Ramblings

NO FRACKING TRANSPARENCY

2012-02-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

HANDCUFFED. REMOVED FROM THE PREMISES. ARRESTED AND CHARGED WITH UNLAWFUL ENTRY. WHAT CRIME DID THIS CITIZEN COMMIT?
TRIED TO FILM A CONGRESSIONAL HEARING IN THE HOUSE ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT SUBCOMMITTEE.

Josh Fox,(ARRESTEE), meanwhile, has issued the following statement to the press:

I was arrested today for exercising my First Amendment rights to freedom of the press on Capitol Hill. I was not expecting to be arrested for practicing journalism. Today's hearing in the House Energy and Environment subcommittee was called to examine EPAs findings that hydraulic fracturing fluids had contaminated groundwater in the town of Pavillion, Wyoming. I have a long history with the town of Pavillion and its residents who have maintained since 2008 that fracking has contaminated their water supply. I featured the stories of residents John Fenton, Louis Meeks and Jeff Locker in GASLAND and I have continued to document the catastrophic water contamination in Pavillion for the upcoming sequel GASLAND 2. It would seem that the Republican leadership was using this hearing to attack the three year Region 8 EPA investigation involving hundreds of samples and extensive water testing which ruled that Pavillion's groundwater was a health hazard, contaminated by benzene at 50x the safe level and numerous other contaminants associated with gas drilling. Most importantly, EPA stated in this case that fracking was the likely cause.
As a filmmaker and journalist I have covered hundreds of public hearings, including Congressional hearings. It is my understanding that public speech is allowed to be filmed. Congress should be no exception. No one on Capitol Hill should regard themselves exempt from the Constitution. The First Amendment to the Constitution states explicitly "Congress shall make no law...that infringes on the Freedom of the Press". Which means that no subcommittee rule or regulation should prohibit a respectful journalist or citizen from recording a public hearing.
This was an act of civil disobedience, yes done in an impromptu fashion, but at the moment when they told me to turn off the cameras, I could not. I know my rights and I felt it was imperative to exercise them.
When I was led out of the hearing room in handcuffs, John Boehner's pledge of transparency in congress was taken out with me.
The people of Pavillion deserve better. The thousands across the US who have documented cases of water contamination in fracking areas deserve their own hearing on Capitol hill. They deserve the chance to testify in before Congress. The truth that fracking contaminates groundwater is out, and no amount of intimidation tactics --either outright challenges to science or the arrest of journalists --will put the genie back in the bottle. Such a brazen attempt to discredit and silence the EPA, the citizens of Pavillion and documentary filmmaking will ultimately fail and it is an affront to the health and integrity of Americans.
Lastly, in defense of my profession, I will state that many many Americans get their news from independent documentaries. The hill should immediately move to make hearings and meetings accessible to independent journalists and not further obstruct the truth from being reported in the vivid and in depth manner that is only achievable through long form documentary filmmaking.
I will be thinking on this event further and will post further thoughts and developments.
I have been charged with "unlawful entry" and my court date is February 15.
Josh Fox
Washington D.C.
2/1/12

CLICKING HERE WILL LINK YOU THE ENTIRE HUFF PO STORY

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS DOES NOT INCLUDE A CLAUSE THAT STATES ONLY FOR THOSE WE AGREE WITH.
HAVE YOU SEEN THE COMMERCIALS FOR FRACKING?
FLAGS, MAIN STREET, HAPPY CHILDREN, A BAKERY (YOU CAN ALMOST SMELL MOM'S APPLE PIE)...
HOW THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY WILL MAKE US ALL ENERGY INDEPENDENT, WITH LIBERTY AND JOBS FOR ALL.

PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE FLAMING TAP WATER, OR IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, THE FACT PAVILLION WYOMING RESIDENTS CAN NO LONGER DRING THEIR WATER, DUE TO BENZENE CONTAMINATION, "LIKELY" CAUSED BY FRACKING.

CLICK HERE TO READ WHAT THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY HAS TO SAY ABOUT BENZENE

Canada Pulled out of Kyoto Protocol

2012-02-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

The Guardian reports: Canada has pulled out of the Kyoto protocol on climate change, one day after an update was agreed on, saying the accord won't work.

The protocol, initially adopted in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, is aimed at fighting global warming. Canada's previous Liberal government signed the accord but did little to implement it and current prime minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government never embraced it.

"The Kyoto protocol does not cover the world's largest two emitters, the United States and China, and therefore cannot work," Kent said. "It's now clear that Kyoto is not the path forward to a global solution to climate change. If anything it's an impediment."

Mike Hudema of Greenpeace Canada said in a statement it was a further signal that the Harper government is more concerned about protecting polluters than people.

Hannah McKinnon of Climate Action Network Canada said formally withdrawing was a slap in the face of the international community and "a total abdication of our responsibilities".

Canada's Conservative government is reluctant to hurt Canada's booming oil sands sector, the country's fastest growing source of greenhouse gases. Canada has the world's third-largest oil reserves, more than 170bn barrels. Daily production of 1.5m barrels from the oil sands is expected to increase to 3.7mn in 2025. Only Saudi Arabia and Venezuela have more reserves. But the enormous amount of energy and water needed in the extraction process increases greenhouse gas emissions.

11:38 minute clip- The Dirty Truth about Tar sands oil extracion

Wow, Canada's "conservative party" is really selling out.

Guess Who?

2012-01-31T00:00:00.000-08:00

Worked as a staffer at the U.S. House of Representatives from 1988 until 2007.

Made an anti Muslim film about Jihad.

A devoted Catholic, a member of the Choir of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Had a 6 year affair with a married man.

Plays the French Horn.

Her husband is 23 years older than she is.

Described as a "helicopter spouse"

Also described as "an amalgamation of Nancy Reagan and Laura Bush"

Toned down her appearance in recent months.

WHO IS SHE?

IF LOOKS COLD KILL....

CALLISTA GINGRICH!

THIS IS HER ANTI MUSLIM FILM

* NOTE THE TIE IN THE BEGINNING TO CITIZENS UNITED?

THIS IS A DISGUSTING CLIP, BUT WE HEAR CALLISTA G. SPEAK AT THE 1:20 MARK

ONLY JUST BEGUN?

GAWD SHE IS SO CREEPY!!!

Sublet Whitewash: Apple and Walmart

2012-01-30T14:05:00.000-08:00

This seems to be a trend w mega corporations these days- sublet out portions of the work of mfg. or the warehouse. Demand low pricing of them, but wash their hands of any shady or otherwise illegal practices:

WALMART:

WALMART SUBLETS THEIR MAJOR WAREHOUSE/SHIPPING TO A COMPANY IN LA. THE COMPANY HIRES "TEMPS", WHO REMAIN TEMPS FOREVER. THE TEMPS GET PAID PIECEWORK, RATHER THAN HOURLY WAGES, TRACKING THAT INFO BECOMES DIFFICULT, AND ERRORS ERR ON THE SIDE OF THE EMPLOYER. EMPLOYEES MAY HAV DOEN TIME WHERE THEY ARE REQUIRED TO REMAIN ON THE PREMISES, BUT FOR NO PAY.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE BY CLICKING HERE

• The workers, who are classified as temporary workers, receive low wages, which their suits says are sometimes below the minimum wage, no health insurance, no holidays, and no vacations.

• If there is no truck to be loaded or unloaded, they must stay at work but don’t get paid. Sometimes, they are at work for as long as 16 hours.

• During the summer, it’s not unusual for temperatures to rise above 100 degrees inside the warehouse.

• Some of the workers in September filed a federal lawsuit charging Schneider and its staffing company Rogers Premier Warehousing with failure to pay workers the minimum wage and overtime.

They also filed complaints with the California labor commission, which resulted in Rogers being fined $600,000 for among other things not providing their workers with sufficient information on their wage statements so that the workers could calculate whether they received all the wages that they were due.

• Workers charged a Walmart subcontractor with firing them for trying to recover stolen wages and for cooperating with a state investigation of wage theft and unsafe working conditions at the distribution center.

Reyes is one of about 70 workers at the distribution center who recently were told that they would lose their jobs at the end of February. “We’ve been fighting to keep our jobs,” said Eric Reyes, who works at a Walmart distribution center operated by Schneider Logistics in Mira Loma, California.

•.Lawyers for the workers who filed the wage theft suit will ask the judge to order the warehouse operator to stop the planned job terminations.

• In a related matter, Warehouse Workers United sent a second letter of complaint to Walmart CEO Mike Dunn informing him of the mistreatment of workers by Walmart subcontractors and urging Walmart “to adopt a Responsible Contractor Policy to ensure that its contractors live up to the letter and the spirit of Walmart’s Statement of Ethics.”

CLICK HERE TO READ ANOTHER ARTICLE

LABOR TAKES AIM AT WALMART:

When she began as a cashier in 1988, Goebel saw Walmart as the small town’s most attractive workplace, one that she associated with the market-inspired humanitarianism of its founder, Sam Walton. More recently, Goebel’s satisfaction with her job has soured. In 2005 her daughter, a young mother who was a cashier at the same store, went to the doctor with troubling symptoms. The doctor diagnosed ovarian cysts and insisted she get a hysterectomy. In the fall of 2006, she approached Goebel and said she had ovarian cancer. “I asked her, ‘Why did you not have the hysterectomy when they first suggested it to you?’” Goebel recalls. “And she looked directly at me and said, ‘I was afraid if I took the time off they’d fire me.’” Goebel’s daughter died in 2007 at 37.

“I don’t hold Walmart culpable for my daughter having cancer,” says Goebel. “But she was living in this horrible fear of losing her job, and had she gone and gotten the surgery when the doctor suggested, it would have bought her years more with her kids.”

While coping with the consequences of Walmart’s well-documented practice of firing employees with medical issues, Goebel also began to notice that her manager was slashing wages while increasingly demanding that the workers perform task volumes she calls “not humanly possible.

APPLE COMPUTER HAS A DIFFERENT KIND OF WHITEWASH GOING ON:

CHINESE SWEAT SHOPS. 12 HOUR SHIFTS. CHILD LABOR. SUICIDES.

WALMART HAS SUNK TOO LOW, AND APPLE HAS NO "i Excuse" FOR SUCH BEHAVIOR.
SETING UP NETS TO CATCH SUIIDE JUMPERS, GROSS LABOR VIOLATIONS SHOULD NOT BE A PART OF WHAT SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES DO.
APPLE COMPUTER GOT AN HONORABLE MENTION IN OBAMA'S SOTU ADDRESS:
"It means we should support everyone who's willing to work and every risk-taker and entrepreneur who aspires to become the next Steve Jobs.

After all, innovation is what America has always been about."

WALMART'S INFRACTION HAPPENS ON US SOIL, SO MAYBE THERE IS HOPE THAT THE SUB CONTRACTOR WILL HAVE TO MAKE RIGHT, AND WORKERS TELLING THE TRUTH WILL NOT LOSE THEIR JOBS. BUT SWEATSHOPS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES? THE ONLY SOLUTION I CAN SEE IS AN "i Boycott" of buyers refusing to buy the products. Putting up nets to catch jumpers, and awking employees to sign a pledge that they will not commit suicide does not cut it.

Cease & Desist

2012-01-29T11:04:00.000-08:00

Newt Gingrich's campaign has been given a Cease & Desist order from the band "The Heavy", saying he does not have permission to use their song, and they do not support his candidacy.

Lyric excerpts from the song:

Lyrics to How You Like Me Now :

Now there was a time
When you loved me so
I could have been wrong
But now you needed to know
See, I've been a bad, bad, bad, bad man
And I'm in deep, Yes I am
I found a brand new love for this man
And I can't wait till you see
I can't wait

So how you like me now
How you like me now

Remember the time
When I eat you up
You know that I wasn't lyin'
that you can't give up
So if I was to cheat
on you baby would you see right through me
If I sing a sad, sad, sad, sad song
would you give it to me

How you like me now

Does that make you love me baby
Does that make you want me baby

How you like me now (end)

Although we agree Newt is a a bad, bad, bad, bad man

and some of us do see right through him,

his is a a sad, sad, sad, sad song

it neither makes me love or want him (ewwww).

Other potential theme songs for Newt:

Lynard Skynard's - Don't ask me no questions, and I won't tell you no lies

Liar Liar- The Castaways is more like it...

You have a theme song recommendation for the Gingrich campaign?

Click here to read a previous blog post about other republicans who have been told by bands to stop using their songs.

• Tom Petty- Michelle Bachmann used An American Girl

• Tom Petty- George W. Bush for using "I Won't Back Down"?

• Don Henley (Eagles)- “The Boys of Summer” and “All She Wants to Do Is Dance”—in web campaign videos for Charles DeVore, sucessfully sued him.

• Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA (Saint) Ronald Reagan

• Jackson Browne sued John McCain, the Republican National Committee and the Ohio Republican Party for the use of his 1977 song “Running on Empty” in a campaign ad without asking permission.

• During his 2010 bid for U.S. Senate, Republican Rand Paul used two songs by the band Rush to pump up crowds and add background music to a promotional video. This prompted Rush's lawyer to write to Paul's team, claiming the politician never asked permission to use the tunes.

• In 2008, Heart's "Barracuda" played at the Republican National Convention in tribute to then-Vice-President nominee Sarah Palin, whose high-school nickname had been Sarah Barracuda. Heart wanted nothing to do with Palin, sending a stern email to the campaign stating that, "Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image.”

Citizens United Theme song?

2012-01-28T00:00:00.000-08:00

This is some high quality snark!

Meet the Vagilutionaries

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

Vagilutionaries are people not corporations. Photo by Rob Sydor

YES, THE VAGILUTIONARIES~ A SPINOFF AFFINITY GROUP FROM THE LOCAL OCCUPY EUGENE CONTINGENT..

THEY ADDED A NICE VISUAL TOUCH TO THE OTHERWISE BLEAK, AND SARDINE CAN LOOKING FEDERAL BUILDING. THEY HAD GATHERED ON A COLD AND RAINY DAY, TO PROTEST THE 2ND ANNIVERSARY OF CITIZENS UNITED. THE CITY HAS AN ORDINANCE ON THE BOOKS, MAKING IT LEGAL FOR WOMEN TO BE TOPLESS IN PUBLIC.

ALTHOUGH WHEN THE VAGILUTIONARIES PROTESTED IN FRONT OF A ANTI-OCCUPY CITY COUNSELOR'S HOUSE- WITH BARE CHESTS SPELLING "TRUTH", I KID YOU NOT-- THEY WERE CALLED "TERRORISTS".

MAYBE THE GONG IS FREAKING PEOPLE OUT?

THE FIRST PROTEST AT THE COUNCILORS HOUSE WAS CHRISTMAS NIGHT, WHERE 20 PEOPLE, SOME WEARING TENTS, SET UP CAMP IN HIS YARD. SOME BANGED ON HIS FRONT DOOR AND RANG HIS DOORBELL, REPEATEDLY. 5 WERE ARRESTED.

IT WAS COUNCILMAN POLLING'S IDEA TO BRING INDUSTRIAL FLOODLIGHTS W LOUD GAS GENERATORS TO THE OCCUPY CAMP, MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO SLEEP. SOME OF THE OCCUPIER'S FELT THEY WANTED TO REPAY THE FAVOR, LETTING HIM KNOW WHAT DISRUPTED SLEEP WAS LIKE.

SINCE THEN, THE CITY PAID $13,000 TO INSTALL A FANCY/DECORATIVE WROUGHT IRON FENCE, AND SECURITY SYSTEM, PLUS OVERTIME POLICE PATROLS FOR THE CITY COUNCIL GUY.

SOMEONE SHOULD RUN FOR CITY COUNCIL ON THE PLATFORM OF WANTING A FREE WROUGHT IRON FENCE.

(A $4,400 VALUE!)

THE SECURITY PEOPLE AT THE FEDERAL BUILDING MUST HAVE HAD THEIR PANTIES IN A KNOT. HALF NAKED NINJA WOMEN PARADING AROUND IN FRONT OF THE FEDERAL COURTHOUSE!

THE WHOLE IDEA IS TITILLATING... DON'T YOU THINK?

MITCH DANIELS- GOP'S GO TO GUY

2012-01-26T10:11:00.000-08:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

EPIC FAIL!
WHO IS IN CHARGE OF CHOOSING THE "BEST OF" GOP PEOPLE?
MORE LIKE AN IN HOUSE SABOTEUR!

SOTU WHAT ARE WE MISSING?

2012-01-25T11:23:00.000-08:00

I WISH THEY WOULD OMIT THE SOTU APPLAUSE.
PLUS LESS CLAPPING TIME WOULD SHORTEN THE LENGTH, OVERALL.
THE 2012 SOTU ADDRESS HAD 81 OUTBURSTS OF APPLAUSE.

THE ONLY TIME I EVER APPRECIATED THE APPLAUSE IN THIS SPEECH WAS THIS COMMENT:

Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal.

APPLAUSE

But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better.

MUTED APPLAUSE

THERE WAS SOME DOUBLE TALK ABOUT ENERGY

Our experience with shale gas, our experience with natural gas, shows us that the payoffs on these public investments don't always come right away. Some technologies don't pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy.

ARE WE TALKING ABOUT FRACKING?

I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here. We've subsidized oil companies for a century. That's long enough.

WIND AND SOLAR ARE CLEAN, BUT IN PAST SPEECHES, NUCLEAR AND COAL WERE DEEMED

CLEAN ALTERNATIVE ENERGY.

And I'm proud to announce that the Department of Defense, working with us, the world's largest consumer of energy, will make one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history, with the Navy purchasing enough capacity to power a quarter of a million homes a year.

I'M NOT APPLAUDING UNTIL I KNOW SPECIFICALLY WHAT "CLEAN ENERGY" THEY WOULD BE USING.

Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example. (ARMED FORCES TEAMWORK).

HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER ALREADY PUBLICLY DECLARED THE SOTU ADDRESS "PATHETIC". DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH WAITING FOR GOP TEAMWORK.

It means we should support everyone who's willing to work and every risk-taker and entrepreneur who aspires to become the next Steve Jobs.

After all, innovation is what America has always been about.

AS MUCH AS STEVE JOBS WAS AN INNOVATOR, THE FORTUNES OF APPLE ARE MADE ON THE BACKS OF MFG SWEATSHOPS IN CHINA. SWEATSHOPS WITH CONDITIONS SO BAD, THEY HAD A PROBLEM WITH SUICIDES. SORRY TO BRING UP THE DARK UNDERBELLY OF APPLE, BUT THIS KIND OF TELLING HALF THE STORY IS WHY SOTU ADDRESSES ARE HARD TO TAKE.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/02/ff_joelinchina/all/1

OBAMA DELIVERS A GREAT SPEECH. BUT LINES LIKE THIS ONE:

But I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place.

MUST SPUR US TO ASK, SO WHAT HAS CHANGED?
ARE THERE NEW POLICIES IN PLACE?
LAST TIME I CHECKED, THE DOOR IS STILL OPEN FOR MORE OF THE SAME.

From now on, every multinational company should have to pay a basic minimum tax

THIS IS A DIFFERENT MANIFESTATION OF TAXING THE RICH. WE ALL KNOW HOW THE GOP FEELS ABOUT THAT!

People cannot afford losing $40 out of each paycheck this year. There are plenty of ways to get this done. So let's agree right here, right now: No side issues. No drama. Pass the payroll tax cut without delay. Let's get it done.

* NOTE- POTENTIAL ADD ONS TO THIS MEASURE INCLUDE THESE ITEMS:
The House’s version of the payroll tax bill would demand that unemployed workers without a high school diploma show they are working toward one before they qualify for additional jobless benefits. It would also allow states to require drug tests for unemployment recipients.

THIS PAYROLL TAX CUT IS MONEY NOW NOT ADDED TO SOCIAL SECURITY FUNDS, FURTHER DESTABILIZING SOCIAL SECURITY.

Join me in a national commitment to train 2 million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job.

And I want to cut through the maze of confusing training programs so that from now on people like Jackie have one program, one website, and one place to go for all the information and help that they need. It is time to turn our unemployment system into a re- employment system that puts people to work.

So tonight, I am proposing that every state, every state, requires that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18.

SAYING THESE THINGS, AND COMMITMENTS TO IMPROVE EDUCATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS, DOES NOT MAKE THEM SO.

HOW DOES A STATE REQUIRE STUDENTS TO STAY IN SCHOOL? WHO WILL FUND IT?

AN UNFUNDED MANDATE PASSED OFF TO STATES TO ENFORCE IS ABOUT AS EMPTY A PROMISE CAN BE. MAY AS WELL ADD RAINBOWS AND WINNING LOTTERY TICKETS WITH LARGE SUMS FOR ALL!

SOME OF IT SOUNDS GOOD, SOME OF IT IS NOT REALLY EXPLAINED OR DEFINED, ESPECIALLY HOW IT WOULD BE FUNDED, BUT SHOULD WE REALISTICALLY EXPECT TO SEE THESE THINGS COME TO FRUITION ANYTIME SOON?

OVERALL, OBAMA'S SOTU ADDRESS WAS DUBBED A LAUNDRY LISTOF ITEMS THAT REQUIRE CONGRESSIONAL ACTION.

THE MOST CONGRESSIONAL ACTION WE'VE SEEN TO DATE, IS INFIGHTING.

OBAMA HEADS OFF ON THE REELECTION CAMPAIGN TRAIL TODAY.

NEW FEATURE: EDITORIAL RANTS

2012-01-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

OUR LOCAL PAPER HAS AN EDITORIAL COLUMN THAT ALLOWS 1 POST PER MONTH, NOT TO EXCEED 250 WORDS. THERE ARE SOME GREAT IDEAS LAUNCHED THERE, AND OTHERS THAT ARE EITHER SO MISINFORMED OR BAD, YOU WONDER IF THEY ARE PRINTED JUST TO ANTAGONIZE OR SPUR RESPONSES.
IN ANY CASE, I'LL BE USING SOME AS A SPRINGBOARD FOR CONVERSATION.

Proposal raises lots of questions

The Kansas legislative proposal to guarantee “the inalienable rights of every person, starting with fertilization of the human egg” raises questions for me:

How would the gestational status of the entire population of women of reproductive age be monitored? Would massive invasive screening programs be needed to identify every newly fertilized egg so that the rights and protections of personhood can be guaranteed?

Would child abuse laws be applied to protect the fertilized egg? Given the research showing fetal damage from tobacco smoke and alcohol, use of such toxic substances by pregnant women could be deemed child abuse. Would pregnant women who abuse their fertilized eggs be arrested and perhaps incarcerated to prevent them from abusing their fertilized eggs?

If the fertilized egg becomes a tax deduction within its family unit, how much would that reduce government tax revenue?

Would declaring fertilized eggs persons have effects on programs such as welfare payments based on number of children? Are we prepared to increase welfare payments from the moment a pregnancy is documented rather than wait until birth?

What effect would declaring fertilized eggs persons (thereby adding eight or nine months to a person’s age) have on qualifying for age-based rights and benefits such as voting, driver’s licenses and Social Security?

The answers to those questions, and others, would provide insight into the social and fiscal costs of the proposed legislation.

I wonder if Kansas legislators have prepared an impact statement to inform their citizenry of the costs.

DORIS M. WILLIAMS

Eugene

BRILLIANT DORIS!

I'M SURE THE IDEAS SHE FLOATS ARE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF THESE "FERTILIZED EGG IS A PERSON" LAWS BEING PROPOSED.

TAX DEDUCTION

WELFARE $

DEFINING A BIRTH DATE

HOW ABOUT THIS CONCEPT TO PONDER....
IF A FETUS IN UTERO=A PERSON
THAN HOW CAN A CORPORATION BE
A PERSON???

MAYBE INSURANCE COMPANIES WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE, AND CHARGE ADDITIONAL INSURANCE RATES FOR THIS STOWAWAY FREELOADER IN UTERO?

DISCUSS........

NOT FOR SALE

2012-01-22T09:10:00.001-08:00

KILL THE MESSENGER!

2012-01-20T12:33:00.000-08:00

GINGRICH PITCHED A HISSY FIT @ LAST NIGHT'S GOP DEBATE, BECAUSE THE FIRST QUESTION WAS ABOUT HIS 2ND EX WIFE'S ACCUSATION THAT HE WANTED AN OPEN MARRIAGE.

THE REALITY OF HIS PAST IS SO SORDID, IT'S A WONDER HE DID NOT ASK FOR CLARIFICATION.... WHICH EX WIFE, OR WHAT AFFAIR WITH WHOM- THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY, IT'S GETTING HARD TO KEEP TRACK OF THEM ALL!

WHAT DAWNED ON ME WAS ALL THE WORDS NEWT USED TO LASH OUT AT THE "ELITE MEDIA", AS A POOR VICTIM, SQUARELY FIT AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF NEWT HIMSELF!

"as close to despicable as anything I can imagine"

"appalling"

"destructive, vicious, negative nature"

"take trash like that (him/his history?) and use it, to open a presidential debate"

"don't try to blame somebody else"

NEWT IS "TIRED OF THE ELITE MEDIA PROTECTING BARACK OBAMA BY ATTACKING THE PUBLIC"

EVEN MORE PERPLEXING, IS THE AUDIENCE APPLAUSE, SOME GIVING A STANDING OVATION
TO NEWT'S PASS-THE-BUCK, KILL THE MESSENGER RESPONSE.

MR GINGRICH, IN 1999, WHEN YOU WERE MARRIED AND HAVING AN AFFAIR, YOUR EX WIFE SAID YOU ASKED HER TO ENTER INTO AN OPEN MARRIAGE....

ANSWER THE QUESTION- YES OR NO

AFTER GINGRICH PITCHED HIS FIT ABOUT THE BIG BAD MEDIA ELITE, HE GOT AROUND TO A DENIAL.

PERRY'S OUT

2012-01-19T12:46:00.000-08:00

NO MORE EATING CORN DOGS @ COUNTY FAIRS FOR RICK PERRY. WHO KNOWS, MAYBE THAT WAS HIS FATAL FLAW--- HE SHOULD HAVE EATEN MORE & TALKED LESS! BUT NOW THAT THE LOSER RETREATS FROM ANY MORE PUBLICLY HUMILIATING "OOPS" MOMENTS, HE HAD TO DO ONE MORE STUPID THING & ENDORSE GINGRICH.
PERRY OPINED:
"I believe Newt is a conservative visionary who can transform our country. We've had our differences, which campaigns will inevitably have, and Newt is not perfect, but who among us is?"

ON THE VERY SAME DAY HE DUBS NEWT A "CONSERVATIVE VISIONARY", NEWT'S 2ND EX WIFE MARIANNE GINGRICH, IS DOING AN ABC INTERVIEW, THAT AIRS TONIGHT.
NEWT WANTED ON OPEN MARRIAGE SO HE COULD REMAIN MARRIED, AND DO CALLISTA. THE EX SAID NO, THAT'S NOT A MARRIAGE.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING! THE REAL NEWT &
HIS SLIMY SO CALLED FAMILY VALUES WILL BE EXPOSED (PARDON THE PUN), BEFORE THE S. CAROLINA PRIMARY ELECTION.

GINGRICH'S CAMPAIGN SAID HE'S NOT TALKING ABOUT THE PAST

OF COURSE HE'S NOT, BECAUSE HIS PAST IS PRETTY UGLY.

• After extensive investigation and negotiation by the House Ethics Committee, Gingrich was sanctioned $300,000 by a 395–28 House vote. It was the first time in history a speaker was disciplined for ethical wrongdoing.

• Facing a rebellion in the Republican caucus, he announced on November 5, 1998, that he would not only stand down as Speaker, but would leave the House as well.^[

Gingrich made this announcement only a day after being elected to an 11th term from his district. Commenting on his departure, Gingrich said, "I'm willing to lead but I'm not willing to preside over people who are cannibals. My only fear would be that if I tried to stay, it would just overshadow whoever my successor is."

• HE'S A 1% ER

After leaving Congress in 1999, Gingrich started a number of for-profit companies: Between 2001 and 2010, the companies he and his wife owned in full or part had revenues of almost $100 million.

According to financial disclosure forms released in July 2011, Gingrich and his wife had a net worth of at least $6.7 million in 2010, compared to a maximum net worth of $2.4 million in 2006. Most of the increase in his net worth was because of payments to him from his for-profit companies.

• According to L. H. Carter, Gingrich's campaign treasurer, Gingrich said of Battley: "She's not young enough or pretty enough to be the wife of the President. And besides, she has cancer."

• In 1981, six months after the divorce from Battley was final, Gingrich wed Marianne Ginther. In the mid-1990s, Gingrich began an affair with House of Representatives staffer Callista Bisek, who is 23 years his junior. They continued their affair during the Lewinsky scandal, when Gingrich became a leader of the investigation of President Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with Clinton's alleged affairs.

• WIKI QUOTES- GLAD THEY ARE BACK ONLINE!

SO TO RECAP- PERRY OUT - HE CAN RESUME HIS PASSION:
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has presided over more executions than any governor in US history, at 235 ... and counting.

Gingrich finished in fourth place in Iowa

Gingrich finished in fifth place in the New Hampshire

I FOR ONE AM RELIEVED PERRY IS OUT, AND WILL ALSO SIGH A SIGH OF RELIEF WHEN GINGRICH & SANTORUM ARE OFF THE BALLOT AS WELL.

GINGRICH KEEPS TRYING TO PORTRAY HIMSELF AS A "CONSERVATIVE VISIONARY", BUT REALITY KEEPS KICKING HIS ASS.

Photo Fun

2012-01-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

10 years no justice

2012-01-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

PHOTO FROM A LOCAL PEACE VIGIL SHUTTING DOWN GITMO

WAS PRESIDENT OBAMA'S VERY FIRST EXECUTIVE ORDER.

President Barack Obama failed three years ago to close the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison, and with Wednesday marking the 10th anniversary of its creation, debate is raging over whether a law he signed will ensure it will stay open for decades to come, jailing even United States citizens.

STUDENT NON DISCRIMINATION ACT

2012-01-15T15:30:00.000-08:00

Call Your Senators At 202-224-3121
Help Stop LGBT Bullying

Al's Student Non-Discrimination Act would ban discrimination and harassment in public schools based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and require schools to protect LGBT students when they are threatened.

JUST PAY THEM

2012-01-14T00:24:00.000-08:00

WSJ REPORTS: "Unions representing the workers at the Nike’s PT Nikomas plant on the island of Java said employees sewing Nike shoes together were regularly forced to do an hour of overtime per day, off the clock, to meet production targets. Unions complained that the workers did a total of close to 600,000 unpaid overtime hours over the last two years. After close to a year of negotiations, the company has agreed to pay for the overtime.

One of Nike’s many contractors in Indonesia that churns out the company’s iconic swooshed shoes has agreed to pay workers a total of $1 million (or around $222 each) after complaints they were regularly shortchanged on pay.

While $1 million is just a drop in the bucket for Nike, which sponsors some sports stars for tens of millions of dollars, the number of workers with the complaint — 4,500 — was also just a drop in the bucket. There are more than 160,000 people making Nike products in Indonesia alone and more than 700,000 in emerging markets around the globe.

“The decisive actions taken by PT Nikomas Gemilang IY plant clearly demonstrate how seriously they are taking the allegations of workplace misconduct,” Nike said in a statement. ”Nike commends the factory on their action plan and efforts to correct inadequacies in current policies designed to protect the rights of workers. Nike will continue to monitor and support their efforts to remediate the situation.”

In the three months ended in Nov. 30, Nike’s profit edged up close to 3% from a year earlier to $469 million as its revenue jumped 18% to $5.73 billion."

NIKE COMMENDS THE FACTORY,

PAYING FOR PREVIOUSLY UNPAID FORCED OVERTIME.

$222 FOR THE EXPLOITED WORKERS

$5.73 BILLION FOR NIKE

PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF WORKERS IN SWEATSHOPS

FRIDAY THE 13TH

2012-01-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

A FINE DAY TO CHECK OUT THE YEAR IN CRAZY

YET ANOTHER FEMA F#@K UP

2012-01-11T10:20:00.000-08:00

FEMA IS SENDING OUT NOTICES TO HURRICANE KATRINA VICTIMS- 6 YEARS LATER, THAT THEY WERE OVERPAID EMERGENCY FUNDS, AND TO REPAY THEM, ON AVERAGE, $4,622 EACH.

<---------- THE ASTRODOME NIGHTMARE
A LAST MINUTE EMERGENCY SHELTER
LACKING BASICS LIKE WATER, FUNCTIONING TOILETS, AND MEDICAL SUPPLIES. IT TOOK MANY DAYS FOR FEMA TO EVEN BEGIN TO RESPOND.

"FEMA is asking more than 83,000 recipients of aid to reimburse the government an average of $4,622 each, BlackAmericaWeb reports. The agency says that clerical or employee errors may have resulted in some

victims receiving more compensation than what may now be allocated.

At least one elected official agrees. "Disaster victims shouldn’t be punished because FEMA is dysfunctional," said Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, rejecting a claim made by the agency that it is required by law to recover all improper payments, even if the recipient was not at fault. "Most of these families facing recoupment are honest survivors facing incredible challenges who used the funds for legitimate and urgent disaster-related needs.

She has recently introduced and sponsored a bill since signed into law by President Obama that would allow FEMA to waive many of the debts now burdening the already afflicted. Hopefully it will do so.

Instead of chasing down money from people who had no role in whatever errors were made, and almost certainly aren't in a position to repay, FEMA would be much better off preparing to avoid repeating the errors it made in its response to Katrina."

FROM THE ROOT

REMEMBER "HECK-OF-A-JOB BROWNIE" BUSH'S FEMA APPOINTEE W NO EXPERIENCE IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT?

FEMA IS SUPPOSED TO BE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
WE NOW KNOW THE "M" STANDS FOR MISMANAGEMENT.

LITTLE OLD LADIES FEARED BY B OF A

2012-01-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

WITH WALKERS, WHEELCHAIRS, AND PORTABLE OXYGEN TANKS...
A group of senior citizens who call themselves the "Wild Old Women" in San Francisco shut down their local Bank of America branch office earlier this week when they arrived to demand "the bank lower fees, pay higher taxes, and stop foreclosing on, and evicting, homeowners," in what they called "a run on the bank." The women ranged in age, from 68 to 80 years old.

“We’re upset because the banks are raising their rates because it really affects seniors who are on a fixed income.”

Via CROOKS & LIARS:

As they arrived, Bank of America closed and locked its doors, to the surprise and delight of the elderly protesters, who said that they had no intention of storming the bank.
The women waved signs, but didn’t march or chant, with one woman on supplemental oxygen adding that the group was too old for that.

One protester said, "I guess we should be honored that they were so feared by the bank, that they would lock their doors. She said they would be more inclined to tidy up the bank, then break the place up."

GOING POSTAL

2012-01-09T12:55:00.000-08:00

THIS IS MORE OF A REGIONAL BASED POST, BUT THE POSTAL SERVICE IS THINKING OF CLOSING A MAIL SORTING FACILITY THAT HANDLES 50 MILLION PIECES OF MAIL PER MONTH- THE GATEWAY SPRINGFIELD SORTING FACILITY.

COMMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY THIS THURSDAY
JAN 12, 2012.

THE PROPOSED COST CUTTING MEASURE PROPOSES SENDING LANE COUNTY MAIL 200 MILES ROUND TRIP TO PORTLAND SORTING FACILITIES, THEN BACK DOWN TO LANE COUNTY TO BE DELIVERED. THIS WOULD EFFECT OVER 300,000 PIECES OF MAIL, AND LIKELY LOSE 150 FAMILY WAGE JOBS.

LANE COUNTY IS HOME TO A LEVEL II TRAUMA HOSPITAL (THE ONLY ONE BETWEEN SAN FRAN & PORTLAND), THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON 23,000 CAMPUS POPULATION, AND LANE COUNTY IS A HUGE LAND MASS, FROM THE COAST TO THE CASCADES.

THE BIGGEST ISSUE IS THE BUSH ERA MANDATE THEY MUST SET ASIDE 75 YEARS WORTH OF PENSION $. IF NOT FOR THAT AMOUNT, THE USPS WOULD BE IN THE BLACK.

As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Eugene has a population of 156,185, and Lane County (co-located with the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area) (MSA) has a population of 351,715.

Springfield is home to Peacehealth Riverbend hospital The new facility is home to a 24 hour Level II trauma center including full Medical/Surgical care, and the largest employer in the region..

Lane County is a huge region with 2 hospitals, and the University of Oregon with a population of 23,389 Campus itself is 295 acres.

After a closure of the Gateway center, mail would be trucked to Portland for processing, where postal workers already struggle to manage the load.

Eugene has the best overnight delivery record of any plant in the state, far superior to Portland because they come in dead last, The overnight delivery, our efficiency, our productivity — everything at Gateway— is No. 1 in the state.

STILL IF COST CUTTING MEASURES ARE NEEDED, I'D PREFER CUTTING OUT 1 DAY PER WEEK MAIL DELIVERY.

MAIL YOUR COMMENTS TO:

Manager:Consumer and Industry Contact

Portland District

P.O. Box 4759

Portland, OR 97208-4759

OR:

POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION

901 NEW YORK AVE NW, SUITE 200

WASHINGTON, DC 20268--0001

OR- YOU CAN E MAIL IN TO

http://www.prc.gov/prc-pages/about/contact/default.aspx

Message text is limited to 1000 characters. Persons with more detailed comments may submit multiple comments.

NEWT: CAN'T GET HIS FACTS RIGHT

2012-01-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

OH NEWT GINGRICH! YOUR RACISM, CLASSISM & IGNORANCE ARE SHOWING.
NEWT SPOUTED OFF IN N.H. TO A CROWD OF SENIOR CITIZENS-

"I'm prepared, if the NAACP invites me, I'll go to their convention and talk about why the African American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps."

HUFF PO WRITES:

"The fact is, if I become your nominee we will make the key test very simple: Food stamps versus paychecks," said Gingrich hoping to appeal to conservative white voters in New Hampshire and in upcoming primaries in South Carolina, Florida and other southern states. "Obama is the best food stamp president in American history. More people are on food stamps today because of Obama's policies than ever in history. I would like to be the best paycheck president in American history."

Despite the fact that Gingrich used the phrase, "the fact is," he got his facts wrong in several ways.

About 40 million Americans (in 18.4 million households) receive food stamps, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released in September, using the latest (2010) data.

Among the food stamp recipients:

33% (13.4 million) are white

22% (8.9 million) are black

16.7% (6.6 million) are Hispanic

and 2.8% (1.1 million) are Asian.

Almost half (47%) of all Americans who receive food stamps are children. Another 8% are elderly. About 20% are disabled. These are not people who have a choice between paychecks and food stamps.

Moreover, there is no contradiction between earning a paycheck and receiving food stamps. Because of the explosion of low-wage jobs in America, many people who work are eligible to receive food stamps. According to the Department of Agriculture report, about five million non-elderly adults who receive food stamps are working. Another 4.4 million are unemployed and looking for work. Millions more have joined the ranks of "discouraged" workers who've given up looking for work after months, and in some cases more than a year, of unsuccessful job searches. That shouldn't be surprising, given the reality that for more than 2½ years, the number of jobless Americans has outstripped the number of available job openings by more than 4 to 1.

Among those lucky enough to have jobs, more than 10 million Americans are the "working poor," whose incomes are below the federal poverty line, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But Gingrich has a long history of supporting repeal of the minimum wage. An employee who works full time and earns the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour would have an annual income $15,080 -- not enough to be above the poverty line for a family of three."

THE GOOD NEWS , I SUPPOSE, IS NEWT HAS SHOWN HIS ABSOLUTE OUT OF TOUCH SELF, ALONG WITH HIS RACIST SIDE. I GUESS HIS PREVIOUS BLUNDER- SAYING LOW INCOME KIDS SHOULD DO JANITORIAL WORK AT THEIR SCHOOLS & THEY SHOULD FIRE MOST OF THE UNION JANITORS SHOWS NEWT'S STATE OF CONFUSED THOUGHTS- HE'S GOING TO CREATE PAYCHECKS BY FIRING ADULTS, HIRE KIDS AND MAGICALLY MAKE JOBS THAT PAY ENOUGH TO GET OUT OF POVERTY LEVEL. GINGRICH SEEMS TO BE CONFUSING "MAGICIAN" WITH "POLITICIAN".

TWO MORE FACTUAL ITEMS NEWT CAN'T RIGHT:

#1-"In Iowa last month, Gingrich said the following: "And we now give it [food stamps] away as cash -- you don't get food stamps. You get a credit card, and the credit card can be used for anything. We have people who take their food stamp money and use it to go to Hawaii. They give food stamps now to millionaires because, after all, don't you want to be compassionate?

In fact, as Politifact pointed out, food stamps cannot be "used for anything," as Gingrich claimed. Food stamp benefits are now loaded on to an electronic benefits transfer card, or EBT, similar to a debit card. Recipients can only purchase certain grocery items with the card. Beer and wine, for example, aren't allowed. They cannot be used to purchase airline tickets to "go to Hawaii." Gingrich is also wrong that "They give food stamps now to millionaires." Only individuals and families with incomes below 130 percent of the poverty line are eligible to receive food stamps. That does not include millionaires. "

#2-In addition to talking his food-stamp-vs.-paycheck argument on the stump, Gingrich often talks about speaking to the NAACP, as well as other groups, in an effort to reach out to all Americans. Based on previous experience with Gingrich, the NAACP is not so convinced.

"We invited Speaker Gingrich to attend our annual convention several times
when he was Speaker of the House, but he declined to join us," Jealous continued. "If he is invited again, I hope that he would come, with the intention to unite rather than divide."
"And for the life of me I can't understand why having a conservative Republican who cares about young people having jobs should be seen as such a terrible idea or should be seen as somehow a racist characterization,"

EXACTLY! NEWT DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING:
• AFRICAN AMERICAN IS AN OUTDATED/RACIST TERM
• IMPLYING BLACK AMERICANS TAKE THE LIONS SHARE OF FOOD STAMPS
IS BOTH RACIST AND INCORRECT!
• NOT BEING AWARE THAT SO MANY WORKING AMERICANS ARE UNDEREMPLOYED AS TO QUALIFY FOR FOOD STAMPS.
• LAYING THE BLAME OF THE ECONOMY ON OBAMA, AS IF 8 YEARS OF REPUBLICAN RULE DID NOT LEAVE THE ECONOMY IN A SHAMBLES
• NOT KNOWING FOOD STAMPS ARE NOW DEBIT CARDS THAT CAN ONLY BE USED FOR FOOD (HERE DOES HE GET HIS INFO? FOX NEWS?)
• THE STRICT GUIDELINES IN PLACE TO GET FOOD STAMPS. IN MANY CASES JUST GETTING UNEMPLOYMENT $ IS COUNTED AS INCOME, AND DISQUALIFIES A PERSON FROM GETTING FOOD STAMPS.
• NEVER DOES NEWT MENTION THE OUTRAGE OF TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY
TO THE TUNE OF OVER A TRILLION.

HANDY

2012-01-06T01:19:00.000-08:00

YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED ALL CAPS POSTS HERE @ RAMBLINGS... IT'S BECAUSE I AM TYPING WITH ONE HAND. JUST HAD CARPAL TUNNEL SURGERY. LEARNED THERE IS A MIN. INVASIVE ENDOSCOPIC VERSION & OPEN VERSION.

THE ENDOSCOPIC SURGERY

IS A 3 STITCH INCISION
<----------------------------------

OPEN SURGERY IS A LARGER
DEEPER INCISION W A LONGER
HEALING/RECOVERY TIME
----------------------------------->

FOR SOME ODD REASON, THE DOCTORS WHO DO THE MIN. INVASIVE VERSION
ARE MUCH BUSIER!

I NEVER KNEW CARPAL TUNNEL EFFECTS ALL THE NERVE ENDINGS IN YOUR FINGERS. NOT JUST WRIST DISCOMFORT. BUT THE WRIST IS WHERE THEY ALL CONVERGE & THE LIGAMENT WRAPPED AROUND THEM CONSTRICTS THE NERVES.
THE LIGAMENT IS CUT, RELEASING THE PRESSURE.

EVEN THOUGH THE SURGERY IS ABOUT 10
MINUTES, IT TAKES 6 WEEKS & HAND PHYSICAL
THERAPY POST OP. THERE ARE ALOT OF NERVE ENDINGS, TENDONS, AND COMPLEX STUFF GOING ON W THE HAND STRUCTURE.

THERE IS WEEK WRAPPED IN A SURGICAL SPLINT, THAT YOU KEEP PROPPED UP IN A SLING OR IT WILL SWELL & THROB.
YOU DON'T GET IMMEDIATE RELIEF, SO THE
DAMAGED NERVES TAKE A WHILE TO HEAL.
I FIGURED OUT A FIRE & ICE METHOD- PUT THE PALM OF THE HAND ON TOP OF AN ICE PACK, & A HEATING PAD OVER THE TOP OF THE HAND. ELEVATE ON A PILLOW & WAKE UP PAIN FREE. WOO HOO!

I JUST NEED TO RIDE THE WAVE, AND RECOVER, SO

I CAN DO THE WHOLE THING AGAIN IN A FEW WEEKS

ON THE OTHER WRIST.

IF YOU ARE LUCKY, YOU CAN WEAR A HEAVY DUTY

SPLINT BRACE W A METAL SUPPORT, IF IT DOES NOT CAUSE EXTREME CONTACT DERMATITIS THAT REQUIRES MULTIPLE DOSES OF STEROIDS TO CALM IT DOWN. THE FUN NEVER ENDS.

THIS IS PROBABLY WAAAY MORE THAN YOU EVER CARED TO KNOW ABOUT CARPAL TUNNEL SURGERY.

IT IS A COMMON SURGERY, SO IF SOMEONE YOU KNOW NEEDS IT, WORTH CHECKING OUT IF YOU/THEY ARE A CANDIDATE FOR THE ENDOSCOPIC VERSION.

HONESTLY, THIS HAS BEEN A CRASH COURSE IN AWARENESS OF HOW MUCH YOU USE BOTH HANDS.
TRY OPENING A TIGHT LID, TOOTHPASTE, OR FLOSSING YOUR TEETH W ONE HAND. EVEN JUST GETTING DRESSED, PUTTING ON PANTS & SOCKS
IS NOW QUITE THE ORDEAL.
I FEEL LIKE A KID ASKING A GROWN UP TO CUT THE FOOD ON MY PLATE!

IF ANYTHING, NOW THE MYSTERY IS SOLVED IF YOU WERE WONDERING, WHAT'S UP WITH THE ALL CAPS?

OCCUPY THE ROSE PARADE

2012-01-03T00:30:00.000-08:00

A PICTURE SAYS 1000 WORDS. PRETTY COOL CINDY SHEEHAN & A HOST OF OTHERS GOT A PERMIT TO BE IN THE PARADE JUST AFTER THE TRADITIONAL FLOATS.

ROSE BOWL/OCCUPY THE ROSE PARADE

2012-01-02T00:30:00.000-08:00

YEA IT'S THE GRAND DADDY OF THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWL GAMES & OUR HOMETOWN TEAM IS PLAYING IN IT. OH YOU CAN ONLY IMAGINE THE LEVEL OF HYPE THEY HAVE AMPED UP.

SINCE THEY DID ALL THE HYPING UP- IN THE END- THE GAME IS ONLY ON ESPN.
OTHER POOR FOLKS (THOSE WHO PAY TUITION), CAN LISTEN TO THE GAME ON
THE FRIGGING RADIO.

OF NOTE IS AN OFFICIAL PERMITTED ENTRY THAT WILL BE ALLOWED TO FOLLOW THE ACTUAL PARADE OF FLOATS IS THE * OCCUPY THE ROSE PARADE*
CS MONITOR WRITES:
"About 300 have been given permission to march the entire route, although not as an official float.The parade, sociologists say, is one of the last bastions of American community: The event will be seen by an estimated 50 million television viewers, as well as the 700,000 that line the parade route. Adding protesters to a tradition that furthers togetherness has become a source of debate.

Some say the demonstrators, freshly ousted from tent encampments all over the United States, will drag down the image of one of the most cautious and conservative events in the country. They say that people don’t want real-world politics intruding on a day in which families can put aside mundane cares and simply have fun."

AS IF FOOTBALL GAMES ARE NOT MINDLESS ENOUGH. SOME TRADITIONAL PARADE PARTICIPANTS ARE NOT PARTICIPATING THIS YEAR BECAUSE THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO.

IF OCCUPY ADDS A LITTLE WAKE UP CALL TO THIS PARADE & THE OBSERVERS, THAT COULD BE THEY ONLY REASON I WOULD WATCH THE PARADE! BESIDES, THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT DOES NOT HAVE "MUNDANE CARES", THEY ARE URGENT, AND IMPORTANT!

"This is not the first time that people have been allowed to march peacefully after the parade. Other groups have included animal-rights protesters and religious sects predicting the end of the world. Anti-Vietnam protesters showed up along the parade route in the 1970s, and in the ’90s, civil rights activists highlighted the lack of minorities on the parade’s governing board.

One year, demonstrators protested the use of a descendant of Christopher Columbus as grand marshal, unveiling a sign that said, “500 years of genocide.”

“One thing we want the public to be clear on is that we have not given these people a [parade] permit,” says Lt. Phlunte Etou Riddle, spokeswoman for the Pasadena Police Department. “I’ve been doing this for 28 years, and lots of causes and people with political agendas have tried to elbow their way into national attention. We give them this spot that is officially not in the parade.”

Beyond that, Occupy activists have themselves trained 40 volunteers who will be outfitted in colored vests to urge marchers to be calm.

Although the Occupy protesters will not have a rolling float, they will instead carry a giant, “people-powered” octopus (to symbolize corporate greed), which they got from a film production studio. And they will carry blowups of the Constitution with the words, “We the People” and “We the Corporations.”

SO ALL I HAVE LEFT IS TO POST THESE JOKES FROM THE LOCAL ~~RAG~~ PAPER:

We polled our readers for jokes going around about the UO Ducks, University of Wisconsin Badgers and the upcoming Rose Bowl game Jan. 2.

• What do Ducks and pot have in common? Both get smoked in bowls.
• What does the average Wisconsin player get on his SAT? Drool.
• What’s the difference between Duck football players and Rice Krispies? The cereal knows what to do in a bowl.
• Two Badger fans were walking through the woods near Madison when they came upon a set of tracks. The first Badger fan said, “Those are deer tracks.” The second Badger fan said, “No. They’re too big to be deer tracks. They must be elk tracks.” As they were arguing back and forth they got hit by the train.
• How do you get to own a small business? Take a large business and put a Wisconsin grad in charge of it.
• How do you get a Duck grad off your front porch? Pay for the pizza!
• What are the longest three years of a Wisconsin football player’s life? His freshman year.
• Did you hear about the Wisconsin Badgers fan who was injured in a pie-eating contest?
A cow stepped on his head.

HOLIDAY NEWS DUMP

2012-01-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

WHILE YOU WERE PARTYING FOR THE HOLIDAYS, PRESIDENT OBAMA JUST SIGNED OFF ON THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT-NDAA.

A $662 BILLION DOLLAR

MILITARY SPENDING BILL.

WE REALLY DID NOT HEAR MUCH ABOUT IT, CONGRESS HARDLY BLINKED AT THE AMOUNT. AS IF THE $15 TRILLION DEBT DID NOT EXIST.

NO ONE SEEMS TO QUESTION THE RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY, OR THE BLATANTLY OBVIOUS TREND OF FINDING SOME EXCUSE TO GO TO WAR WITH IRAN. (UH OH, COULD THAT REMARK BE INTERPRETED AS SUPPORTING OR ENGAGING IN TERRORIST ACTIVITY, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY)?

THIS IS A HOLIDAY NEWS DUMP- HOPING PEOPLE ARE TOO BUSY TO NOTICE WHAT THE GOVERNMENT JUST DID.

IN A SELF-PERPETUATING QUEST FOR NEVER ENDING WAR:

"The $662 billion measure includes tough sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program"

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES

HAS A GREAT WRITE UP, HIGHLIGHTING THESE CONCERNS:

"A draconian piece of legislature making U.S.

citizens vulnerable to legal abuse."

"The NDAA, however, awards the President with what amounts to absolute and near-dictatorial powers. It allows him to detain any person on U.S. soil, including U.S citizens, for an indefinite time and without any charge or trial, if the person is suspected of supporting or engaging in terrorist activity or organization either directly or indirectly in the past, present or future.

Worse still, the law does not require the furnishing of reasonable proof to lock up any individual the government considers a terrorist. Therefore, any suspicion, allegation or even remote possibility of being involved with terrorism could land a man or a woman in lock-up.

The power of detention without trial remains with the government. This amounts to the violation of American constitutional right over "free speech and protection against imprisonment without due process".
Human right activists have also argued that the proposed law could result in increasing abuse of government power, enabling authorities to crush any dissent in any form in the country. The law could also do more harm to U.S-led anti-terrorism efforts and escalate the rate of attacks on U.S. targets, as there were chances of innocents, both American and non-Americans being trapped in prison forever.
Several organizations labeled it a disgrace to the country that stands as an icon of free speech and liberty.
"Among other terribly depressing consequences, the bill makes it virtually impossible to ever close Guantanamo Bay," wrote political expert Andrew Rosenthal, in his column for the New York Times blog."

SORRY TO BURST THE "HAPPY NEW YEAR" BUBBLE WITH THIS UPDATE, BUT I THINK THAT WAS THE POINT OF THE TIMING- THAT PEOPLE WOULD BE DISTRACTED WITH EGGNOG, LADY GAGA ON DICK CLARK'S ROCKIN' NEW YEAR'S EVE SHOW, AND CLEANING UP THE CONFETTI FROM THE NEW YEAR COUNTDOWN. PAY NO ATTENTION TO YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS BEING SHREDDED.
IT SEEMS SARCASTIC TO THROW IN A HAPPY NEW YEAR WISH AT THE END OF THIS POST. THE PREVIOUS POST IS MORE POSITIVE.

GO THERE TO FIND THE YIN TO THE YANG OF THIS POST!

2012

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2012

Here is to a Happy & Healthy New Year

The Great Bell Chant (The End of Suffering) from R Smittenaar on Vimeo.

CLICK BETWEEN WHERE IT SAYS HD & VIMEO
TO VIEW FULL SCREEN

NEW YEAR THOUGHTS

2011-12-31T03:00:00.000-08:00

MORE MIDDLE EAST MEDDLING

2011-12-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

TIME REPORTS: "The sale of $30 billion worth of F-15SA fighter jets to Saudi Arabia has been finalized, boosting the military strength of a key U.S. ally in the Middle East to help counter Iran, the Obama administration announced Thursday.

Under the agreement, the U.S. will send Saudi Arabia 84 new fighter jets and upgrades for 70 more. Production of the aircrafts, which will be manufactured by Boeing Co., will support 50,000 jobs and have a $3.5 billion annual economic impact in the U.S., the White House said.

The sale is part of a larger U.S. effort to realign its defense policies in the Persian Gulf to keep Iran in check. The announcement came as U.S. officials weighed a fresh threat from Tehran. Tehran warned this week it could disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital Persian Gulf oil transport route, if Washington levies new sanctions targeting Iran's crude exports.

The fighter jet sale is part of a larger 10-year, $60 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia that also includes helicopters, a broad array of missiles, bombs and delivery systems, as well as radar warning systems and night-vision goggles. Congress gave the deal the go-ahead about a year ago. "

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2103325,00.html#ixzz1i2I68ogW

Round & round we go. I suppose we are to be elated about the Boeing jobs, because the military industrial complex holds promise for yet another war, this time with Iran in the crosshairs. Never mind selling high end military equipment is a security breach in & of itself, or the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers in the 9-11 attacks were from Saudi Arabia.
So why would Saudi Arabia be considered an ally?

Saudi Arabia is the largest exporter of petroleum in the world.

WHAT'S THE DEAL W THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ ?

The strait at its narrowest is 54 kilometres (34 mi) wide. It is the only sea passage to the open ocean for large areas of the petroleum-exporting Persian Gulf. About 13 tankers carrying 15.5 million barrels (2,460,000 m³) of crude oil pass through the strait on an average day, making it one of the world's most strategically important choke points. This represents 33% of the world's seaborne oil shipments, and 17 percent of oil traded worldwide in 2009.

THIS FACT IS KEY:

To traverse the Strait, ships pass through the territorial waters of Iran and Oman under the transit passage provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Although not all countries have ratified the convention, most countries, including the U.S.,accept these customary navigation rules as codified in the Convention.

TERRITORIAL WATERS OF IRAN, NOT INTERNATIONAL WATERS.

For the second time in two days, Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials warned they would shut down the world’s strategic oil passageway if the West imposes sanctions on Iran's oil shipments. Now the U.S. has responded that it would answer any blockade forcefully. The controversy revolves around Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

More than a third of the world's oil flows through this narrow passageway called the Strait of Hormuz. But now, the channel is emerging as a bargaining chip in a war of threats, increasing in intensity. The latest, the U.S. military says it will not tolerate any Iranian disruptions of oil shipments in the Strait of Hormuz. The Bahrain-based U.S. Fifith Fleet told VOA that the navy is ready to "counter malevolent actions" to ensure freedom of navigation.

~~Freedom~~ Military enforcement of ~~navigation~~ Oil profiteering shipping traffic, in territorial waters with huge oil shipments from the largest exporter of oil in the world. What could possibly go wrong?

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT SLIP SLIDING INTO WAR WITH IRAN

Notice the US picks & chooses if & when it will abide by the United Nations?
For the Iraq war, we told them the US would go it alone if they were not going to be a part of the pre emptive war in Iraq. But now there is interest in the UN treaty that allows oil ship traffic in territorial waters. The list of double standards grows longer--we can have all the nuclear weapons we want. We can engage in wars wherever & whenever we want. We can defend our own 12 mile buffer of territorial waters.
l

Victory-ish

2011-12-30T00:00:00.000-08:00

Mission Accomplished-ish

99% Choir visits Bank of America

2011-12-29T00:00:00.001-08:00

JibJab's Year in review 2011 Buh Bye

2011-12-27T21:50:00.001-08:00

It's a ............

2011-12-27T17:59:00.000-08:00

The oldest son & his wife are expecting.. our first grandchild! He wanted to know the gender, but the wife did not, so the compromise was, she would tell him on Christmas. She had her fun stringing it out in a few different gift boxes & finally gave him the envelope that said..

The baby is due in April... tax day in fact- but we all know babies are born when they are darned good & ready & not a moment sooner!
The daughter-in-law, Jessica, aka the Mom-to-be had some rough times with severe morning sickness, but that has subsided, and she is feeling better. It has been many many years since I have perused the baby aisles, but it is fun to go there & see all the cool and tiny things they have for babies.
Although twins run strongly in her family, they were happy & relieved to know it is a singular baby, not twins. Whew!

Looking forward to meeting the little darlin'

Winter memories

2011-12-26T11:16:00.000-08:00

As a kid, one of my favorite things to do in the winter was to wait until everyone went to bed, turn off the lights, sit on the covered radiator in the front room & look out the windows at the falling snow silhouetted by the streetlights. It was the perfect juxtaposition-- watching the cold winter scene in living motion while being warm & cozy indoors. Something mesmerizing about watching falling snow. It could be a gentle sprinkling, or big flakes coming down sideways in a strong gusting wind. Just so enjoyable to watch. Somehow I was the designated snow shoveler, and it was all manual labor. Only one neighbor down the street had a mechanical snow blower, and he was nice enough to zip down the block of the main sidewalks. I did not mind the task of snow shoveling-- it gave me an excuse to get out of the house in the white stuff. Being out in the snow sometimes felt like you were inside a snow globe, with the flurries swirling all around you. My Mom used to implore me to "bundle up" because it was cold out there, but hefting shovels full of wet & heavy snow is downright aerobic & I could work up a sweat in no time. Bundling up made no sense.

Of course it is always different from a kids perspective. My focus was on the hope of a no school snow day. Growing up in Chicago, they did not declare snow days unless it was a serious storm-- many FEET of snow & drifting. But those were the glory days of winter. We would bring out the old classic Radio flyer sled & take turns pulling each other around in the snow. If you ever rode one of those sleds, you know the steering mechanism was junk. If you really were heading towards crashing into something, your best bet was to bail & throw yourself off the sled. We lived in the flatlands though, and nothing in the way of hills was available, except on those rare occasions, when there was so much snow it formed it's own "hills". One year was a kid's dream come true- the Blizzard of 1967.

The Chicago Tribune reported:
"At 5:02 a.m. on this date, it began to snow. Nothing remarkable about that. It was January in Chicago, and, besides, 4 inches of snow had been predicted. But it kept snowing, all through this miserable Thursday and into early Friday morning, until it finally stopped at 10:10 a.m. By the end, 23 inches covered Chicago and the suburbs, the largest single snowfall in the city's history.

Still, it was great to be a child during the Blizzard of '67. There were mountains of snow to play in, and plenty of time to play in them: Schools were closed for several days."

That year I remember we were thrilled to have so much snow AND school shut down. I recall being outside basking in the glory of the Blizzard, and my parents said they would need to borrow the sled.

No way to drive a car & plows were not able to keep up, so they would need to walk a mile to the grocery store & haul groceries home via sled! Who knew the radio flyer sled would become a lifeline of sorts?

Another winter joy was the park district- when they knew a freeze was expected, they would flood the baseball field w water and create a rough hewn ice staking rink. Wow! Playing crack the whip- that is creating a chain of ice skaters holding hands, building up collective speed & being on the end of the chain was waay fun. If you are not familiar, this is a demo:

Found this gallery of photos of the blizzard.
Footnote: All that snow was a blast as a kid, but when you are an adult & required to function- ie work & drive, not so much fun. I now live in the Pacific NW, where winter generally comes in the form of Raindrops. No shoveling required!

2011-12-25T10:34:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays to all. Hope to relax, drink some hot cider, spend quality time with your people.

Twas the night before Christmas

2011-12-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

Carlin on Advertising

2011-12-22T09:35:00.000-08:00

* I apologize for the use of the "N" word in this rant.
Carlin was making a point-- All (white) MEN are created equal- to the exclusion
of people of color, Native Americans & Women.
Clearly Carlin embraced sarcasm as his art form.

Slightly Irreverent

2011-12-20T19:19:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I'm struggling with the holiday season this year.
Monty Python's Eric Idle sums up the BS parts of X mas. Oh! Here's a
Gingerbread Crack House to go along with the song:

Newt GinGRINCH

2011-12-16T09:57:00.001-08:00

War is over

2011-12-15T10:03:00.000-08:00

The Iraq war has been declared officially over- except for the remaining 4000 troops they hope/intend to remove by the end of the year.

MSNBC reports:
"Almost 4,500 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis lost their lives in the war that began with a "Shock and Awe" (Shockingly awful?) campaign of missiles pounding Baghdad and descended into sectarian strife and a surge in U.S. troop numbers.

U.S. soldiers lowered the flag of American forces in Iraq and slipped it into a camouflage-colored sleeve in a brief outdoor ceremony, symbolically ending the most unpopular U.S. military venture since the Vietnam War of the 1960s and 70s.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani were invited to the ceremony but did not attend.

Bombings are still common. Experts are also concerned about the Iraqi security force's ability to defend the nation against foreign threats.

After nearly nine years, 4,500 American dead, 32,000 wounded and more than $800 billion, U.S. officials prepared Thursday to formally shut down the war in Iraq — a conflict that

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said "it was worth the price in blood and money, as it set Iraq on a path to democracy.

Panetta has echoed President Barack Obama's promise that the U.S. plans to keep a robust diplomatic presence in Iraq, foster a deep and lasting relationship with the nation and maintain a strong military force in the region."

Well which one is it? Because the war is either over, or we maintain a strong military force in the region-
you cant really have both. The fact that the President & Prime Minister of Iraq did not attend the close of war ceremony, makes you wonder- were they not feeling celebratory, or did they think it was unsafe?

Democracy at gunpoint, was never going to work, I have stated all along. At some point, the alleged success of this war was the use of the surge of troops. Flood a region with more troops than citizens & achieve order. The declaration of success was premature. If you can only stabilize a place by vastly outnumbering the population with troops, then success can only be gauged when the troops are gone.

Already, the experts are saying they fear the forced stability will crumble.

One more question, if the war is over, than we should no longer be holding prisoners in Guantanamo, right?

The very first executive order President Obama signed, was to shut down Gitmo prison within the year. That was 2008.

I'm not ready to celebrate until Gitmo prison is shut down & all the troops are home meaning ending the Afghanistan war as well. War is over does not equal leaving thousands of troops in the region either.

"Some Iraqi citizens offered a more pessimistic assessment. "The Americans are leaving behind them a destroyed country," said Mariam Khazim of Sadr City. "The Americans did not leave modern schools or big factories behind them. Instead, they left thousands of widows and orphans."

I can't help but feel the end of this war is more about the 2012 election- as a checklist of accomplishments. Why didn't Obama end the war in the first year of his presidency, as opposed to his last year, pre-election?

Some of the many traumatic stories of this war include the death of Casey Sheehan, and Lt. Ehren Watada. Sheehan's Mother, Cindy Sheehan became a pioneer in occupying the George Bush ranch area in Texas- asking what is the noble cause?
Lt. Watada refused to go to Iraq, in defense of the constitution. He did jail time, and was held by the military for years after the military botched his trial & created a legal "double jeopardy" situation & the case was thrown out, yet the military still kept him, even after his term of service had expired.

Melissa Etheridge wrote a song about the two, titled Imagine That

Gingrich Holiday tune~ LOL

2011-12-11T19:00:00.000-08:00

$15 Trillion.... yawn

2011-12-09T11:13:00.000-08:00

U.S. NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK
The Outstanding Public Debt as of 09 Dec 2011 at 06:53:53 PM GMT is:

The estimated population of the United States is 311,822,174
so each citizen's share of this debt is $48,276.80.
The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$3.94 billion per day since September 28, 2007!

Yes we hit the $15 trillion mark in debt, but hardly newsworthy, Eh?

Yawn.....

Click here to see the National Priorities project running count of tax cuts for the rich.

Occupy Melbourne tent monsters

2011-12-05T18:56:00.000-08:00

Hats off to their creative, playful approach

The Brotha is a Mutha....

2011-12-03T19:28:00.000-08:00

Herman Cain has suspended his campaign. One headline read:

"Candidate was dogged by allegations of sexual harassment and an affair"

More like candidate is a dog when it comes to sexual harassment & a 13 year affair.

The brotha said it's all about assessing the impact that the allegations were having on his wife, his family and his supporters.

That & the fact he probably can't raise another dime for his campaign!

Rather than thinking he is a lowlife sex hound, Cain says " his wife, knew nothing about Ginger White nor his financial support for her until the mother of two came forward last week.

"My wife now knows My wife & I have talked about it, & I have explained it to her. My wife understands that I'm a soft-hearted, giving person."

It seems pretty clear what Cain was "giving", but now he will be giving his endorsement to another candidate. Let's not get all weepy though... it appears by suspending his candidacy, rather than officially dropping out, he can still spend & raise campaign funds

Creative Lawyers

2011-12-02T11:14:00.000-08:00

Thank you for calling XXX Law firm.

I'm either away from my desk, or out chasing ambulances right now.

Please leave a message & I'll return your call so we can sue the bastards!

A story with Heart

2011-11-30T19:31:00.000-08:00

I was happy to hear Deputies refused to evict a 103 year old woman, MSNC reports:

Fulton County Sheriff’s deputies and a moving company hired by the bank showed up at Vita Lee’s Penelope Road home on Tuesday, according to a report on WSBTV.com. Deutsche Bank apparently holds the mortgage that is being serviced locally by Chase, the station reported. The planned eviction was reportedly the latest move in a legal battle that dates back years.
But when the men saw the frail woman, they opted to leave instead of carry through with the forced move.

"Please don't come in and disturb me no more," Lee told WSBTV.com. "When I'm gone you all can come back and do whatever they want to."

Shame on Deutsche Bank & Chase for attempting to throw an elderly woman out of her home. It is heartening the Sheriff's police & moving company decided it was not the right thing to do.

She's lived in the home 53 years, now, along w her 83 year old daughter. Vita Lee will soon celebrate her 104th birthday, hopefully in her home.

We are the many ~ Occupy song

2011-11-27T10:52:00.000-08:00

We are the many

Lyrics to "We Are the Many":

Ye come here, gather 'round the stage
The time has come for us to voice our rage
Against the ones who've trapped us in a cage
To steal from us the value of our wage

From underneath the vestiture of law
The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw
At liberty, the bureaucrats guffaw
And until they are purged, we won't withdraw

We'll occupy the streets
We'll occupy the courts
We'll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

Our nation was built upon the right
Of every person to improve their plight
But laws of this Republic they rewrite
And now a few own everything in sight

They own it free of liability
They own, but they are not like you and me
Their influence dictates legality
And until they are stopped we are not free

We'll occupy the streets
We'll occupy the courts
We'll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

You enforce your monopolies with guns
While sacrificing our daughters and sons
But certain things belong to everyone
Your thievery has left the people none

So take heed of our notice to redress
We have little to lose, we must confess
Your empty words do leave us unimpressed
A growing number join us in protest

We occupy the streets
We occupy the courts
We occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

You can't divide us into sides
And from our gaze, you cannot hide
Denial serves to amplify
And our allegiance you can't buy

Our government is not for sale
The banks do not deserve a bail
We will not reward those who fail
We will not move till we prevail

We'll occupy the streets
We'll occupy the courts
We'll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

We'll occupy the streets
We'll occupy the courts
We'll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

We are the many
You are the few

I did not hear about this on the news....

APEC World Leaders Dinner Gets Occupied
Within secure zone, musician sings on behalf of the many

Honolulu - A change in the programmed entertainment at last night's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gala left a few world leaders slack-jawed, though most seemed not to notice that anything was amiss.

During the gala dinner, renowned Hawaiian guitarist Makana, who performed at the White House in 2009, opened his suit jacket to reveal a home-made “Occupy with Aloha” T-shirt. Then, instead of playing the expected instrumental background music, he spent almost 45 minutes repeatedly singing his protest ballad released earlier that day. The ballad, called “We Are the Many,” includes lines such as “The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw.... And until they are purged, we won't withdraw,” and ends with the refrain: “We'll occupy the streets, we'll occupy the courts, we'll occupy the offices of you, till you do the bidding of the many, not the few.”

Those who could hear Makana’s message included Presidents Barack Obama of the United States of America, Hu Jintao of China, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada, and over a dozen other heads of state.

“At first, I was worried about playing ‘We Are The Many,’” said Makana. “But I found it odd that I was afraid to sing a song I’d written, especially since I'd written it with these people in mind.”

The gala was the most secure event of the summit. It was held inside the Hale Koa hotel, a 72-acre facility owned and controlled by the US Defense Department; the site was fortified with an additional three miles of fencing constructed solely for the APEC summit.

Makana was surprised that no one objected to him playing the overtly critical song. “I just kept doing different versions,” he said. “I must’ve repeated ‘the bidding of the many, not the few’ at least 50 times, like a mantra. It was surreal and sobering.”

Makana’s new song is inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement, which has taken root in cities worldwide. Last Saturday, eight protesters were arrested when they refused to leave the Occupy Honolulu encampment at Thomas Square Park. Occupy Honolulu has joined other groups, including Moana Nui, to protest the APEC meeting, and while Makana performed, hundreds of people protested outside.

After facing large-scale protests in South Korea, Australia, Peru, and Japan, APEC moved this year's event to Hawaii, the most isolated piece of land on earth. In preparation for the meeting, homeless families weremoved out of sight and millions of taxpayer dollars were spent on security—including over $700,000 on non-lethal weapons for crowd control. In a bitter twist, the multi-million dollar security plans backfired when a local Hawaiian man was shot and killed by a 27-year-old DC-based federal agent providing security for dignitaries.

Makana’s action was assisted by the Yes Lab and Occupy the Boardroom. In recent weeks, Occupy protesters have been showing up at corporate events, headquarters and even on the doorsteps of those in power. “Makana really raised the bar by delivering the Occupy message inside what is probably the most secure place on the planet right now,” said Mike Bonanno of the Yes Lab.

Thank you Yes lab- you creative geniuses for coming up with such fresh ideas.

Pizzagate: In America Pizza is a vegetable

2011-11-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Move over ketchup, Pizza in now joining the ranks of "vegetable" classification as well. Thanks to powerful lobbies, who fought to keep french fries & pizza prominently on school lunch menus.

Another provision in the bill the House passed, bars the USDA from changing the way it credits tomato paste, used in pizza. The change would have required pizza to have at least a half-cup of tomato paste to qualify as a vegetable serving. Current rules, which likely will remain in place, require just two tablespoons of tomato paste.

The U.S. House of Representatives dealt a blow to childhood obesity warriors on Thursday by passing a bill that abandons proposals that threatened to end the reign of pizza and French fries on federally funded school lunch menus.
The scuttled changes, which would have stripped pizza's status as a vegetable and limited how often French fries could be served, stemmed from a 2010 child nutrition law calling on schools to improve the nutritional quality of lunches served to almost 32 million U.S. school children.

All pizzas are not created equal:
Let's face it, cheap frozen pizzas have little nutritional value at all. There are some gourmet versions of pizza that really do have full servings of fresh veggies piled on them- but that is not what they are serving up in the USDA school lunches.

Ironically, while starch & pizza as a vegetable will be served, many cash strapped schools have eliminated physical fitness programs entirely, or families need to pony up hundreds of dollars to participate in sports programs.

Due to the tanked economy a huge proportion of children qualify for the free or reduced price meals served at schools.

The problem is the obesity epidemic. In the food world, starchy, lower quality foods are generally cheaper, so low income families tend to purchase them to stretch food budgets. But each bad or marginal choice food children are served all adds up & they wind up with the host of health problems obesity causes.

School cafeteria food is marginal anyway, I once heard it described as best in class for "accuracy & distance" (think food fight). But for some kids the school meals programs maybe the main or only meals they get on any given day- making what is served even all the more important.

BUY NOTHING DAY

2011-11-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

A fun old timey feeling to this clip.
This idea of being in a stampede of people to get some sale special, because big businesses hope to create a consumer frenzy is unappealing.
Sleep in. Relax. Enjoy nature. Consider making a donation to the local food bank or favorite charity.
Donate some warm clothes, hats, gloves to the homeless shelter or local Occupy site.

Although a rerun, I still love this '09 Buy Nothing spot.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

MIC CHECK: Eric Cantor, Scott Walker, Michele Bachmann & Karl Rove

2011-11-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Occupy movement uses a technique called "Mic Check", like microphone check, in lieu of a microphone, a speaker calls out a sentence, the crowd repeats it so all can hear.
The 99% have a little somethin' to say

Majority Leader Eric Cantor interrupted at Rice University with a Mic Check by Rice University grad students, in solidarity with Occupy Houston.

Union Busting Wisconsin Governor headed for recall:

Presidential Candidate Michele Bachmann the 99% have something to tell you

But this is classic~

Karl Rove first tells Occupy Baltimore Mic Check crowd if they support free speech to
"Shut up & wait till the Q & A"
Rove then yells back at people chanting *WE ARE THE 99%* "Noooo! No you're not"

The Mic Check:

"Mic Check! Karl Rove is the Architect. The Architect of OccupyIraq. The Architect of OccupyAfghanistan. The Architect of tax cuts for the 1%. The 99% think it's time to #Occupy the Architect. To #Occupy the Architecture.

Gingrich: Let them clean toilets!

2011-11-20T00:58:00.000-08:00

In an epic tumble from the top spot after rivals Cain & Perry fatally fumbled their presidential runs,
Gingrich flushes his chances altogether in one fell swoop.

Speaking at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, the former House Speaker said his system would be an improvement on current child labor laws, which he called "truly stupid."

"It is tragic what we do in the poorest neighborhoods, entrapping children in child laws which are truly stupid," Gingrich said. "Saying to people you shouldn't go to work before you're 14, 16. You're totally poor, you're in a school that's failing with a teacher that's failing."

Gingrich then proposed a system he said would help those students rise from poverty.

"I tried for years to have a very simple model. These schools should get rid of unionized janitors, have one master janitor, pay local students to take care of the school. The kids would actually do work; they'd have cash; they'd have pride in the schools. They'd begin the process of rising."

WOW!!! Promoting Child labor AND Union busting all in one announcement. Never mind that he just said the poorest kids should clean their own schools for pocket money & pride. Notice he's not suggesting the upper crust have their kids clean their own schools.

Never mind that janitorial services require the use of toxic chemicals, and special training about health & safety, including knowledge about OSHA safety requirements, including bloodborne pathogens, and most large scale janitorial staff are also required to get immunizations for hepatitis.

So if one master janitor is out sick or busy, will they be calling student janitors out of class to clean up overflowing toilets?
Gingrich wants to take union jobs away, & take us back to the days of child labor.
Let's hope the proud junior janitors, and newly unemployed union janitors take solace in the fact that Gingrich had a $500,000 to $1 million line of credit at Tiffany's, that "now has zero balance, and it has been closed.”

Newt has shown us the pig he really is!

Well said: Police in riot gear reaction to # Occupy as "normal"

2011-11-19T08:39:00.000-08:00

By Nicholas Caleb of Portland, Oregon.Nick is a local attorney, college professor, and most recently, an Occupy protestor. Read the entire article at Blue Oregon.

Failing to use violence on peaceable assemblies should not be lauded as respectable restraint. Instead, we should be outraged that it is ever even a consideration in the first place!

"I am very, very troubled about a narrative floating around in local political discourse: that Occupy protestors are solely responsible for increased police spending and must cease their activities because they are causing the absurdly large police presence which materializes in order to monitor each protest.

This narrative implicitly assumes that police have no option but to flood the streets with officers when any large group of people gathers together. And apparently, some of the police must be dressed in full riot gear (and visible to everyone) even when there is no indication that violence will occur. The absurdity of this tactic was immediately apparent to anyone who participated in yesterday's protests, filled with citizens young and old -- college students, retirees, established labor officials, war veterans, and other concerned citizens -- marching (while happily dancing to funk music, a sign of violence if I've ever seen one) with the intent of highlighting the failures of a broken system. From the response of the police, you'd have thought that Occupy organizers had proposed a violent overthrow of the local government! Instead, police knew very well from discussions with the organizers and their own secret infiltrations of public meetings (really, what is the point?) exactly which protestors planned to enter banks and be arrested for non-violent disobedience -- sitting in the banks and thereby disrupting business.

Let me propose a different narrative: the police are implementing specific policy choices when they decide to pay their officers overtime and recruit extra officers from departments around the area. They are not forced to do so. In fact, in light of the repeated and consisted peacefulness and non-violence of Occupy protests up to this point, the police go far beyond reasonable bounds when they arrange intimidating displays on the streets. And when individual police officers (names withheld, but I'll be submitting complaints to the city) are visibly itching for a violent confrontation, pushing people around with horses and hitting women with batons, the police are the instigators of violence and not the protectors of citizens.

The first irony of the situation is that we have a Constitution granting, as its chief civil liberty, the right of citizens to peaceably assemble. Presumably, this right extends to the ability to express displeasure at the dominant ideologies of the day without having to submit to intimidation and implicit threat of violence that accompanies the presence of riot police. Scaring people during an assembly, though not as serious as actually beating them, is a form of prior restraint, of telling you that the State doesn't authorize your message.

The second great irony of this situation is that the Portland Police are going to bankrupt themselves with their adopted strategy if Occupy protests continue.Like a boxer who has just seen a cut open up over his opponent's eye, any Occupy organizer worth his salt is going to notice the vulnerability of the police to this brute economic fact and immediately organize more protests.

In fact, the next protest should be aimed directly at the overuse of police force. Imagine the irony of the police coming out dressed like storm troopers to intimidate protestors who are trying to highlight the excessive uses of police force and intimidation. We might be treated to such a show very soon, as leaders of the police apparently cannot tame their authoritarian instincts even when self-preservation and legitimacy are on the line."

I've seen & heard lots of news coverage stating the cost of having enhanced police presence. I love the idea of protesting the police overreaction & the ironic, or would that be oxymoronic response that would create! The Occupy movements have been largely & purposefully peaceful. In fact when the Portland Oregon eviction came down, the Occupy crowds were often chanting, to the riot gear clad police, "We are peaceful people".

Wow! That was powerful stuff facing down baton wielding, in your face, throngs of riot police. Such a Gandhi moment.

The sad commentary is the masses have been so quiet & complacent, law enforcement & municipal authority figures are startled to suddenly hear the roar of the discontent & realize there are so many.

Imagine if the Occupy movement grows to a point where they realize there is no way they can send floods of police to try to have an intimidating presence at every event peaceful citizens opt to exercise their Constitutional right to assemble freely.

I'm loving the peaceful revolution & hope the police calm down & learn this is the new normal, and understand it is a constitutional, legal right to freely assemble.
Granted the free speech is at a roar, but it is long overdue.

An open letter to Sherri Neet

2011-11-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

The headline story in today's local Register Guard newspaper is the local #Occupy protests at multiple banks, they quoted this comment:

"Sherry Neet, who watched outside Chase Bank, said the movement had attracted too many people who were looking for a free meal and place to sleep rather than actual working people trying to effect change."

"It's the bums and the drug addicts that are running with them," Neet said when asked why she didn't agree with the protest. "It's not the working man that's standing up for any of this."

An open letter to Sherri Neet:

Dear Ms. Neet: Lucky for you your life is so neat that you have not experienced the hardship of job loss or being unemployed. My "working man" husband who has raised two children and provided for all their needs in the decades of their lives will soon, according to you, be in the "bum" category.

You see, the company he worked for for the last 13 years went belly up in bankruptcy and a few thousand workers lost their family wage jobs & health insurance.

But the company was bought & sold & reopened. He was able to get rehired, and according to your perspective, will no longer be a bum.

But due to bad economic times, the company is restructuring, and once again closing the factory, in order to take advantage of another States corporate ~~welfare~~ tax incentives.

So once again, he will be in the "bum" category.

What you fail to recognize, Ms. Neet is a reality check:

"The number of long-term unemployed nationwide, defined as those jobless for 27 weeks or more, has been unprecedented in this recession, economists say. In February, 6 million unemployed workers were in this category, accounting for nearly 44 percent of the unemployed. That figure remains near the high of 45.6 percent last May. That share of the long-term unemployed is one of the highest on record, the bureau reported."

Read more: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2011/03/19/1528781/slo-county-unemployment.html#ixzz1e4aHcACE

Statewide Oregon's unemployment rate is 9.6%.

Right here in Lane County, unemployment stats look like this:

Nationwide unemployment rates, not looking so good either:

32	IDAHO	9.0
33	ARIZONA	9.1
33	OHIO	9.1
33	WASHINGTON	9.1
36	NEW JERSEY	9.2
37	OREGON	9.6
38	KENTUCKY	9.7
39	ALABAMA	9.8
39	TENNESSEE	9.8
41	ILLINOIS	10.0
42	GEORGIA	10.3
43	NORTH CAROLINA	10.5
43	RHODE ISLAND	10.5
45	FLORIDA	10.6
45	MISSISSIPPI	10.6
47	SOUTH CAROLINA	11.0
48	DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	11.1
48	MICHIGAN	11.1
50	CALIFORNIA	11.9
51	NEVADA	13.4

Also note a "job" is not an apples for apples comparison. A family wage job with affordable health care for all family members is not the same as a minimum wage job w no benefits, or pays so low as to not be able to afford the health care insurance. To have a job and live at or near poverty level is not the same as a Wall Street Banker who gets a $700,000 annual bonus.

It is widely recognized that the numbers do not reflect the true # of unemployed, because those who fall off the official ranks are no longer counted.

I just want to be clear that unemployed bums may not have a choice to be employed.

They certainly don't stay awake at night worrying about how they will invest or spend

hundreds of thousands in bonus money. Although they do need to keep a close watch on the bank that the State contracted to distribute Unemployment funds on a Visa debit card- the fees and fines they can assess those struggling through unemployment.

So Ms. Neet, before the Occupy movement began, we had Tent cities right here in the USA. Not a fun camping jamboree, but destitute people who had no other housing options. In fact about 1.5 million people are homeless in America.

The fact that the Occupy movement recognizes and is inclusive of all- those who are employed, working poor, unemployed, homeless, students facing underemployment and huge college debt, or perhaps facing foreclosure, or medical debt bankruptcy. Those "bums" include Veterans, the elderly, disabled people, and minor children. The "bum" label & stereotyping you wield is disrespectful, assumptive & degrading all at once.

The fact that this government spends in excess of 60% of the entire national budget on military and wars means we don't fund health care, housing, & education.

The media may tell you we are in a recession, but take a look around, it's looking more like a depression. If you should happen to join the ranks of the unemployed, you could become a bum in the blink of an eye.

So to all you Sherri Neets in the world- wake up. When employable people with college degrees apply for hundreds of jobs over the course of 2 or more years and can not get work, it is not because they lack motivation, so park your judgement & consider being part of the solution. Name calling & passing judgement makes you a part of the problem. You may be one pink slip, or medical bankruptcy away from joining the ranks of the occupy movement.

OCCUPY! NTL DAY OF ACTION

2011-11-17T07:04:00.000-08:00

I can't join the "Occupy" movement's day of action/march today, but in solidarity, here are some of the issues they have posted re various banks strongholds & unfair/predatory practices.

Boycott

Umpqua Bank

1. Umpqua Bank accepted a $214-milllion-dollar

bailout they admitted they didn't need, but they did not

pay back.

2. Chairman Allyn Ford is the owner of Roseburg Forest

Products a company that clearcuts old-growth forests.

3. Chairman Ford is responsible for massive pesticide

spraying in Oregon.

4. Peggy Fowler, the Director of Umpqua Holdings Corp.

(owner of Umpqua Bank), is on the board of the Federal

Reserve.

5. Despite the recession, Umpqua Bank is making

record profits this year.

http://www.forestdefensenow.com/

http://occupyeugenemedia.org/

Click here to see the revised logo/name of

"Stumpqua Bank"

U.S. BANK ~

KICKING PEOPLE WHEN THEY ARE DOWN

The National Consumer Law Center recently released a report on unemployment benefit cards, in which Oregon received a “thumbs down” ranking for the overdraft fees associated with the U.S. Bank-issued ReliaCard.

According to FairEconomyOregon.org, Richard Davis, head of U.S. Bank, says the company expects to recoup about half of potential lost profits from swipe fee reform by nickel and diming the unemployed through prepaid cards and related products.

Rewriting the Constitution?

2011-11-16T09:56:00.000-08:00

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Anti Federalism:

Opposition to the ratification of the Constitution was partly based on the Constitution's lack of adequate guarantees for civil liberties. To provide such guarantees, the First Amendment (along with the rest of the Bill of Rights) was submitted to the states for ratification on September 25, 1789, and adopted on December 15, 1791.

Free speech zones

Main article: Free speech zone

The "free speech zone" at the2004 Democratic National Convention.

Free speech zones are areas set aside in public places for political activists to exercise their right of freedom of speech as an exercise of what is commonly called "TPM" or "time, place, manner" regulation of speech. Free speech zones are set up by theSecret Service who scout locations near which the president is to pass or speak. Officials may target those displaying signs and escort them to the free speech zones before and during the event. Protesters who refuse to go to free speech zones could be arrested and charged with trespassing, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. In 2003, a seldom-used federal law was brought up that says that "willfully and knowingly to enter or remain in any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area of a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting" is a crime. (My comment: Ahhh the Bush 2 era).

See photo of what was dubbed "Freedom Cages". The designated so-called "Free Speech Zones"were located several blocks away from the venue protesters were wanting to get their message to.
You'd halfway expect this @ the Republican Natl. convention, but this was done at the Democratic Natl. convention.

The United States constitution explicitly provides for 'the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances'" in the First Amendment.

The First Amendment of the Constitution* does not have asterisks that state:

* Some restrictions apply.

* Limited to posted hours of operation of local park municipalities.

* The right to peaceably assemble cannot involve tents & sleeping bags.

* Politicians have the option to send in riot police to disassemble the crowd, and use brutal force.

NY daily news reports:

"Retired Supreme Court Judge Karen Smith can’t believe what she saw this week. At the urging of her son, who joined the Zuccotti Park protests weeks ago, Smith had volunteered to be a legal observer in case of mass arrests.

She received a text message early Tuesday that a bust was imminent, so she got to Zuccotti around 1:30 a.m. As she exited the subway at Broadway and Dey St., she met a wall of cops in riot gear who were preventing people from getting anywhere near the park.

“There was a black woman standing next to me,” Smith said. “She kept frantically telling the cops her daughter was in park and she wanted to make sure the girl was okay.”

“All of a sudden, a cop takes his baton and cracks her in the head,” Smith said. “She hadn’t done a thing. Then they started chasing people down the street.”

Smith’s efforts to get police to recognize her as a legal observer proved futile. Likewise, several reporters who were arrested while covering the protest found their press credentials worthless.

Our mayor repeatedly says he is a defender of free speech. But the First Amendment, Bloomberg notes, “does not protect the use of tents and sleeping bags to take over a public space.” Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Michael Stallman bought the mayor’s argument and ruled in the city’s favor.

Amazingly, even as cops cleared Zuccotti Park of the rebel tent camp, other tent structures, complete with generators, were going up at other parks, with City Hall’s blessing.

At Union Square Park, for example, rows of tents have already been erected for the annual holiday market so vendors can sell their trinkets through Christmas.

A second tent market will soon spring to life at Central Park near Columbus Circle. Pay the city rent, and tents are fine. But tents and generators so people can protest Wall Street greed? That’s an unhealthy idea that requires immediate police action."

This is a slippery slope we are on my friends.

Once it is allowed to start making random interpretations of the Constitution, backed up with baton, tear gas, pepper spray wielding, riot geared police, we have lost so much more than park space in NYC, Portland Oregon & Oakland CA. (Not to mention Atlanta, Dallas etc).We are losing the right to peacefully assemble & free speech.

Save the rich....

2011-11-15T08:02:00.000-08:00