Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
April 27, 2013
Dixie Chick Natalie Maines has long been outspoken with her views on politics, famously deriding George Bush in 2003 by saying she was "ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."
In a new interview with Us Magazine, the singer -- who has since started a career as a solo artist -- says she doesn't regret bashing the then-president. "To me, I was right from the beginning, because it's my right as an American to speak up and question our President, have my point of view, have my opinion, question what I want to question, and say what I want to say about our government," Maines said. "It's very scary to me that people actually think we should just follow our leaders. If we can't learn from our history, we're nowhere."
But the country star is hardly proud of having been right about the carnage of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. "My point I try to make about that is it's not a thing I wanted to be right about," she said. "It's not a good 'I told ya so' with all these people losing their lives. War is horrible."
The dig at Bush set off a maelstrom of criticism within the country music community, with at least one radio station hosting a "chicken toss" party at which fans were encouraged to discard Dixie Chick's tapes and CDs. A number of Texas radio stations also pulled the group's records from the air. (Melodramatic quote from the time: "People are shocked. They cannot believe Texas' own have attacked the state and the president."
..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/26/natalie-maines-george-bush-dixie-chicks_n_3163296.html
Natalie Maines: 'I Was Right From The Beginning'
Dixie Chick Natalie Maines has long been outspoken with her views on politics, famously deriding George Bush in 2003 by saying she was "ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."
In a new interview with Us Magazine, the singer -- who has since started a career as a solo artist -- says she doesn't regret bashing the then-president. "To me, I was right from the beginning, because it's my right as an American to speak up and question our President, have my point of view, have my opinion, question what I want to question, and say what I want to say about our government," Maines said. "It's very scary to me that people actually think we should just follow our leaders. If we can't learn from our history, we're nowhere."
But the country star is hardly proud of having been right about the carnage of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. "My point I try to make about that is it's not a thing I wanted to be right about," she said. "It's not a good 'I told ya so' with all these people losing their lives. War is horrible."
The dig at Bush set off a maelstrom of criticism within the country music community, with at least one radio station hosting a "chicken toss" party at which fans were encouraged to discard Dixie Chick's tapes and CDs. A number of Texas radio stations also pulled the group's records from the air. (Melodramatic quote from the time: "People are shocked. They cannot believe Texas' own have attacked the state and the president."
..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/26/natalie-maines-george-bush-dixie-chicks_n_3163296.html
April 27, 2013
(Transportation Nation) The bids are in to build San Francisco’s Central Subway project – and the price tag will be over $100 million more than the city expected.
The Central Subway will be a 1.7-mile tunnel under the heart of the city for Muni’s T-Third light rail line.The subway will finally provide a connection from the up-and-coming South of Market neighborhood to densely populated Chinatown.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) says once the Central Subway is completed in 2019, the T-Third line will serve 43,700 daily riders. By 2030, the SFMTA estimates the daily ridership on just the subway will reach over 30,000 and ridership for the full line will be 65,000. That would make the T-Third line the second-most boarded light rail project in the country by 2030, after the Downtown Subway in Los Angeles.
All three bids for the construction came in over city engineers’ estimates that the project would cost between $720 and $750 million to build. Los Angeles-based construction company Tutor Perini –which is one-third of the joint venture that was recently picked to build the first part of California’s high-speed rail– had the lowest estimate at $840 million. The city hasn’t announced which bid will be chosen, but it’s likely they will go with the least expensive. The SFMTA says even with the increased construction cost, project is still within its budget. ................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/transportation-nation/2013/apr/25/bids-build-sf-central-subway-are-100-million-over-citys-estimates/
San Francisco: Bids to Build Central Subway are $100 Million Over City's Estimates
(Transportation Nation) The bids are in to build San Francisco’s Central Subway project – and the price tag will be over $100 million more than the city expected.
The Central Subway will be a 1.7-mile tunnel under the heart of the city for Muni’s T-Third light rail line.The subway will finally provide a connection from the up-and-coming South of Market neighborhood to densely populated Chinatown.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) says once the Central Subway is completed in 2019, the T-Third line will serve 43,700 daily riders. By 2030, the SFMTA estimates the daily ridership on just the subway will reach over 30,000 and ridership for the full line will be 65,000. That would make the T-Third line the second-most boarded light rail project in the country by 2030, after the Downtown Subway in Los Angeles.
All three bids for the construction came in over city engineers’ estimates that the project would cost between $720 and $750 million to build. Los Angeles-based construction company Tutor Perini –which is one-third of the joint venture that was recently picked to build the first part of California’s high-speed rail– had the lowest estimate at $840 million. The city hasn’t announced which bid will be chosen, but it’s likely they will go with the least expensive. The SFMTA says even with the increased construction cost, project is still within its budget. ................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/transportation-nation/2013/apr/25/bids-build-sf-central-subway-are-100-million-over-citys-estimates/
April 27, 2013
April 25 (Reuters) - Heavy use of the world's most popular herbicide, Roundup, could be linked to a range of health problems and diseases, including Parkinson's, infertility and cancers, according to a new study.
The peer-reviewed report, published last week in the scientific journal Entropy, said evidence indicates that residues of "glyphosate," the chief ingredient in Roundup weed killer, which is sprayed over millions of acres of crops, has been found in food.
Those residues enhance the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and toxins in the environment to disrupt normal body functions and induce disease, according to the report, authored by Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Anthony Samsel, a retired science consultant from Arthur D. Little, Inc. Samsel is a former private environmental government contractor as well as a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body," the study says. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/25/roundup-health-study-idUSL2N0DC22F20130425
More joy from Monsanto .............
April 25 (Reuters) - Heavy use of the world's most popular herbicide, Roundup, could be linked to a range of health problems and diseases, including Parkinson's, infertility and cancers, according to a new study.
The peer-reviewed report, published last week in the scientific journal Entropy, said evidence indicates that residues of "glyphosate," the chief ingredient in Roundup weed killer, which is sprayed over millions of acres of crops, has been found in food.
Those residues enhance the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and toxins in the environment to disrupt normal body functions and induce disease, according to the report, authored by Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Anthony Samsel, a retired science consultant from Arthur D. Little, Inc. Samsel is a former private environmental government contractor as well as a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body," the study says. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/25/roundup-health-study-idUSL2N0DC22F20130425
April 27, 2013
WASHINGTON -- Victims of sequestration lashed out at Congress on Friday, after lawmakers moved swiftly to address long lines at airports while leaving other cuts, primarily those affecting low-income Americans, unaddressed.
"It's perplexing that we're saving programs that are inconveniencing others, but we're not saving programs that are saving lives," said Ellie Hollander, president and CEO of Meals on Wheels, which estimates that, because of sequestration, seniors will be getting 19 million fewer meals.
The bewilderment was prompted by votes Thursday night and Friday morning that granted the Department of Transportation more budget flexibility to deal with the furloughs of 47,000 Federal Aviation Administration employees, including 15,000 flight controllers. Those furloughs had started to take place on Monday. But a swift outcry from consumers forced to endure flight delays, along with attacks from Republicans who placed the blame at the feet of the president, resulted in swift action from lawmakers just before they flew home for recess.
The ability of Congress to move with haste amazed those organizations and advocates who have spent months -- and in some cases, years -- lobbying lawmakers to come to an agreement on a sequestration fix. Cuts affecting their programs and priorities have also taken a toll, often with more severe consequences than tarmac delays. So far, however, their influence peddling has amounted to very little. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/26/flight-delays-congress-sequester_n_3165593.html
Flight Delays Deal Has Other Sequestration Victims Asking Congress, WTF?
WASHINGTON -- Victims of sequestration lashed out at Congress on Friday, after lawmakers moved swiftly to address long lines at airports while leaving other cuts, primarily those affecting low-income Americans, unaddressed.
"It's perplexing that we're saving programs that are inconveniencing others, but we're not saving programs that are saving lives," said Ellie Hollander, president and CEO of Meals on Wheels, which estimates that, because of sequestration, seniors will be getting 19 million fewer meals.
The bewilderment was prompted by votes Thursday night and Friday morning that granted the Department of Transportation more budget flexibility to deal with the furloughs of 47,000 Federal Aviation Administration employees, including 15,000 flight controllers. Those furloughs had started to take place on Monday. But a swift outcry from consumers forced to endure flight delays, along with attacks from Republicans who placed the blame at the feet of the president, resulted in swift action from lawmakers just before they flew home for recess.
The ability of Congress to move with haste amazed those organizations and advocates who have spent months -- and in some cases, years -- lobbying lawmakers to come to an agreement on a sequestration fix. Cuts affecting their programs and priorities have also taken a toll, often with more severe consequences than tarmac delays. So far, however, their influence peddling has amounted to very little. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/26/flight-delays-congress-sequester_n_3165593.html
April 26, 2013
Published on Friday, April 26, 2013 by Common Dreams
Within The National (In)Security State: Fear as a Constant Companion
by Phil Rockstroh
Life, as lived, moment to moment, in the corporate/consumer state, involves moving between states of tedium, stress, and swoons of mass media and consumer distraction. Therein, one spends a large portion of one's economically beleaguered life attempting to make ends meet and not go mad from the pressure and the boredom. Where does a nebulous concept such as freedom even enter the picture, except to be a harbinger of an unfocused sense of unease… that all too many look to authority to banish?
Finding a balance between anxiety and freedom is not something that comes easy to us.
In a society beset with a lack of purpose and meaning, patriotism, empty self-promotion and jingoism are mistaken for strength and character, when, in fact, they are anathema. Weakness compensates by affecting a cretinous swagger. Those who lack a centering core crave power. Beneath it all, quakes one who fears risking intimacy… is terror stricken by the vulnerability attendant to risking love. Those who fear the uncertainty inherent to intimacy and freedom perceive a world fraught with ubiquitous danger.
They terrorize themselves; therefore, they see terrorists everywhere.
Recently, a U.S. city was placed in lockdown due to the search for a solitary, nineteen-year-old suspect. Thirty different law enforcement agencies were involved. This is the sort of authoritarian overkill that is emblematic of a police state i.e., all sense of proportion is lost, and conveniently so… ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/04/26-3
Within The National (In)Security State: Fear as a Constant Companion
Published on Friday, April 26, 2013 by Common Dreams
Within The National (In)Security State: Fear as a Constant Companion
by Phil Rockstroh
Life, as lived, moment to moment, in the corporate/consumer state, involves moving between states of tedium, stress, and swoons of mass media and consumer distraction. Therein, one spends a large portion of one's economically beleaguered life attempting to make ends meet and not go mad from the pressure and the boredom. Where does a nebulous concept such as freedom even enter the picture, except to be a harbinger of an unfocused sense of unease… that all too many look to authority to banish?
Finding a balance between anxiety and freedom is not something that comes easy to us.
In a society beset with a lack of purpose and meaning, patriotism, empty self-promotion and jingoism are mistaken for strength and character, when, in fact, they are anathema. Weakness compensates by affecting a cretinous swagger. Those who lack a centering core crave power. Beneath it all, quakes one who fears risking intimacy… is terror stricken by the vulnerability attendant to risking love. Those who fear the uncertainty inherent to intimacy and freedom perceive a world fraught with ubiquitous danger.
They terrorize themselves; therefore, they see terrorists everywhere.
Recently, a U.S. city was placed in lockdown due to the search for a solitary, nineteen-year-old suspect. Thirty different law enforcement agencies were involved. This is the sort of authoritarian overkill that is emblematic of a police state i.e., all sense of proportion is lost, and conveniently so… ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/04/26-3
April 26, 2013
In just the second season in their new publicly-funded state-of-the-art stadium, the Marlins are struggling to sell tickets. And based on images during the game, their actual attendance problem might be much worse.
Last night was just the third game of the season, and the Marlins announced the attendance at 13,810. Of course, that number reflects the number of tickets distributed and not necessarily the number of people that show up. And while the season-ticket sales dropped from 12,000 in the ballpark's first season to approximately 5,000 this year, it looks like even many of those people are not showing up.
This view down the left field line in the second inning suggests a crowd much smaller than 13,000...
And here is a view that shows that the outfield seats are nearly empty mid-game (you can see more images at Deadspin.com)...
For comparison, here is the ballpark on Tuesday when the announced crowd was 14,222. ...............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.businessinsider.com/marlins-attendance-problem-is-even-worse-than-they-are-willing-to-admit-2013-4#ixzz2RasoBKSN
The Miami Marlins' Attendance Problem Is Even Worse Than They Are Willing To Admit
In just the second season in their new publicly-funded state-of-the-art stadium, the Marlins are struggling to sell tickets. And based on images during the game, their actual attendance problem might be much worse.
Last night was just the third game of the season, and the Marlins announced the attendance at 13,810. Of course, that number reflects the number of tickets distributed and not necessarily the number of people that show up. And while the season-ticket sales dropped from 12,000 in the ballpark's first season to approximately 5,000 this year, it looks like even many of those people are not showing up.
This view down the left field line in the second inning suggests a crowd much smaller than 13,000...
And here is a view that shows that the outfield seats are nearly empty mid-game (you can see more images at Deadspin.com)...
For comparison, here is the ballpark on Tuesday when the announced crowd was 14,222. ...............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.businessinsider.com/marlins-attendance-problem-is-even-worse-than-they-are-willing-to-admit-2013-4#ixzz2RasoBKSN
April 26, 2013
(Bloomberg) Last night the Senate passed the Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013, which would allow the Federal Aviation Administration to move money between accounts so it can stop furloughing air-traffic controllers. The House is expected to pass it today, and President Barack Obama will have little political option but to sign it. The ongoing mess of flight delays is about to end.
This episode shows whose problems Washington takes seriously. The FAA debacle is bad for the whole economy, but it particularly hurts people who fly a lot, who tend to be affluent. Members of Congress themselves also happen to fly a lot. As a result, we've gone from problem onset to legislative solution in about five days.
Meanwhile sequestration is forcing an 11 percent reduction in benefits to approximately 1.8 million long-term unemployed Americans. It has also led state and local housing agencies to stop issuing Section 8 housing vouchers to families on waiting lists. Congress has not rushed to fix those problems.
The FAA fix has been sold as an effort to ensure that sequestration does not interfere with "essential" government services. When lawmakers say "essential," they apparently mean "essential to people like me." ................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-26/airport-fight-shows-who-washington-works-for.html
Airport Fight Shows Who Washington Works For
(Bloomberg) Last night the Senate passed the Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013, which would allow the Federal Aviation Administration to move money between accounts so it can stop furloughing air-traffic controllers. The House is expected to pass it today, and President Barack Obama will have little political option but to sign it. The ongoing mess of flight delays is about to end.
This episode shows whose problems Washington takes seriously. The FAA debacle is bad for the whole economy, but it particularly hurts people who fly a lot, who tend to be affluent. Members of Congress themselves also happen to fly a lot. As a result, we've gone from problem onset to legislative solution in about five days.
Meanwhile sequestration is forcing an 11 percent reduction in benefits to approximately 1.8 million long-term unemployed Americans. It has also led state and local housing agencies to stop issuing Section 8 housing vouchers to families on waiting lists. Congress has not rushed to fix those problems.
The FAA fix has been sold as an effort to ensure that sequestration does not interfere with "essential" government services. When lawmakers say "essential," they apparently mean "essential to people like me." ................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-26/airport-fight-shows-who-washington-works-for.html
April 26, 2013
from the WaPo:
By Bill Turque and Dana Hedgpeth, Published: April 25
Metro has told Montgomery County it will not operate the Silver Spring Transit Center as planned because construction and design flaws plaguing the $120 million facility have made it too expensive to maintain.
Under the terms of a 2008 agreement, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is supposed to take control of the three-level bus-and-train hub from the county after completion. Metro would operate the center, which is adjacent to its Silver Spring station, as a part of its regional system.
The opening of the center is more than two years behind schedule because of concerns about the strength of the concrete and the adequacy of steel supports in some areas. WMATA has said several times that it would not accept the facility unless it was satisfied with the repairs, which are expected to get underway this summer. But A. Robert Troup, Metro’s deputy general manager of operations, told county officials in an April 12 letter that the building falls short of standards outlined by the agency in the agreement.
The issues are of a “magnitude and severity,” Troup said, that even if repaired “would unnecessarily place an inordinate maintenance burden onto WMATA.” ...........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/metro-says-it-will-not-operate-troubled-silver-spring-hub/2013/04/25/7a3edfdc-addf-11e2-8bf6-e70cb6ae066e_story.html
Metro says it will not operate troubled Silver Spring hub
from the WaPo:
By Bill Turque and Dana Hedgpeth, Published: April 25
Metro has told Montgomery County it will not operate the Silver Spring Transit Center as planned because construction and design flaws plaguing the $120 million facility have made it too expensive to maintain.
Under the terms of a 2008 agreement, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is supposed to take control of the three-level bus-and-train hub from the county after completion. Metro would operate the center, which is adjacent to its Silver Spring station, as a part of its regional system.
The opening of the center is more than two years behind schedule because of concerns about the strength of the concrete and the adequacy of steel supports in some areas. WMATA has said several times that it would not accept the facility unless it was satisfied with the repairs, which are expected to get underway this summer. But A. Robert Troup, Metro’s deputy general manager of operations, told county officials in an April 12 letter that the building falls short of standards outlined by the agency in the agreement.
The issues are of a “magnitude and severity,” Troup said, that even if repaired “would unnecessarily place an inordinate maintenance burden onto WMATA.” ...........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/metro-says-it-will-not-operate-troubled-silver-spring-hub/2013/04/25/7a3edfdc-addf-11e2-8bf6-e70cb6ae066e_story.html
April 26, 2013
from the Working Life blog:
Will Corporate Tax Lies Continue Until Seniors Drop Dead Every Day?
Posted on 25 April 2013.
At what point will shills for corporate greed ever say, “hey, you know, we can’t continue to lie about corporate taxes”. Seriously, will it be when every CEO can each buy a villa on the French Riveria — those that don’t already have one? Will it be when say the death rate for seniors who can’t afford food anymore because Medicare has been cut because of the rampant, mindless budget-cutting mania driven by deficits — deficits partly driven by corporate robbery of the Treasury — reaches say 10,000 people a week? When? Because right now there seems to be no boundary for the lying.
I never get tried of coming back to this topic because the lying is just do endemic. Here is yet another chapter — and our heroes today are Bernie Sanders and the Citizens for Tax Justice. Sanders was on Bill Maher’s show recently, when, as recounted by CTJ, the issue of corporate tax rates came up:
I’ve debated Moore in the past and he usually hyperventilates but it’s often a lot of heat and mindless free market rhetoric backed up by ZERO facts. ......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.workinglife.org/2013/04/25/will-corporate-tax-lies-continue-until-seniors-drop-dead-every-day/
Will Corporate Tax Lies Continue Until Seniors Drop Dead Every Day?
from the Working Life blog:
Will Corporate Tax Lies Continue Until Seniors Drop Dead Every Day?
Posted on 25 April 2013.
At what point will shills for corporate greed ever say, “hey, you know, we can’t continue to lie about corporate taxes”. Seriously, will it be when every CEO can each buy a villa on the French Riveria — those that don’t already have one? Will it be when say the death rate for seniors who can’t afford food anymore because Medicare has been cut because of the rampant, mindless budget-cutting mania driven by deficits — deficits partly driven by corporate robbery of the Treasury — reaches say 10,000 people a week? When? Because right now there seems to be no boundary for the lying.
I never get tried of coming back to this topic because the lying is just do endemic. Here is yet another chapter — and our heroes today are Bernie Sanders and the Citizens for Tax Justice. Sanders was on Bill Maher’s show recently, when, as recounted by CTJ, the issue of corporate tax rates came up:
During a debate over spending and revenues, Senator Sanders said it’s time to ask the “one out of four corporations not paying any taxes” to contribute. The Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Moore replied with the standard complaint, “We have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. … Thirty-five percent. The Tax Foundation says the United States of America has the highest corporate tax rate.” Sanders replied that this is the “nominal, not effective” corporate tax rate. The Tax Foundation then issued a written response claiming that even the effective corporate tax rate in the U.S. is very high compared to those of other countries.
I’ve debated Moore in the past and he usually hyperventilates but it’s often a lot of heat and mindless free market rhetoric backed up by ZERO facts. ......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.workinglife.org/2013/04/25/will-corporate-tax-lies-continue-until-seniors-drop-dead-every-day/
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit, MI
Member since: Fri Oct 29, 2004, 12:18 AM
Number of posts: 77,066
