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Segami
Segami's Journal
Segami's Journal
December 31, 2014
Letter: Bush would be bad presidential pick
Jeb Bush must not be our next president. We have unfinished business about the criminality of the 2003 Iraq War. Bringing war criminals to justice was not considered in 2009 because President Barack Obama, the new president, faced an historic financial crash that demanded his total attention. It was claimed in 2002 that Iraq was pursuing, and was a threat to its neighbors and us, with weapons of mass destruction, or WMDs. That was epitomized by the top members of the George W. Bush presidential administration in speaking of a mushroom cloud as a real possibility.
However, at that time the United Nations was engaged in inspections looking for WMDs and its programs, with the full cooperation of Saddam Hussein. While the inspections were in progress, there had been not a single finding of a WMD threat. That program could have been continued for months to completion, and we know now that it would not have found any WMDs or WMD programs. Bush, however, decided as president in March 2003 that it was time to go to war, probably dictated by his military with approaching summer weather. He told the inspectors to get out immediately, then bragged about “shock and awe” bombing of Baghdad and started the invasion of Iraq, beginning with the killing of many innocents.
It is enough now to know that inspections were going on, and no reason to doubt they could be concluded. Going to war to remove WMDs, at a time that we were free to continue to search for them, was insane. That war was totally unjustified, making our killing, beginning in 2003, a monumental case of mass murder. We should delay no more than to 2017 to seek criminal trials of those in the Bush Administration. If we were to have a brother of Bush in the White House at that time, that would almost certainly postpone indefinitely bringing these criminals to justice.
Victor J. Reilly
Aiken
http://www.aikenstandard.com/article/20141231/AIK0203/141239948/1018/AIK02/letter-bush-would-be-bad-presidential-pick
.
Letter: Jeb Bush MUST NOT BE Our Next President
Letter: Bush would be bad presidential pick
Jeb Bush must not be our next president. We have unfinished business about the criminality of the 2003 Iraq War. Bringing war criminals to justice was not considered in 2009 because President Barack Obama, the new president, faced an historic financial crash that demanded his total attention. It was claimed in 2002 that Iraq was pursuing, and was a threat to its neighbors and us, with weapons of mass destruction, or WMDs. That was epitomized by the top members of the George W. Bush presidential administration in speaking of a mushroom cloud as a real possibility.
However, at that time the United Nations was engaged in inspections looking for WMDs and its programs, with the full cooperation of Saddam Hussein. While the inspections were in progress, there had been not a single finding of a WMD threat. That program could have been continued for months to completion, and we know now that it would not have found any WMDs or WMD programs. Bush, however, decided as president in March 2003 that it was time to go to war, probably dictated by his military with approaching summer weather. He told the inspectors to get out immediately, then bragged about “shock and awe” bombing of Baghdad and started the invasion of Iraq, beginning with the killing of many innocents.
It is enough now to know that inspections were going on, and no reason to doubt they could be concluded. Going to war to remove WMDs, at a time that we were free to continue to search for them, was insane. That war was totally unjustified, making our killing, beginning in 2003, a monumental case of mass murder. We should delay no more than to 2017 to seek criminal trials of those in the Bush Administration. If we were to have a brother of Bush in the White House at that time, that would almost certainly postpone indefinitely bringing these criminals to justice.
Victor J. Reilly
Aiken
http://www.aikenstandard.com/article/20141231/AIK0203/141239948/1018/AIK02/letter-bush-would-be-bad-presidential-pick
.
December 30, 2014
Now what reason would they have to be attending David Duke's children's birthday parties?.......
Which Republican or Democratic Legislators Attended David Duke's
Children's Birthday Parties?
"...Overall, Duke was rather flabbergasted by the new focus on Scalise. He said he has hosted both Democratic and Republican legislators at everything from conferences to his children’s birthday parties. He said he has met with Democratic legislators at least 50 times in his political life...."
http://fusion.net/story/36233/steve-scalise-david-duke-euro/
http://fusion.net/story/36233/steve-scalise-david-duke-euro/
Now what reason would they have to be attending David Duke's children's birthday parties?.......
December 30, 2014
Why wait,.....release the names.
Former Ku Klux Klan leader, Louisiana state legislator and notorious white supremacist David Duke says he has lots of friends who are politicians and has offered to name names. In an interview with Fusion.net explaining his connection to current House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Duke said that he is exceptionally well-connected within the U.S. political class and that charges of racism against him are a product of the media’s “zionist” and “tribalist” mentality. Incoming Majority Whip Scalise has come under fire over a speaking engagement with Duke’s pro-white EURO (European-American Unity and Rights Organization) foundation in 2002.
According to Duke, the rush to repudiate Scalise and his possible white-nationalist sympathies is “all bullshit.”
According to Duke’s website, “the Zio media lies about [Duke] constantly” because “he is the only major American political figure who dares to stand up the real ultra-racists who control America and Israel, the Jewish supremacists.” Fusion pointed to an SPLC report on EURO that calls the organization a “paper tiger,” i.e., a shell group that mainly exists as a means for Duke to book speaking engagements and disseminate his writings on the “Zionist Globalism” plot to take over the world and dominate the global economy. Duke said that he is shocked at the “insane” amount of attention he and Scalise are getting.
He issued a warning to Democrats and Republicans who might try to ruin his friend’s career.
cont'
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/12/ex-kkk-leader-david-duke-lay-off-steve-scalise-or-ill-start-naming-other-pols-i-met-with/
EX-KKK leader David Duke: Lay Off Steve Scalise or I’LL START NAMING OTHER POLS I MET WITH
Why wait,.....release the names.
Former Ku Klux Klan leader, Louisiana state legislator and notorious white supremacist David Duke says he has lots of friends who are politicians and has offered to name names. In an interview with Fusion.net explaining his connection to current House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Duke said that he is exceptionally well-connected within the U.S. political class and that charges of racism against him are a product of the media’s “zionist” and “tribalist” mentality. Incoming Majority Whip Scalise has come under fire over a speaking engagement with Duke’s pro-white EURO (European-American Unity and Rights Organization) foundation in 2002.
According to Duke, the rush to repudiate Scalise and his possible white-nationalist sympathies is “all bullshit.”
“I’ve grown up” since his days as a Grand Wizard of the Klan, Duke told Fusion’s Brett Logiurato via phone. “And I know who the real racists are.”
http://fusion.net/story/36233/steve-scalise-david-duke-euro/
http://fusion.net/story/36233/steve-scalise-david-duke-euro/
According to Duke’s website, “the Zio media lies about [Duke] constantly” because “he is the only major American political figure who dares to stand up the real ultra-racists who control America and Israel, the Jewish supremacists.” Fusion pointed to an SPLC report on EURO that calls the organization a “paper tiger,” i.e., a shell group that mainly exists as a means for Duke to book speaking engagements and disseminate his writings on the “Zionist Globalism” plot to take over the world and dominate the global economy. Duke said that he is shocked at the “insane” amount of attention he and Scalise are getting.
“Why is Scalise being singled out? I don’t know,” he said. “He was just going [to the EURO conference], obviously, to tell voters about some of his initiatives on some tax matters. That’s what it’s all about. And I think it’s insane, this whole process.”
He issued a warning to Democrats and Republicans who might try to ruin his friend’s career.
“If Scalise is going to be crucified — if Republicans want to throw Steve Scalise to the woods, then a lot of them better be looking over their shoulders,” Duke warned, intimating that he would reveal his ties to any politicians who attack Scalise.
cont'
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/12/ex-kkk-leader-david-duke-lay-off-steve-scalise-or-ill-start-naming-other-pols-i-met-with/
December 30, 2014
Did you say "Did Not Break" you??...............ya right.....buh-bye.......
Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) confirmed late Monday that he would resign from Congress effective Jan. 5, in the wake of pleading guilty to tax evasion. The New York Daily News first reported that Grimm, who originally refused to resign after his guilty plea, changed his mind after meeting with House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).
Read his full statement below:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/michael-grimm-confirms-resignation
GRIMM: My Decision To Quit Was 'Difficult' But 'DID NOT BREAK' Me
Did you say "Did Not Break" you??...............ya right.....buh-bye.......
Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) confirmed late Monday that he would resign from Congress effective Jan. 5, in the wake of pleading guilty to tax evasion. The New York Daily News first reported that Grimm, who originally refused to resign after his guilty plea, changed his mind after meeting with House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).
Read his full statement below:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/michael-grimm-confirms-resignation
December 30, 2014
Looks like Grimm the felon got broken into a million pieces........
Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) plans to resign from Congress in the wake of pleading guilty to tax evasion, according to The New York Daily News. Grimm, who was easily reelected in November, initially said he would not resign from Congress over the tax changes but, according to the Daily News, he decided to change course after speaking with House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) on Monday. Grimm will announce his resignation on Tuesday or Wednesday, according to the Daily News.
In April, Grimm was charged with 20 felony counts related to his alleged involvement in trying to hide $1 million in wages and sales at the restaurant he helped run before Congress. He was also charged with hiring illegal immigrants. But last Tuesday Grimm only pleaded to a single count of tax evasion. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) will have to call a special election to fill Grimm’s seat as a result of Grimm’s decision. Grimm also made national headlines when he threatened to throw a NY1 reporter off a balcony. He told the reporter “I will break you in half.”
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/michael-grimm-resign-tuesday-wednesday-congress
Report: REP.GRIMM TO RESIGN After Meeting With Speaker Boehner
Looks like Grimm the felon got broken into a million pieces........
Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) plans to resign from Congress in the wake of pleading guilty to tax evasion, according to The New York Daily News. Grimm, who was easily reelected in November, initially said he would not resign from Congress over the tax changes but, according to the Daily News, he decided to change course after speaking with House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) on Monday. Grimm will announce his resignation on Tuesday or Wednesday, according to the Daily News.
"...Grimm said during that campaign that he would resign his seat if a conviction left him "unable to serve." Although he could have a last-minute change of heart, sources said Monday he realizes his position is untenable.
Grimm's resignation will mean Gov. Cuomo has to call a special election to fill the seat..."
http://www.nydailynews.com/michael-grimm-reportedly-decided-resign-congress-article-1.2060152
Grimm's resignation will mean Gov. Cuomo has to call a special election to fill the seat..."
http://www.nydailynews.com/michael-grimm-reportedly-decided-resign-congress-article-1.2060152
In April, Grimm was charged with 20 felony counts related to his alleged involvement in trying to hide $1 million in wages and sales at the restaurant he helped run before Congress. He was also charged with hiring illegal immigrants. But last Tuesday Grimm only pleaded to a single count of tax evasion. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) will have to call a special election to fill Grimm’s seat as a result of Grimm’s decision. Grimm also made national headlines when he threatened to throw a NY1 reporter off a balcony. He told the reporter “I will break you in half.”
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/michael-grimm-resign-tuesday-wednesday-congress
December 30, 2014
When hundreds of cops from around the country and as far away as Canada turned their backs on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio during the funeral of Officer Rafael Ramos, the NYPD officer shot to death alongside his partner Wenjian Liu by a deranged gunman, they fired the first salvo in a carefully coordinated political operation aimed at discrediting the liberal mayor and shattering the ongoing anti-police brutality protest movement. AlterNet has obtained emails revealing plans to organize a series of anti-de Blasio protests around the city until the summer of 2015. Billed as a non-partisan movement in support of “the men and women of the NYPD,” the protests are being orchestrated by a cast of NYPD union bosses and local Republican activists allied with Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor who recently called on de Blasio to “say you’re sorry to [NYPD officers] for having created a false impression of them.” The first rally is planned to take place at Queens Borough Hall at noon on January 13.
Joe Concannon, a failed Republican State Senate candidate and current president of the Tea Party-aligned Queens Village Republican Club, is the main organizer of the burgeoning anti-de Blasio protest effort. The retired NYPD captain and former Giuliani advisor is a close ally of Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch. Lynch generated national headlines — and cheers from rank and file cops — when he claimed that de Blasio “has blood on [his] hands” just hours after Ismaaiyl Brinsley murdered Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu. In an email exchange with a supporter, Concannon said he and his allies had filed papers to found a non-profit to fund the anti-de Blasio campaign. The January 13 Queens demonstration would be among the largest, according to Concannon. Major rallies in March in Breezy Point, Queens and at City Hall were also in the works, he said. In a separate email dated December 26 and titled, “Support Your Police rallies,” Concannon declared the onset of a campaign he dubbed Operation All Out. “Everyone MUST get out and support these fine men and women,” he implored several NYPD associates. Jack Coughlin, the treasurer of the NYPD Superior Officers Association, responded by proposing “a rally held in Breezy Point in March when the weather will be better [that] could attract thousands of pro-cop supporters to counter the professional anti-cop organizers.” Coughlin went on to urge Concannon to pressure Republican representatives Peter King and Lee Zeldin and NY GOP State Chairman Ed Cox to “get the House Homeland Committee to hold public hearings on who's financing Al Sharpton's anti-cop protest.”
National Police Defense Foundation executive director Joseph Occhipinti chimed in to offer help in coordinating the demonstrations. “I would suggest that everything go through the [Patrick Lynch’s Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association] for any organized protests,” he added. A former agent of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Occhipinti was convicted in 1991 of conducting illegal searches and narrowly escaped jail time for allegedly stealing $16,000 from his victims. When the US attorney who secured his conviction, Jeh Johnson, was appointed by Obama to direct the Department of Homeland Security last year, Occhipinti rushed to the right-wing writer Charles C. Johnson to complain. The anger coursing through the ranks of the NYPD is driving union bosses like Lynch to ratchet up their rhetoric against the mayor. Lynch is up for election soon and seems desperate to channel the resentment of his constituents. Meanwhile, Republican operatives see a chance to do fatal damage to a rising Democratic star and close Clinton ally by resurrecting the kind of racial backlash politics that won them urban white votes during the Nixon era. Not since the early 1970s, when liberal mayor John Lindsay presided over a politically chaotic and crime-ridden New York, has a mayor been so reviled by the NYPD. With an African-American wife with a history of liberal activism and a biracial son who played a pivotal role in his campaign for mayor, de Blasio has become, at least for some cops, a symbol of everything they despise about the city they patrol. On a semi-private chat forum, they regularly hold forth with racist tirades against him and his family.
~snip~
From #TurnYourBack to Operation All Out
At the Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn where Ramos and Liu were pronounced dead on December 20, the PBA and Sergeants Benevolent Association received word that de Blasio was on his way. It was the police union bosses’ chance to embrace the raw rage of the beat cops they represented. When the mayor arrived, proceeding down a long hallway past a line of officers, the cops turned their backs to him in a show of total contempt. “That blood on the hands starts on the steps of City Hall in the office of the mayor,” the PBA’s Lynch proclaimed afterwards. “When these funerals are over, those responsible will be called on the carpet and held accountable.” The following day, actor James Woods seized on the protest to popularize a hashtag on Twitter: #TurnYourBack. Woods’ first tweet, published just hours after the spontaneous protest took place, has been retweeted more than 2500 times. Woods is one of the Tea Party right's favorite celebrities and happens to be a friend and golfing partner of Rudy Giuliani. In fact, Woods played the former NYC mayor in the forgotten post-9/11 biopic, Rudy. “I fought tooth and nail to portray him as the genuine hero that I unequivocally believe him to be,” Woods said at the time. With help from Woods and Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post and Fox News Channel, where Giuliani blamed the Mayor for “bringing [police protests] on himself,” the NYPD’s war on de Blasio became a flashpoint for the national partisan battle. The stage was set for an epic rebuke of de Blasio. Nearly 700 cops from around the country and Canada descended on New York City for the December 27 funeral of the murdered officer Rafael Ramos, taking advantage of an offer from Jet Blue of free flights to the memorial. Among those represented at the ceremony were members of the Albuquerque Police Department, a scandal-stained force with the highest rate of shootings of unarmed civilians in the country.
cont'
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/exposed-how-republicans-and-cops-are-teaming-take-down-deblasio
Exposed: How Republicans and Cops Are TEAMING UP To TAKE DOWN DeBLASIO
Emails and shocking police chat threads expose a racially charged plot against the NYC mayor and the anti-police brutality movement.
When hundreds of cops from around the country and as far away as Canada turned their backs on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio during the funeral of Officer Rafael Ramos, the NYPD officer shot to death alongside his partner Wenjian Liu by a deranged gunman, they fired the first salvo in a carefully coordinated political operation aimed at discrediting the liberal mayor and shattering the ongoing anti-police brutality protest movement. AlterNet has obtained emails revealing plans to organize a series of anti-de Blasio protests around the city until the summer of 2015. Billed as a non-partisan movement in support of “the men and women of the NYPD,” the protests are being orchestrated by a cast of NYPD union bosses and local Republican activists allied with Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor who recently called on de Blasio to “say you’re sorry to [NYPD officers] for having created a false impression of them.” The first rally is planned to take place at Queens Borough Hall at noon on January 13.
Joe Concannon, a failed Republican State Senate candidate and current president of the Tea Party-aligned Queens Village Republican Club, is the main organizer of the burgeoning anti-de Blasio protest effort. The retired NYPD captain and former Giuliani advisor is a close ally of Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch. Lynch generated national headlines — and cheers from rank and file cops — when he claimed that de Blasio “has blood on [his] hands” just hours after Ismaaiyl Brinsley murdered Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu. In an email exchange with a supporter, Concannon said he and his allies had filed papers to found a non-profit to fund the anti-de Blasio campaign. The January 13 Queens demonstration would be among the largest, according to Concannon. Major rallies in March in Breezy Point, Queens and at City Hall were also in the works, he said. In a separate email dated December 26 and titled, “Support Your Police rallies,” Concannon declared the onset of a campaign he dubbed Operation All Out. “Everyone MUST get out and support these fine men and women,” he implored several NYPD associates. Jack Coughlin, the treasurer of the NYPD Superior Officers Association, responded by proposing “a rally held in Breezy Point in March when the weather will be better [that] could attract thousands of pro-cop supporters to counter the professional anti-cop organizers.” Coughlin went on to urge Concannon to pressure Republican representatives Peter King and Lee Zeldin and NY GOP State Chairman Ed Cox to “get the House Homeland Committee to hold public hearings on who's financing Al Sharpton's anti-cop protest.”
National Police Defense Foundation executive director Joseph Occhipinti chimed in to offer help in coordinating the demonstrations. “I would suggest that everything go through the [Patrick Lynch’s Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association] for any organized protests,” he added. A former agent of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Occhipinti was convicted in 1991 of conducting illegal searches and narrowly escaped jail time for allegedly stealing $16,000 from his victims. When the US attorney who secured his conviction, Jeh Johnson, was appointed by Obama to direct the Department of Homeland Security last year, Occhipinti rushed to the right-wing writer Charles C. Johnson to complain. The anger coursing through the ranks of the NYPD is driving union bosses like Lynch to ratchet up their rhetoric against the mayor. Lynch is up for election soon and seems desperate to channel the resentment of his constituents. Meanwhile, Republican operatives see a chance to do fatal damage to a rising Democratic star and close Clinton ally by resurrecting the kind of racial backlash politics that won them urban white votes during the Nixon era. Not since the early 1970s, when liberal mayor John Lindsay presided over a politically chaotic and crime-ridden New York, has a mayor been so reviled by the NYPD. With an African-American wife with a history of liberal activism and a biracial son who played a pivotal role in his campaign for mayor, de Blasio has become, at least for some cops, a symbol of everything they despise about the city they patrol. On a semi-private chat forum, they regularly hold forth with racist tirades against him and his family.
~snip~
From #TurnYourBack to Operation All Out
At the Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn where Ramos and Liu were pronounced dead on December 20, the PBA and Sergeants Benevolent Association received word that de Blasio was on his way. It was the police union bosses’ chance to embrace the raw rage of the beat cops they represented. When the mayor arrived, proceeding down a long hallway past a line of officers, the cops turned their backs to him in a show of total contempt. “That blood on the hands starts on the steps of City Hall in the office of the mayor,” the PBA’s Lynch proclaimed afterwards. “When these funerals are over, those responsible will be called on the carpet and held accountable.” The following day, actor James Woods seized on the protest to popularize a hashtag on Twitter: #TurnYourBack. Woods’ first tweet, published just hours after the spontaneous protest took place, has been retweeted more than 2500 times. Woods is one of the Tea Party right's favorite celebrities and happens to be a friend and golfing partner of Rudy Giuliani. In fact, Woods played the former NYC mayor in the forgotten post-9/11 biopic, Rudy. “I fought tooth and nail to portray him as the genuine hero that I unequivocally believe him to be,” Woods said at the time. With help from Woods and Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post and Fox News Channel, where Giuliani blamed the Mayor for “bringing [police protests] on himself,” the NYPD’s war on de Blasio became a flashpoint for the national partisan battle. The stage was set for an epic rebuke of de Blasio. Nearly 700 cops from around the country and Canada descended on New York City for the December 27 funeral of the murdered officer Rafael Ramos, taking advantage of an offer from Jet Blue of free flights to the memorial. Among those represented at the ceremony were members of the Albuquerque Police Department, a scandal-stained force with the highest rate of shootings of unarmed civilians in the country.
cont'
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/exposed-how-republicans-and-cops-are-teaming-take-down-deblasio
December 29, 2014
New Jerseyans are being hoodwinked by Christie.......What are they going to do about it?........
Passed by the state Senate by a vote of 21-16, The Water Infrastructure Protection Act would give local municipalities the power to unilaterally sell their water lines if they are deemed to be deteriorating. Unfortunately, the definition of deterioration in the bill is so broad that virtually all the water systems currently under public control would qualify to be put up for sale. Most egregiously, the bill would kill a current law on the books that requires the permission of voters before any such sales of water systems can take place. If Christie signs the bill on his desk, voters will no longer have that say and would have to gather enough signatures on a petition to force a vote. “This is such a bad deal for the citizens of New Jersey,” State Senator Bob Smith said of the bill. “This is crazy… just giving away our water supply.” Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, agrees:
Supporters of the bill, on the other hand, claim that private investment is necessary to fix the aging water infrastructure that has been neglected for years. Of course, Chris Christie has gone to great lengths to make sure that state and local departments were unable to do their jobs to maintain the water infrastructure. According to a report by Aljazeera America:
In short, Christie slashed the funding that would have otherwise been used to fix public water systems, thus manufacturing the appearance that corporations are needed to step in an solve the problems. If corporations are allowed to take over the water supply, New Jersey residents will pay dearly. The bill further “allows companies to factor the purchase price of the systems into the rates they charge customers, meaning taxpayers could ultimately be on the hook for the sale of their water systems.” It’s a sweet deal for corporations, no so much for taxpayers. Essentially, taxpayers would be paying the price of the sale, and the actual buyer wouldn’t have to pay a dime. In addition, corporations could then use the water supply for whatever they want and could charge whatever price they desire residents to pay. Water would no longer be a fundamental right, it would become nothing more than a commodity that people have to pay a high price for in order to have a drink or bathe.
cont'
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/12/29/chris-christie-poised-to-sign-bill-paving-the-way-for-corporations-to-control-water-in-new-jersey/
Chris Christie Poised To SIGN BILL Paving The Way For Corporations To CONTROL WATER IN NEW JERSEY
"SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP" is the message being sent to all New Jerseyans from head capo Chris Christie:
With a stroke of a pen, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie could pave the way for corporations to control the state’s water supply without the consent of the voting public.
With a stroke of a pen, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie could pave the way for corporations to control the state’s water supply without the consent of the voting public.
New Jerseyans are being hoodwinked by Christie.......What are they going to do about it?........
Passed by the state Senate by a vote of 21-16, The Water Infrastructure Protection Act would give local municipalities the power to unilaterally sell their water lines if they are deemed to be deteriorating. Unfortunately, the definition of deterioration in the bill is so broad that virtually all the water systems currently under public control would qualify to be put up for sale. Most egregiously, the bill would kill a current law on the books that requires the permission of voters before any such sales of water systems can take place. If Christie signs the bill on his desk, voters will no longer have that say and would have to gather enough signatures on a petition to force a vote. “This is such a bad deal for the citizens of New Jersey,” State Senator Bob Smith said of the bill. “This is crazy… just giving away our water supply.” Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, agrees:
“Today the Senate sold out New Jersey’s water supply. This bill is undemocratic, takes away public oversight and input, and allows deregulation of our water protection and rates.”
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/12/water_privatization_bill_removing_public_vote_requirement_moves_to_christies_desk.html
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/12/water_privatization_bill_removing_public_vote_requirement_moves_to_christies_desk.html
Supporters of the bill, on the other hand, claim that private investment is necessary to fix the aging water infrastructure that has been neglected for years. Of course, Chris Christie has gone to great lengths to make sure that state and local departments were unable to do their jobs to maintain the water infrastructure. According to a report by Aljazeera America:
Christie cut $85 million from the Department of Environmental Protection’s 2014 budget, limiting the amount the agency can spend on water infrastructure improvement projects. And he has offered property tax rebates and tax caps that critics say starve the state’s infrastructure budget.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/29/new-jersey-waterprivatization.html?utm_content=general&utm_campaign=ajam&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=SocialFlow
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/29/new-jersey-waterprivatization.html?utm_content=general&utm_campaign=ajam&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=SocialFlow
In short, Christie slashed the funding that would have otherwise been used to fix public water systems, thus manufacturing the appearance that corporations are needed to step in an solve the problems. If corporations are allowed to take over the water supply, New Jersey residents will pay dearly. The bill further “allows companies to factor the purchase price of the systems into the rates they charge customers, meaning taxpayers could ultimately be on the hook for the sale of their water systems.” It’s a sweet deal for corporations, no so much for taxpayers. Essentially, taxpayers would be paying the price of the sale, and the actual buyer wouldn’t have to pay a dime. In addition, corporations could then use the water supply for whatever they want and could charge whatever price they desire residents to pay. Water would no longer be a fundamental right, it would become nothing more than a commodity that people have to pay a high price for in order to have a drink or bathe.
cont'
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/12/29/chris-christie-poised-to-sign-bill-paving-the-way-for-corporations-to-control-water-in-new-jersey/
December 29, 2014
Let me recap exactly what Chucky said on Sunday’s MTP:
So, correct me if I’m wrong, but is Chucky saying that if he doesn’t allow his political guests to outright lie without calling them out, no one will come on his show?
Why would he care if lying republicans refuse to come on his show simply because he won’t allow them free reign to lie? If Democratic politicians are booked on MTP and stick to the truth and facts, republicans can either stay away without rebuking Democratic claims or statements or they can face the storm and come on the show with a new understanding that truth and facts rule.
Sounds like real journalism and a hard lift for Chucky.
But, But, But...My 'Bread n Butter' Is PROMOTING REPUBLICAN LIES
Let me recap exactly what Chucky said on Sunday’s MTP:
“We all sit there because we all know the first time we bark is the last time we do the show,” Chuck Todd said. “… All of a sudden, no one will come on your show.”
So, correct me if I’m wrong, but is Chucky saying that if he doesn’t allow his political guests to outright lie without calling them out, no one will come on his show?
Why would he care if lying republicans refuse to come on his show simply because he won’t allow them free reign to lie? If Democratic politicians are booked on MTP and stick to the truth and facts, republicans can either stay away without rebuking Democratic claims or statements or they can face the storm and come on the show with a new understanding that truth and facts rule.
Sounds like real journalism and a hard lift for Chucky.
December 28, 2014
Chuck Todd had a very interesting segment featuring comedians/satirists Lewis Black W. Kamau Bell, and Laura Krafft. He was trying to examine the influence and impact of comedians in the body politic.
Lewis Black had a backhanded stab at Chuck Todd and the traditional mainstream media news that caused Chuck Todd to tell an inconvenient truth.
“I have watched you and everybody else where somebody comes on,” Lewis Black said. “I don’t know how you do it. Because I would be barking at them. Because they sit there and go ‘glib glib [blah blah]’ and you sit there.”
Chuck Todd then interjected. “We all sit there because we all know the first time we bark is the last time we do the show,” Chuck Todd said. “… All of a sudden, no one will come on your show.”
Chuck Todd SLIPPED AND TELLS THE TRUTH About Traditional Mainstream News
Chuck Todd had a very interesting segment featuring comedians/satirists Lewis Black W. Kamau Bell, and Laura Krafft. He was trying to examine the influence and impact of comedians in the body politic.
Lewis Black had a backhanded stab at Chuck Todd and the traditional mainstream media news that caused Chuck Todd to tell an inconvenient truth.
“I have watched you and everybody else where somebody comes on,” Lewis Black said. “I don’t know how you do it. Because I would be barking at them. Because they sit there and go ‘glib glib [blah blah]’ and you sit there.”
Chuck Todd then interjected. “We all sit there because we all know the first time we bark is the last time we do the show,” Chuck Todd said. “… All of a sudden, no one will come on your show.”
December 22, 2014
Singer Joe Cocker has died at age 70, reports the BBC.
The singer-songwriter best known for his cover of The Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends," died after a battle with lung disease, reports The Yorkshire Post.
Sony Music released an official statement on Monday, remembering the talented musician:
Cocker is survived by his wife of 27 years, Pam; his brother, Victor; his step-daughter, Zoey Schroeder; and his two grandchildren, Eva and Simon Schroeder.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/22/joe-cocker-dead_n_6367648.html
Joe Cocker, Legendary Musician, DEAD At 70
Singer Joe Cocker has died at age 70, reports the BBC.
The singer-songwriter best known for his cover of The Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends," died after a battle with lung disease, reports The Yorkshire Post.
Sony Music released an official statement on Monday, remembering the talented musician:
John Robert Cocker, known to family, friends, his community and fans around the world as Joe Cocker, passed away on December 22, 2014 after a hard fought battle with small cell lung cancer. Mr. Cocker was 70 years old. Joe Cocker was born 5/20/1944 in Sheffield, England where he lived until his early 20’s. In 2007 he was awarded the OBE by the Queen of England. His international success as a blues/rock singer began in 1964 and continues till this day. Joe created nearly 40 albums and toured extensively around the globe
Cocker is survived by his wife of 27 years, Pam; his brother, Victor; his step-daughter, Zoey Schroeder; and his two grandchildren, Eva and Simon Schroeder.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/22/joe-cocker-dead_n_6367648.html
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