Monday

still quite busy though

hi sam, hi alice, good idea, to check out some open mics

Iran and Saudi Arabia seem to be having a proxy war in poor Little Yemen. America's loyalty to the Saudi's is obvious. When America meddled in Iranian politics in Iran in 1953 it became apparent that America was in with the Saudi's who the CIA/Bush Family was working with.. When Iran nationalized their Oil business America/Uk went with Saudi Arabia . The meddling caused for a Backlash and set the stage for the religious control of Iran. Iran is a well developed old civilazation that is more progressive than the Wahabi Mind control Fat cat Saudi's. .This is a battle between the religious perspectives of the governments of Iran and Saudi Arabia and also about competing suppliers and sovereignty. If there isn't enough oil to go around and the demand is greater than the supply why do the Shiites and the Sunis fight? This is an ego thing in my opinion or a sovereignty issue. I hope that Obama is not as corrupt as the Bush Family and I hope that he can act in a bi partisan way. America is not trusted because of it's previous history in meddling with other peoples countries. How is he going to undue this tangled mess?. I guess he will have to be clear in his loyalties. The collateral damage while chasing terrorists is not going to help rebuild the American Image.. Obama could do alot of good if he could get the Israeli/Palestine conflict on a road to a fair arrangement. Obama inherited a mess
that the OIl middlemen like. Countries are loyal to the spigot country that supplies them. . If alternative fuels ever get going alot of this trouble might subside. Is the war between Iran and Saudi Arabia about competing markets or competing religious perspectives? I think it is a mix of the two.America has to stop being the Saudi's boy. America needs to promote solar and better enegy sources like wind and Algae based fuels. The Bush/CIA family kissed the mouth and the asses of Saudi Arabia for monentary gain. They unsettled the status quo of Iraq and Iran to please our Saudi masters. America go home and fix your own country.

TMZ Falls For JFK Photo Hoax
Photo that "could have changed history" actually from a Playboy shoot

DECEMBER 28--In a colossal screw-up, the gossip web site TMZ.com today published a photo purporting to show John F. Kennedy frolicking on a yacht with a harem of naked women--except that the image actually appeared as part of a November 1967 Playboy photo spread, The Smoking Gun has learned. The TMZ hoax was billed as an "exclusive" featuring a photo that "could have altered world events" had it surfaced prior to his presidential campaign. "It could have torpedoed his run, and changed world history," the site added.
==========================

check it while it's still up

The tmz page, ff for an extensive analysis of the veracity of the photo.

[looks just like him don't you think;) I remember that article... well the pictures anyway]
~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

http://popup.lala.com/popup/360569466644627734

We didn't always have loyalty oaths:

Monday, December 28th,
1945 Congress officially recognized the "Pledge of Allegiance."

(Swearing of the pledge is accompanied by a salute. An early version of the salute, adopted in 1892, was known as the Bellamy salute. It ended with the arm outstretched and the palm upwards. It eventually evolved to palm downward. Because of the similarity between the Bellamy salute and the Nazi salute, President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted the hand-over-the-heart gesture as the salute to be rendered by civilians during the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem in the United States, instead of the Bellamy salute.)

Addition of the words "under God"

"Under God" was officially incorporated into the Pledge of Allegiance June 14, 1954 by a Joint Resolution of Congress amending § 7 of the Flag Code enacted in 1942.[8] The man to first initiate the addition of "under God" to the Pledge was Louis A. Bowman (1872-1959). The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution gave him an Award of Merit as the originator of this idea.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance

2. Criticism of requiring or promoting the Pledge
.....Another objection states that a democratic republic built on dissent should not require its citizens to pledge allegiance to it; the best way to instill a love of country in young people (if that is the intent of the Pledge) is to teach them about their country without such a compulsion...
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Pledge_of_Allegiance

2009: The Things I Want to Forget

For some, the end of the year is a time to think back on all the memorable moments from the previous 12 months. I prefer to continue my contrarian tradition of performing a mental cleanse, removing from my internal hard drive all the things that should no longer be cluttering my mind.

Here then is a list of the things I'd like to forget, circa 2009:

Glenn Beck's tears. Glenn Beck's whiteboard. Glenn Beck's attacks on Van Jones. Glenn Beck calling Obama "a racist." Glenn Beck.

That Lloyd Blankfein told the Times of London that Goldman Sachs was "doing God's work."

The $38 billion tax break the IRS just handed Citibank.

That the nation's four biggest banks, all of which took taxpayer money, cut lending by $100 billion over the last six months.

That we know as much as we do about David Letterman's sex life.

That we know as much as we do about Tiger Woods' sex life.

That we know as much as we do about Sen. John Ensign's sex life.

That we know as much as we do about Gov. Mark Sanford's sex life.

That we know as much as we do about Nadya Suleman's uterus.

That Sen. Chuck Grassley joined in the "death panel" nonsense, saying voters had every right to be worried that the government would "pull the plug on grandma."

That Rep. Joe Wilson raised millions for his re-election after yelling "You lie!" at the president.

Bristol Palin, abstinence ambassador.

That Sean Hannity refused to follow through on his offer to be waterboarded for charity, even after Keith Olbermann said he'd donate $1,000 for every second Hannity endured.

That Alberto Gonzales, who approved torture, politicized the Department of Justice, and lied to Congress about warrantless wiretapping and pre-war intelligence had the nerve to claim: "I consider myself a casualty, one of the many casualties of the war on terror."

The endless hours of precious media air time given over to the Balloon Boy hoax.

Balloon Boy vomiting on national television. Twice.

The number of warning signs exhibited by Maj. Nidal Hasan that were overlooked.

That even after credit card reform legislation passed, credit card companies can charge 30 percent interest rates.

The toothless stress tests the Obama administration applied to the banks.

That Sen. Jeff Sessions argued for keeping Guantanamo open by pointing to the "tropical breezes blowing through" the prison.

That Kim Hendren, a Republican Senate candidate from Arkansas, referred to Chuck Schumer at a campaign event as "that Jew."

That waterboarding had been used in an attempt to extract backup for Dick Cheney's fantasy of an Iraq/al Qaeda connection.

The way conservatives played the race card in attacking the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor.

Bernie Madoff's mistress' revelation that he "had a very small penis. Not only was it on the short side, it was small in circumference."

That the toughest interview of the year was done by a comedian (Jon Stewart's masterful evisceration of Jim Cramer).

French President Jacques Chirac's revelation that George Bush told him in 2003 that he wanted to invade Iraq to thwart Gog and Magog, the Bible's satanic agents of the Apocalypse.

The revelation that John Edwards had promised Rielle Hunter a post-Elizabeth rooftop wedding featuring the Dave Matthews Band.

That conservatives couldn't contain their glee when Chicago lost out in the battle for the 2016 Olympics despite the combined star power of Oprah and the Obamas.

That Nancy Pelosi, who had promised to "drain the swamp" and create "the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history," instead resisted calls to remove scandal-plagued Ways and Means Committee chairman Charlie Rangel from his post.

That we are spending $30 billion a year to take on the 100 al-Qaeda members still in Afghanistan -- that's 1,000 U.S. soldiers and $300 million for every one al-Qaeda fighter -- in an unnecessary war of choice.

The beer summit.

Ryan O'Neal's admission that he hit on his daughter, Tatum, at ex-wife Farrah Fawcett's funeral.

That after an inspiring presidential campaign that promised to take on the special interests, special interest lobbyists flexed their muscles (and their wallets) and showed who really runs the show in DC.

Miley Cyrus, pole dancer.

The Movie Multiplex from Hell: Bride Wars, The Box, The Ugly Truth, All About Steve, Old Dogs, Land of the Lost.

Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew.

Sarah Palin's resignation speech. Sarah Palin's feud with David Letterman. Sarah Palin's book tour. Sarah Palin.

The look in Neda Agha-Soltan's eyes just before she died, gun downed on the streets of Tehran. At the same time I never want to forget it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/2009-the-things-i-want-...

toniD's Ya Think?

"America needs to promote solar and better enegy sources like wind and Algae based fuels."

Don't be so negative.
Just last night, while I was watching the Cowboy game, I saw an Exxon ad. They've been working on fuel from algae "for decades."

I think you jest ghettodefender. Exxon talks a nice game but they wont make the money they are used to. As long as they can monopolize the oil market they really dont need to finish the research and make alt fuels a reality.

can go a long way in this country.

Yea, I was dowsing when the ad came on. I figured it must a BP ad, since BP is the "progressive" oil giant. Surprised, Exxon even worries about PR these days.

Talking a nice game...
Submitted by ghettodefender on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 5:03pm.
can go a long way in this country.
Yea, I was dowsing when the ad came on.

dowsing?
did you find water?

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

Men Believed Behind Northwest Airline Plot Transferred to Saudi Arabia in 2007 and Set Free

Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the al Qaeda plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet over Detroit were released by the U.S. from the Guantanamo prison in November, 2007, according to American officials and Department of Defense documents.

American officials agreed to send the two terrorists to Saudi Arabia where they entered into an "art therapy rehabilitation program" and were set free, according to U.S. and Saudi officials.

Guantanamo prisoner #333, Muhamad Attik al-Harbi, and prisoner #372, Said Ali Shari, were sent to Saudi Arabia on Nov. 9, 2007, according to the Defense Department log of detainees who were released from American custody. Al-Harbi has since changed his name to Muhamad al-Awfi.

Both Saudi nationals have since emerged in leadership roles in Yemen, according to U.S. officials and the men's own statements on al Qaeda propaganda tapes.

Both of the former Guantanamo detainees are described as military commanders and appear on a January, 2009 video along with the man described as the top leader of al Qaeda in Yemen, Abu Basir Naser al-Wahishi, formerly Osama bin Laden's personal secretary.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/men-believed-northwest-airlines-plot-set-f...

toniD's Ya Think?

: )

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

When this tree falls, he will feel it
Caretaker loses long fight to keep ailing elm alive

By Jenna Russell
Globe Staff / December 27, 2009

YARMOUTH, Maine - The experts shook their heads and told Frank Knight it was over: Once Dutch elm disease showed up, nothing could be done.

“They said you can’t save the tree if it’s diseased,’’ Knight said. “But it was such a big, beautiful tree, I said, ‘I’m going to try.’ ’’

He kept the elm alive for 50 years, the two of them slowly growing older side by side. But next month, the caretaker, now 101 years old, and the tree, estimated to be 235, will finally part ways.
...
American elms, meanwhile, are making a comeback, as efforts to plant disease-resistant varieties ramp up around the country. Those include one named for New England’s most famous elm, the so-called Liberty Tree, which stood near Boston Common. It was chopped down by British loyalists in 1775 - about the time Herbie was planted - after it became a symbol of American rebellion.

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

Submitted by ghettodefender on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 5:03pm.
...Yea, I was dowsing when the ad came on.
-------
dowsing?
Submitted by jbenet on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 5:09pm.
did you find water?
---------------------------------
dowsing: What you do when you can't spell divining.

Roey Rosenblith
Director of Village Energy, Uganda

He was on the flight to Detroit from Amsterdam and his post is long but describes what happened before boarding, on the flight, and after landing. Well written!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roey-rosenblith/over-detroit-skies_b_40425...

toniD's Ya Think?

President Obama, It's Time To Fire the TSA
By Joel Johnson at GIZMODO
Dec 28, 2009 4:20 PM
...
I don't want to die on an airplane. I don't want to die in my home while eating an organic bagel infested with parasites that lay eggs on my liver. I don't want to die from starvation or bad water or a thousand other things that I pay our government to monitor and regulate.

But I also don't expect the government to protect from the literally endless possibilities and threats that could occur at any point to end my life or the life of the few I love. It's been nearly a decade since terrorists used airplanes to attack our country, and last week's attempt makes it clear that the lack of terrorist attacks have nothing to do with the increasing gauntlet of whirring machines, friskings, and arbitrary bureaucratic provisions, but simply that for the most part, there just aren't that many terrorists trying to blow up planes. Because god knows if there were, the TSA isn't capable of stopping them. We're just one bad burrito away from the TSA forcing passengers to choke back an Imodium and a Xanax before being hogtied to our seats.

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

A friend sent me the following link to a short video (42 seconds long). A man was filmed using a 50 caliber rifle to hit a steel plate target 1000 yards (or feet?) away. The fun begins when the bullet makes a return trip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ABGIJwiGBc

we spent 50+ years fighting "the red menace" for democracy and the american way....all the while they were serving up (or at least publicly fronting) equal opportunity....yet we cater to these theocratic dictatorships without compunction....and invade their countries under the guise, partially, of rights for women.....give me a break...

DARPA uses tax dollars to develop these systems, then pays defense contractors a fortune to build them, who then in turn make a larger fortune selling them to regimes that despise what we are supposed to stand for...

Arab Dictatorships Take 4 of Top 5 Spots in Purchase of U.S. Weapons and Services
Monday, December 28, 2009

Most of the leading buyers of American military hardware in 2008 had two characteristics in common: they speak Arabic and their governments are opposed to democracy and basic freedoms. Information compiled by the Congressional Research Service revealed that the biggest recipients of U.S. arms sales last year were (in order): the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iraq and Egypt. With the exception of the popularly-elected government in Baghdad, all of these American military partners are ruled by autocratic or theocratic regimes.

The leading defense contractors manufacturing the weapons for these governments are Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, and Raytheon.

Earlier this month, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the potential for $2.2 billion of new weapons sales to Arab dictatorships, in particular $1.2 billion worth to Hosni Mubarak’s Egypt for air-to-surface missiles, anti-ship missiles, aircraft engines, and Fast Missile Crafts (FMC). The rest of the proposed weapons sales are for the royal families of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

[...]

AllGov

</pissed off pointless rant>

headshot?

Careful Ralphie, you'll put your eye out with that thing!

TMZ hoax was billed as an "exclusive"
Submitted by jbenet on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 4:43pm.

[looks just like him don't you think;) I remember that article... well the pictures anyway]

----
from all these great substantive posts I am trying to catch up on, jbenet.

Of course I followed this link

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/1228092jfkpic1.html

and eventually clicked through to the "side by side comparison." (Sorry, pic does not show up here, nor does link paste.) Then I had to waste valuable time disabusing
myself of the optical illusion that one of the ladies up top was "rigged" to the other in an interesting way. (No way. Not in Playboy. Not in the 50s,)

So...you see the trouble you get me into James?

Submitted by cent on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 7:45pm

---
Therefore I think you know that you are lyin' on yourself.

zeek turned me on to Willem Maker and I'm playing this song in this week's show. The guy has quite a story you can find at the link below. Watch this first

..kind of a One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest story with a much happier ending

good man.

Only a surrender monkey gives up before the fight is over...no one can say pressing the issue is against "progressive agenda"...only Democratic Party agenda...

van Den Heuvel is being an ass...the only question is why...?

Bradbradbradbrad!!!!!!

subbing for Malloy ALL WEEK!!

http://www.mikemalloy.com/

..it caught me by surprise but I think my statement expresses how I feel. She is caving to the "bright lights of the Big Tent" and wants to be main streamed. We know that will never happen and we will be able to do something about it once we get out from under this f@#*in' bus!

I just don't care anymore..
I just don't care anymore !

**
Darn,Whom am I kidding..
Just thought I'd give it a shot..
Life would sure be a lot less stressful..
But,a lot less fulfilling..

Tastes great,less filling ?
Must have forgotten to take me Meds.. ;)

Resume normal blog mode..
Carry on.. :)

**
Oh,almost forgot this educational sheet music,below.. \/

( I will take this down if Ono or anyone else doesn't think
that the above freeform musical notes are appropriate.. ) ;)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

MMRules

Thanks for the post, toniD!

I think Arianna's list is the best end of the year piece ever!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/2009-the-things-i-want-...

is running an ad that Mark Kirk, another candidate from Illinois, Republican, is gay. Just heard on local news. Here's the story...

Perennial Candidate's Attack Ad Draws Anger
Opponent Andy Martin Questions Congressman's Sexual Orientation, Based On Internet Rumors

One of Kirk's challengers is making the claim in a radio attack ad that started airing Monday. CBS2's Mike Parker says the charge comes from a candidate with a checkered past.

The man raising the "gay" issue has been running for one office or another and making wild claims for years. This one's getting some traction because hundreds of thousands of radio listeners heard it. The candidate, who now calls himself Andy Martin, claims Kirk "lives in some kind of 'Animal House' in Washington with another gay congressman."

Martin claims he's seen what he calls a "solid rumor on the Internet" to prove his claim.

"I have nothing against gay people, but I don't think that as a candidate for the Senate, he should have a gay lifestyle and be accused of all these activities," Martin said.

Martin was once known as Anthony Martin Trigona. He was convicted of attacking two TV photographers in Florida, was denied admission to the Illinois Bar for "moderately severe character defect," and once ran for Congress to "eliminate Jew power in America."

Martin claims Kirk's former wife, who endorsed him when he announced for the Senate race, was involved in a "sham marriage" with Kirk.

Kirk's office issued a statement saying Martin's claims are "untrue and demeaning to the political process." Kirk is on active duty as a Naval Intelligence officer and has not commented himself.

Jacob Meister, an openly gay candidate for the Democratic Senate nomination says Martin's charges, remind him of McCarthy-era tactics. At the very least, Meister says, Kirk could be the target of a military investigation into his private life.

WBBM Newsradio 780 has been running the Martin radio spot because the station is required to do it by the FCC. The station is not permitted to censor political advertising.

In response to the ad, the Illinois Republican Party disowned Martin.

"His statements today are consistent with his history of bizarre behavior and often times hate-filled speech, which has no place in the Illinois Republican Party," a GOP statement said. "Mr. Martin will no longer be recognized as a legitimate Republican Candidate by the Illinois Republican Party."

The party also said Martin's sources are denying the allegations in the ad. One purported source, Raymond True, a Lake County Republican leader, said:

"Mr. Martin did not contact me in any way before making his announcement. The comments attributed to me are completely false. I request through the media that Andy Martin cease and desist from making any additional statements that are incorrectly attributed to me."

Martin and Kirk are both facing off in the Republican primary for the 2010 Senate Race for the seat previously held by President Barack Obama, and now by Roland Burris.

Before serving in the House, Kirk worked on the staff of his predecessor, John Porter, as well as the World Bank and the State Department.

http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/kirk.martin.ad.2.1393862.html

Two big Oil Countries
Submitted by ghettodefender on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 4:44pm.
"America needs to promote solar and better enegy sources like wind and Algae based fuels."

Don't be so negative.
Just last night, while I was watching the Cowboy game, I saw an Exxon ad. They've been working on fuel from algae "for decades."

===========================

Do you mean when they buy up the patents for non-oil energy technology and sit on them?

Submitted by maggiesboy on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 8:10pm.
...If I edit a Wilhelm into the 50 Caliber headshot will I get an Oscar?
--------
If you don't, you'll get a Noogie.

(It's a brilliant idea. Who gave it to you?)

Seems War on Terra could be considered unscientific.

Bigger risk: Being on a plane hit by lighting (one chance in 500,000).

Brad says we might as well have a War on Lightening.

Sorry. Have not done much reading today. Been locked in a losing battle with a vegetable oil stain on the carpet.

I will go look for it in the meantime.

=======
Got it. Here.

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2009/12/28/criticizing-the-president-on...

He's in the military and on duty right now. With this rumor that he is gay, he could run right into DADT!!

You remember Mark Kirk. He's the guy that was going to ask Palin for help so he could get the teabaggers help.

( Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk penned a memo to Republican poobah Fred Malek hoping to secure an endorsement from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for his Senate candidacy, according to a copy of the memo obtained by the Fix.

After noting that Palin will be in Chicago later this month to appear on “Oprah”, Kirk writes that “the Chicago media will focus on one key issue: Does Gov[ernor] Palin oppose Congressman Mark Kirk’s bid to take the Obama Senate seat for the Republicans?”

Kirk goes on to write that he is hoping for something “quick and decisive” from Palin about the race, perhaps to the effect of: “Voters in Illinois have a key opportunity to take Barack Obama’s Senate seat. Congressman Kirk is the lead candidate to do that.”

Malek confirmed the authenticity of the memo in an e-mail exchange)

http://thecapitolfaxblog.com/2009/11/04/mark-kirk-asks-for-sarah-palins-...

And he's the guy that told the Chinese not to believe the US Budget numbers.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/rep-mark-kirk-r-il-i-told-chi...

A bit of karma come to bite him!

toniD's Ya Think?

Seems to me that Massachusetts' insurance system isn't working for the citizens as well as it is working for the Insurance Companies. Was it a test to see if it succeeded to give a governmental seal of approval to a government-sponsored FOR-PROFIT Insurance Care MANDATE? The Massachusetts mandate seems to have been the test-case and the Insurance Companies like it. So now they want the MANDATE FOR FOR-PROFIT premium payments going national. But, in reality, the only worthwhile mandate is the mandate for NONPROFIT medical insurance.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20091228/BREAKING01/91228024/O...

Obama interrupts golf outing after child of family friend is injured

President Obama interrupted his O'ahu vacation today to...rush off the golf course when the son of one of his friends suffered a slight injury on the beach in Kailua...

...Obama left the golf course immediately to make sure the boy was with his parents and returned to his vacation home "in a very high speed and dramatic motorcade," according to a media pool report...
---------------------
I was rushed to a hospital in the bed of a 1961 Falcon Ranchero after I blew out my knee playing keepaway.

I'm pretty sure there was a motorcade. Does that count?

Submitted by gloryoski on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 11:31pm.
Sorry. Have not done much reading today. Been locked in a losing battle with a vegetable oil stain on the carpet.
----------
You gotta raise the date bar.

http://www.schneier.com/blog/
Separating Explosives from the Detonator

Chechen terrorists did it in 2004. I said this in an interview with then TSA head Kip Hawley in 2007:

I don't want to even think about how much C4 I can strap to my legs and walk through your magnetometers.

And what sort of magical thinking is behind the rumored TSA rule about keeping passengers seated during the last hour of flight? Do we really think the terrorist won't think of blowing up their improvised explosive devices during the first hour of flight?

For years I've been saying this:

Only two things have made flying safer [since 9/11]: the reinforcement of cockpit doors, and the fact that passengers know now to resist hijackers.

This week, the second one worked over Detroit. Security succeeded.

EDITED TO ADD (12/26): Only one carry on? No electronics for the first hour of flight? I wish that, just once, some terrorist would try something that you can only foil by upgrading the passengers to first class and giving them free drinks.

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

NYT obituary--

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/nyregion/28sutton.html

[excerpt]

Percy E. Sutton, Political Trailblazer, Dies at 89
By DOUGLAS MARTIN
Published: December 27, 2009

Percy E. Sutton, a pioneering figure who represented Malcolm X as a young lawyer and became one of the nation’s most prominent black political and business leaders, died in a Manhattan nursing home on Saturday, his family said. He was 89.

Entering politics in the early 1950s, Mr. Sutton rose from the Democratic clubhouses of Harlem to become the longest-serving Manhattan borough president and, for more than a decade, the highest-ranking black elected official in New York City.

Mr. Sutton, whose passion for civil rights was inherited from his father, was arrested as a Freedom Rider in Mississippi and Alabama in the 1960s, yet once described himself as “an evolutionist rather than a revolutionist” in matters of race. “You ought always to keep the lines of communication open with those with whom you disagree,” he said.

He was the senior member of the group of prominent Harlem politicians who became known, sometimes derisively, as the Gang of Four. The other three were David N. Dinkins, New York’s first black mayor; Representative Charles B. Rangel; and Basil A. Paterson, who was a state senator and New York’s secretary of state. Mr. Sutton was also a mentor to Mr. Paterson’s son, Gov. David A. Paterson.

“It was Percy Sutton who talked me into running for office, and who has continued to serve as one of my most valued advisers ever since,” Governor Paterson said in a statement on Saturday night.

In a statement on Sunday, President Obama called Mr. Sutton “a true hero to African-Americans in New York City and around the country.”

Mr. Sutton was the first seriously regarded black candidate for mayor when he ran in 1977. But after he finished fifth in a seven-way Democratic primary, his supporters saw the loss as a stinging rebuke of his campaign’s strenuous efforts to build support among whites. Still, Mr. Dinkins, who was elected in 1989, called Mr. Sutton’s failed bid indispensable to his own success.

“I stand on the shoulders of Percy Ellis Sutton,” he later said.

Mr. Sutton’s business empire included, over the years, radio stations, cable television systems and national television programs. Another business invested in Africa. Still another sold interactive technology to radio stations.

[end excerpt]

Read more at link.

Submitted by jbenet on Tue, 12/29/2009 - 12:05am.
...I don't want to even think about how much C4 I can strap to my legs and walk through your magnetometers...
------------
If you look good in dark hose, go for it girlfriend.

Column by Ben Fong-Torres in SF Chronicle features Peter B. Collins. And Peter B. talks about online radio--

[This one's for you, Ms_A!]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/27/PKNM1B5BNR.D...

[excerpt]

The big podcast: With all the talk about Internet and satellite radio posing ever-greater challenges to terrestrial, commercial radio, let's not forget podcasting.

Peter B. Collins certainly hasn't. The veteran host of a news and politics-based talk show gave up his syndicated program earlier this year when he decided that, with only seven stations on board, he couldn't earn enough revenue to keep it going.

Now, thanks to podcasting, which allows listeners to hear his show online and save programs for later listening, whether on the PC or various portable devices, Collins believes his audience has expanded.

Collins says he is reaching about 50,000 listeners a show, more than double his combined audience when he had a show on KKGN (Green 960), along with stations in Seattle, Portland and four smaller cities.

Listeners find him through progressive Web sites, iTunes, and Google, says Collins. His podcast is also available on KKGN's site.

Collins is a believer in podcasting, a less-than-glamorous alternative to over-the-air broadcasting. Early participants included amateurs with makeshift recording equipment who created DIY shows of all sorts and threw them online for whoever might find them.

In recent years, content has evolved, and listeners looking for options outside of commercial radio have embraced it. Collins cites a study stating that some 27 million people each month download or stream audio content from the Internet (not counting music downloads).

Collins sees more potential online than on air for liberal radio talk shows. "Progressive talk peaked in 2006," he told me. "There were 105 stations carrying at least two shows. It's down to 60 or so stations." And most of those stations, he said, don't pay hosts. Instead, they sell time to the hosts, who then find advertisers to help pay for the airtime.

Collins does three or four shows a week out of his home studios in Marin County. To get away from politics, he is doing a second podcast series, "Livin' Large," covering food, wine, travel, skiing, boating and automobiles. His programs can be found at peterbcollins.com.

[end excerpt]

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/27/PKNM1B5BNR.D...

won't coach the bowl game - USA Today

For putting a player in a closet!!!

What do you call the second surgeon in a dermatological procedure?

A sebaceous assist.

That's all for me, folks. Don't forget to tip your waitress. nora will be here all night.

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

MMRules

JPMorgan CEO phones UK Finance Minister over bonus tax
by Chris in Paris on 12/29/2009 05:35:00 AM
And remember, JPMorgan's CEO is Jamie Dimon who is also closely tied into the Obama team. He is often listed as one of the lead candidates to replace Geithner or take over other leading economic positions within the Obama administration. Remember this the next time his name is floated to replace someone. He's obviously terrified of the impact the tax will have on his business, but he's also again showing how he is part of the global problem in the banking industry. Where is their sense of responsibility for the problems they created? If only this crowd worried as much before the crisis as they do now we may have avoided such a deep recession.

Making veiled threats after having the industry rescued - that included healthy and weak banks alike - is yet another cheap shot from this industry. Wouldn't it be nice is someone in authority called them out and actually followed through? Reuters:

JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon expressed concerns to UK Finance minister Alistair Darling about the country's 50 percent tax to be levied on bankers' bonuses over 25,000 pounds, London's Telegraph reported.

In a recent phone call, Dimon spoke about the bank's plans to build its European headquarters in London's Canary Wharf for 1.5 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) as a way of demonstrating the bank's commitment to the city, the paper said.

This amount is definitely a substantial sum. Of course, so are the trillions of dollars spent rescuing the industry. In that light, a couple of billion is chump change so get over it and quit yapping about it. Where else would JPMorgan go for their European HQ? It's not as though the continent is any more friendly to this industry.

http://www.americablog.com/2009/12/jpmorgan-ceo-phones-uk-finance-minist...

toniD's Ya Think?

There is a middle-class tax time bomb ticking in the Senate’s version of President Obama’s effort to reform health care.

The bill that passed the Senate with such fanfare on Christmas Eve would impose a confiscatory 40 percent excise tax on so-called Cadillac health plans, which are popularly viewed as over-the-top plans held only by the very wealthy. In fact, it’s a tax that in a few years will hammer millions of middle-class policyholders, forcing them to scale back their access to medical care.

Which is exactly what the tax is designed to do.

The tax would kick in on plans exceeding $23,000 annually for family coverage and $8,500 for individuals, starting in 2013. In the first year it would affect relatively few people in the middle class. But because of the steadily rising costs of health care in the U.S., more and more plans would reach the taxation threshold each year.

Within three years of its implementation, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the tax would apply to nearly 20 percent of all workers with employer-provided health coverage in the country, affecting some 31 million people. Within six years, according to Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation, the tax would reach a fifth of all households earning between $50,000 and $75,000 annually. Those families can hardly be considered very wealthy.

Proponents say the tax will raise nearly $150 billion over 10 years, but there’s a catch. It’s not expected to raise this money directly. The dirty little secret behind this onerous tax is that no one expects very many people to pay it. The idea is that rather than fork over 40 percent in taxes on the amount by which policies exceed the threshold, employers (and individuals who purchase health insurance on their own) will have little choice but to ratchet down the quality of their health plans.

These lower-value plans would have higher out-of-pocket costs, thus increasing the very things that are so maddening to so many policyholders right now: higher and higher co-payments, soaring deductibles and so forth. Some of the benefits of higher-end policies can be expected in many cases to go by the boards: dental and vision care, for example, and expensive mental health coverage.

Proponents say this is a terrific way to hold down health care costs. If policyholders have to pay more out of their own pockets, they will be more careful — that is to say, more reluctant — to access health services. On the other hand, people with very serious illnesses will be saddled with much higher out-of-pocket costs. And a reluctance to seek treatment for something that might seem relatively minor at first could well have terrible (and terribly expensive) consequences in the long run.

If even the plan’s proponents do not expect policyholders to pay the tax, how will it raise $150 billion in a decade? Great question.

We all remember learning in school about the suspension of disbelief. This part of the Senate’s health benefits taxation scheme requires a monumental suspension of disbelief. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, less than 18 percent of the revenue will come from the tax itself. The rest of the $150 billion, more than 82 percent of it, will come from the income taxes paid by workers who have been given pay raises by employers who will have voluntarily handed over the money they saved by offering their employees less valuable health insurance plans.

Can you believe it? more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/29/opinion/29herbert.html

toniD's Ya Think?

A Palin custody fight becomes public

A battle over the custody of Sarah Palin's grandson just became public, reports an Alaska blogger who also has the court documents:

On Nov. 4, [Bristol] Palin filed for sole custody of Tripp Johnston-Palin, the former couple's son, who celebrates his first birthday today. [Judge] Kristiansen initially issued temporary orders limiting access to the case file and allowing the parties to file under pseudonyms.

Johnston wasn't playing along, however. In an opposition to Palin's motion for a gag order, Johnston's attorney, Rex Butler, said: "Simply put, this matter is public in nature, the courts are not refuges for the scions of the elite to obtain private dispensation of their legal matters because the public at large has an interest in the proceedings."

There's another factor in the mix, of course: Palin's mother, former governor Sarah Palin, with whom Johnston has repeatedly locked horns in the press, and from whom he claims to fear retaliation.

"I do not feel protected against Sarah Palin in a closed proceeding," Johnston said in an affidavit accompanying Butler's filings. "I hope that if it is open she will stay out of it. ... I think a public case might go a long way in reducing Sarah Palin's instinct to attack and allow the real parties in this litigation, Bristol and I, to work things out a lot more peacefully than we could if there is any more meddling from Sarah Palin."

The documents also show Palin's lawyer objecting, in particular, to her almost-son-in-law's comments about her, and suggesting that the court stop them.

"The harm that Mr. Johnston is doing to the families, and his own son, by publicly disparaging the Palins cannot be undone and can only be mitigated by it stopping," the lawyer, Thomas Van Flein, says in one filing.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1209/A_Palin_custody_fight_become...

Read the comments on this article. Proves many that read Politico are right wingers and Sarah lovers.

toniD's Ya Think?

Don't Put Too Much Faith In Kaiser Foundation Subsidy Calculator

The Kaiser Family Foundation is a often a good source of health care information. I appreciated what they a trying to do with their subsidy calculator, but, unfortunately, it could leave many Americans with a false impression of how much reform will cost them once the bill is implemented.

The issue is that the calculator is presenting the results “in terms of 2009 premium and income levels to enable better comparisons to current circumstances.” This glosses over the biggest problem with our health care system. Not only does our health care cost too much now, but our health care inflation is out of control. For example, for the last several years the average premiums for a family of four have been increasing by roughly a $1,000 a year. I don't think most economists expect either reform bill to really reduce the growth rate in premiums over the next five years, and I doubt there is a single economist who will bet premiums will not grow at a rate faster than wages over the next five years.

By calculating results in today's dollars and premiums, the subsidy calculator will give a segment of people an unduly rosy prediction about how much insurance will cost as a result of reform and the affordability tax credits. For people who the calculator currently says will receive subsidies, the relative cost of their health insurance premiums compared to their income should be similar to what it will be in 2015 when reform is fully underway (since tax credits are determined by a percentage of income). But for people who make over 400% FPL, or make less than 400% FPL, but, due to their age were told by the calculator that their premiums would be low enough they would not need tax credits, the calculation will not reflect reality.

For example, the calculator for the Senate bill says a 30-year-old single adult making $33,000 would only pay $2,676 (8.1% of their income) on health care premiums and would receive no subsidies using today's premium prices. While this might be true if the rules in the bill were already in place in 2009, reforms will not really be in effect until 2014. Premiums are sure to rise faster than wages between now and 2015. By 2015, it is very *likely that insurance premiums for a 30-year-old will be much higher than 8.1% of his income, and probably higher than 9.8% (the limit at which one starts getting government subsidies).

The Kasier Family Foundation subsidies calculator is a useful but flawed tool. They can not actually predict what the exact growth rate in premiums will be between now and when reform starts, so the calculator ignores this important variable by making all the calculations based on today's costs and wages. For some, the calculator will be a relatively accurate prediction of relative premium costs compared to income. But, for a significant segment of people, the calculator is giving individuals the false impression that their premiums would be noticeably lower than they will almost certainly turn out to be.

http://jwalkerreport.blogspot.com/2009/12/dont-put-too-much-faith-in-kai...

toniD's Ya Think?

NEW YORK — For more than 60 years, TV stations have broadcast news, sports and entertainment for free and made their money by showing commercials. That might not work much longer.

The business model is unraveling at ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox and the local stations that carry the networks' programming. Cable TV and the Web have fractured the audience for free TV and siphoned its ad dollars. The recession has squeezed advertising further, forcing broadcasters to accelerate their push for new revenue to pay for programming.

That will play out in living rooms across the country. The changes could mean higher cable or satellite TV bills, as the networks and local stations squeeze more fees from pay-TV providers such as Comcast and DirecTV for the right to show broadcast TV channels in their lineups. The networks might even ditch free broadcast signals in the next few years. Instead, they could operate as cable channels – a move that could spell the end of free TV as Americans have known it since the 1940s.

"Good programing is expensive," Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. owns Fox, told a shareholder meeting this fall. "It can no longer be supported solely by advertising revenues."

Fox is pursuing its strategy in public, warning that its broadcasts – including college football bowl games – could go dark Friday for subscribers of Time Warner Cable, unless the pay-TV operator gives Fox higher fees. For its part, Time Warner Cable is asking customers whether it should "roll over" or "get tough" in negotiations.

The future of free TV also could be altered as the biggest pay-TV provider, Comcast Corp., prepares to take control of NBC. Comcast has not signaled plans to end NBC's free broadcasts. But Jeff Zucker, who runs NBC and its sister cable channels such as CNBC and Bravo, told investors this month that "the cable model is just superior to the broadcast model."

The traditional broadcast model works like this: CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox distribute shows through a network of local stations. The networks own a few stations in big markets, but most are "affiliates," owned by separate companies.

Traditionally the networks paid affiliates to broadcast their shows, though those fees have dwindled to near nothing as local stations have seen their audience shrink. What hasn't changed is where the money mainly comes from: advertising.
Story continues below

Cable channels make most of their money by charging pay-TV providers a monthly fee per subscriber for their programing. On average, the pay-TV providers pay about 26 cents for each channel they carry, according to research firm SNL Kagan. A channel as highly rated as ESPN can get close to $4, while some, such as MTV2, go for just a few pennies.

With both advertising and fees, ESPN has seen its revenue grow to $6.3 billion this year from $1.8 billion a decade ago, according to SNL Kagan estimates. It has been able to bid for premium events that networks had traditionally aired, such as football games. Cable channels also have been able to fund high-quality shows, such as AMC's "Mad Men," rather than recycling movies and TV series.

That, plus a growing number of channels, has given cable a bigger share of the ad pie. In 1998, cable channels drew roughly $9.1 billion, or 24 percent of total TV ad spending, according to the Television Bureau of Advertising. By 2008, they were getting $21.6 billion, or 39 percent.

Having two revenue streams – advertising and fees from pay-TV providers – has insulated cable channels from the recession. In contrast, over-the-air stations have been forced to cut staff, and at least two broadcast groups sought bankruptcy protection this year.

Fox illustrates the trend: Its broadcast operations reported a 54 percent drop in operating income for the quarter that ended in September. Its cable channels, which include Fox News and FX, grew their operating income 41 percent.

Analyst Tom Love of ZenithOptimedia said he expects the big networks will end the year with a 9 percent drop in ad revenue, followed by an 8 percent drop in 2010 and zero growth in 2011.

A small chunk of the ad revenue is being recouped online, where the networks sell episodes for a few dollars each or run ads alongside shows on sites such as Hulu. Media economist Jack Myers projects online video advertising will grow into a $2 billion business by 2012, from just $350 million to $400 million this year.

But that is not significant enough to make up for the lost ad revenue on the airwaves. Advertisers spent $34 billion on broadcast commercials in 2008, down by $2.4 billion from two years earlier, according to the Television Bureau of Advertising.

So rather than wait for the Internet to become a bigger source of income, the networks and local stations are mimicking what cable channels do: They're charging pay-TV companies a monthly fee per subscriber to carry their programming.

Since 1994, the Federal Communications Commission has let networks and their affiliates seek payments for including their programming in the pay-TV lineup. Not everyone demanded payments at first. Instead they relied on the broader audience that cable and satellite gave them to increase what they could charge advertisers. more....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/29/free-tv-in-trouble_n_405761.htm...

I figured this would happen. There is no free TV now if you want decent reception. Money, money, money, money!!

toniD's Ya Think?

Argumentative Skills Notwithstanding
Submitted by Crank Bait on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 11:46pm.
Submitted by gloryoski on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 11:31pm.
Sorry. Have not done much reading today. Been locked in a losing battle with a vegetable oil stain on the carpet.
----------
You gotta raise the date bar.

=========
that you wouldn't think that was raising it.

I made a Tower comment recently. Some new 'press'.

2006 And The Death Of Tower Records

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121975854

Tower Records continues on the Web

http://www.sacbee.com/847/story/2416567.html

As I remember, Kasler had a pathological hatred of the hometown giant for reasons unknown to me. Cum grano salis.

Submitted by toniD on Tue, 12/29/2009 - 7:11am.

There is a middle-class tax time bomb ticking in the Senate’s version of President Obama’s effort to reform health care.
----
Um...yeah.

I mostly believe what I say. And what I post by other people if I'm not yelling at them. :}

Thank gods it's in the NYT. It's about damn NYTime.

----
It's kinda like that "mistake" they made with the Alternative Minimum Tax int it? Oopsie daisies.

Morning toniD.

(besos) :) :) :D

Are you the Joe's Record Paradise guy?

I made a pilgrimage there once in hs or early college, I think. It sounds really familiar. Told moms I was all about going to the museums and stuff, but that's what I really wanted.

Do you have an answer to my question of a couple months ago about the Austin Lounge Lizards? Do you know the name of the song or songs where they obviously mistranslate lyrics in Spanish in a funny way? The one I'm thinking of is done live as I heard it.

Scientists have discovered how a promising cancer drug, first discovered in a wild mushroom, works.

The University of Nottingham team believe their work could help make the drug more effective, and useful for treating a wider range of cancers.

Cordycepin, commonly used in Chinese medicine, was originally extracted from a rare kind of parasitic mushroom that grows on caterpillars.

The study will appear in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

The cordyceps mushroom has been studied by medical researchers for some time - the first scientific publication on cordycepin was in 1950.

However, although the drug showed great promise, it was quickly degraded in the body.

It can be given with another drug to combat this - but the second drug can produce side effects that limit its potential use.

As a result, researchers turned their interest to other potential candidate drugs, and exactly how cordycepin worked on the body's cells remained unclear.

“ It could lay the groundwork for the design of new cancer drugs that work on the same principle ”
Dr Cornelia de Moor University of Nottingham
Researcher Dr Cornelia de Moor said: "Our discovery will open up the possibility of investigating the range of different cancers that could be treated with cordycepin.

"It will be possible to predict what types of cancers might be sensitive and what other cancer drugs it may effectively combine with.

"It could also lay the groundwork for the design of new cancer drugs that work on the same principle."

The researchers have also developed a method to test how effective the drug is in new preparations, and combinations with other drugs, which might solve the problem of degradation more satisfactorily.

Dr De Moor said: "This is a great advantage as it will allow us to rule out any non-runners before anyone considers testing them in animals."

The Nottingham team observed two effects on the cells - at a low dose cordycepin inhibits the uncontrolled growth and division of the cells, and at high doses it stops cells from sticking together, which also inhibits growth.

“ The knowledge generated by this research demonstrates the mechanisms of drug action and could have an impact on one of the most important challenges to health ”
Professor Janet Allen Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Both of these effects probably have the same underlying mechanism - that cordycepin interferes with how cells make proteins.

At low doses cordycepin interferes with the production of mRNA, the molecule that gives instructions on how to assemble a protein.

And at higher doses it has a direct impact on the making of proteins.

Professor Janet Allen is director of research at the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, which funded the study.

She said: "This project shows that we can always return to asking questions about the fundamental biology of something in order to refine the solution or resolve unanswered questions.

"The knowledge generated by this research demonstrates the mechanisms of drug action and could have an impact on one of the most important challenges to health."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/8428340.stm
======
Also I have a new friend on the radio Hal Sparks! he said yesterday even though he has A.F.T.R.A union major medical his primary care if from Dr. Hu
a Traditional Chinese Medical Doctor. He pays out of pocket for TCM .The Chinese have used these herbs and accupuncture for thousands of years. I also think Hal is more focused and positive than most morning shows. He is filling in Stephanie Miller if you get a chance listen to him.

A federal appeals court on Monday issued one of the most comprehensive rulings yet limiting police use of Tasers against low-level offenders who seem to pose little threat and may be mentally ill.

In a case out of San Diego County, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals criticized an officer who, without warning, shot an emotionally troubled man with a Taser when he was unarmed, yards away, and neither fleeing nor advancing on the officer.

Sold as a nonlethal alternative to guns, Tasers deliver an electrical jolt meant to subdue a subject. The stun guns have become a common and increasingly controversial tool used by law enforcement.

There have been at least nine Taser-related fatalities in the Sacramento region, including the death earlier this month of Paul Martinez Jr., an inmate shot with a stun gun while allegedly resisting officers at the Roseville jail.

As lawsuits have proliferated against police and Taser International, which manufactures the weaons, the nation's appellate courts have been trying to define what constitutes appropriate Taser use.

The San Diego County case is the latest ruling to address the issue.

The court recounted the facts of the case:

In the summer of 2005, Carl Bryan, 21, was pulled over for a seat-belt violation and did not follow an officer's order to stay in the car.

Earlier, he had received a speeding ticket and had taken off his T-shirt to wipe away tears. He was wearing only the underwear he'd slept in because a woman had taken his keys, the court said without further explanation.

During his second traffic stop in Coronado, he got out of the car. He was "agitated … yelling gibberish and hitting his thighs, clad only in his boxer shorts and tennis shoes" but did not threaten the officer verbally or physically, the judges wrote.

That's when Coronado Police Officer Brian McPherson, who was standing about 20 feet away watching Bryan's "bizarre tantrum," fired his Taser, the court said.

Without a word of warning, he hit Bryan in the arm with two metal darts, delivering a 1,200-volt jolt.

Temporarily paralyzed and in intense pain, Bryan fell face-first on the pavement. The fall shattered four of his front teeth and left him with facial abrasions and swelling. Later, a doctor had to use a scalpel to remove one of the darts.

Bryan sued McPherson, the Coronado Police Department and the city of Coronado, alleging excessive force in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights.

The officer moved to have the claim dismissed, but a federal trial judge ruled in Bryan's favor.

A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit affirmed the trial judge's ruling on Monday, concluding that the level of force used by the officer was excessive.

McPherson could have waited for backup or tried to talk the man down, the judges said. If Bryan was mentally ill, as the officer contended, then there was even more reason to use "less intrusive means," the judges said.

"Officer McPherson's desire to quickly and decisively end an unusual and tense situation is understandable," Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw wrote for the court. "His chosen method for doing so violated Bryan's constitutional right to be free from excessive force."

Some lawyers called it a landmark decision.

Eugene Iredale, a San Diego lawyer who argued the case, said it was one of the clearest and most complete statements yet from an appellate court about the limits of Taser use.

He said after Monday's decision that courts will consider all circumstances, including whether someone poses a threat, has committed a serious crime or is mentally troubled.

"In an era where everybody understands 'don't tase me, bro,' courts are going to look more closely at the use of Tasers, and they're going to try to deter the promiscuous oversue of that tool," he said.

That's especially true in the context of those who appear to be emotionally disturbed or mentally ill, said Johnny Griffin III, a Sacramento plaintiffs lawyer.

Griffin represented the family of a troubled Woodland man who died under police restraint after being struck multiple times with Tasers.

In May 2008, Ricardo Abrahams walked away from a voluntary care facility and disobeyed the orders of officers called to check on his well-being. They shot him repeatedly with stun guns.

The case against the city of Woodland and its officers was settled in June for $300,000. more...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/81381.html

toniD's Ya Think?

If passing health-care reform was the Senate's Christmas present to President Obama, then the confirmation of more than 30 of his nominees might as well serve as stocking stuffers or a year-end treat.

The Senate confirmed the nominees after voting on health-care reform and a raise in the debt ceiling.

But it also referred six nominees back to the White House for reconsideration, including three senior officials for the Justice Department: Dawn E. Johnsen, nominated to oversee the Office of Legal Counsel; Mary L. Smith, tapped to head the Tax Division; and Christopher H. Schroeder, nominated as assistant attorney general for legal policy.

Among the confirmations were Rajiv Shah to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development, Miriam E. Sapiro to serve as deputy U.S. trade representative, Robert Perciasepe to serve as EPA's deputy administrator, Paul Anastas for EPA's assistant administrator, and David Strickland to serve as administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (See a full list after the jump.)

Senators also confirmed 10 ambassadorships, several U.S. attorney and U.S. marshals nominees and a few military promotions.

No formal vote was taken, but the six nominees who were "returned to the White House" for reconsideration and possible renomination "ran into opposition," said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Several other nominees will have to wait until at least early next year for a confirmation vote. The list includes M. Patricia Smith, Obama's nominee for the number three job at the Labor Department, Rafael Borras to serve as the number three at Homeland Security, and Erroll Southers, to serve as Transportation Security Administration administrator.

Thursday's confirmation votes keep the Obama administration relatively on par with the nomination pace of the Bush and Clinton administrations.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2009/12/senate_confirms_sev...

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

MMRules

Eat gringo snow.

Sincerely,
The Rest Of Us

Hal Sparks is so not sexy to me anymore...

Time to catch up on Farias.

Rahm Emanuel and Jonathan Weisman Team Up to Create Imaginary Version of Reality

Would you like to come on a trip to a magical imaginary world? Well then, join Rahm Emanuel and his reporter sidekick Jonathan Weisman aboard this Wall Street Journal article:

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has been telling Democrats a win on the health issue will reverse the slide in public opinion, just as passage of another controversial proposal, the North American Free Trade Agreement, lifted President Bill Clinton in the polls...

In an interview Friday, Mr. Emanuel expressed little concern for the president's standing with the Democratic base. Mr. Emanuel said the liberal wing of the party is already coming back to the fold.

This would be a bizarre thing for Emanuel to be telling other Democrats under any circumstances: NAFTA passed at the end of 1993 in Clinton's first year, and then in 1994 the Democrats promptly lost control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate--the House for the first time in forty years. You wouldn't think hearing Emanuel compare today to that would really get Democrats to break out the champagne.

But what about Emanuel's specific claim: that passing NAFTA "lifted Bill Clinton in the polls"?

To start with, that's nearly impossible on the face of it. NAFTA was unpopular. It was debated throughout 1993, and a September poll that year got these results:

Do you favor or oppose the proposed free-trade agreement between the United States and Mexico?

Favor 35% (7% strongly, 28% moderately)
Oppose 41% (21% strongly, 20% moderately)
No Opinion 24%

Moreover, few people even knew what Clinton's position on NAFTA was: the same poll found 31% thought he supported it, 1% thought he opposed it, and 68% weren't sure.

But what were Clinton's actual approval ratings? Here's a graph (click to enlarge), created with a useful USA Today tool: at link

So let's take a look at that section of Jonathan Weisman's Wall Street Journal story again, but with additions to bring it into line with reality:

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has been telling Democrats a win on the health issue will reverse the slide in public opinion, just as passage of another controversial proposal, the North American Free Trade Agreement, lifted President Bill Clinton in the polls.

In fact, by the time NAFTA passed Clinton's approval ratings were already on a five-month upswing, improving from 38% in June, 1993 to 50% just before the House voted on the treaty that November. In the unlikely event Clinton did receive a bounce from passing the unpopular NAFTA, it was both small and short-lived: his approval rating went on to hit 58% once, at the end of January, 1994; it then slid back to 50% by the beginning of March, and was once more in the doldrums at 39% in September, nine months after Clinton signed NAFTA into law. On November 8, 1994, the Democrats lost the House and Senate, and would not regain them both for twelve years.

Of course, the real people to blame here aren't Emanuel or Weisman. Emanuel is a professional hack; his job is to generate exactly this kind of truthiness (although this is a particularly shameless example). Weisman is another kind of professional hack; he works for Rupert Murdoch, who orders his employees to serve up a steaming crock of shit every morning to their readers.

The real villains are America's educated upper middle class. In theory doctors, scientists, lawyers, professors, etc. care about reality. And if we got our act together we have the power to demand it; we could even create new institutions that could employ Jonathan Weisman and encourage him to question Rahm's latest imaginary history. But in practice it turns out that's just too much trouble. So we get $3 trillion wars and $8 trillion housing bubbles based on transparent lies.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-schwarz/rahm-emanuel-and-jonathan...

toniD's Ya Think?

you and your FLG.

(Actually, I don't understand what the fuss is about but it just seemed like it needed to be said. Guess I'm channeling the [good] Bubba.)

---
Well, good-ish.

Scientists discovery antibody that kills prostate cancer

By Agence France-Presse
Monday, December 28th, 2009 -- 7:25 pm

Scientists discovery antibody that kills prostate cancerUS researchers have found an antibody that hunts down prostate cancer cells in mice and can destroy the killer disease even in an advanced stage, a study showed Monday.

The antibody, called F77, was found to bond more readily with cancerous prostate tissues and cells than with benign tissue and cells, and to promote the death of cancerous tissue, said the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS).

When injected in mice, F77 bonded with tissue where prostate cancer was the primary cancer in almost all cases (97 percent) and in tissue cores where the cancer had metastasized around 85 percent of the time.

It recognized even androgen-independent cancer cells, present when prostate cancer is incurable, the study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania showed.

http://rawstory.com/2009/12/scientists-discovery-antibody-kills-prostate...

toniD's Ya Think?

Specter: Republicans Plotted Early To Stop Bipartisanship, Beat Obama In 2012

Eric Kleefeld | December 28, 2009, 12:23PM

During his appearance yesterday on Fox News Sunday, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) appeared to give out some inside dirt from his days as a Republican -- alleging that the GOP plotted early to stop any bipartisan cooperation with President Obama, and to instead look towards the 2012 election.

"I'd like to pick up on what Sen. DeMint says about the process. I think the process was very bad. But the process was really caused, in large measure, by the refusal of the Republicans to deal in any way," said Specter.

"Sen. DeMint is the author of the famous statement that this is going to be President Obama's 'Waterloo,' that this ought to be used to break the president," said Specter, referring to the political battle over health care. "So that before the ink was dry on the oath of office -- and I know this, because I was in the caucus -- the Republicans were already plotting ways to beat President Obama in 2012."

It's not often that a Senator will divulge private conversations from within the party caucuses. In Specter's case, he appears to be dishing out information from his former party caucus, declaring that they decided early on to focus on opposing Obama politically, and they now complain about a lack of bipartisanship that they themselves caused.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/specter-republicans-plotted-e...

toniD's Ya Think?

there's another caller whining about "whiners" at Obama/the administration.

It seems like there's too many. I am beginning to think they are astroturfers.

Doesn't explain what Hal's damage is.

Submitted by toniD on Tue, 12/29/2009 - 11:31am.

The Fox people must not be happy with him speaking like this..

I keep thinking his illness got him to be more honest and helpful.

Gee..Who woulda thunk it ?

*******

Majority Of Tea Party Group's Spending Went To GOP Firm That Created It

Zachary Roth

The political action committee behind the Tea Party Express (TPE) -- which already has been slammed as inauthentic and corporate-controlled by rival factions in the Tea Party movement -- directed almost two thirds of its spending during a recent reporting period back to the Republican consulting firm that created the PAC in the first place.

Con't..

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/majority_of_tea_party_...

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

MMRules

Sandy *sigh*
new
Submitted by gloryoski on Tue, 12/29/2009 - 10:55am.

Hal Sparks is so not sexy to me anymore...

Time to catch up on Farias.

I love em both!

By David Edwards and Daniel Tencer -RawStory

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow believes she has found the smoking gun proving Republicans' hypocrisy on health care and the budget deficit: an admission by Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch that, during the Bush administration, "it was standard practice not to pay for things."

"Every single Republican opposed the health reform bill when it was voted on on Christmas Eve, and that includes the 24 Republicans who voted for George Bush's Medicare prescription-drug expansion in 2003," Maddow said on her show Monday night. "Now that expansion in 2003, unlike the reform bill that's being currently debated, added tens of billions of dollars to the deficit. And this makes for some awkward politics, because many Republicans are citing worries about the deficit as their reason for voting against health reform now."

The host of The Rachel Maddow Show then quoted Sen. Hatch, who told the Associated Press that, when the Medicare expansion was passed in 2003, "it was standard practice not to pay for things." The AP reported:

Some Republicans say they don't believe the CBO's projections that the health care overhaul will pay for itself. As for their newfound worries about big government health expansions, they essentially say: That was then, this is now.

Six years ago, "it was standard practice not to pay for things," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "We were concerned about it, because it certainly added to the deficit, no question." His 2003 vote has been vindicated, Hatch said, because the prescription drug benefit "has done a lot of good."

Con't..

http://rawstory.com/2009/12/hatch-admits-gop-standard-practice/

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

MMRules

Oh well...he's already got a gf, and a Stephanie and you.

Don't matter much if I bow out.

Submitted by gloryoski on Tue, 12/29/2009 - 11:50am.
...Doesn't explain what Hal's damage is.
------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W5Am-a_xWw

You give good photo.

Fuque You!

OH I know that's bad blog ettiquette, I'm sorry but

Fuque You!

Again I'm sorry, that's not right, it's not proper parliamentary procedure..

..but I do have novel ideas from time to fuquing time!

If I can get the actual video file (never tried to copy one and can't try from work) it should be no problem dropping a Wilhelm in it.

Don't need any noogies thankyouverymucy but you deserve raspberries for not thinking of it first.

http://www.webmd.com/news/20091229/tylenol-recall-expands

Submitted by maggiesboy on Tue, 12/29/2009 - 12:27pm.
...you deserve raspberries for not thinking of it first.
--------
How do you know that I didn't think of it first?

(I didn't, but that's beside the point.)

Still working my way through the comments on the KvH callout. Here's a choice bit(I mean, besides mb's). Actually it's the tp part that's the teehee part. The rest is good but nothing we havn't seen/said before.

----

mattcarmody December 28th, 2009 at 9:31 am
96

This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Look back at the history of The Nation and its ties to the Democratic Party during Reconstruction. Totally against anything that would have extended the franchise to poor whites or recently freed slaves.

Marcy is right on the mark when she talks about neofeudalism. That’s what this whole Reagan Revolution has been about, rolling back any progressive legislation starting with the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, crippling unions’ power with the anti-strike provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act passed over Truman’s veto, deregulation of just about everything but most importantly the public utility grid, straight through to ending welfare, taking away bankruptcy protection from middle class families with an onerous means test, outright theft by Wall Street banks with the collusion of the Fed and Treasury, and now this piece of shit legislation.

The icing on the cake will be the deficit commission that will be used to weaken Social Security even though Social Security isn’t part of the budget but serves as a convenient stash of money for presidents, kind of like raiding the kids’ piggy bank but using Treasury notes for IOUs.

Make no mistake about it. “They” intend to impoverish the rest of us, to have us working until we die or as close to it as they can get, while our retirement money sits in their offshore accounts and supports their lavish lifestyles.

Since the late 80s I never considered The Nation or TNR as anything but rough textured toilet paper. This only serves to convince me I was right.

Keep up the pressure, Jane.

----
Btw, don't agree entirely. There are good people and ditzy people at TN (Primarily KvH, in any sinister way; John Nichols sometimes in a not-sinister way.) Most if not all the good peeps have their own blogs though.

http://tinyurl.com/yzbgfwd

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

MMRules

Honduran Regime Martyrs LGBT Leader
Thu, 12/24/2009 - 12:23 — AP

By Doug Ireland. See original in Gay City News
http://www.gaycitynews.com/articles/2009/12/23/gay_city_news/news/doc4b3...

Honduran Regime Martyrs LGBT Leader
Walter Trochez played pivotal role in bringing queer issues to fore in Resistance

BY DOUG IRELAND
Published: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 9:25 PM CST

Walter Trochez, a well-known 27-year-old queer democracy activist in Honduras, knew he was taking his life in his hands when he began a militant campaign to document and publicize 16 murders of LGBT Hondurans since the illegal June 28 coup d’etat that overthrew the country’s elected president and unleashed a reign of terror on civilian opponents.

And on the evening of Sunday, December 13, Trochez himself became the 17th victim of this post-coup wave of homo-hating murders, when drive-by gunmen, believed to be members of the state security forces, riddled his body with bullets and snuffed out his young life.

Trochez was not only beloved as an LGBT rights and AIDS activist, he was also a prominent active member of the National Resistance Front, the loose coalition of civil society organizations and citizen activists opposed to what Trochez called the “military-business-religious” coup d’etat, and his public insistence that the murders of queers were the responsibility of the same forces behind the coup cost him his life.

According to Adrienne Pine, an expert on Honduras who is assistant professor of anthropology at American University in Washington, DC, and a senior research associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, and who is in daily contact with the Honduran resistance and queer community, “Walter’s death has impacted the resistance more than most of the other victims of the regime because he played a key role both as a member of the resistance against the coup d’etat, but also within the resistance, challenging members of the resistance movement to confront their own homophobia and recognize solidarity in their shared struggle against the military-religious dictatorship.”

She added, “Thanks in large part to Walter, the LGBT movement is no longer the kid sister of the Honduran left; it is now front and center.”

Pine spent a portion of each of eight years in Honduras researching her recent book, “Working Hard, Drinking Hard: Violence and Survival in Honduras” (University of California Press), which portrays the daily lives and struggles of urban Hondurans in a country dependant [sic] on “the vast economic footprint in and ideological domination of the region by the United States.”

[more...]

http://quotha.net/node/668

Nice Alice.
new
Submitted by gloryoski on Tue, 12/29/2009 - 12:23pm.

You give good photo.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-israel-building29-200...

======
"The United States opposes new Israeli construction in East Jerusalem," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said

I know, I know, don't be so naive McGee
I just don't get it.???? I guess that if
I really think about it - I have dis-liked
or hated in my life, that's 4 sure. I guess
I have had my reasons 4 that..... but it has
never been about the color of someone's skin,
or because of their sexual orientation.
Or how can u not like animals??? Or children.
When I was in Egypt - we were discussing the
issue on other countries that have Egyptian
history in their museums - it's Egyptian History,
it came OUT of EGYPT. So in my mind - it's
Egypt's artifacts - not Frances'Britons or America's Here I
am thinking just give it back - it ain't YOURS. Our
tour group leader "Heba" (who was wonderful I want to
add)just looked @ me with this look of surprise &
confusion. I said "just give it back" "That is very
admiral of u Sandy she said - but the world does
NOT work that way" I know that - but my little kid brain
says - just give it back.
Sorry I have been rambling - :)

which in my opinion is disgusting. give more money
to Israel's Military instead.

The United States opposes new Israeli construction in East Jerusalem," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said

"Dick Cheney has been named 'Conservative of the Year' by Human Events magazine. I think this is the first time 'Dick Cheney' and 'human' have been used in the same sentence.

Dick Cheney was also named 'gas-bag of the year' by Gas-Bag magazine."

–David Letterman

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

MMRules

No Joe. I am a West Coaster (since 1973 at least).

I do not know the answer to your ALL question right now. To the best of my knowledge they have 1-1/2 live CDs and a live DVD but they pop up on live radio shows now and then so you could have heard something there.

Ben Nelson's Medicaid Deal Approved By Only 17% Of Nebraskans
Sam Stein

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb,) doesn't seem to be getting any favors from his local constituents for bringing home the health care pork.

Just 17 percent of Nebraska voters said they support the deal their senator cut in the last round of health care negotiations, in which the federal government will pick up the tab for Medicaid expansion in the state.

The number comes from a new Rasmussen Reports survey, which, considering the long-standing quibbles with the firm's polling methods, means it should be taken with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, 17 percent is strikingly low, especially when one considers how much Nebraska will benefit financially from the deal struck by Nelson -- the Congressional Budget Office pegged the amount at $100 million.

The survey also highlights intense disapproval of Nelson within his home state. If Republican Governor Dave Heineman challenges Nelson in the 2012 Senate election, he would currently get 61 percent of the vote to Nelson's 30 percent, according to the survey. Nelson's low approval stems from more than just his support for health care reform. As Rasmussen notes:

"When survey respondents were asked how they would vote if Nelson blocks health care reform, 47% still pick Heneman while 37% would vote to keep the incumbent in office."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/29/ben-nelsons-medicaid-deal_n_406...

I think Nebraska is a right or right leaning state so the idea of a Repub win is not so far off base. Plus, I think old Ben is losing it in more ways than one.

toniD's Ya Think?

I guess I knew that because mb showed me a flyer for a festival thingy you were going to coupla months ago.

1.5 live albums shouldn't be so hard to search through for the one I need, now should they? I just assumed it'd be more. Yeah, I think it was a "rekkerd" that somebody lent me, so I suspect that it was either the one or the half.

Thanks.

Karl Rove Divorce: GOP Strategist Breaks With Wife Darby

Famed Republican strategist Karl Rove got divorced last week, Politico reports.

Spokeswoman Dana Perino said, "Karl Rove and his wife, Darby, were granted a divorce last week. The couple came to the decision mutually and amicably, and they maintain a close relationship and a strong friendship. There will be no further comment and the family requests that its privacy be respected." (Like he respected our privacy? Screw you Rove!!!)

Karl married Darby Hickson in 1986. They have one son, Andrew. Rove's previous marriage to a Houston socialite ended after a year.

Actor Randy Quaid recently complained in a letter to a judge that Rove hit on his wife, Evi.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/29/karl-rove-divorce-gop-str_n_406...

Creepy SOB!

toniD's Ya Think?

Sorry no link havent figured out how to cut paste with tablet

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet