Sunday, January 29, 2012

Why Keystone XL pipeline is Such a Bad Idea. One Stop Shopping for Arguments to Help Your Friends Understand

Young man afraid of his horses 2
Young man Afraid of his Horses, Chief of Oglala band of Lakota Sioux says "Don't Mess With My Water!"
Credit Wikipedia Clicking on picture should take you to proper page for attribution. See next link for info on YMAOHH, real name: They Fear Even His Horses
The Keystone XL pipeline will only provide temporary jobs except for a rump core of what some have said are 50-100 permanent jobs over the stretch of the line.  As it stands now the pipeline route would endanger the massive Ogallala Aquifer that serves most of the High Plains. See map below.  A spill into the Ogallala could cause a spike in food prices, not to mention hardship and possibly even serious illness in families, especially those with children who can be very sensitive to pollutants, that live in the area and get their drinking water from the massive underground source (much of which may date back to the last ice age).

In recent years the Ogallala has been shrinking because of heavier water use than rate of replenishment.  Good luck diluting out any large spill, and the more South a farmer using aquifer waters is, the more he or she depends on it just as the aquifer has less to offer for use or self protection.

Ogallala saturated thickness 1997-sattk97
Image from Wikipedia used by Creative Commons license specifically (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Though much of this land may be in corn or cattle pasture at this time, some farmers using Ogallala water have gone into organic farming.  It would  be a great help to our nation to have billions of bushels of veggies and fruits as well as the organic grass fed beef already coming out of the high plains.  If the Ogallala is polluted that scenario is not going to materialize.

And if you live in the region, I feel badly for your family.  Just like with the area around Fukushima, many of the powers that be want this to go through will promise you that everything will be okay. And it is, until it's not.  Then it's disaster.

Read important reports below:

Trans Canada is spending big time bribing House members to get their oil pipeline installed across our nation's heartland.

One video report notes that the original Keystone pipeline has already had 12 spills.

Also, another report says: Pipeline Inspector-Turned Whistleblower Calls Keystone XL a Potential Disaster 

Another important report to read: Keystone XL Primer: Why Nebraska Is Ground Zero in the Pipeline Fight
   Quick Take away (but it's best to read the entire report):
The Keystone XL would be the first oil pipeline to run through the Nebraska sandhills, a fragile area with few pipelines of any kind...

A report from February by the NRDC, Pipeline Safety Trust, Sierra Club and National Wildlife Foundation says diluted bitumen is more acidic and corrosive than conventional crude. It requires operators to run the pipeline at higher pressures, Swift said, leading to more friction inside the pipeline and creating extra heat that can further decrease pipeline safety.

Previous reports on our blog:

Proof that #Keystone XL Pipeline will Take #TarSands oil To Make Gasoline for World Market (Asia)

Canadian Filings Show TransCanada is Lying to Americans About Jobs the Keystone XL Pipeline Would Create

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Don't Boycott Twitter? Yeah, Right.

We are seeing calls for people to not boycott Twitter.  Even Cent (The Young Turks)  said it wouldn't be a good idea.

Cenk said at least people outside a nation would know what was going on, even if Twitter wouldn't be giving the people within a nation the messages they needed to get.

No, Cenk.  Sorry.

Just think of it:   We sit back and read the messages of desperate young people tweeting for help when there can be none.   I can't think of anything worse.

BTW, I wonder why media people, once they grab part of the big media spotlight suddenly want the rest of us to become their captive audience.

Imagine, if during last year's Eqypt uprising, Twitter had been amenable to censoring, and we knew the addresses of those secret nodes with which they could communicate between themselves, and yet we couldn't transmit the information.

Wouldn't it be great that we could learn about hundreds being rounded up or even killed and though we knew how to get them to safe nodes, we couldn't tell them because the hashtags we use to do so were being censored by the Twits at Twitter in Egypt. 

I know little about those nodes, but I do know that last year I retweeted  any message from those I trust who did give directions to them so they would get to the activists whenever they could check in and read Twitter.

I also think that it is important that this came close after the big investment by Murcoch's Saudi Prince partner.

Many sources cite the Twitter desire to get into China, showing that the Twits have some onerous Chuztpah deciding they will act as censors where Google stopped playing.

I'm guessing their prince wants to  make his investment back quickly.

And yes a 24 hour boycott isn't going to get the Twits to change their minds, I'm guessing.

Maybe we should  start a move to another source.  Facebook already has a lot of groups, but they all belong to someone, making it hard for  individuals to block annoying  people from their personal timeline.  This was the bane of the old "forum" model.  One moderator or the small group of leaders would be talked into allowing "gadflies"  in the name of free speech only to see the copious complaints of such people driving good folks out of the group.  One forum group even ousted the creator, a popular Twitter icon.  (Okay, I know; Redundancy alert.)

Google +,  Tumblr,  are also alternatives.  Yahoo has something.   I'm sure I'm probably missing other sources too.

We really might want to transition to one of those formats.  Does anyone know of more?

Leave info in comment section.  Yeah, we do have to approve comments before they appear for the public , but that's only works as a troll gate.  We see a notice of a message whenever we check in to write, and will react quickly. 

BTW, just because I disagree with Cent right now it doesn't  mean I won't continue to watch his show.  It's part of the mix I try to get to each day.

Still, I do think that Twitter which is credited with helping to facilitate the Egypt uprising at least as much or more than Facebook did, is now going to play nice with repressive governments shows they don't get why we used it so much.  

(i guess a link to this post will go to  Twitter.  I haven't  dismantled the feedburner link because it's hard for me to understand how to set it up again, but my real intention was to write on our blog.)

I have a good post on all the arguments I could find from many sources against the Keystone XL pipeline that you could use to win arguments, but I will post that tomorrow morning after the boycott is over.

Newt Has Been Dreaming of Space States for Decades

Even in 1981 Gingrich was fantasizing about permanent space colonies and states. 
Soon, I suspect, Moon Governor Gingrich would be seeking to secede and become Moon President Gingrich. 

Its the old Rick Perry path to presidency.

Too bad Newt's too old for space travel these days.

See original report which above comments address:  http://bit.ly/yBf11r

Friday, January 27, 2012

Canadian Filings Show TransCanada is Lying to Americans About Jobs the Keystone XL Pipeline Would Create


Sunday afternoons
Kansas: Swing and Corn Field
Just the safety of much of our food supply and the health of the families of the High Plains are at risk if a massive pipeline is built across the Ogallala Aquifer.
Picture sharing is allowed via Creative Commons license using Flickr's native attribution and placement code. Roll over for photographer's name, click to go to original Flickr location, to see more sizes of picture available
Remember how TransCanada has been saying that building the Keystone XL pipeline across the breadth of the MidWest would created 20,000 jobs in the US?

Well, their filings with their own government show the real numbers are not so much. Oops, did they say 20k? Well, in the US actually that would be 6k.

Yes, 6000 jobs, most of which will be temporary according to other analyses I've encountered. (In fact, I've heard that only 50 jobs would last beyond the building phase of the pipeline. People just love temporary jobs they can pick up and get busy on while others nab the more permanent jobs.

If the Keystone XL pipeline would create only  temporary jobs en toto,  maybe someone fell asleep and dreamed up that 20k number the pipeline related companies have been feeding to the public through Republican politicians..

I'm guessing that the GOP first taught TransCanada how to lie big-time, in order to get their way.

The good news is that though it's politics as usual and legal to lie to the American public, apparently investors were also deceived over the number of jobs the pipeline would create. That is not allowed under US law.

See ThinkProgress Green: TransCanada’s Dirty Keystone XL Jobs Claims Draw Complaint To SEC

Thursday, January 26, 2012

US Transportation Secretary's Son Barred From Leaving Egypt

Ray La Hood's son, Sam, among others from a NGO helping the middle eastern nation's recent election have been stopped at the Cairo airport as they tried to leave.

Their NGO had been helping with the recent elections.

American lobbyists are currently trying to gain support for Cairo's action including one with Clinton ties and (I believe) the man who was briefly Speaker of the House immediately after Newt Gingrich before he also lost the position due to sexual infidelities.

See all other details of what Politico says is an exclusive report at Politico (mobile): http://bit.ly/wdrvjG

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Scott Walker Ahead in #Wisconsin Recall Election If You believe in Faeries #wiunion

Scott Walker leads the recall race in Wisconsin thanks to unlimited donations until the signatures are verified.
But there's a lot of uncertainty even beyond the great capacity for political action the people of the state have shown.
1st- almost all the candidates are within the law school's poll's large margin of error (unless I've misremembered and they all are, I'm working from my phone and can't go back to check). 
The opposition field is also divided, and Walker has used more than he's raised already though he's gotten millions to fight off the challengers. 
See Washington Post report got more from their article at:  http://wapo.st/zXleRS
The activists in the state can keep you up to date at #wiunion on Twitter (blocking the obvious trolls in that line is a fine idea too).
You can edit trolls out by searching on #wiunion -troll1 -troll2 etc but they will attack you by mention so it's just easiest to block them right off.  You will know who they are, I'm sure.

Thanks to an interview on Current's Countdown Wednesday night, we've learned that the source of the poll above is a Republican friendly entity and not to be relied upon.  The Interviewee also mentioned the large margin of error as I did above yesterday morning.  The question is why the Washington Post chose to run this as news without even the obvious caveats being mentioned.

Officials: Rescue of hostages in Somalia due to concerns for health

US officials say that concern for the health of the hostages led to recent raid that rescued 2. 

Plus more at LA Times (mobile):
http://bit.ly/ybiNum

Obama Learned Before #SOTU: SEAL Team 6 Rescued Hostages #p2 #tcot

Obama's cryptic remark to Defense Secretary Panetta on a "good job" referred to the rescue of two from Somali pirates by members of the same team that killed bin Laden.  See more details at link:
http://bit.ly/yrad7I

Monday, January 23, 2012

Video: Newt Gingrich: Tax Cheat?



Update TSA: Rand Paul Was Never "Detained"

Though Senator Paul claimed to have been detained in a "small cubicle" for an hour, according to an AP report referenced by CBS News Political Hotsheet the TSA says they never "detained" him. 

Paul's father tweeted that his son was  he was "detained" without describing what might be a detention inspired room.

I guess the news media will sort this out, (or not since it is a sensitive issue for Republicans).

In fact, according to Dictionary.com "detain" can be used for delayed, but there is that small problem of the "cubicle" reference.

Read the Hotsheet report at Rand Paul in TSA showdown after refusing pat down.
 

Rand Paul Detained at Airport After Body Scan Anomaly Found

Apparently, after a body scan anomaly Senator Paul refused a pat down check and therefore was detained.

Count on his father, Ron Paul, to make a big deal about this at the coming debate until some begin to suspect a set up from the first.

Many experts recommend opting for a pat down instead of s scan from the first to save your skin from the concentrated dose of rays the scanner aims at it.

Paul's refusal of a pat down shows he puts a juvenile sense of   "propriety" over the safety of everyone on board the plane he was to travel on, and in fact, on any plane. 
Beyond just his own flight, if this incident gets enough steam worked up to reduce airport security and an attack gets through, it would have the opposite effect than the lessening of security measures the Rand men claim they want.

It would increase security, boost the size and intrusiveness of government, and would likely to lead to more war instead of less.

So Rand Paul's refusal shows him to be less a libertarian than a man with a great sense of self entitlement.  Then again, that's the outfit his fathers been wearing for years.

BTW, where was Candidate Rand Paul's great libertarianism when he allowed a body guard to put his weight on a protestor's neck to protect the optimologist from confrontation with the woman's ideas and expressions while he approached his waiting limo when he was running to become senator?

Not just a little hypocrisy is being exposed here.

See Politico blogger for original report I read on the Rand Paul detention:  http://bit.ly/xp42Vm

Proof that #Keystone XL Pipeline will Take #TarSands oil To Make Gasoline for World Market (Asia)

The shrill GOP defenders of the Keystone XL pipeline say they are interested in getting that Tar Sands oil to Texas in order to fill gas tanks in the US with cheaper oil, but they are lying.  The fact that the Keystone XL pipeline is being built across a major MidWest aquifer to transport  the tarsands oil to the Gulf Coast proves that the resultant gas will be used for the world market not the US.

There are plenty of refineries in the upper MidWest in with which to refine the tar sands oil and some of them wanted that chance so badly that they were willing to undertake extensive expansion for the chance, which would create 10 times more permanent jobs in the Great Lakes region than the pipeline will. 

Most of the jobs for the Keystone XL pipeline heading for Texas will instead  be temporary ones, and once the tar sands oil reaches it's destination on the Gulf Coast, the resultant product can be dumped onto ships and taken through the Panama canal to Asia keeping gasoline prices just as high as always home.

And that's the reason the world wants the US to endanger the underground water supply (Ogallala aquifer) for a major portion of the MidWest.  Tainted drinking water, anyone?

At least, the GOP should allow enough time for a real analysis of the ability to safely build and maintain that pipeline to be completed, but the Republicans want to posture about the pipeline for the 2012 political race. and can't wait for safety evaluations.   A spill could be incredibly damaging to the upper plains region.

But many interested parties don't like to think about problems that could develop in the future. That's how Japan ended up with a major disaster from the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Is that how we should do things in our nation?

Not if we want to protect the environment and especially regional families' health and well being.  The MidWest shouldn't be held hostage under the threat of public safety crisis to the world gas market.

We need to do the environmental review, do it right and select the proper route for the tar sands oil.

The GOP should stop posturing.  The gas isn't for us.  It won't help us.  So we need to look out for ourselves first and take the time to figure out how to do the job safely.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Gabby Giffords To Resign from #Congress #p2 #ows #Arizona #wiunion

The Democratic representative to resign shortly to work on recovery.

It feels like the shooter and the haters won, but it id likely to be best for her, so that's good.

Politico article doesn't say how she will be replaced. Special election?   Appointment by governor?

See: http://bit.ly/Agwxme

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Why Gingrich's Treatment of His Wives is So Wrong

A New York Times article "For Gingrich, Wives Always at Center of Career"
begins to hint at what is so wrong about Newt Gingrich's affairs behind his wives' backs and with the idea that he should have been given an open marriage.

The report describes Marianne Gingrich as constantly with her husband acting as a kind of foil off which to bounce ideas (my take) or as the Times writer seems to indicate more directly act as a constant adviser though the piece described her as uncomfortable in the position.

And though it seems nice that Gingrich felt so comfortable with her, such a devotion becomes so overwhelming of one's personal life, it is often difficult for a woman to maintain such a constant companionship and still have time for herself.  Apparently that time for self was not a priority for Marianne.

My own father and mother had such a life together.  It showed how devoted they were to each other and gave them company in good times and bad.  But I have to note that it took much work on the part of my Mother, and mostly, as with the Gingriches they worked to further my father's career and after-work interests, and yes that focus was somewhat successful.  My father was ABC News'  "Person of the Week" once.  Not a lot of people can say that.

But my father never fooled around on my mother, instead rewarding her with the constant devotion to her that Gingrich refused to offer Marianne.  Newt apparently then asked her share him  (according to her words in an interview).

Newt's actions also violated his own professed religious tenets.

His actions and his lack of honesty should not be ignored.  This is not a personal matter.  It goes to the heart of whether he will be honest with Americans or whether he will tell us any lie that is convenient while selling us out to the highers bidder.  I don't know if his creepy reaction to the news media trying to get to the bottom of his infidelities and desire for an open marriage or his views on how women should serve him while he's got an eye open for the next, younger, one is more disturbing.

For contrast read The Kama Sutra of Kindness: Position Number 3 by Mary Mackey

It shows a good way to go through life in love.  Of course, people and life being what they are the perfection in the poem is not always achieved, but I find it hard to believe that most men treat their wives with more fairness and decency that Newt did at least his first two wives.  Who know who he has on the side these days.  I guess we'll learn in about a decade.

Politico Blogger: Gingrich Attack on John King Just Shtick To Gain Approval From Red Meat Conservatives

After the last South Carolina debate in which Newt Gingrich derided the news media especially harshly the former speaker of the House of Representatives congratulated the newsman who he had implied was waging a vicious attack on him just a short while before, proving what a hypocrite he is willing to become to gain political power.

I see a man who is a combination of both Richard Nixon and his even more odious Vice President, Spiro Agnew.

And the key to both men was that they were both corrupt, but Agnew was so bad they had to convince him to leave office before they could allow Nixon to resign.


See Politico post: http://bit.ly/xCP09p

Friday, January 20, 2012

Newt #Gingrich Really is the King of #Earmarks #SC #scdebate #scprimary

Newt Gingrich, as Speaker of the House, flooded Congress with earmarks.  Conveniently, in two of his years there were slightly less earmarks than in the others.

http://wapo.st/xDsOm0

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

War Vets Going Crazy, Becoming Killers Again. Nothing to See Here Folks

Southern California's latest serial killer turns out to be another war vet deeply damaged by the time he spent in Iraq.
What fun for leaders to majestically send troops off to war for their education which they certainly get on the battlefield long before they get to take advantage of their post military college plans, if indeed they even get to back to school.
Also funny is how most of the mainstream news only deals with war's damage to the psyche when a terrible crime has been committed.  And then it's considered just local news.  ( One notable exception to that rule was Timothy McVeigh.)
And, how lucky that is for Neocons like Mitt Romney (who is virtually offering up the US military to the highest bidder in campaign donations with his bellicose yammering about Obama not supporting endless war).
http://bit.ly/xWjvP9

Kudos to Amy Goodman who did mention this case on Democracy Now.  Mainstream?  We're still waitiiinngg!

Nuclear Empowered Iran Would Force Israel to Restrain Actions

Israel worries that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon and delivery capability that actions such as those its own government had taken in the past on Lebanon and Gaza could become impossible, and apparently Israel also worries that Syria could be emboldened.

I guess that Manifest Destiny in the Middle East looks a little shaky now.

( I say that knowing that Jewish people had a right to be very fearful of remaining in Europe given the history there and the way other nations ignored their plight. I also believe that guarded messages were given to the Jewish people set down in Palestine that, with the right moves, they could do what Europeans did to North America, become the dominant civilization of the region.

It looks like we were wrong.

Sorry, friends.)

http://bit.ly/x43pjJ

Monday, January 16, 2012

How the Super-Wealthy Control the Nation By Playing Winner Takes All Politics

Bill Moyers interviews two authors who are telling the nation that democracy is under threat. (Video takes a little extra time to load, but should appear within a minute. You can read the following short message in the meantime.)
Though the wealthy play both sides of our political system, they have to most control for their greediest dreams of the GOP.  Problems tend to get worse for the middle and working class when Republicans gain more power.  And in the current president we are seeing the least corruptible leader in decades.  It would be a mistake to think it's okay to let the other side win in November.  Please make sure to get registered and have all required ID at the ready, and help friends and families get to the polls for primaries, and especially for November's election.

Check the schedule for Moyers and Company. Or go to home at link just previous for all the news from Bill. Program offered by PBS and usually no cable or satellite connection is needed. Bil Moyers is one of the top political analysts of our day.

Video: Is Mitt Romney a Serial Killer? Funny Ad from "Definitely Not Coordinating with Stephen Colbert Super PAC"

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Public Worker #Pensions Suffer Because of Unfair Hedge Fund Practices #wiunion #union

A post and an article linked below some of my thoughts on this subject explain how hedge fund managers have been hurting Pension Funds (including those for public workers) and other investors.  I try to explain why the news media ignores this "inconvenient truth".

Much has been made of the almighty Hedge Funds possibly because of all the money their managers seem to magically make.

After the Dot com melt down of the late 90s and early new millennial years youngish hedge fund managers kept popping that could truthfully say they made 1-2 million and even much more in their first years in the business.   Mainstream news was on these folks like sap on a split stem.  Business sections, especially love multimillion dollar success stories.  And in reporting on these new "winners" in the economy our news sources tend to promote their message.  This would happen even if mainstream writers weren't at least a bit biased towards the wealth created by such people.

You can see that mainstream media is prejudiced towards the rich and their wealth creation stories by how many sources have special "business and finance" parts.  Newspapers, magazines, and online publications have sections or even whole separate works aimed at people interested in making a lot of money as quickly as possible.  On air or cable stations have special programs or even entire channels aimed at the subject.

How many sections do you find in an newspaper or special regular programs or cable stations dealing with cleaning your house or apartment.  The second subject might be more useful and in fact necessary to prevent residents from falling ill, but there is almost no money in the profession.  You aren't going to see or read interviews with Delores, the house cleaner, who just may the only one be keeping a family from getting Typhus or Ptomaine poisoning, and that's a shame. Personally I'd like to pick the brains of quality professional cleaners to enhance my own cleaning skills.  And think of the clean you'd see if people got into house cleaning contests across the nation.  But don't hold your breath waiting for the Fox Cleaning Channel .

There seems to be a reason or two for the adversion to low earning jobs as icons and promotion of high earnings ones.  First, most people and media love get rich stories (Media which is usually supported by advertising especially love millionaires.  Dolores can't buy the expensive ads they need to sell).

In fact, some publications are still promoting the idea that Day Traders can get rich fast.  If 2008 didn't kill that old wives tale (which wouldn't earlier die after a few DSers killed people over their losses in the previous decade), then I don't know what will.  There are people though still making a lot of money "advising" day traders, and other businesses offering tools the poor frazzled smucks can use.  That may be the reason the lie continues.

And hedge fund managers were seen as big winners; millionaires and billionaires that could tell us what to do to make millions ourselves.  What they told us was to invest with them.

Unfortunately, it wasn't just Mom and Pop who may have gone this way and lost even compared with government bond yields.  Hedge funds attracted a lot of pension fund managers looking to make up for losses from earlier bad investments (like dot.com investments or the oil price bubble of late 2007- Spring 2008).

I'd like you to read an Economist Article and/or a piece by Tim O'Reilly linked at bottom of this post. O'Reilly is a dot com guy, but of course, because he's made a lot of money he needs to protect, and he's brilliant, so he's on this like ants on a rotting banana.

Apparently hedge fund managers have been setting their fees so high that yields after fees are subtracted, are lower than with "Treasury Bills" or government bonds according to a Financial Times article quoted by Mr. O'Reilly .

In fact, the FT author that O'Reilly quotes and to which he links suggests that over-all investors in hedge funds may have gained nothing over the last decade, and the managers extracted everything.

And believe me, I know how boring this is to read, except that it's talking about what may be your pension fund to which you give up to half your income and hope there will be an increase so you won't be cast into poverty when you can no longer work long hours.

First, let me give you an example of what happened to the California pension funds around 2008.  From what I read the managers were convinced to jump on the oil stocks  as prices skyrocketed in late Spring of 2008.  By this time, the price of  oil was already so elevated that the pension bought high.  But we were all supposed to see prices even higher.  $200 a barrel was supposed to be the price by fall.

Instead by  late June oil prices started plummeting because of a world wide recession that was developing partially because of the high cost of fuel. Instead of the $5 a gallon gas we were supposed to be seeing in the fall we saw gas nearing $2 a gallon by November,  if I remember correctly.  So the pension funds managers here took funds (selling low) out of that  fiasco and put it in ventures that also suffered greatly in 2008.

It must be very difficult to care for so much money, but the CalPers managers overseeing the fund that year were replaced, so it's possible they were seen as especially incompetent.

Then again if pension fund managers are still investing in what look like get rich quick schemes and not even realizing when they are losing the shirts of the public workers, maybe there is something wrong with the whole culture.

If I were working at a public job or maybe any job with a pension fund, I'd be very concerned.  It's bad enough that Republicans want to cut benefits, wages etc. for jobs done by public employees, but having hedge fund managers use the money to enrich themselves instead of doing the job they claim they are doing, enhancing the bottom line of all concerned, is especially egregious.

The above are mostly my own thoughts.  Please read one or both links below for high quality analysis by people who know a lot more than I do re: financial investment:

Tim O'Reilly's post at Google + on what appears to be legal but almost a scam perpetrated by  Hedge Fund managerss  (easy to get the main points) Besides offering his excellent piece O'Reilly links to the Financial Times which offers you 8 FT articles a month if you register with them and where you can apparently then read their original report.  (I did not go ahead and register and read that one.)

The Economist article on same recently published book   "Rich managers, poor clients A devastating analysis of hedge-fund returns" which I think adds some dimensions and makes it's own guess why Pension Fund managers have been so blind to the actual results of investing in Hedge Funds.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Video: Mitt Romney Gets Over $13 Million a Year for "Unemployment"

Romney's pension from Bain Capital which acts as a kind o Unemployment Payment is $13.4 million dollars a year. Bain has to lay off a lot of bread winners to make that kind of money.
See video:


Politico Blogger: CNN Contributor Praises Marines Who Urinated on Dead Taliban

On the radio Dana Loesch praised the men who were photographed urinating on the bodies of slain Taliban, citing their "association" with Al Qaeda's murder of Americans on 911.
Ms Loesch doesn't seem to be very well informed of the complex reasons that Afghans become and remain part of the Taliban, some of which often relate of ethnic ties and family security, but even if she is better at shooting off her mouth than getting the information she needs to properly evaluate the Afghan situation, she should remember that the 911 attacks happened over a decade ago. 
I'm using a smart phone now and can't try to find the facts of these men, but it is conceivable that the Taliban killed were young enough to not have been adults at the time of the attack on towers and the Pentagon.
And often Afghan citizens are mistakenly killed when they are not threatening Americans. Stories of  threats from dead "enemies" are easily crafted and often hard to refute in such far away places.
But for Ms Loesch to descend into what seems to be willful ignorance and blind hate is just what this world doesn't need in a commentator who has a national platform.
I also believe that if one of the Liberals with which CNN balances Ms Loesch had made such egregious statements, he or she would be let go.
But Americans are used to the mindless warmongering from the right.  Hopefully we are becoming immune to it's effects.
See link below for Politico blogger's report on the statements made by the paid CNN contributor.
http://bit.ly/zhzQou

Friday, January 13, 2012

Canada Refusing to Recognize Their Same Sex Marriages Performed for Non Citizens; Justice Minister Vows to Change Law for those Wed in Canada #lgbt

Most same sex weddings to foreigners are essentially invalid according to the Canadian government as reported on January.  Prime Minister Stephen Harper doesn't even seem very knowledgeable about what his government is doing but declares he has no interest in reopening any discussion about the reality of Canadian marriage scam of the century according to his remarks in an MSNBC report Canada: Marriages of foreign gays are invalid
 
 If this was all that equality marriage meant to them they really should have advertised it this way:

Hey, come to Canada and spend your money on a wedding and a visit.  We'll give you a plastic ring out of a cereal box and everything!  

(Note: Justice Minister Rob Nicholson as of Friday January 13th is declaring the marriages legal and valid and says that divorce law will be changed so that divorce can be obtained in Canada for the couples married in Canada.)

The problems came up when a couple who are citizens of England and the US ( a resident of Florida)  sought to end a Canadian marriage, but could not because their areas of residence did not recognize such unions.  Canadian law currently only allows divorce for those who have lived in Canada for 1 year.

The important point here is that marriage is a legal construct to protect two people so they can give a great deal of effort to the relationship and building future prosperity for both members of the couple. 

This legal situation may have developed for the traditional marriage but the same protections need to be recognized for same sex couples, at least by the entities that offered what they called legal marriage in the first place.

Minister Nicholson and others understand at least the unfairness of Canada nor recognizing the legality of marriages done in their nation and someone has apparently talked the PM into acquiescing to Common Sense as well.

It is still amazing what games some conservatives will play for money and support from fat cats and right wing ideologues.

First through churches and then through religion and pundits, big money sources have cultivated retrograde morality as the only good in the world so that they can hopefully fool a majority of the people into voting for more tax breaks and privileges for business and fat cats and whatever such backward leaning governance they want enforced on their nations.

Without that use of religion, they would have little hope of extracting so much from those making so much less than they do.

Jeff Sharlet in The Family describes how big business and money interests took over the American church system and used it to shut down the workers rights movement that was developing in the early 20th century and how the resultant right wing church works to perpetuate and expand it's influence (now to other nations as well).  (No remuneration was received for the endorsement of this book of which I have read about half so far.  The take-over of the somewhat liberal Northern US church of 100 years ago by the right wing is one that needs even more research especially since the right is using religious support to push for wars on the Muslim world these days.)

Also see The Globe and Mail Justice Minister declares all same-sex marriages legal and valid.
 For more on the later information that I mentioned above.

Scott Walker Failing to Meet Promised Job Creation Goals in Wisconsin #wi #wiunion #ows

Remember when Wisconsin governor Scott Walker promised all those new jobs from his austerity and public union busting measures passed by the creepy Republicans in the state legislature? Well, his state isn't reaching a year's worth of those jobs. In fact the jobs numbers look just like what you'd expect under any austerity program. Cutting debt does not create jobs. Walker might know that if he had completed a college education.

Two Thirds Perceive Class Conflict in US

A large majority of Americans now perceive conflicting purposes between people of differing economic levelsns up from recent years.  Some blame or credit the occupy movement for the change.

http://bit.ly/zdBYSW

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Project Veritas Finds 12 Dead people on New Hampshire Voter Rolls?


Even if these dead people were still on the voter rolls at just one precinct how much damage could up to 12 dead people voting do?  They sure couldn't knock Romney out of his slot.  Maybe if they all ganged up on poor little Rick Perry...  Ouch! Yeah, that could hurt, but he's not going anywhere but back to Texas anyway.

Later comment: I'm thinking that hitting one precinct would have made too much of an impression so they probably hit a few at the least.

I can't exactly remember whether it was 11 or 12 potential dead voters they found.  I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt for this post because I don't want to go through the interminable video again.They ran through the list at the beginning of the video and then one by one later, so it might seem like more names.

At the end of the video someone talks to a man who explains how they try to remove the names of all deceased from their rolls. Unfortunately, there isn't an automatic system for removal and I agree there should be one in every state, but the OKeefe crew must have come upon copious names of dead people who were actually removed and they won't say how many.

And the truth is that an automatic removal system would protect the rights of the elderly, minorities, and poor people who will be the most hurt by voter id laws. But OKeefe and his partner don't care for voter rights, just voter restrictions, and their chopped up video serves their purpose.

I do know, because I kept track of the death dates that all but 3 of the "dead potential voters" had died since the first of December, the greatest bunching of those on 12-31-11, less than two weeks before the primary.  One of the other three died in late November and the two remaining names belonged to people who died in October.

OKeefe and his ally may have scoured death notices (obituaries) as noted by the article for over 3 months to make this video, in which case they aren't telling us about the great number of dead people they didn't find on the voter rolls, illustrating, once again, how dishonest Project Veritas is.

Still the truth remains that they found that 11-12 dead people all of whom had died very recently had not been removed from NH voter rolls.

Really a game changer there, Dudes.  NOT

Original report by The Daily Caller

Photo: Mid Winter Wind Surfers

Windsurf - avant la tempête
Wind Surfing off Brittany Coast
Not cold enough for them on January 2nd?

*Picture shared through Creative Commons license using Flickr's native attribution and placement code. Roll over for photographer's name, click to go to original Flickr location, to see more sizes of picture available.

Huge Upswing in Oropharyngeal Cancers Due to Sex

That's right, oral sex is leading to a large increase in head and neck cancers.  The good news though is that there is a vaccine that can prevent the slow growing, but potentially dangerous tumors.

The bad news is that some people are pushing a narrative that proclaims the vaccine can be or is dangerous.

Luckily the tumors are slow growing taking decades to develop and 80%-95% of such cancers can be cured.

Still when a simple vaccine will prevent the disorder, it seems crazy not to push for vaccinating young men instead of just young women (or anyone who hasn't received the vaccine at an earlier age.

Michelle Bachmann very publicly called the HPV vaccine dangerous and said one woman claimed to her that an inoculation of vaccine for the virus caused mental retardation in her daughter.

Similar claims have been made of other vaccines (focusing on the use of Mercury for preservation). It should be noted, though, that most doctors claim the compounds used in shots for children are safe.

Both young women and young men or should be vaccinated as they are both vulnerable to the disease. Now they might find the impetus to do so.

(The HPV virus grows in moist warm places.  With the high rate of circumcision among male babies in the US, dangerous HPV growth was thought to be unlikely to happen among that population.  Unfortunately or not, the mouth and throat regions provide an ideal alternative site for the disease to develop.  Some people think the double whammy of vaccinating both sexes should decrease the incidence of HPV cancers among the entire population.)

A report at NY Daily News has more complete details on the HPV oropharyngeal cancer connection. (Some of the information in post above comes from other reports.). HPV link brings increase in oropharyngeal cancers, involving the head and neck

Will #GOP be Tracking, Spying on Registered Republicans Again For 2012 Election?

A new app is bring touted as bring able to keep track of Republicans this election season.

Feeling like a deer in a gunsight yet friend?
 
Maybe you'd better change to Independent,

This may simply be a continuation of the GOP program of spying on its members to make sure they know how to lie to them best.  That program has been admitted for years.  The party has acknowledged that they keep track of the purchases and interests of their members ( they claim by buying information from credit card suppliers, magazine subscriptions, and the membership lists of interest groups and churches people belong to.).

Such a system allows misleading information to be delivered to party members, whether about morality, the economy, or war. 

Master campaigner George W. Bush accomplished much of the same thing when he promised to walk  with more humility in the world, ie not get engaged with conflicts.  The new president  though told his cabinet that he planned to invade Iraq 10 days after he took office (From Ron Suskind's book "The Price of Loyalty" written with information supplied by Paul O'Neill, Bush's first Secretary of the Treasury).  That conflict made Clinton's cooperation with NATO and the UN over the Serbia-Bosnia and Serbia-Kosovo conflicts look like Un dimanche après-midi à l'ÃŽle de la Grande Jatte. No I don't know French myself. The Wikipedia page, linked, supplied that title.

Ron Paul has adopted a similar meme and trumpets his intentions to end all US involvement in military operations, though he also wants to disappear all your Social Security and Medicare funds (that you've put much of your own money into) as well.

http://bit.ly/z9NSAM

RNC Now Suing to Dismantle Corporate Donation Ban

Using Citizens United and Hillary Clinton's campaign again (remember she was the inspiration for Citizens United as well) the GOP group claims the unlimited donations allowed through the earlier court rulings now make a hundred year ban in corporate donations, unfair. 
Mitt Romney's vision of corporate  personhood, and those people being more equal than all the rest, is coming true.
Corporations take from their customers and their employees in ways that are not always fair, but their designs for the money they extract from people as determined by a numerically tiny group can't be obstructed?
Welcome to Animal Farm!
Report on RNC argument to end the ban on corporate donations at Politico via blogger Josh Gerstein:  http://bit.ly/ym4BKw

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Stephen Colbert Bests Jon Huntsman in South Carolina Primary Poll

The SC native, and star of Comedy Central's Colbert Report,  has beaten Jon Huntsman in a poll over the Republican nomination in the first primary in a southern state. 

It's lucky for the former Ambassador to China that Mr. Colbert is not actually in the primary contest.

My thought: Huntsman Sr better start putting some money down on ads, if he wants his soon too get past SC.

See mobile report:
http://bit.ly/wlJkzR

Sea Shepherd Activists To Be Released by Japanese Whalers

Three members of the anti whaling group, who climbed on board the Japanese security ship,  the Shonan Maru 2 will be released but may face charges later according to the Australian Prime Minister.
Memory serves up the name Shonan Maru 2 for every incident of boarding in the fleet leading this writer to wonder if the skip is especially vulnerable to boarding and if the whalers refuse to harden the vessel。

http://bit.ly/xvRG3J

Monday, January 9, 2012

A Forest of Secrets and Revelations

#6112
Wasserfall, Schwarzwald
Triberg, Deutschland
The fact that you know mostly what the German words say show how interconnected are two societies that went to war seven decades ago to destroy each other. There can be connections made between many in our society and Muslim communities with which they want to start wars, too. It's sad.
Picture sharing is allowed via Creative Commons license using Flickr's native attribution and placement code. Roll over for photographer's name, click to go to original Flickr location, to see more sizes of picture available.
Okay, if you can't guess: Wasserfall is waterfall, Schwarzwald is Black Forest, Triberg is a town, and Deutschland is Germany.

Gingrich Allies to Open Can of Whoop *ss on Romney For South Carolina Primary

Here's the Gingrich ad:

A former aide to Newt Gingrich plans to spend millions running ads featuring a trailer to a half hour documentary reporting on Romney's days as a corporate raider.  The spot will include Romney's "Corporations are people" scene as well as heart wrenching comments by those who lost jobs due to Bain Capital's habit of buying companies, gutting them, sending jobs overseas and even then losing 22 percent of the business taken over while Romney was in charge of the company.

The Gingrich people maintain that they are going exposing how Bain Capital really worked and failed because Newt would be the stronger GOP candidate.  

I'm wondering with the high mileage that Newt has on his life if he's angling, if he can't get the nomination, for at least a VP offer, or is scorched earth all he wants?

I'd say "Strap in!  Some of the track on this roller coaster isn't fastened down very well, but have fun while it lasts."

See more details on Gingrich's ploy for the South Carolina primary at  The Hill (mobile): http://bit.ly/zW12Pi

BTW, I finally got to listen to the Democracy Now podcast today. Amy Goodman had an even better report on this ad than The Hill and noted that "Winning Our Future" is a Super Pac so donors will not be reported for months. It is a little "ironic" or should we say self serving for a former Gingrich aide to raise millions of secret donations to launch attack ads on Newt's opponent within a week of the former speaker crying fowl over former Romney aides doing the exact same thing. In the mind of Newt, though, I imagine, it's "turn about is fair play". If Obama wins in November the fat cats of the US might actually lead the way towards reduced allowance on donations to Super PACs after spending so much to attempt to control our government and failing. Till then we have to hope the GOP does as much damage to each other as we need them to do.

Everything's for Sale on Capital Hill #DC #santorum

An article on Roll Call highlights how Google searches can harm a candidate while avoiding the most well known example of the current campaign season it decries negative search results when people type in the name of political actors. And one man in DC whose name seems familiar (lobbyist?) tells how he can fix Google search problems for politicians.  http://bit.ly/AoRsVr

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Shocker!: Gun Program That Led to Death of Border Patrol Agent Started By Bush Administration!

Everything I heard about the scandal over the government allowing guns to flow into Mexico has focused on Eric Holder.

From Anderson Cooper to Rachel Maddow news shows reported on involvement of the Obama administration.

But the original program started in 2006 according to a Politico report (see link at bottom of this post).

I heard Rachel report on this a couple of times without mentioning the Bush  years, but Mr. Cooper hosts discussions on the program over and over again in which Darrell Issa's minions rail against Eric Holder as long as possible without once acknowledging
that their own party members in the previous administration started the program and, presumably, let it get out of control.

Why haven't journalists made that clear?

I know that Darrell Issa is immensely rich, powerful, and partisan, but why is the news media complying with his designs?

http://bit.ly/yVYIN5

Why Don't Republicans Like Fair Up Down Votes and Why Do They Love Scammy Pay Day Lenders?

The real reason Richard Cordray needed a recess appointment is that the Senate refused to allow a simple up down vote, blocking his approval by undemocratic means.  He would have won an simple majority vote in the chamber.

So people should ask their Republican senators what their problem is with representative democracy which prevents them from letting it happen like the Constitution orders?

Better yet peoplr should just vote for a Democratic candidate next time if they want a democracy that serves them instead of pandering to the greediest and must corrupt in the nation.

See link below for report on Richard Cordray beginning his new job after the president's recess appointment which would have been unnecessary if Republicans in the Senate had allowed an up or down vote.

Watch out scummy lenders.

There's someone keeping an eye on you now.
http://bit.ly/xVbYjo

Friday, January 6, 2012

Romney Extending Lead In South Carolina

Even in South Carolina Romney is in front garnering 37% of likely vote and Santorum trailing significantly behind. Perry is last even in the Palmetto state likely showing that most voters there know the three branches of government or at least what a Broke Back Mountain jacket looks like.
Will these numbers last?  See:
http//bit.ly/y2UtQc

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Yes We All Know of George Will's Ties to the Bradley Foundation. The real question is...

Politico blogger lists financial ties between  George Will and right wing organizations.

Will responds asking why it is a surprise he would side with such organizations.

I'd say the real question is whether Will sides with the right because its a good way to earn lots of money that liberal and balanced journalists don't receive or because he's been a greedy bastaRees from his early days (though certainly these 2 options are not incompatible).

See: http://bit.ly/zCgzoL

Obama's Recess Appointment Move Resemble Teddy Roosevelt Tactics

Moves by Roosevelt also tested the limits of recess appointment power according to Josh Gernstein.  Will Republicans be able to obstruct government via the sham congressional sessions any more?

See details at Politico (mobile edition) http://bit.ly/xWraWI

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Men Need to Cheat? Oh Really?

At the Huffington Post Vicki Larson asks some questions of Eric Anderson who has written a book on why men cheat based on a small study of undergraduate male students.

Yeah, six score twenty somethings tells him all he needs to know about male cheating. 

And funny how he found that cheating guys are just fine.

But isn't cheating just like other methods of getting something for nothing?  To make a relationship work between two people so it's exciting and rewarding takes a lot of effort.  Within a few years or maybe even months a child may be introduced. Either two adults will have to make an extra effort to keep the little one warm and fed or one of the partners is going to have to take on that task alone, an extra burden when we remember that women are now expected work full time.

I suspect that some men cheat for the same reason that they watch copious amounts of sports, to have something to do while they are ignoring the more difficult side of a mature relationship.

The men I know who have happy families are in there working with their women making sure things work well for the couple and any children they may have.  You can tell how happy their families are, and you can see they don't have time to cheat.  They might even be able to catch a few of their most important sports games.

It is telling that the same men don't want their girlfriends to cheat, though Mr. Anderson makes up a self-serving excuse for that effect, too.   I'd warn any future target of Mr. Anderson's to stay the heck away unless they're okay with a one night stand with the player. 

And the rest of us shouldn't be subjected to his 60s style sexist philosophy.  It's worse than watching the immature car ads that flood football games on TV.

Grow up, Dude!  It's 2012.  Go home to the one you've made a life with and help with the housework.

See Larson's interview with Anderson  on Huffington Post Mobile: Why Men Need To Cheat.



Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Pagar Alam Indonesia
Indonesian Float in 2012 Rose Parade
Lots of color in this picture offered for sharing at Flickr.com
Picture sharing is allowed via Creative Commons license using Flickr's native attribution and placement code. Roll over for photographer's name, click to go to original Flickr location, to see more sizes of picture available.

Occupy Rose Parade's Message Attracts Cheers and Criticism

The gentle spirit of Occupy Rose Parade was mostly met with hatred and jeers if  you believe the LA Times report on yesterday's special appearance at the end of the Southern California spectacle.  From being called "communists" by a Christian group that marched ahead of them to suffering insults from the crowd apparently the whole thing was horrible misadventure.

But amazingly, a report by an AP writer and hosted at the High Desert Daily Press noted that some spectators cheered the Occupy group.  That seems more balanced.  Unfortunately the LA Times isn't ready to subscribe to real balance yet.  Like so much media it's still often in the "don't hit me mode" with the right wing.


The Times piece does have a nice picture of the Occupy Octopus,  though.  See it at top link in this article.

Ohio Earthquakes Pinned to Underground Disposal of Fracking's Waste Water

At least two Ohio earthquakes are attributed to waste water from fracking operations being injected into the ground.  A NY Times article cites 2 earthquakes a week apart. The first a 2.7 quake caused no damage, while the larger one at 4.0 caused no serious damage or injury, but shook people up considerably more than smaller ones experienced earlier.

An NPR  report was quick to explicitly explain that quakes caused by injecting waste water from fracking is not the same as quakes caused by fracking.

Oops, sorry about your keyboard.  I'll wait until you clean it up.  If you didn't have coffee or other items in your mouth when reading the above then we'll continue now.

A total of 11 earthquakes have hit the immediate area since last March and injection of waste water at the site identified as being the location of the quakes has been halted until further notice while the problem is studied.

See NPR report or both links above if you want for more details.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Libertarianism's Racism Explained

David Frum has explained why libertarian newsletters of the nineties pushed racism.  The collapse of communism, the great devil, made them do it.

Luckily, after the turn of the century, they had Bush's wars to rail against so some of them dropped the race war rhetoric, though I notice that not all of them have.  Still Paul needs to own, how his newsletter helped enhance race hatred that had little abated in the general public from the 90s up to this day.

Racists I've known have seldom dropped the stance unless there is something to be gained from it.  So Ron Paul no longer supports racist talk because he wants to become president, but many of his former followers will take it to their graves with them.

Maybe we should make a database of seemingly race based harassment, or injuries & killings.

We could bind a copy and give it to Mr. Paul for Christmas next year, or for a consolation gift in November.

See Politico (mobile edition) for more on Frum's explanation and take on the subject.
http://bit.ly/s5pcLr

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Video: The #ows #Occupy Octopus That Will Be At the Rose Parade Was at City Hall in November. See it at work.

Here's the Video of the Octopus' Debut:

Super PACs Hiring Former Campaign Insiders, Warping Elections

Only the Roberts Court's Gang of 5 could consider the results of their Citizens United ruling to not be an incredibly corrupting influence on our society.
Two LA Times  reporters lay out the dangers (and they are serious indeed) of the freedom to buy up elections enabled by the Gang of 5.
The candor in this report is surprising and refreshing in works from mainstream news though most liberal bloggers have said much the same thing in the past.
At least this article is not the like the bland hints offered by NYT investigative reporters who then immediately back track on even milquetoast allegations they try to hide in over-wordy text.
If the LA Times actually keeps this up it might actually worthwhile to subscribe to the paper again--if they can beat bloggers to the punch in the future and offer the kind of evidence that the reporters added regarding ties between Super PACs and specific candidates as presented in linked report below.
Needed in the future is more info on donors to the PACs. Reporters rightly said PACs don't have to disclose but other reports have said tax records should show their names.  If the news media wants to recover their reputation they better get those records.
See LA Times report on Super PACs and their ties to candidates they are promoting.
http://bit.ly/tckx3K