July 31, 2013

Dumbest. Cop. Evah.

http://pinterest.com/TerryLeeWhite/newspaper-headlines/

July 11, 2013

Google to host fundraiser for Congress climate change denier

http://www.rtcc.org/google-to-host-fundraiser-for-congress-climate-change-denier/



Google is hosting a fundraiser for the most notorious climate change denier in Congress, Oklahoma Republican Jim Inhofe. Proceeds of the 11 July lunch, priced at $250 to $2,500, will go to the national Republican Senatorial Committee.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jul/09/google-climate-denier-jim-inhofe


Google, which prides itself on building a "better web that is better for the environment", is hosting a fundraiser for the most notorious climate change denier in Congress, it has emerged.

The lunch, at the company's Washington office, will benefit the Oklahoma Republican Jim Inhofe, who has made a career of dismissing climate change as a "hoax" on the Senate floor.

Proceeds of the 11 July lunch, priced at $250 to $2,500, will also go to the national Republican Senatorial Committee.

It's the second show of support from Google for the anti-climate cause in recent weeks.

Last month, the Washington Post reported that the internet company had donated $50,000 for a fundraising dinner for the ultra-conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute – topping the contributions even of the Koch oil billionaires.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute has launched multiple law suits aimed at trying to discredit the science behind climate change – accusing scientists of fraud. None have so far succeeded.

The CEI also specialises in filing open records requests, demanding universities turn over email correspondence of climate scientists with journalists.

Facebook also contributed $25,000 to the CEI dinner last month.

Google's show of support for the leading climate contrarian in Congress was criticised by climate activists on Tuesday. "Google's motto is 'Don't Be Evil', but it is supporting one of the worst deniers of climate science in the world," said the Climate Progress website, which first reported on the story.

Inhofe has spent more than a decade challenging the science behind climate change, and trying to stop Congress from acting on climate change. He has repeatedly dismissed climate change as a "hoax" or "hysteria", and cited the benefits of global warming for the economy and the environment.

The campaign group Forecast the Facts launched a petition calling for Google's chief executive officer, Larry Page, to cancel the fundraiser.

Google has been a corporate leader in fighting climate change. The company claims on its Google Green website to be creating "a better web that is better for the environment"by investing $1bn in renewable energy and making considerable savings in electricity use at its data centres.

Google initially refused to comment on the record about its support for Inhofe.

However, a company spokesperson noted that Google maintained data centres in Oklahoma. The spokesperson then sent an email saying:
"We regularly host fundraisers for candidates, on both sides of the aisle, but that doesn't mean we endorse all of their positions. And while we disagree on climate change policy, we share an interest with Senator Inhofe in the employees and data center we have in Oklahoma."

Google's website notes the company has invested $700m in two data centres in Oklahoma. The state is a leading oil and gas producer - and Inhofe has been a strong promoter of the industry. However, Google has contracted to power its data centres through wind energy.

"They can probably rightfully claim that the facility is powered 100% by wind," said Gary Cook, technology campaigner for Greenpeace, which tracks greenhouse gas emissions from the IT sector. He added: "But even so, Jim Inhofe is the biggest obstacle to climate change action in the Senate so what are they doing raising money for him?"

July 4, 2013

Want to See Your NSA or FBI File? Here's How...

Have you ever Tweeted a politically subversive message, attended a protest, or signed an oppositional petition? If so, you may have a dedicated file on you kept by the FBI and/or the NSA.

With a simple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, any U.S. citizen can obtain one's NSA or FBI file, if such a file exists.

It simply takes a few minutes to fill out the requisite forms and mail them to the appropriate address. An independent site – www.getmyfbifile – will, free of charge, generate the necessary forms for you already filled out.

Of course, you can also do this directly through the NSA or FBI if you are worried about providing personal information to an independent site.

While an appropriate level of cynicism may be warranted concerning the level of transparency one should expect from such a request – should your file be substantial – it is the law that your complete file be provided to you upon request.

Demand that the law be followed, for it is your right as a citizen to know this information.

My request is going in the mail today.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/11/1215421/-Want-to-See-Your-NSA-or-FBI-File-Here-s-How?detail=email

My request is going out tomorrow.

July 4, 2013

Rush Limbaugh Admits StopRush is Kicking His Ass

&eature=player_detailpage#t=0s

On Tuesday's show, Rush Limbaugh acknowledged that the "sniveling jerks" of the StopRush movement have driven his advertising possibilities into the ground:

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"When you look at a ... show that is by far number 1, and they're still running penile enhancement ads, what's happening is that mainstream media buyers are sending money elsewhere, trying to harm them. Well, penile, take your pick,the Ronco Veg-o-matic, you know--while McDonald's and Coke and Meineke are everywhere else.

These are things we had to overcome on this pro--we have to fight that battle every day here anyway. Cause these little sniveling jerks are out there trying to scare advertisers, still goes on."

As usual, Limbaugh has some of his facts confused. The "little sniveling jerks" he refers to would be the StopRush movement, groups like the Flush Rush Facebook community.

But these groups aren't "trying to scare advertisers," they're simply contacting advertisers and quoting Rush Limbaugh verbatim to be sure the sponsor is aware of what they're being associated with.

Many of them aren't aware, and they often choose to pull their ads off the show.

2638 have requested their ads not air on the Rush Limbaugh Show as of today.

But the reason these organizations pull their ads off the show isn't because of StopRush volunteers, it's because of the offensive content that comes out of Limbaugh's mouth--including regular homophobic rants, racial stereotypes, poor bashing, and even last week's incredibly insensitive jokes about exploding pressure cookers, just one day after 3 people were brutally murdered in Boston. Respectable organizations want nothing to do with that kind of thing.

Limbaugh alone is responsible for his advertiser exodus--nobody else.

As Limbaugh's large, well known advertisers have headed for the door, ad rates that Limbaugh used to call "confiscatory" have dropped to all time lows.

Advertisers like Sony, Hallmark, Cadillac, and Office Depot have been replaced by a ragtag bunch including a suspected pyramid scheme, shady identity protection software, and even a church led by a murdering pastor. Oh, and the "penile enhancements."
One of Limbaugh's faithful advertisers is the National Male Medical Clinic, one of quite a few similar businesses peddling cures to men with limp noodles.

A warning to anyone who clicks on the youtube link in the second tweet--it's a graphic video of "Mr. S" injecting erectile dysfunction medication directly into his penis--because that's how far El Rushbo has sunk. He's now plugging intrapenous drug use.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/24/1204320/-Rush-Limbaugh-Admits-StopRush-is-Kicking-His-Ass?detail=email