Via Pharyngula
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Happy Friday
Via Pharyngula
Fox Feeds
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| Attachment Journalism -Image Credit: Media Matters |
Fourteen Propaganda Techniques Fox "News" Uses to Brainwash Americans By Dr Cynthia Boaz, Truthout | News Analysis
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Romney Stands By Anything That Gets Votes
I think again that the President takes his philosophical leanings in this regard, not from those who are ardent believers in various faiths but instead from those who would like America to be more secular. And I’m not sure which is worse, him listening to Reverend Wright or him saying that we must be a less Christian nation.Romney is twisting President Obama's words again. What President Obama actually said was:
"Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.” (p. 258 in The Audacity of Hope)I want to live in President Obama's nation full of Taoists, Atheists, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindu's, Native American religions and cults like the LDS. I'll admit to wanting more atheists in the nation. But Romney, is not only excluding his own religion with his divisive comments he is disenfranchising every person in this nation that isn't a christian. If our nations founder's had wanted the United States to be a christian nation, they would have explicitly said so, instead of this:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Join the Internet Defense League
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| Join the Internet Defense League |
Old and young, male and female, democrats and republicans, joined with one clear mission: Save the freedom and future of the internet.
I just joined something called the Internet Defense League -- and I'm hoping you will, too. I joined because it's important to stand up against the powerful industries that are tyring hard to lock down the net. Remember SOPA and PIPA? The people who wrote them are working on more bills to censor the internet, spy on users, chill innovation and generally wreak havoc with the web. The Internet Blackout helped kill SOPA/PIPA with nothing more than websites and individuals working together to broadcast messages and actions. The Internet Defense League uses the tactics of the Blackout, but supercharged and ready to take on anything that corrupt congresspeople and big business can throw at us.
Romney a Secret Unicorn?
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| Image Credit: Bluegal aka Fran's blog |
The Arizona Secretary of State, Ken Bennett has announced that he may keep Barack Obama off the ballot because of "questions" whether the president was born in America. What provoked him to do so? Sternly worded emails:
Sign the Petition here to investigate whether Romney is a unicorn?Bennett, the state’s No. 2 elected official just below Gov. Jan Brewer (R), said his investigation isn’t personal. He said the reason he started looking into it is because he got more than 1,200 emails asking him to do so. (source)But what about Mitt Romney? What about the persistent rumors that Mitt Romney is in fact, a unicorn? There has never been a conclusive DNA test proving that Mitt Romney is not a unicorn. We have never seen him without his hair -- hair that could be covering up a horn.
No, we cannot prove it. But we cannot prove that it is not the case. And if Mitt Romney is or may be a unicorn, he is not Constitutionally qualified to be president.
1,200 emails were enough to get Bennett to launch an "investigation" of the president's birth, and come out with this statement. So 1,200 messages to him regarding unicorn Romney should be enough for him to launch an investigation on that front as well.
Send Ken Bennett a message. Tell him America demands that Romney be investigated, and that the truth come out. Is he a unicorn or not?
Sign the Petition here for Romney to denounce Trump and his Inane Conspiracy Theories
Read Dana Milbanks Washington Post Column; A New Conspiracy Theory: Mitt Romney a Unicorn?
Romney Upset With Trumps Hair
Las Vegas
Today should have been a fine day for Mitt Romney, he'd clinched the republican nomination with a win in the Texas primary. Today, was a celebratory fund raiser with the Donald Trump at sumptious Vegas location. But, Mitt wasn't happy. He was visibly upset with Mr. Trump. In a contentious interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer Mr. Trump cast baseless doubts on the presidents birth certificate. Claiming: “A lot of people do not think it was an authentic certificate,”
However, that wasn't the source of Mitt Romney's anger. It was Donald Trumps hair.
As the evening wore on Romney became increasingly inflamed over "The Trumps Hair". Finally, Romney erupted:
“He can’t look like that. That’s wrong. Just look at him!”
Romney cried and then ran down the hall, waving a pair of scissors, pursuing the fleeing Donald Trump. With a group of friends Romney tackled him and pinned him to the ground. As Trump, his eyes filling with tears, screamed for help, Romney repeatedly clipped his hair with a pair of scissors.
Today should have been a fine day for Mitt Romney, he'd clinched the republican nomination with a win in the Texas primary. Today, was a celebratory fund raiser with the Donald Trump at sumptious Vegas location. But, Mitt wasn't happy. He was visibly upset with Mr. Trump. In a contentious interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer Mr. Trump cast baseless doubts on the presidents birth certificate. Claiming: “A lot of people do not think it was an authentic certificate,”
However, that wasn't the source of Mitt Romney's anger. It was Donald Trumps hair.
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| Donald Trump (Photo credit: Gage Skidmore) |
As the evening wore on Romney became increasingly inflamed over "The Trumps Hair". Finally, Romney erupted:
“He can’t look like that. That’s wrong. Just look at him!”
Romney cried and then ran down the hall, waving a pair of scissors, pursuing the fleeing Donald Trump. With a group of friends Romney tackled him and pinned him to the ground. As Trump, his eyes filling with tears, screamed for help, Romney repeatedly clipped his hair with a pair of scissors.
****Correction****
I erred in printing this story. Mitt Romney didn't tackle Mr. Trump and trim Donald Trumps hair. It was John Lauber a fellow classmate of Mitt Romney in 1965 that was tackled and had his hair forcibly cut by Mitt Romney. The story is here.Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Romney Clinches GOP Nomination
Today, Mitt Romney won enough delegates to become the republican presidential candidate. How did Mitt choose to spend today? How about a Las Vegas fund raiser with wealthy birther or as George Will referred to him; "bloviating ignoramus" Donald Trump. George Will added:
"Donald Trump is redundant evidence that if your net worth is high enough, your IQ can be very low and you can still intrude into American politics. Again, I don't understand the benefit. What is Romney seeking?"Way to stay classy and lead by example; Mitt!
Income Inequality, Evolution and Climate Change
SCIENCE, RELIGION, AND SOCIETY:THE PROBLEM OF EVOLUTION IN AMERICA
By Professor Jerry A. Coyne Ph.D
Here is a video of Professor Coyne, delivering a talk at the Harvard Museum of Natural History; "Why Evolution is True and Why Many People Still Don't Believe It". The video displays most of his arguments and the data that is presented in his paper. Querying the acceptance of evolution in America, Dr. Coyne investigates the intersection of religion and dysfunctional societies and comes to a surprising conclusion. Since the denial of evolution and climate change seem to have a high correlation in many individuals, and while the lack of evolution's acceptance may hinder science, the widespread climate denial especially among policy makers could create catastrophic consequences for our planet. It behooves all of us to understand how wealth inequality, food insecurity, lack of medical insurance and joblessness leads to a reliance on religion, and religion has never been a friend of science. Never before in mankind's history have so many individuals used the profits of science (technology) to deny the very merits of science itself. Similar to Tea Party extremists running as representatives for a government they believe should not exist.
By Professor Jerry A. Coyne Ph.D
American resistance to accepting evolution is uniquely high among First World countries. This is due largely to the extreme religiosity of the United States, which is much higher than that of comparably advanced nations, and to the resistance of many religious people to the facts and supposed implications of evolution. The prevalence of religious belief in the United States suggests that outreach by scientists alone will not have a huge effect in increasing the acceptance of evolution, nor will the strategy of trying to convince the faithful that evolution is compatible with their religion. Because creationism is a symptom of religion, another strategy to promote evolution involves loosening the grip of faith on America. This is easier said than done, for recent sociological surveys show that religion is highly correlated with the dysfunctionality of a society, and various measures of societal health show that the United States is one of the most socially dysfunctional First World countries. Widespread acceptance of evolution in America, then, may have to await profound social change.
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| Credit: Beneath the Planet of the Apes |
We Stand With Planned Parenthood
This letter was printed in: Letters to the Editor, Issaquah Press. It's well phrased and I especially liked their last 2 sentences, the bold was my addition. Yes, we stand solidly with Planned Parenthood and any politician that promises to defund Planned Parenthood, ( Mitt Romney) isn't getting my vote.
May 22, 2012
By Contributor
Planned ParenthoodBy Contributor
Organization offers more choices for women’s health issues than abortion
We were two of the people who stood across the street from Planned Parenthood in March and April. We, like our fellow Planned Parenthood supporters, stood in the rain and in the sunshine, across the street from people praying to their God to end abortion, to show our commitment to healthcare access.
Planned Parenthood is about so much more than consultation regarding abortion. Women, old and young, need quality healthcare; they need information about family planning, and they need access to safe and private qualified medical assistance when encountering an unwanted, unplanned, or forced pregnancy. All of these are very personal issues and must be the choice, and the decision to take action only of the woman involved.
We live in a country, under a government that has established the separation of church and state. Any act that would blur those lines would tear away our solid social fabric. We stood with Planned Parenthood then, today and tomorrow.
Pat Martin and Francie Greth-Peto
Sammamish/IssaquahMoveOn.OrgHouseGroup
“The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries.”― James Madison
“Religious institutions that use government power in support of themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths, or of no faith, undermine all our civil rights. Moreover, state support of an established religion tends to make the clergy unresponsive to their own people, and leads to corruption within religion itself. Erecting the 'wall of separation between church and state,' therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society.”― Thomas Jefferson
Speedo Makes Great Swimwear
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Happy Friday
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| Butterfly Nebula Credit: NASA, ERO |
NASA:
This celestial object looks like a delicate butterfly. But it is far from serene.Full Size Image Here
What resemble dainty butterfly wings are actually roiling cauldrons of gas heated to more than 36,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The gas is tearing across space at more than 600,000 miles an hour -- fast enough to travel from Earth to the moon in 24 minutes!
A dying star that was once about five times the mass of the Sun is at the center of this fury. It has ejected its envelope of gases and is now unleashing a stream of ultraviolet radiation that is making the cast-off material glow. This object is an example of a planetary nebula, so-named because many of them have a round appearance resembling that of a planet when viewed through a small telescope.
Wiki page on NGC 6302 or Butterfly Nebula
"Hubble: Still Unbeatable", tribute to the Hubble telescope by Ethan Siegel
The Rich Do Not Create Jobs
This short TED talk by billionaire Nick Hanauer on income inequality is fantastic. Mr. Hanauer's talk was initially banned from posting online by TED as being too "politically controversial" and "insulting". It is sad that challenging the republican big lie "Don't tax the job creators, or it will kill jobs", is now considered politically controversial.
GOP War On Women Aided By GOP Women Legislators
“raising the profile of GOP women in their roles as lawmakers, highlighting their diverse achievements and providing a unique, unified voice on a wide range of critically important issues.”Not once in this video did the members of the "Women's Policy Committee" mention reproductive rights, birth control, Planned Parenthood, access to prenatal care, child care, equal pay, or contraceptives. Think Progress took a look at their voting records and it was shameful.
The GOP has paraded Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA), who usually stands quietly behind Speaker Boehner, in front of the media to loudly proclaim there is no war on women. However, Rep. Rogers voted against the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and had nothing to say in her defense on Meet The Press. Planned Parenthood and Naral Pro-Choice America both give Rep. Rogers a 0% rating. It's one thing to have personal issues with abortion and contraception, but its entirely a different story when you impose those personal beliefs on your constituents. Hence, these republican women are enabling and aiding the republican war on women. These GOP women may be wives, mothers and grandmothers but they vote like old white republican men.
- Violence Against Women: Of the 24 women, 22 voted to rollback the Violence Against Women Act, backing a version of the bill that could violate the confidentiality of victims and that excluded protections for immigrants, LGBT people, and Native Americans.
- Access to contraception: 21 of the 24 co-sponsored the “Respect for Rights of Conscience Act” to take away regulations enacted under Obamacare requiring most employers to cover birth control in their health insurance plans, without additional cost-sharing.
- Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act: Of the 15 Republican Congresswomen who were in the House at the time, all 15 voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, a law that helps women hold accountable employers who discriminate in the pay practices based on gender.
- Paycheck Fairness Act Act: 13 of those 15 also voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would update the 1963 Equal Pay Act by closing many of its loopholes and strengthening incentives to prevent pay discrimination.
- Reproductive health: According to Planned Parenthood, 20 of the 24 GOP women earned a zero score, voting against reproductive health at every opportunity. The average score for the women was under 6 percent.
Romney Doesn't Know How To Read A Balance Sheet
Karl Rove and Crossroads GPS are spending 25 million on an ad buy running in 10 states that attack President Obama for ballooning the deficit. This week Mitt Romney said; “I will lead us out of this debt and spending inferno.” Romney claims he knows business and has said "I understand, for instance, how to read a balance sheet,".
If that is the kind of business expertise we can expect from Romney the nation is in huge trouble if Mitt wins the election. President Obama is not, in spite of the republican lies a big government spender. It is particularly galling for Karl Rove, who along with George Bush created the budget and deficit mess that our nation is still suffering under with their two wars on the credit card and two huge tax cuts, to claim that President Obama is responsible for the huge deficit.
If that is the kind of business expertise we can expect from Romney the nation is in huge trouble if Mitt wins the election. President Obama is not, in spite of the republican lies a big government spender. It is particularly galling for Karl Rove, who along with George Bush created the budget and deficit mess that our nation is still suffering under with their two wars on the credit card and two huge tax cuts, to claim that President Obama is responsible for the huge deficit.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Naral Pro-Choice America Endorses President Barack Obama
This is one of the best ads I've seen all year. Well done!
NARAL Pro-Choice America stands with President Barack Obama in his fight for re-election this November. We know that President Obama is the only choice to protect women's reproductive health and freedom.Naral Pro-Choice America
President Obama and Romney on Same Sex Marriage
"I think same-sex couples should be able to get married."Mitt Romney
“I believe that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman.
Romney supports a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in the U.S., and has also said he’s opposed to civil unions that would legally recognize a same-sex relationship. He has said in the past that he supports some domestic partner benefits, like hospital visitation rights.The board of the NAACP voted 62-2 to endorse same-sex marriage this week, calling it the civil rights issue of our time.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Obama Slams Romney's Business "Expertise"
At the news conference in Chicago following the G8 meeting, President Obama was asked about Romney's experience with Bain Capital and how that is relevant to this years campaign. President Obama gives a complete and thoughtful answer, destroying most of Romney's argument that his experience at Bain Capital left him uniquely qualified to improve business in the US.
OBAMA: But understand that their priority is to maxmize profits. And that’s not always going to be good for communities or businesses or workers…And when you’re president, as opposed to the head of a private equity firm, then your job is not simply to maximize profits. Your job is to figure out how everyone in the country has a fair shot. Your job is to think about those workers who get laid off and how are we paying for their retraining? Your job is to think about how those communities can start creating new clusters so they can attract new businesses. Your job as president is to think about how do we set up an equitable tax system so that everybody is paying their fair share that allows us then to invest in science and technology and infrastructure, all of which will help us grow. And so, if your main argument for how to grow the economy is, ‘I knew how to make a lot of money for investors, then you’re missing what this job is about.’
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Science Cinema: Free On Demand
ScienceCinema highlights leading-edge research from the U.S. Department of Energy as well as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Using innovative, state-of-the-art audio indexing and speech recognition technology from Microsoft Research, ScienceCinema allows users to search for specific words and phrases spoken within video files. Simply enter a term in the box and start exploring!Astronomy and Astrophysics has always intrigued and fascinated me. This new site, compliments of the US government brings great lectures from scientists direct to your living room or anyplace with internet access.
I entered dark matter and found 30 lectures from Cern and 67 from DOE. The search took rather a long time but was very fruitful delivering months of great science lectures. The first video, The Dark Side of the Universe: Dark Matter and Dark Energy from CERN kept stalling in Firefox. The solution was to save the file, wait for the download to finish and open it with Firefox for uninterrupted playing. Check out Science Cinema!
Friday, May 18, 2012
King Of Bain
“Mitt Romney’s tenure as CEO underscores his deeply-held belief that success only for the wealthy is good for America, even if it comes at the expense of the middle class,” said Paul Begala, Senior Adviser for Priorities USA Action. “As President, Romney has been clear he would pursue policies that benefit the wealthiest Americans like himself while cutting promised Medicare benefits and slashing educational and job opportunities for the middle class.” [1.]
1. PRIORITIES USA ACTION CAMPAIGN EXPOSES ROMNEY’S REAL RECORD AS CEO
New Poll: Americans Recognize Money In Politics Is THE Problem
Americans seem to realize the biggest issue facing our democracy is the unmitigated influence of money in our government. This new poll shows American's clearly want to clean up the influence of money in government over just shrinking government.
found that 57 percent of voters - and two-thirds of independents - say reducing the influence of money in politics is one of the most important factors in deciding which candidate to vote for. Majorities of seniors, white non-college-educated voters and other key demographics said the same thing, according to the report.
"There is a significant opening for candidates to claim the mantle of money in politics reform and plenty of voters are willing to make it a ballot box issue," the report says.
The poll also found that voters don't trust either party to clean up money in politics, so, "for the most part, there is a big opening for both parties to claim this issue in a serious way."
Sign MoveOn's petition to pass a constitutional amendment removing money from politics.
Happy Friday
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| Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Rigby (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), K. Sharon (Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago), and M. Gladders and E. Wuyts (University of Chicago) |
Thursday, May 17, 2012
VP Joe Biden Slams Romney And GOP
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
George Bush Pens Economic Coloring Book
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| George Bush's new economic coloring book |
Think Progress
That Bush believes the country needs his thoughts on how to create economic growth is laughable. After all, under his watch, “growth in investment, GDP, and employment all posted their worst performance of any post-war expansion,” while “overall monthly job growth was the worst of any cycle since at least February 1945, and household income growth was negative for the first cycle since tracking began in 1967.” As the Economic Policy Institute found, “between the end of the 2001 recession (2001Q4) and the peak of that expansion (2007Q4), the U.S. economy experienced the worst economic expansion of the post-war era.”
***Correction.***
I stated that George Bush is penning a coloring book. This is incorrect. George Bush is writing a comic book. I regret the error. Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Stand Your Ground For Justice
Marissa Alexander, a Florida mother of three, was only trying to protect herself from her abusive husband when she fired warning shots into her ceiling. No one was hurt, she'd given birth just nine days before, and her husband had a history of violence--yet she's still facing twenty years in prison. Nine days after Marissa gave birth to their daughter, her husband, Rico Gray, resumed the abuse Marissa had endured for a year. Gray, in a rage, had her cornered, and when he saw her pistol, he threatened to kill her. But instead of shooting him, she aimed upward. The only thing she hit was the ceiling. Florida's Stand Your Ground law, as controversial as it is, was supposedly made to protect domestic abuse victims. But if it's not protecting Marissa Alexander, who will it protect?
Please sign this petition to stand up for Marissa and her children.
Sign the Petition
Monday, May 14, 2012
Romney Economics For The Middle Class
Sunday, May 13, 2012
A List Of Reproductive Rights Blogs From KYBOOMU and MS.
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| Image Credit; Cory Torbin |
- Team Uterati, founded in 2012 by Imani Gandy (Angry Black Lady), aims to provide comprehensive up-to-date information about anti-choice, anti-women’s health and anti-reproductive rights legislative measures in various states. Gandy started Team Uterati as a “community-based organizing tool for feminists fighting for equal rights and reproductive justice.” The project, which is the first of its kind on the Internet, also contains a continually growing Wiki with resources, articles, databases and a forum.
- Abortion Gang: Abortion Gang’s website says it best: “We are unapologetic activists for reproductive justice.” The site discusses reproductive health and justice, and reminds us again and again that the personal truly is political.
- Bebinn: A collection of pro-choice information, rants and unrelated gifs, “for all your pro-choice needs!”
- Care2: An array of comprehensive coverage under the heading “Dispatches from the War on Women.”
- Huffington Post – Laura Bassett: HuffPo’s politics writer tackles both state and national reproductive rights news in a concise, easy-to-understand fashion.
- Prolonged Eye Contact: With articles and commentary on abortion and reproductive rights, this site, according to Jessica Luther, “is REALLY phenomenal at being inclusive in how they talk about repro rights.”
- Rabble: “Radically pro-choice” site that offers the tagline, “It’s pro-choice or NO choice.”
- Radical Doula: Almost defying categorization, Radical Doula is site run by activist Miriam Zoila Pérez, and connects the dots between reproductive rights, birth activism, doula work, LGBT issues, immigrant rights and racial justice.
- Reproductive Rights Prof Blog: This website keeps tabs on reproductive rights issues from legal and academic perspectives.
- RH Reality Check: The one-stop shop for breaking news and opinion on sexual and reproductive health and rights, with updates throughout the day.
- Shakesville: At Melissa McEwan’s one-stop shop for progressive and feminist news, bloggers Misty Clifton and Shark Fu have done a great job of keeping the Shakesville community informed and aware of various reproductive rights news.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Apple Pie
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Apple Pie Recipe Here
Directions and photo's on how to roll out pie crusts using plastic wrap
Cory Booker In Seattle, 6/01
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| Image Credit; Wikipedia |
Go to http://www.wa-democrats.org/convention to register for the Gala Banquet and other State Convention events. The deadline to register for the Gala Banquet is May 25th.
For information including the schedule of the weekend, registration information, registration form, online registration, and the Gala Banquet invite go to http://www.wa-democrats.org/conventioninfo. All are welcome to register for State Convention events.
Friday, May 11, 2012
A Musical Vain Bain Tribute To Romney
Happy Friday
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| NASA, Orion Nebula |
Baby stars are creating chaos 1,500 light-years away in the cosmic cloud of the Orion Nebula. Four massive stars make up the bright yellow area in the center of this false-color image for NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Green indicates hydrogen and sulfur gas in the nebula, which is a cocoon of gas and dust. Red and orange indicate carbon-rich molecules. Infant stars appear as yellow dots embedded in the nebula.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Obama and Romney; Same Sex Marriage
Mitt Romney
Mr. Romney has signed a pledge to support a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage.President Obama
"I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married."
Mitt Romney Bully
Washington Post Article, Mitt Romney’s prep school classmates recall pranks, but also troubling incidents
Romney marching out of his own room ahead of a prep school posse shouting about their plan to cut Lauber’s hair. Friedemann followed them to a nearby room where they came upon Lauber, tackled him and pinned him to the ground. As Lauber, his eyes filling with tears, screamed for help, Romney repeatedly clipped his hair with a pair of scissors. The incident was recalled similarly by five students, who gave their accounts independently of one another.This article is well worth reading. Several very troubling incidents are reported, including the incident described above where led a gang to forcibly cuts someone's hair. Mitt Romney claims to not remember this incident, which occurred when he was 18, but remembers the individual in question well enough to claim he wasn't gay. This isn't a prank, its bullying and just as wrong in 2012 as in 1965. At the time of this troubling incident, Mitt Romney was the son of a governor, attending a private and very expensive prep school. Perhaps, that explains the lack of repercussions for Mitt Romney. Some people think we should let Mitt Romney off the hook, because he was only 18. No. Currently, in the US their are 2,500 people sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for crimes committed when they were juveniles. If we hold juveniles responsible, how can we not hold an 18 year old responsible for his actions?
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
The Daily Bread
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| ,recipe and directions here |
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Romney's Big Bald Faced "Chutzpah"
The Obama campaign released this video, displaying Mitt Romney's attempt to rewrite history and claim credit for the auto bailout.
“I pushed the idea of a managed bankruptcy, and finally when that was done and help was given, the companies got back on their feet, so I’ll take a lot of credit for the fact that this industry’s come back,”The "help was given" was the Obama administration giving the automobile industry lots of loaned government money; something Romney had vociferously argued against. For Mitt Romney to sit, with a smile on his face, claiming credit for saving the auto industry more than anything else, made me feel that Mr. Romney is completely unfit to hold the office of President.
Jennifer Granholm was Governor of Michigan during the financial crisis. Her comments are particularly germane concerning Mitt Romney's claim that he helped save the auto industry.
Local Issaquah MoveOn Group Supports Planned Parenthood
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| Image Credit: Martha Jordan |
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| Image Credit: Martha Jordan |
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| Image Credit: Martha Jordan |
President Obama vs. Romney; Osama Bin Laden
Then Senator Barack Obama: 8/4/2007
Mitt Romney 8/4/2007
"If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will,"
Mitt Romney 8/4/2007
"I do not concur in the words of Barack Obama in a plan to enter an ally of ours... I don't think those kinds of comments help in this effort to draw more friends to our effort," U.S. troops "shouldn't be sent all over the world." He called Obama's comments "ill-timed" and "ill-considered."
"It's not worth moving heaven and earth and spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person." Politifact
Mitt Romney 4/2012
“Of course I would have.” ordered the raid on Osama Bin Laden
“I think trying to attack me on that basis is inappropriate and the wrong course.”Don't quote Romney to Romney, it's "inappropriate and the wrong course". The Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney declares that it is "inappropriate and the wrong course" to assume he would follow a plan of action based on his own words.
Ask Rob McKenna
Rob McKenna was asked his opinion of the Reproductive Parity Act, by Kendra Obom recently. Instead of answering the young ladies question Mr. McKenna urged her to get a job. Kendra Obom is employed, perhaps Mr. McKenna is unfamiliar with citizens who are sufficiently concerned with governmental issues that they would seek answers in their limited free time.
Watch Kendra attempt to ask Rob McKenna a question and get the third degree here
Congress: Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act
In what marks their latest anti-woman position, Senate Republicans
are prepared to vote against the Paycheck Fairness Act. This would
provide a much-needed update to the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to make it fit
our modern times.
At its core, this law enforces actions against employers who discriminate against an employee's compensation based on gender and it strengthens penalties for equal pay violations.
Sens. Maria Cantwell, Ben Cardin, Kirsten Gillibrand, Bob Menendez and Debbie Stabenow have joined together to demand immediate passage.
Sign our petition calling on Senate Republicans to join us in passing the Paycheck Fairness Act without delay.
At its core, this law enforces actions against employers who discriminate against an employee's compensation based on gender and it strengthens penalties for equal pay violations.
Sens. Maria Cantwell, Ben Cardin, Kirsten Gillibrand, Bob Menendez and Debbie Stabenow have joined together to demand immediate passage.
Sign our petition calling on Senate Republicans to join us in passing the Paycheck Fairness Act without delay.
Wiki page; Paycheck Fairness Act
S. 3772 (111th): Paycheck Fairness Act
Monday, May 7, 2012
Call to Keep Student Loan Rates at 3.4%
Mitch McConnel (R-Ky) the republican senator from Kentucky, thinks that his party and his goals are more important than America, will have no qualms about letting student interest rates double. Mitch has only one policy goal;
Mitch McConnell:
From Rebuild the Dream:
Mitch McConnell:“The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”
From Rebuild the Dream:
On Tuesday, the Senate will vote on whether the interest rates DOUBLE on subsidized Stafford loans -- loans that go to millions of students every year. This is the most important moment in this campaign. Can you help with the final push?Tell Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell to vote to keep the interest rate at 3.4%. Sen. McConnell has the most influence over Republican Senators. Calling senators actually makes a difference; they notice when they get a LOT of calls about an issue. It works.Call Senator McConnell at 202-224-2541.
Use the script below:
If you'd like to report your call to Rebuild the Dream, click hereHi, my name is [NAME]. I live in [CITY AND STATE].I'm calling to tell Senator McConnell to support the Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act, and don't double student debt interest rates! This bill keeps interest rates affordable on subsidized Stafford loans at 3.4%. Please support this bill!Subsidized Stafford loans benefit almost 8 million students every year. In some cases, students could pay up to $5,000 more through the repayment of their loan. This is unacceptable, especially now that student debt has hit $1 trillion -- more than credit card debt.OPTIONAL: This issue is important to me because [REASON].Thank you.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Amazon Out Of Alec
We used to be huge fans of Amazon. Then we discovered that Amazon isn't fond of paying taxes. Now we buy locally whenever possible. It was a lot more fun when we could order from Amazon guilt free. Amazon, now has 2 big strikes against their business, a reputation for not wanting to contribute to local tax bases and Amazon is a member of ALEC. Amazon has no business being in the business of writing laws. Please sign the petition to encourage Amazon to leave Alec.
http://action.workingwa.org/page/signup/amazonoutofalec
http://action.workingwa.org/page/signup/amazonoutofalec
Friday, May 4, 2012
Mann and Ornstein Indict the GOP
It's Even Worse Than It Looks;
Thomas E. Mann , Norman J. Ornstein
available from Amazon
"One of the two major parties, the Republican Party, has become an insurgent outlier — ideologically extreme; contemptuous of the inherited social and economic policy regime; scornful of compromise; unpersuaded by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition,"Kevin Drum
Mann and Ornstein rightly blame the news media for doing a mediocre job covering the most important political story of the last three decades: the transformation of the Republican Party. They are critical of the conventions of mainstream journalism that lead to the evenhandedness they have now abandoned themselves. They see a "reflexive tendency of many in the mainstream press to use false equivalence to explain outcomes," when Republican obstructionism and Republican rejection of science and basic facts have no Democratic equivalents. It's much easier to write stories "that convey an impression that the two sides are equally implicated." [...]Paul Krugman:
And now, as Mann and Ornstein document so vividly, at a time when only good government could help us rediscover our footing as a nation, our Grand Old Party defines itself as the party of anti-government. This is why the title of this book is so good: Our situation really is even worse than it looks.
Now, however, the Republican Party is dominated by doctrines formerly on the political fringe. Friedman called for monetary flexibility; today, much of the G.O.P. is fanatically devoted to the gold standard. N. Gregory Mankiw of Harvard University, a Romney economic adviser, once dismissed those claiming that tax cuts pay for themselves as “charlatans and cranks”; today, that notion is very close to being official Republican doctrine.As it happens, these doctrines have overwhelmingly failed in practice. For example, conservative goldbugs have been predicting vast inflation and soaring interest rates for three years, and have been wrong every step of the way. But this failure has done nothing to dent their influence on a party that, as Mr. Mann and Mr. Ornstein note, is “unpersuaded by conventional understanding of facts, evidence, and science.”And why is the G.O.P. so devoted to these doctrines regardless of facts and evidence? It surely has a lot to do with the fact that billionaires have always loved the doctrines in question, which offer a rationale for policies that serve their interests. Indeed, support from billionaires has always been the main thing keeping those charlatans and cranks in business. And now the same people effectively own a whole political party.Which brings us to the question of what it will take to end this depression we’re in.Many pundits assert that the U.S. economy has big structural problems that will prevent any quick recovery. All the evidence, however, points to a simple lack of demand, which could and should be cured very quickly through a combination of fiscal and monetary stimulus.No, the real structural problem is in our political system, which has been warped and paralyzed by the power of a small, wealthy minority. And the key to economic recovery lies in finding a way to get past that minority’s malign influence.
Thomas E. Mann , Norman J. Ornstein
available from Amazon
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