kpete

kpete's Journal

May 21, 2015

America's "Moochers & Takers"

May 21, 2015

OMFG ¯\_( ' - ' )_/¯ ON THE SENATE FLOOR

:large
https://twitter.com/michaelwhitney/status/601477441937395715

http://www.c-span.org/video/?326085-1/us-senate-debate-trade-promotion-authority&live

May 21, 2015

Amash, Lewis, and House colleagues send letter to Senate - Urge stronger surveillance reforms

Amash, Lewis, and House colleagues send letter to Senate
Urge stronger surveillance reforms to protect privacy
May 20, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2015

CONTACT
Jordan Bush
(616) 451-8383
jordan.bush@mail.house.gov

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Justin Amash, Rep. John Lewis, and 58 of their House colleagues sent the following letter to the Senate this morning.

The text of the letter and list of cosigners are attached and below.

May 20, 2015
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
United States Senate
Minority Leader Harry Reid
United States Senate

Chairman Charles Grassley
Senate Judiciary Committee
Chairman Richard Burr
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

Ranking Member Patrick Leahy
Senate Judiciary Committee
Vice Chairman Dianne Feinstein
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

Dear Senators:

On May 13, 2015, the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015 (H.R. 2048) passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 338 to 88. We, the undersigned representatives, opposed the measure because its reforms do not adequately or appropriately reform surveillance practices or address privacy concerns. Many of our colleagues felt similarly, supporting the bill only out of concern the Senate would be unwilling to engage in more comprehensive reform.

The American people deserve congressional action that secures their constitutional rights. While we recognize the government's legitimate interests in certain surveillance activities intended to protect the United States, these intrusions must be carefully limited and overseen in order to avoid encroaching upon the freedoms they are intended to preserve. The recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit declaring the government's interpretation of "relevant" unlawful underscores that Congress must do more. We urge you to join us in ensuring the federal government’s surveillance practices comport with the U.S. Constitution, are conducted under effective congressional oversight, and are limited to efforts proven effective at safeguarding our country.

Congress has had ample time for debate. We must not kick the can down the road with a short-term reauthorization. Nor will we acquiesce to any effort to weaken this legislation. Indeed, there is strong support for real reform in this chamber, and we hope you will work with us to improve the legislation, such as by incorporating the reforms contained in the original USA FREEDOM Act of 2013, which was cosponsored by a bipartisan group of 152 representatives in the House, and the reforms embodied in the Massie-Lofgren amendment, which was overwhelmingly adopted by the House last year.

We look forward to working together to better protect the rights of all Americans.

Sincerely,

Justin Amash (R-MI)
John Lewis (D-GA)
Thomas Massie (R-KY)
Jared Polis (D-CO)
Tom McClintock (R-CA)
Raúl Labrador (R-ID)
Jim Jordan (R-OH)
Paul Gosar (R-AZ)
Tim Huelskamp (R-KS)
Jeff Duncan (R-SC)
Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
Diana DeGette (D-CO)
Peter DeFazio (D-OR)
Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Andy Harris (R-MD)
Ted Poe (R-TX)
Dave Brat (R-VA)
Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Mark Pocan (D-WI)
Keith Ellison (D-MN)
Walter Jones (R-NC)
Scott Garrett (R-NJ)
Scott DesJarlais (R-TN)
John Duncan (R-TN)
Alcee Hastings (D-FL)
Rod Blum (R-IA)
Ted Lieu (D-CA)
Jim McGovern (D-MA)
Mick Mulvaney (R-SC)
Richard Nugent (R-FL)
Alan Lowenthal (D-CA)
Bill Posey (R-FL)
Chellie Pingree (D-ME)
John Fleming (R-LA)
Mark Meadows (R-NC)
Michael Honda (D-CA)
Donna F. Edwards (D-MD)
Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ)
Louie Gohmert (R-TX)
Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)
Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Curt Clawson (R-FL)
Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)
Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ)
José Serrano (D-NY)
Mark Takano (D-CA)
Jody Hice (R-GA)
Alan Grayson (D-FL)
Michael Capuano (D-MA)
Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Ted Yoho (R-FL)
Tom Graves (R-GA)
Christopher Gibson (R-NY)
Scott Perry (R-PA)
David Schweikert (R-AZ)
Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
Phil Roe (R-TN)
Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)
Maxine Waters (D-CA)
http://amash.house.gov/press-release/amash-lewis-and-house-colleagues-send-letter-senate

May 21, 2015

‘Tillamook for Love’ forms on the spur of the moment during impromptu demonstration

‘Tillamook for Love’ forms on the spur of the moment during impromptu demonstration

“I was so irritated because I see them all around town and all they ever do is make people feel like crap about themselves,” said Ragan, a junior at Tillamook High School. The men were standing outside Eyes of Oregon, on 1st Street and Main Avenue, where her mother works. “I went inside and asked her and her boss if it would be all right if I made a poster that stands up for what I believe in,” she said. “They were totally all for it. So I made a sign that said, ‘I love Gays.’”

The two men, said Makaila, began insulting her personally. “They were calling me names, and asking my mom questions, like, ‘How many times did you have to get an abortion before you were able to have your daughter?’ and saying, ‘You’re going to burn in hell right along with your daughter.’ The things they were saying were just awful, but I didn’t let them faze me.”

Soon, Ragan found herself surrounded by supporters. “More people started showing up with signs, and then people started bringing food. One lady brought flowers and another man gave us money and told us to all go buy drinks or something.”

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Ragan and her group decided they wouldn’t leave until the two men did, and so they stood on the corner of the busiest intersection in downtown Tillamook cheering with every honk of support or wave they received from passing motorists until well past dusk. “I was there from 4 until about 10:30,” she said. “The two men finally left at 10:30, so we all left after that.” Altogether, she estimates about 45 people joined her in demonstrating last night.

MORE:
http://www.tillamookcountypioneer.net/tillamook-for-love-forms-on-the-spur-of-the-moment-during-impromptu-demonstration/

May 21, 2015

Greg Palast - on finding out that his book was in Osama Bin Laden's house

The US government told me Bin Laden read my book. But what is it not telling us?
Greg Palast
Finding out that The Best Democracy Money Can Buy was on the Bin Laden bookshelf confirms my fears about America’s war on whistleblowers

It was actually quite embarrassing to learn that Bin Laden was reading my tome – and a few by my homie Noam Chomsky. It’s embarrassing because it’s clear that Bin Laden was more well-read than our president of the time (though, in George W Bush’s defence, there’s much to be learned from My Pet Goat).

The new official war on whistleblowers and reporters
is NOT about keeping information out of the hands of terrorists

IT's ABOUT KEEPING INFORMATION FROM US

And what did Bin Laden think of my investigation of the 9/11 attack? While working at Newsnight, a few weeks after the towers fell, a little birdie dropped off a 30-page memo marked “SECRET,” “eyes only” and “1-99I WF”, which is code for “national security document”. The document suggested that FBI agents were blocked from investigating the Bin Laden family well before 11 September 2001. Calls to the Defense Intelligence Agency, CIA and FBI insiders authenticated this bombshell of a devastating intelligence failure.

No, the evidence did not show that President Bush knew about the 9/11 attack in advance. But here was something still quite damning: we learned that the Bush family connection to the Bin Laden family business might have been a shield against government probes. Did Bin Laden, reading that, make a note to himself to thank the Bushes for their unintended protection? I assumed the FBI would deny the authenticity of the document. Instead of denying that the Bin Laden investigation had been spiked, the FBI spokesman told Newsnight these chilling words: “There are a lot of things the intelligence community knows and other people ought not to know.”

.........

Ought not to know? What else ought we not to know?
What else is government hiding from us – and when will it kill us?

.........

Finding that Bin Laden read my book, with its several chapters revealing state secrets, confirms for me that the new official war on whistleblowers and reporters is not about keeping information out of the hands of terrorists, but making sure that “the public ought not to know” where the fools at the helm are leading us.

MORE:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/may/21/us--government-osama-bin-laden-book?CMP=share_btn_tw

May 21, 2015