tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60138977640012767032024-03-05T10:43:33.953-05:00Salmon AlleyLiberal Posts from a Conservative NeighborhoodGreendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.comBlogger437125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-9877882999604227242022-12-11T20:38:00.007-05:002022-12-14T11:29:07.058-05:00Dominion Voting Systems Goes After Right Wing Misinformation<p>Of course, it's <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/dec/11/rupert-murdoch-fox-dominion-lawsuit-deposition" rel="nofollow" target="">mostly about the money</a>, but after all this is the Capitalistic States of America and with the dissolution of any kind of Corporate Social Contract, it seems that money is the only language mass propagandists understand. <br /><br />Ever since the Reagan administration <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/01/17/how-policy-decisions-spawned-todays-hyperpolarized-media/" rel="nofollow">overturned the Fairness Doctrine</a> and unleashed the Oxy addled sex tourist Rush Limbaugh on the airwaves to spew unchallenged, unfiltered conservative lies and rage bait; conservative media has been adding media outlets, dominating the <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-structural-imbalance-of-political-talk-radio/" rel="nofollow" target="">AM/FM talk radio space</a> and has the most watched television "news" shows. Now, "Social" media's amplification of misinformation and hate speech is reaching additional millions. All this occurs with little or no accountability. It seems like no one dares or has the political will to take on the Right Wing Industrial Media Complex. <br /><br />Veteran <a href="http://professionalleft.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Professional Left</a> Blogger Driftglass succinctly lays <a href="https://driftglass.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-mcgoplt.html" rel="nofollow">this phenomena</a> bare: "By simply refusing to speak of the long, wide, clearly-marked road down which GOP has traveled that led us to this moment -- and media's deep complicity -- and by alibing everyone in their media Club, by insisting that history began in 2016, by relentingly "Both Sidesing" the ruin the GOP has brought down upon us, and by leading endless snipe hunts in search of Reasonable Republicans and Sensible Centrists, the mainstream media continues to do what it has always done best: reinforce the Potemkin façade of "journalism" behind which they all hide and protect the Big Lie of Both Sides Do It on which their entire industry depends."</p><p>So the Mainstream Media status quo machine chugs along and the right wing propaganda machine trots out whatever lies it wants with impunity until finally one company had had enough. <a href="https://www.dominionvoting.com/" rel="nofollow">Dominion Voting Systems</a>, a leading manufacturer of voting machines, challenged the Trump/MAGA Big-Lie that the 2020 election was "stolen" and filed <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/08/10/1026509404/dominion-sues-conservative-media-oan-newsmax-2020-election" rel="nofollow" target="">multiple lawsuits </a>against Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, and others for promoting a conspiracy theory that Dominion's voting machines were designed to rig the election in favor of Joe Biden. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGrzSXnow8ya_JLlyTjys33R-S0SddE0pVqEYm07Om_NCq4CyCYb33vcTOE3Pl9y22Sr6WG61On8lccMkQhkbeQQPGP67r71sVrdB0lfcIIyzGJqsge0iI17tOb8dEI7GPma_iys6v_R7v-C_EjHzgIcALRLrbpn23JC0_zsrnBB3WLT9DZfmUJB_ofQ/s828/Q-trust.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="828" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGrzSXnow8ya_JLlyTjys33R-S0SddE0pVqEYm07Om_NCq4CyCYb33vcTOE3Pl9y22Sr6WG61On8lccMkQhkbeQQPGP67r71sVrdB0lfcIIyzGJqsge0iI17tOb8dEI7GPma_iys6v_R7v-C_EjHzgIcALRLrbpn23JC0_zsrnBB3WLT9DZfmUJB_ofQ/s320/Q-trust.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This theory, which has been <a href="https://www.dominionvoting.com/setting-the-record-straight/" rel="nofollow" target="">debunked by numerous experts</a>, was based on a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/q-fades-qanon-s-dominion-voter-fraud-conspiracy-theory-reaches-n1247780" rel="nofollow" target="">QAnon fabrication</a> spread by social media eventually acknowledged by Donald Trump and picked up and promoted by right wing media. Despite being thoroughly disproven this narrative was repeated ad nauseam by Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, and others allegedly causing significant damage to Dominion's reputation and bottom line.<p></p><p></p><p>Here we are over two years later and Dominion's Court battle, (<a href="https://www.smartmatic.com/us/lawsuit-updates-fact-checks/" rel="nofollow" target="">Smartmatic</a> has parallel lawsuits with many of the same actors), has wound it's way through the system and now these huge money (how huge? $1.6 Billion) lawsuits can move forward. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2022/11/08/court-lets-lawsuit-against-oann-move-forward-heres-where-dominion-and-smartmatics-defamation-suits-stand-now/?sh=4cd77dac34f6" rel="nofollow" target="">Forbes</a> has an excellent <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2022/11/08/court-lets-lawsuit-against-oann-move-forward-heres-where-dominion-and-smartmatics-defamation-suits-stand-now/?sh=4cd77dac34f6" rel="nofollow" target="">rundown of the principals</a> and where the suits stand. Plaintiffs include: OANN (<a href="https://slate.com/business/2022/07/oan-verizon-fios-directv-cable-trump.html" rel="nofollow" target="">already shunned by DirecTV and Verizon</a>), Mike Lindell, Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Newsmax, Patrick Byrne (former Overstock CEO), and last but not least Fox News and Fox Corporation - which includes executives Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch specifically. </p><p>Which brings us to my favorite part: <br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/dec/11/rupert-murdoch-fox-dominion-lawsuit-deposition" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: "GH Guardian Headline", "Guardian Egyptian Web", Georgia, serif; font-size: 2.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures;" target=""><span style="font-size: large;">Is Dominion’s $1.6bn defamation lawsuit a death blow for Murdoch and Fox News?</span></a></h4><p></p><p>One can only hope</p><p>It seems like this challenge to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/09/opinion/talk-radio-conservatives-trumpism.html" rel="nofollow" target="">Right Wing Media Complex</a> in a meaningful effective way could possibly give pause to the purveyors of nationwide unfettered hate speech and misinformation who have operated their propaganda channels without consequence for decades. Negative Advertiser reaction to Elon Musk's right-wing Twitter devolution may hurt enough for Twitter to either adapt or fail as well. In Capitalist America the <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/vote-with-wallet" rel="nofollow" target="">Wallet Vote</a> seems to be the current vehicle for positive change. </p><p><br /></p>Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-88584480260501873852021-02-09T17:55:00.009-05:002021-02-09T18:30:05.016-05:00Why Are There Terrorists Next Door? <span style="font-size: large;">Maine man arrested in connection with riot at US Capitol. <br /></span>From WGME News Portland, Maine<br /><br /><div>"Thirty-seven-year-old husband and father Kyle Fitzsimons is known in Lebanon for his passion when it comes to politics."<br /><br /></div><div>"We have a lot of respect for Kyle," neighbor Julie Lucier said.</div><div><br /></div><div>"People who know him say they never expected federal agents would arrest him Thursday on four federal charges stemming from the violent attack on the Capitol."</div><br />"We're just shocked that Kyle was involved in this," Lucier said. "We didn't even know that he went there."<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk27gv0_6or1kUQ8pFd7KMUy_0rx-B7e8V4w7jYi7DPfBKXv2KCf76528N9i_FM7AxDQg68se11jgqrIMZ7F-tzN5jB2u1j8e471EiadU49WbZS8C8ty1J6L56JkfuTS7Uj582InpF-rq2/s1200/lebanon-man.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk27gv0_6or1kUQ8pFd7KMUy_0rx-B7e8V4w7jYi7DPfBKXv2KCf76528N9i_FM7AxDQg68se11jgqrIMZ7F-tzN5jB2u1j8e471EiadU49WbZS8C8ty1J6L56JkfuTS7Uj582InpF-rq2/s320/lebanon-man.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://wgme.com/news/local/neighbors-shocked-by-lebanon-mans-arrest-in-connection-to-capitol-riot" rel="nofollow">He seems nice</a>. <div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ3HAYRuveP-elBYPooBAgOuyMGy10HtGobKGK3az2Ya2DjGdElf5YfklmFQ87XeKQZSQnVfagJsNP8_oZhpiDXWjvU_1HYvxOZijHtPJSHtdSLFjfV5djQcYLsL6dhY7nNn4pNFyYcQ44/s617/fox-news-syringe-crop-sm.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="617" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ3HAYRuveP-elBYPooBAgOuyMGy10HtGobKGK3az2Ya2DjGdElf5YfklmFQ87XeKQZSQnVfagJsNP8_oZhpiDXWjvU_1HYvxOZijHtPJSHtdSLFjfV5djQcYLsL6dhY7nNn4pNFyYcQ44/s320/fox-news-syringe-crop-sm.jpg" width="320" /></a>This phenomena doesn't happen in a vacuum. Right now, we are dealing with a crisis of right-wing radicalization by right-wing media of millions of Americans just like your neighbor next door. <br /><div style="text-align: right;">Fox News is their gateway drug. </div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><br /></div><div><div>From <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2014/10/23/1338538/--The-Science-Of-Fox-News-Why-Its-Viewers-Are-The-Most-Misinformed" rel="" target="_blank">Daily Kos</a> quoting Chris Mooney’s book, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1118094514/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=chriscmooneyc-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1118094514" rel="nofollow">The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science and Reality.</a><br /></i><br />"Looking at a variety of studies, the author comes to the conclusion that Fox is imparting misinformation even as politically conservative viewers are also seeking the station out—highly open to it and already convinced about many falsehoods that dovetail with their beliefs, certainty is driven by a kind of feedback loop." <br /><br /></div><div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3c3736; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.125px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;">"Add to this a certain predisposition to close mindedness. Political conservatives tend to have a higher need for closure. Conservatives who are authoritarian/absolute in style maintain their beliefs against challenges by limiting their experiences, and surrounding themselves with sources of information that will tell them they are right.<br /><span style="color: #3c3736; font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.125px;">"In other words Fox News is both deceiver and enabler simultaneously. First, its existence creates the opportunity for conservatives to exercise their biases, by selecting into the Fox information stream, and also by imbibing Fox-style arguments and claims that can then fuel biased reasoning about politics, science, and whatever else comes up."</span></span></div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYN5MTkBOCYaf18ORJEmGD1mPfDiFWp4oZPYSMrzC_79MlQ5JDgMwpwGyULN1oV-ztN8EfNT2OClV35xd6drTpP__2f5IGkyI5O8Phzh-Xx_B2yM6d3A2gaXLJf5VM-E7GI_EhaEfIdTzG/s236/fox-news-everyone-lying.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="236" data-original-width="236" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYN5MTkBOCYaf18ORJEmGD1mPfDiFWp4oZPYSMrzC_79MlQ5JDgMwpwGyULN1oV-ztN8EfNT2OClV35xd6drTpP__2f5IGkyI5O8Phzh-Xx_B2yM6d3A2gaXLJf5VM-E7GI_EhaEfIdTzG/w200-h200/fox-news-everyone-lying.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: #3c3736; letter-spacing: 0.125px;"><div style="font-family: "Open Sans";"><span style="color: #3c3736; font-family: "Open Sans"; letter-spacing: 0.125px;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Open Sans";"><span style="color: #3c3736; font-family: "Open Sans"; letter-spacing: 0.125px;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">"But at the same time, it’s also likely that conservatives, tending to be more closed-minded and more authoritarian, have a stronger emotional need for an outlet like Fox, where they can find affirmation and escape from the belief challenges constantly presented by the “liberal media.” Their psychological need for something affirmative is probably stronger than what’s encountered on the opposite side of the aisle—as is their revulsion towards allegedly liberal (but really centrist) media outlets."<br /></span></span><br />"And thus we find, at the root of our political dysfunction, a classic nurture-nature mélange. The penchant for selective exposure is rooted in our psychology and our brains. Closed-mindedness and authoritarianism—running stronger in some of us than in others—likely are as well." [end].<p></p><div style="text-align: left;">The self-righteous anger and victimization generated by Fox News personalities' manufactured outrage, half-truths and outright lies are driving the radicalization process to people who are susceptible to bias. Some casual conservatives stay right there and have enough of an outrage fix from Fox to last them. <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhooLrHMJsT8dRfWfyrZa-kKSQvdsSFiBI518lFZGjmAlDJIldyIdw14XGrKkbKOltaPH3mrV6PBcfgKpG4BFgyv9FDe_5HAwD6W1B3Fm4h61Ibi1CXeCb6T0oGZKPdoXUrSx96BhPVPwdQ/s746/Ef-your-feelings.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="746" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhooLrHMJsT8dRfWfyrZa-kKSQvdsSFiBI518lFZGjmAlDJIldyIdw14XGrKkbKOltaPH3mrV6PBcfgKpG4BFgyv9FDe_5HAwD6W1B3Fm4h61Ibi1CXeCb6T0oGZKPdoXUrSx96BhPVPwdQ/s320/Ef-your-feelings.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This is enough to radicalize mom and pop six-pack and we see it all the time. Some become de-sensitized to the outrage on Fox and need more. They move to OANN, Newsmax etc. for more broadcast propaganda and when that is not enough they head online and maybe start with Fox Nation, the Blaze, etc. then go to Infowars, Brietbart, QAnon, and wind up at Stormfront. If that doesn't scratch the itch, they move to the dark web and by this time seem out of touch with reality, totally brainwashed, and indoctrinated into a world of inane easily disproved conspiracy theories. They are unreachable. They now live in an alternate universe where dangerous obviously false conspiracy theories are weaponized and rationalized by the charismatic leaders of their myriad movements, especially the ex-president who has been promoted to Messiah-like status. They are now totally brainwashed. Millions of them. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It starts with Fox News. It really doesn't end at the Capitol Riots.</div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-36626203513326598772019-05-09T12:55:00.000-04:002019-05-09T12:55:08.799-04:00"I Only Hire The Best People" - John Bolton Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp1AdafcUwrpGrKDJjRO4YHG_qOxd80_jVnyoR3Z1j5QsVVyxGhLWQ08H5703VwPFXAG1-4fwygUgrXQShcRtG6WsdWbbvq7m9G-Hz0JkKi2HW5DT3CSwpn23QFL2nPBpC0HRZiUslqYAT/s1600/TrumpHireTheBest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="650" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp1AdafcUwrpGrKDJjRO4YHG_qOxd80_jVnyoR3Z1j5QsVVyxGhLWQ08H5703VwPFXAG1-4fwygUgrXQShcRtG6WsdWbbvq7m9G-Hz0JkKi2HW5DT3CSwpn23QFL2nPBpC0HRZiUslqYAT/s320/TrumpHireTheBest.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Right. Let's take a look at the "Best 27th United States National Security Advisor Hire Ever!"<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_R._Bolton" target="_blank">John Bolton. </a></span><br />
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John Bolton is the reason I shaved my mustache off in 2005 after Bush (W.) nominated him to be United States Ambassador to the United Nations. The mustache of war. I couldn't believe that this angry warmonger was chosen for that post.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5cX5LaZg2lQOBPm1bIMPkp2XamU1foCKpJCqL6yBqkqnec35jyIf5pu1RVw4_3jSVwgk6IzWQy_3dcTU77nzZ71UtyKmD4owExYKOg81KlkQXjb2eJ4jz-jrT37vLMw02QeAAWTAHvC1A/s1600/John-Bolton-cartoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="960" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5cX5LaZg2lQOBPm1bIMPkp2XamU1foCKpJCqL6yBqkqnec35jyIf5pu1RVw4_3jSVwgk6IzWQy_3dcTU77nzZ71UtyKmD4owExYKOg81KlkQXjb2eJ4jz-jrT37vLMw02QeAAWTAHvC1A/s320/John-Bolton-cartoon.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
John Bolton is a man who sees all diplomatic problems as a nail and he holds the hammer. He seems to have been obsessed with Iran since the hostage crisis after the 1979 coup.<br />
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In an op-ed for the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/john-bolton-the-too-little-too-late-presidency-1424219513" target="_blank">Wall Street Journal</a>, Bolton condemned the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran as a “massive strategic blunder”—then went further. American policy, he wrote, “should be ending Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution before its fortieth anniversary,” next February. “Recognizing a new Iranian regime in 2019 would reverse the shame of once seeing our diplomats held hostage for four hundred and forty-four days. The former hostages can cut the ribbon to open the new U.S. Embassy in Tehran.”<br />
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Bolton began his federal service in the administration of Pres. Ronald Reagan, holding positions in the <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/" target="_blank">U.S. Agency for International Development</a> - they provide development assistance to partner countries. I can't imagine him at this post. The first of many positions he seemed so temperamentally unqualified to hold. While working for USAID, Lynne Finney, a legal adviser for the agency, alleged that <a href="https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-04-24-bolton-allegations_x.htm" target="_blank">Bolton threatened to fire her</a> for refusing to lobby for the deregulation of baby formula in developing nations. What a guy.<br />
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His history is one of confrontation and he is known for his abrasive behavior.<br />
During Bolton’s nomination hearing for the UN job, Carl Ford, an intelligence official and assistant secretary of state, as well as a self-described conservative Republican, testified that Bolton bullied an intelligence analyst over evidence about Cuba’s suspected weapons programs, prompting an intervention from Powell. Bolton is a “kiss-up, kick-down sort of guy” who “abuses his authority with little people,” Ford said at the time.<br />
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The list of <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/23/john-bolton-is-a-national-security-threat/" target="_blank">diplomatic fails</a> goes on and on like a rainy day. Over the years he has repeatedly urged military action in Iran and North Korea, which he has called “two sides of the same coin.”<br />
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<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-boltons-greatest-hits-are-failures/" target="_blank">Fired from his UN post</a>. Unwanted in even in the Bush cabinet. He has found a home with the Trump administration where he is advocating for war with Venezuala and regime change in Iran. Although he may be <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/john-bomb-iran-bolton-the-new-warmonger-in-the-white-house" target="_blank">wearing out his welcome</a> there as well.<br />
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In Trump's Bizzaro World of cabinet appointments, he fits right in!<br />
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<br />Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-13024160018482784292019-05-08T18:46:00.000-04:002019-05-08T18:46:35.425-04:00It's Too Easy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-32964973756212703982016-07-30T10:48:00.001-04:002016-07-30T11:17:17.500-04:00Democratic National Convention Forces Republicans to Release Hostage <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am hearing all over the news how surprised Republicans are to hear that Democrats appear to love their country after all! Imagine that.<br />
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They had come to believe their own propaganda that Dems are anti-American haters, drilled incessantly for many years into the consciousness of ordinary Americans by a daily narrative of Right Wing Media led by Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, their content given credibility when bleeding over into mainstream media outlets.<br />
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Karl Rove took this narrative to the next level and made it into an art form. Marketing the Republican brand as "Support our Troops" was brilliantly evil. As a result, opposing the Iraq war became not supporting our troops. The ubiquitous (made in China) magnetic yellow ribbon supporting an illegal and immoral war of choice became a symbol of Republican pride. Rove was a marketing genius.<br />
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How could Dems who opposed the war sport one of those on their car? It was a no win situation. American flags became the property of Republicans as well - "What are you doing with a flag flying off your porch, I thought you were a democrat?".<br />
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Wow... insidious and odious and very effective. A compliant corporate media went along for the ride.<br />
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Republicans have been wrongly asserting their ownership over America and its ideals for some time now but with the nomination of Donald Trump the ugly truths of conservatism are finally coming out of the shadows and being broadcast around the world, unfiltered for all to see. Good people are questioning their old belief systems and the conservative propaganda machine's hold is finally slipping away.<br />
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“This country isn’t yours,” Jon Stewart said. “You don’t own it, it never was. There is no real America . . . You don’t own patriotism, you don’t own Christianity. You sure as hell don’t own respect for the bravery and sacrifice of military, police, and firefighters.” Jon is so right and the media is finally catching up.<br />
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Now, imagine the language of patriotism used to advance a different agenda. One of peace, prosperity for all, good government, and inclusion. Imagine that. The speeches at the DNC were reported as overwhelmingly positive, "<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/28/obama-republicans-speech-democratic-convention-patriotic">Reganesque</a>" the media cooed with blank, stunned expressions on their faces.<br />
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Of course Democrats have never stopped loving their country and maybe have had to love their country a little bit more because the narrative has been so negatively slanted for so long: "Dems don't love their country because they believe in civil rights, a living wage, gay marriage, banking regulation, inclusion, universal health care, solar power/clean energy, no unnecessary wars, separation of church and state..." and on and on. Republicans are always looking for an easy way to divide the American people into us and them. That is their way. The new "you don't support our troops" is not speaking the phrase "Militant Islam".<br />
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But this moment in time seems to have the potential to actually pull Americans together culturally and spiritually after years of intentional division and cultural wedges being driven between us for political gain. We can only hope that this opportunity is embraced and a "new" American paradigm of one nation, indivisible, for all can be re-established root and branch.Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-47786152864423938692016-07-29T08:51:00.001-04:002016-07-29T08:51:06.714-04:00Sanders Supporters Try To Save Hillary From Herself<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGE2kEh17xhK_5XOclGWSugo9NKAv1CtyCU_GE26gT613mOrFexjthMN-8EvEre6GF8A5E3e4Az6LtZQ-fd9Mayi6KqcYJTSMi4aEEWwd4FhMj8bpU1l2FA_9U2-1HboF0W2dSZYshpPCk/s1600/please-save-me_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGE2kEh17xhK_5XOclGWSugo9NKAv1CtyCU_GE26gT613mOrFexjthMN-8EvEre6GF8A5E3e4Az6LtZQ-fd9Mayi6KqcYJTSMi4aEEWwd4FhMj8bpU1l2FA_9U2-1HboF0W2dSZYshpPCk/s320/please-save-me_sm.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Now that Hillary Clinton has wrapped up the nomination, smug Hillary supporters are all up in my grill with some variation of this: "<i><b>What the Bernie-bots...</b></i> - (or fill in your favorite Sanders supporter derogatory term here) - <b style="font-style: italic;">need to do now is... </b>- (fill in your favorite have-a-bake-sale-for-Hillary support message) - <b><i>and stop making so much noise! </i></b><br />
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This condescending attitude toward Sanders supporters is not surprising coming from establishment Democrats who have always looked down on the liberal DFH arm of the Democratic party but obliviously misplaced. They should understand that if Sanders had not persisted consistently to push Hillary to the left the <a href="https://www.demconvention.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Democratic-Party-Platform-7.21.16-no-lines.pdf">DNC platform</a> would not include a $15 min wage or any opposition to the TPP whatsoever along with many other anti-corporate, labor centered planks that Clintonian establishment politics appeared to not seem concerned with prior to the primaries but that Trump is making his bread and butter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11W6yaTdKJAa5_ea0Or7mJ34dzMSfb8hLlqqZMDDUGixYJaYBtdoVqjH-pnAU4KnVtyzqi3SYNrWDLfVKNCn3uirIyOjIkWxQ2CT-bigzJX-U6gMxvVwJExOXNMbmQQriZDdo6Vd5sCZb/s1600/reagan-laugh-trickle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11W6yaTdKJAa5_ea0Or7mJ34dzMSfb8hLlqqZMDDUGixYJaYBtdoVqjH-pnAU4KnVtyzqi3SYNrWDLfVKNCn3uirIyOjIkWxQ2CT-bigzJX-U6gMxvVwJExOXNMbmQQriZDdo6Vd5sCZb/s320/reagan-laugh-trickle.jpg" width="320" /></a>The economy is now a bi-partisan issue. It is not just educated liberals but the "rabid right" as well who are also fed up with establishment politics. The teabaggers have finally figured it out, not in small part to Trump pulling back the curtain on 35 years of conservative economic policy that has always favored the few at the cost of the rest. Now, working class republicans of all stripes have finally stopped waiting for "Trickle Down" economics to work and are willing to grasp at straws, including electing Trump, to get some economic relief because after all it is all about "The Economy Stupid" when you get right down to it.<br />
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The reality is that Middle America has not had a raise in 35 years as corporations have shown record profits and have kept all the money for themselves instead of raising wages to match gains in productivity assuming the immoral Randian philosophy endorsed by Ronald Reagan that <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2011/10/05/reagans-greed-is-good-folly/">"Greed is Good"</a>.<br />
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You can fool some of the people all of the time but not forever. Republicans can only "trickle down" on the<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAWnFyI6g_bwFLLU-uqdMdebE9FHPBL1ZQPCbT2xFw9ZEVKEBwF6vov8LExCkxY2dnbqmNQIKhM6wY9yJfuYGyGNuJZOkaZ6umAykYThI0HUQDN0ds27arqfUFJJ66c1I8WKG0iu67GOA5/s1600/Cookie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAWnFyI6g_bwFLLU-uqdMdebE9FHPBL1ZQPCbT2xFw9ZEVKEBwF6vov8LExCkxY2dnbqmNQIKhM6wY9yJfuYGyGNuJZOkaZ6umAykYThI0HUQDN0ds27arqfUFJJ66c1I8WKG0iu67GOA5/s320/Cookie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watch out for that Union guy, he wants your cookie.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
middle class for so long and call it rain before someone figures it out. And Trump for all his faults, and they are disqualifying for local dogcatcher much less leader of the free world, has grasped this working class angst and run with it to the nomination to the chagrin of the conservative 1% who like things just the way they are and want to keep all the cookies and have us fight over crumbs.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4WPHtv7zHMRqcRN0j4LwQsZAs_1kfrLd28-YRHaj5WkSyr222lA0MvC00xeapKdN3-NnsqyJk3E4vyfdWeLhH9biO21vD2nElNfHQ5TJ_cLP5ZwTCm1WhrKLBxUjIPp2UA2zeZD2dog3Z/s1600/che_wears_bernie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4WPHtv7zHMRqcRN0j4LwQsZAs_1kfrLd28-YRHaj5WkSyr222lA0MvC00xeapKdN3-NnsqyJk3E4vyfdWeLhH9biO21vD2nElNfHQ5TJ_cLP5ZwTCm1WhrKLBxUjIPp2UA2zeZD2dog3Z/s320/che_wears_bernie.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><br />
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Sanders and his multitude of supporters, (Sanders got 46% of the real delegates not an insignificant number no matter how you crunch the numbers), have moved Clinton's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window">Overton Window</a> to the left and as much as the rabid right would hate it, toward representative economic relief for the middle class in liberal fashion.<br />
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Trump has dressed this liberal notion of fairness in the economy in racism, fascism and hate, traditional conservative values but there is also a facet of protectionism another liberal tenet. There seems to be enough bluster and bigotry to offset the fact that Trump embraces an economic platform that liberals have been talking about for years. It's strange.<br />
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Sanders and his supporters keep trying to move the DNC platform further and faster to the left than may be politically expedient for the establishment candidate's relationship with her corporate supporters but necessary to facilitate change and well within the realm of possibility given the current climate of anti-establishment fervor. Sanders supporters, and I mean the <a href="http://time.com/4423212/democratic-convention-bernie-delegates/">90% that support Clinton</a> , are trying to<b style="font-style: italic;"> save her from herself because we want her to win.</b><br />
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That's why we push her to the left without hesitation. That's why we need to ignore the outliers, the Hold-outs and concentrate on how we can help Clinton out of her bubble and into the reality of today's political climate. <b><i>Clinton supporters need to accept that help and stop being smug and dismissive.</i></b> I can't stress this enough. She will lose if she does not embrace labor and turn her back on Wall Street. Tim Kaine is not going to help. This is another obstacle that Sander's supporters are going to have to overcome for her as we try yet again to help her. Her establishment friends told the media today that she will flip on the TPP. Trump will shove that right up her ..wherever.., as he would say. One disparages Sanders' supporters at their own peril because we speak for the majority of Americans right now. Even the ones on the "rabid right" when it comes to all things economic.<br />
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When people are making enough money to support their families and live comfortably, when their children can go to college and the ones that don't go can still get jobs that pay a living wage the social issues that are plaguing us now tend to lessen and diminish historically. Look at the record. This isn't about Benghazi, terrorism, racial/LGBT injustice, crime or whatever the corporate media blames the ills of our country on today although these are very important issues that need to be addressed this is about money and the average American who does not make enough to live comfortably because the gains in our economy have all gone to the top 1% thanks to deregulation, trickle down economics and the corporate influence of government. Nothing will change until that changes. Until government stops being "The Problem" and Americans can realize that good government is the only thing that stands between them and corporate greed, that government can be a force for good and historically has been the ONLY thing that has truly bettered the standard of living for all average Americans, things will not change. This is the message and lesson of Bernie Sanders. For what its worth. Keep up the good fight.<br />
<br />Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-25523532102805856722016-04-17T07:15:00.003-04:002016-04-17T07:48:09.809-04:00But, I'm Not Dead Yet!<h2>
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I guess I really need to post more often or blogger will consider this an abandoned site.Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-48472090773350297222015-02-26T23:36:00.003-05:002019-05-08T19:50:35.637-04:00CPAC Training Film, Bill O'Reilly EditionDid you come here for an argument?<br />
<br /><iframe width="775" height="436" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ohDB5gbtaEQ" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-7714646292728490312015-02-15T10:18:00.002-05:002022-12-14T14:54:56.018-05:00We Don't Need No Education<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhC7Rq9AUHAE3Z-882k1IyZBisZwyvRdVfTcIXyxaKLyYEtXQ1cGRg5XyvK0ZMQRgnzNvD2-e1vUn4aw_OFThhy8TtQBNa5nW7yyjZ4r0bnaKsletZFTss0wGCTH-z4MhxTNIgk1usGYhyphenhyphen/s1600/want_fries_with_that.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhC7Rq9AUHAE3Z-882k1IyZBisZwyvRdVfTcIXyxaKLyYEtXQ1cGRg5XyvK0ZMQRgnzNvD2-e1vUn4aw_OFThhy8TtQBNa5nW7yyjZ4r0bnaKsletZFTss0wGCTH-z4MhxTNIgk1usGYhyphenhyphen/s1600/want_fries_with_that.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
<h3>
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/education/2015/02/13/3623158/brat-education-plato/" target="_blank">Congressman Says We Don’t Need Education Funding Because ‘Socrates Trained Plato On A Rock’ </a></b></h3>
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<i>During a House Education and Workforce Committee proceeding on Wednesday to reauthorize the nation’s elementary and secondary education law, Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA) said, “Socrates trained Plato in on a rock and then Plato trained in Aristotle roughly speaking on a rock. So, huge funding is not necessary to achieve the greatest minds and the greatest intellects in history.”</i></div>
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More pearls of wisdom from the ignorance party. "The dumber our constituents, the better we like it", he did not purportedly say. <br /><br />Reminds me of this:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H4oHU3RXjiM" width="320" youtube-src-id="H4oHU3RXjiM"></iframe></div><div><br />Representative Brat, you are no Tony Stark.</div>Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-82169711821165770522015-02-09T13:28:00.002-05:002015-02-09T15:18:47.070-05:00Why We Need Universal Healthcare for All Americans. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vSi5tZJrlVYhL7VFzQPLMQeaO0GruSPKAC9BPWpi7knlQ-FbTnLsouSc2Our0KSeRTNnQ8-_GOZmybUrX2AvXY3Z4sqz3EaGVZGf85oAsayLXwFt5oGpy_xpb5gMDztnlOLAYnaOpqPW/s1600/ehbs-cumulative-increases-in-health-insurance-premiums-workers-contributions-to-premiums-inflation-and-workers-earnings-1999-2012-healthcosts.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vSi5tZJrlVYhL7VFzQPLMQeaO0GruSPKAC9BPWpi7knlQ-FbTnLsouSc2Our0KSeRTNnQ8-_GOZmybUrX2AvXY3Z4sqz3EaGVZGf85oAsayLXwFt5oGpy_xpb5gMDztnlOLAYnaOpqPW/s1600/ehbs-cumulative-increases-in-health-insurance-premiums-workers-contributions-to-premiums-inflation-and-workers-earnings-1999-2012-healthcosts.png" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>This is a very complex issue with a simple answer. </b><br />
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My friend "Joe" from Florida received a cancellation notice from <strike>Anthem</strike> Blue Cross/Blue Shield that his $46.00 per month crappy insurance was being cancelled due to not meeting the standards of the new Affordable Healthcare Act law. Joe is just south of 60, works a minimum wage job, and makes about $9500 a year. He actually did get some prescription benefits from his old plan and free well-care visits. But...no hospital coverage. None, nada, zip.<br />
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So, he should slide effortlessly into one of the new ACA categories for better healthcare for minimum cost, right?<br />
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WRONG. <strike>Anthem</strike> BC/BS wants to charge him over $350.00/mo. for about the same coverage with high deductibles. That's half his salary per month! When was his last raise? (see chart).<br />
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Now Florida, under <a href="http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2010/may/20/alex-sink/rick-scott-healthcare-ceo-faces-questions-a/" target="_blank">Rick Scott, Healthcare Fraud Felon</a>, has not expanded Medicaid or tried to help low income Floridians in any way, shape or fashion. I was on the phone with state ACA. I couldn't believe the level of callousness in how I was treated. After a lengthy interview with results of "denied", he told me that the free clinics were always open. Well, isn't that always the fallback position for these insurance company hacks? Let's see how that is going... <b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/health/18hospital.html" target="_blank">Fewer Emergency Rooms Available as Need Rises</a></b><br />
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And here is the ACA's take:<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Bitter, Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 32px;">More Answers: Plan changes and cancellations</span></span></span><br />
<ul class="faq" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 30px 0px;">
<li class="faq-question" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 20px 0px 15px;"><a aria-expanded="true" aria-selected="false" class="question serif" data-target="#answer-1" data-toggle="collapse" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="question-1" role="tab" style="background: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(12, 100, 140); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #063346; cursor: pointer;" tabindex="0"><span aria-hidden="true" class="glyphicon glyphicon-chevron-right" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-transform: rotate(90deg); box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Glyphicons Halflings'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-left: -17px; margin-right: 5px; position: relative; top: -1px; transform: rotate(90deg);"></span>What if my plan is cancelled and I can’t afford a new plan?</a><div aria-describedby="question-1" class="answer collapse in" id="answer-1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; height: auto;">
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If your non-Marketplace plan has been cancelled and you can’t afford a Marketplace plan to replace it, you can apply for a <a class="glossary-term" data-content="Under the Affordable Care Act, most people must pay a fee if they don't have health coverage that qualifies as "minimum essential coverage." One exception is based on showing that a "hardship" prevented them from becoming insured." data-original-title="Hardship Exemption" href="https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/hardship-exemption" style="background: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(12, 100, 140); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0c648c; text-decoration: none;" title="">hardship exemption</a>. This will allow you to buy a <a href="https://www.healthcare.gov/choose-a-plan/catastrophic-plans/" style="background: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(12, 100, 140); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0c648c; text-decoration: none;">catastrophic plan</a>.</div>
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A catastrophic plan generally requires you to pay <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">all</strong> your medical costs up to a certain amount, usually several thousand dollars. These policies usually have lower premiums than a comprehensive plan, but cover you only if you need a lot of care. They basically protect you from worst-case scenarios.</div>
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So how is this different from his previously "onerous" plan that didn't make the ACA cut? It's worse and still more expensive than his previous policy.<br />
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I don't get it. I was so psyched that we got at least something for healthcare in this country. Of course, the states that didn't pass medicaid expansion bear most of the blame, but even then guys like Joe just don't make the cut at $9500.00/yr. WTF. AND healthcare insurers are seeing profits soar.<br />
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<b><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/21/investing/unitedhealth-earnings-obamacare/" target="_blank">Thanks, Obamacare! Health insurer stocks soar</a></b><br />
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Healthcare is a basic human right in the rest of the civilized world, but not here. Why? Well, capitalism trumps humanism in this country and cash is king. The Golden Rule, he who has the gold makes the rules. And that's who wrote these ACA policies, Healthcare Insurers. It's the American way. Plain and simple. And wrong.<br />
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So, here is my answer as it was when the "Public Option" was first introduced and shot down by the Healthcare Industrial Complex. Statistics and Facts show that Public run is more efficient than private run every time no matter what. Post offices, prisons, schools, the list goes on and on. How many government agency heads make $7 million a year for managing healthcare? None. How many stockholders get dividend payments from the profits on Medicare? None, unless you count bond holders who share in the entire government bond increases. Cut out the middleman, let our government work for you. Screw Reagan as he screwed the middle class with his "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhYJS80MgYA" target="_blank">Nine most terrifying words</a>" speech that has done more damage to this country than any bomb, terrorist, or plague. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTcL6Xc_eMM" target="_blank">Ignorant tool that he was</a>. (Link to Reagan speech at the White House where CEO of Merrill Lynch told the president of the united states to "Speed it up")<br />
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The following video explains in easy to understand terms why we need Universal Healthcare in this country and why it shouldn't be a big deal to get it. But the 1% will fight it all the way. Profits over people, baby. Yeah!!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jng4TnKqy6A" width="560"></iframe>
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Until Universal Healthcare becomes law, my friend Joe and millions like him will continue to struggle. I will keep advocating for him, making the hard calls, taking the unreasonable excuses in stride and working within this broken system toward a plan that hopefully will work for him. And someday, hopefully, there will be one for all of us.Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-7484080227625789512014-07-24T13:07:00.000-04:002014-07-24T13:07:27.271-04:00Why Does the US Always Side With Israel?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9WVqkOuskoFhluPSfvAVAmYgmtGZ3RiKHjisdjW4c7pGt3UnVCYknzG4oefSeMLdJPnoGiRgKcpUwhsr06bpw6mKjTWlV_JBmQuo-hV_1uSxYzJYXEQKPsnbuwHr2P6Yc10L0_2SWLZZ/s1600/map-jews_stealing_palestine.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9WVqkOuskoFhluPSfvAVAmYgmtGZ3RiKHjisdjW4c7pGt3UnVCYknzG4oefSeMLdJPnoGiRgKcpUwhsr06bpw6mKjTWlV_JBmQuo-hV_1uSxYzJYXEQKPsnbuwHr2P6Yc10L0_2SWLZZ/s1600/map-jews_stealing_palestine.png" height="254" width="320" /></a></div>
<h3>
<b>Money. Lobbyists. Conservative/Zionist Ideology. Ignorance.</b></h3>
Imagine a UN decree that gave a portion of New Jersey to the, oh lets say persecuted Sunnis in Iraq after the ISIS incursion this year. Call it "56%". <br />
Note: Under the 1947 UN agreement Israel was given 56% of Palestine to establish an independent state. Israel has eroded the Palestinian homeland even more over the decades. (See Map). <br />
How would that feel to a New Jersey resident? Especially one who had to leave their home under threats of violence and death with no compensation? How about the neighboring states? Think they'd be on board with a little resistance? Now think about this new state holding the original residents of NJ in a constant state of dominance, upheaval, and financial insecurity refusing to even acknowledge that New Jersey even exists. What would happen? Bet yur ass. Armed insurrection. So what's different there? And why do we as a country still support the aggressors?<br />
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<h3>
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-m-walt/aipac-americas-israel-policy_b_5607883.html" target="_blank">AIPAC Is the Only Explanation for America's Morally Bankrupt Israel Policy</a><br /><span class="name fn" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-m-walt" rel="author" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #03497e; cursor: pointer; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Stephen M. Walt</a> <span style="font-weight: normal;">via - HuffPo</span></span></h3>
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<span class="name fn" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Excerpts: </span></div>
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<span class="name fn" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="name fn" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>The official name for Israel's latest assault on Gaza is "Operation Protective Edge." A better name would be "Operation Déjà Vu." As it has on several prior occasions, Israel is using weapons provided by U.S. taxpayers to bombard the captive and impoverished Palestinians in Gaza, where the death toll now exceeds 500. As usual, the U.S. government is siding with Israel, even though most American leaders understand Israel instigated the latest round of violence, is not acting with restraint, and that its actions make Washington look callous and hypocritical in the eyes of most of the world.</i></span></div>
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<span class="name fn" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="name fn" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And...</span></div>
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<span class="name fn" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="name fn" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>This Orwellian situation is eloquent testimony to the continued political clout of AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) and the other hardline elements of the Israel lobby. There is no other plausible explanation for the supine behavior of the U.S. Congress--including some of its most "progressive" members--or the shallow hypocrisy of the Obama administration, especially those officials known for their purported commitment to human rights.</i></span></div>
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<span class="name fn" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="name fn" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">[snip]</span></div>
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<span class="name fn" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"><i>And why did Netanyahu decide to go on another rampage in Gaza? As Nathan Thrall of the International Crisis Group points out, the real motive is neither vengeance nor a desire to protect Israel from Hamas' rocket fire, which has been virtually non-existent over the past two years and is largely ineffectual anyway. Netanyahu's real purpose was to undermine the recent agreement between Hamas and Fatah for a unity government. Given Netanyahu's personal commitment to keeping the West Bank and creating a "greater Israel," the last thing he wants is a unified Palestinian leadership that might press him to get serious about a two-state solution. Ergo, he sought to isolate and severely damage Hamas and drive a new wedge between the two Palestinian factions.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Yup - No Two-State solution. I thought the Israeli state was established side-by-side with the Palestinian state in 1948 </span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"> The UN General Assembly approved the partition of Palestine into separate Arab and Jewish states and accords international status to Jerusalem. So what happened? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">[After the UN agreement was signed], <i>The Arab League and its member states (especially Egypt, Syria, and Iraq) adopt a hard-line stance on the Palestinian issue as a means of demonstrating their anti-imperialism and asserting their newfound independence in foreign policy. They reject all attempts at compromise, including the UN partition plan. Britain refuses to assist in the implementation of the UN partition plan.</i><br /><br />Thanks Britain.<br /><br />So Palestine is left hanging in the wind, without a government and without political institutions. Chaos Doctrine anyone?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">So they elect to fight for their homeland. Egypt and surrounding Arab nation/states take on an Israel backed by the US AND the USSR. And lose. War/Chaos doctrine dictate that the winners write the history books and so Israel had an excuse to take more of Palestine. Sorry, you shouldn't have questioned authority. This entrenched an endless cycle of persecution and rock throwing in response that we are still seeing to this day.</span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFaq_QKJYOaf_Gi0ap8QDUgbfy4AClOrdHwgtgC4rqtJa8BMI7gugALsQJxGj2kiBhD6EDzOczt_zZjeGQmmY3QHXwOozbD7cn-qE2-k0V1nxLJVGE4NyVjwBKk6tN4mz64S7L03HU6vl/s1600/bush-shirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFaq_QKJYOaf_Gi0ap8QDUgbfy4AClOrdHwgtgC4rqtJa8BMI7gugALsQJxGj2kiBhD6EDzOczt_zZjeGQmmY3QHXwOozbD7cn-qE2-k0V1nxLJVGE4NyVjwBKk6tN4mz64S7L03HU6vl/s1600/bush-shirt.jpg" height="207" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I supported Israel's persecution of Palestinians and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"><i>Historians will one day look back and ask how U.S. Middle East policy could be so ineffectual and so at odds with its professed values -- not to mention its strategic interests. The answer lies in the basic nature of the American political system, which permits well-organized and well-funded special interest groups to wield significant power on Capitol Hill and in the White House. In this case, the result is a policy that is bad for all concerned: for the Palestinians most of all, but also for the U.S. and Israel as well. Until the lobby's clout is weakened or politicians grow stiffer spines, Americans looking for better outcomes in the Middle East had better get used to disappointment and prepared for more trouble.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Ayuh. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-m-walt/aipac-americas-israel-policy_b_5607883.html" target="_blank">Read the whole thing here.</a></span></span>Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-40526869533456040342014-07-15T18:00:00.000-04:002014-07-15T18:05:33.741-04:00Enough is Enough! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSgFFxTEI3nXnC6qKF4RfvsygW6D0JgL_A8dqg6zBK8lPE0TM31wZ5Al28ZU4s2eK2CXoAW0KM5m5F00TstuptpqPanE-gUUzoKa3lv3mIMFJkvHkahYAoORs7UsN574j1nXdsvti02xfE/s1600/set-free.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSgFFxTEI3nXnC6qKF4RfvsygW6D0JgL_A8dqg6zBK8lPE0TM31wZ5Al28ZU4s2eK2CXoAW0KM5m5F00TstuptpqPanE-gUUzoKa3lv3mIMFJkvHkahYAoORs7UsN574j1nXdsvti02xfE/s1600/set-free.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.pressherald.com/2014/07/08/rockland-lobster-processor-loses-big-business-over-peta-video/" target="_blank">Rockland lobster processor loses big buyer over PETA video</a></h1>
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<b>From the Bangor Daily News</b></div>
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<i><br />A food service company that oversees concessions at Boston’s TD Garden and Minneapolis’ Target Field, among other places, will no longer purchase lobster from Linda Bean’s Maine Lobster.</i></div>
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<i>The decision by Delaware North Companies Sportservice of Buffalo, New York, was made after the animal rights group PETA released secret video footage last September of lobsters and other crustaceans being processed at the Rockland facility.</i></div>
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Personally, I've had enough of this PETA shit. The processing plants outlined in this article employ over 250 local people working at above average wages. The loss of these buyers impacts the local economy and of course the people who work there. Times are hard enough around here and we don't need this petty bullshit. </div>
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<a href="http://www.parl.ns.ca/lobster/overview.htm" target="_blank">Lobsters</a> are killed just like chickens, pork, beef and any other living thing we eat including fucking <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta_OAXQqc6o" target="_blank">kale</a>.<br />
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This guy will tell you all about the horrors of killing vegetables.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Ta_OAXQqc6o" width="420"></iframe><br />
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Lobsters, like insects, belong to the invertebrate phylum Arthropoda. Besides lobsters and insects, spiders and snails belong to this group as well. Let loose a spider on a PETA volunteer and watch them squash it. Not to spoil your appetite, but <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/PainManagement/story?id=722163" target="_blank">lobsters are bugs</a>, pure and simple, with rudimentary nervous systems and a chain ganglia network that is so simple it doesn't even require a brain. If you remove the head region of a lobster, the body of the lobster would still react the same way, because of the local reflexes ... involving those chain ganglia. No Brain, No Pain. Simple. Look it up.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">HYPOCRISY ALERT! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIt-s1p0Uv5iLg4psyppsP9xw4RBhGzPHs8y5oFLDFPR1RzxriQvufP8B1dSa31_K0j2CPALuEC9isbzFkhTtpBlgr3eRCFscf0UcMPQB9BrHOok-TtAB1AY7UTWd8Xc705QmQy2F7ENOZ/s1600/peta-kills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIt-s1p0Uv5iLg4psyppsP9xw4RBhGzPHs8y5oFLDFPR1RzxriQvufP8B1dSa31_K0j2CPALuEC9isbzFkhTtpBlgr3eRCFscf0UcMPQB9BrHOok-TtAB1AY7UTWd8Xc705QmQy2F7ENOZ/s1600/peta-kills.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
<i>NORFOLK, Va. — Even some supporters do not know what to make of it. PETA, considered by many to be the highest-profile animal rights group in the country, kills an average of about 2,000 dogs and cats each year at its animal shelter here. </i><br />
<i>And the shelter does few adoptions — 19 cats and dogs in 2012 and 24 in 2011, according to state records.</i></div>
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So, even if they send them on their way with a <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/03/official_warns_of_deadly_fenta.html" target="_blank">fentanyl-laced heroin</a> cocktail or whatever they got from the last botched <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/lethal-injection/botched-execution-clayton-lockett-spawns-new-legal-challenge-n140991" target="_blank">Oklahoma lethal injection execution</a>. They are just as dead. <br />
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By the way, where were they on that one? Not one naked chick in a cage strapped to a gurney wearing a string of syringes around her neck. What was it, 43 minutes for that guy to die while writhing in pain? Doesn't that qualify as inhumane? More than squishing bugs, maybe?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjUUzVkDPKbHb0zjE8wps428cFXfaHRI_fu3U4TazXO1BycGVksq5rrQh1hxGwLOR6G_hDWAHSunqECHhzxJDuPKEeBXEh7Hfft7X-b2s2dciPqBjXj52tBxh3USkHSn0kCT4Suk7x96QP/s1600/Peta-ad-animals-whip-chain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjUUzVkDPKbHb0zjE8wps428cFXfaHRI_fu3U4TazXO1BycGVksq5rrQh1hxGwLOR6G_hDWAHSunqECHhzxJDuPKEeBXEh7Hfft7X-b2s2dciPqBjXj52tBxh3USkHSn0kCT4Suk7x96QP/s1600/Peta-ad-animals-whip-chain.jpg" height="296" width="320" /></a></div>
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So stick to actual cruelty like <a href="http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/cosmetic_testing/" target="_blank">cosmetic testing on animals</a>. That shit is cruel and harsh. Then, read a biology book for chrissakes and stay away from overreach. </div>
Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-59537232169482922562014-07-09T15:51:00.001-04:002014-07-09T15:51:51.800-04:00"Well Boys, Break's Over." Time to get back to slinging greendayman bombs.
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/4w36z7XnwOM?rel=0" width="560"></iframe>
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People are starting to catch on to what the liberal blogosphere, Robert Reich, Paul Krugman et. al. have been talking about for years. The American working public has been getting so screwed since <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/opinion/reagan-vs-patco-the-strike-that-busted-unions.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Reagan broke the Air Traffic Controllers union (PATCO)</a>. It's obvious to me and you but why did it take so long for income inequality and stagnant wages to become somewhat mainstream? It's been since 1981. WTF? Opinions abound and just like earlobes, everybody has at least one.<br />
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Here's mine. A tipping point has been reached where corporate vampires can no longer suck enough blood from the middle class to sustain their stratospheric salaries. We've all seen the <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/12/the-end-of-middle-class-growth-what-it-means-for-the-future-of-work-family-and-the-economy/265966/" target="_blank">charts</a>. Real people are suffering, not just <a href="http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/22/what-does-it-say-that-most-of-the-10-poorest-states-are-republican/" target="_blank">the low-information Republican base</a>.<br />
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From <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/12/the-end-of-middle-class-growth-what-it-means-for-the-future-of-work-family-and-the-economy/265966/" target="_blank">The Atlantic</a>:<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23.200000762939453px;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, times new roman, times, serif;"><span style="line-height: 23.200000762939453px;"><i>"This is something that has been happening and building for years and is now really rooted in the economy, and it's vicious," said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank in Washington. "There's a remarkable disconnect. The problem isn't a lack of the economy producing sufficient income to make everybody's living standards improve--it's that the economy is structured so that the majority don't benefit." Or, to state the point more cautiously, the majority doesn't benefit from productivity gains very much--certainly, less than our parents and grandparents did.</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23.200000762939453px;">OKAY.. We know this too... so what next? </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, times new roman, times, serif; line-height: 23.200000762939453px;">Step One: <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/7/full-employment-jobsnumberseconomics.html" target="_blank">Three Paths to Full Employment</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23.200000762939453px;">Step Two: <a href="http://www.thomhartmann.com/users/smitty1/blog/2012/05/bring-back-unions-0" target="_blank">Bring Back Unions</a></span><br />
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Step Three: <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/06/17/1307654/-High-CEO-pay-really-doesn-t-pay-off-for-shareholders" target="_blank">Bring CEO Pay Back to Reality</a><br />
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Step Four: <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/march_april_2013/features/three_ways_to_bring_manufactur043318.php?page=all" target="_blank">Bring Back Manufacturing</a>, <a href="http://www.manufacturingnews.com/news/TAA0731131.html" target="_blank">Stop Offshoring Jobs</a>.<br />
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This is the biggie, AND easy to fix. Bring back tariffs and stop giving taxbreaks to companies that offshore jobs. Repeal Nafta, Cafta, and Fuck-no to <a href="http://www.ustr.gov/tpp" target="_blank">TPP</a><br />
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Call me a protectionist... I don't care.Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-59777557121587906872014-04-16T17:43:00.000-04:002014-04-16T17:44:13.837-04:00Time To Weigh In On Crimea and Ukraine<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
I have been doing some homework. Crimea has only been part of Ukraine since 1954 where they had been USSR since the Soviet Revolution of 1917. I did not know that Khrushchev was from Ukraine and what a coincidence that Crimea was transferred to Ukraine shortly after he became party leader. I remember him. Remember the fist pounding? He gets a bad rap sometimes... well, when compared to his predecessor, Stalin, who orchestrated a man-made famine in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1932 and 1933 that killed up to 7.5 million Ukrainians. </div>
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The politics are becoming clearer in history's regard, but what of now? <br />
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Is this another episode of: "A Pipeline Runs Through It"? </div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Gazprom seems like the Russian equivalent of USA based multi-national energy conglomerates and ancillary operations like Halliburton whose interests our military defends in the middle east, Africa, and wherever energy supplies might be threatened. The war toys sales are a bonus! </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I believe Crimea and Ukraine are separate issues, but like Bush's 9/11, Putin needed a "gimme" before launching into Ukraine. Crimea is over 50% Russian. Russia provides approximately a quarter of the natural gas consumed in the European Union; approximately 80% of those exports travel through pipelines across Ukrainian soil prior to arriving in the EU. If Ukraine gets into the EU; prices, ownership, and advantage would change, ja? So,Putin takes the "gimme", everyone gets used to it and next he asserts Russian dominance in Ukraine to protect his assets. Isn't it always about the money these days? Just MHO.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">What say you? </span></span></div>
Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-17784993688687292972014-03-13T18:53:00.001-04:002019-05-08T19:55:29.355-04:00Fact-Checked and Thankfully Cursed With Too Small A Sample<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After some intro...spection. And, I admit - hard for me at best, I fact-checked myself on my last post.<br />
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And found these facts, below, to restore my hope in the macro and once again prove my stats teacher right. I really needed a sample size that would bring my observations within acceptable standards of deviation.<br />
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<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/youth-vote-2012-turnout-exit-polls_n_2086092.html" target="_blank">Youth Vote 2012 Turnout: Exit Polls Show Greater Share Of Electorate Than In 2008</a><br />
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I used to love stats in school.... the curse of a fact-based life. Science, as Neil would say - whether you believe it or not, established science is the truth. <br />
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And as I learned the math I learned that numbers do not lie.<br />
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Unless you were dumbed down in the 80's - 90's as a product of Republican Education Policy -actually none, really, you know they want to keep us ignorant and compliant. George Carlin sums it up:<br />
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I'm not immune to making sweeping generalizations about specifics... but, that'll get you a ruler slap in liberal post-grad science world. Or, it should. Or it would from my adviser, Dr. Rock. A retired Colonel. Objectiveness escapes the conservative world, questioning beliefs too. Sad. I'd slap Issa's wrist every time he lied on committee. Or at least give him a dog collar shock.<br />
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Again, thanks to Mr. Stats for first, getting me used to crunching the sheer mega-numbers and second, seeing in me an intellectual curiosity that overcame my pre-conceived notions about whatever we were studying.<br />
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Show me a conservative that can do that, seriously.<br />
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But that's another story for another day.Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-5700052564751544572014-03-01T15:51:00.001-05:002014-03-01T15:51:07.586-05:00Generational Selective MemoryWe are fucked.<br />
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The general consensus among the younger residents and visitors at the Seal Cove Home For the Emotionally and Socially Disturbed is that I spend way too much time living in the past. A time when people made a living wage, belonged to Unions, one parent worked while the other stayed home and took care of the kids and still had plenty of money.<br />
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They have no point of reference. They think I am a babbling idiot. They want me to accept the "New Normal". I refuse and therefore are a "Crazy Old Man".<br />
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fuck me... I feel like shit.Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-63007236735011703512014-02-09T00:47:00.001-05:002022-12-14T15:21:10.004-05:00Saturday Night Music PollThis is an ongoing debate in the Greendayman household...<br />
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<a href="http://www.acepoll.com/polls/1257215-which-version-of-loving-cup-is-best">Which Version Of Loving Cup Is Best?</a></div>
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<li style="color: #3a555c; text-align: left;"> <input id="vote_choice_id_6987416" name="data[new_vote][choice_id]" type="radio" value="6987416" /> Phish </li>
<li style="color: #3a555c; text-align: left;"> <input id="vote_choice_id_6987417" name="data[new_vote][choice_id]" type="radio" value="6987417" /> Rolling Stones </li>
<li style="color: #3a555c; text-align: left;"> <input id="vote_choice_id_6987418" name="data[new_vote][choice_id]" type="radio" value="6987418" /> Jack White </li>
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<a href="http://www.acepoll.com/" style="color: #3a555c;">Acepoll</a> </div>
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More polls: <img height="1" src="http://www.acepoll.com/advertising/advertising/spy/id-34.png" width="1" /><a href="http://www.acepoll.com/create" style="color: black; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: none;">Create</a> </div>
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</form><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q6sne_7Asec" width="320" youtube-src-id="Q6sne_7Asec"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vtJ34oFnpog" width="320" youtube-src-id="vtJ34oFnpog"></iframe></div><div><br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/sTGASpYZZkE" width="560"></iframe><br />Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-1108820292828140992014-02-07T20:31:00.001-05:002014-02-07T20:31:08.660-05:00Late Friday PostI've been looking for this for years.. enjoy!
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/WQ4e46wiENM" width="560"></iframe>Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-103806736366780722014-02-07T15:18:00.003-05:002014-02-07T15:18:52.991-05:00Are You A Used-To-Have?<br />
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<b>I'm a Member of the American 'Used-to-Haves' </b>From <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathleen-ann/american-used-to-haves_b_4732434.html" target="_blank">HuffPo</a><br /><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><i>I used to have a house. I used to go on vacations. I used to shop at department stores, get my hair done and even enjoy pedicures. Now, I don't. I'm a member of the American "Used-to-Haves."</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Me too! I measure these things as: I used to have subscriptions to - the daily paper, National Geographic, Omni, Seirra Club, Audubon, and more. They dropped off one by one until I had no more subscriptions. This didn't happen all at once. As </span></span></span><span class="name fn" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathleen-ann" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0088c3; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Kathleen Ann</a> </span><span class="name fn" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">says,..<br /></span><br />
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<i>Now, I'm renting an apartment and I'm desperately awaiting a check so I can pay the rent. Yet, I'm lucky to have an apartment that includes utilities. Despite my college degree from a prestigious college, and solid employment track record, I can't get a job. It's been so long since my corporate days, I now feel unemployable.</i></div>
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<i>My age doesn't help. But I'm as healthy as a thoroughbred, I appear quite young and would gladly accept a basic salary. I'm a bargain! But no. I'm freelancing for $15 an hour these days, but I used to earn $100 an hour. In fact, all the freelance hourly rates have been driven down to $15-30 an hour. To make ends meet, I also work as an aide ($13.75 an hour) and run a small local company. And my annual earnings are under $20,000.</i><br /><br />Yeah, tell us about it.<br /><br /><i>We "Used-to-Haves" all used to work in the corporate world for big, wealthy companies. We were discarded in layoffs. I've been told, as my employer du jour let me go, what a positive difference I made and the value of my contributions. I agree. I know I made my bosses look brilliant. Fully aware that my contributions built the company's brand image. Yet, I was expendable.</i></div>
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I know this tune... </div>
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<i>As a new "Used-to-Have," I denied my slide. "I'm not poor!" I nervously chuckled to myself. But as I slid more, the smartest thing was finally acknowledging poverty and applying for the benefits available. I'd never been poor before. I didn't know how to be poor. But finally, I learned. The magnitude of my shame and embarrassment is unspeakable. It's impossible to explain to people who aren't poor -- "The Haves." When I'm beseechingly desperate for a check owed to me, the check writer inevitably has no concept of how frighteningly desperate I am for that money. They say, "Next week? or "The accountant says two weeks." I plead, nicely, sincerely, "Is there no way you could just write me that check?" And the answer is "no." It's just putting a pen to paper, but for "The Haves," I'm just a pain in the neck.</i></div>
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[snip]<br /><br /><i>The press calls it "The Great Recession." It actually was the "Great Theft." In the wake of this very public, often-glossed-over theft from the middle class, the perpetrators have been revealed. We know the American corporations without the courage, scruples or heart to help us, the ones responsible for the recession and the politicians who put the toxic policies in place. <b>We "Used-to-Haves" aren't stupid.</b></i></div>
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<i>As a "Used-to-Have," I'm beyond angry. I'm not a "Never Had." I know what it's like to pay bills on time and have a little left over. I remember vacations and pedicures and going out to dinner. As a "Used-to-Have," I know exactly what Corporate America, lobbyists and politicians have taken away from me. The "Used-to-Haves" and the children of the "Used-to-Haves" won't forget. The "Used-to-Haves" are educated. Many of us and our children have amazing talent and academic honors. We know how to get things done. And though all of the odds appear to be against us, we must refuse to give up hope.</i></div>
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I dunno, sometimes it's just easier to have another rum drink and yell at the clouds. Geeze, I am getting old. </div>
Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-47399234731488454702014-02-07T14:51:00.002-05:002014-02-07T14:51:14.975-05:00Lee Camp: Koch Brothers - Powerful Psychopaths Impose Their Will On YOU!<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Xy7nF4axQq8" width="420"></iframe>
Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-65084038792911481932014-02-07T14:11:00.002-05:002014-02-07T14:14:46.012-05:00This Is A Great Idea<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Sc_vzf67K9LxB589py5IgJr_j42WMQF6l5_iZD0Setc9XdoBzn3dPWSzNJ-7txUTPeeXtEq-mrOpllXrFLDxT2Onk_DX2cpXAlRUxPAD5NMIItEgDqeKBgMz0MyQMxRri-iLtiabOBy1/s1600/PayDayChart.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Sc_vzf67K9LxB589py5IgJr_j42WMQF6l5_iZD0Setc9XdoBzn3dPWSzNJ-7txUTPeeXtEq-mrOpllXrFLDxT2Onk_DX2cpXAlRUxPAD5NMIItEgDqeKBgMz0MyQMxRri-iLtiabOBy1/s1600/PayDayChart.gif" height="183" width="320" /></a><b>S</b><b>en. Elizabeth Warren Proposes Replacing Payday Lenders With the Post Office </b><b><a href="http://billmoyers.com/2014/02/04/sen-elizabeth-warren-proposes-replacing-payday-lenders-with-the-post-office/" target="_blank">from Bill Moyers</a><u><br /></u></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #373737;"><b><u><br /></u></b><span style="font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i>The Postal Service (USPS) could spare the most economically vulnerable Americans from dealing with </i></span></span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/does-the-nra-really-have-more-than-45-million-members/2013/02/07/06047c10-7164-11e2-ac36-3d8d9dcaa2e2_blog.html" style="font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19px;" target="_blank">predatory financial companies</a><span style="font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i> under a proposal </i></span></span></span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-warren/coming-to-a-post-office-n_b_4709485.html" style="background-color: white; color: #1982d1; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">endorsed over the weekend</a><span style="background-color: white; font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #373737; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).</span></span></span><i><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #373737; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /><br />“USPS could partner with banks to make a critical difference for millions of Americans who don’t have basic banking services because there are almost no banks or bank branches in their neighborhoods,” Warren wrote in a Huffington Post op-ed on Saturday. The op-ed picked up on a report from the USPS’s Inspector General that proposed using the agency’s extensive physical infrastructure to extend basics like debit cards and small-dollar loans to the same communities that the banking industry has generally ignored. The report found that 68 million Americans don’t have bank accounts and spent $89 billion in 2012 on interest and fees for the kinds of basic financial services that USPS could begin offering. The average un-banked household spent more than $2,400, or about 10 percent of its income, just to access its own money through things like check cashing and payday lending stores. USPS would generate savings for those families and revenue for itself by stepping in to replace those non-bank financial services companies.</span></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #373737; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></span></i><img src="http://crooksandliars.com/files/vfs/2012/01/article_5f115034-e402-51c5-9fd3-876c919c658d.jpeg" /><i><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #373737; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Those companies are among the most predatory actors in the money business. Payday loans with annual interest rates well north of 100 percent suck paying $520 to borrow $375. After decades of operating in a regulatory blind spot and ducking state-level reforms, the payday lending business now faces a crackdown from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The threat of new rules for short-term cash loans in general has caused traditional banks to stop offering deposit-advance loans with similar features.</span></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #373737; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i>[Snip]</i></span></span><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Doing business in those communities in a more ethical fashion would still be profitable enough to inject about $9 billion into the struggling federal mail agency’s books. The USPS is dealing with a fiscal crisis, <b>one largely manufactured by Congressional choices</b>. The agency gets no taxpayer money for its operations but is still under Congress’s authority, and lawmakers have used that authority to </span><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/03/22/1759101/post-office-congress/" style="background-color: white; color: #1982d1; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">impose arbitrary financial requirements and service constraints</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> that have the post service on the verge of bankruptcy. USPS is legally obligated to hold assets in its pension funds that cover the next 75 years of projected pension costs, a </span><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/ondeadline/2012/10/01/postal-service-default-retiree-health-benefits/1606815/" style="background-color: white; color: #1982d1; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">unique</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> and crippling requirement that Congress </span><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/01/04/1401881/house-gop-post-office/" style="background-color: white; color: #1982d1; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">refuses to lift</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> despite evidence that it is almost solely responsible for the agency’s financial woes.</span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Ayuh. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #373737; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">On another note - Anyone remember going "Postal"?</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #373737; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/2006/01/31/six-dead-in-calif-post-office-shooting/" target="_blank">Six Dead in Calif. Post Office Shooting</a></b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #373737; font-family: georgia, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_postal_killings" target="_blank">List of Postal Killings</a><br /><br /><a href="http://hematite.com/dragon/usps.html" target="_blank">Should Postal Workers Have Guns? </a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/national/guns-ok-in-post-office-parking-lots-federal-judge-rules" target="_blank">So, lets give them more guns!</a>! That'll fix it! Hell, the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/does-the-nra-really-have-more-than-45-million-members/2013/02/07/06047c10-7164-11e2-ac36-3d8d9dcaa2e2_blog.html" target="_blank">NRA mag is in the top 20</a> of most subscribed. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/14/barackobama.uselections2008" target="_blank">Cling to those guns and religion</a>...</b></span></span></span>Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-46577296071841233032014-02-05T11:52:00.001-05:002014-02-05T11:52:04.093-05:00Saw This Coming<b>Peyton Manning talks corporate sponsorship of quarterback's call signals</b>.<br />
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With football being the number one spectator sport in the USA, and corporations that are always looking for new ways to cash in, it was only a matter of time. Peyton Manning, QB of the 2013-14 Denver Broncos, talked with Dan Patrick about his "Omaha, Omaha" signals when changing up a play at the line of scrimmage. Peyton dispelled rumors that he was retiring to go to work for Omaha Steaks, or Mutual of Omaha. He went on to disparage the seemingly eventual sponsorships of QB's call signs. "...next, they'll be paid to yell 'GatorAde, GatorAde' at the line". Payton finished with hoping that he was out of football by the time that happens.<br />
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Omaha, Omaha and the Gatorade comments start at about 2:25.<br />
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If I were so inclined, I could find more than a few parallels between corporate football and Rollerball I bet, but it's time to shovel.<br />
<br />Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-16568739642191857822014-01-18T18:20:00.001-05:002014-01-18T18:28:55.051-05:00Why So Serious?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYlEQQYGQQiBkaf-CSqM3-SSf_P-tfX4W844hTtqA6ae8Ez9fwSRLGpNGGIHUe_dGIzdNvQZwFyBUq1Wsmw4VKD5jnHT6ch5a9909Qmrn5O67HiG7ymF0lTJT3GokyWiKvRMajEvoLajZ/s1600/Joker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYlEQQYGQQiBkaf-CSqM3-SSf_P-tfX4W844hTtqA6ae8Ez9fwSRLGpNGGIHUe_dGIzdNvQZwFyBUq1Wsmw4VKD5jnHT6ch5a9909Qmrn5O67HiG7ymF0lTJT3GokyWiKvRMajEvoLajZ/s1600/Joker.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
What is it with me lately? I haven't posted a music vid or comic for ages...<br />
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Guess its just the times, and my crestfallen disappointment with the Socialist President we all hoped would really be socialist. I know, it sucks.<br />
Intransigent systematic capitalist/fascist takeover of our fair country is almost complete.<br />
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Does anyone remember <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073631/" target="_blank">Rollerball</a>?<br />
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The original, with corporations taking over the world in the corporate wars, no governments, no individual heroes allowed. Only corporations and their needs to be met.<br />
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I never realized how prescient this movie from 1975 would be.<br />
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Friends, tell me this is not happening, please.Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-66039938095916551852014-01-17T13:15:00.003-05:002014-01-17T13:17:40.974-05:00Republicans Are Assholes. Well, maybe not all - but, I bet all assholes are Republicans. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Economic Desperation - The Manna of Republican Corporatists (Fascists)</b></div>
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Robert Reich has a handle on the economic issues inundating this country today. The right wing/corporate media is complicit in downplaying the problems as well, as we all know. Why is it so hard for the general populous to see that demand side economics are the ONLY answer to the income inequality problems we see today? Because the media, all the fucking media, replays the old Reagan supply side mantra, job creators, ad naseum. I, for one, have had enough of this bullshit. Brainwashed by corporate media, the scared, general population continues to vote against their own self interest only for survival. this is no way to live. Scared, afraid, broke, desperate. Ask anyone, there is no security in this Republican world.<br />
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<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/red-state-voters_b_4608891.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Fear Is Why Workers in Red States Vote Against Their Economic Self-Interest</span></a></h2>
By Robert Reich<br />
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Excerpts:<br />
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<i>Last week's massive spill of the toxic chemical MCHM into West Virginia's Elk River illustrates another benefit to the business class of high unemployment, economic insecurity, and a safety-net shot through with holes. Not only are employees eager to accept whatever job they can get. They are also also unwilling to demand healthy and safe environments.</i><br />
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<i>So why wasn't more done to prevent this, and why isn't there more of any outcry even now?</i><br />
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<i>The answer isn't hard to find. As Maya Nye, president of People Concerned About Chemical Safety, a citizen's group formed after a 2008 explosion and fire killed workers at West Virginia's Bayer CropScience plant in the state, explained to the New York Times: "We are so desperate for jobs in West Virginia we don't want to do anything that pushes industry out."</i><br />
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<i>Exactly.</i><br />
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<i>The wages of production workers have been dropping for thirty years, adjusted for inflation, and their economic security has disappeared. Companies can and do shut down, sometimes literally overnight. A smaller share of working-age Americans hold jobs today than at any time in more than three decades.</i><br />
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<i>People are so desperate for jobs they don't want to rock the boat. They don't want rules and regulations enforced that might cost them their livelihoods. For them, a job is precious -- sometimes even more precious than a safe workplace or safe drinking water.</i><br />
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<i>This may explain why Republican officials who have been casting their votes against unions, against expanding Medicaid, against raising the minimum wage, against extended unemployment insurance, and against jobs bills that would put people to work, continue to be elected and re-elected. They obviously have the support of corporate patrons who want to keep unemployment high and workers insecure because a pliant working class helps their bottom lines. But they also, paradoxically, get the votes of many workers who are clinging so desperately to their jobs that they're afraid of change and too cowed to make a ruckus.</i><br />
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Amen, brother.<br />
<br />Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013897764001276703.post-488652401705191692013-12-06T13:10:00.002-05:002013-12-06T13:13:15.872-05:00Global Climate Change Windfall Benefits Safety Net Recipients in Maine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGdD4fOz8S0NlxZq4vo9InXo9gVAQa84BvKm7BUoLz0xxtXVpVsQ0HGbpeyhvqBFgN2vN5BI67P5bu0WxkH7fClQXY41IrPXY21-WjcLkCppyo2q7vFdfWzl2scH8iwmhKI_eLd-PqrKHN/s1600/LePage+Nope2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGdD4fOz8S0NlxZq4vo9InXo9gVAQa84BvKm7BUoLz0xxtXVpVsQ0HGbpeyhvqBFgN2vN5BI67P5bu0WxkH7fClQXY41IrPXY21-WjcLkCppyo2q7vFdfWzl2scH8iwmhKI_eLd-PqrKHN/s1600/LePage+Nope2.jpg" /></a></div>
If only...<br /><br /><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/05/3027091/lepage-climate-change-benefits/" target="_blank">Maine Governor Touts Economic Benefit Climate Change Will Have In His State</a><br />
as per Think Progress<br />
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<i>"Climate change could have economic benefit to Maine, the state’s governor said Thursday."</i><br />
<i>The The Northern Sea Route, a shipping passage from the East Coast of the U.S. to Asia, has historically been blocked most of the year due to sea ice. Recently, due to warmer temperatures, the passage has opened up — in 2011, 18 ships made the journey through the passage.</i><br />
<i>This, according to LePage, is good news.</i><br />
<i>“Everybody looks at the negative effects of global warming, but with the ice melting, the Northern Passage has opened up,” Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) said at a conference on transportation. “So maybe, instead of being at the end of the pipeline, we’re now at the beginning of a new pipeline.”</i><br />
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AND that pipeline leads directly to increased revenues for those who need it most in Maine. It's the least we can do after this:<br />
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<a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/02/22/maine-governor-cuts-medicaid-some-gop-colleagues-choose-expansion/QpZusfrOXCvm9EAh91YfnJ/story.html" target="_blank">44,000 to lose Medicaid coverage in Maine</a><br />
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and this:<br />
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<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/03/01/147245/lepage-budget-tax-cuts/" target="_blank">Maine Gov. LePage Unveils Budget That Guts Necessities For Main Street To Pay For Tax Cuts For Rich</a><br />
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and this:<br />
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<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/10/22/maine-governor-claims-47-percent-of-able-bodied-mainers-dont-work/" target="_blank">Maine governor claims ’47 percent of able-bodied’ Mainers don’t work</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHmCSvHArs3MiBkd19Ebs-n62r2u_ndaCdLGfa7DQTvfSSQZ9YiLIBozOnAFKLm1Ir4pAvsHHPnlF0CltHJux1BK4ygCrejekuQMtIfXW-U2ZP4a_A9NY5xtqTHJefVlHz1QQZr5X_Dau/s1600/listening.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHmCSvHArs3MiBkd19Ebs-n62r2u_ndaCdLGfa7DQTvfSSQZ9YiLIBozOnAFKLm1Ir4pAvsHHPnlF0CltHJux1BK4ygCrejekuQMtIfXW-U2ZP4a_A9NY5xtqTHJefVlHz1QQZr5X_Dau/s1600/listening.jpg" /></a></div>
Wait, what's that? (hand to ear like Jon Stewart) He's not going to use this windfall to shore up the State's safety net or expand healthcare? He's giving it to <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/03/01/147245/lepage-budget-tax-cuts/" target="_blank">who</a>? Because they must be more "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-zuesse/the-rich-and-educated-bel_b_4377474.html" target="_blank">virtuous</a>"?. <br />
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Oh, never mind. Greendaymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250693111228019noreply@blogger.com0