New Revelations Show that Citizens United Decision is Unenforceable and Should be Discarded

What's wrong with a little deception? She could be a beautiful young woman at the bar or somebody's grandpa.


More coordination between political candidates' campaign staff and groups that want you to believe they're covered by Citizens United (and therefore are not required to expose their donors) have appeared.

The whole premise of Citizens United was that there would be no coordination so donor exposure wasn't needed.

But both earlier and this week, coordination that is hidden in plain sight has been exposed creating a visible rift in compliance.

Earlier this year  it was revealed that campaigns were posting what is called b roll footage of candidates, mostly admiring scenes of the candidates with little to no words, on YouTube.  In many cases outside "non-coordinating" groups would then pick up the video and use it in part in supposedly uncoordinated ads.

Since the FEC has 6 members who split evenly on whether the practice represents coordination it hasn't been credited with a decision and the practice continues (though thinking of turtle faced Mitch McConnell trying to look smooth and intelligent under any lighting and from whatever angle is almost worth the outrage).

So there we have campaigns passing material to supposedly non coordinating groups and what do they get back?

According to CNN:

Republicans and outside groups used anonymous Twitter accounts to share internal polling data ahead of the midterm elections, CNN has learned, a practice that raises questions about whether they violated campaign finance laws that prohibit coordination.

The Twitter accounts were hidden in plain sight. The profiles were publicly available but meaningless without knowledge of how to find them and decode the information, according to a source with knowledge of the activities.

 And later:

At least two outside groups and a Republican campaign committee had access to the information posted to the accounts, according to the source. They include American Crossroads, the super PAC founded by Karl Rove; American Action Network, a nonprofit advocacy group, and the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is the campaign arm for the House GOP.

The accounts were deleted minutes after CNN started asking questions of RNCC staff. Luckily they saved evidence, and went bold. Read the report linked above under CNN for details.

This shows that the government cannot trust political groups to refuse a coordination with political parties or campaigns and that invalidates Citizen's United Raison d'etre.

Will anyone pay attention?

Image above clipped using Windows Snipping Tool and used via Creative Commons Attribution (CC by 2.0) thanks to Flickr user 2 Top

HOw do you feel about this post

Spit out my coffee, tea, kheer, pito in delight!

Loved it!

It's fine

WTF?

Could have been better

Waste of Time

Spit out my coffee, tea, kheer, pito in disgust!

pollcode.com free polls

Rocky Mountians being Under Threat From Climate Change. Why Would Coloradoans Vote for the Candidate Favored by the Koch Bros, the Rockies' Destroyers?

Photo: Colorful Dawn by John Fowler (snowpeak)


The good folks of the Rocky Mountains love their homes in the grand scenery of the state.  But evidence shows that Old Energy is destroying many of its wonderful aspects.

The Denver Post published are report the other day on the fact that Front Range Flows  in Colorado's Rockies did major damage to the area and caused deaths last year.  The huge rains of 2013 made changes usually only seen in East Coast locations that are hit with hurricanes which develop in the warm water of the Southern Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico according to the report.

Good camping locations Picture by Paul Threlkel (PT Photo)

Yes, this was unprecedented as were the  Colorado wildfires of recent years that were spurred by drought. But with climate change we're not assured that this was once in a lifetime disaster and it's not an act of God or chance.

Scientists warned us that such will happen, and now it's happening. They tell us it's because of climate change, and we aren't going to believe them?  They tell us old energy is the reason for climate change and we turn on Rush Limbaugh to tell us otherwise? That would be beyond foolish for people who love the Colorado mountains and forests and the property they own or rent to live there to do.

But if they aren't trying to deny reality why are the good folks of Colorado seemingly poised to elect a puppet of the Koch Brothers who are deeply dependent on pushing more old energy to maintain their income growth.

Slopes full of snow. Picture by Jodie Wilson (jumpyjodes)

The Koch brothers also help fund the push for laws that make self providers of energy pay up to 2/3rds an electric bill just to help energy companies move their energy around.

For example, I pay about $80/mo for electricity, but laws are being passed at the request of old
energy companies to force home installed Solar panel users to pay $50 a month because they pass electricity through utility companies lines.  That's almost 2/3rds of a standard electric bill in addition to the substantial cost a homeowner must pay to have an alternative energy system installed. That puts a damper on alternative energy the Rockies need to avoid the effects of Global Climate Change.

But Cory Gardner's 2nd and 3rd top donors are old energy  providers including Koch Industries.  He's one their candidates to stop the government from boosting alternative energy that could save the Rockies and the state from worse effects of Global Climate Change as time goes on.  See snip from Gardner's Open Secrets page below:

I find it hard to believe that Coloradans wouldn't rather have Mark Udall as their senator to help protect the mountains and forests of their home state than a puppet of Old Energy companies that are likely to keep on harming , possibly even destroying them.

Just in case someone thinks that Senator Udall is of the same cloth, here are his top contributors:

.



No old energy sources at all.






Colorado needs to stand up for the Rockies against old energy promoters if they want their state to remain beautiful and/or full of hiking, climbing, skiing, and other outdoor opportunities.

If Mark Udall returns to DC as their senator they'll know they have a advocate for saving the great land they love.

And hundreds of delights to be found by just exploring. Photo by Cindy (WxMom)

Pictures used via Creative Commons License Attribution (CC by 2.0) thanks to owners as listed by name and specific flickr name below each photo.  None of the photographers has any connection to this blog or blogger.

Here is a page that shows how much AFP (a Koch bros super Pac have spent against Senator Mark Udall.  Apparently they thought they could hide spending for GOP enablers by using big $$ in opposition ads against their opposition).

The Truth About the Muslim Prayer Rug Dropped by the Border.

Behold a "Flying Carpet"!  Yeah, right!

Republicans are saying that a Muslim prayer rug was dropped on the US side of the Mexican border and that proves that "Islamists" are infiltrating the United States.  That is as much fantasy as stories about a flying carpet ride and now we have proof.

Before the Bush Administration the way I, like you maybe, saw most people who seemed to be Middle Easter so possibly Muslim, was as excellent doctors, and dentists, mechanics, shop clerks etc. And actually I still do, but I worry about our nation.  Since then we have been told that they are all potential terrorists.  I suspect some kind of dominance through ignorance game is in effect. (Being female I understand how the right wing turns all a group's strengths into means to control and use them.)

The proof is is the pictures below.

A well known moderate blogger went into the wild of the right wing information machine and grabbed the picture of the Muslim prayer rug the GOP is offering as proof that "terrorists" are infiltrating across the Southern border in Texas.

Though the newsman or blogger asserted it was a football jersey, I wasn't convinced, myself a case could be made.  Looking at the picture I wondered if by football he meant a soccer player which would still not be unequivocal.  Maybe or maybe not dropped by an immigrant.  I usually watch what's happening with Saturday football via computer due to having 1 TV and connection and having a family who want to watch other things.

What I saw didn't look much like soccer jerseys I found online, but today I see definite proof that not only is the object not a prayer rug, but it's definitely an American college football jersey.  The stripes are the kind that many college players wear in their NCAA games.

No really here's the proof!  On the left at the bottom of this post is a picture of a college football player in his jersey and pads.

On the right is the "prayer rug" GOP activists claim was dropped by the Southern Texas border rumpled and folded.

That's where the bold stripes come in.  They look great on the sleeves stretched over shoulder pads.  Check out "Muslim pryers rugs in a image search online.  Most are dark or moderate patterns in typical Muslim art, .  They aren't striped.  Below is a selection of prayer rugs from an image search page online.  There are many more, but they all seem to be of the same type.  (At bottom is an example of a college athlete in his jersey  and the "prayer rug".)  I'm only showing you a small selection of rugs, but I've searched and looked at hundreds. The "prayer rug"  used by the right wing haters' blogs is nothing like those.

The dropping of a football jersey may be sacrilege to a state that loves it's sports, but it's not indicative of terrorism.

With the GOP looking for a 17 year Universal Draft Males and Females 18-34 when they get full control of the nation again, we need to resist the lies that will give them the power. 

Why You Need a "Democrat" Senator to Bring Aid to Your State in Next Few Years

An analyst writing in the Anchorage Daily News (article has disappeared from online) revealed that states who have a senator from the same party as as the national administration, always attract more aid from the federal government.

You may sneer at aid, but it is beneficial to your state and often vital in boosting the economy.

Now I know that many states, like Kansas and Tennessee, no matter who is president have had  big economic problems, many of which were exacerbated when manufacturing fled to China in the 80s (because the Reagan administration gave large incentives to industries that took jobs overseas). Even Mitch McConnell with his father-in-laws' huge Chinese shipping fleet wasn't in a position of real power when that deal went down.


But according to the analyst, states receive more assistance if at least one senator has that cozy relationship with the White House that is honed with members of the same party.

You may sneer at federal aid, in fact the uber wealthy Koch brothers do in public, but every industry they are in receives incentives and tax breaks from the feds, because it always helps whomever is on the receiving end. In fact the Koch brothers only deride it because they want to lower their tax burden, which is already lowered by breaks and other measures.

The rest of us need to play the game more wisely and attract jobs to our state, through road building and improvement, and other economy boosters.  I bet even Rick Perry wouldn't turn down aid to improve his state's roads, which apparently Texas needs.  They have a senate race this year, but it's not likely that they'll pick up a Democratic Senator, considering the history.

So if you have a chance to vote for a Democrat for senator or governor, you may want to think about it before knee jerking to the other party.

No US House member has the clout of a Senator. Governors can help influence, but aren't as close as the Senator residing for Congression sessions right there in DC.

Yours may be one of the states that is thinking of going pure Republican after years of a Senator with both seniority and the best party affiliation for the next two years.

The GOP plays with your mind if they suggest a pure GOP Senate slate is better for you.  Not for the next few years, it won't be.  You can always change later.

It's your decision.  If you like being a backwater state, by all means vote your gut.  Just maybe think twice before you complain about the conditions of your roads and highways, and your sagging economy.

Picture at top used via Creative Commons License Attribution CC by 2.0 thanks to  Jessica (righto____) at flicker.com who has no connection to this blog or blogger.

Hint: All GOP senate candidates I've reviewed have received massive Koch help via direct donations or 3rd party ads against their Democratic opponents.  I'm sure the rest will show the same aid from the environment and women harming Duo and their front groups.

As it Happened One Month Ago: GOP Cut Spending On Ebola Fight in Half, Then pretended it didn't happen

Ebola Treatment Unit, Liberia.

A very interesting thing happened about a month ago as Congress was asked to provide funding to fight Ebola, you know the biggest immediate threat to world health these days.

As usual the GOP took out the paring knife er ok the chopping ax, sliced off over half the funding the WH requested for fighting Ebola, now recognized as the biggest new threat to life and health in the world.  (Vaccination gaps and hunger being such old news anymore that no one pays attention.)

But wait, though Hill reporter's sources said that Republicans cut an $88 millions request down to $40 million on Tuesday September 9th, by Thursday September 11, GOP leaders were demanding a retraction saying they never attempted to reduce Ebola funding.

In case the Hill report is deleted or blocked to search engines to cover tracks here is it's entirety from http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/217115-gop-cuts-obamas-ebola-funding-request

House Republicans indicated Tuesday that they will provide less than half of the White House's funding request to fight Ebola in the next government spending bill.

According to a source familiar with the negotiations, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) agreed as of Tuesday morning to spend a total of $40 million to fight the epidemic in the 2015 spending bill.

This would include $25 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and $15 million for the Biological Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to ramp up production of an experimental anti-Ebola drug, the source said.

The White House had asked for $88 million for Ebola in total, including $58 million for BARDA, which is involved in coordinating experimental treatments during public health emergencies.

A spokeswoman for the House Appropriations Committee would not confirm the numbers, saying the details of the bill are not yet finalized.

The funding fight comes amid desperate cries for help fighting Ebola from health workers in West Africa and institutions like the United Nations.

CDC Director Thomas Frieden says the epidemic is spiraling out of control and needs immediate attention from lawmakers and officials around the world.

The death count in West Africa exceeded 2,000 people this week.

The House is expected to vote on a stopgap government funding bill on Thursday. The measure would keep the government open through Dec. 11.
UPDATE: The continuing resolution released Tuesday night ultimately included the full $88 million requested by the White House.

A spokeswoman for the Appropriations Committee said Thursday that reports Rogers had initially limited the funding were inaccurate.
—This post was updated Thursday at 2:25 p.m.

Original at The Hill: GOP cuts funding request to fight Ebola

Picture at top used via Creative Commons License Attribution (CC by 2.0) thanks to Flickr user CDC Global who has no connection to this blog or blogger.


Maybe negotiations were made behind closed doors to take more out of food stamps for poor families (including many armed service members' and their loved ones) instead of the pathetic request for money for the fight against the biggest emergency disease threat to human life on the planet this year.

BTW, was it this GOP spokeswoman?

Blacks and Hispanics Are Not Happy With How Media Portray Their Communities #Ferguson

Paper wasps are lucky.  They have no media defining them in their world.  They can be what they are.

Excerpt AP report at Yahoo.com Blacks, Hispanics have doubts about media accuracy

A new study shows a large majority of African-American and Hispanic news consumers don't fully trust the media to portray their communities accurately, a statistic that could be troubling for the news industry as the minority population of the United States grows.
Three-fourths of African-American news consumers and two-thirds of Hispanics have doubts about what mainstream media report about their communities, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Media Insight Project. And while most say it's become easier to get news generally in the last five years, few feel the same way about news regarding their own community, the survey said.

It does seems like only the crime and the criminals are ever featured in newspapers and on TV news.  Luckily for Hispanics they have Spanish language stations that understand them more, but that doesn't help how they're portrayed to the average non-Hispanic family watching the tube at night.

Funny how mainstream Hollywood forgot about all the money that the Cosby Show, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and Sister Sister made them with the general mostly white audience (I think.  I know my kids were raised on those shows, not for diversity sake, but because they were fun, and kid safe.)  As they grew up they chose their own diverse shows.  Something happened with me.  Oh, yeah, the Internet.

I think all people can be upset.  Entertainment tends to put people in good and bad slots, though I notice whites get to be more nuanced and complicated like all people are, in real life.

The boxes that Hollywood put us in may be one of the main factors in it's losing share of our after hours preoccupation.

The writers, financiers, and producers should pay attention.

Read rest of AP report by clicking on link above. All of this has been commentary except title in link and indented portion in post.

Picture at top clipped using Windows Snipping Tool and used via Creative Commons Attribution (CC by 2.0) thanks to Flickr user Ian Sane who has no connection to this blog or blogger.

George Zimmerman Threatens Another Person in Florida

The News Media should talk to Z'man's cousin pictured here (not the guy on the swing) concerning the out of control former phony neighborhood watch captain. (Attribution for picture at bottom.)

George Zimmerman has another run-in with the law

The news site seemed to offer an embed on this, but using their code we got just a less accurate link instead. The video is available at the linked WSVN page.

 More News:  The Z'man, feeling his oats since his abysmal "Not Guilty" verdict actually asked the other driver if he knew who he was just before threatening to kill him.  So apparently he's watching FOX News and identifying with the Wassilla Hillbillies.

 The whole story (how he also just happened to show up the next day at a place the other driver was, and pictures of Z'man 'splaining things to the cops at The Daily Mail.

'I will f**king kill you. Do you know who I am?' George Zimmerman is accused of threatening to shoot driver in road rage incident

Certainly after the first incident would have been a great time to drug test Trayvon's killer, but I guess he wasn't around when the cops talked to the other driver.  The second time Z'man was able to show he wasn't stalking so, unfortunately that probably blocked the police from testing him.

I like that source since it shows a picture of the other driver showing that Z'man has become an equal opportunity threat.

And don't forget he likes to molest young women too. 

Congrats, Florida, you have your own  Lake Mary Hillbilly at large in your streets.

This adds proof that Z'man was not an endangered lone "watchman" one night in February years ago, but a typical neighborhood bully who should not have firearms available to him.

Picture above used via Creative Commons License Attribution (CC by 2.0) thanks to Flickr user DSC_6961pp who has no connection to this blog or blogger.

Is the Internet Headed for a Massive Slowdown or Shutdown?

After the Great Internet Slowdown Life Becomes a drudge, even with alcohol.

The great new Internet buzz is that the our providers are planning to slowdown everyone's connection unless we pay more for service.

That sounds much like a conspiracy theory for many reasons.

What they may be offering is a speed-up for higher paying customers.  That's nothing new.  Many Internet suppliers offer it or more megabytes of data at higher megabit rate for higher priced plans.  It's one of the reasons our house stays away from cable internet offerings that charge on varying scales the result may not be prices we want to pay, but will be obligated to.  It's like giving a credit card to someone you can't trust and then dealing with the results.  Very wealthy people might do that, but working class folks like my family can't afford to.

Personally I am using DSL (Verizon)  I don't expect a slow down at  all. I've had some bad ones with Verizon over the last year.  But they fixed the problems by various means.

In February the DSL completely shut off. We called that night, but nothing could be done until the next day.  Luckily there was a lot of Olympics stored on the television's DVD.  The repair man worked on the lines specifically for our house for a few hours and we were back to normal which wasn't very good.

A couple of months later trucks pulled up (not specifically labled Verizon) and reran some wires along the telephone, etc lines for the whole neighborhood. I didn't realize it until the Internet started recovering from the funk it was in for months that it was likely a more extensive fix for the whole area's phone and DSL lines.  (They all look alike to me).

Still occasionally my contact with the Internet slogged till it seemed like the Devil had a choke hold.  I complained again via Twitter and mentioned Verizon as my provider.

Verizon tweeted back to explain to them what was happening.  I hadn't a clue so ignored it, but a couple of weeks later in another slog a message popped up telling me my computer resources were overused and that may be why my Internet was slow.  It was specifically a message from Verizon.

And Big Brother was right.  Okay creepy but what can you do when someone publicly complains and then ignores your offer of help?  Opening Task Manager I saw I was using a lot of CPU, and I mean a lot, like 60-90% when I get the messages from Verizon.  Closing programs or restarting the computer has always fixed the problem since.  I like restarting and opening what I want fresh  I'm not sure all programs let go of their space when just closed. 

Another way I've able to speed up the Internet a bit is by linking to the modem via cord instead of WIFI.  I know not all can do it, but if you can it is a bit faster.

I'm going to wait and see what happens at the least.  It would make more sense to add speed to those who pay more than to subtract speed from the rest of us.

Many people grab attention wailing about gloom and doom for our Internet connections. Even Amy Goodman is on the bandwagon as I see from Twitter.  I stopped listening to her when she helped some wacko push conspiracy theories against President Obama.

I use Speakeasy speed test as I have for years to check my line speed.

As liberals we need to keep grounded in reality and not run after crazy prognostications or link any and all problems to "them" whether the government, fat cats, politicians, or other unnamed entities because we need to be able to convince people of a whole lot more than Internet speed warnings. We all know the story about crying wolf. Apparently though many groups and individuals still think its a viable option and woe to those who ignore them. That's why all of us on the West Coast are dead from Fukushima radiation. We ignored the crazies that worked off a You Tube video of guy with a Geiger counter on a Cali beach getting pings (they always produce pings) when folks from Russia and New York told us we're all gonna die!

Like I did with Amy Goodman, people learn not to trust you if you cry gloom and doom a lot.

Check your line speed (Speakeasy). Check your resources (Task Manager).  Restart your computer if things are slowing down.  You'll be a lot happier in the end if you can fix a slowdown rather than complain about it. (I think).  If you are having real problems, complain to your provider and see what they can do to help.  We have real problems in this nation as was exposed by the police murder of Michael Brown in Missouri.  Playing around with conspiracies is just a waste of time.

A lot of bad things happen out there.  We need to keep focused on the real bad things and ignore crazy stuff.  It's going to be a tough fight as it is.

If we're all pushed to a slow line except for those who pay more, then it will be time to complain and make a fuss.  I suspect another tier of speed will open for high payers.  It might have been part of the reason for the rewiring of the lines. In fact if Netflix, etc. get a special path that might free up more space for the rest of us in the slower lanes.

And BTW its about slowing down Internet at the worst (which I don't believe), not blocking info from you no matter what posturing Send Money! bloggers want you to believe.  

It's a greedy, duplicitous Internet/Pundit world out there, Grasshopper.  Don't believe everything you hear/read.  BTW, many of the most outraged and vocal were the most outraged and vocal over Ferguson last month.  It's beginning to look like this group just latches onto the biggest outrage to collect donations (I do not believe everyone mad about Mike's Brown murder was doing it for donations.  Most do not have blogs and others, like me have no, way for you to donate and we still care about what happens in St Louis County and whether they will be unshackled from their racist police complex that targets minorities (as easily discernible lower income citizens) for prosecution of many minor crimes to pay or their big salaries while keeping "taxes" low.

Many people receive more in donations if they spread the crazy.  Just let them prove this one before we repeat it, Okay?

Picture above clipped using Windows Snipping Tool and used via Creative Commons License Attribution (CC by 2.0) thanks to flickr user Mike Licht of notionscapital.com at Flickr.com who appears to have adapted it from a painting by Jean Beraud.  Full Licht pic here.

Study: People Take Longer Time to Shoot at Blacks Than Other Adversaries But Only Because They Feel Greater Need to Kill

Cemeteries fill with victims perceived to have been threats, but some researchers are looking at  discrimination and seeing mercy that's not likely to have been in the heart of the shooter. Attribution for clip of Melbourne cemetery below.

The fact that people with guns take a split second longer  to shoot a black person than perceived White or Hispanic fellows seemed to be shown yesterday morning by a few white Twitter users,at least, as a case of "what are they complaining about then?".

But if you read the study through and think about it, the delay is not necessarily out of a lack or lesser of feeling of threat from a black opponent, but from an increased impression of danger, forcing the person with a gun to concentrate longer in an attempt to make a better shot, and possibly plan a few steps ahead.

Even though the author thinks people favor blacks with lack of shooting herself, I disagree

Author (link to report):

James’ study is a follow-up to one in which she found active police officers, military personnel and the general public took longer to shoot black suspects than white or Hispanic suspects. Participants were also more likely to shoot unarmed white suspects than black or Hispanic ones and more likely to fail to fire at armed black suspects.
“In other words,” wrote James and her co-authors, “there was significant bias favoring blacks where decisions to shoot were concerned.”
When confronted by an armed white person, participants took an average of 1.37 seconds to fire back. Confronted by an armed black person, they took 1.61 seconds to fire and were less likely to fire in error. The 24-millisecond difference may seem small, but it’s enough to be fatal in a shooting. (Emphasis mine).

 Yet the author admits:

The recent study analyzed data from electroencephalograph sensors that measured participants’ alpha brain waves, which are suppressed in situations that appear threatening.
The participants, 85 percent of whom were white, “demonstrated significantly greater threat responses against black suspects than white or Hispanic suspects,” wrote James and her co-authors, University of Missouri-St. Louis criminologist David Klinger and WSU Spokane’s Bryan Vila. This, they said, suggests the participants “held subconscious biases associating blacks and threats,” which is consistent with previous psychological research on racial stereotypes.

Thank you mam for that bit of truth which you then try to bury it.

Let me explain:

George Zimmerman didn't just start shooting randomly to scare Trayvon.  I'm pretty certain he was the kind of loser who might spray an area with bullets before bringing down a threatening deer. But that one time he shot straight to the heart, killing the teen deliberately because the fact that the young man was strong and not a coward and black told Zimmerman that his opponent was a guy out of the fantasies of a video game or rap lyrics who must die or kill, even as the teen shouted no in a gesture of ending the fight when he saw the gun (from 911 tapes just before the shot rings out).

Yeah, I'm saying it.  Despite being offered a truce the pathetic pretend neighborhood watch guy satisfied his self defense gun battle dream.

That heightened perceived threat is what made Darren Wilson pump (now acknowledged) 10 bullets into Mike Brown even as the teen ran away, turned, offered surrender, and finally was falling to the ground.

I hadn't been online to thoroughly read the report Tuesday afternoon since first seeing it tweeted about in the morning.

I wanted to make sure I understood what was being "discovered" and how, not just the idea that people with guns were actually favoring blacks in their sites with pacifism over others as some Tweeters seemed to hint this morning.

I've reread it 4 or 5 times, and the greater time used before pulling a trigger (not a lot either) actually seems to be a response to a greater perceived threat and a feeling of needing to make a shot that will kill or at least completely disable a black man if they are going to pull the trigger. And if a shot isn't taken it could mean that the person with the gun didn't want to draw attention from the noise fearing a real gun battle (whether or not the target actually was seen with a gun already drawn).

So this is nothing that mitigates the idea of prejudice, but expands it.  It's the perceived return threat what keeps a shooter from pulling the trigger as fast or at all.  But that can be all the more deadly once the firearm is engaged if the shooter feels more of a need to shoot to kill an opponent. I think reports from Stand Your Ground states would bare this out.

 Picture above of a portion of a Melbourne, AU cemetery was clipped using Windows Snipping Tool and used via Creative Commons Attribution license (CC by 2.0) thanks to flickr user Jo who has no connection to this blog or blogger.

Another Ferguson News Fail: Headline AP: " #Ferguson unrest could cost taxpayers millions" Corrected: Murder of Mike Brown to Cost Millions

Street art above is actually in Cambridge MA but references the Ferguson action.

While that is certainly true that payments for extra "enforcement" and to businesses whose shops were damaged in the unrest, the reason for the unrest, a murder by a police officer of a young man who was surrendering was the absolute cause of of the disturbances that resulted in damaged properties and overtime pay for various cops.

And secondarily, dragging out the military equipment is a magnet for anarchists.  Why Ferguson and St Louis County thought they needed to try to scare upset locals with armored personnel carriers covered with police bristling with high powered weapons and tear gas and smoke canister launchers is hidden in the deeply authoritarian hearts of those who find police forces their military-lite comfort zone for employment.  Maybe we should analyze how police work is much safer than actual military so a chance to shove some weight around on dark skinned people without much danger to the pot bellied bodies of the "knights in blue".

But the cause  was the murder of Mike Brown and the police-state style reaction of the authorities.

By the time that Highway Patrol Chief Johnson was selected to help calm things down it was too late.  The anarchists already had their bags packed and their plane tickets purchased and many were already there. they weren't going to let a good upset go by without their Occupy style blow back. (and to be honest, I'm not sure the addition of the Occupy style didn't help.  Maybe departments should know that hassling validly upset locals when they try to express outrage is going to encourage expansion of tension and arrival of activists from East to West coasts).

There were many locally based activists too and then apparently other people intent on looting. The local activists actually helped or tried to help stop the theft and destruction. But afterwards were once again they were the target of righteous overstuffed officers acting like guardsmen to the queen of white supremacy in Missouri.

That and the murder is what will cost millions of dollars, not citizens validly marching in the streets over another of their citizens unnecessarily gunned down by  a white policeman trained and employed by a local department which doesn't care if their officers are racists.

The report also says the cost will likely be mostly borne in the end by state and federal governments, and that is good, too.  Both state and federal entities have mandates to ensure local governments are not harassing and unfairly criminalizing their citizens. We're not a nation built of fiefdoms, but the United States of America.

BTW, Ferguson is lucky (or more likely filled with better sense) LA's Rodney King riots of 1992 ended up costing a billion dollars for damage and 65 lives. The benefits of protesting, but not rioting should accrue to the good people of Ferguson.

See KSDK 5 AP: Ferguson unrest could cost taxpayers millions

Picture at top was clipped using Windows Snipping Tool and used via Creative Commons License Attribution (CC by 2.0) thanks to flickr user Chris Ball who has no connection to this blog or blogger

#Ferguson Area Police Learn Why You Don't F*ck With Reporters

An actual picture, apparently of Ferguson, Missouri, I found down below the tractor pics and photos of comedians and other folks with the name. It looks like a business district and therefore was better than people's houses I thought. Attribution at bottom of post.

It was astonishing learning what the Ferguson police thought was appropriate behavior towards journalists.

As a non-journalist, even I was shocked, but now members of FPD are finding out what happens when you push around reporters.

They have tools  to dig stuff up on you and your past, and they have connections to have that information published.

Apparently pot bellied cops aren't too smart either, especially the losers hired in Ferguson.

I posted on Twitter about this just earlier, but wanted a permanent like on the web about it, among the other important reports.

See

Ferguson Police Officer Justin Cosma Hog-Tied And Injured A Young Child, Lawsuit Alleges

Picture of downtown Ferguson clipped using Windows Snipping Tool and  used via Creative Commons License Attribution (CC by 2.0) thanks to flickr user Paul Sableman who has no connection to this blog or blogger.

New Witness Adds to the Evidence on Mike Brown Shooting in #Ferguson

What Killed Mike Brown? Try A "Small Town Shakedown" and Drugs.

Small town USA. Does not depict Ferguson itself.
BTW, I do not intend to demean small towns. I've had plenty of family who have lived in them, and all are lovely people. The government of Ferguson though seems to have a problem. A report by Arch City Defenders in a drop box publication accessible here explains their basic thesis of the miserable small towns in the St Louis area that use the Small Town Shakedown (my name for what is happening).  And Ferguson is one of three small cities on their list of aggressive users of the system.

Summary: Not having a large tax base, Ferguson chose instead to target their working class citizenry for regular nit picking fines in a big way.  And yes, you want to pick on the lowest earners as more affluent people will hire lawyers even at twice or three times the cost from a sense of pride and to protect their futures from harmful legal decisions on their records.

So basically cops were profiling as well as passing out massive amounts of citations to promote their agenda and to earn enough money for their better than average salaries including overtime and medical protection (and for nice salaries for the mayor and council).

All it takes is a little illegal policing spread out to grab money from a lot of people who don't have the means to fight back.

This ain't Mayberry RFD.  This is graft city in a small town setting.

It truly needs the feds to come in and straighten things out.

Instead it seems that people are busy hiding the ashes of good governance deep in the soil of the nearest green space.

Nothing to see here, just racism, and graft.  Move along.

 Now about those drugs.

It's telling that Darren Wilson did not stop shooting Mike Brown until 6  (revised count) 10 shots were fired.  The last shots went into Brown head from the top and it's path through back and hands shows he was likely falling to the street at the time.

Over-reaction?  That sounds like some kind of upper, either Meth or even caffeine pills can cause loss of control (Meth I'm assuming.  I've never taken it)  I did use caffeine pills in college a couple of times and found they could push me to snap in unwarranted circumstances.  Luckily I chose to retreat to my room and never had a gun to use.

But one way to cut down on expenses in a police force may be to have your available pool work extra long hours.  Sure it's overtime, but it's the same retirement and health package so that cost is reduced and it probably works out to less than maintaining a larger force.

And Wilson kept shooting a young man who was already falling to the ground, until his bullets ran out.

I hope they did toxicology tests on Wilson.

Another report says that Wilson was working for a private security firm in addition to his city police work.  That might be another reason he'd be using stimulants:

Several in the crowd had connections to law enforcement, including one who said he knew Wilson from working in private security — and got a call from him on the night of Aug. 9. He said Wilson called to say he couldn’t make it to work because of the shooting.

At: Washington Post

Vox was my first source of information on the particular form of corruption I'm calling The Small Town Shakedown.

I tweeted out a link late last night from it and from an LA Times report.

Here's two more from Vox with explanations that are shorter than the original Arch City report:

The cold, hard cash at the heart of Ferguson's out-of-control justice system

How for-profit policing led to racial disparities in Ferguson

Shortened link for this post: http://goo.gl/okx35j
 

Picture above used via Creative Commons License (CC by 2.0) Thanks to Flickr user ellnm1 who has no connection to this blog or blogger.

Video Shows Darren Wilson Tromping Around Scene Right After Killing of Michael Brown, Black Eye Missing Though Fox Claims Busted Eye Socket.

One thing the face, is famous for is bleeding when damaged.  Whether under or over the skin, blood comes gushing out causing incredible bruising or frightening blood loss that is hard to tame.

Think of how easy it is to get a nose bleed and the extraordinary measures your mom took and made you take, like staying inside when you got one (if she was like mine).

I guess the face's tendency to bleed internally or externally is due to the tough skull material just below the surface, leaving little cushion a blow before things break.

A punch in the gut may feel horrible, but all those spongy insides reduce the tendency for vessels to break.

Not so with the face, especially around the eye where young skin tends to be pretty taut.

Yet, if you watch the video above you can see Officer Darren Warren pace around Mike Brown's body with normal flesh colored eye sockets.  An orbital blowout has to be much worse than the average cause of a black eye, but Warren shows no sign of one either in looks or actions.

Given that the incident  may point to stimulant use by the officer (in an apparent lack of ability to stop his abnormal reaction, aka aggression until his gun was unloaded into Brown's body) he may well have been walking around, but the bruising of a an orbital blowout should be apparent right away.

There has been a serious problem with how "information" on this case has "leaked out" with officials going on Fox News propaganda system and  telling their "story" to ultra partisan Alex Jones.  People supposedly at a convenience store just happening to catch video of an altercation between a store manager and supposedly Mike Brown lifting some cigarillos, though other video shows him paying for them.

The news system is more a collection of he said, she said than actual digging out of truth.

That's why we citizens have to think without prejudice and find out as much as we can ourselves.

Hint to some: That means turning off Fox News and other right wing sources.

It's kinda disappointing that CNN has just announced that, in fact, Wilson had no such injury, but also validating (though the officer did have swelling on his face).

Charles Johnson has a video on that report here.

Jon Oliver: Last Week Tonight on #ferguson Missouri and Out of Control Cops

Your Lying News Media At Work. Protestors Pick Up Smoke Canister. AP Accuses Them of "Attempting to Light Molotov Cocktail"

I'm going to have to steal viciously from Charles Johnson's Twitter feed. @Green_Footballs
I do recommend people follow him.  You may be more liberal or conservative, but what he says has quite a bit of credibility.

He's the one who caught the AP in a tremendous lie that I'm going to assume was passed by the ST Louis Co cops to them, that Ferguson protesters were creating dangerous incendiary devices.  I guess AP reporters don't want to get arrested like their colleagues at al Jazeera.

(BTW, I believe you need bottles for Molotov cocktails so they'll break and spread the burning gasoline further faster.  The metal  canister shown here would simply burn and maybe leak a little from  from the mouth.)  #SMH

I have set a link under the picture below to go to the AP report in question since a picture of a link doesn't work under normal circumstances. Or try this identical link.  I could only find one picture, so Johnson was looking at another one that I haven't seen, but I find him generally trustworthy.

Sorry, autolinks I've set up through dlvr.it cannot be stopped or started without hours of delay so we will be spamming Johnson's work to Twitter.  I just want this recorded somewhere semi permanently available, which is not something one gets from a Twitter feed.  If LGF publishes a report on this. I will delete links to my report. 

Israel's Propaganda Video to "Educate Australia" Shows Grenades in Playground, Hamas Dragging Tots Through Tunnels.

They must hold extreme disdain of Aussie intelligence abilities.

Veterans Administration Deal and Funding History Proves That Republicans Were Mostly Responsible For Its Problems

Honoring our Veterans requires much more than putting them in a parade.  With deal the GOP tacitly admits it underfunded the VA at every chance for over a decade after it started invasive wars.

As we said earlier the VA was vastly underfunded, with the return to invasive war and the GOP was mostly sitting on funding increases when it got the chance.

And even they must agree, since they just approved $17 billion more dollars to fund the behemoth health system.  See Politico How the VA deal came together for confirmation and horse race politics snore.

We showed in an earlier blog post that despite sending our troops to two new invasive wars, the GOP which controlled the White House and the Congress in the early years of the first decade of the new millennium refused to adequately increase funding for the VA.

As we wrote a month ago:

Except for the years when the Democrats controlled the House and Senate, you'd think that massive injuries were not being produced in Iraq and Afghanistan that would require many years of intense care and innovative remedies for heavily injured soldiers.

Between 2003 and 2004 with the GOP in control of Congress VA funding only increased 4.7%

Massive invasion casualties?  When did those happen?

Between 2004 and 2005 with the GOP in control of Congress VA funding only increased  5.5%

IEDs?  What are those?

Between 2005 and 2006 with the GOP in control of Congress VA funding only increased 2.2%

I guess they were getting tired of paying for those injuries among "deadbeat" vets.

Between 2006 and 2007 with the Dems suddenly back in control of Congress thanks to Mark Foley VA funding increased 8.4%

Who loves our vets?

Between 2007 and 2008 with the Dems still in control of Congress VA funding increased 6.4%.

Still above anything the GOP gave them.

Between 2008 and 2009 with the Dems still in control of Congress VA funding increased 8.3%

Whoever thought that the GOP was the party who loved the our military most.  They just love using them and getting them killed.

Between 2009 and 2010 with the Dems still in control of Congress VA funding increased 12.1%

Need I say anything more?

Between 2011 and 2010 with GOP in control of the House in a division of Congress VA funding increased 8.2% a slowdown now.

Between 2012 and 2001 with GOP in control of the House in a division of Congress VA funding increased 0.8%  You saw that 0.8%.

Oh yeah, remember the great GOP austerity for tax cuts for Koch bros, our new national meme.

Suck on it injured vets say the GOP.

The fact that the GOP approved $17 billion shows they now understand but are hoping to look like good guys for finally acting, instead of the vicious crew that took our young people to war, but refused to adequately treat them when they were injured or disabled.

Picture at top used via Creative Commons' License Attribution (CC by 2.0) thanks to Flickr user DVIDSHUB who has no connection to this blog or blogger.

Israel Hired GOP's Professional Propagandist Frank Luntz to Sell Israel's War on Gaza

View of Jerusalem.

The usual piles of crap from the right to make mass killing and theft of land into a model of compassionate outreach has gone international as Frank Luntz helps Israel with their BS and Hasbara.

He says it is absolutely crucial to exude empathy for Palestinians: "Persuadables [sic] won't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Show Empathy for BOTH sides!" This may explain why a number of Israeli spokesman are almost lachrymose about the plight of Palestinians being pounded by Israeli bombs and shells. In a sentence in bold type, underlined and with capitalisation, Dr Luntz says that Israeli spokesmen or political leaders must never, ever justify "the deliberate slaughter of innocent women and children" and they must aggressively challenge those who accuse Israel of such a crime. Israeli spokesmen struggled to be true to this prescription when 16 Palestinians were killed in a UN shelter in Gaza last Thursday.

Whoa, Dude.  Hitler would be so jealous.  If he'd only not shot himself and lived to be able to avail himself of your complete lack of moral fiber.  He and Eva could be living on the Riviera with your help and getting reparations from the rest of the world.

Avoid talking about borders in terms of pre- or post-1967, because it only serves to remind Americans of Israel's military history.

Um yeah, it just reminds us that you stole your land from others and are still stealing the little the Palestinians have left, and polluting what you don't outright grab.

Luntz also tells Israelis to avoid language that describes reality in Israel because it reminds Americans of the racists in the American South and Apartheid South Africa.

 Instead the American propaganda master says to claim that Palestinians want to demand land from Israelis.

"the right of return is a tough issue for Israelis to communicate effectively because much of Israeli language sounds like the 'separate but equal' words of the 1950s segregationists and the 1980s advocates of Apartheid. The fact is, Americans don't like, don't believe and don't accept the concept of 'separate but equal'."So how should spokesmen deal with what the booklet admits is a tough question? They should call it a "demand", on the grounds that Americans don't like people who make demands. "Then say 'Palestinians aren't content with their own state. Now they're demanding territory inside Israel'.".

Funny how there was no Israel until the land was taken from Palestinians.

Luntz also advises to treat Palestinians who left or were thrown out of Israel as illegal immigrants, not people seeking their homeland.

How about the right of return for Palestinian refugees who were expelled or fled in 1948 and in the following years, and who are not allowed to go back to their homes? Here Dr Luntz has subtle advice for spokesmen, saying that "the right of return is a tough issue for Israelis to communicate...

.... If nothing else works, say that the return of Palestinians would "derail the effort to achieve peace".

 Then again, maybe I should get into this and go demand a place of my own in Northern Sweden, because some of my ancestors were from Lapland with winter digs in France from whence my Huguenot peeps were driven under Louis the 14th.

After all the Israelis have shown that it's all cool.

Picture at top used via Creative Commons License Attribution (CC by 2.0) thanks to Flickr user gnuckx who has no connection to this blog or blogger.

Pew Resaearch Title "Concerns about Islamic Extremism on the Rise in Middle East" Hides the Hope In it's Message

Fishing in Lebanon.  The results are likely  be better than invading the nation in a clumsy effort to impose one's will on it and grab land.  The US learned all about that in Vietnam, and remembered it too, until Republicans got control again in the early years of this century.

Maybe there's some real point in making a Danger Will Robinson title for a report on good news like in Concerns about Islamic Extremism on the Rise in Middle East

I guess the more people you get to read your report, the more people you inform.

It still seems a little like a Medicine Man style huckstering.

In fact, concern is rising because approval of violent activists is subsiding just about everywhere.

Though Israel is portraying its Gaza action as being due to high support of Hamas' Jihadists.among Gazan residents.  That is not shown on the Pew Research polls.  Sixty-six percent of Arabic Israelis say they are concerned about Hamas' extremism. Concern indicates nearly the opposite of approval.

And al Qaeda approval is disappearing like snow in spring if not summer. Interestingly the area where it is almost the highest is in the Palestinian Territories where a muslim population feels threatened by an occupying majority of "others" that is actively practicing land theft where it can.  Even in the Palestinian territories, though, support for al Qaeda is declining.

The highest support for a "terrorist group" is among the Shia for Hezbollah in Lebanon, possibly because the Shia gain the most from associations with the group that may include jobs.

So it seems that the way to reduce terrorism still further is to make sure people have good job and living choices in their own lands, and that they don't feel threatened or impoverished by external or internal sources.

The real terror creating entities could be noted to be greed and interference from outsiders, and the resulting poverty among the masses of people.

Picture above used via Creative Commons License Attribution CC by 2.0 thanks to Mohannad Khattab at Flickr.com.

Chris Hayes Interviews Tariq Khdeir, Beaten Florida Teen Pt2

 

Chris Hayes Interviews Florida Teenager Tariq Khdeir Who Was Beaten by Cops in Israel Pt1

Video: Analyst: Current Conflict Could Bring Down Netanyahu in Next Israeli Election

The only bad news is that the analyst who thinks this conflict could end Netanyahu's future hopes of keeping office notes that the putsch could come from the right, for his failures. That sounds incredibly dangerous for Gazan and all Palestinian children who are suffering enough now.  It could also be dangerous for Israeli families, and Americans.  Surely Nettie isn't the most liberal Israeli that the US could back.

Phil Gingrey Wins Pants on Fire Award for Claims that Migrants Across Southern Border could Bring In Ebola Virus

Notice he's not even speculating.  Dr Gingrey claims he's heard of "reports".  Obviously his constituents and others are supposed to be too stupid to know he's lying.

As a medical doctor he should know how quickly ebola kills, and how debilitating it is.  Did anyone see people rushing a sretcher over the border so a dying soul just flown in from Africa can give up the ghost in the US?

Dr. Gingrey demeans the valiant doctors and nurses fighting to keep people in Africa alive, and sometimes losing their own for it despite extreme care to avoid dangerous exposure.  He demeans Americans as well, thinking they are too stupid to figure this out.

But the Koch bros and other Big Money right wing donors will dump money into his re-election campaign for this attack on the truth and the Obama administration.

That is one thing he does know.

Full Politifact page here.

Shorter URL for this page: http://bit.ly/1plNpSu

Last Week Tonight: John Oliver Explains The Wealth Gap

MSNBC Discussion: What Can Obama Do About the Border Crisis?

That "Obama Immigration Policy" Causing border Crisis? Passed in 2002, Updated Unanimously by Congress in 2008, signed by George W Bush

Why yes, I'll talk to the press about all those annoying immigrants of the last 400+ years!  Hey, where you running off to Mr. Newsman!


So Rush Limbaugh/ Fox News/ etc's problem is that the current US President obeys the law?

That would explain a lot.

According to a a well done earlier report:

Under a 2002 human trafficking law signed by former President George Bush and reauthorized again in 2008 with additional protections, Mexican unaccompanied children apprehended crossing the border are automatically returned without formal deportation proceedings because the two countries share a border. But unaccompanied children from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala cannot be sent back without going through the deportation process, since that law ensured that America wouldn’t send kids back to a dangerous situation. (Honduras, for example, has experiences increased gang violence in 40 percent of its territory, while violence against females is surging in Guatemala.) Authorities must instead process these children and determine whether they have credible proof that they cannot return to their countries of origin. Central American children are given basic care like medical screenings in processing centers before being placed with relatives or foster care until they can appear in front of immigration judges.

The requirement that children from nations not sharing a border with the US go through a process that precludes just bouncing them across the border again or flying them to a big airport in their home country was started in 2002 and reauthorized in 2008.

Sorry, that means they law would be known as Bush 43 laws.  Passed bills do not sit around waiting to be signed by a succeeding president. In fact, every two years a Congress expires and any unsigned bills die.  The process must be repassed in the new Congress.

In 2002, the Democrats actually did control the Senate because of the disaffection of one of the Republican senators who decided to caucus with the Democrats (until he was ousted at the end of the year) but the GOP still controlled the House of Representatives.  In 2008 the Democrats were in control of Congress after a 2006 crisis revealed that the GOP leaders did not care to control, expel, or expose one of their own powerful Congressmen who was caught, at least attempting to sexually engage with underage Congressional interns.

So what was the vote count like while the Dems controlled Congress?  Did those slimy liberals force laws on the nation that would force the US to spend weeks identifying whether it was safe to send a child back to their non-bordering nation before packing them off on a plane or a smoky autobús to some dumping point in a dangerous inner city of Central America?

Nancy Pelosi !!!

Um, no.

According to

Congress.gov the major actions for H.R. 7311 were:

12/10/2008

Passed/agreed to in Senate: Received in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S10886-10887)

12/10/2008

Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed without objection.(text: CR H10889-10902)

Then:

12/23/2008

Became Public Law No: 110-457.

12/23/2008

Signed by President.

12/12/2008

Presented to President.

 As you can see the timeline appears to go upwards in these copies directly from the source.

No President Obama anywhere around.

No Democratic Party acting unilaterally in Congress.

A troll, possibly as stupid as he/she seemed with a pathetic follower count came back at me with the claim that this was about "trafficking" not immigration when I stated this on Twitter and left a link to the 2008 bills page that I placed above (so he/sh had no excuse for ignorance).

But no, the bill was about ensuring that children returned to their native homes will  not be immediately trafficked when they return .  That appears to mean that relatives are contacted to find someone to care for the children instead of tossing them into the streets of a decrepit inner city.  The big question is why this isn't extended to Mexico where such things can happen, too.  Maybe it is -- on the sly.  Is Rush Limbaugh's hate radar on the fritz?

Maybe Fox News Hosts and Rush Limbaugh, etc should ask John Boehner and other Republicans in Congress in 2008 why they voted for it, instead of shaking their fists and Gargling out "Obama did this to us!"

Because everyone who learns the truth would then know how big the GOP and their r/w media thought control handlers are willing to lie to achieve their ends, and grab big money from right wing sources.

Picture at top clipped using Windows Snipping Tool and used via Creative Commons License CC by 2.0 thanks to flickr user Larry Lamsa who has no connection to this blog or blogger.

After Horrific West, Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion, Gregg Abbott started getting donations from Koch family members with interests in Chemical Fertilizers.

Above: Nothing to see here folks, unless.  (Flickr user describes the building as a defunct fertilizer plant and the picture posted was created mostly for the clouds attribution and license at bottom).  But what if a non-descript building near your school, or workplace or home suddenly exploded sending dangerous shocks or chemicals to attack your family and friends.  People in Texas wanted to know where they were after the West plant exploded.  Attorney General Greg Abbott refused to tell them.

Excerpt Dallas Morning News report:

AUSTIN — Five months after an ammonium nitrate explosion that killed 15 people in West, Attorney General Greg Abbott received a $25,000 contribution from a first-time donor to his political campaigns — the head of Koch Industries’ fertilizer division.
The donor, Chase Koch, is the son of one of the billionaire brothers atop Koch Industries’ politically influential business empire.

Abbott, who has since been criticized for allowing Texas chemical facilities to keep secret the contents of their plants, received more than $75,000 from Koch interests after the April 2013 explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. storage and distribution facility, campaign finance records filed with the state showed.

The West accident focused public attention on the storage of potentially dangerous chemicals across Texas and regulatory gaps in prevention, data-gathering, enforcement and disclosure to prevent explosions in the future. In addition tothe 15 deaths, scores of people were injured, and homes and businesses were leveled.

The issue has re-emerged for Abbott in his run for governor. The Republican nominee recently declared that records on what chemicals the facilities stored could remain hidden, citing state laws meant to deter potential terrorist threats.

The campaign of his Democratic opponent, Wendy Davis, has charged Abbott with protecting campaign donors. On Tuesday, Abbott struggled to explain how Texans might learn of dangerous chemicals in their midst.

“You know where they are if you drive around,” Abbott told reporters at an event in Austin. “You can ask every facility whether or not they have chemicals or not. You can ask them if they do and they can tell you, ‘Well, we do have chemicals or we don’t have chemicals.’ And if they do, they tell which ones they have.”

After the West disaster, The Dallas Morning News identified 74 facilities in Texas as having at least 10,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate or ammonium-related material, including a Koch subsidiary, the Georgia-Pacific Gypsum plant in Sweetwater. The subsidiary now makes a nitrogen fertilizer, not the same product as the one that exploded in West.

 So the information could be found, but Abbott made it hard to discover -- as if homeowners and renters shouldn't have a right to know.  It's just their family's safety at stake.

The Dallas Morning News report I saw did not link to any map of dangerous chemical plants, but there is a map at Center for Effective Government of chemical plants in Texas with pictures showing schools and hospitals within a mile of the facilities.  Of course, there could be single family homes and apartments within such boundaries, too which can certainly put people at risk, unknowingly just as the West Fertilizer company did.

Charles Johnson aka @Green_Footballs posted a link on Twitter today to a Texas Department of Insurance page where you can check any zipcode in the state presumably and see if there is Ammonium Nitrate in it.  If that sounds stupid, please visit the page.  It appears to poorly explain what it does without a zipcode.  Maybe it works much better if you plug one in.
 I finally found a code that admitted to having an Ammonium nitrate storage facility. The map was unclear, showed 4 storage facilities that did not look like were in the selected zipcode, but there was contact information for a local fire department.  Hopefully you could learn more from them.

On the whole though, the site's action could be improved by allowing some energetic high school students improve it.  Then again Texas is a red state, so half-assed productions at the government level are some what to be expected.

Picture used via Creative Commons License Attribution CC by 2.0 thanks to flickr user David DeHetre who has no connection to this blog or blogger.