July 21, 2014

Hillary: 'I would consider Constitutional Amendment-If no other way to deal with Citizen's United'

"I would consider supporting an amendment among these lines that would prevent the abuse of our political system by excessive amounts of money if there is no other way to deal with the Citizen's United decision.


MON JUL 21, 2014 AT 03:25 PM PDT
Hillary's short statement on overturning Citizen's United via Const. Amendment
by Jeremimi

Hillary did a very short Q&A on Facebook as part of her promo for her new memoir.

I posed the question:

"Would you support a Constitutional Amendment overturning the Supreme Court's "Citizen's United" ruling, limiting the amount of money corporations and outside influences can contribute to political campaigns?"

My question received the most likes by other users. She answered:

"I would consider supporting an amendment among these lines that would prevent the abuse of our political system by excessive amounts of money if there is no other way to deal with the Citizen's United decision. -Hillary"

I believe I am the first person to get her on record on this issue. I'm happy she answered it, but slightly concerned about her word 'consider'.

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https://www.facebook.com/hillaryclintonbook/posts/622957164479061?comment_id=622957527812358&offset=0&total_comments=402
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/21/1315624/-Hillary-s-short-statement-on-overturning-Citizen-s-United-via-Const-Amendment

Source: https://www.facebook.com/...

July 21, 2014

John Oliver Calls Out America's Racist, Broken Prison System: 'We Are Doing A Terrible Job'

One of the things I like about Oliver's new show is that he's taking on issues that rarely get any any attention --- anywhere. And because he has the time to really dig in, he's able to make them entertaining and informative.

Our prison system is an atrocity, it truly is. The numbers of prisoners alone should ring alarm bells with anyone who has a sense of justice. In fact, it's so bad and the problems so huge that it seems overwhelming. But we have to do something about this and oddly enough there may even be some help from the far right on it. There's always a chance that these civil liberties and criminal justice issues have a small overlap there that could make a difference.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-horror-of-americas-prisons-in-20.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/21/john-oliver-broken-prison-system-last-week-tonight_n_5605366.html

July 21, 2014

Netanyahu Does NOT Speak For Me...

SUN JUL 20, 2014 AT 09:20 PM PDT
Not in My Name, Netanyahu
by David Harris Gershon


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

No, he does not speak for me.

When Netanyahu said on CNN that Palestinians benefit from "telegenically dead" civilians killed by Israel, that images of carnage helped Hamas because journalists would then ask about Israel's actions, he did not speak for me.


A doctor cries while standing among the bodies of dead children at Shifa Hospital's overflowing morgue. (Note: journalists have captured countless disturbing images today, though I've chosen not to show them here.)



When he said that Palestinians "don't give any thought" about their children or their welfare, and that Palestinians use their children as though they are inanimate objects, he did not speak for me.


"Palestinian women react during the funeral of four boys, all from the Bakr family, killed during Israeli shelling, in Gaza City." Image via Time.



When Netanyahu blames Palestinians for their own deaths, dismissing them as "human shields" – including the over 100 children who have been lost – rather than note Israel's choice to obliterate homes in dense, urban areas when it's known innocents will die, he does not speak for me.

When Netanyahu dehumanizes Palestinians by saying their society celebrates death, whereas my people, Jewish Israelis, only celebrate life – while sending soldiers to war after calling for vengeance – he does not speak for me.



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Author's Note:

As a preemptive strike, let me also say this, since the original post was directed toward Israeli policy and Netanyahu: I view Hamas as culpable as well for the firing of crude rockets into Israel (itself abhorrent), and for putting civilians in danger by provoking military responses Israel is currently eager to make.

Perhaps I can sum up my views in this way:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/21/1315291/-Not-in-My-Name-Mr-Netanyahu

July 21, 2014

Ted Cruz: Here's your teddy bear, kid. Now get out.

Compassionate Conservative Ted Cruz Hands Out Teddy Bears At The Border, Then Moves On To Deporting Dreamers - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/compassionate-conservative-ted-cruz-hands-out-teddy-bears-border-then-moves-deporting-dreame#sthash.sOWysVof.L0Keb5pJ.dpuf



"Here's your teddy bear, kid. Now get out."

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http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/compassionate-conservative-ted-cruz-hands-out-teddy-bears-border-then-moves-deporting-dreame
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/21/1315606/-Here-s-your-teddy-bear-kid-Now-get-out

July 21, 2014

Memo Reveals Rahm Emanuel Advised President Clinton To Achieve ‘Record Deportations’

Part of the memo also included Emanuel’s analysis of how Democrats could handle the GOP on issues of crime:

Since Nixon’s Law and Order campaign, crime has been a staple in the GOP platform. Over the past four years, your policies have redefined the issue and allowed Democrats to achieve parity. The question you now face is how do we build on the last four years?

The answer to the question from Emanuel was to offer the spectacle of record deportations of those suspected of being criminal aliens along with 10,000 additional “anti-violent gang” prosecutors. Rahm said the 10,000 number was a useful corollary to the 100,00 number of new police officers cited in the 1994 Crime Bill.




http://news.firedoglake.com/2014/07/21/memo-reveals-rahm-emanuel-advised-president-clinton-to-achieve-record-deportations/

July 21, 2014

WAR IS HELL - it should make everyone cry.

Covering the violent scene in Gaza has proven difficult for even the most seasoned reporters.

Al Jazeera's Gaza correspondent Wael Al-Dahdouh walked off camera on Sunday while reporting on the dozens of people killed and thousands of Shijaiyah residents forced to flee their homes as Israeli aircraft continued to target the area. Al-Dahdouh is an award-winning journalist and has covered the conflicts in his hometown for years.

Despite his experience, he could not hide his emotions while reporting on the 87 Palestinians who lost their lives Sunday.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/21/al-jazeera-reporter-gaza-wael-dahdouh-shijaiyah_n_5605185.html

July 21, 2014

Cartoon: "Breaking news" - byTom Tomorrow

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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/21/1315077/-Cartoon-Breaking-news

July 21, 2014

"Shame"

http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/malaysian_airliner_20140719

July 20, 2014

The pro-Russian separatists are paranoid beyond belief

Wait for the punchline at the end of this:

July 20, 2014

Morons --- "If you arm one, you have to arm them all. Otherwise, it isn't good sport."

BLOWN OUT OF THE SKY
By Charles P. Pierce on July 18, 2014

Just shut up, please.

Mr. McCain said that Mr. Obama is running a "cowardly administration that failed to give the Ukrainians weapons with which to defend themselves."

More guns. More war. That's what we need.

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

I often refer to the scene featuring the great character actor Philip Bosco, as a judge in the small upstate New York town that is the setting for the vastly underrated Paul Newman movie Nobody's Fool. Newman is before the judge because he has punched a local cop -- played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman -- and, in response, the cop had fired off a warning shot that frightened an old woman a few blocks over. Bosco listens to the story and then addresses the police chief. "You know my views on arming morons," Bosco says. "If you arm one, you have to arm them all. Otherwise, it isn't good sport."

It is becoming plain that the atrocity visited on the Malaysian jetliner is a direct result of arming morons. The New York Times obtained audiotape, allegedly from the people who shot down the plane, and these guys sound like they shouldn't be trusted with a lemon zester, let alone a surface-to-air missile. And it is quite plain that the one thing this situation doesn't need is to arm more morons, or to have another superpower come bungling in. Either by accident or by design -- and Josh Marshall is right to point out that, if it's the former, that's infinitely worse -- Vladimir Putin is responsible for a horrendous crime, and one that weakens his international standing. The only thing that would bail him out would be a flood of American arms to our own set of morons. The only thing that would bail him out would be if we all started listening to John McCain again.


the rest:
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/The_Ukraine_Atrocity_Day_Two