Did the Press Engender the Libyan Revolution?

.
I wonder whether the Libyan Revolution would have drawn in NATO if the press hadn't picked up on the story and run with it. I mean, horrible atrocities are happening in Darfur and yet no western governmental agency has intervened, in spite of the star power and dedication of a George Clooney.

Of course what happened in Tunisia and Egypt contributed to the situation in Libya and without social media it might have taken many more years, but seriously, without the western press pushing the story of Gadhafi would the UN and NATO have taken it on? I doubt it.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Burma, and on and on and on, and no western government has taken up their causes militarily - well maybe the U.S. has dropped a few bombs in Yemen. But would the UN Security Council have passed Resolution #1973 if the western press had ignored the situation in Libya? Think about it...
.

Cruel & Unusual Treatment of Wikileaks Suspect

.
One of the reasons I voted for Barack Obama is that he had been a constitutional law instructor. Guess I should have asked whether he actually understands our constitution.

There is no excuse for the treatment Pfc Bradley Manning is receiving at Quantico Prison and I urge POTUS to move quickly to correct this situation. In fact I have Tweeted him and emailed the White House urging him to do just that. Others have urged him to do something. Instead, P.J. Crowley has been pushed out as spokesman for the Secretary of State because he told the truth about it.

Mr.President, it isn't sufficient to simply ask whether the conditions of his confinement are "appropriate." You must learn what the conditions are and ensure that competent medical professionals and constitutional lawyers agree they do not violate the 8th amendment of our constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual treatment.

Now, Terry A. Kupers, author of "Prison Madness: The Mental Health Crisis Behind Bars and What We Must Do About It" has spoken out. Dr. Kupers, is not your average psychiatrist; he has been awarded the exemplary psychiatrist award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness in 2005, and the William Rossiter Award from the Forensic Mental Health Association of California in 2009. He testifies as a psychiatric expert in court about prison conditions and the quality of correctional mental health care.

And now he is speaking out about the way Bradley Manning is being treated at Quantico Prison. Dr. Kupers tells us that the conditions in which Manning is being held will likely lead to suicide, although our government insists the conditions protect him from himself. Common sense says that prolonged solitary confinement will warp a person's mind, but add to that the requirement that he sleep without any clothing and you have a recipe for suicide, in my opinion.

I urge you to read the article Dr. Kupers wrote for CNN.com (link to it above) and then take action. Contact the White House (whitehouse.gov) and urge the president to correct this horrible miscarriage of justice. Then contact your Congressmember and Senators and urge them to pressure the White House to do something about this now. As a nation we should be demanding Congressional hearings on this situation.

Act now before Pfc Manning is damaged beyond repair or worse.

"Reckoning With Torture" at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival

No comment required but I'd be interested in yours.

It's a SIGN of the Times

.
Sign over a Gynecologist's Office:
"Dr. Jones, at your cervix."

**************************
In a Podiatrist's office:
"Time wounds all heels."

**************************
On a Septic Tank Truck:
Yesterday's Meals on Wheels
**************************
On a Plumber's truck:
"We repair what your husband fixed."
**************************
On another Plumber's truck:
"Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber."
**************************
On a Church's Bill board:
"7 days without God makes one weak."
**************************
At a Tire Store
"Invite us to your next blowout."
**************************
On an Electrician's truck:
"Let us remove your shorts."
**************************
In a Non-smoking Area:
"If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action."
**************************
On a Maternity Room door:
"Push. Push. Push."
**************************
At an Optometrist's Office:
"If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place."
**************************
On a Taxidermist's window:
"We really know our stuff."
**************************
On a Fence:
"Salesmen welcome! Dog food is expensive!"
**************************
At a Car Dealership:
"The best way to get back on your feet - miss a car payment."
**************************
Outside a Car Exhaust Store:
"No appointment necessary. We hear you coming."
**************************
In a Vets waiting room:
"Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!"
**************************
In a Restaurant window:
"Don't stand there and be hungry; come on in and get fed up."
**************************
In the front yard of a Funeral Home:
"Drive carefully. We'll wait."
**************************
And don't forget the sign at a Radiator Shop:
"Best place in town to take a leak."
**********************
Sign on the back of yet another Septic Tank Truck:
"Caution - This Truck is full of Political Promises"
.

Rhetoric, Illicit Drugs, Mental Illness, How are They Related?

.
Regarding the horrendous shooting that happened on January 8, 2011 in Tucson AZ: some honestly believe that people's actions are their own responsibility and that their acts are not influenced by the words/acts of others. Clearly the thoughts of those who lack introspection.

Still, I heard an interesting discussion on CNN/State Of The Union this morning that included a psychologist who is schizophrenic. He talked about how heavy marijuana use in adolescence has a clear connection to the onset of schizophrenia.

It reminded me that Jared Loughner (the accused in the shootings) has said his favorite books include Mein Kampf, The Communist Manifesto, & The Wizard of Oz, while he has an arrest record for possession of drug paraphernalia.

I also watched This Week with Christiane Amanpour this morning where I heard a neighbor of Laughner's state that she saw a clear change in his behavior over the last several (4-6) years. Apparently Jared played in a jazz band earlier & the neighbor had enjoyed hearing the beautiful music coming from his home. But, she said, that changed several years ago when he became withdrawn and non-responsive.

Naturally this raises, in my mind, the need for attention to mental health care (another reason NOT to repeal health care reform) and the obvious concern for teenagers who are using unregulated (read illegal) drugs. Their brains are not mature and can be affected by such substances.

I've raised a few issues here & will stop now. What do you think?

We Must Stop the Madness

.
In honor of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D)AZ and in memory of those who lost their lives at her side on Saturday, January 8, 2011, I ask you,

DID YOU KNOW? In one year on average, almost 100,000 people in America are shot or killed with a gun.

* In one year, 31,224 people died from gun violence and 66,769 people survived gun injuries (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC)). That includes:

o 12,632 people murdered and 44,466 people shot in an attack.

o 17,352 people who killed themselves and 3,031 people who survived a suicide attempt with a gun.

o 613 people who were killed unintentionally and 18,610 who were shot unintentionally but survived.

DID YOU KNOW? Over a million people have been killed with guns in the United States since 1968, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated (Childrens’ Defense Fund, p. 20).

* U.S. homicide rates are 6.9 times higher than rates in 22 other populous high-income countries combined, despite similar non-lethal crime and violence rates. The firearm homicide rate in the U.S. is 19.5 times higher (Richardson, p.1).

* Among populous high-income countries, 80% of all firearm deaths occurred in the United States (Richardson, p. 1).

* Gun violence impacts society in countless ways: medical costs, costs of the criminal justice system, security precautions such as metal detectors, and reductions in quality of life because of fear of gun violence. These impacts are estimated to cost U.S. citizens $100 billion annually (Cook, 2000).

DID YOU KNOW? Where there are more guns, there are more gun deaths.

* An estimated 41% of gun-related homicides and 94% of gun-related suicides would not occur under the same circumstances had no guns been present (Wiebe, p. 780).

* Higher household gun ownership correlates with higher rates of homicides, suicides, and unintentional shootings (Harvard Injury Control Center).

* Keeping a firearm in the home increases the risk of suicide by a factor of 3 to 5 and increases the risk of suicide with a firearm by a factor of 17 (Kellermann, 1992, p. 467; Wiebe, p. 771).

* Keeping a firearm in the home increases the risk of homicide by a factor of 3 (Kellermann, 1993, p. 1084).

DID YOU KNOW? On the whole, guns are more likely to raise the risk of injury than to confer protection.

* A gun is 22 times more likely to be used in a completed or attempted suicide, criminal assault or homicide, or unintentional shooting death or injury than to be used in a self-defense shooting. (Kellermann, 1998, p. 263).

* Guns are used to intimidate and threaten 4 to 6 times more often than they are used to thwart crime (Hemenway, p. 269).

* Every year there are only about 200 legally justified self-defense homicides by private citizens (FBI, Expanded Homicide Data, Table 15) compared with over 30,000 gun deaths (NCIPC).

* A 2009 study found that people in possession of a gun are 4.5 times more likely to be shot in an assault (Branas).

DID YOU KNOW? Assaults and suicide attempts with firearms are much more likely to be fatal than those perpetrated with less lethal weapons or means. Removing guns saves lives.

* There are five times as many deaths from gun assaults as from knife assaults, where the rates of assault with knives and with guns are similar (Zimring, p. 199).

* More than 90 percent of suicide attempts with a gun are fatal (Miller, 2004, p. 626). In comparison, only 3 percent of attempts with drugs or cutting are fatal (Miller, 2004, p. 626).

DID YOU KNOW? Guns can be sold in the United States without a background check to screen out criminals or the mentally ill.

* It is estimated that over forty percent of gun acquisitions occur in the secondary market. That means that they happen without a Brady background check at a federally licensed dealer (Cook, p. 26).

* Sales from federal firearm licensees (FFLs) require a background check. Sales between individuals, under federal law, do not require a background check. This means that felons can “lie and buy” at gun shows and other places where guns are readily available.

We must stop the madness. Private citizens do not need handguns.

The second amendment to our constitution reads, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." It means that so long as the people were needed to maintain "... a well regulated militia..." they retained the right to bear arms. That is no longer the case. We now go to great expense to maintain a professional "militia."

We must outlaw the sale of handguns to private citizens. I hope you will join me in lobbying Congress to make this happen.

No, it won't be easy, but since when do we let that stop us from accomplishing what is right?

Access all references at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence website by clicking on the title of this post.

.

Dead Birds, Dead Fish, Murdered author of the first Biological & Chemical Joint Munitions Effectiveness Manual. Connected?

.
Quoting Ron Tibbs, an American Expat living in Sweden:

"We have 5,000+ birds and around 100,000 fish dead in Arkansas within 100 or so miles of one another and the former Special Assistant to the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Logistics and Environment murdered around the same time.

"The connection between all of these deaths may stem from Mr. Wheeler's (John Wheeler III) background. Here's a quote from his bio at the Mitre Corp.

""Mr. Wheeler graduated from West Point in 1966, serving as a staff officer in Vietnam, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Joint Staff before leaving active service in 1971. While on active duty, he authored the first Biological and Chemical Joint Munitions Effectiveness Manual and the analysis supporting the President’s decision that the U.S. will not use biologicals."

"He seemed to be against the use of biological weapons, probably as a result of his service in Vietnam, and it wouldn't be a long stretch for him to have had enough of the bulls$!7 and threatened to spill the beans about the... incident(s).p

"It's also important to note that the Pine Bluff Arsenal (America's Arsenal) is in Arkansas. What do they do there? Quote taken from the home page of the official site:

"Serving the needs of the joint war fighter and the citizen, a full spectrum logistics center providing expertise in specialized munitions and chemical-biological defense products and services." http://www.pba.army.mil/

"A report apparently prepared by the GRU for Prime Minister Putin states that the USA has large quantities of Phosgene Gas stored at Pine Bluff and that this is the result of the deaths of the birds and fish. I'm still looking into the authenticity of this report and it's origin but it wouldn't surprise me in the least that some sort of test went horribly wrong and Mr. Wheeler decided he felt the public should know.

"The company hired to do the clean-up appears to be United States Environmental Services. http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/WireHeadlines/2011/01/03/thousands-of-blackbirds-fall-from-sky-in-45.php

"I guess they didn't want to take any chances. I'm sure it's all just coincidence though. http://www.usesgroup.com/uses/decontamination.php"

So now let's see whether the American mainstream press has the smarts to look into this.
.

Mensa International's Annual Invitational

.
The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again invited readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.


Here are the winners:

1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.

2 Ignoranus : A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

3. Intaxicaton : Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation : Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone ( n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future

6. Foreploy : Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid..

7. Giraffiti : Vandalism spray-painted very, very high

8. Sarchasm : The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte : To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

10. Osteopornosis : A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

11. Karmageddon : It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

13. Glibido : All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor ( n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

And the winners are:

1. Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.

3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.

6. Negligent, adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.

7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash , n. A rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent, n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men

And thanks to my friend, Arnold Borley, for sharing this with me.
.

An Alternative Airline Security Model

.

Airport Security Solution

Here's the solution to all the controversy over full-body scanners at the Airports:

Have a booth that you can step into that will not x-ray you, but will detonate any explosive device you may have on your body. It would be a win-win for everyone, and there would be none of this crap about racial profiling and this method would eliminate a long and expensive trial.

Justice would be quick and swift.

This is so simple that it's brilliant. I can see it now. You're in the airport terminal and you hear a muffled explosion.

Shortly thereafter an announcement comes over the PA system,

"Attention: standby passengers. We now have a seat available on flight 4665...

Paging maintenance. Shop Vac needed in booth number 4."

PASS IT ON!
.

Cables shine light into secret diplomatic channels

.
I support open government.

I do not support the appropriation of classified documents by non-government actors who assume the right to define open-government. Holier than thou activists often disregard the possibility that their actions might risk the safety/lives of others.

I spent many days in the streets demonstrating against the Viet Nam war, and for women's rights and I don't apologize for that.

I never, however, would have taken it upon myself to "appropriate" classified information - yet the war ended largely because of political opposition, and women's rights have advanced substantially because we got our point across.

I have no doubt we could have embarrassed some politicians if we had chosen to "appropriate" classified documents but we chose to achieve our goals while risking only our own safety.

If you wish to read the NY Times story about the secret cables click on the link above.

A Congressman Was Seated Next to a Little Girl

.
A congressman was seated next to a little girl on an airplane so he turned to her and said, "Do you want to talk? Flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger."

The little girl, who had just started to read her book, replied to the total stranger, "What would you want to talk about?"

"Oh, I don't know," said the congressman. "How about global warming, universal health care, or stimulus packages?" as he smiled smugly.

"OK," she said. "Those could be interesting topics but let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff - grass. Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, but a horse produces clumps. Why do you suppose that is?"

The legislator, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it and says, "Hmmm, I have no idea."

To which the little girl replies, "Do you really feel qualified to discuss global warming, universal health care, or the economy, when you don't know shit?"

And then she went back to reading her book.
.

Dear Red States

.
We, the Blue States, have decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us.

In case you aren't aware, that includes Hawaii, Colorado, Virginia, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.

To sum up briefly:

You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches.

We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood.

We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.

We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.

We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama.

We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to attempt to make the Red States pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families (including many with same-sex parents). You get a bunch of single moms.

Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti- war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They Have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners), 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools, plus Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.

With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.

We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties.

By the way, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico.

Peace out,

Blue States

Friends, I don't know who wrote this but I couldn't resist posting it. If you know who wrote it let me know. I'll be happy to give them credit.
.

Don't Know Whether to Laugh or Get Really Pissed

.
According to the Associated Press's Rachel Zoll, the U.S.'s Roman Catholic bishops are holding a conference on how to conduct exorcisms (link above). It seems there's a "...shortage of priests who can perform the rite..." so there will be a conference on how to conduct same.

Is this the 13th century?

According to Zoll, "Signs of demonic possession accepted by the church include violent reactions to holy water or anything holy, speaking in a language the possessed person doesn't know, and abnormal displays of strength.

"The full exorcism is held in private and includes sprinkling holy water, reciting Psalms, reading aloud from the Gospel, laying on of hands and reciting the Lord's Prayer. Some adaptations are allowed for different circumstances. The exorcist can invoke the Holy Spirit, then blow in the face of the possessed person, trace the sign of the cross on the person's forehead, and command the devil to leave."

So if you have a "...violent reaction to holy water or anything holy" the remedy is "...sprinkling holy water, reciting Psalms, reading aloud from the Gospel, laying on of hands and reciting the Lord's Prayer?"

How about we just eliminate the cause instead? I suspect there might not be a need for exorcisms if there weren't a church to judge ones' "evil spirit."

Just sayin...
.

First Report on DADT Study

.
"A Pentagon study group has concluded that the military can lift the ban on gays serving openly in uniform with only minimal and isolated incidents of risk to the current war efforts, according to two people familiar with a draft of the report, which is due to President Obama on Dec. 1." (link above)

More than 70% of active duty and reserve troops find permitting gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military would have a positive, mixed or non existent effect according to a survey of active duty and reserve troops conducted by the pentagon over the summer. "The survey results led the report's authors to conclude that objections to openly gay colleagues would drop once troops were able to live and serve alongside them," according to the Washington Post's Ed O'Keefe and Greg Jaffe, reporting on the results of a months long study of the subject conducted by the Pentagon.

So, Congress should repeal DADT forthwith, and failing that POTUS must issue an executive order that the Pentagon stop enforcing it.

The House has already passed a bill so, Harry Reid, the ball is in your court. It's time you "man-up" to quote your recent oponent, and put it to a vote. If the Republicans threaten to filibuster it, let them. Bring out the cots and make them actually filibuster a piece of legislation that the overwhelming majority of Americans want passed.

And, Mr. President, step up to the plate and demand that the Senate do its job.
.

8 Wierdest Ballot Measures of 2010

.
According to the National Journal's Wire, there were some pretty weird ballot measures offered to voters in this country on Nov. 3, 2010. I'm not even going to try to improve on the Wire's presentation of them. You might want to avoid having anything liquid in your mouth while reading these.

On Tuesday, the Wire took a look at some of the oddest ballot measures up for consideration in the midterms. These included a Florida county ordinance against nighttime airboat rides, a Denver initiative to establish a commission in case of UFOs, and a motion (we almost wrote "fatwa") against using Islamic sharia law in Oklahoma courts. So how'd it all shake out?

Stay on That Side of the Law, Please

* WHERE: North Carolina
* WHAT: An amendment that "would alter the state constitution to prohibit convicted felons from running for sheriff in the state."
* STATUS: Passed "overwhelmingly," with 85 percent of the vote.
* CONSEQUENCES: "Convicted felon becomes sheriff in North Carolina town" may no longer be possible in reality, but it can still become a Billy Bob Thornton movie.

No Sharia for Sooners

* WHERE: Oklahoma
* WHAT: State Question 755, which "forbids courts from considering or using Sharia Law."
* STATUS: Passed "by a whopping margin of 70 to 30 percent."
* CONSEQUENCES: Billy Bob Thornton could probably do something with this as well. He's pretty versatile.

The Earth Says Hello

* WHERE: Denver, Colorado
* WHAT: Denver Initiative 300, which calls for "an extraterrestrial affairs commission to help ensure the health, safety, and cultural awareness of Denver residents" in "potential encounters or interactions with extraterrestrial intelligent beings."
* STATUS: Rejected in a "landslide" by more than 80 percent of voters.
* CONSEQUENCES: Denver residents will have no one but themselves to blame when the Helmacrons come.

In Order to Catch a More Perfect Bullhead

* WHERE: Arizona
* WHAT: Proposition 109, which would enshrine hunting and fishing as state-constitutional rights.
* STATUS: Rejected, despite the support of Governor Jan Brewer.
* CONSEQUENCES: Dodges the risk of a typo in the state constitution that protects "hinting and fishing," so no one could legally compel Arizonians to ask a direct question ever again.

No Nos Gustan Otros Idiomas

* WHERE: Oklahoma again
* WHAT: State Question 751, which mandates that "official State actions" be conducted in English, though "Native American languages could also be used."
* STATUS: Passed with "huge majorities," effectively making Oklahoma an English-only state.
* CONSEQUENCES:

The IRS Will Have Its Revenge on Seattle

* WHERE: Washington
* WHAT: Initiative 1098, which would establish a personal income tax--the only one in the state--for people making over $200,000 a year. Bill Gates supports it; Steve Ballmer opposes.
* STATUS: It looks like this one was rejected, with Tuesday night reports showing defeat by a margin of 65 to 34 percent.
* CONSEQUENCES: Is anyone surprised? Somehow the failure to launch a new tax in the Year of the Tea Party doesn't shock us.

It's Not 'Land of the Free, Home of the Airboats'

* WHERE: Alachua County, Florida
* WHAT: Ordinance 1, an airboat curfew to be enforced between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. Those things are noisy.
* STATUS: Appears to have passed with 56 percent of the vote.
* CONSEQUENCES: Hey, is Billy Bob still around?

Originally Called 'Rhode Island Stuart Leibowitz'

* WHERE: Rhode Island
* WHAT: Question 1, which would shorten the state's official name--The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations--to "Rhode Island," which is what everyone already calls it.
* STATUS: Rejected "by nearly 78 percent."
* CONSEQUENCES: Pending. No word on whether locals will be shortening the official name of the popular seaside city, Newport and Hitler's Lone Testicle.

I warned you.

8 Nasty Lies That Must Be Debunked Before the Election

.
The public has been misled on a ton of issues like tax cuts, the deficit, the economy, and the cost of health care. October 25, 2010 |

By Dave Johnson, Campaign for America's Future

There are a number of things the public "knows" as we head into the election that are just false. If people elect leaders based on false information, the things those leaders do in office will not be what the public expects or needs.

Here are eight of the biggest myths that are out there:

1) President Obama tripled the deficit.

Reality: Bush's last budget had a $1.416 trillion deficit. Obama's first budget reduced that to $1.29 trillion.

2) President Obama raised taxes, which hurt the economy.

Reality: Obama cut taxes. 40% of the "stimulus" was wasted on tax cuts which only create debt, which is why it was so much less effective than it could have been.

3) President Obama bailed out the banks.

Reality: While many people conflate the "stimulus" with the bank bailouts, the bank bailouts were requested by President Bush and his Treasury Secretary, former Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson. (Paulson also wanted the bailouts to be "non-reviewable by any court or any agency.") The bailouts passed and began before the 2008 election of President Obama.

4) The stimulus didn't work.

Reality: The stimulus worked, but was not enough. In fact, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the stimulus raised employment by between 1.4 million and 3.3 million jobs.

5) Businesses will hire if they get tax cuts.

Reality: A business hires the right number of employees to meet demand. Having extra cash does not cause a business to hire, but a business that has a demand for what it does will find the money to hire. Businesses want customers, not tax cuts.

6) Health care reform costs $1 trillion.

Reality: The health care reform reduces government deficits by $138 billion.

7) Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, is "going broke," people live longer, fewer workers per retiree, etc.

Reality: Social Security has run a surplus since it began, has a trust fund in the trillions, is completely sound for at least 25 more years and cannot legally borrow so cannot contribute to the deficit (compare that to the military budget!) Life expectancy is only longer because fewer babies die; people who reach 65 live about the same number of years as they used to.

8) Government spending takes money out of the economy.

Reality: Government is We, the People and the money it spends is on We, the People. Many people do not know that it is government that builds the roads, airports, ports, courts, schools and other things that are the soil in which business thrives. Many people think that all government spending is on "welfare" and "foreign aid" when that is only a small part of the government's budget.

This stuff really matters.

If the public votes in a new Congress because a majority of voters think this one tripled the deficit, and as a result the new people follow the policies that actually tripled the deficit, the country could go broke.

If the public votes in a new Congress that rejects the idea of helping to create demand in the economy because they think it didn't work, then the new Congress could do things that cause a depression.
.

Demonizing Government Is Not Smart!

.
Dwight Eisenhower famously cautioned us to... "beware the military industrial complex." What he was warning us about was an atmosphere in which the private sector co-opts the public sector for the benefit of their bottom line. That has pretty much happened in the U.S. because the electorate has bought the line t...hat the private sector is good and the public sector is bad; that government is bad.

Ronald Reagan was good at delivering snappy lines including, "Government isn't the answer. Government is the problem." Then he proceeded to lead us into a substantial recession and left us with more debt than our government had accumulated in its history. That's bad governance. Government isn't bad. Bad governing is.

That's why Bill Clinton's "middle-way" succeeded in leaving us with a balanced budget and a surplus for the first time in decades. He recognized that the private sector has a place in our society but there are things that government can do if they're well managed. I disagreed with him on many issues but he certainly worked with a Republican Congress to put us on the road to recovery.

Then George W Bush spent every dollar of that surplus and trillions more by granting tax breaks while launching two wars that we could ill afford. He insisted that government is bad; that the private sector could solve our problems if we just reduced taxes and got out of their way. I didn't agree with Bush on much of anything, although I supported his approach to immigration reform but he just didn't seem to understand that government isn't bad; bad governing is.

Right now our government is struggling to dig us out of a recession bordering on depression at a time when people seem to buy the concept that Ronald Regan and George W Bush put forth; that government is the problem.

There's a roll for the private sector and one for the public sector and we must be vigilant to negotiate a proper balance between the two.

We all want strong national security, public education, safe prescription drugs, clean air & water, well built bridges & highways, scenic national parks, comfortable retirement and health care for our elders and we don't seem to want to pay for them.

Remember: government isn't bad; bad governing is.
.

Valerie Jarrett Insults Lt. Dan Choi & the President is Wrong

.
Watch this video from Think Progress (link above) before reading on.

This is just insulting. Valerie Jarrett cannot possibly "share" Dan Choi's frustration unless she has experienced the discrimination he has. A person of color should know that.

If our president believes DADT is unconstitutional he should let the federal court ruling stand. Unconstitutional laws should not have to be repealed. They should be ruled so by a court and set aside. That is why we have a judiciary. A federal court has ruled and this president has refused to accept that court ruling. What is it he does not understand? I wonder what sort of constitutional law he taught at the University of Chicago.

And I do not understand why he does not issue a stop loss order; that he does not just stop enforcing it. This is just unconscionable.

Our president is talking out of both sides of his mouth. He either believes it is unconstitutional and stops enforcing it. Or he doesn't and he admits it. He can't have it both ways. This is a civil rights (and security) issue; not a political football to be tossed around at will.

Mr. President, put on your big boy pants and stop enforcing this unconstitutional law.

Does out President have any balls?

.
I do wonder whether our president has any balls. If he has he certainly doesn't seem to want to use them.

He came into office with a good bit of political capital and didn't use it. He dilly dallied around with healthcare: "negotiated" from the middle instead of from the left - which, of course, resulted in a pale, weak, watered down product that in the end didn't draw any votes from the Republican party.

Why didn't he lay out what he wanted? Why did he leave it to Congress to write the legislation; a Congress that is all over the board - from left to right - and could not possibly have come up with rational legislation. And he used up 14 months doing it. Fourteen months that we couldn't afford to give.

This president has so much potential & doesn't seem to realize it. The Republicans aren't going to meet him half-way. He needs to step up to the plate and take charge.

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico signaled to me that he just doesn't connect on an intuitive level. He's an intellectual first, last, and always, at a time when we
need a president who is smart and intuitive.

We criticized G W Bush for failing to show up in New Orleans for several days after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. While Pres. Obama got there a bit quicker he certainly didn't impart a sense of urgency when he arrived. He strolled along the beach, looked down, and kicked the sand, and when he spoke he didn't express any compassion.

It's a good thing he brought intellectual capital to the White House but without some compassion, without a sense of urgency, without the balls to stand up for something, his presidency may be wasted.
.

Deep Thoughts, Cheap Shots, Bon Mots

.

Laundry is the only thing that should be separated by color ~ anonymous

I don't give 'em Hell. I tell the truth and they think it's Hell. ~ Harry Truman

You can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few or you can have democracy. You can't have both. ~ Justice Louis Brandeis

Democracy only works if we claim it as our own ~ Bill Moyers

The Republicans work for Wall Street & the Democrats are afraid to work against them. ~ A friend of Bill Moyers'

Karl Rove: the guy who puts the goober in gugernatorial ~ Jim Hightower

Everybody does better when everybody does better ~ Jim Hightower's Dad

We might not all have come over on the same boat but we're in the same boat now ~ Jesse Jackson

Plutocracy and democracy do not mix ~ Bill Moyers

The agitator is the center post in the washing machine that gets the dirt out. We need a lot more agitators ~ Jim Hightower

Their number are negligible and they are stupid
~ Pres. Eisenhower speaking of politicians who opposed social security

In a democracy agreement isn't necessary but participation is
~ Walter Cronkite