kpete
kpete's JournalGod: Dear Ted Cruz
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https://twitter.com/Bipartisanism/status/580423161566654465
Legislators move against mass surveillance
Source: The Hill
Nearly two years after Edward Snowden’s sensational revelations about the scope of the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance programs targeting the communications of Americans, Congress has yet to pass legislation to end those programs. Two House lawmakers have just offered a bill to do just that.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) are the House sponsors of the Surveillance State Repeal Act, a bill which would not only end the mass surveillance laws currently on the books (the PATRIOT Act and the FISA Amendments Act), but also prevent the federal government from forcing tech companies to build NSA-exploitable flaws into smartphones, tablets, WiFi routers, and other devices. This so-called “back door” issue has become a major political controversy ever since FBI Director James Comey publicly criticized companies like Apple for building high-quality encryption into applications like iMessage. Privacy and security experts are in broad agreement that sound encryption is an essential privacy and online commerce tool, and the bill would prohibit the federal government from forcing companies to make products with defective encryption.
The bill would dramatically strengthen whistleblower protections for federal intelligence agency employees and contractors. This portion of the bill was inspired by the searing experience of former NSA senior official Thomas Drake, who, a decade before Edward Snowden came on the scene, attempted to alert Congressional investigators and the Defense Department’s own inspector general of waste, fraud and abuse. Despite complying with all laws and regulations for reporting such abuse, Drake was wrongfully prosecuted by the Justice Department. The bill would make this kind of retaliation a firing offence.
The SSRA would also improve congressional oversight of surveillance activities by mandating Government Accountability Office compliance audits to ensure that previously collected data on Americans is destroyed unless an American is the subject of an ongoing federal investigation.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/civil-rights/236641-legislate-against-big-brother
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Robert Reich: College admissions are affirmative action for the rich
TUESDAY, MAR 24, 2015 01:00 AM PDT
Robert Reich: College admissions are affirmative action for the rich
The former secretary of labor debunks one of the longest running myths about higher education
Parents are also uptight. I’ve heard of some who have stopped socializing with other parents of children competing for admission to the same university.
With inequality at record levels and almost all the economic gains going to the top, there’s more pressure than ever to get the golden ring.
.................
So parents who can afford it are paying grotesque sums to give their kids an edge.
They “enhance” their kid’s resumes with such things as bassoon lessons, trips to preserve the wildlife in Botswana, internships at the Atlantic Monthly.
They hire test preparation coaches. They arrange for consultants to help their children write compelling essays on college applications.
They make generous contributions to the elite colleges they once attended, to which their kids are applying – colleges that give extra points to “legacies” and even more to those from wealthy families that donate tons of money.
You might call this affirmative action for the rich.
http://www.salon.com/2015/03/24/robert_reich_college_doesnt_guarantee_a_middle_class_life_partner/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow
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---UPDATE---
ROBERT REICH WILL NOT RUN FOR PRESIDENT, NOT YET.....
Robert Reich
2 hrs ·
I appreciate the encouraging words from those of you urging me to run, but I'm way too short, too outspoken, and too unwilling to kiss wealthy posteriors to be a viable candidate. But if Elizabeth Warren remains adamantly opposed to entering the race, and if neither Hillary Clinton nor any other Democratic aspirant is willing to talk about the gross misallocation of income, wealth, and power in America -- and advocate resurrecting Glass Steagall and busting up the big banks; opposing trade deals the are killing American workers and boosting corporate profits; making it easier to form unions; limiting CEO pay; raising the minimum wage wage to $15 an hour; raising taxes on the rich to pay for better schools and infrastructure for everyone else; raising the cap on income subject to the payroll tax; and reversing "Citizen's United" and getting big money out of politics -- then I will have to reconsider.
https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/posts/972792472733349
Ted Cruz: "I stopped listening to rock music after 9/11"
Ted Cruz: I stopped listening to rock music after 9/11By KENDALL BREITMAN 3/24/15 12:16 PM EDT
Ted Cruz is
In an interview with “CBS This Morning,” the Texas senator told his TV hosts that he “grew up listening to classic rock,” but that soon changed.
“My music taste changed on 9/11,” Cruz said.
“I actually intellectually find this very curious, but on 9/11, I didn’t like how rock music responded,” he said. “And country music, collectively, the way they responded, it resonated with me.”
Cruz’s comments came during a lightning round of interviews the morning after he announced his candidacy for president in 2016 in a John Lennon-inspired, “Imagine”-themed speech.
Cruz did not mention any specific country music that resonated with him, and did not mention which rock artists did not respond well to the terror attacks.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/ted-cruz-rock-music-116353.html#ixzz3VJxnkqef
New Study Confirms (Once Again) - Republican States Are MORE Dependent On Government
Republican-leaning states are a lot more dependent on the federal government than Democratic-leaning ones.
That's according to a recent analysis from the personal finance site WalletHub, which ranked states based on how much they rely on Uncle Sam to support their state finances. http://wallethub.com/edu/states-most-least-dependent-on-the-federal-government/2700/#barry-rabe
To calculate states' dependence, WalletHub analyzed three metrics: how much a state gets in federal funding per every dollar it pays in federal income taxes, the percentage of state funding that comes from the federal government and the number of federal employees per capita, both military and civilian.
Check out the map below to see how dependent your home state is compared to the rest of the country. The most-dependent states are shaded white, and least-dependent states are shaded blue. A ranking of 1 indicates least-dependent, while 50 represents most-dependent.
MORE:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/24/most-dependent-states-in-the-us_n_6930634.html
American Terrorism: Georgia ‘patriot’ reportedly planted pipe bombs in park to sow fear of Muslims
FBI: Man who planted explosives at park wanted to be 'patriot'
According to the criminal complaint, Sibley confessed and:
"Stated he is a 'patriot' and he felt no one was paying attention to what was going on the world. Sibley felt if he placed the package in a Roswell park then people would finally get that this type of activity could happen anywhere."
Agents say they also found a copy of the Quran in the backpack and other items pointing to what Sibley called "soft targets," like the location of Atlanta’s Jewish community center.
"It’s just awful that somebody picks on somebody for no reason for whatever goes through their heads to drive them crazy," Schlesinger said.
More, plus video:
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/fbi-man-who-planted-explosives-park-wanted-be-patr/nkcz9/
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/georgia-patriot-reportedly-planted-pipe-bombs-in-park-to-sow-fear-of-muslims/
“I wish Reagan would rise from the dead and come back.” — Pat Robertson, on his television show
“I wish Reagan would rise from the dead and come back.”— Pat Robertson, on his television show The 700 Club, while noting President Obama “does not believe in America” and was mentored by “leftists who don’t really love this country.”
“He believed in America, he believed in fundamental values and he wasn’t ashamed to enunciate them,” Robertson continued. “The current president does not believe in America, he does not believe in the fundamental values, he was raised in a different environment entirely and his mentors have been leftists who don’t really love this country."
LOL:
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/pat-robertson-i-wish-reagan-would-rise-dead-and-come-back
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Hillary Clinton embraces Obamacare at White House meeting with president
Former secretary of state tweets image of hug with Barack Obama in support of Affordable Care Act while Republican candidate Ted Cruz promises repeal#ACA@5: 16m covered. Young ppl. Preexisting conditions. Women get better coverage.
Repeal those things? Embrace them!
https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/580132218166726656
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/23/hillary-clinton-embraces-obamacare-white-house-meeting-barack-obama
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