kpete
kpete's JournalJuicy: Former Christie aide says lane closures were political payback
Former Christie aide says lane closures were political payback
The administration of Gov. Chris Christie worked to cultivate Fort Lee’s mayor for at least a year and a half before lanes were closed at the George Washington Bridge in an act of political retribution, according to testimony from a former aide to the governor on Tuesday.
and here is the BOMBSHELL:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/21/nyregion/ex-aide-tells-of-tabs-kept-on-mayor-of-fort-lee.html?_r=1
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/21/1301022/-Former-Christie-aide-says-lane-closures-were-political-payback
Moment Of Victory: Corbett Won't Appeal Same-Sex Marriage Case In PA
Jesse Berney @jesseberney · 1h
You could call the moment a GOP governor in a tight reelection race decided not to fight a marriage equality ruling the moment of victory.
https://twitter.com/jesseberney/status/469193064217858049
Pennsylvania Won't Appeal Same-Sex Marriage Case
HARRISBURG, Pa. May 21, 2014 (AP)
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
Same-sex marriage won a second victory in two days in Pennsylvania, as the governor said Wednesday that he will not appeal a court decision that struck down the state's ban.
Gov. Tom Corbett's decision Wednesday means that same-sex marriage will remain legal in Pennsylvania, without the threat that a higher court will reinstate the ban.
"The case is extremely unlikely to succeed on appeal," Corbett said in a statement. "Therefore, after review of the opinion and on the advice of my commonwealth legal team, I have decided not to appeal."
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/pennsylvania-appeal-sex-marriage-case-23815521
Oh, I almost forgot: 2/27/14---U.S. Senate Republicans BLOCK veterans' health bill on budget worry
U.S. Senate Republicans block veterans' health bill on budget worry
BY RICHARD COWAN
WASHINGTON Thu Feb 27, 2014 3:50pm EST
(Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republicans blocked legislation on Thursday that would have expanded federal healthcare and education programs for veterans, saying the $24 billion bill would bust the budget.
Even though the legislation cleared a procedural vote on Tuesday by a 99-0 vote, the measure quickly got bogged down in partisan fighting.
[font color=red]Supporters said the measure would have brought the most significant changes in decades to U.S. veterans' programs.[/font] For example, it called for 27 new medical facilities to help a healthcare system that is strained by veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
With Democrats pressing for passage this week, Senate Republicans, backed by their leader, Mitch McConnell, attempted to attach controversial legislation calling for possible new sanctions on Iran that President Barack Obama opposes.
sorry, sometimes i forget how things work - then, I REMEMBER:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/27/us-usa-veterans-congress-idUSBREA1Q26O20140227
SUPPORT THE TROOPS?
Show Some Damn LeadershipMaybe it’s time for Mr. Obama to put rank partisan concerns about quality care for veterans and fairness toward caregivers and administrators aside and just fire some people and shutter some clinics already.
links and more:
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2014/05/21/show-some-damn-leadership/
Young Iranians Arrested For Dancing In 'Happy' Pharrell Video
#t=37Published on May 20, 2014
Young Iranians Arrested For Dancing In 'Happy' Pharrell Video
Age: 25, Crime: Happiness
About a month ago, 6 Iranian boys and girls (in this video) danced to the famous song by Pharrell Williams called "Happy" on the rooftops of Tehran and uploaded their video on the YouTube. It was widely distributed in the social media. The police decided to track them down and arrest them and make them repent in front of the camera. It then showed this capture on the national TV channels as a bunch of deceived Iranian youth who regretted their deed. In the past 35 years, Islamic Republic has managed to steal freedom and happiness from the Iranian youth and replace it with a culture full of mourning and sorrow. We, too, are human. We, too, have the right to be happy and live happily and learn how to be happy.
Leave us alone!
#?freehappyiranians
#?mystealthyfreedom
#PharrellWilliams
#HappyWeAreFromTehran
جوانانی که در این ویدیو شادی کردند بازداشت شده اند. .
#هپی
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/20/young-iranians-arrested-for-being-happy-in-tehran/?_php=true&_type=blogs&smid=tw-thelede&seid=auto&_r=0
I had not seen this, does anyone know what happened to these kids?
Pope Makes Biblical Case For Addressing Climate Change: "Destruction of the planet is a sinful act"
Pope Francis Makes Biblical Case For Addressing Climate Change
BY JACK JENKINS ON MAY 21, 2014
“But when we exploit Creation we destroy the sign of God’s love for us, in destroying Creation we are saying to God: ‘I don’t like it! This is not good!’ ‘So what do you like?’ ‘I like myself!’ – Here, this is sin! Do you see?”
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
“Safeguard Creation,” he said. “Because if we destroy Creation, Creation will destroy us! Never forget this!”
The pope centered his environmentalist theology around the biblical creation story in the book of Genesis, where God is said to have created the world, declared it “good,” and charged humanity with its care.
Francis also made reference to his namesake, Saint Francis of Assisi, who was a famous lover of animals, and appeared to tie the ongoing environmental crisis to economic concerns — namely, instances where a wealthy minority exploits the planet at the expense of the poor.
“Creation is not a property, which we can rule over at will; or, even less, is the property of only a few: Creation is a gift, it is a wonderful gift that God has given us, so that we care for it and we use it for the benefit of all, always with great respect and gratitude,” Francis said.
Francis also said that humanity’s destruction of the planet is a sinful act, likening it to self-idolatry.
..................................
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/05/21/3440075/pope-francis-if-we-destroy-creation-creation-will-destroy-us/
WOW, TNR: Democrats Need Bernie Sanders to Run for President
Democrats Need Bernie Sanders to Run for President
By Michael Kazin Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
................
His tough consistency on economic issues might also persuade some of the white working-class voters who now vote Republican, without much enthusiasm, to take a fresh look at the party that established Social Security, Medicare, and the National Labor Relations Act. Sanders, after all, did not score landslide victories in 2006 and 2012 (with 65 percent and then 71 percent of the vote) by appealing just to the one-third of the adults in his overwhelmingly white state who earned a college degree.
There is, of course, a danger that an aggressive campaign against Hillary Clinton in 2016 would expose divisions between Democrats—of gender as well as ideology—and weaken her for the main contest that fall. Historians and political scientists generally agree that a party that undergoes a long primary season finds it more difficult to win the general election. But that's generally true only for those incumbent presidents—like Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1992—whose political woes already made them vulnerable to competitors. In contrast, vigorous debates and a series of close primaries and caucuses helped Ronald Reagan in 1980 shed his image as a dogmatic right-winger. Twelve years later, they gave Bill Clinton a chance to show off his political skills as “the comeback kid” after the revelation of a past affair almost drove him from the race. If there had been no long, tense battle among Democrats in 2008, Barack Obama would not have become president at all.
Unless American politics takes a sudden, unprecedented lurch to the left, Bernie Sanders has little chance of winning the Democratic nomination. Progressive voters in both red and blue states may agree with his positions and appreciate the passion with which he states them. But most are unlikely to prefer a man in his mid-70s to the celebrity stateswoman whose election would “make history” and whose appeal extends beyond partisan lines.
But if Sanders does run, he could perform a vital political service to Democrats in need of revitalization and to the country at large. Except for a small minority of dogmatic conservatives, Americans don’t like the fact that rich investors have profited handsomely while wages remain stagnant or are eager to balance the budget by cutting Social Security or believe that politicians who routinely lavish their favors on multi-millionaires can also serve the interests of people who worry about paying the mortgage. A left-wing candidate who bluntly and repeatedly points all this out could embolden Hillary Clinton and other timid Democrats to do the same. Winning control of the government with such rhetoric—and policies to match—might actually nudge us further toward becoming a more decent and truly democratic society.
........
MORE:
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117816/bernie-sanders-2016-campaign-why-democrats-need-him-run
This Is NOT Class Warfare, This Is SELF-Defense.
WASHINGTON — With Tuesday’s primaries reinforcing the Republican establishment strength, House Democrats are reassessing their electoral strategy based on a major internal research project that shows their candidates stand a better chance when they portray Republicans as unsympathetic to the economic situation of working Americans while protecting the wealthy.
.................
In doing the research, Democratic consultants tested several advertisements with voters and found that the most effective one featured a fictitious Republican congressman who backed the government shutdown but continued to collect his check while the House gym remained open. It accused the make-believe House member of being more interested in the perquisites of office than representing his constituents.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/22/us/politics/democrats-seek-issue-to-buoy-turnout-in-midterms.html?hp
A Woman With Perfect Grades Is Worth The Same As A Man With A 2.0 Average
A Woman With Perfect Grades Is Worth The Same As A Man With A 2.0 Average
BY BRYCE COVERT MAY 21, 2014 AT 8:42 AM UPDATED: MAY 21, 2014 AT 8:55 AM
It may seem like high school grades don’t mean anything later in life, but a new report finds that high school grand point average (GPA) is a strong predictor of income in adulthood.
That doesn’t play out evenly, though. The team of University of Miami researchers found that a one-point increase in GPA means a 12 percent boost in earnings for men and a 14 percent boost for women. Even so, there’s a big gender gap in total earnings. A woman who got a 4.0 GPA in high school will only be worth about as much, income-wise, as a man who got a 2.0. A woman with a 2.0 average will make about as much as a man with a 0 GPA.
The data also show that average high school GPAs are significantly higher for women, but men will still end up having significantly higher income later on.
It also found that high school grades can indicate the likelihood of going to college, and that a one-point increase doubles the chances of completing a degree for both genders.
MORE:
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/05/21/3439865/women-gender-wage-gap-gpa/
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