November 14, 2013

Golden Gate Bridge Tolls Could Hit $8

According to projections, within five years, a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge could cost as much as $8. Officials say it's a necessary trade-off, as tolls help subsidize the area's ferry and bus service.

The board for the Golden Gate Highway and Transportation District is meeting this Friday to discuss the toll increase, which they say is necessary to offset a $142 million budget shortfall over the next five years.

The board is considering five options. The highest would put the tolls at $8 and $7. That’s a $2 increase over the current cost, and would raise $123 million.

Any toll increase would start this April and be implemented over five years. (The board isn’t voting on an increase this week-- that would come after a period of public comment.)

Most of the money would go to subsidizing the district’s aging ferry and bus service, which they say reduces traffic on the bridge by nearly 25 percent. Another chunk would go to beefing up infrastructure on the 77 year-old bridge. In April, the Golden Gate Bridge switched to an all-electronic tolling system to save money-- officials estimate about $16 million. It cost about $3 million to implement, but there’s been another hidden cost of axing toll collectors. ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.wnyc.org/story/golden-gate-bridge-tolls-could-hit-8/

November 14, 2013

Matt Taibbi: Campaign 2016: The Dumb Season Starts Early

(Rolling Stone) Thanks in part to a Beltway gossip network that loves chattering about the Clintons and just can't wait until 2016, and thanks in part to a punditocracy that is perennially covering the same story, regardless of year (i.e. the next presidential election), the groundwork is already being laid for the moronic typecasting that always goes on at the outset of the Big Race.

The ball got rolling this week with a massive feature in the New Republic. Written by Noam Scheiber, it's about the potential threat to presumptive 2016 favorite Hillary Clinton ("Congressional Republicans have spent months investigating [Hillary] like she already resides in the White House," writes Scheiber) posed by a would-be "populist" candidacy of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Scheiber's basic point is that voters are really pissed about the economy and the behavior of big banks, and that Hillary, who along with her husband have been serial gobblers of Wall Street money and finance-industry water-carriers since before House of Pain released "Jump Around," may in 2016 have something to fear from Warren, a candidate who has built a career pointing out what total assholes the Clintons' chief financial backers are.

Warren, Scheiber writes, is so far out of the political mainstream on the finance issue that she was once willing to submarine a Banking Committee hearing by violating longstanding Beltway decorum – an unwritten rule in which members of Congress may "rant and rave at length, but generally abstain from humiliating appointees, especially from their own party." ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/campaign-2016-the-dumb-season-starts-early-20131113#ixzz2kdHEy24t

November 14, 2013

"The last words he said to his friend were, 'I can't believe you shot me.'"

Families Reveal The Gun Tragedies That Cost Them Dearly
The Huffington Post | By Alexandra Schuster

"The last words he said to his friend were, 'I can't believe you shot me.'"
-- Ann Marie Crowell whose son was shot and killed by his friend on Christmas Eve in 1997

"The boys were playing, and as I understand it... trying to figure out if the gun was loaded. And the gun went off while they were trying to figure that out, and my brother was shot in the head and killed right away."
-- Simon Frankel whose brother was shot and killed at 12 years old while vacationing on a ranch in Wyoming in 1973

"The funeral itself, there were over 5,000 people who came."
-- Dr. Danny Dwyer whose five-year-old grandson was killed by an accidental gunshot in 2006

These are the voices of family members who have lost children, grandchildren and siblings to accidental shootings. To shed light on the stories of lives unnecessarily lost by gun violence, HuffPost Live assembled a panel of experts and family members affected by these tragedies.

As noted by Dr. Judith Palfrey, past President of the American Academy of Pediatrics and former Executive Director of President Obama's "Let's Move" campaign, gun violence "is a preventable cause of death."

Highlighting the duality of the issue, Palfrey added, "... gun violence is a very serious cause of mortality in our country for children." ........................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/gun-violence-children_n_4274590.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037

November 14, 2013

Nancy Pelosi Scolds John Boehner: Does Less Work Than 'Family Of Retirees'

WASHINGTON -- Following reports that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) was not even going to try to pass an immigration bill, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) scolded him Thursday for doing less work than a "family of retirees."

Calling the decision "outrageous," Pelosi argued that not only could the House pass the immigration bill if Boehner would try, but it could also pass a bill to improve background checks for gun purchases and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to ban employers from firing people because of their sexual identity.

"ENDA, background checks and comprehensive immigration reform -- it's right there, it's right there," Pelosi told reporters at her weekly briefing on Capitol Hill. "It requires it to be bipartisan because we don't have the majority, but we say to the speaker, bring up immigration any way you want -- singly, jointly, severally -- anything -- just bring it up so we can take some votes on it."

Pelosi made it clear, however, that she didn't really expect any action in a Congress that is about the least productive in history. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/nancy-pelosi-john-boehner_n_4275354.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037

November 14, 2013

North Carolina Governor Appoints Anti-LGBT Attorney Buddy Collins To School Safety Post

WASHINGTON -- When North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) first nominated attorney Buddy Collins to the state school board in March, he faced significant criticism from LGBT groups because of Collins' long history of opposing anti-bullying measures aimed at protecting LGBT students. Nevertheless, the GOP-controlled North Carolina General Assembly confirmed Collins.

And in a further disregard of the LGBT community's concerns, McCrory on Wednesday elevated Collins again, appointing him to a two-year term on the governor's Task Force on Safer Schools.

"School safety is a top priority of my administration," said McCrory. "One of my first actions after taking office was tasking the Department of Public Safety with developing a comprehensive plan to make our schools safer for students, parents, teachers and administrators. I am pleased to announce a very diverse, talented and functional task force that will provide guidance and sound advice that is needed to improve school safety in North Carolina."

Collins is an attorney and was a longtime member of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board of Education. ......................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/buddy-collins-school-safety_n_4274724.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037

November 14, 2013

Keiser Report: Troika Occupiers

Published on Nov 12, 2013

In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss drinking the kool aid (never mind the cyanide) while the young and unemployed of Ireland are encouraged to emigrate by government economists determined to flatter their Troika stats. In the second half, Max interviews author and investor, Peter Schiff, about inflation in fraud as governments want a cut of financial crimes and the trickle down monetary policy ponzi scheme.

November 14, 2013

Mayor Crackhead's latest chart-topper

Make sure you watch the video at the link. OMG.


(Toronto Star) Mayor Rob Ford threatened to sue former staffers Thursday, but it was his reference to allegations of oral sex with a former staff member that sent shockwaves through the city.

In a scrum at city hall, Ford said he didn’t party with a prostitute, he didn’t snort cocaine, he didn’t take OxyContin and he plans on suing former staffers who told police he did.

“I might have had some drinks and driven which is absolutely wrong,” Toronto’s embattled mayor conceded in an impromptu scrum outside his office Thursday morning.

But it was his comments about allegations in court documents released Wednesday that he had claimed to have been intimate with former policy adviser Olivia Gondek that stunned reporters. ............................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2013/11/14/rob_ford_admits_drinking_and_driving_says_hell_sue_former_staffers.html

November 14, 2013

Poll Finds Conservative Americans More Offended By Rainbow Flags Than Confederate Flags

Quelle surprise!


A new poll released this week points to troubling public perception surrounding the rainbow flag, historically understood as a symbol of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement.

Public Policy Polling found that the Americans polled were more offended by the rainbow flag than the confederate flag, the latter of which has remained a controversial imagine since the American Civil War and for many holds oppressive and racist symbolism.

The results stem from two questions presented to 649 American voters: "Do you think high school students should be allowed to wear confederate flags to school, or not?" and "Do you think high school students should be allowed to wear gay pride flags to school, or not?" ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/rainbow-flag-offensive-confederate_n_4273886.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037&ir=Politics

November 14, 2013

Coca-Cola’s Assault on Tap Water

from Civil Eats:


Coca-Cola’s Assault on Tap Water
By Andy Bellatti on November 13, 2013


While public health advocates have sung the praises of tap water for years, Coca-Cola has been focusing on its own covert assault on the affordable, healthful, and refreshing beverage.

Unbeknownst to many in the nutrition and public health world, the soft drink giant launched a “Cap the Tap” program–aimed at restaurants–in 2010, described in the following manner on the Coke Solutions Web site:

Capture Lost Revenue By Turning Off the Tap.

Every time your business fills a cup or glass with tap water, it pours potential profits down the drain. The good news: Cap the Tap™–a program available through your Coca-Cola representative–changes these dynamics by teaching crew members or wait staff suggestive selling techniques to convert requests for tap water into orders for revenue-generating beverages.

Coca-Cola cites a 2006 tap water usage study to point out the obvious–that consumers drink tap water because of habit, health concerns or price sensitivity.

In response to that, Coca-Cola suggests restaurant waitstaff “turn off the tap” and offers to teach servers how to suggest “profitable beverages” to consumers, citing free refills. For those who truly want tap water, Coca-Cola suggests that servers push bottled water (don’t forget that Coke owns the bottled water brand Dasani), diet sodas, iced teas, and smoothies. ....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://civileats.com/2013/11/13/coca-colas-assault-on-tap-water/#sthash.INhhLcHK.dpuf

November 14, 2013

My bold men's tennis 2014 prediction:

Someone outside of the the Big 4 (Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Murray) will win a Grand Slam. ........ Juan Martin, are you listening?