November 21, 2015

A message for the Paris attackers from Andrew Neil for BBC's This Week

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March 12, 2015

Iran Offers to Mediate Talks Between Republicans and Obama (Borowitz Report)

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/iran-offers-to-mediate-talks-between-republicans-and-obama

TEHRAN (The Borowitz Report)—Stating that “their continuing hostilities are a threat to world peace,” Iran has offered to mediate talks between congressional Republicans and President Obama.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, made the offer one day after Iran received what he called a “worrisome letter” from Republican leaders, which suggested to him that “the relationship between Republicans and Obama has deteriorated dangerously.”

“Tensions between these two historic enemies have been high in recent years, but we believe they are now at a boiling point,” Khamenei said. “As a result, Iran feels it must offer itself as a peacemaker.”

He said that his nation was the “logical choice” to jumpstart negotiations between Obama and the Republicans because “it has become clear that both sides currently talk more to Iran than to each other.”

He invited Obama and the Republicans to meet in Tehran to hash out their differences and called on world powers to force the two bitter foes to the bargaining table, adding, “It is time to stop the madness.”

Hours after Iran made its offer, President Obama said that he was willing to meet with his congressional adversaries under the auspices of Tehran, but questioned whether “any deal reached with Republicans is worth the paper it’s written on.”

...

March 12, 2015

186,116 signatures and rising quickly!

The petition to file charges against the 47 U.S. Senators who violated The Logan Act by attempting to undermine multilateral negotiations toward a nuclear agreement with Iran has garnered almost 200,000 signatures in less than two days. It currently has 188,072 signatures (6:45PM Pacific Time, Wednesday evening), and it has been steadily growing. It will likely hit 200,000 in under 48 hours, which to me seems significant. I think people are really pissed about this.

I know I am. This is serious business. This is intentionally throwing a monkey wrench into peace negotiations and undermining the authority of the Executive Branch. It also makes the United States look like anything but. What about our allies on the international stage and our partners in the nuclear negotiations? Well they have to be laughing...or crying...at how foolish and inept this makes our country's foreign policy look.

Are we the United States?? Or are our leaders just a bunch of squabbling kids trying to play quien es mas macho? I, for one, am deeply embarrassed - for my country, for myself and my countrymen, for the fact that THIS is what comes from the political opposition in my homeland. I am deeply embarrassed to have to share a nation with slimy rats who will go to any length to attempt to score some points and win a political football game. Even treason.

It is clear. Right-wing militarists control the Republican party. Their agenda will always be war. They are going to rattle their sabers, raise hue and cry and fearmonger for all their worth. Too many of them profit from the defense industry and do its bidding. If you support war, continue supporting Republican candidates.

I'm so pissed. How can they get away with this shit?!!




https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/file-charges-against-47-us-senators-violation-logan-act-attempting-undermine-nuclear-agreement/NKQnpJS9

On March 9th, 2015, forty-seven United States Senators committed a treasonous offense when they decided to violate the Logan Act, a 1799 law which forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments. Violation of the Logan Act is a felony, punishable under federal law with imprisonment of up to three years.

At a time when the United States government is attempting to reach a potential nuclear agreement with the Iranian government, 47 Senators saw fit to instead issue a condescending letter to the Iranian government stating that any agreement brokered by our President would not be upheld once the president leaves office.

This is a clear violation of federal law. In attempting to undermine our own nation, these 47 senators have committed treason.

Published Date: Mar 09, 2015

August 18, 2014

Archie Bunker with a badge.

Anyone else see the resemblance?



I do.

January 10, 2014

Chris Christie - "I know nothing! Nothing!"

Rouse! Schnell!




Explanation for the under 40 crowd....
This is a caricature of Gov. Chris Christie as the perennially daft and willfully ignorant guard, Sgt. Schultz, on the 1970's TV show Hogan's Heroes.

December 19, 2013

California Nullifies NDAA Indefinite Detention - Assembly Bill No. 351, CHAPTER 450

Source: California Legislative Information

Assembly Bill (AB) 351 was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown yesterday. California is the third state to have passed legislation, which nullifies the unpopular federal provision. A selection of AB 351 reads:

The United States Constitution and the California Constitution provide for various civil liberties and other individual rights for a citizen of the United States and the State of California, including the right of habeas corpus, the right to due process, the right to a speedy and public trial, and the right to be informed of criminal charges brought against him or her.

Certain provisions of federal law affirm the authority of the President of the United States to use all necessary and appropriate force to detain specified persons who engaged in terrorist activities.

This bill would prohibit an agency in the State of California, a political subdivision of this state, an employee of an agency or a political subdivision of this state, as specified, or a member of the California National Guard, on official state duty, from knowingly aiding an agency of the Armed Forces of the United States in any investigation, prosecution, or detention of a person within California pursuant to (1) Sections 1021 and 1022 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (NDAA), (2) the federal law known as the Authorization for Use of Military Force, enacted in 2001, or (3) any other federal law, except as specified, if the state agency, political subdivision, employee, or member of the California National Guard would violate the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, or any law of this state by providing that aid. The bill would also prohibit local entities from knowingly using state funds and funds allocated by the state to those local entities on and after January 1, 2013, to engage in any activity that aids an agency of the Armed Forces of the United States in the detention of any person within California for purposes of implementing Sections 1021 and 1022 of the NDAA or the federal law known as the Authorization for Use of Military Force , if that activity would violate the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, or any law of this state, as specified.
The bill’s common name is “The California Liberty Preservation Act.” California’s legislation takes things a step further than other states, which have implemented nullification legislation with regard to the NDAA.

The bill specifically states:
It is the policy of this state to refuse to provide material support for or to participate in any way with the implementation within this state of any federal law that purports to authorize indefinite detention of a person within California. (emphasis added)

This meaning the legislation takes aim at not only the NDAA provision, but any federal law, which seeks to disregard one’s constitutional rights.

Democrats and republicans worked together to sponsor and pass the legislation. The bill was introduced by ultra-conservative Tim Donnelly, and managed by San Francisco liberal-democrat Mark Leno.



Read more: http://benswann.com/breaking-california-nullifies-ndaa-indefinite-detention/#ixzz2nsY1RzRZ


Read more: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB351

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I think it's great that my state is fighting back against the overreach of the Federal government in the "War on Terror". As Glenn Greenwald recently stated, the US does just about anything it wants and claims "terror" as the justification. Indefinite detention, the suspension of habeas corpus, extraordinary rendition, Guantanamo Bay Prison - these things need to stop. We need to fight for our civil liberties before they are all gone. This is a step in the right direction.

October 5, 2013

How long did the government shut down of 1995-96 last? 21 days (and straight through Christmas)

http://www.policymic.com/articles/65859/how-long-did-the-government-shutdown-last-in-1995-depends-on-which-time

The scenario was a Newt Gingrich-led House of Representatives, at war with a Democratic-led Senate and Bill Clinton in the White House. Gingrich had recently unveiled his "Contract With America," and having trouble pushing it through the Senate, he threatened not to have the chamber vote on raising the debt ceiling as a negotiating tactic.

Disaster was averted when a continuing resolution was passed, giving the parties another month to negotiate. But at the end of it, they were still at odds. As a result, on November 13, 1995, the federal government shut down. On November 19, Clinton and Congress agreed on the broad concept of balancing the budget in seven years, and another continuing resolution was passed.

The talks yielded no progress and on December 15, 1995, the most recent federal government shutdown went into effect and lasted 21 days, which only ended on January 6, 1996, when President Clinton and Congress agreed to a seven year balanced budget, with modest spending cuts and tax increases.

In the end, Gingrich and the Republicans managed to wrangle Clinton into negotiations over the budget, but lost heavily in a political sense. A plurality of Americans were deeply unhappy about the shutdown itself, which they blamed on Republicans.

If you look at the polls, a similar scenario could play out this time. Will it be another policy win, but political loss, for Republicans?
________________________________

I remember people calling Newt "The Gingrinch who Stole Christmas". The shutdown cost the Republicans politically, but they only lost a couple of seats in Congress in the 1996 elections. I really want to hope for the best, and I would love to see Nancy Pelosi back in charge of the House, but the cynic in me says that history often repeats itself. Also, the way the House districts are currently gerrymandered means that the Reapers have a virtual headlock on about 190+ of those districts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections,_1996

October 4, 2013

Shutdown fulfills GOP’s Confederate fantasies

http://www.salon.com/2013/10/02/shutdown_fulfills_gops_confederate_fantasies/singleton/

It's a way of acting out a deeply held secessionist dream
BY STEVEN ROSENFELD
WEDNESDAY, OCT 2, 2013 07:41 AM PDT

<...>

The most apt historical precedent for today’s marauder Republicans is the old Confederacy, where the provocateurs are not merely intent on stopping federal governance, but withdrawing from it or sabotaging it if they can’t get their way. Today’s Tea Party darlings like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and the House right-wingers driving the federal shutdown are cut from the same disunionist cloth as the old Southerners who fomented secession and the Civil War.

They have branded Obamacare as their Tariff of Abominations, which were export taxes imposed by Northern industrial states the South railed against before the Civil War. Fox News is the disunionists’ Charleston Mercury,egging on the rebels, and seeking to convey legitimacy to their crusade to save government not by fixing things, but by blowing it up piece-by-piece.

The Republican confederates don’t want to follow any law or election result they don’t like. Whether it’s Obamacare’s coverage of the poorest of the poor, federalgun control, reproductive choice or even the Voting Rights Act, there’s been a parade of red-state politicians in recent years working to exempt themselves and their states from federal rights, laws and remedies.

This is not a new list or trend, but it is growing and is ominous. At its base, it does not share a belief in national government. It includes the 28 states that sued to overturn Obamacare or not participate in it. It includes the two dozen states that passed so-called firearms freedom legislation, which thumbs its nose at federal gun controls. It includes states that don’t want new voter suppressionlaws subject to the 1965 Voting Rights Act. They include states whose public health options do not include family planning.

<...>

October 3, 2013

Man Shoots Off Gun In Pants During Hug, Accidentally Kills Girlfriend

Man Shoots Off Gun In Pants During Hug, Accidentally Kills Girlfriend
Posted: 10/02/2013 1:22 pm EDT | Updated: 10/02/2013 1:49 pm EDT

An Arizona woman died after her boyfriend accidentally shot off a handgun he had tucked into his waistband Tuesday morning.

The 18-year-old man had been hugging his 24-year-old girlfriend when she complained that the weapon was making her uncomfortable, according to KTVK.

The man discharged the gun while attempting to remove it, shooting the woman, according to police.

The woman was rushed to an area hospital and later pronounced dead. Police have not released names in the shooting. Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sgt. Tommy Thompson told ABC Phoenix that the shooting appears to be accidental, but is still under investigation.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/02/man-shoots-off-gun-pants-kills-girlfriend_n_4030640.html

Why was he carrying, anyway?

October 2, 2013

Slimdown? SLIMDOWN??!! What kind of Orwellian doublespeak is this?

I mean what the f'n fuck, Faux News? You guys come up with some doozies, but this one is so...irksome!

Every other source out there is calling it a shutdown, but in your bubble of Rethuglican slant and spin, you are choosing to portray this as some kind of "slimdown" diet for the government?

God, I hate you people. Why don't you call it what it really is, which is a full-on assault on the poor of this country.

Personal anecdote: I went to the EDD office today in Watsonville, California to apply for a Worker's Retraining program where the government will pay for classes to get you into a field which is currently in high demand. I went there hoping they could help me to complete a paralegal certificate course. (I worked as a paralegal for several years prior to being laid off a few months ago.) There were 20 people in line for 30 spots when I showed up at 7:55 AM. The doors opened for us at 8:30 and the enrollment class was supposed to start at 9:00 AM.

Guess what they told us? Their funding comes from the federal government at the beginning of every month, and due to the government shutdown, the enrollment was cancelled until they get their funding. They had us fill out the forms and told us they would contact us as soon as the funding is provided. I am quite sure that similar cases are being played out for millions of people around the nation.

When the director asked if there were any questions, I raised my hand and said, "Yes, I have a question. Why does anyone still vote Republican?" It got a big laugh from everyone, even him, although he did maintain his professional demeanor.

Anyway, there's my rant. Thanks for reading.

And, so how the F does, Faux Snooze get by with calling this a "slimdown", like the Rethugs are just putting the bloated Federal gubment on a diet and feeding it some Slimfast? What they are really conducting is a blatant assault on Americans and especially poor Americans because the big babies did not get their way in the last election, except in one house of one branch of government.

God, it's so obvious. They are immature little brats, children, who are basically saying, "If you don't play the game by my rules, I am taking my ball and going home with it. And I don't care how many of my countrymen's lives are adversely affected by this. I just want my way! Wahhhhhh!"