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Hissyspit's JournalTom Tomorrow: Professor Droney
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The GOP Plan to Flush Your State’s Economy Down the Toilet
http://www.alternet.org/economy/gop-plan-flush-your-states-economy-down-toiletThe GOP Plan to Flush Your State’s Economy Down the Toilet
The new “red-state model” seeks to turn your state into Mississippi.
February 11, 2013 |
The GOP has plans for a comeback. But it may cost you a lot. The idea is to capitalize on recent Republican state takeovers to conduct an austerity experiment known as the new “red-state model” and prove that faulty policies can be turned into gold.
There will be smoke. There will be mirrors. And there will be a lot of ordinary people suffering needlessly in the wake of this ideological train wreck.
We already have a red-state model, and it’s called Mississippi. Or Texas. Or any number of states characterized by low public investment, worker abuse, environmental degradation, educational backwardness, high rates of unwanted pregnancy, poor health, and so on.
Now the GOP is determined to bring that horrible model to the rest of America.
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Republications have been eyeing the Tar Heel state with interest due to its recent swing status in presidential elections. The state was also the target of a gerrymandering strategy that worked out wonderfully for the Republicans, but not so well for democracy. Sam Wang, the founder of the Princeton Election Consortium, wrote recently in the New York Times about how Republican redistricting thwarted Democratic voters:
The lesson of North Carolina tells you that the GOP red-state model is based, first and foremost, on efforts to flagrantly disregard the will of the people. NC’s discount-store mogul Art Pope, a longtime GOP donor and champion of free-market fundamentalism, has been appointed state budget director by the new Republican governor, Pat McCrory. In an incredible display of money buying political influence, Pope has gone well beyond his donor-counterparts in other states. Instead of just funding the politicians he wants, he has gone for direct rule by occupying government himself. Tax repeal is the centerpiece of his announced plans, but his hatred of public investment means he has much more than that in store for one of the most progressive states in the South. Pope is said to be more powerful than the governor, giving rise to the term “Pope administration” to describe the new political reality.
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Support Grows for U.S. "Drone Court" to Review Lethal Strikes
Source: Reuters
Support grows for U.S. "drone court" to review lethal strikes
By Mark Hosenball
WASHINGTON | Fri Feb 8, 2013 7:27pm EST
(Reuters) - During a fresh round of debate this week over President Barack Obama's claim that he can unilaterally order lethal strikes by unmanned aircraft against U.S. citizens, some lawmakers proposed a middle ground: a special federal "drone court" that would approve suspected militants for targeting.
While the idea of a judicial review of such operations may be gaining political currency, multiple U.S. officials said on Friday that imminent action by the U.S. Congress or the White House to create one is unlikely. The idea is being actively considered, however, according to a White House official.
At Thursday's confirmation hearing for CIA director nominee John Brennan, senators discussed establishing a secret court or tribunal to rule on the validity of cases that U.S. intelligence agencies draw up for killing suspected militants using drones.
The court could be modeled on an existing court which examines applications for electronic eavesdropping on suspected spies or terrorists.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/09/us-usa-drones-idUSBRE91800B20130209
Keith Olbermann Just Tweeted This Photo of Manhattan...
https://www.twitter.com/KeithOlbermann/status/299993109511671808/photo/1"This picture is useful for what it doesn't show. Empire State Building ought to be dead center pic.twitter.com/8onjiqpL"
4:28pm - 8 Feb 13
Blizzard Begins to Wallop Northeastern U.S.
Source: Reuters
Blizzard begins to wallop northeastern U.S.
Fri Feb 8, 2013 1:26pm EST
By Scott Malone and Shannon Stapleton
BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - A blizzard blew into the northeastern United States on Friday, cutting short the workweek for millions who feared being stranded as state officials ordered roads closed ahead of what forecasters said could be record-setting snowfall.
Authorities scrambled to prepare for the storm, which had already resulted in a massive traffic pile-up in southern Maine and prompted organizers of the nation's sledding championship in Maine to postpone a race scheduled for Saturday, fearing too much snow for the competition.
From New York to Maine, the storm began gently, dropping a light dusting of snow, but officials urged residents to stay home, rather than risk getting stuck in deep drifts when the storm kicks up later Friday afternoon.
Even in its early stages, the storm created some panic. Drivers lined up at gas stations to top off their tanks, grocery stores were swamped as shoppers stocked up on bread and milk, and travelers were forced to confront flight delays and cancellations.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE91611P20130208
Blizzard Threatens NYC, New England; 2 Feet Feared
Source: CBS News
Blizzard threatens NYC, New England; 2 feet feared
February 07, 2013
BOSTON A blizzard of potentially historic proportions threatened to strike the Northeast with a vengeance Friday, with 1 to 2 feet of snow feared along the densely populated Interstate 95 corridor from the New York City area to Boston and beyond.
From Pennsylvania to Maine, people rushed to stock up on food, shovels and other supplies, and road crews readied salt and sand, halfway through what had been a merciful winter. Boston, Providence, R.I., Hartford, Conn., and other New England cities called off school on Friday, and airlines canceled more than 1,700 flights, with the disruptions certain to ripple across the U.S.
Forecasters said this could one for the record books.
"This one doesn't come along every day. This is going to be a dangerous winter storm," said Alan Dunham, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass. "Wherever you need to get to, get there by Friday afternoon and don't plan on leaving."
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57568289/blizzard-threatens-nyc-new-england-2-feet-feared
American Citizens Split On DOJ Memo Authorizing Government To Kill Them
http://www.theonion.com/articles/american-citizens-split-on-doj-memo-authorizing-go,31207American Citizens Split On DOJ Memo Authorizing Government To Kill Them
NEWS IN BRIEF • Politics • ISSUE 49•06 • Feb 7, 2013
WASHINGTON—Following the release of a secret Department of Justice memo this week that outlines the administration’s legal justification for killing U.S. citizens, a new Pew Research Center poll has revealed that a majority of Americans are torn over whether they support the government’s right to kill them anywhere at any time without due process.
“On the one hand, I get it—it’s important for the government to be able to murder me and any of my friends or family members whenever they please for reputed national security reasons. But on the other hand, it would kind of be nice to stay alive and have, maybe, a trial, actual evidence—stuff like that,” said visibly conflicted 39-year-old Nashua, NH resident Rebecca Sawyer, who, like millions of other Americans, is split over whether secret federal agents should be allowed to target and assassinate her anywhere on U.S. soil.
“I wouldn’t mind if federal officials blew up other citizens and claimed it was in the name of my safety. But it’s just that when it comes to me, I guess I’d rather not be slaughtered by my own elected officials on charges that never have to be validated by any accountable authority. This is tough.”
While most Americans expressed conflicted feelings regarding the memo, the poll also found that 28 percent of citizens were unequivocally in favor of being obliterated at any point, for any reason, in a massive airstrike.
Florida Judge Approves Birth Certificate Listing Three Parents
Source: Reuters
Florida judge approves birth certificate listing three parents
MIAMI | Thu Feb 7, 2013 6:35pm EST
By Kevin Gray
MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida judge has approved the adoption of a 22-month-old baby girl that will list three people as parents on her birth certificate -- a married lesbian couple and a gay man.
The decision ends a two-year paternity fight between the couple and a friend of the women who donated his sperm to father the child but later sought a larger role in the girl's life.
The ruling means the child's birth certificate will include a biological father and both women as parents in an unusual arrangement approved recently by a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge.
The women, Maria Italiano, 43, and Cher Filippazzo, 38, had made several unsuccessful attempts to become parents using fertility clinics.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE91618L20130207
AP Source: Lawmakers to Get Cassified Drone Info
Source: Associated Press
AP source: Lawmakers to get classified drone info
Story Updated: Feb 6, 2013
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has directed the Justice Department to give Congress' intelligence committees access to classified information providing the legal rationale for drone strikes against American citizens working with al-Qaida abroad, a senior administration official said Wednesday.
Several lawmakers, led by Oregon's U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, have pressed the White House for more information on how decisions are made to target U.S. citizens abroad follow the release this week of an unclassified "white paper" that the Justice Department sent key lawmakers last year. The unclassified memo says it is legal for the government to kill U.S. citizens abroad if it believes they are senior al-Qaida leaders continually engaged in operations aimed at killing Americans.
The official said Obama made the decision to send lawmakers the classified rationale on Wednesday as part of his "commitment to consult with Congress on national security matters." Obama directed the Justice Department provide the Senate and House intelligence committees access to classified advice from its Office of Legal Counsel that the white paper is based on, the official said.
Legal opinions produced by Justice's legal counsel's office are interpretations of federal law that are binding on all executive branch agencies.
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Earlier Wednesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama was engaged in an internal process deliberation to determine how to balance the nation's security needs with its values. He said Obama was committed to providing more information to Congress, even as he refused to acknowledge whether the drone memo even existed.
Read more: http://www.katu.com/politics/AP-source-Lawmakers-to-get-classified-drone-info-190112431.html
Alabama Hostage Taker Jimmy Lee Dykes Died at Cops' Hands
Source: CBS News
Alabama hostage taker Jimmy Lee Dykes died at cops' hands
February 04, 2013
MIDLAND CITY, Ala. Authorities stormed an underground bunker in southeastern Alabama Monday, freeing a 5-year-old boy and shooting his captor to death after a week of fruitless negotiations that left authorities convinced the child was in imminent danger.
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CBS News correspondent John Miller told anchor Scott Pelley on the "CBS Evening News" Monday that law enforcement officers had killed Dykes.
Miller said authorities had been delivering items to Dykes during the standoff through Dykes' entrance to the bunker.
Miller said sources tell him authorities "created an opportunity (Monday), because he was getting more irrational -- he was handling the weapon, they say. (So) they created an opportunity to bring (Dykes) to that door to accept (a) delivery. Then they
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57567597/alabama-hostage-taker-jimmy-lee-dykes-died-at-cops-hands
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