Stray animals

Hope U r well - we all miss ya -
tanks 4 the new thread

I like to feed stray animals
they need all the help they
can get.

Washington Journal: 7:45am – Byron York, Washington Examiner, Chief Political Correspondent & Christopher Hayes, The Nation, Washington Editor. 8:45am – Suzy DeFrancis, American Red Cross, Chief Public Affairs Officer. 9:15am – Glenn Sulmasy, “The National Security Court System.”

ABC’s This Week: Terry Moran. David Axelrod. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) on “Obama’s Waterloo.” Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), “the man in charge holding on to a Democratic majority in the Senate.” Roundtable: George Will, Cokie Roberts, Sam Donaldson, Matthew Dowd. Topics: The future of health care, the President’s first year and the disgruntled state of the union.

Amanpour.

CBS’ Face The Nation: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL). Roundtable: Nancy Cordes and Jan Crawford on the Supreme Court campaign ad ruling.

Chris Matthews: David Brooks The New York Times, Savannah Guthrie NBC News; Clarence Page Chicago Tribune; Kathleen Parker The Washington Post. Topics: Will Obama Recalibrate His Agenda In Response To Voter Outrage? Why Have Working Class Whites Abandoned Obama?

CNN’s State of the Union: Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Plus, David Axelrod. And Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports from Haiti. Then Pollsters Celinda Lake and Neil Newhouse to discuss the Massachusetts Senate race, the 2010 elections, and the Obama administration.

Fareed Zakaria – GPS: Former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski on the future in Haiti. Then, Fareed and his panel of historians on what Obama should do next, after the Massachusetts election.

Fox News Sunday: White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). Fox News AllStars: Brit Hume, Mara Liasson, Bill Kristol, Juan Williams.

NBC’s Meet The Press: President Obama’s Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett, then Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Obama. Roundtable: E.J. Dionne, Katty Kay, Peggy Noonan, Chuck Todd.

Newsmakers: National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) “looks ahead to the 2010 mid-term elections and gives his opinion on the recent Supreme Court campaign finance ruling. He also goes over the status of health care after the Massachusetts special Senate election.”

Q & A: Students from The Washington Center discuss politics and government as viewed through their experience in visiting Washington, DC. The students represent one group of the 600-800 college students who come to Washington each year in seminars sponsored by The Washington Center. The Washington Center’s mission includes preparing young people for leadership position and civil participation..

Religion & Ethics: Haiti Aftermath – Pastors, pilots, and hundreds of volunteers are in Florida trying to help. Haiti: One Church’s Response – “There’s terrific sadness and a tremendous sense of loss.” Hinduism and India – Ancient practices try to co-exist with modern middle class ways. Forest Monks – Buddhist monks protest Thailand’s trees by ordaining them.

60 Minutes: Don Hewitt, encore.

To The Contrary: Topics: 1- President Obama’s first year in office and its impact on women and health care reform; 2- An in-depth look at the benefits of DNA sequencing for children with rare diseases. Panelists: Dr. Bernadine Healy; Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC); Linda Chavez; Patricia Sosa. Online exclusive, More Men Are Marrying Up. Men are more likely to marry women with more education and income, but how will the role reversal affect families?

Univsion’s Al Punto: Roberto de Posada, Republican Strategist and Estuardo Rodríguez, Democratic Strategist. From Haiti: Carlos Méndez Rosales, Member of the International Rescue Brigade Tlaltelolco-Azteca of México. Andrés López López, Former Colombian Drug Trafficker Turned Author.

http://firedoglake.com/2010/01/24/sunday-talking-heads-january-24-2010/

toniD's Ya Think?

While I have no problem with expecting people to do something for themselves if they can with the assistance they recieve, the Republican misses the point.

I'm pretty sure I was on a lunch program when I was in elementary school. While my test scores were ok, there was no way my parents could possibly attend PTA or give any time to support school activities. My mom worked or went to school until eleven at night on most nights. My dad worked nearly as many hours. We raised ourselves the best we could.

It doesn't take a very hard look to observe people suffering who simply can't do for themselves. Children and very old people are doing without all of the time. I can't help but notice this air about Republicans. They have this delusion that healthy able people (think brown) are stealing from them even though many of these same Republicans receive assistance they believe they "deserve". It's stunning hypocrisy.

I also want to add that calling Republican's animals is an insult to all other animals.

Cuomo Will Announce Primary Challenge in March
The New York Daily News reports Andrew Cuomo (D) "is ready to run for governor" and will take on Gov. David Paterson (D) in the Democratic primary.

Said a source: "He will make an announcement at the end of March. And what he will say is that he intends to run for governor. ... He thinks there are a lot of problems in the state and he thinks he can help solve them."

"Though he's played coy on his intentions, the 52-year-old Cuomo - the son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo - has been laying the groundwork for months. He's crisscrossed the state over the past year, meeting Democratic leaders from Buffalo to Brooklyn and attending fund-raisers - for himself and many others."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/01/23/2010-01-23_source_sa...

toniD's Ya Think?

4 playing some Rickie Lee
I was e-mailed by the venue that
she was going to playing in -
that they canceled the show
till March. Drag.............
gotta wait a whole nother
month to see Rickie Lee :(

I don't like him, pure and simple. Maybe I will change my mind but my gut reaction to him is stomach turning. He was once married to a Kennedy and did her dirt, maybe that is part of it. IMHO, like W, he lives on his father's coat tails.

maggiesboy has some personal stuff to do. Association demands.

Will know more later.

blueroots is playing some early AAR clips so please check in at BRR.

toniD's Ya Think?

I am conflicted on whether or not it is good to pass the healthcare bill. FiredogLake wants to remind Reps to stick to their promise not to vote on a bill that doesn't contain a Public Option and wants our support. I ALMOST gave it but CONFLICT.

Is it better to pass something like Rachel and Chris Hayes are saying so Democrats aren't perceived as totally ineffectual -- and then fix it (will they?)

OR

Should we just bury the Healthcare Bill -- and maybe go for expanded Medicare.

Is the current Healthcare Bill worth being passed? Yes or No.

I'd appreciate YOUR thoughts.

Peace hugs from NYC (and on Twitter :-)

this is from a republican:

GREENVILLE - Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer has compared giving people government assistance to "feeding stray animals."

Bauer, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor, made his remarks during a town hall meeting in Fountain Inn that included state lawmakers and about 115 residents.

"My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that. And so what you've got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior. They don't know any better," Bauer said.

====

this is pure distilled hate speech

the Sunday talking heads - I get way to pissed.
Although I would like to see Valarie Jarrett -

what in the hell is happening to "our"
country??

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

MMRules

Backsliding on Bluefin Ban: Restaurants and Diners Step Up While Governments Argue
It's highly prized and highly endangered:Greenpeace and WWF estimate that tuna stocks have declined by more than two-thirds over the past 50 years and are close to collapse. Yet a planned announcement of the EU's position on banning Atlantic bluefin tuna fishing was postponed this past week as the Commission's departments remained sharply divided. Divisions are also visible in France: President Sarkozy is on record last year as supporting a ban on bluefin fishing, but he has not reiterated his position and it was recently contradicted by his fisheries minister. In the past, temporary bans on bluefin fishing have been blocked by bluefin fishing nations, including Spain, Malta, Greece and France. In November the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICATT) cut the 2010 allowable quota to be caught by one-third, but environmental groups have been adamant that that is insufficient.

http://www.care2.com/causes/environment/blog/backsliding-on-bluefin-ban-...

This is how theses assholes think. The problem is, there are more people on the gov't dole in Red States. 58% in his state!

And yet these people continue to vote against their best interest.

To be honest, I think these teabaggers stole our thunder because we weren't out there fast enough and now everything is teabaggers, Massachusetts and the independents are leaning right again.

I don't like the direction it's going and it really does scare me!

KateAnne, I am conflicted about healthcare bill also. With this political climate, what do we do?

And I'd like to take all the talking heads off and drown them!

toniD's Ya Think?

Solar energy collected in space and beamed back to Earth by laser could soon be used to power homes and electric vehicles under a project by European space engineers.

Wave Of The Future

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

MMRules

If You Trust Women You Support Roe v. Wade
Today marks the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that held that the relationship between a woman and her doctor is a private one that should not be subject to government interference. The ruling declared that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution extends a right to privacy "broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate a pregnancy." This legalized abortion in all states. But it was a qualified legalization, one subject to the "important state interests in regulation."

While that may be a fair summary of the holding of Roe, it fails to touch on the scope and impact of the decision, let alone the state of abortion rights and access today. For example, we see the impact of Roe in public schools as anti-abortion advocates fight for abstinence-only sex-education programs. We see the impact of Roe in international aid efforts as abortion-opponents try to tie funding for health programs abroad to a commitment to an abstinence-only agenda. And last but not least we see the impact of Roe as this country lurches toward some kind of domestic health care reform.

http://www.care2.com/causes/womens-rights/blog/if-you-trust-women-you-su...

I've missed ya. I knew u had very little access to a (com)puter.
But I'm glad to see ya back & rolling.
Hope u r well - Love Ya

ToniD -- I know what you mean about wanting to take the talking heads off and drown them -- it is hard to resist the urge.

And folks I like take different positions on the Healthcare bill. But maybe their so-called fix, assuming they actually pass and try to fix it, to the Senate Bill wouldn't fix it in a way palatable to me. I gotta go join the local PNHP chapter to show my support for single payer. (Missed the meeting Tuesday, darn it, but I can join as an auxiliary member: http://pnhpnymetro.org/ -- they've got a 2 pt video explanation on Single Payer which they recommend sharing, fyi).

ToniD, with this political climate I almost think we should pass something but what if it is truly a poison pill that has no antidote? THANKS for responding to my question, even to say that you too are conflicted.

Healthcare Bill -- TWO conflicted -- any Yes, any No ????????

The Bug Sprayer, in Jail - One day,Hopefully ! !

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

MMRules

My thoughts....you've heard them already kateanne, and even if you didn't, you could probably guess them...Single Payer would've been nice...but...

The answer to your question is YES....they should strip out the current healthcare bill to a barebones Health Insurance Reform bill to prevent gouging and policy cancellations due to illness...

AND THEN create a new bill extending Medicare upto to 25 and down to 55, ...phasing in the rest of the age groups over time....and provide a sliding fee scale buy-in for those who wish to use it until they are covered by law. Also, raise the income limit for Medicaid eligibility to cover the working poor...

This will provide the face saving they are scrambling for with regard to reining in the Insurance Companies and buy them time to extend the medicare services...

Federal coverage of the most resource intensive age groups, and opening Nationwide access to private insurance across state lines for the "healthy working age" insured will shut up the larger insurance companies and, consequently, most of the corporatists...JMO...

Of course, I could be wrong... :)

Senator Brown

My story today:

An earlier generation of politicians struggled with discretion and revelation, with families like the Kennedys endlessly struggling to keep something private of their very public lives, to embody the perfect family without letting it all hang out.

Scott Brown has turned that on its head.

The soundtrack for his arrival in Washington this week might well have been the pulsing New Wave tunes of Digney Fignus, a one hit wonder whose racy 1984 MTV video “Girl With the Curious Hand” starring a lithe young actress named Gail Huff, who is now Brown’s wife. The video, a celebration of sex and glamour, aired two years after Brown posed nude for the women’s magazine Cosmopolitan.

It went viral after Brown’s election, amassing more than 150,000 views as Huff competed temporarily online with her husband’s celebrity and with that of her daughter, an “American Idol” finalist whose talents Brown plugged at length in his victory speech.

Polls suggest Brown’s victory was largely a rejection of the “business as usual” of politics, as the candidate put it. What Brown offered in its place was the new normalcy of a family life lived entirely in public. He was buoyed by extraordinary personal popularity, as Democratic operatives strove largely in vain to dent what they glumly called his “likeability.”

Brown’s arrival reflects a fundamental change in American politics, the most complete embodiment of an ethic shaped by reality TV in which there’s no such thing as overexposure and no real line between public and private.

Other leading public figures grapple with this ethic: Sarah Palin holds her infant son aloft at campaign rallies, but bridles at the tabloid coverage of her daughter’s alimony fight. The Obama White House, intensely aware of the dynamic but ambivalent toward it, seeks to give the First Family a zone of privacy by feeding intimate photographs of them on to Flickr for free, flooding the market and dissuading paparazzi; one of those pictures captured the president shaking hands with the reality TV wannabes who brought their own television crew to the door of a state dinner.

“This is all part of a new, lifestyle, identify-with-me, politics,” the media critic Michael Wolff wrote Friday.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0110/Senator_Brown.html

What must we think of ourselves as a nation to identify with reality tv people? How sad! Showing the worst in people on TV. What message are we sending our young?

I'm not a prude, far from it, but seeing our country disintegrate is scary.

toniD's Ya Think?

Thanks maggiesboy
Submitted by smcgee43 on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 10:05am.
4 playing some Rickie Lee

*******

I was lucky enough to see her win a "Amateur Night"contest
many moons ago,in Redondo Beach,CA.at The Sweetwater Salon..

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

MMRules

Lasers to beam energy to Earth from space
new
Submitted by MMRules on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 10:16am.
Solar energy collected in space and beamed back to Earth by laser could soon be used to power homes and electric vehicles under a project by European space engineers.

Wave Of The Future

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

Sounds like P.R. cover for Military Industrial Complex shenanigans.

First, does it make sense to increase the total amount of heat/energy that comes into the Earth atmosphere beyond the amount naturally entering? Especially if we are supposed to be concerned with reducing global warming/heating....

What would numerous, repeated laser blasts do to the electromagnetic "skin" of the Earth's field, I wonder? Why would this be considered "green"?

At the same time, where is all the green technology and needed effort to cut down energy dependence and conserve existing consumption needs?

(I think many Americans are eager to simplify their lives for the sake of the whole planetary organism and, to that end, want the government and industry to make rapid efforts to control consumption sensibly. But it looks like the Corporatists are dragging their feet and in a panic about just how they can continue their endless profit growth trajectories if things are simplified. Their idea of conservation seems to be consolidating everything for themselves and making the rest of us destitute.)

Sleepyfinally, sowill say have a great Sundayin Sederville....

47 (Now 51) Health Policy Experts (Including Me) Say “Sign the Senate bill.”

Harold Pollack is a professor at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration and Special Correspondent for The Treatment.

At a low moment of the Second World War, a breathless young aide barged in on Winston Churchill to report some bad news. Showing the aplomb one fully achieves only within the pages of one’s own memoir, Churchill quotes himself responding: “I’ve heard worse.” That’s the resilience Democrats need.

Treatment readers already know that many health policy experts across the political spectrum support House passage of the Senate bill, with an accompanying fix of the bills various shortcomings through the reconciliation process. Like Paul Krugman, Jonathan Cohn, Ezra Klein, and Jacob Hacker, Tim Jost and I very much agree that this is the best approach.

Yesterday, Tim and I crafted a simple letter (shown below), which we emailed other health policy experts we know. Some are progressives who identify with a single-payer approach. Others are more politically moderate economists, sociologists, and political scientists. Still others identify with organized labor, medicine, or public health.

Within several hours, many outstanding scholars, activists, and practitioners signed on. Signers include Henry Aaron, David Cutler, Jon Gruber, Theda Skocpol, Paul Starr, and many others, including Anna Burger, Secretary-Treasurer of SEIU.

Some people we contacted could not sign on, but reported that they are seeking the same goal through more private means. Virtually no one we contacted disagreed with this letter on either political or policy grounds. Our letter represents a broad consensus of those supporting health care reform.

We are so close to enacting a historic reform. Now is the time for calm and resolute Congressional action. The Massachusetts election was a setback. Democrats still have large majorities in both the Senate and the House. We’ve heard worse. It’s time to act.

22 January 2010

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House of Representatives
235 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Congressman Charles Rangel
Committee on Ways & Means
U.S. House of Representatives
1102 Longworth House Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515

Congressman Henry A. Waxman
Committee on Energy and Commerce
2204 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Congressman George Miller
Committee on Education and Labor
2205 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Chairmen Rangel, Waxman, and Miller:

For nearly three-quarters of a century, Presidents and Congressional leaders have tried to enact legislation that would make health care accessible to Americans. Although pieces of this dream have been realized—health care for the elderly, the disabled, and children in low-income families—universal coverage itself has proved beyond reach.

We are now on the cusp of realizing this goal. Both houses of Congress have adopted legislation that would provide health coverage to tens of millions of Americans, begin to control health care costs that seriously threaten our economy, and improve the quality of health care for every American. These bills are imperfect. Yet they represent a huge step forward in creating a more humane, effective, and sustainable health care system for every American.

We have come further than we have ever come before. Only two steps remain. The House must adopt the Senate bill, and the President must sign it.

While the House and Senate bills differ on specific points, they are built on the same framework and common elements—eliminating health status underwriting and insurance abuses, creating functioning insurance markets, offering affordability credits to those who cannot afford health insurance, requiring that all Americans act responsibly and purchase health insurance if they are able to do so, expanding Medicaid to cover all poor Americans, reforming Medicare payment to encourage quality and control costs, strengthening the primary care workforce, and encouraging prevention and wellness.

Some differences between the bills, such as the scope of the tax on high-cost plans and the allocation of premium subsidies, should be repaired through the reconciliation process. Key elements of this repair enjoy broad support in both houses. Other limitations of the Senate bill can be addressed through other means.

The Senate bill accomplishes most of what both houses of Congress set out to do; it would largely realize the goals many Americans across the political spectrum espouse in achieving near universal coverage and real delivery reform.

With the loss of Edward Kennedy’s Senate seat, Democrats no longer enjoy a filibuster-proof Senate majority, though they still enjoy the largest Senate majority any party has achieved in the past generation. The loss of this one vote does not require Congress or the President to abandon Senator Kennedy’s life work of health care reform. A year of political infighting, misleading debates about death panels and socialized medicine, and sheer inaction has left Americans exhausted, confused, and disgruntled. Americans are also bearing the severe consequences of deep recession and unemployment. Still, a majority of Americans support the elements of the Senate bill.

The House of Representatives faces a stark choice. It can enact the Senate bill, and realize the century-old dream of health care reform. By doing so, it can achieve a historic milestone while freeing itself to address other national problems such as joblessness and mortgage foreclosure that affect millions of Americans. Differences between the House and Senate bill can be negotiated through the reconciliation process.

Alternatively, Congress can abandon this effort at this critical moment, leaving millions more Americans to become uninsured in the coming years as health care becomes ever less affordable. Abandoning health care reform—the signature political issue of this administration—would send a message that Democrats are incapable of governing and lead to massive losses in the 2010 election, possibly even in 2012. Such a retreat would also abandon the chance to achieve reforms that millions of Americans across the political spectrum desperately need in these difficult times. Now is the moment for calm and resolute leadership, pressing on toward the goal now within sight.

Some have proposed dividing the bill or starting anew with negotiations to produce a less comprehensive bill. From the perspective of both politics and policy, we do not believe this is a feasible option. We doubt that the American public would welcome more months of partisan wrangling and debate. We doubt that the final product would match what has already been achieved. Indeed we doubt that any bill would reach the President’s desk should congressional leaders pursue this misguided course.

We, the signatories of this letter, come from a variety of different perspectives. Some of us are long-standing advocates of progressive causes. Some of us are nonpartisan or identify as political moderates.

From these differing perspectives, we agree on one thing: the current choice is clear. Pass the Senate bill, and improve it through reconciliation.

Sincerely,

Henry J. Aaron, The Brookings Institution
Gerard Anderson, Johns Hopkins University
Ronald Anderson, UCLA
Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research
Ronald Bayer, Columbia University
Anna Burger, Secretary-Treasurer, SEIU
David Cutler, Harvard University
Linda C. Degutis, Yale University
Judith Feder, Georgetown University
Eric Feldman, University of Pennsylvania
Thomas Fisher, University of Chicago
Brian R. Flay, Oregon State University
David Grande, University of Pennsylvania
Thomas Greaney, St. Louis University
Colleen Grogan, University of Chicago
Jon Gruber, MIT
Mark A. Hall, Wake Forest University
Jacob S. Hacker, Yale University
Jill Horwitz, University of Michigan
James S. House, University of Michigan
Peter Jacobson, University of Michigan
Timothy Jost, Washington and Lee University (organizer)
Theodore Joyce, CUNY
George A. Kaplan, University of Michigan
Jerome Karabel, University of California at Berkeley
Mark A.R.. Kleiman, UCLA
Paula M. Lantz, University of Michigan
Simon Lazarus, NSCLC
Arleen A. Leibowitz, UCLA
Theodore Marmor, Yale University
Lynda Martin-McCormick, NSCLC
Michael L. Millenson, Northwestern University
James A. Morone, Brown University
Len Nichols, New America Foundation
Jonathan Oberlander, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Mark A. Peterson, UCLA
Karen Pollitz, Georgetown University
Harold Pollack, University of Chicago (organizer)
Daniel Polsky, University of Pennsylvania
Sara Rosenbaum, George Washington University
Meredith Rosenthal, Harvard University
Lainie Friedman Ross, University of Chicago
William Sage, University of Texas
Theda Skocpol, Harvard University
Paul Starr, Princeton University
Donald H. Taylor, Jr., Duke University
William Terry, Brigham and Women's Hospital
James A. Tulsky, Duke University
Alexander C. Wagenaar, University of Florida
Joseph White, Case Western Reserve University
Celia Wcislo, 1199-United Healthcare Workers East, SEIU

(Institutional affiliations listed for identification only).

cc. Senator Harry Reid

President Barack Obama

http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-treatment/47-health-policy-experts-including...

One of the comments on this article:

politics is the art of the possible, not the art of perfection.

Enact something that gets a lot of what you want, and live for another day to improve it.

toniD's Ya Think?

What the "I'm Mad-As-Hell" Party Could Do

Sunday, January 24, 2010

A third political party is emerging in America. Call it the I’m-Mad-As-Hell party.

It’s a mistake to see the Mad-As-Hell party as just a right-wing phenomenon – the so-called Tea Partiers now storming the gates of the Republican Party. There are plenty of mad-as-hellers on the left as well – furious at Wall Street, health insurers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and establishment Democrats.

Mad-as-hellers don’t trust big government. But they don’t trust big business and Wall Street, either. They especially hate it when big government gets together with big business and Wall Street – while at the same time Main Street is in shambles and millions of people are losing their jobs and homes.

First it was TARP, the giant bank bailout that seems to have made Wall Street flush again — so flush the Street is now distributing giant bonuses as if the crash it brought on never happened.

Then came the stimulus package, replete with earmarked goodies for every corporation big enough to hire a team of Washington lobbyists.

And then it was health care, which to some people looked like a sweetheart deal between government and Big Pharma and big health insurers.

To the Mad-As-Hell party, the biggest event last week wasn’t Scott Brown’s upset victory in Massachusetts. It was the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizen’s United vs. the Federal Election Commission, allowing corporations to spend however much they want on political campaigns. True mad-as-hellers see this as inviting even more collusion between big business, Wall Street, and big government – and against the rest of us.

With the mid-term elections months away, both Republicans and Democrats are scrambling to embrace the Mad-As-Hell Party as their own. Republicans are hoping the mad-as-hellers forget the gushing corporate welfare of the Bush administration and the last Republican congress. And Democrats have become born-again economic populists, blaming the nation’s problems on the same “fat cat” bankers and corporate lobbyists they’ve been cozying up to for years.

If the Mad-as-hell Party helps get money out of politics it will do a world of good. I might even join up. But if it just fulminates against the establishment, forget it. Wrecking balls are easy to wield. Rescuing our democracy is hard work.

http://robertreich.org/post/350401395/what-the-im-mad-as-hell-party-coul...

toniD's Ya Think?

The Naked Senator's victory attributable to maybe e-voting theft?

Were there any exit polls to statistically guage the veracity of the election results, I wonder? Are there any checks and balances whatsoever on such a PRIVATIZED election?

(Is the Massachusetts Secty. of State a Rep or a Dem?)

Biden Says U.S. Will Appeal Blackwater Case Dismissal "- 7 hours ago"

The vice president said the U.S. would appeal the dismissal of charges against five contractors involved in a 2007 shooting.

LINK

toniD's Ya Think?

Submitted by nora on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 11:30am.
The Naked Senator's victory attributable to maybe e-voting theft?
------

And as long as the Democrats trust the thieving Republicans and their thieving Republican owned voting machines, expect more of the same.

The entire purpose of those machines is to steal votes!

From Black Box Voting

EXCERPT:

Back to Massachusetts, I think you have a right to know that Coakley won the hand counts there.

That's right.

According to preliminary media results by municipality, Democrat Martha Coakley won Massachusetts overall in its hand counted locations,* with 51.12% of the vote (32,247 hand counted votes) to Brown's 30,136, which garnered him 47.77% of hand counted votes. Margin: 3.35% lead for Coakley.

Massachusetts has 71 hand count locations, 91 ES&S locations, and 187 Diebold locations, with two I call the mystery municipalities (Northbridge and Milton) apparently using optical scanners, not sure what kind.

ES&S RESULTS

The greatest margin between the candidates was with ES&S machines -- 53.64% for Brown, 45.31% for Coakley, a margin for Brown of 8.33%. It looks like ES&S counted a total of 620,388 votes, with 332,812 going to Brown and 281,118 going to Coakley. Taken overall, the difference -- 8.33% Brown (ES&S) added to 3.35% Coakley (Hand Count) shows an 11.68% difference between the ES&S and the Hand Counts. Of course, as Mark Twain used to say, there are three kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies, and statistics. These statistics don't prove anything, and probably shouldn't be discussed without a grain of salt handy before examining more detailed demographics.

As a point of reference, however, in the Maine gay marriage issue recently there was no significant overall difference between machine count and hand count locations.

DIEBOLD RESULTS

Diebold's results are 51.42% for Brown, with 791,272 Republican votes counted by Diebold, vs. 47.61% for Coakley, with 732,633 Democratic votes counted by Diebold, for a spread of 3.81% favoring Brown.

LATE-REPORTED RESULTS

It's always interesting to watch hand counts beat machine count results to the newspaper.

In the Massachusetts special senate election, results from six of 71 hand count locations were reported about 2 1/2 hour...

http://www.bbvforums.org/cgi-bin/forums/board-auth.cgi?file=/8/80830.htm...

An Intellectually Dishonest Power Grab
By Ruth Marcus

WASHINGTON -- In opening the floodgates for corporate money in election campaigns, the Supreme Court did not simply engage in a brazen power grab. It did so in an opinion stunning in its intellectual dishonesty.

Many of those commenting on the decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission have focused on the power grab part. I agree. It was unnecessary for the court to go so far when there were several less-radical grounds available. It was audacious to seize the opportunity to overrule precedents when the parties had not pressed this issue and the lower courts not considered it. It was the height of activism to usurp the judgments of Congress and state legislatures about how best to prevent corruption of the political process.

"If it is not necessary to decide more, it is necessary not to decide more," a wise judge once wrote. That was Chief Justice John Roberts -- back when -- and dissenting Justice John Paul Stevens rightly turned that line against him.

As bad as the court's activism, though, was its shoddy scholarship.

First, the majority flung about dark warnings of "censorship" and "banned" speech as if upholding the existing rules would leave corporations and labor unions with no voice in the political process. Untrue. Under federal election law before the Supreme Court demolished it, corporations and labor unions were free to say whatever they wanted about political candidates whenever they wanted to say it. They simply were not permitted to use unlimited general treasury funds to do so. Instead, they were required to use money raised by their political action committees from employees and members. This is hardly banning speech.

Second, in the face of logic and history, the majority acted as if there could be no constitutional distinction between a corporation and a human being. Untrue. The Supreme Court has long held that corporations are considered "persons" under the Constitution and therefore entitled to its protections. For more than a century, Congress has barred corporations from making direct contributions to political candidates, with no suggestion that it must treat corporate persons the same as real ones; that prohibition stands, at least for now. The "conceit" of corporate personhood, as Stevens called it, does not mandate absolute equivalence. That corporations enjoy free speech protections does not mean they enjoy every protection afforded an actual person. Is a corporation entitled to vote? To run for office?

Third, misreading its precedents and cherry-picking quotations, the majority acted as if the chief case it overturned was an outlier. In that 1990 case, Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, a six-member majority came to the unsurprising conclusion that a state law prohibiting corporations from making unlimited independent expenditures from their general funds was constitutional. The court dismissed this ruling as "a significant departure from ancient First Amendment principles." Again, untrue.

In a 1982 case, the court -- in a unanimous opinion by then-Justice William Rehnquist -- noted that Congress, in writing campaign finance law, was entitled to "considerable deference" in taking into account "the particular legal and economic attributes of corporations and labor organizations" and had made "a permissible assessment of the dangers posed by those entities to the electoral process." Four years later, even as it carved out an exception for nonprofit corporations, the court reaffirmed "the need to restrict the influence of political war chests funneled through the corporate form."

The Citizens United majority relied heavily on a 1978 case overturning a Massachusetts law that prohibited corporations from spending their own money to defeat certain referendums. But that case specifically noted that "a corporation's right to speak on issues of general public interest implies no comparable right in the quite different context of participation in a political campaign for election to public office."

Fourth, the majority bizarrely invoked the "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" defense. Under the Austin ruling, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy argued, lawmakers unhappy with being lampooned in the movie "could have done more than discourage its distribution -- they could have banned the film." Beyond untrue. There is no scenario under which works of art about fictional lawmakers could be limited by campaign finance laws.

That the majority would stoop to this claim underscores the weakness of its case -- and the audacity of the result it has inflicted on the political process.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/printpage/?url=http://www.realclearpoli...

toniD's Ya Think?

1/19/10

Mass. Secretary of State dismissing "irregularity" reports

BOSTON (AP) - The Massachusetts secretary of state is discounting reports of voter irregularities in the state's Senate special election.

A spokesman for Secretary of State William Galvin said Tuesday two reports of spoiled ballots could not be verified or found to be widespread.

In one case, someone voting in Cambridge claimed a ballot had already been marked for Republican Scott Brown. There was no way to verify the claim, but the ballot was destroyed.

In another case, a person in Boston reported finding a ballot inside a privacy folder also marked for Brown. Officials say it may have been left inadvertently by an earlier voter.

Aides to Democrat Martha Coakley called a news conference to raise voter awareness of the concerns.

http://www.necn.com/category/12/49931

New York Fed documents reveal more detail about AIG bailout

Source: Brady Dennis, The Washington Post

On the frenzied day in September 2008 when the federal government bailed out insurance giant American International Group, Timothy F. Geithner logged dozens of calls with top Wall Street executives, Washington regulators, political leaders and even investor Warren Buffett.

At the time, the Treasury secretary was head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which played a lead role in organizing AIG's rescue. His call logs, obtained by The Washington Post, are among 250,000 pages of documents the New York Fed recently turned over in response to a subpoena from the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Records show that Geithner participated in nearly 70 calls between 7:45 a.m. and 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 16,le as officials worked to stabilize AIG -- first through private loans and finally through public assistance. They feared the company's collapse might trigger other failures and endanger the financial system.

Geithner spoke most often to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and then-Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., as well as with AIG chief executive Robert Willumstad. He also shared numerous calls with top financial executives, including Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, Jamie Dimon of J.P. Morgan Chase and Vikram Pandit of Citigroup.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/23/AR201001...

toniD's Ya Think?

is dropping 4 million dollars to promote that fascist message on the superbowl.

whatever happened to the good ole days of talking frogs.

Submitted by KateAnne on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 10:48am.

...And folks I like take different positions on the Healthcare bill...
---------
Ah, the complication of unravelling and identifying what is the legislation itself (in the effective/not effective sense and the advantageous/not advantageous sense) from the political process itself (wrought with messy intrigue, subterfuge, stonewalling, personal and party ambition etc.).

Even after the complication is unravelled (if it can be), people separate into the 'bird in the hand' group and the 'gambling for more' group. It matters little if a person is a legislation wonk or a political gamesmanship wonk. S/he still has to make a call between taking something now or gambling for something later.

I am leaning hard toward gambling both for better legislation and for scoring more decisive points against the Conservative ideology.

I am as yet unconvinced that the current bird in hand is significantly better than nothing (status quo) or significantly better than [the risk and reality of] a blatant trouncing by Conservative forces.

I am also unconvinced that the future results of opinion polling of our fellow citizens would be significantly different if the crappy legislation were passed or if the legislative battle continued for months or years.

I suspect that the tenor of the legislative battle will be little changed regardless of the subject: Health care reform, financial reform, market reform etc. will all be met with the same sausage-making process that makes for disgruntled poll results. Trading away the health care battle for the next constituent-irritating episode doesn't seem to hold a public relations advantage.

Ethan Porter
The Boston Globe
The woman Democrats need

ON THE day after Tuesday’s electoral loss, the Obama administration brought an unfamiliar face to the White House - Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Law professor noted for her staunch advocacy on behalf the middle class and fierce criticism of the bank bailouts. Perhaps the administration will take a more aggressive approach to Wall Street, along the lines of what Warren wants. But for Democrats to truly take ownership of the economic crisis, Warren will need to play a more prominent role. Not just her ideas, but the force of her personality is needed.

Warren and the Democratic Party need to think seriously about her prospects for higher office. Going into 2012, Massachusetts Democrats will have no shortage of candidates to choose from, eager, party-trained politicians ready to take a run. Republican Scott Brown’s victory to the US Senate last week made clear that voters crave something besides the norm: someone from outside the traditional political structure who can speak to their everyday, bread-and-butter concerns in a credible way. Warren fits the bill.

Warren has spent her career laying the groundwork for what might be called progressive populism. From her perch in Cambridge, she’s excoriated the unfair credit and lending practices that, in part, gave rise to the current crisis. She was the architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which, if created, would regulate credit cards and mortgages in the same way home appliances are regulated now. (Full disclosure: Warren once wrote about the agency in the publication I help edit.) And well before the bubble broke in the summer of 2007, when America was still riding high on George W. Bush’s economy, Warren was speaking out against the incredible pressure the 21st century economy was putting on the middle class. She was derided as a Cassandra, but she was right.

If all this made Warren a household name among progressives, it was the economic crisis that catapulted her onto the national stage. As chairwoman of the TARP Oversight Committee, she’s been responsible for examining the bank bailouts and the regulatory response. Warren has vocalized the concerns of many Americans - but not many politicians - who are outraged by the rampant greed that led to the crisis, and the refusal of Wall Street to take responsibility. “I think the problem has been all the way throughout this crisis, that the banks have been treated gently and everyone else has been treated really pretty tough,’’ said an exasperated Warren last fall, echoing what so many others - in both parties - have come to believe.
more...

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/0...

toniD's Ya Think?

-More Complicated Than It Should Be
Submitted by Crank Bait on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 12:08pm.-

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=1B2A981211255DCB

09 Mar 2009

Author Stacy Horn discussed her research into the work of Dr. J.B. Rhine who led the Duke University Parapsychology Lab from 1930 to 1980. Prof. Rhine was
the first to apply the scientific method in studying parapsychology and came up with repeatable experiments that showed telepathy, psychokinesis, and
precognition do exist, to some degree. For instance, Zener Cards that depict five different designs were used in double blind studies and demonstrated that
some people have ESP abilities.

Horn went through boxes of Rhine’s correspondence with well known figures such as Einstein & Nixon, as well as people involved in paranormal activity such
as Rev. Luther Schultz who initially dealt with the “possessed” boy in the 1949 case that the movie & book The Exorcist was based on. Schultz believed that
a poltergeist was the cause of the disruptions rather than demonic possession, she noted. The Rhine Lab investigated cases of poltergeist activity, and
their possible connections to psychokinetic abilities. It found that 17 out of 65 cases had no normal explanation, she reported.

http://www.lomaia.com/of-a-parapsychologist/coast-to-coast-am-parapsycho...

Ed Schultz Tells Robert Gibbs He’s ‘Full Of Shit’ And ‘You’re Losing Your Base’

ast night, MSNBC’s Ed Schultz spoke at Minnesota progressive talk radio AM950’s Blue State Bash at the Minneapolis Convention Center. During his remarks, Schultz revealed that he recently had a testy confrontation with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs (Gibbs appeared on Schultz’s show this past Thursday). “Mr. Gibbs and I had quite a conversation off the air the other night,” he revealed:

SCHULTZ: I told him he was full of sh*t is what I told him. … And then he gave me the Dick Cheney f-bomb. … I told Robert Gibbs, I said “And I’m sorry you’re swearing at me, but I’m just trying to help you out. I’m telling you you’re losing your base. Do you understand you’re losing your base?”

Think Progress

the Senate is still one ClownDick short of a circus.

Sorry for no show this morning but I just had too much weighing down on me to get done and playing radio guy was the logical thing to cut. I thought I'd really screwed up and trashed my database of all the association data but thanks the TimeCapsule app that will keep every version of every file (not like in incremental once a day back up) I was able to find the last copy that had almost everything intact. Now I'm down to folding and stamping so we still might be able to done later providing how many are around.

As tD alluded to I put cuts from AAR 2004 shows in every segment so if you're feeling nostalgic you can get a little fix.

Break's over goof-off get back to work!

Dawn Teo

BIO
JD Hayworth Resigns: Tea Party Talk Show Host Will Run Against McCain

Dawn Teo, 01.23.2010

Arizona Politics correspondent for the Huffington Post Eyes&Ears citizen journalism unit.

After months of speculation that popular talk show host JD Hayworth might challenge John McCain or his senate seat, Hayworth took the first concrete step by resigning from his talk radio show.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dawn-teo/jd-hayworth-resigns-tea-p_b_43397...

toniD's Ya Think?

Jungleland (Springsteen)- Live-2009

http://hypem.com/#/track/1020355/-046Jungleland++%28Springsteen%29

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

MMRules

this journey into veggiehood is starting to get complicated...

re: Alice on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 12:15pm.
{...that is a joke teehee :}
Tea Cheers All ;)

telapia. cook it as per instructions...make quacamole with lots of garlic. pico de gallo and make a salad with may and pico dressing. make sure you have lots of cilantro...

trader joes has home made corn tortillas...heat em up in the micro so they wont dry out.

you will be sure to have an orgasm.

really? i would think that would turn them into some form of tire material or sandal bottoms.

"It is probably more damaging to the Democratic Party to defend an indefensible law than to defend a bill that never became law that's indefensible," says Norman Solomon in this week's CounterSpin (at FAIR.org). You can hear him AND Glenn Greenwald (talking about anonymous news sources) in this week's AWESOME segment:

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4002

(I podcast CounterSpin through iTunes, fyi, and would recommend it, but you can hear the episodes you want at FAIR.org's archives whose list you can dig to there or go directly via http://tinyurl.com/e7twv )

AS FOR COAKLEY -- Yes Nora and Edna, BradBlog.com says it very well could have been, particularly as you noted that Bev Harris had cited that Coakley won the handcount. There were no exit polls, I read, so it all lies in the hands of the media deciding to call it and Coakley rushing to concede.

AND Cent -- thanks for your thoughts but I don't want insurance being sold across state laws as that weakens state laws about insurance and the insurance companies will plop themselves down in some weak state with cruddy laws and give us less choice for good and affordable insurance.

Peace Hugs from NYC (and on Twitter),
Kate Anne

teehee mwah haha Tea Cheers ;)

...frozen preseasoned seafood...it didn't even occur to me....I didn't eat a whole lot of fish until now, so it is gonna take a while to build up some menus...

sounds fast, easy and tasty...I will give it a try...I will call them Happe Tacos...Thanks michele!

Trader Joes..? are you kidding? I'm lucky we have a Sam's Club here....but we do get a really good selection of fresh produce in our markets...

1 Ripe Avocado
2 teaspoons Chopped onions
½ teaspoon + Minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon +/- chopped jalapeno (pickled slices fine)
¼ cup (skant) chopped fresh cilantro
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Mash these together (vary amounts according to taste). Then stir in about ½ cup chopped fresh tasty tomato (winter suggestion: Holland or Israeli or those sold on the vine). Best to make just before use though will hold for several hours.

*This recipe is based on that made at the much missed Casa Mexico on Hudson Street, New York City, back in the early 90s. My brother David and I would go there for their great guac and their terrific garlic soup. The guac was made table-side and I asked them questions as to what they were using and caught the hang of it. At the request of a work colleague I created this more standard measurement version but I have never tasted a guacamole any better. Enjoy!

NOTE: This is copied for CENT and other interested Sederistas from my QuickTakes.org blog and findable through the label recipe (it is a blogspot blog) -- LOVE quac and may make some today, hmmmm.

if you're lucky enough to live in a city that has one or travel to a city that has one, go to nobu.

they do a variety of sushi that is out of this world. couple that with some martinis and its a real good time.

its been a few years but the last time we went to the one in vegas, we took a friends advice and our order was simply "bring us fish". the only other information needed was how many rounds (they bring out one at a a time and do it in a way that each successive round complements a previous one). one warning: $$$$ (but its not meant to be done on a regular basis).

Talk About Pissing Off Your Base !

http://www.samsedershow.com/node/5610

AAR Audio Clips Galore - Thanks to, Jmach1JP :)

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

MMRules

Vote Warren Zevon Into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame !

www.warrenzevon.com

*Scroll down to the bottom of page

or,click here..Thanks.. :)

http://www.warrenzevon.com/petition/petition.htm

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

MMRules

...and then it stopped coming. That was before I learned the rule of get it while the gettin's good.

it sounds delicious...thank you for sharing...

Headed out to the store...gotta get started before the games...

bbl.

and listen to a few tunes by the Red Garland Trio, today.

http://www.efitnessnow.com/news/2010/01/24/salmonela-scare-causes-salami...

Salmonela [sic] Scare Causes Salami Recall
-----
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-salami24-2010jan24,0,...

Salami recalled in multistate salmonella outbreak
------------------------------------
Bait Radio News Copy Service is feverishly at work creating an impenetrable tongue twister for maggiesboy's next newscast. Current front-runners include Suspicion Surrounds Salami Salmonella and Cold Cuts Recalls Send Salmonella Salami Stocks South.

When it comes to unintentionally linking great gobs of greasy goo in a headline, I have no hope of topping this one:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/23/AR201001...

Crude oil spill in Port Arthur, Texas; Daniele International recalls salami

I like what EmptyWheel said. Her logic makes the most sense to me -->Cliff Note Nutshell Version

• There are not enough votes in the House
• So that leaves the Senate Bill
• Get it into reconciliation
• Strip it down to only giving good coverage to the 15 million Americans at the very bottom who are most vulnerable
• Call that a victory
• ...for now

That's how I read it. I mean isn't this supposed to be about helping people? So why not help those who really, really, really need it. It's only a subset of what could have been done but it's a very noble subset imho.

for the aar clips in this weeks BlueRootsRadio show.
I was away from home for 3 hrs. this morning
when Sunday Morning Tea time /Ya Think is
normally on.
I started my recorder just before I left home.
Returned to find out Ya Think was cancelled.
Anyway: Ya Think or BBR, another Great Show in the can. :)

.
.
.
_ _ _
brr

Submitted by Jmach1JP on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 3:22pm.
...Returned to find out Ya Think was cancelled.
-----------
Seems a little harsh.

Let's just say that it wasn't picked up for syndication this week.

..or pre-empted without prior notice

I should make a "Best Of..." for these occasions.

We like to call it "Rescheduled for a Later Date"
Submitted by maggiesboy on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 3:43pm.
---------
Bumped when the preceding segment of life ran long.

Crank Bait and The Spinning Plates

Spinning Plates Segment Suspected Source Of Salmonella Saturated Salami

"Hey, you got salmonella on my salami!"

"You got salami on my salmonella!"

And thus it was born...

RI company recalling 1.2M pounds of salami

Brandon News and Tribune - ‎5 minutes ago‎
----------------------
Fondly, one would imagine.

(No matter what you do with salami, it gets a rimshot.)

cent go to costco and get the breaded
new
Submitted by mhappenow on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 1:16pm.
telapia. cook it as per instructions...make quacamole with lots of garlic. pico de gallo and make a salad with may and pico dressing. make sure you have lots of cilantro...

trader joes has home made corn tortillas...heat em up in the micro so they wont dry out.

you will be sure to have an orgasm.

- MSNBC

For the record. I too am rooting for the Jets although they were always the underdog in my mind. I'll be rooting NO too but I don't think that's going to be close. Favre is under the illusion that he is a machine.

I just started to dig into a HArd Copy (Printed in Chicago $2.00) of
Fridays New York Times. (not easy to find).

I came across this on page C11, also online :)

This may intrest you.

Opens on Friday in Manhattan.

  Going Back to the Well to Drink in the ’70s  

^ continued ^

I have a few of the concerts on vhs or dvd.

.
.
.
_ _ _
brr

brl vod | wtf

We've come a long way from the time of Mark Twain, when unpopular, critical views of our government could be smothered.
Too bad for Mark Twain. In today's world of Murdoch or GE news, he would been afforded such a greater forum. It annoys me to no end, to have suffer through endless rants day after day from America haters like Chomsky on the nightly news.

Pacifism

During the Philippine-American War, Twain wrote a short pacifist story entitled The War Prayer, which makes the point that humanism and Christianity's preaching of love are incompatible with the conduct of war.

It was submitted to Harper's Bazaar for publication, but on March 22, 1905 the magazine rejected the story as "not quite suited to a woman's magazine".

Eight days later, Twain wrote to his friend Daniel Carter Beard, to whom he had read the story, "I don't think the prayer will be published in my time. None but the dead are permitted to tell the truth".

The Incident in the Philippines, posthumously published in 1924, was in response to the Moro Crater Massacre, in which six hundred Moros were killed. Many of his neglected and previously uncollected writings on anti-imperialism appeared for the first time in book form in 1992.
http://www.marxists.de/culture/twain/noteach.htm

As said before, thank God, or maybe Pat Robertson, our free media has ended that ancient, dark past that Twain suffered under. That era when the citizenry just couldn't trust the "official" version of events.

John Pilger really is quite foolish:

The Unseen Lies: Journalism As Propaganda
by John Pilger

.......Ironically, I began to understand how censorship worked in so-called free societies when I reported from totalitarian societies. During the 1970s I filmed secretly in Czechoslovakia, then a Stalinist dictatorship. I interviewed members of the dissident group Charter 77, including the novelist Zdener Urbanek, and this is what he told me. "In dictatorships we are more fortunate that you in the West in one respect. We believe nothing of what we read in the newspapers and nothing of what we watch on television, because we know its propaganda and lies. Unlike you in the West. We've learned to look behind the propaganda and to read between the lines, and unlike you, we know that the real truth is always subversive."

Vandana Shiva has called this subjugated knowledge. The great Irish muckraker Claud Cockburn got it right when he wrote, "Never believe anything until it's officially denied."
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Pilger_John/Journalism_As_Propaganda.h...

Just saying..

Maybe,Farve will play another year if they lose..
Maybe,not..But,I hope so..

That's alot of maybe's though..

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

MMRules

pretty disgusting..
yep, geaux saints

the tv will be on but i don't understand the game so i'll have to figure out if it's a win or lose just from the audience and commentators' reaction

.....which is kind of a drag

all the bars hereabout are having parties; I guess that if it's a win it will be impossible not to know, the yelling, cheering and honking will fill the streets

you already have the basics s-just listen for the reaction!!

New Orleans deserves a boost

it's always good

http://www.newsweek.com/id/232053/page/1

The Return of the Neocons

...One prominent activist on the libertarian end of the party—who hates what he sees as their costly foreign--policy adventurism and the GOP electoral losses (i.e., the presidency and both houses of Congress) he attributes to them—calls them "parasites": with little electoral power of their own, he claims, they have had to attach themselves to others, like George W. Bush.

Comfortably ensconced behind a cloak of anonymity, he bristles, but also marvels, at their endurance and effectiveness, comparing them to "an infection that keeps coming back." "They've perfected this absolutely incredible thing: they announce who they are, how powerful they are, how influential they are, and get people to write articles about them," he says. "But when their policies are perceived to have caused mass chaos, they don't exist, they didn't have anything to do with it, they weren't there, and they get really snotty. And anyone who attacks them is anti-Semitic."...

...According to his critics, Frederick Kagan sometimes shows excessive faith in purely military solutions—a charge to which the neocons, few of whom have ever actually done military service, have been particularly subject. "These are men for whom too much came too easily in life, so it was all too easy for them to view our troops as mere tools to implement their visions," says the military-affairs columnist Ralph Peters, a retired Army intelligence officer.

(Peters is perplexed and irked when called a neocon himself. "I'm not qualified," he says. "I served in the military, didn't go to a prep school, didn't go to an Ivy League university, and didn't have a trust fund. And I'm physically fit.")...

Menendez calls out ‘unprecedented’ filibusters as DeMint backtracks on ‘Waterloo’

By David Edwards and Gavin Dahl
Sunday, January 24th, 2010 -- 2:24 pm

Senators from each of America's two major political parties lashed out at one another on a Sunday morning talk show. Dodging questions with talking points is nothing new, but this morning Senator Robert Menendez went off script and challenged the defeatism infecting the country.

In July, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) said if Republicans were able to stop health care reform it would "break" President Barack Obama. "If we're able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo. It will break him," he said.

But now, DeMint denies that his intention was to break the president. He was asked by ABC's Terry Moran Sunday, "So did you break him, and is that really how Americans want you to behave here in Washington -- Break the President?"

"I did not want this to be the president's Waterloo," DeMint replied.

"But pushing through a massive government takeover of our health care system was certainly not a good idea," he said, hyping vague fears of spending and government takeovers. "After three years of controlling both houses of Congress, (Democrats) are still trying to blame someone else."

"There are a lot of people out there who see the Republican party as the party of no right now," Moran asserted.

DeMint dodged Moran, instead claiming "broad-based tax cuts" are the best way to get the economy working, adding "the President's stimulus has been a massive failure."

So Sen. Menendez (D-NJ) cut him off.

"My dear friend Jim DeMint did want to break Barack Obama," he said. "The Republicans' whole political strategy is for this President and for this Congress to fail."

"All our Republican colleagues have said is no," he went on to say. "They have used the filibuster, a procedure in the Senate to stop progress, 101 times, unprecedented in the history of the United States Senate!"

Menendez pointed out that when George W. Bush came to office he began with a $236 billion surplus, whereas Obama was handed a $1.3 trillion deficit. He credited Obama with making progress despite the economy, attacking Republicans for standing in the way.

"No doesn't create a job, no doesn't create health care insurance for anyone," Menendez huffed. "Or stop the abuses of the insurance companies. No doesn't help a senior citizen with their prescription drug coverage. Its time to begin to say yes to move the country forward."

This video is from ABC's This Week, broadcast Jan. 24, 2010.
at link

http://rawstory.com/2010/01/demint-i-did-not-want-this-to-be-the-preside...

toniD's Ya Think?

PSA FYI.

Watchdog groups warn: ‘Corporate globalization’ of US elections is upon us

By Stephen C. Webster
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 -- 3:42 pm

The Supreme Court may have ruled in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission days ago, but the decision's shockwaves are still rippling across American democracy.

Key among them is a concern first raised by Justice John Paul Stevens, who wrote in his dissent that the court, by removing all prohibitions against corporate or union money in U.S. elections, "would appear to afford the same protection to multinational corporations controlled by foreigners as to individual Americans."

"I guess this would be the corporate globalization of the U.S. electoral system," a blogger for watchdog group The Sunlight Foundation opined.

RELATED: 41 industry leaders call on Congress to halt corporate 'bribery'

In other words, The Sunlight Foundation noted, the Supreme Court "might support allowing foreign companies to spend freely in elections in the United States."

"A majority of large businesses are now owned by foreign entities, and this means international corporations could pour tons of money into the United States political scene, potentially swaying the political climate," added Newsweek.

The Center for Public Integrity specifically highlights foreign-owned corporations which operate U.S.-based subsidiaries. The group focused on CITGO Petroleum Company, purchased by Venezuela's state-run oil firm Petróleos de Venezuela in 1990. Through the association, Venezuelan socialist leader Hugo Chavez might conceivably "spend government funds to defeat an American political candidate, just by having CITGO buy TV ads bashing his target."

"And it’s not just Chavez," the Center continued. "The Saudi government owns Houston’s Saudi Refining Company and half of Motiva Enterprises. Lenovo, which bought IBM’s PC assets in 2004, is partially owned by the Chinese government’s Chinese Academy of Sciences. And Singapore’s APL Limited operates several U.S. port operations. A weakening of the limit on corporate giving could mean China, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and any other country that owns companies that operate in the U.S. could also have significant sway in American electioneering."

President Barack Obama, in his weekly YouTube address on Saturday, blasted the court's decision, saying that it "strikes at our democracy itself." He has ordered Congress to "develop a forceful response" to the court's move, but Newsweek notes that a significant reformation of U.S. election law may not be in place before the 2010 mid-term elections.

"If we do nothing then I think you can kiss your country goodbye," Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) told RAW STORY hours after the court's decision was announced. "You won't have any more senators from Kansas or Oregon, you'll have senators from Cheekies and Exxon. Maybe we'll have to wear corporate logos like Nascar drivers."

Anticipating the court's decision, Grayson has filed six bills to reform campaign finance.

The bills have names like the Business Should Mind Its Own Business Act and the Corporate Propaganda Sunshine Act. The first slaps a 500 percent excise tax on corporate spending on elections, (I asked about this the other day) and the second mandates businesses to disclose their attempts to influence elections. More details are available on the congressman's Web site.

http://rawstory.com/2010/01/blogger-the-corporate-globalization-electora...

toniD's Ya Think?

game over tD. The corporations have accessed skynet. It's us versus the robot corps. This is war.

http://www.dallasobserver.com/2010-01-21/news/better-off-deadbeat-craig-...

Better Off Deadbeat: Craig Cunningham Has a Simple Solution for Getting Bill Collectors Off His Back. He Sues Them.

...While most Americans with unpaid bills dread the collector's call, Cunningham sees them as lucrative opportunities. Many collection and credit card companies, intentionally or not, violate little-known consumer rights laws, and Cunningham's favorite pastime is catching them doing so and then suing them. In fact, it's a profitable side job...

GOOOOO!!!!!!!

I still contend the conservatives have jumped the shark with this SCOTUS decision. Mark my words.

No wait, I see now Fernando is about to stumble and fall down. Catch the Beaner Boy before he breaks something!

cent is right. Take the Saints and the points. No, no need to give me a cut.

i've fallen.

I've never thought myself clairvoyant but..
Submitted by maggiesboy on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 8:32pm.
-----------
Good screen name: Claire Voyant.

Hard fought.

Farve looks like he's really hurting.

toniD's Ya Think?

Sorry Fernando. Send me the bill for the co-pay.

Man down, man down. Somebody roll in the low bar we got one on the floor!

SEC mulled national security status for AIG details

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. lawmakers on Thursday asked a congressional watchdog agency to examine how tens of billions of dollars of federal aid to embattled insurer American International Group was handled.

Barack Obama | Crisis in Credit

The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Edolphus Towns of New York, and Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland said the Government Accountability Office's help was needed to help clear the air.

"We request the GAO undertake a full review of all aspects of federal assistance -- whether through the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, or any other public entity -- provided to AIG from 2007 to the present," the two Democrats said in a letter.

They also said the GAO should look into the question of who decided that AIG should not be allowed to file for bankruptcy.

The House Oversight Committee is holding hearings next week at which Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is to testify. It has also asked former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to testify.

Towns and Cummings want the GAO to examine payments by AIG to counterparties of credit default swaps and to look into who decided to pay banks at 100 cents on the dollar and what steps were taken to block full public disclosure of the payments.

Over $180 billion of federal aid was committed for bailing out AIG and lawmakers are angry that some of the money may have been used to pay bank counterparties. Towns has complained that it appeared to be a "backdoor bailout."

There have been allegations that Geithner, who headed the New York Fed before taking over Treasury, had a role in advising AIG not to disclose the payments at par to banks, which included Goldman Sachs.

Geithner has denied it and Treasury says he was recused from issues involving AIG when he was nominated last November for the Treasury post.

Earlier this week, the New York Fed delivered over 250,000 pages of documents to the oversight committee. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday he would welcome the GAO reviewing the central bank's action in bailing out AIG.

Bernanke said the Fed extended a credit facility to AIG "to prevent the imminent disorderly failure of the company," which he said would have risked making a severe financial crisis even worse.

A GAO official said on Tuesday it would have to review the Fed's request for an audit.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60K6GG20100121

toniD's Ya Think?

Submitted by ghettodefender on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 5:53pm.

Does anyone know how or when the Favre clan (as in Brett) managed to establish the pronunciation "farv?"

The only form of substinance here is this giant tray of blue tequila jello shots.

she is great.. (and our youngest player)

He mentions something I brought up. Treason.
What do you think of his post....

Obama's Argument Leads to Impeachment of Supreme Court Justices Updated at 7:37 AM

Here's the president:

"When this ruling came down, I instructed my administration to get to work immediately with Members of Congress willing to fight for the American people to develop a forceful, bipartisan response to this decision. We have begun that work, and it will be a priority for us until we repair the damage that has been done."

Forget the "bipartisan" BS, the point is that this statement advocates a forceful response from Congress. What could such a thing be? Legislation could lessen the damage, but not reverse it, and could hardly be seen as forceful. A Constitutional Amendment gets closer and is ultimately what's needed, but it requires that the states take action, as well as, or instead of, Congress. The only forceful response Congress can offer, regardless of whether it's uni-partisan, bi-partisan, tri-partisan, or non-partisan, is impeachment.

Oh, but you can't impeach justices for rendering decisions you don't like. They have to have truly abused power in a serious way. They have to have done something that could fit this description from President Obama:

"We’ve been making steady progress. But this week, the United States Supreme Court handed a huge victory to the special interests and their lobbyists – and a powerful blow to our efforts to rein in corporate influence. This ruling strikes at our democracy itself. By a 5-4 vote, the Court overturned more than a century of law – including a bipartisan campaign finance law written by Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold that had barred corporations from using their financial clout to directly interfere with elections by running advertisements for or against candidates in the crucial closing weeks.

"This ruling opens the floodgates for an unlimited amount of special interest money into our democracy. It gives the special interest lobbyists new leverage to spend millions on advertising to persuade elected officials to vote their way – or to punish those who don’t. That means that any public servant who has the courage to stand up to the special interests and stand up for the American people can find himself or herself under assault come election time. Even foreign corporations may now get into the act.

"I can’t think of anything more devastating to the public interest. The last thing we need to do is hand more influence to the lobbyists in Washington, or more power to the special interests to tip the outcome of elections."

Impeachment is for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

Treason? Check. These five jusices have, according to Obama, just given foreign, not to mention international, corporations the power to greatly influence the outcomes of U.S. elections.

Bribery? Check. This decision facilitates, not to say legalizes, massive bribery the likes of which the world has never known.

Other high crimes and misdemeanors? Check. These five justices ruled on an issue not requested of them and not relevant to the case they heard, and did so in a manner destructive of long-standing precedent. That's a serious abuse of power.

So, take your pick: treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors: we've got 'em all here, and we've got the president of the United States pointing this out to us and Congress.

Let's hurry up and demand impeachment proceedings before President Obama declares concern over this decision to constitute looking backwards.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&fo...

toniD's Ya Think?

Alice?

The IMPEACH THE FIVE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES Petition to United States Senate was created by Voters in Election 2000 and written by Kathleen Westmoreland (Morekatlnd@aol.com). The petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.

-----

To: United States Senate

Impeach the Five Supreme Court Justices

We the undersigned, after grieving as we have in the past for a close friend or relative who died in a war to ensure our right to vote, do hereby decide not to bury that entity, but to restore the life, dignity and respect of the institution our forefathers held... and we now hold dear. In order to accomplish this, we do hereby call for the impeachment of the five Supreme Court Justices Rehnquist, Scalia, O'Connor, Thomas, and Kennedy because of the disgrace they have brought to said institution for the following reasons:

I .Violation of their civil duty as civil servants who work for the people of the United States to make judgements of law according to the United States Constitution, and not as Partisan operatives to ensure the "selection" of a president.They were appointed by the father's party of the "selected" to life terms, and deem themselves to have the power to "dictate" to the American people who their president shall be.They violated all that is "holy" in the democracy of this nation...the right to vote and be counted, and they selected a president as if in a "dictatorship". They placed the people's right to elect their president forever in jeopardy, by ensuring that their party forever holds the power to continue to name future justices which hail from their own political party. They did this knowing that their party would be able to name future justices of their ideological persuasion, thus ensuring the future outcomes of federally contested elections, not to mention legal rulings on a daily basis.

II. Violation of the U.S.Constitution's demand for "SEPARATION OF POWERS", by interevening in a State's Rights issue which ended in this body's selecting the new president by its abuse of power.They placed "ENDING the bother" and "DIFFICULTY of counting fairly", (which with common sense of the common man or woman would have been easy to determine---count the different types of ballots, and place them in separate piles)---" OVER AND ABOVE THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO VOTE AND BE COUNTED", thereby declaring that "time was more important than counting a presidential election accurately".

III. These five justices undermined the validity and sanctity of this previously esteemed institution and tainted it forever, by laying the foundation, and setting an unconstitutional precedent whereby they ensure that for eternity every election in the United States will forever be thrown into the federal court's jurisdiction and subject to challenges in this court. They undermined the sovereignty of the most fundamental basic right in a democracy, "ONE PERSON, ONE VOTE" ! Each of these justices voted at the polls, and voted in the court, thereby incurring two votes each. They delayed the state of Florida's legal pursuit of "determining the intent of the voter" and ignored the fact that this same statute exists in at least 30 or more other states in these United States. By issuing a "STAY" before they even heard arguments they deliberately delayed the state of Florida's right to a manual count under its sovereignty and intentionally delayed their issuance of a ruling until it was too late for this state to count its votes.In that very ruling they failed to resolve the obvious issue of REMEDY for this election that had been before its body for weeks, thereby disenfranchising every American's vote, regardless of party, be it Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, etc.

1V.They used the Equal Protection clause in a way in which it has never been used before; it has been used traditionally and legally to shield minorities from unlawful discrimination. They in fact, turned this amendment upside down, thus using it to discriminate against minorities and majorities (their opposing party won the popular vote), and to therefore cause their votes to be discounted.

V. With their abuse of power, they removed from the electoral college and Congress their Constitutionally respective roles in breaking a "tie" in a presidential election, if this was in fact a tie (we the voters may never know), therefore interfering in the Constitutional process which should have been allowed to proceed.

VI. Conclusively, we the undersigned, and all people of the United States,regardless of party affiliation, and as patriots with COMMON SENSE, do hereby declare that this court denied us equal protection under the law, and ALL OF OUR VOTES WERE NEGATED AND INVALIDATED. These five justices cast a cloud of suspicion over the body of the Supreme Court, causing the following result:

A. An ILLIGITIMATE PRESIDENT AND LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD ...one unable to govern effectively, thereby jeopardizing democracy at its very core with WORLDWIDE consequences.

VII. They failed to remain unbiased and nonpolitical by dictating to the governed that they had "chosen " their president for them, as if they were parents sending children to bed while they decided who the president would be.

VIII. We the undersigned, being of legal voting age, and not children to be told to go to bed, are outraged at... and embarrassed by... these offenses committed by the five aforementioned justices, and are further insulted by the failure of two of the named to even bother to sign their prejudiced judgement, calling into question their abilities to fulfill their obligation to morally uphold their civil duty as unbiased civil servants to those of us who pay their salaries. We therefore proceed to do the only "civil" thing left to do, ...and with somber,sorrowful spirits ,yet aching with mighty strength and perserverence for justice, do hereby attempt to restore respect for this once revered institution, the Supreme Court of the United States of America. We therefore hereby CALL FOR THEIR IMPEACHMENT!

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

http://www.petitiononline.com/insure/petition-sign.html

toniD's Ya Think?

I was timing one of the blockers in the penalty box while I shot that....

I learned an important thing today that I didn't think of before..when you're being a non skating official, you can't cheer for your own players... :( that sucks...but makes sense...

Help please
Submitted by Fernando on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 9:18pm.
The only form of substinance here is this giant tray of blue tequila jello shots.
------------------------
Bait: "I thought you were on a low stupid-stuff diet?"

Fernando: "I am."

Bait: "What about the tequila?"

Fernando: "Doesn't count."

Bait: "Why not?"

Fernando: "Tequila falls under the religious exemption."

Bait: "Getting hammered is a spiritual rite?"

Fernando: "Check back with me tomorrow."

---Next Day---

Bait: "Good morning."

Fernando: "Sweet baby Jesus and Holy Mary Mother of God, if You make this day pass quickly, I swear I will never, ever drink like that again."

Bait: "I have uttered that very same prayer."

Fernando: "It's the only time I feel close to the saints."

can't they just call it Fav' sheesh like Sartre...at least he already had the first r in there for real.

Over time all these great football players will grow old and die...

Farve...that just drives me crazy
Submitted by mhappenow on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 9:58pm.
--------------
Concierge: "If there is anything I can do to improve your stay at our hotel, Mr. Smith, please don't hesitate to ask."

Mr. Smith: "It's simth."

Concierge: "Pardon, sir?"

Mr. Smith: "My name is pronounced simth."

Concierge: "Is the spelling correct sir; s-m-i-t-h?"

Mr. Smith: "Yes, that's correct; simth."

Concierge: "Very good Mr. Simth, sir. I shan't forget."

It's the dream bowl!

This was so far ahead of it's time, I still Love it...

Sunday Recap

I think that the Minnesota Vikings should blame their offensive line for that loss.
Brett Favre looked very uncomfortable during the game's later stages. Victory was always within his reach, though.
I was in Louisiana last month. Louisianans are good people, and I'm happy for their team.
Yet I must recommend that everyone bet their house, car and children on the Colts in the Super Bowl.

"You look so tired-unhappy
Bring down the government
They don't, they don't speak for us"
-Radiohead.
www.sigzone.blogspot.com

M? It's Michael right?...Anyway...did you go to Conan's show?

One more before I sleep:

I know of at least 4 of us
who are in the area.

I havn't heard any official anouncement
yet, however I checked radio-locator.com
for an update on a Construction Permit
listing for a nitetime transmitter I noticed last year for the AM Station
820KHz now Daytime only.

There is Now a Predicted Coverage Map:

AM CLASS B = 50,000 watts (max) daytime, 250 nitetime

Nitetime info

Transmitter Classes

AM Classes (FCC)

WCPT shares a Frequency with WBAP, Fort Worth, TX:
that can be heard at nite here in chicagoland,
and:
KCBF, Fairbanks, AK
.
.
.
_ _ _
brr

brl vod | wtf

...long before love in an elevator...

Jerry Landers: I don't even go to any church!

God: Neither do I.

*

God: Why is it so hard for you to believe? Is my physical existence any more improbable than your own? What about all that hoo-ha with the devil awhile ago from that movie? Nobody had any problem believing that the devil took over and existed in a little girl. All she had to do was wet the rug, throw up some pea soup and everybody believed. The devil you could believe, but not God? I work in my own way. I don't, I don't get inside little children; they got enough to do just being themselves. Also I'm not about to go around to every person in the world and say, 'Look it's me, I wanna talk to you.' So I picked one man. One very good man. I told him God lives. I live. He had trouble believing too, in the beginning. I understood. I'm not sure how this whole miracle business started, the idea that anything connected with me has to be a miracle. Personally I'm sorry that it did. Makes the distance between us even greater. But if a miracle helps you believe that I am who I say I am... I'll give you one. A good one.

*

God: I know how hard it is in these times to have faith. But maybe if you could have the faith to start with, maybe the times would change. You could change them. Think about it. Try. And try not to hurt each other. There's been enough of that. It really gets in the way. I'm a God of very few words and Jerry's already given you mine. However hopeless, helpless, mixed up and scary it all gets, it can work. If you find it hard to believe in me, maybe it would help you to know that I believe in you.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076489/quotes

is blogging by request at Boing Boing

Illuminated 15th c. Manuscript - full of hidden demons

During the process of analyzing these topic tracking tools, we discovered - to our surprise - that not many of these services output results as RSS. Some of the leading apps in this field require users to visit their service. With that in mind, here is our full list and analysis.
...

-Stray animals
Submitted by SEDER on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 9:30am.

the GOP are wonderful at reminding me why I vote for Democrats-

Both of these parties are wonderful at reminding me why I vote for almost anyone except them.

January 25, 2010 by akamat

http://akamat.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/derrick-jensen-pacifism/

Local tribesman in Pakistan's North Waziristan region claim to have shot down a US drone after the unnamed aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed in the tribal area.

The crash occurred on Sunday afternoon in the Hamdhoni area of North Waziristan, the Associated Press reported, citing two intelligence officials.

Drone attacks near the country's border with Afghanistan have been a controversial issue, especially since the attacks are imprecise in nature and usually result in civilian deaths.

However, the UAV strikes have remained an integral part of US raids on alleged militant targets in Pakistan's tribal areas — which Washington claims to be a safe heaven for militants who cross the border from war-torn Afghanistan.

A local resident said local tribesmen are now congratulating each other for downing the drone.

In 2008, the Pakistani army blamed a similar crash in neighboring South Waziristan on technical problem and rejected claims that it had been shot down.

US drones have blitzed North and South Waziristan with 12 missile strikes following the December 30 bombing that killed seven CIA employees at a remote base in Afghanistan.

Over the past two years, the US Central Intelligence Agency has stepped up its covert operations in Pakistan, increasing the use of drone attacks.

Since 2006, hundreds of people including women and children have been killed in US drone attacks in Pakistan.

ZHD/MMN

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116959&sectionid=351020401

worries about potential voting fraud

and the likelihood

that the U.S. troop "surge"

will lead to intensified fighting

in parts

of the country.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/23/AR201001...

Been reading news papers etc. from 1907-10
Keep coming upon words and situations that seem familiar

Fredericks was the Republican nominee for governor in 1914. The incumbent, Hiram Johnson of the Progressive Party, was seeking a second term. An Oakland Tribune editorial of Nov. 25 predicts: “John D. Fredericks will be elected governor of California by 200,000 or more majority over Hiram Johnson.” Such was not to be; Johnson garnered 460,495 votes and Fredericks bagged 271,990.

And "heroes" of the past being not so heroic.
Was Darrow guilty?

Historian W.W. Robinson says in “Bombs and Bribery,” published in 1969:

“…I can say today that I have been unable to find a lawyer or anyone else directly connected with, or an observer of, the McNamara and Darrow trials who believed in Darrow’s innocence.

Darrow’s sympathetic biographer, Irving Stone, wrote that even Earl Rogers thought his client guilty. Rogers’ young assistant and protégé, Jerry Giesler, who would win fame later as a criminal lawyer, privately admitted to belief in Darrow’s guilt.

This last statement comes from [former Police Court] Judge James H. Pope, a former Times reporter who covered the trials. To Pope, Darrow was an unscrupulous mercenary. [Former Los Angeles Superior Court] Judge Fletcher Bowron [who had been a four-term mayor of Los Angeles], another former reporter who covered the trials for the Los Angeles Record and later for the Examiner) told me on September 28, 1963 that he believed Darrow was unquestionably guilty of bribery.

He agreed with Judge Pope’s appraisal. Hugh Baillie, who represented the United Press at the McNamara trial..., stated flatly in his autobiographic High Tension published in 1959 by Harper and Brothers, his belief in Darrow’s guilt—based on the evidence, on Darrow’s attitudes and appearance during the trials, and on the basis of private conversations with him.

Oscar Lawler, who played a vital part in the McNamara case and who was a lawyer of distinction and of brilliant memory, was of similar mind. With him I had many talks.

To Gene Blake of the Los Angeles Times, in an interview published January 19, 1959, he described Darrow as a ‘shrewd but a thoroughly unscrupulous scamp. He has been stuffed with straw and canonized by these do-gooders. LeCompte Davis was the real lawyer in the case.’
===
[and this Gives new thought to the term 'being railroaded']

Henry Tifft Gage

California Governor from 5 Jan. 1899 to 7 Jan. 1903

"Moved to California in 1874. In 1877, he opened a law office in Los Angeles, and soon numbered several large corporations among his clients (one in particular was the Southern Pacific Railroad).

Active in Republican politics, Gage was elected Los Angeles City Attorney in 1881. Supported by the 'Southern Pacific Political Bureau,' Gage secured the Republican gubernatorial nomination on the first ballot in 1898. ...

The Gage administration was rife with partisan politics, as the Southern Pacific political machine tried unsuccessfully to force its candidate for United States Senator through the legislature.

Gage, as part of the machine, acquiesced to the bosses, approved legislation friendly to the railroad and opposed reform groups. He also used a spoils system to reward friends and 'machine workers' with state office.

He became involved in the San Francisco bubonic plague controversy, which turned into a fiasco as federal, state and local authorities contradicted each other as to the actual situation. [Gage denied the plague existed]

In 1901, Gage became the first California governor to mediate a labor strike. As his term ended, Gage, considered a railroad pawn, had created a host of political enemies, within and outside of his own party.

At the 1902 Republican Convention, the Southern Pacific 'machine' tried to renominate Gage, but when 'anti-machine' forces stalemated the convention, party bosses switched to George C. Pardee as a compromise candidate.

Following his one term as governor, Gage returned to Los Angeles and his law practice.

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

Blue Roots Radio

Here's the fourth section of the Fourteenth Amendment:

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/usconstitution/a/amend14.htm

AND I got questions.

Does this apply ONLY to Civil War debt? Has Sec. 4 ever ben used for any other application?

Is it possible that Sec. 4 could apply to some current debts now placed on The American People???

I ask because it looks to me that this would be really useful in challenging the Transnational Corporations who are working hand-in-hand with individuals in government to sell us down the river.

I mean, we were tricked and scammed into bailing out the Banksters and there are a lot of unacceptable ramifications of that:

o It could have been better to let those who claimed to be "Too Big To Fail" to just FAIL, and declare an amnesty on much of the mess they left behind, among other things.

o The Banksters failed to make good faith loans to Americans as agreed, that's my understanding.

o More and more Americans now are worse off than ever.

o Americans are now indebted to pay off the interest on the bail-out loans for generations. Is that true at all and not an exaggeration? And if so, WHO are we paying back? Central Banks within the Federal Reserve? Are any of those parties at the Central Banks linked to the Banksters who were bailed out?

If these items becomes a daisychain of yes answers, does that mean we've been scammed?

And, IS A SCAM OF THIS PROPORTION AN ACT OF TREASON/INSURRECTION/REBELLION that increases the power of the scammers and decreases the power of the American government and nation and citizenry?

[Do I have ponderings like this because of something I ate, or is it because I hate being a victim of scammers?]

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/

Because the weather is warm the count will be higher than expected. My neighbor who participates says that many homeless people stay away from the shelters if the weather is not very cold. Hopefully the count will be higher than the last few years and The authorities will have to acknowledge the reality of the situation. 53 degrees in January?!
-------
This census this year is coming up and it is important to try and get a good count. This is a pretty good part time job for those you could use one.

----------
ToniD I loved your post about empeaching the Scotus and the petition
http://www.petitiononline.com/insure/petition-sign.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60O2A120100125

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's top disaster expert has slammed the U.S. response to the Haiti earthquake, criticizing its lack of organization and the reliance on soldiers with no training in humanitarian operations. Guido Bertolaso, head of Italy's civil protection service who received international acclaim for his handling of an Italian earthquake last April, described "a pathetic situation which could have been much better organized."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/25/AR201001...

--------------
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/us/politics/25obama.html?hp

what up everyone
Stephanie is on.........

is reading a hate letter now, funny. The person who wrote
the letter had trouble's spelling - lol

Wild-horse advocates are seeking an independent investigation into the deaths of nine mustangs that occurred during a government roundup in Nevada. The activists say one colt was run so hard the hoof walls of its two hind feet actually came off. That colt was euthanized this past Thursday.

"Totally ridiculous at this point when things are right now before the courts, for them to be rounding up more when they are already saying they can't feed the ones that they have," said Dr. Elliot Katz, President of San Rafael-based In Defense of Animals.

The federal Bureau of Land Management plans to round up a total of 2,500 wild horses in Nevada using helicopters to herd the animals. They will then be placed for adoption or taken to long-term corrals in the midwest. Federal officials say the roundup in necessary because public ranges are overpopulated.

http://www.care2.com/causes/animal-welfare/blog/federal-aerial-roundup/

goddamnit - motherfuckers - ihatethemall

has been shifting his rhetoric lately to adopt a more populist tone.

Per tD's NYT link above.

..and all the Tweety's and FOXNews script readers will still be reporting the nation is swinging back to the right.

Right?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

WE HAVE BEEN SCAMED!

SCAMMED (sorry bout the spelling sna-fu)

Economic survey: Slow recovery continues
By MAE ANDERSON, AP Retail Writer Mae Anderson, Ap Retail Writer Mon Jan 25, 6:58 am ET

NEW YORK – Businesses expect to boost hiring and capital spending in the first half of the year as the U.S. recovery from the recession slowly continues, according to a new survey.

Since the fall of 2009 demand has edged higher in the goods-producing, finance and real estate industries, while other sectors such as transportation are seeing less drastic declines in growth. While costs have been increasing, prices also have moved higher, allowing businesses to post improved profits. Job losses, meanwhile, have been moderating with a slightly better outlook for hiring over the next six months.

The latest industry survey from the National Association for Business Economics, set for release Monday, shows that capital spending plans continue to brighten as credit markets loosen slightly. Thirty-five percent of those surveyed said credit conditions are hurting their business, down from 42 percent in the third quarter.

Many indicated "credit still remains tight but less so than in recent months," said William Strauss, a senior economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Respondents say they plan to spend money on computers and communications but hold back on building costs.

Of the 75 NABE members from private sector and industry trade associations interviewed for the survey, all said they are making business decisions with an eye toward positive economic growth in 2010. Sixty-one percent of survey respondents believe real GDP will expand by more than 2 percent in 2010 — up from 45 percent of respondents in October.

For the second quarter in a row, price increases have been more common than price cuts. Only 8 percent of respondents said their companies cut prices in the last quarter.

Meanwhile, job losses are slowing down. While the unemployment rate remains at 10 percent and many economists expect it to increase in the coming months, the percentage of companies cutting payrolls fell to 28 percent from 31 percent in NABE's October 2009 survey. Also, 29 percent of those surveyed expect their companies to hire over the next six months, up from 24 percent last fall.

The vast majority — 69 percent — said the government's fiscal stimulus package enacted in February 2009 has had no impact on employment to date.

Inventories are falling at about 59 percent of firms. However, the share of firms reducing inventories in anticipation of weaker sales or as a way to cut costs and conserve cash did rise from October to January. That suggests some businesses are still somewhat concerned about the near-term economic outlook.

The overall economy grew in the third quarter of last year, and many economists believe it grew even faster in the final three months of 2009. However, they worry it will start to slow again unless people step up spending.

The NABE survey interviewed 75 panelists between Dec. 18 and Jan. 7.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100125/ap_on_bi_ge/us_nabe_survey/print

toniD's Ya Think?

Biden Will Not Run for Senate
"After this weekend's mini frenzy over whether Beau Biden will run for his father's old Senate seat, Beau Biden has now announced -- in an e-mail to supporters and on his Web site -- that he will not run for the seat in 2010. He announced he's running for re-election as attorney general instead," First Read reports.

"This decision all but makes GOP Congressman Mike Castle the front-runner for Delaware's Senate seat, giving the GOP a clear pick-up opportunity here."

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/01/25/biden_will_not_run_for_sena...

toniD's Ya Think?

morning joe.

i had it on this morning and they were talking about bernake getting renewed based on the implicit threat from the "markets" that if we didn't the economy would tank even more. the same was implied about firing geithner.

morning joe's response which i agreed with is that he's tired of being told that our lives depend on keeping these people around. personally, i'm ready to try something new. theres lots of other good minds out there like stiglitz, warren, krugman, even roubini. isn't there another one that hartmann has on all the time?

and the same goes with giving the fed free reign. i don't think they're doing the middle class any favors. there's something wrong when the very rich can borrow money thru corporations or other entities at something very close to 0 percent and then turn around and charge us peons 30%.

Dont think he would have much of a chance

Pence Edges Bayh in New Poll
A new Rasmussen Reports survey in Indiana finds Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) edging Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) in a possible U.S. Senate match up, 47% to 44%.

Pence is reportedly mulling a challenge to Bayh.

Bayh leads former Rep. John Hostettler (R), 44% to 41%, and beats Marlin Stutzman (R), 45% to 33%

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/01/25/pence_edges_bayh_in_new_pol...

toniD's Ya Think?

Obama's Approval Most Polarized for First-Year President
Shows much greater party differences than approval for any prior first-year president
by Jeffrey M. Jones

PRINCETON, NJ -- The 65 percentage-point gap between Democrats' (88%) and Republicans' (23%) average job approval ratings for Barack Obama is easily the largest for any president in his first year in office, greatly exceeding the prior high of 52 points for Bill Clinton.

Overall, Obama averaged 57% job approval among all Americans from his inauguration to the end of his first full year on Jan. 19. He came into office seeking to unite the country, and his initial approval ratings ranked among the best for post-World War II presidents, including an average of 41% approval from Republicans in his first week in office. But he quickly lost most of his Republican support, with his approval rating among Republicans dropping below 30% in mid-February and below 20% in August. Throughout the year, his approval rating among Democrats exceeded 80%, and it showed little decline even as his overall approval rating fell from the mid-60s to roughly 50%.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/125345/Obama-Approval-Polarized-First-Year-Pr...

toniD's Ya Think?

Y'all knew that anyway.

http://videos.nola.com/2010/01/who_dat_2.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870380890457502480304420931...

America certainly hasn't been a stabilizing force in the post Sadam Iraq.

First super Bowl win!

toniD's Ya Think?

he should be primaried - isn't he one of those despicable blue dogs

good riddance if he goes down

no one's talking about anything else today

and even the corporate types showing up for work in full black and gold gear, beads and whatnots

http://videos.nola.com/saints_videos/index.html

'Chemical Ali' executed in Iraq "- 54 minutes ago"

Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein's notorious cousin known as Chemical Ali, is hanged for crimes against humanity in Iraq.

LINK

toniD's Ya Think?

i guess

thanks toni

i tear up at anything that connects the Saints' superdome showered in golden balloons, music and cheers (last night) to images of the Katrina's superdome

to the New Orleans Saints. I am happy that they won.
Poor Farve looked like he took a beating. (He did)
Good game

I am going 4 the Saints to win the Super Bowl for 2010!

"i tear up at anything that connects the Saints' superdome showered in golden balloons, music and cheers (last night) to images of the Katrina's superdome"

"i tear up at anything that connects the Saints' superdome showered in golden balloons, music and cheers (last night) to images of the Katrina's superdome"

How did they do it. Did they hang him like they did Saddam?

a double - - sorry bout that.

A woman who was taking an art class at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has accidentally fallen into a Picasso painting and damaged it.
The painting called The Actor sustained a vertical tear of about six inches (15cm) in the lower right-hand corner.
But the damage did not affect the "focal point of the composition" and should be repaired for an exhibition later this year, the museum said.
The work from the Rose period was painted in the winter of 1904-1905.
The repair should be completed in time for the Picasso in the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition, which will feature some 250 works from the museum's collection and is due to open at the end of April.
The unusually large canvas, measuring 6ft by 4ft (1.8m by 1.2m) and which depicts an acrobat posed against an abstracted backdrop, was damaged on Friday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8478347.stm

Talk about embarrassing. Geez, how in the hell do u fall into a Picasso?

WH spokesman Gibbs: Ed Schultz lies to get more viewers
by John Aravosis (DC) on 1/25/2010 10:55:00 AM
I think the public would be more impressed if the White House ever treated its enemies like it treats its friends.

http://www.americablog.com/2010/01/wh-spokesman-gibbs-ed-schultz-lies-to...

Article John is referring to:

Gibbs: Ed Schultz Misleads Viewers To “Get People To Watch His Show”

As you’ve probably heard, MSNBC’s Ed Schultz revealed the other day that he’d torn into Robert Gibbs in a private conversation, telling him he’s “full of sh*t” and that the Obama White House is “losing its base.”

Now Gibbs emails over his account of their conversation, and it probably won’t do much to turn down the temperature: He says he pointedly accused Schultz of misleading viewers about the Dem health care plan in order to “get people to watch his show.”

The whole fracas started when Schultz, after having a rousing exchange with the White House press secretary on his show last week, told a conference over the weekend that he’d taken things further in a private conversation with him.

“Mr. Gibbs and I had quite a conversation off the air the other night,” Schultz told the conference. “I told him he was full of sh*t, is what I told him.” According to Schultz, Gibbs cursed him out, prompting Schultz to tell him: “I’m just trying to help you out. I’m telling you you’re losing your base.”

Asked about Schultz’s account, Gibbs emailed that in their private talk, he strongly took issue with Schultz’s claim that the health care bill is a gift to the insurance industry.

Gibbs adds that he demanded Schultz tell him “why he’d tell his viewers something so completely and knowingly wrong in an attempt to get people to watch his show.”

It’s an unusually harsh charge, given that the Obama White House would presumably like to calm frayed nerves on the left, and one imagines that in response, Schultz will not do a great deal to dial down the volume.

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/political-media/gibbs-ed-schultz-misle...

toniD's Ya Think?

this favre dude, well, at least he inspired a hole bunch of musical tributes

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=videos&search_query=favre+on+...

If you become a follower on the ustream site, you will get announcements on upcoming shows. I am planning for Sat. at 10pst. This week I have Kat Simmons on. She is a comedian who is committed to using her work in order to be helpful to peoples understanding of self and other. Should be fun.

Pelosi And Reid Team Up For Potential Party Suicide Pact

It appears that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are both currently on board with the reconciliation sidecar strategy to fix the Senate bill. This could be a good thing. It would allow them to fix many of the bill's problems while re-inserting extremely popular provisions like the public option and the Medicare buy-in. Unfortunately they are thinking about using the reconciliation sidecar to make a very unpopular Senate bill pure political poison.

Pelosi and Reid, for some reason, want to have the Democratic Party enter into a collective suicide pact. They plan to use the reconciliation sidecar to mainly just raise some people's taxes to give special tax breaks to unions. From Politico:

The changes being considered track closely with the agreements House and Senate leaders made in White House meetings last week, according to a source. They include the deal with labor unions to ease the tax on high-end insurance plans, additional Medicare cuts and taxes, the elimination of a special Medicaid funding deal for Nebraska and a move to help cover the gap in seniors' prescription drug coverage. Pelosi is also working to change the Senate provision that sets up state insurance exchanges. The House prefers a single, national exchange.

You must be kidding me. This is the dumbest thing I have heard from Democrats this month -- a month dominated by terrible decisions by Democrats.

Pelosi's and Reid's plan to get the very unpopular Senate bill passed in the House is to pass a separate, even more radically unpopular measure using reconciliation. Because that is what the health care bill needs right now, more new taxes and more special giveaways to different interest groups.

If they want to fix the very unpopular excise tax, which they should, the secret is to pay for it with popular progressive cost control ideas. They should use the savings from the public option/Medicare buy-in/drug re-importation to pay for fixing the excise tax. This eliminates the need for more taxes and makes the top banner story about the reconciliation sidecar the popular public option/Medicare buy-in instead of a deal with labor unions.

This is not rocket science. If Democrats try to use reconciliation to only pass a deal for labor unions paid for with another tax increase, it will be the death of the party in 2010. If Democrats stand up to the private insurance corporations, give people the very public option they want, and then reduce the excise tax people hate using those savings; health care reform might become popular or at least palatable to most Americans.

http://jwalkerreport.blogspot.com/2010/01/pelosi-and-reid-team-up-for-po...

toniD's Ya Think?

There's an impeachment petition already
Submitted by toniD on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 9:46pm.
http://www.samsedershow.com/node/5618#comment-391921

"In order to accomplish this, we do hereby call for the impeachment of the five Supreme Court Justices Rehnquist, Scalia, O'Connor, Thomas, and Kennedy because of the disgrace they have brought to said institution for the following reasons:"

...This must be an old petition since Rehnquist is dead, hopefully sitting on a hot coal in Hell, and O’Connor has retired.

But I’d be more than willing to sign it if they would amend it to include Roberts and Alito, who are more susceptible to being convicted particularly since they had committed perjury in their testimony during their confirmation hearings in addition to so many other reasons.

Given all of the events in the last few days…CAN I TELL YOU HOW MUCH I HATE THESE PEOPLE?!

i wish they had elaborated a little bit more

i sure would like to know

also, at the risk of sounding un-pc (sorry edna) how large was this lady who fell into a picasso

what the heck, it would have made for a more interesting story, don't'ya think

reading it, i'm trying to figure out why td is posting republican spin. following the article, the author is an firedoglaker.

so the question that remains: whats the alternative to recounciliation?

The Phantom Policy Conflict

The idea that Obama made a mistake by focusing on health care instead of the economy seems to be catching on on the left as well as on the right. But my question remains: what are we talking about, specifically?

There was a window early last year when Obama could have pushed for a bigger stimulus and could have pushed for a major recapitalization of the banks with public funds, so as to encourage more lending; that recapitalization would probably have required nationalizing a couple of institutions. At the time, the administration wasn’t at all focused on health care, which it was leaving largely up to Max Baucus.

But Obama didn’t do that. And ever since, it’s been hard for me to see what options are left.

Maybe, maybe, a relatively small job-creation program could have been pushed through this fall. And maybe, if it had been sufficiently unorthodox — say, a job-creation tax credit — it might have had enough bang for the buck to make a noticeable difference.

But aside from that, what? We could have had a lot of speeches about the economy. Would that have helped, absent a policy to make things better?

In my view, there are two defensible hypotheses:

1. Obama was doomed to have a bad economy regardless.

2. He missed a key window, early on, back when some of us were screaming at him to go bigger; but that window closed by the summer of 2009.

Either way, I don’t see how punting on health care would have helped.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/the-phantom-policy-conflict/...

toniD's Ya Think?

Not so fast...
new
Submitted by CeeCee on Mon, 01/25/2010 - 11:48am.

GOOD WORK Cee Cee!

There's an impeachment petition already
Submitted by toniD on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 9:46pm.
http://www.samsedershow.com/node/5618#comment-391921

It's the beginning of the year and I am anxiously awaiting to hear of your work prospects and endeavors.

With the demise of Air America, I now have an extra $12 a month I'd be willing to use it to pay toward a daily-weekly-biweekly podcast of your commentary of current events, or even toward getting more indepth postings on the blog.

IMHO your opinion along with your sense of humor and research ability are worth it and so so much more.

Audit the Fed Audit the Fed Audit the Fed Audit the Fed !

they both gotta go

Geithner threatens, confirm bernanke or else

of course, they're partners in crime

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/25/geithner-warns-that-marke_n_435...

of course, they were all inspired by this:

My fault, I didn't read it through either.

toniD's Ya Think?

http://samsedershow.com/node/5619

A Quest to End Spending Rules for Campaigns
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

WASHINGTON — James Bopp Jr. likes to begin speeches by reading the First Amendment. He calls opponents, including President Obama, “socialists.” He runs a national law practice out of a small office in Terre Haute, Ind., because he prefers the city’s conservative culture.

And for most of the last 35 years, he has been a lonely Quixote tilting at the very idea of regulating political donations as an affront to free speech.

Not anymore. Mr. Bopp won his biggest victory last week when the Supreme Court ruled that corporations, unions and nonprofit groups have the right to spend as much as they want supporting or opposing the election of a candidate.

Mr. Bopp was not present in the courtroom. His client — not for the first time — replaced him with a less ideological and more experienced Washington lawyer when the case reached the justices.

But it was Mr. Bopp who had first advised the winning plaintiff, the conservative group Citizens United, about using its campaign-season film “Hillary: The Movie” as a deliberate test of the limits on corporate political spending. And he shepherded the case through appeals to the Supreme Court as part of a long-term legal strategy that he says he has just begun.

“We had a 10-year plan to take all this down,” he said in an interview. “And if we do it right, I think we can pretty well dismantle the entire regulatory regime that is called campaign finance law.”

“We have been awfully successful,” he added, “and we are not done yet.”

The Citizens United case “was really Jim’s brainchild,” said Richard L. Hasen, an expert on election law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

“He has manufactured these cases to present certain questions to the Supreme Court in a certain order and achieve a certain result,” Mr. Hasen said. “He is a litigation machine.”

The same week the court issued its ruling, it agreed to hear Mr. Bopp’s next appeal: seeking to prevent the public release of the names of people who signed a Washington State petition opposing same-sex marriage, on the ground that gay rights supporters might harass them.

For Mr. Bopp, it is a chance to chip away at some of the disclosure laws left intact by the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Citizens United case.

Then there is his suit on behalf of the Republican National Committee, pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, seeking to overturn some of the limits on direct corporate contributions to the political parties. When Mr. Bopp filed it a few years ago, many legal scholars considered the suit almost pointless because of Supreme Court precedents. But the court’s opinion last week — from a slightly different set of justices — has cast it in a far more favorable light.

“If you cannot ban corporate spending on ads, how is it that you are allowed to ban corporate contributions to candidates?” asked Nathaniel Persily, a professor at Columbia Law School. “That is the next shoe to drop.”

Mr. Bopp, for his part, said he had no complaints about being removed from the case before the Supreme Court, even if the lawyer who argued it, Theodore B. Olson, a solicitor general in the Bush administration, won with an approach Mr. Bopp originally left out. (It was Mr. Olson who decided to go after the ban on corporate spending; Mr. Bopp hoped to challenge disclosure rules, which the court upheld last week.)

“I understand that law is art,” Mr. Bopp said. “Picasso, Van Gogh, Michelangelo — they are all very different, but all create masterpieces.”

Mr. Bopp also makes no apologies for his partisanship. A veteran member of the Republican National Committee, he is the leader of a movement to deny party support to any candidate who fails to affirm at least 8 of 10 principles, including opposition to “government-run health care,” “amnesty” for illegal immigrants and “Obama’s socialist agenda.”

Liberal bloggers have ridiculed the proposal as a “purity test.” But that just revealed “what liberals think of ‘purity,’ ” Mr. Bopp said. “We would call ‘purity’ 100 percent, not 80. Marriage doesn’t mean you can commit adultery 20 percent of the time.”

At stake, he said, is the fate of the party and the country. If Republicans fail to restore their credibility with grass-roots conservatives, Mr. Bopp said, “we are going to be facing a third-party effort that will guarantee Obama’s re-election and the literal — not just virtual — destruction of the country as we know it.”

Mr. Bopp’s career as a conservative advocate began in the late 1960s at Indiana University, where he headed its chapter of Young Americans for Freedom, William F. Buckley’s answer to the leftist Students for a Democratic Society.

A few years after Mr. Bopp graduated from the University of Florida College of Law in 1973, a friend in Indianapolis, M. Stanton Evans, introduced him to the state’s chapter of the fledgling National Right to Life Committee. By age 29, Mr. Bopp was its first general counsel, overseeing the dissemination of the 1980 “voter guides” that some said helped elect Ronald Reagan president.

Mr. Bopp’s success defending the voter guides from legal challenges made him the go-to lawyer for right-leaning groups fighting election rules. “He is absolutely tenacious, a bulldog litigator,” said Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition, who hired Mr. Bopp to represent it in a legal battle over its guides and political activities.

In 1996, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, a fierce opponent of campaign finance laws who is now the Senate Republican leader, helped Mr. Bopp set up his own nonprofit litigation center, the James Madison Center for Free Speech. (Mr. McConnell was its honorary chairman). After Congress passed the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law in 2002, Mr. McConnell hired Mr. Bopp to challenge it.

Shortly before the Supreme Court hearings, however, Mr. Bopp was dropped from representing Mr. McConnell because of a dispute over tactics with the other lawyers on Mr. McConnell’s team.

The court upheld most of McCain-Feingold in 2003. But Mr. Bopp was soon back, in 2007, with a challenge on behalf of the Wisconsin Right to Life Committee. With Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. having replaced Sandra Day O’Connor, the court leaned the other way, striking down some of the prohibitions on corporate political commercials and setting the stage for last week’s ruling.

Mr. Bopp said the next step in his 10-year plan is to roll back the disclosure rules.

“Groups have to be relieved of reporting their donors if lifting the prohibition on their political speech is going to have any meaning,” he said. Requiring groups that buy political commercials to report their donors is almost as punitive, he said, “as an outright criminal go-to-jail-time prohibition.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/us/politics/25bopp.html?hp=&pagewanted...

toniD's Ya Think?

I loved Air America's first line-up and would listen on and off most of the day. Then one-by-one the artocious management fired the intelligent, funny people, kept the bores, and hired ranters.

What kind of an idiot fires the lead comedian and hands things over to the straight men and sidekicks?

The absolute worst was when Marc Maron of Morning Sedition was fired by a man who had authored a book titled :"How the Left Lost Teen Spirit". There was no better example of youthful spirit or a more natural radio host than Marc on Morning Sedition. It was a show I could recommend to friends who weren't even interested in politics.

The only show left intact and of any interest to me, was a weekend show called Ring of Fire, and I couldn't even listen to that after they moved to a station with less broadcasting power than your typcal tiny FM college staions.

I love radio and would love a progressive network other than Pacifica. Amy Goodman is fantastic, but a whole day of that and I'd be on suicide watch.

...what I WANTED!
;)

the picture is priceless

fundmaental unseriousness

i would add "unconscionable"

http://baselinescenario.com/2010/01/26/the-second-clinton/

most likely just a floater to gage the reactions, and my guess is the speech writers are not frantically at work revising and rewriting, after the finger in the wind collected a bunch of dirt...