you don't like where America is going (what with us having a black man for president), then you should definitely move to Texas according to Gov Rick Perry.

Don't Mess With Texas!

Excerpt: These days, people leave California—seemingly ungovernable, staggering under taxes and debt—and come to Texas. More people moved to Texas than any other state between 2008 and 2009, a time when Texas somehow avoided the worst of the Great Recession. "I'm willing to tell anyone that will listen that the land of opportunity still exists in America, and it's in Texas," Perry declared on the campaign trail last fall as he was on his way to crushing his opponent in the Republican primary, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.

In Arizona, you can no longer get on the ballot on election day unless you show your birth certificate- this pertains to our current president. I am really quite surprised that this state hasn't required it in the past being that they are all freaked out about illegal Mexicans... but this black president of questionable birth made the Arizona House vote 31-22 to add a provision to a bill.

Phoenix Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema said the bill is one of several measures that are making Arizona "the laughing stock of the nation."

Uh yeah. Sorry.

If you're a tax payer in Florida, your legislators are working feverishly to spend your money funding religious groups and religious schools, even if they discriminate.

Now legislators are trying another stealth attack to strip Florida's Constitution of its long-standing ``no aid'' provision, which ensures that government doesn't inject public money into religious activities. This is a fundamental First Amendment guarantee that keeps government from favoring one faith over another.

What's going on in your state?

America Is Getting Soft

Walt,
Enjoy!
As per Walt's comment:
Click on the image to enlarge.

27% of Americans too fat to be cannon fodder

According to Are school lunches a national security threat? by the AP, school lunches are so unhealthy that our nation's kids are going to be too fat to fight in the military!!!!

WASHINGTON – A group of retired military officers says high-calorie school lunches are threatening national security.

A study by the group Mission: Readiness finds that school lunches are making American kids so fat that fewer of them can meet the military's physical fitness standards. That, in turn, is putting recruitment in jeopardy.

A report from the group, being released Tuesday, says that 27 percent of Americans ages 17 to 24 are too overweight to join the military.

One of the officers, retired Navy Rear Admiral James Barnett Jr., says many young Americans are simply too fat to fight.

The officers are pushing for passage of a wide-ranging nutrition bill that aims to make the nation's school lunches healthier.

Sounds like being cannon fodder is about all the kids of the future will be able to look forward to... what with the demise of the middle class and all that.

Where were these people when bush was ravaging the constitution?

Excerpts from:

Militia movement will be packing heat at rally on the Potomac
By Ann Gerhart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 19, 2010; A03

Daniel Almond, a three-tour veteran of Iraq, is ready to "muster outside D.C." on Monday with several dozen other self-proclaimed patriots, all of them armed. They intend to make history as the first people to take their guns to a demonstration in a national park, and the Virginia rally is deliberately being held just a few miles from the Capitol and the White House.

Almond plans to have his pistol loaded and openly carried, his rifle unloaded and slung to the rear, a bandoleer of magazines containing ammunition draped over his polo-shirted shoulder. The Atlanta area real estate agent organized the rally because he is upset about health-care reform, climate control, bank bailouts, drug laws and what he sees as President Obama's insistence on and the Democratic Congress's capitulation to a "totalitarian socialism" that tramples individual rights.

...

"What I think is important to note is that many of the speakers have really threatened violence, and it's a real threat to the rule of law," Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, said of the program for the armed rally. "They are calling health care and taxes that have been duly enacted by a democratically elected Congress tyrannical, and they feel they have a right to confront that individually."

On the lineup are several heroes of the militia movement, including Mike Vanderboegh, who advocated throwing bricks through the windows of Democrats who voted for the health-care bill; Tom Fernandez, who has established a nationwide call tree to mobilize an armed resistance to any government order to seize firearms; and former Arizona sheriff Richard Mack, who refused to enforce the Brady law and then won a Supreme Court verdict that weakened its background-check provisions.

Those coming to the "Restore the Constitution" rally give Obama no quarter for signing the law that permits them to bring their guns to Fort Hunt, run by the National Park Service, and to Gravelly Point on the banks of the Potomac River. Nor are they comforted by a broad expansion of gun rights in several states since his election.

The brandishing of weapons is "not just an impotent symbol" but "a reminder of who we are," said Almond. "The founders knew that it is the tendency of government to expand itself and embrace its own power, and they knew the citizenry had to be reminded of that."

Countered Horwitz: "Our founders thought they got rid of political violence with the Constitution. That was its point. The basic idea of America is one person, one vote, equality."

Vanderboegh and Horwitz both said: "We have a fundamental difference in worldview."

...

When they stand on the river banks Monday and preach an activism that sounds to some like sedition, the armed demonstrators will have the full support of the federal government they fear, carefully detailed in the 26-page event permit, complete with the gun regulations of both Virginia and the Interior Department and a commitment to provide fencing, barricades and bike racks for the event.

"We handle tens of thousands of demonstrations of a First Amendment nature annually," said Dave Schlosser, spokesmen for the U.S. Park Police, "and we are handling this event no differently than any of the others. We assess what their needs are to allow us to facilitate a safe and successful demonstration so they can exercise their rights to free speech and free assembly without interference."

These folks look like they could use national health care.... I'm just saying.

Bet Against The American Dream

PRICELESS! leave it to Broadway (and npr)...

Bet Against the American Dream from Alexander Hotz on Vimeo.

To hear the true story that inspired the song, go to thisamericanlife.org.

This project is part of Planet Money, which is a co-production of NPR News and This American Life.
Planet Money's blog and podcast are at npr.org/money

PROLOGUE.
Ira talks about a friend who for years had a very trusted business partner and bookkeeper, until one day when he ran away with all of her money. (1 1/2 minutes)
ACT ONE. EAT MY SHORTS.
A hedge fund named Magnetar comes up with an elaborate plan to make money. It sponsors the creation of complicated and ultimately toxic financial securities... while at the same time betting against the very securities it helped create. Planet Money's Alex Blumberg teams up with two investigative reporters from ProPublica, Jake Bernstein and Jesse Eisinger, to tell the story. Jake and Jesse pored through thousands of pages of documents and interviewed dozens of Wall Street Insiders. We bring you the result: a tale of intrigue and questionable behavior, which parallels quite closely the plot of a Mel Brooks musical.

If you have any questions after hearing this story, you can email the ProPublica team for an answer. (40 minutes)

We commissioned a Broadway song to go along with this story, which you can listen to here. (Click to stream; right click or control click to download.)

You can also download the sheet music.

......
......

Obligatory (Saturday) Sex Post

Oy vey, where was this guy at the party?

A fellow in Whatcom County, Washington was arrested yesterday for allegedly running a farm catering to the needs of zoophilic sex tourists.

The animals confiscated included horses (stallions, actually - gives me the shivers), dogs, and mice.

Mice?

Yes.

Another man at the farm, on vacation from England, was allegedly arrested while he was - ahem, "with" a dog.

Just remember, folks - love your pets, not LOVE your pets.

Our misinformed populace thanks to opinions being broadcast as news.

One of the interesting things about being on Facebook is finding out how many of your "friends" are grossly misinformed about current events. Many are outraged at Obama for being anti-christian.... why?

The latest broohaha is that Obama ordered the nation to cancel the national day of prayer. If anyone bothered to listen to the news or read a paper, they'd know that a federal judge deemed it unconstitutional and Obama plans on having the National Day of Prayer anyway.

Personally, I don't give a shit if there's a national day of prayer or not. I'll pray if and when I want to pray.

From NASA:(National Aquanautics and Seafaring Administration)

Dateline: Palos de la Frontera, present day:

In a news conference today, King Ferdinand announced his new plans to explore the newly discovered “New World.” Speculation was running rampant that expenses would have to be cut and jobs could be lost resulting in further economic problems.
Chris Columbus and Murray Netman (the second man to reach the New World), differed in opinions on how the plans should be fulfilled.
Chris wanted to continue to explore the New World but that would entail using the same ships already in use. Although another type of ship was in the works, the Ministry of Sea Travel decided it would be too expensive to continue and possibly not return enough of the country’s investments.
Murray held that new, larger ships were needed to carry the heavier traffic across this vast new frontier especially with so many people interested in seeing this brave new world for themselves.

Which will win out? At the podium now is the King with his announcement. Let’s listen:

King Ferdinand: “ My fellow countrymen. We stand on the shores of a new frontier, one that will open vast new stores of knowledge for our people and the other peoples of the world. Exploration has always been in our blood. But we must weigh that inquisitiveness against practicality. We’ve just endured a number of conflicts that burdened our treasury and need to think of the future of our current citizens.
Considering all aspects is difficult. What riches lay across that uncharted gulf we don’t know. We do know we must provide for our people and businesses.
Our old world is being depleted of resources resulting in loss of employment, higher taxes and in some towns, religious and political strife. To this end, your Queen and I have decided to do the following:

First. For this endeavor we will construct a base of operations here. We will send several unmanned smaller ships to drift across the wide expanse to this New World where homing pigeons will return with scraps of earth, flora and anything else they may pick up during their stay. This data will be carefully analyzed and recommendations made.

Secondly. A small contingent of highly trained mariners will bravely try to repeat the voyage Chris made with his crew. New jobs will be created; old occupations revamped with newly retrained workers. We will have the best available minds to help prevent any difficulties that may arise.

Third. Today I have instructed the ship-builder trades to begin construction of a new fleet of ultra modern vessels to provide a safe haven for those exploring the furthest reaches of this new frontier. With these new vessels, the brave souls will know they can return to a safe, floating harbor to be reached in the event of unforeseen problems. Large, specially equipped vessels will provide a temporary floating depot by constantly sailing around the islands and even many miles out into the sea itself. They will be re-supplied at regular intervals with food, water, equipment and new crew to assist or, if required, replace any explorers should the need arise.

Lastly. Once a new base has been established on these new lands, we will need even larger vessels for more technicians, equipment and transportation to continue the exploration. The vessels may even find new ways to alleviate the tediousness of the return voyages. Quick, inventive minds will accompany these explorers, ones who will strive to understand the unfathomable knowledge yet to be gleaned.

But I must tell you this won’t be cheap. Much sacrifice will be made by our people here in the homeland. This could mean an increased tax burden for all. But we will feel the fruits of this in new jobs and the progress will be well worth any cost.

There are still those among us who would rather we stay quiet and intellectually dormant here; continue in our old ways. They will claim the cost prohibitive; that monies could be better spent on some pet project of theirs. They will claim more jobs may be lost to other countries. Business will be asked for certain sacrifices they may rail against. But it’s a necessary endeavor asked of all.

I assure you, all these things are necessary for our country, for our world to move forward. For if we do nothing, we will surely suffer the fate of the Greeks and Romans. Or some other country with less reputable ideals may beat us to this New Frontier in a race we can not lose thereby gaining what could have been ours. Let us move forward, not out of fear, but out of hope. A time of change has come. A change we can believe in.

Dios bendice España!”

"First You Get Down On Your Knees ..."

(hat tip to Crooks & Liars.)

Catholics in Oklahoma (motto: "We Like Federal Subsidies, So Federal Government Should Stay Out")'s St. John Borromeo Church commissioned an icon from an artist who specializes in such things. Using accepted classical forms, the artist did what she was paid to do - create an icon of Jesus on the cross, with the sign "The King of Glory" affixed.

And it looks pretty good - until certain parishioners noticed something.

If you look at the icon as solely an object of veneration, things are fine, but if you have a dirty mind or a diseased imagination (two attributes I enjoy, actually) you see that the appellation "The King of Glory" is entirely appropriate.

Particularly when you realize the icon is Ten Feet High, and posted prominently over the altar.

Naturally, the people with the prurient minds who want to be at least perceived publicly as holier-than-thou drew attention to this, saying that Jesus' abs looked like he was sporting a package that would make a Clydesdale feel inadequate. Naturally, they started screeching that the artist should be ashamed of herself and the icon withdrawn.

I think that these good Catholics should say fifteen Hail Marys and a like number of Our Fathers as a penance for having dirty minds. Honestly. Of course, it also points out the truth to the idea that you bring your own preconceptions to bear on any work of art.

10 Inconvenient Truths for Tax Day

From Crooks and Liars

10 Inconvenient Truths for Tax Day:

• Over 95% of Working Households Got Tax Cuts
• Only 2% of Tea Baggers Know Obama Cut Their Taxes...
• ...and 52% of Tea Partiers Think Their Taxes are Fair...
• ...and Think the Federal Tax Level is Over Double What It Is
• 1% of Families Earned 24% of All Income...
• ...and 57% of All Capital Income
• 400 Richest Taxpayers Saw Incomes Double, Tax Rates Halved
• Only 1 in 500 Families Pay the Estate Tax
• Corporate Taxes Have Plummeted as a Share of GDP
• The U.S. Loses $345 Billion a Year to Tax Evasion and Fraud

The complete details at this link

I Certainly Wouldn't Want the Likes of Fox News To Be on My Side

...and neither should Republicans. They have become the laughing stock of the country, if not the whole world. Wouldn't it be nice if some more Republican politicians would serve the people rather than the corporations and their mandated talking points? Maybe they'd stand a chance in hell of getting re-elected. Their base is just a bunch of crazies at this point. Sane people are tired of the lies and manipulation. Too bad the Democrats have no balls, save for about 2 of them.

Interesting story at Newsweek.
Have Republicans Been Out-Foxed?
Some conservatives are beginning to question whether Fox News is good for their movement.


-----------------

Good commentary by PM Carpenter on the political climate today

"In the mid-20th century, Republicans relied persistently on two political themes: anti-communism and fiscal prudence. They devoured anti-communism for breakfast and all things budgetary for dinner. Steady as she goes, sober, stoic, sensible country-club conservatism.

Over time, however, came their rather depressed realization that political sobriety wasn't gaining them many majorities; they came to realize instead that loud attracted attention; they came to realize that just as unfettered capitalism accrues wealth at the very top, unfettered democracy accumulates political success at the very bottom. A sucker's born every minute, never underestimate the body politic's intelligence, play to the lowest, basest common denominators, that sort of thing.

And by God it worked. Splendidly. The bullshit flew, the votes racked up and the majorities came. Winning at street-level politics -- not parlor philosophy -- became Republicans' dominant theme, and soon enough their only theme.

Feeding it, however, like the addiction it is, requires a constant application of Higher Hysteria. Frenzy the base, panic the populace and promise partisan salvation. And there's only one fix that will do, to maintain the high: more. More hysteria; more, and more aggressive, assaults; more and ever-intense lying.

Which will continue to intensify and degrade this once-stable democracy, until Democratic pols ... start calling it what it is."

Your tax dollars at work

Hey Teabaggers! Wanna protest how your tax money is really pissed away by the government? I'll join you.

More Than 53% of Your Tax Payment Goes to the Military

ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY

Hillary Clinton as Supreme Court Nominee?

UPDATE: Elizabeth Warren as Supreme Court Nominee?

another one of those "studies" This time about spanking

Study: Spanking Kids Leads to More Aggressive Behavior

Excerpt

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not endorse spanking for any reason, citing its lack of long-term effectiveness as a behavior-changing tactic. Instead the AAP supports strategies such as "time-outs" when children misbehave, which focus on getting kids to reflect on their behavior and the consequences of their actions. Still, as many parents can attest, few responses bring about the immediate interruption of a full-blown tantrum like a swift whack to the bottom.

Now researchers at Tulane University provide the strongest evidence yet against the use of spanking: of the nearly 2,500 youngsters in the study, those who were spanked more frequently at age 3 were more likely to be aggressive by age 5. The research supports earlier work on the pitfalls of corporal punishment, including a study by Duke University researchers that revealed that infants who were spanked at 12 months scored lower on cognitive tests at age 3. lots more of the study at this link

My experience: Spanking and yelling was ineffective when I was growing up. It just taught me to be more careful about getting caught and did nothing to curb any rebellious behavior. My mom was spanked often and then she grew up and spanked us kids repeatedly (so she fits the study). I did not turn out to be physically aggressive at all after years of being smacked and yelled at. I vowed to never spank my son and I never did. My husband was never spanked and yet he spanked our son a few times to my great dismay.

Were you spanked? Did you spank your kids? What do you think?

What happens when legislators are sponsored by corporations and war mongers

Obama's Jobs Agenda Stalled In Congress

"...Democrats have no money to pay for the program. That's because both Republicans and the Democratic chairman of the Senate Budget Committee objected to taking money left over from the fund that bailed out banks, automakers and insurers and using it for the jobs bill.

Such a move, they insisted, would add tens of billions of dollars to the $12.8 trillion national debt.

An $80 billion-plus Senate plan promised an infusion of cash to build roads and schools, help local governments keep teachers on the payroll, and provide rebates for homeowners who make energy-saving investments. Two months after the plan was introduced, most of those main elements remain on the Senate's shelf.

Obama's proposed $250 bonus payment to Social Security recipients is dead for the year, having lost a Senate vote last month."

...

When the Senate returns Monday, the first order of business will be trying to restore a one-month extension of health insurance subsidies and emergency unemployment aid for people who have been out of a job for more than six months. Republicans stopped a monthlong, $10 billion temporary jobless aid measure last month and insisted that the measure not add to the deficit."

Gawd forbid that the US spend a shitload of money to help the actual American people.

From the Liberal News...

Tiger Woods is Back! After a long absence due to unfortunate circumstances, the greatest golfer in the world has returned, Hoo-ray!
At a news conference the other day, Tiger apologized again for letting his fans, the game, his sponsors and the media down. He also said his family suffered because the media kept hounding them and that wasn’t nice. But on the course, he seems back in form. Isn’t it just great?

In other news, the owner of the mine that exploded had numerous safety violations over the last 5 years and more than a few the last couple of months.

Newt and Sarah slammed the president for his stance on nuclear retaliation saying that if Wales attacked the U.S. with a dirty bomb he wouldn’t retaliate with nukes. Nuclear expert Sarah questioned his patriotism. Looks like we’re turning into a country of chickens. Don’t those other countries know we’re number one in everything?

Justice Stevens is retiring. Obama is choosing a radical right wing replacement, Elena Kagan, to take his place.

Fox News reports that global warming is a fraud. Says there’s no evidence to back it up and the scant evidence questionable scientists provide is faked to keep their jobs inthe left wing establishment. Beck says this is the greatest fraud perpetrated on the Americans since fluoride. “We need to investigate this further”, he said. “It could cost American jobs.”

Obama announced that he’s allowing off-shore drilling for a few drops of oil.

Nearly half the U.S. households pay no tax! Shows you that the tax cuts the Republicans (and our glorious Ronnie) initiated really work for the people. Middle class families of four making $50,000 a year OWE no tax according to Deloitte Tax (formerly Deloitte Touche, a firm that panders to big business by suggesting ways to remove those nasty lower class employees that suck the profits from corporations). Some criticized big corporations for PAYING no taxes (as opposed to those families OWING no tax, but still paying something to the government even if the article didn’t state that – a possible difference there, but whatever) but those malcontents don’t realize just how many jobs that extra money they don’t have to pay might create!

The FCC lost a case to Comcast over net neutrality.

Republicans vowed to repeal all the Obama bills when they regain control of the house, senate and presidency in 2010 and 2012. There’s absolutely too much crazy spending on health care, social security, education and unemployment; money that could be put to better use in Afghanistan, Yeman, Somalia and, let’s face it, we need to go “Back to Iraq” since Obama’s policies haven’t produce results the way the Bush/Cheney policy did.

The unedited version of James O’Keefe’s fraudulent account of Acorn shows that a reportedly left wing organization that helped thousands of low income families did nothing wrong and needed to shut down.

Sarah Palin says in a speech to patriotic teabaggers that Obama’s government spending is killing this country. We need to make government smaller. We need to stop such wasteful spending. There are entirely too many departments that just aren’t needed like the EPA, BLM, HHS and Department of Education. This money should be returned in the form of tax cuts! That money could be put to better use. This is one of the things teabaggers want, to reduce Obama’s wasteful spending!

The cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan now top 716 billion and 265 billion since Bush took office in 2001.

In some good news, there seem to be no missing white girls.

More news you can use later!

I just threw up in my mouth a little

Palin: Palin-Bachmann 2012 ticket ‘sounds kind of cool.’

excerpt:

HANNITY (to the bimbettes in question): Are either one of you considering a run for the presidency in 2012? Just asking. Governor Palin, I’ll start — I’ll start with you. But before I get their answers, how many of would you like to see a Palin-Bachmann ticket?

PALIN: Well that sounds kind of cool. That sounds kind of cool.

HANNITY: Governor Palin, are you thinking about a run again?

PALIN: As I have said, I’m not going to close any doors that perhaps would be open.

...

Bachmann went on to say that if Palin wants to run, “she has tremendous support from the American people.” But Palin may have to worry about Bachmann’s support, as the congresswoman has previously called for Rep. Steve King (R-IA) to make a bid. And Bachmann may face some competition for the number two spot from Fox News host Glenn Beck, though he decided he would rather lead the ticket to prevent Palin from “yapping.”

where's the barf bag? This is scarier than another run by a bush.

"Memo to Liberals on the White House Death Warrants"

"Now, there can be no shuffling, no waffling on the matter. Obama has made it crystal clear for even the most avidly self-duping progressive: He will murder his fellow citizens without trial or evidence if he sees fit. The state can murder whom it pleases. This is the system we have. This is what you support when you support Barack Obama. You cannot escape this logic, this judgment. If you support Obama now, in this, then there is no crime he can commit that you will not support."
http://www.chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/1953-the-accomodationists-memo-to-liberals-on-the-white-house-death-warrants.html

See what the likes of Faux News has done in the US

Have you seen this story?

Anger over health-care reform spurs rise in threats against Congress members

Anger over the health-care overhaul has led to a nearly threefold increase in recent months in the number of serious threats against members of Congress, federal law enforcement officials said.

The lawmakers reported 42 threats in the first three months of this year, compared with 15 in last three months of 2009, said Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance W. Gainer, who had information about threats involving both chambers.

"The incidents ranged from very vulgar to serious threats, including death threats," Gainer said. "The ability to carry them out is another question and part of an investigation to determine what, if any, appropriate steps to take."

Nearly all of the recent threats appear to come from opponents of the health-care overhaul, said Gainer, who also served four years as chief of the U.S. Capitol Police. And, he said, there have been "significantly more" threats against House members than against senators.

The story continues with details here.

How can something like health care reform drive people to make death threats? I know how... people like Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and all of Faux News delivering outright lies about it to millions of people and acting like Armageddon is coming has made the crazies even crazier. Shame on them.

Should they be held responsible for deliberately lying to the American public and causing such an unnecessary furor over this issue?

While these knuckleheads think they are exercising their rights to free speech, this sort of incitement to harm legislators is like screaming "Fire!" in a crowded theater when there is no fire... and that is NOT covered by our first amendment right to free speech, thank you very much.

I was very active in the anti-war movement and not once did I ever hear or see such animosity towards legislators and war mongers that would make anyone want to harm them or their families. Never. But then again, the news media didn't cover our protests or activities. Many protest signs were quite nasty, but none called for death threats.

-----
Speaking of the idiocracy that is Sarah Palin, I don't even know why President Obama even replied to her charges that reducing nukes would make America less safe.

"I really have no response. Because last I checked, Sarah Palin's not much of an expert on nuclear issues," Obama told ABC's George Stephanopoulos. "If the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff are comfortable with it, I'm probably going to take my advice from them and not from Sarah Palin."

Good answer, Barry. The sad thing is that millions of people listen to this completely uniformed no-nothing, air head, Palin. God help the USA.

Isn't our country reminding you even more of Orwell's 1984 than ever before?

Well, they DID say they were sorry:

Charles Prince and Robert Rubin, often blamed for bringing down Citigroup (C.N), expressed deep regrets for Wall Street's meltdown in 2008 but did not take responsibility for the firm's massive losses and the eventual taxpayer bailout at a hearing on Thursday.

"I can only say that I am deeply sorry that our management -- starting with me -- was not more prescient and that we did not foresee that lay before us," Prince, Citi's former chief executive, told a U.S. Congressional panel probing the causes of the financial crisis.

Bad bets on repackaged debt securities, consumer loans and other assets forced Citigroup to take three separate government rescue packages totaling $45 billion, more than any other major bank received. When the dust settled, taxpayers held about a third of Citigroup's common stock and $27 billion of its debt.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6372UT20100408

BULLSHIT! (The main product of a non-manufacturing economy)

Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax

WOW

"... In recent years, credits for low- and middle-income families have grown so much that a family of four making as much as $50,000 will owe no federal income tax for 2009, as long as there are two children younger than 17, according to a separate analysis by the consulting firm Deloitte Tax.

"Tax cuts enacted in the past decade have been generous to wealthy taxpayers, too, making them a target for President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress. Less noticed were tax cuts for low- and middle-income families, which were expanded when Obama signed the massive economic recovery package last year.

"The result is a tax system that exempts almost half the country from paying for programs that benefit everyone, including national defense, public safety, infrastructure and education. It is a system in which the top 10 percent of earners — households making an average of $366,400 in 2006 — paid about 73 percent of the income taxes collected by the federal government.

"The bottom 40 percent, on average, make a profit from the federal income tax, meaning they get more money in tax credits than they would otherwise owe in taxes. For those people, the government sends them a payment.

""We have 50 percent of people who are getting something for nothing," said Curtis Dubay, senior tax policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation..."

I find this hard to believe. What do you think?


-----------------------
Meanwhile GE and Exxon paid no federal income taxes in '09 for billions and billions of dollars of profit. "Of the $15 billion it owed in taxes, all of it was legally channeled to corporate tax shelters in nations overseas."

Seriously, I would like to know how they get a free ride for using all the public services that are funded by tax revenues?

One of the funniest videos I've seen in a long time

For me, it wasn't an LOL one though. It was a painful - silent - can't catch my breath - tears streaming down my face crying with laughter video!

I'm sure it will get as many hits as "David After Dentist" (close to 56 million views)



Here it is -- It's known as Unicorn After Wisdom Teeth

I, along with several other youtube commenters, think "Jesus Christ is in Da House" would be a much better title!!

Woman kills 19 year old over her "Easter" attire

In Ohio over the weekend a 42 year old woman, Evelyn Burgess, was upset with her 19 year old niece Danielle Pickens' outfit- short shorts. They got into an argument over her attire because she felt that the young one was flaunting herself in front of the men at the Easter party. It started with a baseball bat and escalated to a gun.

"I didn't mean to do it," the woman said. "We was arguing, I tried to get my gun to prove a point, they got the rifle with me and it went off."

Asked about the location of her niece, the woman says bluntly, "In the car. I think she's dead."

Apparently it was no surprise that the 19 year old was wearing skimpy attire:

"The way she was dressed that day is the way she always dressed, and everybody knew that," said Tico Pickens, 33. "It wasn't like she meant any harm toward nobody by doing it. It was just comfortable to her."

oh my

A fight broke out with Evelyn Burgess and Danielle struggling with a baseball bat, then ended as Ralinda Pickens broke things up, got her sister outside and prepared to drive her home.

The sisters were in the car when Burgess came running up with a gun, reached inside the car, pulled Danielle by the hair and shot her as she tried to seek shelter under her older sister, Ralinda Pickens said.

I don't understand why crazy people are allowed to own weapons.

What if They Gave a Ku Klutz Klan Rally and Nobody Came?

Seriously.

According to Southern Poverty Law Center, there was a "rally" in SC this past Saturday and it was only attended by "a single Klansman: state leader Tim Bradley."

------

Speaking of crazy people exercising their first (and second) amendment rights, and I'm all for them doing so....

This Saturday, on April 10, the Michigan Militia plans to host a tea party “open carry” gun rally. The rally spokesman says, “This event primarily tries to take the stigma out of the word ‘militia.’"

Wish I lived closer. I'd attend.

Code of Anti-Socialism

What happens when you show up at a tea party with a 'no-medicare' pledge from Thom Hartmann





Found this on Raw Story Comments:

I, ________________________, do solemnly swear to uphold the principles of a socialism-free society and heretofore pledge my word that I shall strictly adhere to the following:
I will complain about the destruction of 1st Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 1st Amendment Rights.

I will complain about the destruction of my 2nd Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights by legally but brazenly brandishing unconcealed firearms in public.

I will foreswear the time-honored principles of fairness, decency, and respect by screaming unintelligible platitudes regarding tyranny, Nazi-ism, and socialism at public town halls. Also.
I pledge to eliminate all government intervention in my life. I will abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and services including but not limited to the following:

• · Social Security
• · Medicare/Medicaid
• · State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)
• · Police, Fire, and Emergency Services
• · US Postal Service
• · Roads and Highways
• · Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA)
• · The US Railway System
• · Public Subways and Metro Systems
• · Public Bus and Lightrail Systems
• · Rest Areas on Highways
• · Sidewalks
• · All Government-Funded Local/State Projects (e.g., see Iowa 2009 federal senate appropriations)
• · Public Water and Sewer Services (goodbye socialist toilet, shower, dishwasher, kitchen sink, outdoor hose!)
• · Public and State Universities and Colleges
• · Public Primary and Secondary Schools
• · Sesame Street
• · Publicly Funded Anti-Drug Use Education for Children
• · Public Museums
• · Libraries
• · Public Parks and Beaches
• · State and National Parks
• · Public Zoos
• · Unemployment Insurance
• · Municipal Garbage and Recycling Services
• · Treatment at Any Hospital or Clinic That Ever Received Funding From Local, State or Federal Government (pretty much all of them)
• · Medical Services and Medications That Were Created or Derived From Any Government Grant or Research Funding (again, pretty much all of them)
• · Socialist Byproducts of Government Investment Such as Duct Tape and Velcro (Nazi-NASA Inventions)
• · Use of the Internets, email, and networked computers, as the DoD's ARPANET was the basis for subsequent computer networking
• · Foodstuffs, Meats, Produce and Crops That Were Grown With, Fed With, Raised With or That Contain Inputs From Crops Grown With Government Subsidies
• · Clothing Made from Crops (e.g. cotton) That Were Grown With or That Contain Inputs From Government Subsidies

If a veteran of the government-run socialist US military, I will forego my VA benefits and insist on paying for my own medical care

I will not tour socialist government buildings like the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

I pledge to never take myself, my family, or my children on a tour of the following types of socialist locations, including but not limited to:

• · Smithsonian Museums such as the Air and Space Museum or Museum of American History
• · The socialist Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Monuments
• · The government-operated Statue of Liberty
• · The Grand Canyon
• · The socialist World War II and Vietnam Veterans Memorials
• · The government-run socialist-propaganda location known as Arlington National Cemetery
• · All other public-funded socialist sites, whether it be in my state or in Washington, DC

I will urge my Member of Congress and Senators to forego their government salary and government-provided healthcare.

I will oppose and condemn the government-funded and therefore socialist military of the United States of America.

I will boycott the products of socialist defense contractors such as GE, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Humana, FedEx, General Motors, Honeywell, and hundreds of others that are paid by our socialist government to produce goods for our socialist army.

I will protest socialist security departments such as the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, TSA, Department of Justice and their socialist employees.

Upon reaching eligible retirement age, I will tear up my socialist Social Security checks.

Upon reaching age 65, I will forego Medicare and pay for my own private health insurance until I die.

SWORN ON A BIBLE AND SIGNED THIS DAY OF __________ IN THE YEAR ___.
_____________
Signed
_________________________
Printed Name/Town and State

Shuttle Launch, 4/4/10

As I was driving home this morning, I saw the Space Shuttle lifting off. By the time I got home, the spacecraft was out of view, but its contrail remained, lit by the rising sun.

I had to get a picture of it, as the upper portion was curled up as you see. This was taken 25 minutes after launch.

Neat.

Obligatory Sex Post

(Can't be the Friday edition, as it's Sunday. Sheesh.)

Some people have too much time on their hands. Exhibit A here.

Probably NSFW.

The Devil Made The NY Times Report Pedophilia Cases

Ok. Just one more thing... I couldn't pass up sharing this with you all:

Satan behind media attacks on the Pope, asserts Italian exorcist

Rome, Italy, Mar 31, 2010 / 11:47 am (CNA).- Noted Italian exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth, commented this week that the recent defamatory reporting on Pope Benedict XVI, especially by the New York Times, was “prompted by the devil.”

Speaking to News Mediaset in Italy, the 85-year-old exorcist noted that the devil is behind “the recent attacks on Pope Benedict XVI regarding some pedophilia cases.”

“There is no doubt about it. Because he is a marvelous Pope and worthy successor to John Paul II, it is clear that the devil wants to ‘grab hold’ of him.”
... blah blah blah

Oh man, the RCC is never going to admit that the WHOLE institution is to blame for the years of abuse because they covered it up, refused to prosecute the offenders and moved them from parish to parish. If the RCC had been known for prosecuting sex offenders to the fullest extent of the law when the abuses happened, perhaps so many perverts wouldn't have signed up to be priests. duh.

Jon Stewart: "CNN could exercise some editorial authority and integrity "

Happy Easter.

CNN is losing viewers. In its efforts to get more viewers, they began to suck more than ever before. They claim to be more moderate when in fact they don't challenge ideologues at all. That's not news. That's opinion. If I want opinion, I can watch Faux News or MSNBC. Where do people turn for actual news? PBS.

Jon Stewart gets it.

Counseling CNN on how it can "get in the game," Stewart said, "They can go partisan, like their brethren at MSNBC or Fox -- get themselves a Glenn Olber-Beck or a Sean Hanni-Dow. Or, CNN could exercise some editorial authority and integrity -- start breaking apart the entire right-left politico-journalist symbiotic paradigm, lead a new generation of truth-seekers on an anti-talking point jihad."

"Or, or, they could just throw random bloggers into a hot-to-box and see what sticks," he added, before playing a series of clips unveiling the harsh rhetoric of RedState.com founder and conservative writer Erick Erickson, who CNN recently hired as a paid contributor.

"We could use that guy to make Mary Matalin seem sane and Carville seem human," mocked the host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, assailing Erickson's "entire resume" of "incendiary political rhetoric."

The progressive blog Think Progress labeled Erickson "unhinged" upon his CNN hire and pointed to a number of "racial and violent statements" he has made in the past, such as telling Tea Partiers to "send Obama to a death panel."

"CNN: We don't know what the fuck we're doing," Stewart concluded.