April 17, 2014

Yeah, the mayor appears to be one of the 'don't sweat the small stuff' type. The problem is for the

people whose lives are lost that he considers to be just the 'small stuff.'

The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. Instead of altering their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts to fit their views…which can be very uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering.

April 17, 2014

Yep, some kid did that in my high school in the sixties. We all had to go wait at the playing field.

Didn't mind, nice sunny day, anyway. It was decided it was a prank phone call.

This definitely sounds like a prank, bet they'll never find who did it. I've read some writings on bathroom walls.

Best one was in college, 1969, where an anonymous student someone wrote something like this with part of a famous equation:

'And God said, let there be light,'



'And there was light.'

May not be fit the Biblical quote, but I thought it was amusing at the time.

April 16, 2014

I won't go along with the bashing of those confronted with a stinky reality.

Meeting with representatives this past weekend, the social contract was discussed. Also education, infrastructure, social services and jobs.

The problem was and still is income inequality, as my district rep explained, but really preaching to the choir (no need to inform those of us already involved, but it was necessary to iron out our talking points) with us.

My rep has not been able to get past the brainwashed public who think that all government should be kept out of the way completely, defunded, etc., and that all who would benefit as I did in younger years, from OTJ training, cheaper education and a living wage, are just takers as the GOP says.

The problem was gone over as we see our world getting handed over to private interests who despise the government and all those who support programs as moochers. This is a blue state, I might add, but the legislative margin is very low and in the years when the GOP does get majority, very bad things happen.

My rep said the former contract between business, government and labor is now broken, and for no good reason. Government gave help to business to create good paying jobs to sustain workers and their families who then in turn pay their taxes for what they need, such as infrastructure of all kinds.

With the wages not being high enough to pay enough taxes to keep government working, there simply is NO money for government to do things as they once did.

I know my rep fought for all kinds of things to get equity in taxation, and to give the poor and those needing helping hand to improve their lot in the workforce, but all the measures were voted down by the public.

Things like a limited state income tax on millionaires, a repeal of a GOP pushed through end to estate tax, a repeal of tax breaks for businesses that did not reinvest in job training or pay enough wages to live on, and on and on.

All failed due to the public who felt it was 'tyranny' or 'class warfare' for the group they hoped to become, the upper percentages. Or all part of a government plot to take their 'liberty.'

Even some of those I know in federal and other union jobs are not voting for long-term interest or to help those who need help the most. They are voting GOP, Libertarian and Tea Party to keep what they have gained as most are near retirement and in safer plans than others, then as it goes away they figure it doesn't matter.

Before you paint Obama and Biden and these initiatives with disdain, consider the environment they work in and that the voters have created. My rep is getting tired of dealing of with people who don't feel any responsibility for their fellows citizens or the future. The Koch brothers agenda that is national is in every state and majorities are razor thin to resist them.

From Bernie Sanders, the Koch Libertarian platform, also touted by Alex Jones, Glenn Beck and FNN:

“We urge the repeal of federal campaign finance laws, and the immediate abolition of the despotic Federal Election Commission.”
“We favor the abolition of Medicare and Medicaid programs.”
“We oppose any compulsory insurance or tax-supported plan to provide health services, including those which finance abortion services.”
“We also favor the deregulation of the medical insurance industry.”
“We favor the repeal of the fraudulent, virtually bankrupt, and increasingly oppressive Social Security system. Pending that repeal, participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.”
“We propose the abolition of the governmental Postal Service. The present system, in addition to being inefficient, encourages governmental surveillance of private correspondence. Pending abolition, we call for an end to the monopoly system and for allowing free competition in all aspects of postal service.”
“We oppose all personal and corporate income taxation, including capital gains taxes.”
“We support the eventual repeal of all taxation.”
“As an interim measure, all criminal and civil sanctions against tax evasion should be terminated immediately.”
“We support repeal of all law which impede the ability of any person to find employment, such as minimum wage laws.”
“We advocate the complete separation of education and State. Government schools lead to the indoctrination of children and interfere with the free choice of individuals. Government ownership, operation, regulation, and subsidy of schools and colleges should be ended.”
“We condemn compulsory education laws … and we call for the immediate repeal of such laws.”
“We support the repeal of all taxes on the income or property of private schools, whether profit or non-profit.”
“We support the abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency.”
“We support abolition of the Department of Energy.”
“We call for the dissolution of all government agencies concerned with transportation, including the Department of Transportation.”
“We demand the return of America's railroad system to private ownership. We call for the privatization of the public roads and national highway system.”
“We specifically oppose laws requiring an individual to buy or use so-called "self-protection" equipment such as safety belts, air bags, or crash helmets.”
“We advocate the abolition of the Federal Aviation Administration.”
“We advocate the abolition of the Food and Drug Administration.”
“We support an end to all subsidies for child-bearing built into our present laws, including all welfare plans and the provision of tax-supported services for children.”
“We oppose all government welfare, relief projects, and ‘aid to the poor’ programs. All these government programs are privacy-invading, paternalistic, demeaning, and inefficient. The proper source of help for such persons is the voluntary efforts of private groups and individuals.”
“We call for the privatization of the inland waterways, and of the distribution system that brings water to industry, agriculture and households.”
“We call for the repeal of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.”
“We call for the abolition of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.”
“We support the repeal of all state usury laws.

In other words, the agenda of the Koch brothers is not only to defund Obamacare. The agenda of the Koch brothers is to repeal every major piece of legislation that has been signed into law over the past 80 years that has protected the middle class, the elderly, the children, the sick, and the most vulnerable in this country.

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/koch-brothers

http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a7980koch

to kpete:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024806298

These are the exact memes we are dealing with in trying to talk to people about maintainng the things you appear to want, as I do.

As disgusting and infuriating as all of this is, and I agree on your points but not the cynicism that leads to this happening in the first place, this is the reality Democrats are confronted with daily. I've seen some really dirty tricks played in my blue state, as nothing is beneath those who support these plans, and they are IMPOSSIBLE to deal with.

My rep warned us that there appears to be no relief in sight, there will continue to be less funding for human needs from one end to the other, and more competition for scarce resources as the plutocrats continue to get voters to elect those with their agenda.

So, the efforts of Democrats who support NONE of the Koch platform, but are outvoted by their fans, is THE major factor in what we are seeing. I see it up close where I live.

We have many who have our vision, and we run candidates with it, but are outspent, and those who are interested in the bones tossed them by the agenda of the Koches, and there are those really do benefit from dissolving the programs and rights WE believe in, or at least I think YOU do, are going to continue to force these programs to be used to address the inequity.

When you say it is more on the taxpayer, you are in the long-term supporting a weaker government that cannot spend to help its citizens to better lives. If the private sector refused to help people get jobs, why is it wrong to spend federal dollars on jobs or training? Isn't that what FDR did?

All of these solutions are going to be dissed from the Right, so why do it from the Left, assuming again of your intent to support this help given, but I will not claim to know your heart.

Know that as we discussed with our reps and advocates this weekend, and then again this week, we must come out in overwhelming numbers at community meetings despite the verbal abuse we already know that we will receive, and at the polls, and everywhere we can make our voices heard, to say that what we want to have continue has been beneficial for all.

Otherwise, the Koches win.

Peace Out.

April 16, 2014

To please their masters:

“We support repeal of all law which impede the ability of any person to find employment, such as minimum wage laws.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024806298

April 16, 2014

IIRC, this is a young lady in Russia, courtesy of Natioanl Geographic:

I forgot what part of the country it was. Thanks for posting this beautiful OP.

April 16, 2014

The reason I read attributed to Franklin was about the character of the two.

He said the turkey was fast and cunning to escape its foes, naturally he was speaking of wild turkeys, not the ones bred for slaughter.

And I believe he accused the eagle of 'bad morals' for dining on rotten carcasses and being an opportunist.

Raptors are known for killing prey unexpectedly and that speed and brutality is exploited in art work. But they may not like it after all, or so says the Onion:

April 14, 2014

LINKS to where the Democrats for Crist are in Florida:

To volunteer:

http://www.charliecrist.com/take-action

More about his positions to share with others:

http://crist4governor.com/

You can see that he agrees with our views here at DU. Thanks for getting involved. The more Democratic governors we have, the less people in the red or purple states will suffer. Your win will be the nation's win.

April 14, 2014

No, no, the RWJNs say it's TEOTWAWKI!!11!!

They need to turn of the TV and cut down on the coffee. Or whatever they're doing.

Like this guy:

Buy more guns and ammo!!!

April 14, 2014

It's the new American Exceptionalism. We're everywhere, can do anything! We rule the whole world!

We have the technology. We have the capability... Better, stronger, faster...

Wait, that's the bionic man. He was nuke powered, too. Sadly, he was downgraded to just being a stunt man.

How the mighty have fallen. We're not living up to the image people want to see:

''

Or are we?

We have to be fit into that template somehow or people won't know what to think. Taking allusions away is harder than getting a dog to give up his favorite chew toy.

Will a rousing chorus of USA! USA! USA! satisfy those who want to maintain a sense of being offended?

I'd rather we remember who we're really up against, at home and internationally:



Reich = Right.

Hey, just sayin'

April 14, 2014

The KOCH brothers are deeply involved:

The Nevada Standoff Has Nothing To Do With "Tyranny," "Sovereignty," "Freedom," or Cows.

It's about money for two Billionaires with whom we're all familiar.

Two affiliates of the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity are helping conservative media promote the cause of a Nevada rancher who has made violent threats against the federal government.

...

Legal scholars have largely concluded that these laws are unconstitutional. But with a fanatical, Federalist-society indoctrinated Supreme Court Majority bending over backwards to accommodate corporate interests in every conceivable manner, the Constitution has proved to be a flimsy protection against virulent greed. By milking and stoking the controversy, the Kochs seek to galvanize public opinion against the federal government, delegitimize the Bureau of Land Management that oversees public lands, and thereby impugn its stewardship of lands that Koch-run industries want to get their hands on. These include lands in Nevada, Utah and pretty much anywhere else they can dig, frack or mine. This isn't about some silly rancher's "grazing fees," to the Kochs and their business pals. It's about their desire to exploit, despoil and pollute lands that we, the public, own by virtue of our citizenship. That's not "freedom." It's greed.

In fact, it's almost tragic to see how the "militia groups" that pride themselves on their purported "independence" and "freedom" so willingly allow themselves to be duped by people whose only interest is to exploit the land for their own purposes. Whose self-serving greed wouldn't hesitate to gin up an armed confrontation in which people could conceivably die, simply for the purpose of lining their own pockets.

Did I sound like I feel sorry for the militia groups? I don't. If they were truly patriots I might feel sorry for them, but they aren't. Because true patriots would realize that the federal lands the Kochs, the oil, mining and energy industries are attempting to claim for themselves are:

Owned by every American – all 300-plus million of us. It is a peculiar property right we each have to this commons, as we acquire it simply by dint of citizenship, and what we own is spectacular. The marvel of the federal public-lands system is that it exists at all. During the 19th century and into the early 20th, much of the land was leased and sold off in a frenzy of corrupt dealings. Railroads, corporations, land speculators, mining interests, and livestock barons gorged on the public domain, helped along by the spectacularly pliable General Land Office, which from 1812 until its closure in 1946 privatized more than one billion acres, roughly half the landmass of the nation. The corruption was such that by 1885, The New York Times’ editorial page had denounced the “land pirates” whose “fraud and force” had excluded the citizen settler—the farmer, the homesteader, the cowboy—from “enormous areas of public domain” and “robb him of the heritage to which he was entitled.”



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/12/1291577/-The-Nevada-Standoff-Has-Nothing-To-Do-With-Tyranny-Sovereignty-Freedom-or-Cows

© Kos Media, LLC
Site content may be used for any purpose without explicit permission unless otherwise specified


"Feds Turn From Landlords To Warlords": Koch Groups Back Rancher Making Violent Threats Against Federal Gov't

In 1993, Bundy declined to pay government fees that are required in order to allow his cattle to graze on the public land. In 1998 a court order told Bundy to remove his cattle as part of an effort to protect an endangered desert tortoise in the area. He refused. In July 2013, a federal court order told Bundy to remove his cattle from the land or they would be confiscated. He disobeyed the order, and confiscation has begun. The government will auction the animals and use the proceeds to pay off the $1 million in fines that Bundy owes the government.

Bundy's ongoing refusal to obey the law and court orders has become a cause célèbre for the conservative media, which has compared the situation to deadly standoffs like Waco and Ruby Ridge.

In recent comments to a conspiracy theorist's radio show, Bundy said, "I haven't called no militia or anything like that, but hey it looks like that's where we're at." He added, "We got a strong army here, we have to fight." Previously Bundy told the Las Vegas Sun that "he keeps firearms at his ranch" and promised to "do whatever it takes" to defend his cattle being seized, adding, "I abide by almost zero federal laws."

...

Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the conservative non-profit group, was founded by and has been largely funded by billionaires Charles and David Koch. The Center for Media and Democracy reported that in its previous incarnation as Citizens for a Sound Economy, AFP received $12 million of its $18 million in funding from the Koch Family Foundation.

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/04/11/feds-turn-from-landlords-to-warlords-koch-group/198857

to Sunset Dreams:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024816638

Cliven Bundy is a Big Fat Million Dollar Welfare Dead Beat!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/13/1291642/-Cliven-Bundy-is-a-Big-Fat-Million-Dollar-Welfare-Dead-Beat

BERNIE SANDERS Uncovers 1980 Koch Agenda- "What Do the Koch Brothers Want?"

What else do the Koch brothers want?

In 1980, David Koch ran as the Libertarian Party’s vice-presidential candidate in 1980.
Let’s take a look at the 1980 Libertarian Party platform.

Here are just a few excerpts of the Libertarian Party platform that David Koch ran on in 1980:

“We urge the repeal of federal campaign finance laws, and the immediate abolition of the despotic Federal Election Commission.”
“We favor the abolition of Medicare and Medicaid programs.”
“We oppose any compulsory insurance or tax-supported plan to provide health services, including those which finance abortion services.”
“We also favor the deregulation of the medical insurance industry.”
“We favor the repeal of the fraudulent, virtually bankrupt, and increasingly oppressive Social Security system. Pending that repeal, participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.”
“We propose the abolition of the governmental Postal Service. The present system, in addition to being inefficient, encourages governmental surveillance of private correspondence. Pending abolition, we call for an end to the monopoly system and for allowing free competition in all aspects of postal service.”
“We oppose all personal and corporate income taxation, including capital gains taxes.”
“We support the eventual repeal of all taxation.”
“As an interim measure, all criminal and civil sanctions against tax evasion should be terminated immediately.”
“We support repeal of all law which impede the ability of any person to find employment, such as minimum wage laws.”
“We advocate the complete separation of education and State. Government schools lead to the indoctrination of children and interfere with the free choice of individuals. Government ownership, operation, regulation, and subsidy of schools and colleges should be ended.”
“We condemn compulsory education laws … and we call for the immediate repeal of such laws.”
“We support the repeal of all taxes on the income or property of private schools, whether profit or non-profit.”
“We support the abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency.”
“We support abolition of the Department of Energy.”
“We call for the dissolution of all government agencies concerned with transportation, including the Department of Transportation.”
“We demand the return of America's railroad system to private ownership. We call for the privatization of the public roads and national highway system.”
“We specifically oppose laws requiring an individual to buy or use so-called "self-protection" equipment such as safety belts, air bags, or crash helmets.”
“We advocate the abolition of the Federal Aviation Administration.”
“We advocate the abolition of the Food and Drug Administration.”
“We support an end to all subsidies for child-bearing built into our present laws, including all welfare plans and the provision of tax-supported services for children.”
“We oppose all government welfare, relief projects, and ‘aid to the poor’ programs. All these government programs are privacy-invading, paternalistic, demeaning, and inefficient. The proper source of help for such persons is the voluntary efforts of private groups and individuals.”
“We call for the privatization of the inland waterways, and of the distribution system that brings water to industry, agriculture and households.”
“We call for the repeal of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.”
“We call for the abolition of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.”
“We support the repeal of all state usury laws.”

In other words, the agenda of the Koch brothers is not only to defund Obamacare. The agenda of the Koch brothers is to repeal every major piece of legislation that has been signed into law over the past 80 years that has protected the middle class, the elderly, the children, the sick, and the most vulnerable in this country...

Tomorrow it will be Social Security, ending Medicare as we know it, repealing the minimum wage. It seems to me that the Koch brothers will not be content until they get everything they believe they are entitled to.

Our great nation can no longer be hijacked by right-wing billionaires like the Koch brothers.

For the sake of our children and our grandchildren, for the sake of our economy, we have got to let democracy prevail.

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/koch-brothers

http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a7980koch

to kpete:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024806298



They funded ALEC to keep the nation armed to the teeth, the Tea Party, Rand Paul, the Tenthers and the gun nuts. They don't even hide what they're doing anymore.

By spreading their message from the left and right, through the truthers as all of that agenda is promoted with fear and demonization on Infowars, etc, they have mobilized their base and demoralized ours by made up scandals and are telling us to give up on our nation and agree to the neo-feudalism their goals will create.