July 1, 2014

Since Hobby Lobby is such a christian, child friendly place,

I am wondering what their policies are:

Do they offer free/cheap on premises child care?
Do they offer fully paid maternity care?
Do they offer paid maternity leave?
Do they offer flex-time for proper child rearing?
Do they offer higher pay scales for mothers?

or

are they just another cheapskate company that only looks to use the labor of stressed out Moms who are juggling home/family on cheapskate wages and few benefits, while the Green family pats themselves on the back for being family-friendly/good Christians??

June 30, 2014

The ONLY way to "defeat" right wing establishments

is to boycott their products/stores..whether officially or unofficially.


The right wing is a MINORITY of the country. Their ideas are stale, useless ideas that went out of fashion DECADES ago.

Look at just about ANY reliable poll.. there is always 25-30% who are against every good idea/policy.. These are the SAME people who were for impeaching Clinton, and who are pro mass-shooter...and who are against women's choice..and just about anything else that benefits ordinary folks...

Unfortunately they are bolstered by mega-moneyed people who know how malleable (and low-information) these folks are, and how impressed they are with free box lunches, fancy buses and how steadfast they are against anyone with a (D) next to their name (especially if the person is not white)..

These folks are a VOCAL minority that consistently proclaims itself to be a moral majority. Because they are loud & boisterous, (and they promote corporat-ocracy) media welcomes them with open arms.

MOST people are NOT paying attention, so it behooves all of us to "evangelize" about these awful corporate entities to people we meet who truly do not know better.

A careful approach, with just the basic info often works.

My whole family has been "selectively" shopping for decades....and all it takes is gentle persuasion.. My Daughter in law is a prime example.. In less than 5 years, she's gone from being a Bill OReilley/Bush/Cheney fan to now loving Rachel Maddow..and actively boycotting Walmart.

June 21, 2014

Meet Iraq's future president.

SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Jul-21-08 09:11 PM
Original message

Meet Iraq's future president.


سيد مقتدى ...



Hojatoleslam Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr


Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr or Moktada al Sadr (سيد مقتدى الصدر Muqtadā aṣ-Ṣadr)

(born August 12, 1973) is an Iraqi theologian, political leader and militia commander.

Along with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and Abdul Aziz al-Hakim of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, Sadr is one of the most influential religious and political figures in the country not holding any official title in the Iraqi government.

Muqtada al-Sadr is the fourth son of a famous Iraqi Shi‘a cleric, the late Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr. He is also the son-in-law of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir As-Sadr.

Muqtada al-Sadr is of Lebanese ancestry. His great-grandfather is Ismail as-Sadr. Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, Muqtada al-Sadr's father, was a well-respected figure throughout the Shi'a Islamic world.

He was murdered, along with two of his sons, allegedly by the government of Saddam Hussein. Some do believe it was an inside job ordered in February 1999 from Najaf, the stronghold of the al-Sadr clan. Muqtada's father-in-law was executed by the Iraqi authorities in 1980. Muqtada is a cousin of the absented Imam Moussa as-Sadr, the Iranian-Lebanese founder of the popular Amal Movement

snip....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muqtada_al-Sadr

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

Anyone who thinks that al Maliki or anyone even remotely LIKE him, will end up running the show effectively, is dreaming..


al Sadr's army has been on vacation, since the surge started. Why would he want to waste his resources and men during a beefing-up of American military?

Middle easterners measure time by the thousands' of years, they are patient, and they never forget an affront.

They are keeping score, and patiently going through the motions, because they know sooner or later we WILL leave, and once we are downsized or gone, al Sadr will step up and claim Iraq for his own...

The people will support him, and the ones who don't will be "dealt with"..

We are currently tidying up the Green Zone for his eventual occupation, and he knows it.. If you planned to steal a classic car, it would be smart to wait until it's completely restored, before you steal it

June 18, 2014

Obama needs to airlift an emergency commission on Iraq

consisting of:

Lindsey Graham, John McCain, Wolfowitz, Cheney,George Will, Laura Ingraham, Rush Limbaugh, Mitt Romney..

Add yours to the list..

These patriots could be airlifted there so they could "help" our dear friends there preserve the freedom we gave them..

Since Mittens loves to run things, he can be the CEO..Johnny Bomb-em can head op the military angle. Lindsey could run around saying "Ahh do declay-uh", fanning himself to keep from swooning..

June 13, 2014

The only thing that holds a fake country together is a dictator

When the dictator is deposed or dies, civil war usually follows. It sucks, but that's just the way it is.

We keep getting entangled in these messes, and just end up with everyone hating us in the end (they never really end, as long as people with memory are alive..and even beyond that).

Unfortunately, the Middle East is an artificial construct, made by westerners with maps & pencils. These countries have no long-term history of democracy, and do not readily embrace it, because their factions are based on religion.This present danger in the Middle East is one that needs to be "solved" by neighbors of the similar sects, and what shakes out at the end is what we have.

Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan need to step up and solve the problem that's on THEIR borders.

This is what hyper-religiosity brings.. chaos & death..

We need to stay OUT of it...was never should have meddled in the first place, and our 10 year adventure only made it worse now.

June 11, 2014

Cantor will land on his feet

Watch for him to get a gig at Fox...and then mosey into some Richie Rich Think Tank/Lobby outfit, and then he'll run for the senate seat that's up in 2018..

Guys like him always manage to ratchet themselves up to bigger & better.

June 1, 2014

The Bergdahls could not find it in their hearts to thank

the president during their news conference.. AJ News played the whole thing..They did manage to thank the "biker dudes & dudettes".. as well as all of their military people who have adviced them..but not a word of thanks for the president..

I know they were nervous, but I found that a bit odd..

May 31, 2014

Forgiveness of college debt + VA loan eligibility

That's how the VA gets all the doctors they need....and has a NEW waiting list..of young DOCTORS..

They get neither benefit until they have completed their 6 year stint with the VA.

Their debts are "frozen in place" until they complete their 6 year "tour".

Even though they are paid less than they would make in a different system, they do not have to pay any loans

May 26, 2014

Unfortunately, there is no "nice" way to prevent massacres

Every parent who has a "weird boy" (yes..they DO tend to be male), KNOWS their son is "off". These parents so desperately want their kid to be "normal", that they move heaven and earth to mainstream these kids into "normal school". What they are doing (in many cases), is throwing that boy into situations he cannot handle, and providing "prey" for the bullies who eagerly await every "new one".

Every parent knows that it's not "normal" for a kid to have no friends, yet this is usually a marker that these shooters have in common.

Kids have an innate sense of "weirdness", and will either shun that person, or will attack them.

Parents desperately hope that this is a phase, and that with mainstreaming, these boys will "snap out of it" and will become "normal".. This rarely happens.

There needs to be a new category of schooling created especially for these kids. They do not belong in "regular school" . Somewhere around 4th grade (as hormones kick in), their life becomes a living hell, and the more clever ones set out plotting their revenge. What starts out as just-going-to-school, turns into 7 to 8 years of a nightmare existence, often followed by anti-social behavior.

Mental health care costs a LOT, and many families cannot afford it, and even when a family can, we know there are ways to "do the counseling" while shielding the true angst these boys feel.

Perhaps a more gentle approach to teaching these boys the skills they need , so they can exist in the world, is needed. It could be home-schooling, or putting them into specialized schools where they could be taught the necessary subjects, but could be shielded from the daily taunting.

We live in a coarse, violent society, and what we are doing now, does not seem to be working.

As more and more "socially inept" kids arrive on the planet, this will be a worsening problem.

Schools will NEVER end "bullying", no matter how many assemblies they have, no matter how many detentions they hand out. Vulnerable, weak, kids will always be targets.

Schools are so large these days, and parents so "occupied", that episodes often are not even handled until it's been going on for a long time..

And of course, ANY child with any sort of anti-social behavior should always be closely monitored, no matter their age..and they should NEVER interact with weapons of any kind. Most are docile, but the ones who are not, can do great damage.

The kid in SB had too much money, too much anger, and too little supervision.

Media tells us that his parents tried, and I'm sure they thought they did, but that kid should never have been "on his own".

It sucks majorly that parents cannot launch these kids into society like most of us do with our kids, but if they want them to live, and if they want to protect others from potential mayhem, they must keep that grown up child with them , and must do whatever is necessary to keep them supervised at all times.

But of course, since we live in the YOOOESSAAAY, we will wring our hands, put out the candles & teddy bears, and do nothing..

May 23, 2014

Schweitzer & Warren ...Hmmmmm

That would be something else..

He speaks Arabic..has lived in the Middle East (Libya)..He's a plain-spoken guy..and he's very tall (yes, it's silly, but height matters)

Warren's senate seat would be safe in 2016, and if he chose another, she would be an excellent choice for Sec of Treas..