July 25, 2013

yeah, no racism to see here; everybody move along

Top 9 Racist Moments of the 2012 Election

http://www.salon.com/2012/10/16/nine_most_racist_moments_of_the_2012_election/

July 25, 2013

Racist Roots of GOP War on Obama

There is now a white-supremacist nihilism emerging in the Republican strategy, a visceral contempt for even the idea of a multi-racial democracy that favors a more vigorous federal government. Some of these extremists seem to prefer sinking the world’s economy via a U.S. debt default than compromising with President Obama on his economic and social agenda.

Though the mainstream media avoids the white supremacist framing for the political story – preferring to discuss the upcoming clash as a philosophical dispute over big versus small government, — the reality is that the United States is lurching into a nasty struggle over the preservation of white political dominance. The size-of-government narrative is just a euphemistic way of avoiding the underlying issue of race, a dodge that is as old as the Republic.

http://thedailybanter.com/2013/07/racist-roots-of-gop-war-on-obama/

July 25, 2013

Eric Holder v. Texas (Voting Rights)

Holder announced Thursday that the Justice Department would ask a court to require that Texas get clearance from the Justice Department before making any new changes to voting laws over the next decade.

The move comes about a month after the Supreme Court struck down a key section of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, and signals a new front in the Justice Department's political battle with states over imposing new rules and restrictions on voting.

In a speech given at the annual National Urban League conference in Philadelphia, Holder said his request to the federal court in San Antonio, Texas, would be on the basis of a preclearance provision similar to that of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/eric-holder-texas-voting-rights-act-supreme-court-preclearance-nul-speech-2013-7#ixzz2a5rHz7vU

July 25, 2013

Snowden Inexplicably Hires A Lawyer With Ties to Russian Intelligence Agency

We recently learned that in conjunction with seeking asylum in Russia, a move that, itself, is a serious head-scratcher, Snowden has also retained a Russian lawyer: a man named Anatoly Kucherena. Fine, in and of itself. The man needs a lawyer. But it’s an utterly bizarre move considering that Kucherena reportedly sits on the Public Council for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). Until 1995, the FSB was known as the Federal Counter-Intelligence Service (FSK). Before that, it was two agencies: the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) and the Federal Agency of Government Communications and Information (FAPSI). And before that? It was the Committee of State Security. The acronym: KGB.

......

Now, couple all of this with what Glenn Greenwald said about Snowden’s “dead man switch.” Snowden apparently told Greenwald that there are many more documents in the hacker’s possession that could do serious harm to the United States, and if Snowden is assassinated or tortured, those documents would be released. Greenwald added that the United States should be “on its knees every day begging that nothing happen to Snowden” because Snowden could “cause harm to the U.S. government in a single minute than any other person has ever had.”

And now Snowden is being advised and aided by a Putin crony. Strange bedfellows — that is if we’re to believe Snowden’s anti-surveillance posture. (Based on his old internet chats, he used to be quite a surveillance supporter who thought one leaker should’ve been “shot in the balls.”) So at this point, Snowden and his new pals in Russian intelligence retain purview over documents that could do more damage to the United States than anyone else has done — ever.

http://thedailybanter.com/2013/07/snowden-inexplicably-hires-a-lawyer-with-ties-to-russian-intelligence-agency/

July 25, 2013

Paula Deen allegedly asked Black Female Employees to Dress like Aunt Jemima (not the Onion)

The Paula Deen racism scandal just got reignited thanks to a blockbuster New York Times story Thursday that claims the former Food Network star asked black employees to dress like Aunt Jemima.

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/paula-deen-allegedly-asked-black-staffers-dress-aunt-143022874.html

July 25, 2013

Well if you thought Nancy Grace was insufferable before

a plot to murder her has been foiled. Don't get me wrong I'm glad she wasn't murdered. I just hate there was such a plot and she will be even worse than before.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/24/david-lee-simpson-threats-nancy-grace-tie-tree-naked-slit-throat_n_3647889.html

July 24, 2013

For the Record; I support the President, I think Snowden is a traitor and I hope Congress passes

the Amash amendment and reigns in the NSA metadata sweeps. I am capable nuanced opinions.

Edited to say, too bad they didn't. I think we need to continue to debate and begin to roll back the excesses of the Patriot Act. (and I still think Snowden belongs in jai.)

July 24, 2013

Just Gen-X Nostalgia, enjoy and discuss you whippersnappers

July 23, 2013

Holy Crap, Weiner's wife is the most beautiful woman in the world.

I had never seen a picture of her until today, though I knew she was pretty high up in the state deprtment.

July 23, 2013

Russia makes it illegal to insult the “feelings of religious believers”

And new legislative revisions aim to protect the views of atheists and adherents of "non-traditional" religion

"It may also dovetail with rising Russian homophobia and legal persecution of the LGBTQ community, a frightening development.

Personally, I appreciate and enjoy the radically liberal American approach to free speech, including the right to blaspheme—which is of course not to say that to do so is always wise or tasteful. But, as retired history professor Anthony Edmonds of Ball State University used to quip in the classroom, a historian’s favorite hand is “the other hand.” For better or for worse, I am professionally trained as a historian. Thus, despite my respect for American-style free speech, I recognize that some states have crafted social contracts that accept greater limitations on speech than we do in the US, in order to protect other democratic values."

http://www.salon.com/2013/07/20/in_russia_its_illegal_to_insult_the_feelings_of_religious_believers%E2%80%9D_partner/

Russia - "the first to stand against human rights violations." Edward Snowden