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April 2011

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The Terrible Tragedy in the South

Tuscaloosa is my wife's home town. Her dad was a Sociology professor there and she grew up on campus. We fell in love and married there (our first "date" was at the Wendy's on 15th Street), and the University area was our home.

Last night, we watched the footage of the massive tornado in rapt horror. It was plowing through our neighborhood and nearby neighborhoods, where friends still live and work.

As of now, most of our friends and their immediate families are accounted for. Worst hit was a friend's mom's house, which is simply no longer there. Fortunately, she was in Atlanta at the time. Some friends of friends were among those who took shelter in the cooler at Blue Moon and survived the total destruction of that restaurant.

We still haven't heard from everyone, but hold out hope that all our friends are unhurt. But our hearts are broken at the destruction of this beautiful college town and campus community, and we want to offer condolences to those who lost loved ones and to those who lost their wordily possessions.

Read the article  HUFFINGTON POST/Severe storm rips through the south killing at least 200

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I posted this on another thread yesterday. I think it is just as appropriate today from some of the posts I've been reading.

“I was in Arkansas 2 years ago when a tornado went through the town. The next morning I saw people in overalls putting plywood on roofs to prevent further damage. I saw women in skirts handing out sandwiches and tea. I heard on the radio station that anyone who couldn't afford the plywood to do temporary patches on their homes to come and get the plywood. Credit arrangements would be made -- for everyone. The building repair store was selling the plywood at cost. Red Cross showed up Sunday, FEMA later in the week.

Nature doesn't care what your political affliliation is. A tornado can't be stopped by the Army Corps of Engineers, more "red" or "blue" money or by throwing a bible at it.

So for those more interested in making snide comments, or throwing political arrows than showing compassion, I hope you never experience what those people are going through. I hope you never watch everything you have ever worked for literally blow away.”

Read the article  HUFFINGTON POST/Severe storm rips through the south killing at least 200

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I really don't understand the political slanted posts on here. I guess it shows the ignorance and inhumanity of those making such comments on here. I hope that those who are reducing this tragic event to a few political jabs don't have to go through something like this themselves.

And if they do find themselves in a similar situation that they find compassion and learn from their ignorance.

I live just a few miles away from Vilonia, AR and work as a contractor on Little Rock AFB so I've witnessed first hand what these storms can do and the devastationn they inflict.

In other words I am speaking from first hand experience and not once have I thought of this as some political issue or that the poor people who had their homes and lives torn apart as somehow deserving what they got. That is a sick way to think of this tragedy. My thoughts and prayers to the people affected by this storm.

Read the article  HUFFINGTON POST/Severe storm rips through the south killing at least 200

 

Hopefully there will be a lesson out of these terrible events; namely, reinforced concrete structures being built where people can get to them. I'm a native Kansan and grew up in a house without a basement. Our nearest neighbors were about a quarter of a mile away. After a few years of frequent and violent tornadoes, my father decided to build a relatively inexpensive concrete structure, rather than be put in the position of outrunning the storms to get to shelter.

No tornado just pops up. The conditions that create them are forecast as much as a few days ahead of time. When conditions are such that tornadoes are likely, a person needs to have a plan and to be ready to execute that plan at a moment's notice.

I have deep sympathy for those who did not have shelter, whose topography is such that a basement isn't a possibility, and who cannot afford to construct the type of shelter required to withstand the destructive force of storms such as these.

That said, these municipalities should look into building such structures, centrally located for maximum effect. I've lived in the deep south, and know the 'construction standards.' Most of central Mississippi and western Alabama is replete with domiciles that don't stand a chance against storms like this.

With the upbringing I had, I watch these things closely, always on guard. I hate to tell the people of the south, but this might continue for years to come. The anecdotal evidence (I'm NOT a meteorologist, this is speculation on my part, but I'd like to know what qualified scientists think) suggests that tornado alley might be shifting.

Twenty years ago, this would be pretty common in central Kansas. For the last five, these outbreaks have reached their strongest point well east of where we might expect them. So, remember your Boy Scout stuff here, please. Be prepared. It can save your life.

If I were in Mississippi, I would demand concrete structures that can hold up to the population of my town. It would take about 10 days at most and cost less than any tax abatement an automobile or pharmaceutical company receives.

Read the article YAHOO NEWS/Tornadoes devastate the south. kill 248

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It is truly sad to see some of these comments. As I have grown older, I have realized that people are people no matter where you go. Some of you think you are better than us southerners, and that is a shame. There are good and bad people everywhere, no matter where you live and we are all on this Earth together. Can you not have empathy for your fellow man?

We do not all have meth labs, we do not all live in trailers, some do and that DOES NOT make them trailer trash just because they do! We do not commit incest. Most of us are good, hard working people and it is a shame that you cannot make heartfelt comments.

Last night was terrifying, my 7 year old was visible shaking. The noise and wind was terrible. We stayed in the basement until early morning, it was the most frightened I have ever been from a tornado, the sirens kept going off.

My family and house are safe, but there are so many others who weren't that lucky. My friend has lost everything and my parents church is completely gone. The worse part is the lives lost. My heart is breaking for all of the families who lost someone.

At a time like this, you should be mature enough to drop the Obama comments and Teabag comments as well. Some of you need to grow up!

Read the article YAHOO NEWS/Tornadoes devastate the south. kill 248

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If this sort of violent weather becomes the new "normal" we will have to go back and re-evaluate the building codes in the Southern areas where tornadoes are likely.

In places like Oklahoma, most newer homes are built with a storm cellar, and those that aren't usually have a concrete reinforced room/closet where you can go to. In the South (and I know because I have lived in Southern states) many places have no storm cellar, some not even a basement, and with tornadoes this big, you are lucky if you survive a direct hit while huddled in your bathroom or closet.

I think that is why the death toll is so high-- many people-- even if they tried to, could not survive a direct hit from tornadoes this huge if they were not well underground.

My deepest condolences to the good people who have suffered. 

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Tornado ravages Alabama city, storm toll grows

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I read the comments to this story and was a little disheartened. I have a great deal of sympathy for the people who were affected by this horrible disaster.

We need to remember that a great number of people who have nothing to do with the dysfunction in our political dialogue, including children, are being touched by this. We need to give our love and support to our fellow Americans in this horrible time; arguments to the contrary are cruel, unjust, and frankly idiotic.

That said, I don't think it is wrong to ask how a natural disaster like this informs our political conversation. First, it reminds us that disasters (natural and otherwise) are a fact of national life.

They can strike innocent victims who find themselves in need of help without any responsibility or personal fault. It is our moral and national imperative to help these people.

However, as we recognize the need to provide sympathy and support to the victims of this tragedy, we need also to reaffirm our support of a national system with the vision and the ability to provide help for others in need.

That said, I can understand the feelings of those commentators saying that the retrograde and mean spirited politics of Republicans (whose power is, let's face it, centralized in the South) are reaping what they have sown.

However, I think the proper response is not a wag of the fingers, but rather an embrace. If we are serious about changing minds about the role of a compassionate and supportive government, this should be an opportunity to show the best of what we, as a people, can be. Sustained, effective and generous aid will be a hundred times more convincing than the most potent "I told you so"

Second, I think we can apply a lesson to our national discussion about climate change. Is this tragedy definitive evidence of the parade of horrible presented by environmental activist? No, not really. Does it serve as a potent reminder that we need to be serious about the potential implications of our CO2 output? I hope so.

In any case, the best argument or the righteousness of either side of the political spectrum can be made right here: http://www.redcross.org/.

Read the articleNEW YORK TIMES/Tornado ravages Alabama city, storm toll grows

 

President Obama Responds to "Side Shows and Carnival Barkers"

 

This non-troversy, created by individuals who cannot come to terms with the changing demographics of the U.S., should end with the release of this document but it wont.

Conspiracies do not operate based on facts. I guarantee the conspirators will simply shift their positions because this was never about the president's birthplace. It is about delegitimizing a man they hate.

The far right have embarrassed themselves on a level heretofore unimagined.

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Obama's "Long-form" birth certificate released.

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Republican co-codification of this Birthers' extremist mandate... re-vetting a sitting American President, points to why over the past decade America has not gotten serious about the continuing crises continuing to hunt our great nation.

Stupidity and ignorance are fueling the belt-way media's ratings war. CNN' flip-flopping is a perfect example. Anderson Cooper excoriating Donald Trump is considered penetrating investigative journalism, yet it doesn't secure the ratings bonanza CNN' Birthers-hoax continuance attracts? Ed Henry… a day after Anderson Cooper totally debauched the myth!

Here you have a disproportionate segment the American fomenting this purely racist-hoax, who also looks into their mirrors each and everyday with the full-knowledge the following: they're embracing an issue that purely racially motivated, one that’s hurting our nation’s image, not to mention hurting future generations of Americans who'll be charged with charting our future.

Rather than questioning President Obama citizenship and academic achievements, what both Republicans and the beltway media should be investigating is how a Donald Trump or Pat Buchanan could possibly be the products of Ivy League universities of Penn State Wharton School and Columbia? This modern-day lynching of America' first dully-elected African-American President is an international disgrace.

Forget "the wrong-track-right-track polling," this Birthers-racism has horribly stained that of a nation once viewed from distances around the world as "a shinning city on a hill!"

The "Black Tax" continues to hunt professional African-Americans in this country. Donald Trump has just poignantly proven, it doesn't matter whether you're a graduate of an Ivy League universities... two, as long as you carry the legacy of race in this country you'll always be required to be two as good.

Has any American President... white, ever been subjected in this manner-ever?

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Obama's "Long-form" birth certificate released.

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No president has ever been required to display such a private document and no president should have to. I would not have. The statutes of our nation dictate that one must be a citizen to run for the presidency.

When the illustrious Henry Kissinger was presented as someone worthy of the office due to his contributions and an exception should be made, it was noted that this wasn’t feasible because he was not born in American. What then has changed in the ensuing years? Mr. Trump and those of his ilk will do well to focus more on how THEY can contribute to the nation as Mr. Kissinger did not fail to due as a foreign born member of this society, and less on how to insult their elected official and the political system

Mr. Jefferson and his colleagues fought with dedication to create.

Read the article WASHINGTON POST/Obama produces his detailed biorth certificate

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This is Obama's fault in the first place. If he would have released it in the beginning, it never would have been an issue. Obama caused the suspicions. While you may not think it's important, as he destroys the country economically, we'd like to know why he appears to hate America's values so much.

Second, Obama spent over $2 million to avoid releasing his birth certificate. Why? Given his lack of honesty with facts in general, his actions raised reasonable suspicions.

Now, given his claims of such intellectual brilliance, why doesn’t he now release his Occidental, Columbia and Harvard college records? Everyone else has. He hasn’t. When someone hides something, just like the birth certificate issue, it raises suspicions.

Let him release his college records as well. The liberal media tried to make a big deal over Bush’s college GPA until it was revealed that Bush’s GPA was higher than the supposedly brilliant John Kerry 

Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/White House releases Obama birth certificate

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This certainly will shut up a number of very ignorant people in this country. Up to now, about 1/3 of the United States population believed that President Obama was not born in the United States. Almost 20% were unsure. This is an astounding that the conservative media was able to create such a falsehood that so many people actually believed the story,.

This goes to show that journalists, in the United States, need to take stock in how they are reporting the news. That is right, the job of journalists to to "report the news", not "make the news". This whole birth status debate was created by journalists who were "making the news". The same tactic which is now being used in the current budget/deficit debate and what was used during the health care reform debate.

People get their news from a number of sources, but it seems that some of these sources are reporting speculation and rumor; not news. And, as we have seen, reporting speculation has news has dire consequences. It time for the "Fourth Estate" to again to become the watchdogs and not the perpetrators. Let this situation be a lesson to us all. That for a free society to exist, journalists must be the torch bearers of the truth.

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Obama's "Long-form" birth certificate released.

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I simply do not understand why the president and his advisors allowed this ridiculous issue to grow and grow and grow over the last few years to the point where an unbelievably large percentage of the nation became convinced that he was not born in the U.S.

This appears to my eye to be a completely normal looking birth certificate, containing no confidential or embarrassing information, so what was the big deal in not making this public years ago? Instead, we now have a subculture of this country who will never believe that Obama is a natural born American.

That is not good for our country, whether you believe Obama is a good president or whether you voted for him or not. While everyone is stubborn about something, why would the president be stubborn about this issue, and for so long--especially, when the story/myth could have been debunked for all-time in 2008? Instead, largely because of the recent inane statements of Donald Trump, the president allowed himself to perhaps be permanently weakened by the fact that increasing percentages of the American public grew to believe the "birther" arguments.

Again, this is not good for the country and I do not understand the rationale behind keeping this very normal birth certificate secret as if it were the recipe for Coca-Cola or something.

Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/White House releases Obama birth certificate

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Thank you Mr. Obama and White House. Just think if this would have been done at the beginning, none of the enormous time wasting would have occurred. Its just like answering questions or taking umbrage when someone asks a question you don't like - you just shut down and don't answer any questions. That's not the type of President any one wants. Where on earth is the transparency you talked so much about??? Its not with you. But thank you for putting this speculation to rest. Mr. Trump must be getting to you.

Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/White House releases Obama birth certificate

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I think this was a non issue from the start. If anyone had any significant doubts about Obama they would have come out before this. I just wonder why it took so long for this document to be released?
I don't think Donald Trump has enough substance to get elected. I am not saying he is not a very good businessman and could bring to the highest office in the US a sense of better management.
But we all know people vote on empty promises and not reality. Just as we voted Obama in on a hope stance. We will never vote anyone into Office because they tell it like it is.

Read the article FOX NEWS/Birther strategy backfires

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Three things.

1. I think that the movement to demand a birth certificate spawned from those who did not support Mr. Obama due to race issues during his presidential run. That is not to say that all those who want to see the certificate are racists, but in all likelihood, that is where the movement came from.

2. Mr. Obama is one of the most intelligent men I know, and I don't think that anyone has any doubts about that. There is no doubt that he has read Plato's "The Republic", Marx's "Kapital", and Sir Thomas Moore's "Utopia", which is more than many other politicians can say. Why would he run for president if he wasn't a valid citizen, or could at least falsify the necessary documents He would know that the right radicals would create a movement to call for them. He would not risk it unless he were a citizen or had the documents.

3. I would like to know if there was a public presentation of any previous president' birth certificates? You may find that radical, but it is just as probable that one of them was not a citizen as it is that Mr. Obama is not a citizen.

Read the article FOX NEWS/Birther strategy backfires

 

WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT & BIRTH CERTIFICATE

 

JFK was accused of having his best seller ghost written. He was also accused of sneaking women into the White House, having a one night stand with a blond actress, Marilyn Monroe, and having an affair with a Mafia boss's girlfriend.

Chester Arthur, was harassed by the birther issue. He was accused of actually being born in Canada. In fact, he was American, but his father was Irish and didn't become naturalized until a few years after Arthur's birth, which may have made Arthur a dual citizen.

Grover Cleveland was accused of having an illegitimate child (in the Victorian Era) and he accepted responsibility for the child. Bill Clinton was accused of having affairs with at least three women.

And we had the Teapot Dome scandal, Watergate, the Great Depression, Yalta (FDR giving away East Europe to Stalin).

Because none of these men was black, racism was never mentioned when accusations were made.

Obama's birth certificate and grades seem minor compared to accusations made against these other Presidents, all of which were probably true. All Obama had to do was produce two pieces of paper if he wanted his critics to shut up.

Read the article  DAILY BEAST/Donald Trump's new Obama conspiracy theory

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That wasn't so hard, was it? I would have preferred the original on retro paper prominently displayed in the Library of Congress. Considering the stonewalling, that would be more effective than another online posting. But it is something. His grades, of course, should be released. The lesson here is that when you're President people do expect some level of transparency. Context is everything.

The Press has been very complicit in not doing opposition research on Democrats, while heartily doing so on any Republican. When Wikipedia spurned such questioning for more information as bad because it would lead to more requests for records, that was really annoying. I like Wikipedia. But when it came to this President, the questions were supposed to stop at an arbitrary point. He's done the right thing by this simple release, and I appreciate it.

Read the articlePOLITICO/President Obama plays his Trump card

Looking Behind the Wire at Guantanamo

This seems a tough and terribly complex circumstance that we are in referring to terrorism. The detention of those who we consider to be terrorists, or those instrumental in combating terrorism is as well. I wonder though, if our attempts against terrorism, being played out in such an international and public way, and our principles regarding this all being built on what seems to be shifting sand, is more counterproductive. I don't expect such functions to be wholly perfect; I would prefer, however, that they be effective

Read the article NPR/Military documents detail life at Guantanamo

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Whatever the Guantanamo detainees have done or not done, it is to America's shame that our government is holding them indefinitely without trial, a treatment that was not afforded to known serial killers, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, and Jeffery Dahmer.

Are we really saying that this miscellaneous assortment of individuals picked up on Lord knows what grounds are so dangerous that they do not deserve the Constitutional rights afforded to Ted Bundy?

Let them be tried in a civilian court or be released, and let's quit this nonsense about their being too dangerous to bring to American soil. Any politician who says that they are too dangerous is either a practicing demagoguery based on Americans' prejudices or is so chicken-hearted that he fears a lone, unarmed individual in chains and behind bars.

By the way, if any of the detainees deemed innocent later went on to commit hostile acts against the U.S., who could blame them? Wouldn't YOU be hostile if a foreign power seized you, transported you halfway around the world, and held you without trial for years?

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Classified files offer new insights into detainees

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Its rare for an article to have this strong an effect on me. Its hard to believe that people can think the way these terrorists do.

We all fall into the trap of thinking that others think like we do here in America and that they share our compassion for others. I'm glad they're locked up and hope they stay that way. They'd gladly kill any one of us, simply because we're different than they are. As an altruist and a pacifist its hard for me to comprehend that people like them exist.

God bless the FBI, CIA, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and everyone else that works to keep us safe here at home as well. The bad guys in the article would gladly kill any one of us, simply because our religion is different than theirs. They're dangerous madmen. Thank God they're locked up.

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Classified files offer new insights into detainees

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Wake up America,

These people are not citizens. They never wanted to be citizens. And while it is unethical to detain them indefinitely, they do not deserve a civilian trial. Remember the trial of the Manson murderers? A civilian trial for these detainees will be like that. Full of disruptions, insults, a giant media circus, and a painful and royally expensive one at that. And years of appeals that we will also pay for.

According to the Geneva Convention, they are entitled to a military tribunal. Why can't we let that happen?

Liberals seem to be more concerned about the right of the Westboro Baptist Church to protest military funerals and of the right of these hateful terrorist detainees than of your own countrymen. To the latter you save the most genuine contempt.

The problem with those who say "We are at war and must hold the prisoners until the war is over" are appalling. More accurately, it is appalling to see how uncritically some readers accept government propaganda.

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Classified files offer new insights into detainees

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First of all, the so-called War on Terror is and always was bogus. Terrorism is not a country or an ethnic group or a political group. It is a TACTIC that has been used by fanatics of all political stripes and nationalities. You may as well have a War on Ambushes.

Who decides when this "war" is over? When no one ever uses terrorist tactics again? When the U.S. has invaded all Islamic countries and put them under martial law?

How would those readers like it if the Taliban grabbed Americans out of the U.S. and took them to prison camps in Afghanistan, vowing never to release them until the U.S. stopped military action against all Islamic countries?

The idea of the Guantanamo internees as P.O.W.'s is just as absurd.

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Classified files offer new insights into detainees

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I think sending enemy combatants to Guantanamo was a great idea, because the chances of inmates escaping is very remote; there's only the ocean or Cuba. While the sharks might eagerly await them, I doubt that Raul Castro wants them.

However, Guanatanamo should have never been allowed to turn into Devil's Island. There's no excuse for torturing or humiliating prisoners. The last thing we should ever want is to hold somebody who is innocent of any wrongdoing for years of his or her life without the right to legal counsel or a fair trial.

The last thing that we should ever want is to have to apologize to any scum who would be a terrorist for the way they have been treated.

In the attempt to break the inmates, those who aren't broken will only become hardened in their resolve. Just as Nelson Mandela only became more determined to fight against apartheid in South Africa while incarcerated on Robben Island, somebody at Guantanamo will only become more fanatical in his opposition to the West and secularism.

Survivors of Guantanamo will only be more determined to destroy us.

President Obama is to be commended for wanting to close down. He will probably rue the day that he gave in to his opponents in Congress.

Read the article DAILY BEAST/Classified Gitmo files released

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When it comes to human rights, including due process, I'm what I would suppose one would call liberal -- though I thought it was conservatives who were for limited government and restricting the power of the state. Ah well.

Anyway, isn't the failure to close Guantanamo a bipartisan issue? Basically, politicians of all stripes from both parties have said, no transfers of Guantanamo detainees to prisons in the 50 states.

I find it cowardly (do they believe the detainees will pose a threat in maximum security prisons?) and stupid (it continues to provide our opponents with fodder for their see-how-the-US-violates-human-rights claims).

Read the article DAILY BEAST/Classified Gitmo files released

 

Should Air Traffic Controllers Be Allowed to take a Nap?

Staring at a screen is hypnotic and a strain on the eyes. Moreover, they are forced to be aware that every little blip on the screen contains hundreds of lives. Would you like to be operated on by a brain surgeon who worked 2 shifts back-to-back and was fighting to keep his/her eyes open.

Let Air Traffic Controllers take sleep or rest breaks.

You can't have it both ways...are you more concerned about the safety of those flying in those planes or "workers getting paid to sleep on the job"? Even an IT computer person gets eye strain and tired after staring into a screen and they don't hold the lives of thousands in the palms of their hands.

Read the article  NPR/FAA Jarred Awake By Sleeping Air Traffic Controllers

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"We absolutely cannot and will not tolerate controllers sleeping on the job when they're supposed to be controlling airplanes,"

Spoken with all the arrogance of man who has never worked third shift, much less been scheduled to bounce back and forth between day and night shift. Try it Mr. Babbitt and see how you do!

As a hospital administrator I either was called into the hospitaql after midnight and/or made thrid shift rounds on staff at least a couple times a month and that little bit of exposure was difficult.

For most of my career I have taken power naps ranging from 10-30 minutes, usually during lunch, and my mental clarity and effectiveness soared afterwards. Napping, done under controlled circumstances with control passed off, is a vaulable producitivty and safety tool. Not tolerating it is ignorant.

Read the article  NPR/FAA Jarred Awake By Sleeping Air Traffic Controllers

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This is just another example of the FAA wasting tax payer money. There are hundreds of examples where people work late or “grave yard shift", doctor, bus drivers, etc… In most cases if any of these individuals were caught sleeping on the job they would be fired and replaced.

Now tax payers will be burdened by supporting the average $160,000.00 dollars salary per controller, for the extra 27 flight controllers that will be added around the US, Just because a couple of controllers can’t stay awake to perform the job they are paid to do. That’s $4,320,000.00 per year just to cover the salaries of these new controllers for a government that is already battling a budget problem.

If Mr. Babbitt wants more budget from the federal government, as he stated, then maybe the FAA should stop spending billions of dollars supporting general aviation airports around the country and start requiring users of these airports to pay user fees. Once again our tax dollars pay to staff these airports and repave their runways while the people and businesses that use them pay nothing in user fees to support them. Just another example of government waste.

Read the article  NPR/FAA Jarred Awake By Sleeping Air Traffic Controllers

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Speak from having done this in military for nsix years. Radar will hypnotise you over time. The fact that the man in charge of the system had reduced the number in many places to ONE is crazy.

You need to be relieved every 2 hours, if not every hour, to allow you mind rest. It is not necessary to sleep to accomplish this just eye and mind rest. I am glad the man in charge quite and left that means

He never did it himself and was not willing or able to do any looking to know that he was wrong. Just budget! Very dangerous in this type of work to do that

Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/ Should air-traffic controllers be able to to take naps on their breaks?

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ndependent reviews had concluded that the shifts these air traffic controllers were assigned to work were not healthy and sustainable.

If someone is assigned to a work schedule where they have insufficient time to sleep between shifts, the problem is the scheduling, not the individual.

All humans have their limits. Some people are better able to adapt to strange shifts and unnatural work hours than others. Night shifts are difficult enough when they are regular. If we really care about safety, the best approach would be to make the shifts as regular as possible, consulting experts to ensure that we work with, rather than against, people's biological tendencies and natural rhythms.

Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/ Should air-traffic controllers be able to to take naps on their breaks?

 

Medicare Vouchers: Good or Bad Prescription for Tomorrow's Seniors?

There is, in the USA, a whole industry of parasites on top of the already money wasting health and drug industries. For example the advertizing industry.

The exact same drugs, from the same companies, including French pharmaceuticals, in the exact same box, cost 7 or 8 times more in the USA than they cost in France. This is not just caused by the extravagant salaries in American health care. In Europe drug companies cannot advertize, so they have plenty of money for research.

The French medical authority, Assurance Maladie, negotiates drug prices with drug companies, using economico-medical arguments, in great detail. And the negotiations are tough, and are debated in the media. The French public is aware when a drug cost one hundred times more, for meager advantage, and understands when Assurance Maladie takes a tough line..

It is difficult to debate of a subject with people who know that their future fortune depends upon not using honest arguments. Unfortunately there are no laws in the USA which forbid retired politicians to be paid by constituencies towards which they directed funds in their preceding career. Such laws exist, in other countries, for example in Great Britain.
http://patriceayme.wordpress.com/

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Paul Krugman - Who's Serious Now

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Reaffirmation of American compassion and community? That doesn’t describe this country to me.

I would say rather America has to be dragged kicking and protesting into doing anything for anybody not rich enough to influence our congress, president and court.

Looking at our history, it’s only after the needy have suffered plenty, and swelled into millions of people, that we start enacting some laws over strong objections of the conservatives.

Social security was forced by the great depression, and basic rights for blacks was forced by the civil rights movement, and the creation of medicare was forced by millions of poor elderly in medical need. We have to suffer decades of dire straits before anything is done. And then reluctantly, with objections that our freedoms are being compromised. Our gullible voters are vulnerable to such misleading lies that disguise the power of a privileged upper class. Are more voters starting to see through this now?

Obama is starting his new campaign for election, and I hope he’s not misleading us again. How many decades will it take for America to be dragged into the 21st century, so as to be the equal to all the other advanced countries in social well being and basic financial security as a basic right of citizenship?

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Paul Krugman - Who's Serious Now

Whether Ryan's idea is right or wrong is not the issue for me. I think a system like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid need to revamped for a new generation given the changes in life expectancy, the cost of science, etc. But that should start with people just entering the workforce as maybe an option to self direct their retirement or their health care.

I would not call Ryan's ideas right or wrong. Some people's approach to life would thrive feeling they are in control of directing how they find health care and others would hate it. But you have the same sorts of factions and level of confusion in the current systems.

In the end, it seems to be time to try something new, given how living has changed, with the idea of at least knowing what the ramifications and consequences are..

Read the article CNN MONEY/FORTUNE/Paul Ryan's Medicare 'reform' hocus pocus

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This is a bunch of bunk. To say Ryan's Medicare proposal is even more skewed than Obamacare is outside the bounds of reality. Empirically, every government entitlement program ever implemented has cost exponentially more then originally projected (this is normally because legislatures "cook the books" when getting these programs scored. At the end of the day there is a large population in the united states that is free loading on the rest of us. Additionally, these free loaders actually have impacted our countries ability to help the folks that really need it. There should be a higher bar on determining who among us are those that really need help, versus those that just choose to accept it just because they can. The green movement has asked all American's to consider our carbon footprint. I have another proposed green movement (dollars & debt) that should ask every American to consider their freeloader footprint. Culturally we should start calling out American's in our lives that are living off the government, when the have the capability of working and supporting themselves. It is only then we can truly focus on those that really need help and don't have the capacity to support themselves.

Read the article CNN MONEY/FORTUNE/Paul Ryan's Medicare 'reform' hocus pocus

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As an insurance agent who has worked both on the public side (a call center for Medicare services) and private side (selling private health policies to seniors), I couldn't agree more with the author of this article. Seniors as a whole are not well-equipped to make health insurance choices. Unless private insurance itself becomes radically transparent and consistent, Ryan's plan would most greatly affect the poorest of seniors, who are most likely to make the wrong choices.

Read the article CNN MONEY/FORTUNE/Paul Ryan's Medicare 'reform' hocus pocus

While the Canadian Health Care system is far from perfect and faces similar cost increases (although not as severe as in the US) many of us are shaking our heads and wondering what the US is doing? Not to castigate a great country, but I cannot imaging my 97 year old mother attempting to forage through this thicket of different plans to find out what is best for her. BTW, she has not seen a doctor in 4 years and is on no medications of any sort. Healthy old trout!

In Canada we do have health insurance companies, but they offer enhanced care packages (i.e. private rooms, eye care, etc.) or travel insurance. Doctors don't have a choice to "opt out", nor do hospitals. If you want to be a doctor in Canada, you get paid by the government or you don't practice (some exceptions -- elective plastic surgery, e.g.)

TPM/Will Anyone Even Insure Seniors if Paul Ryan's Medicare Plan Passes?

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God help us if Medicare Part B gets modified to resemble Medicare Part D. Then we'd be at the mercy of insurance companies for all our health needs.

I'm a senior and can relate the changes in my prescription drug costs have only gone up under Part D. Previously I was covered under my basic medical insurance for drugs. After Part D the insurance companies dropped prescription drugs under their basic coverage. Guess what? My insurance premiums didn't go down for my basic health care policy and now I had to pay an extra premium for a drug plan. Then the prescription insurers got cute and changed their plans every year so we had to wade thru 40 or 50 options to find one that was affordable. Even then, premiums continue to go up along with deductibles and co-pays and coverage for specific drugs is a mish mash between plans. Most seniors I know can't find their way around the internet well enough to figure out which plans might work best for them so the usually stick with whichever one some salesman put them in. All the while the insurance companies are raising premiums and reducing benefits.

I still don't know why the Republicans who love free market enterprise so much don't want the government to be able to negotiate drug prices so that we don't have to pay more than other countries. I guess lack of competition is only good while it enriches the wealthy insurers and their lackie politicians who enable their greed.

I can also relate the horror stories about long term care insurance policies. I know too many people who have spent years paying premiums into them and then start getting yearly letters telling them that their premiums (which weren't ever supposed to go up) are being raised but they will be allowed to have their premium not go up as much if they agree to greatly reduced benefits. People who paid $60-70,000 over a lifetime of premiums are left with policies which aren't worth even what they paid for them.

I have never had a good experience with any insurance company. They add no value to our health care and most often are the cause of people receiving poor care or no coverage at all. I'll take basic Medicare any time. Someone from an Insurance Company should be made to testify to congress why my Medicare Premium is $98/month for 80% coverage of costs and the supplemental plan I carry for the other 20% costs twice as much.

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Paul Krugman - Who's Serious Now

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I, for one, would choose compassion and community. But, then, I am an old woman who grew up in an America that lived and celebrated both. Those two characteristics are bred into my old bones, and I know other way to live.

Unfortunately, there are those who have grown up in another America, an America that arrived with the onset of the Boomers, with their obsession for immediate gratification of all their needs. Although, as a generation, many appeared to fight for the welfare of others, in truth they were fighting against authority and for themselves.

Perhaps their children and their children's children will recognize the emptiness of lives built upon self-concern and will once again choose a life of meaning built on those very virtues of compassion and community, thus moving toward an America that truly celebrates its heritage. One can only wish that to become the new reality in America.

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Paul Krugman - Who's Serious Now

 

It's Spring and the Price of Gas is Rising Again...

When will a major media outlet tell the truth about Peak Oil production, which occurred in the lower 48 States back in 1970, and in Alaska around 1990?

People need to stop being pacified with the idea that this is just about politics, or environmental regulations on U.S. drilling (as if the environment is disposable, anyhow). It's really about the physical depletion characteristics of oil wells - i.e. bell curve flow rates - and the fact that oil is a FINITE resource. Small-minded people can only whine about "price gouging" and yearn for the time when they (think) they can afford to fill up a land barge again.

Again, the media is doing a poor job of explaining what's really going on with oil. Search the Web for "peak oil primer" if you want a head start on reality.

Read the article CBS/ Gas prices spike, may threaten record high

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This is not a new issue. We have needed to do something about our energy policy since at least the Arab Oil Embargo early in the 1970's. The blame can clearly be placed on every President and Congress for their lacking the vision and then not taking any action to put that vision in place.

We need to amend the Constitution to include the following:

 

• overturn Citizens United and publicly finance all elections. I am tired of unions and corporations speaking for me, and if you think our politicians are not owned by these people (oil lobbyists?), you are incredibly naive. Whatever happened to a government of the people, by the people, for the people,
• term limits,
• end lobbying along with free health care and pensions for elected officials out of office.

 

We need to dream big about energy policy. The Science Channel had a program on recently that discussed the history of the Lunar Rover. It took 17 months to build. And think of all of the "gifts" we have today from the space program. We need to do the same thing here, with energy. Now.

One last thing, if you are buying a $1.75 - 20oz bottle of soda at the little store at the gas station, you are a part of the problem. A HUGE part of the problem. BP will get our attention when everyone quits patronizing these stores.

Read the article   CHICAGO TRIBUNE/ Drivers cut back as gas inches toward $5 a gallon

Let the oil companies charge as they please for gasoline. It's theirs, they bought the rights. OPEC owns their oil they can sell it for whatever THEY like. That's capitalism for you. De Beers is doing the same with diamonds.

One can drill the US until it looks like a colander. Once that stuff hits the markets, the Asian triangle will always be willing to bid the price up. Oil companies have the right to pursue profit. As do traders -- That's capitalism.

Read the article CBS/ Gas prices spike, may threaten record high

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Why all the whining by the Press and the Govt. --- All whining no solutions. Fact #1 -- There is absolutely no oil shortage. Supply is adequate to need. This entire run up can be attributed to one thing only = That is: A massive amount of speculative money invested by hedge funds, utilizing the fear of disruption of future supply, to ride the Oil Tsunami.

That Governments allow essential, National Strategic commodities like oil to be flipped by traders solely for profit is beyond the pale!! That entire Nations Economic Recoveries are being jeopardized by speculators playing in the Futures Casino is pathetic!

The Solution is simple --- Restrict purchasing of Essential Commodities like oil to only vetted Industry Consumers(like Airlines, Refineries etc) who will accept delivery of the Futures Contract within a prescribed time period. Ban the Flipping of Contracts by Hedge funds and all non Industry players

That the Economic Recovery of Entire Nations can be held hostage by Wall Street Profiteers, is unconscionable. Its time World Govts enacted Laws to protect their Economies from inflationary Hedging for Profit at everyone's expense. Wake Up Govt's and end the Oil Future's Casino!

Read the article CBS/ Gas prices spike, may threaten record high

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"Maybe we could put wind turbines on top of our cars. Or figure out a way to use plutonium to power an auto. Maybe someone will invent a decent solar powered vehicle."

I have a better idea: let's fire the one keeping American companies from drilling not only in the places that we usually associate with oil production, like Louisiana, Texas and Alaska, but all those places we've found out recently - like off the east coast.

"Whatever - someone better do it quick before gas stations start selling mink coats..."

Hey, I think I'd look quite dapper driving my pickup with a mink bomber jacket. And it would tick off just the right people, too. Good idea, Rick. That's the entrepreneurial spirit that'll make America great again! Given the amount of oil and gas at our disposal, there should be a shortage of minks, not of fuel, which given the fact that they're actually very nasty little rodents which definitely look better sewn together is the proper order of things.

But seriously, Rick, I think you're missing the point slightly. It's not the cost of gasoline that's going to kill us, it's the cost of diesel fuel. NOTHING gets to market without the expenditure of diesel fuel. The groceries on the shelves, the clothes at the local Sears, even the gasoline that you're writing about right now - it either got to where it was going in a heavy-duty truck or behind a locomotive.

The ability of trucking companies to absorb spikes in fuel costs is limited. Throw too much at them and the cost eats at the bottom line. Too much and they go under. Too many go under and you start having shortages. Shortages cause inflation... You fill in the rest.

DIESEL FUEL is our Achilles Heel. Watch the price of that precious fluid at your gas station and you'll know what direction we're headed.

Read the article American Thinker/ Gallon of gas at $3.76 average

 

Budget Battle Goes Down to the Wire

 

On the eve of the day before the shutdown, where one might have some faint hope that a deal is still possible, let's see what we can agree on:

o The US deficit and debt are too high, and need to be reduced.
o Spending has to be cut.

I think the *vast* majority of people can agree on those 2 points. So, it becomes an issue of how much to cut and where, and whether to cut taxes, leave them level, or raise them (at least speaking in aggregate...of course could be lowered/raised in different areas).

We can also agree on the damage of a shutdown:

o It will damage the economy (I realize some rhetorical comments might say otherwise, but I think most people recognize it will be disruptive).
o It certainly sends at least somewhat of a negative message to the bond market, in that investors might begin to wonder how far the shutdown will go.

I think both sides come out better by simply splitting the difference and then getting back to the table again. In the meantime, an election is coming in the not-too-distant future, and people will get a chance to give their input once again on how to steer the issue.

Come on man, make a deal. Both sides!

Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/ Dickering on budget goes down to the wire

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Congressman Ryan is from one of the wealthiest Wisconsin districts, just across border from Illinois and a favored bedroom area for wealthy commuters from Chicago. He's representing the wealthy voters to whom everyone not one of them is invisible.

Congressman Ryan proposed earlier budgets in which he would have eliminated the health care for children (CHIPS.) His constituents didn't protest. As far as they're concerned, Americans working for a living are lucky to be employed and should have worked harder and studied harder.

His constituents pay to keep him in office because he'll carry their water: make it possible for the strong to prey on those who lack their wealth and connections. It's something the working people in this nation fiercely fought to overcome in the 1930s, 1940s, and even into the 1950s.

I still recall when my father was a petroleum company executive during a refinery strike during my younger years and him telling how he had to low-crawl to his car after his month of working to keep the refinery operating. I remember the wives of the workers in that strike coming to our rural home with their children, and asking for food and toilet paper.

I recall my mother answering the door with a revolver in one hand hidden behind her back. I recall us setting up a a pantry in the garage and my mother telling them she couldn't feed them all but would help in emergencies. I recall my father expressing amazement that after low-crawling to the car, the union workers opened the gate and waved him out. I remember his consternation when my mother showed him the garage pantry and explained why they'd waved him out. She said the strike was between the men, and union or not, she'd always share her food with mothers and children. I remember our house being shot at and seeing the bullet holes in the living room window.

I recall one of my father's friends over one evening talking to him about a railroad strike. He told of how union workers had been found along the rail bed beaten black and blue. About that moment he looked up and remarked to my father that "little ears were nearby" and he'd better stop or there'd be nightmares. I was sent to bed.

I recall the news stories on WGN radio about acid being thrown into truckers' faces during trucking strikes.

I recall the death threats sent to my parents about kidnapping and killing me. I recall at age 7 people in Halloween masks attacking the windows on my bedroom and I then recall being taken to St. Louis where a large black German Shepherd named Windy and I were trained together for my protection. I recall the annual re-training through my eleventh year. That probably had a lot to do with my father regularly took me overseas with him.

That is the era back to which Congressman Ryan and his bought, phony, grass-root supporters want to take us: the era of real class warfare. It's sick. They're morally corrupt.

From President Truman forward, every Democratic President has reduced the national debt as a percentage of the nation's GDP. Since Truman forward, ONLY TWO Republican Presidents have reduced the nation's debt as a percentage of GDP: President Eisenhower in both terms and President Nixon in his first term. That's it. Since then, Republican Presidents have always increased the national debt as a percentage of GDP.

Congressman Ryan's budget isn't the least bit serious. It's not a budget to build a great nation. It's a delusion concocted by his vanity egged on by the thought of accolades and personal riches from this nation's wealthiest. Congressman Ryan's budget has all the scope, insight, and foresight one might find in the Christmas wish list of a sheltered, spoiled child.

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Paul Krugman - "Ludicrous and Cruel."

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Let's see, if tax cuts pay for themselves, then why pay taxes at all? If tax cuts generate revenue, then cutting them altogether should really raise revenue!

And then there's the notion that private health insurance is more cost-effective than public insurance, in spite of the fact that private insurance companies not only have to pay for health care, they also have to pay their shareholders. Equally silly is the belief that competition among insurance providers can lower health care costs, even though insurance providers don't actually provide health care.

There are so many ridiculous claims coming from the right that would seem to be easy to refute, but those who try to do so are lone voices in the vast wilderness of sound bites, slogans, lazy journalism and last but not least, a Democratic party that's too timid to fight for its principles, led by a President who's more concerned with being liked by his enemies than with proposing sound and sensible policy and then getting out there and selling it.

When Obama took office in 2009, he had a rare opportunity to put an end to the transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top that has marked the past three decades, and to put America back on the road to a prosperity for all Americans.

This opportunity was squandered. That's the real tragedy.

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Paul Krugman - "Ludicrous and Cruel."

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Although Ryan's plan is bad, what is happening in the budget negotiations leading up to a potential shutdown of the government is even worse.

The Republicans are trying to shut down the government in order to---get this---keep planned parenthood from being funded. Their objection is based upon the possibility that planned parenthood might use non government funds to support abortions.

The reason the budget deficits are soaring is not, as Paul Ryan seems to believe, that taxes are too low, but because unemployment is too high. And look at the statistics. Census figures show that from April 1, 2000 to April 1, 2010 US population grew from 281,422,000 to 308,745,000, an increase of 27,323,000. Bureau of labor statistics show that from April, 2000 to April, 2010 non -arm payrolls decreased from 131,660,000 to 130,162,000.

Macroeconomics is an interplay of numerous variables and nothing has just one cause. But the fact is that population growth of .9% per year is unsustainable in the long run. Population growth, together with Wall Street corruption which led to the housing bubble and collapse, is largely responsible for today's high unemployment rates.

Shutting the government down to force women to bear children they do not want and cannot support is not just cruel, it wreaks havoc with the US budget over the longer term. We need leadership which encourages smaller family size in the new era of constrained natural resources.

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Paul Krugman - "Ludicrous and Cruel."

 

In the Matter of United States VS Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

 

It's one thing if a person is arrested by the police or FBI and enters the criminal justice system with all of the protections and privileges that the system provides.

It's another situation entirely if a person is captured on the battlefield by the military and interrogated by intelligence agencies during a war.

The evidence obtained and how it was collected might not withstand the requirements of a civilian court. The Administration did itself no favors by repeatedly describing waterboarding as torture.

Give your fellow New Yorkers a little credit. Some of us recognize the likelihood that he will be acquitted on the grounds that his confession was coerced and he was not advised of his Miranda rights before being questioned. And what then? He'll be a free man living in the United States, preaching his violent ideology to anyone who will listen.

The military took him into custody, let the military commission system do what it was designed to do.

Read the article NEW YORk TIMES/Cowardice blocks the 9/11 trial

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Realizing I will be in the minority of NY Times readers who respond to this editorial I feel obligated to state my belief this decision was correct and should have been made years ago. And, I will bet it is shared by a majority of Americans.

The Times bases its reasoning on the fact the Obama Administration caved to crass political pressure. I would maintain that when the Obama Administration decided to use the civil courts for any trial it was playing politics; catering to a liberal bias that somehow equates crime with war.

KSM deserves to be tried as an enemy combatant because that is what he is. He and his fellow Al Quaeda members declared war on the United States when the flew those planes into the World Trade Center and killed 3,000 innocent civilians. Not only was this an act of war but I believe a good case can be made this act was a war crime. Whatever it was, soldiers like KSM deserve to be judged by a group of their peers. And, let us not forget this trial and its location got hung up in the progressive left's zeal to close Guantanamo Bay because their candidate for President had made such a pledge now realizing what the consequences of that might be.

If politics were played here it was moreso from the left; but what is more shameful is that many of those who called for a civilian trial did so in order, as they put it, "to demonstrate the validity of the American justice system." Memo to all: we are at WAR! While the memory of 9/11 has faded and far too many of us do not have any relatives or friends who are out there rooting out terrorist and some dying in the process some of us know the difference between putting someone on trial for sticking up a 7/11 vs. engaging in warlike activities designed to destroy the very system which guarantees our citizens the liberties and freedoms we enjoy.

I am sure some legal scholar will write a thorough and compelling analysis as to why a civil trial might be appropriate; only problem is we are not engaged in a civics class or moot court.

This man sees himself as a warrior; let his crimes be judged by a jury of his peers; they are far more likely to be living in Parris Island, Fort Bragg or Quantico than in the Bronx or on the Upper East Side.

Read the article NEW YORk TIMES/Cowardice blocks the 9/11 trial

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We want our wars sanitized -- fought far away and by the poor. We want our war trials done essentially in secret. If we're courageous enough to defend our values in three simultaneous wars, why aren't we courageous enough to accept the implications of an open jury trial for a war criminal? Shame on Congress.

As for the Obama administration doing "little to prepare the political groundwork" and "barely defend[ing] the idea after the unfounded attacks began," that's how it does a lot of things. Shame on it, too.

Read the article NEW YORk TIMES/Cowardice blocks the 9/11 trial

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Finally, a triumph of common sense over wishes and dreams; this man is a military combatant; an enemy of the state and not entitled to any of the protections afforded to its citizens.


I was never able to understand the logic of those who so fervently supported a civilian trial by the laws and rules afforded U. S. citizens when this man aided and abetted in a plot to destroy our way of life, including the protections afforded to our citizenry. And, when many argued that putting him on trial in a civilian court would "prove" the validity of our system, I could not understand why our system of justice needed to be validated when the facts of the matter said the "defendent" was acting as a soldier for a foreign power and not as a U. S. citizen. If you want to spend time and money validating the U. S; justice system spend some money on giving poor black men accused of crimes better defenses against often rigged prosecution cases and juries.


What far too many of us still refuse to believe because 9/11 is fading from memory or because we have no loved one fighting and dying in a foreign land to root out terrorists is that we are at WAR! This is not some moot court or theoretical case to prove or disprove an obscure legal point, it is about bringing to justice in some reasonable form, an individual who aided and abetted in the murder of over 3,000 citizens. A military trial will do just fine to air the case and bring justice to a soldier, albeit one who is an enemy. It was he and his henchman who declared war on us; now let them receive justice in the proper venue.

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/ In Reversal, 9/11 Plotter to Be Tried by Military Panel

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Sometimes you just don't have the cards, and you lose. That's not “caving”, it's just reality.

Why didn't he just keep waiting indefinitely? The stated reason was to not keep the 911 victims' families waiting longer, but the real reason is undoubtedly political: he wants to have this murdering thug convicted and sentenced long before the thick of the election season.

Absolutely, a civilian trial would be better: hell, a civilian police response, possibly with some gunboats and saber rattling in the coulisses, would have been better than the military invasion and forced overthrow of the Taliban, in my opinion. But the perfect trial, like the perfect pursuit of bin-Laden and al-Qaeda, hasn't been possible since late Fall of 2001 when Bush invaded Afghanistan and issued the Military Order of November 13. Obama believed he could get a civilian trial, but his efforts failed for a whole slew of reasons, so now he's moving forward with the military trials.

I agree that it's frustrating to lose, and frustrating to get less than you had hoped for. But all this talk of “caving”, “gutless”, “timid” Obama is only going to make things much worse, in my opinion.

I get it that it's easier to blame Obama, but seriously, I think that that's just copping out, and not only that, it will aid and give comfort to the conservadems and Republicans.

Read the article. DAILY KOS/ Caving to fearmongers: KSM to be tried in military panel

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I am of the opinion that the President wanted to and still wants to put these monsters on trial in our Justice system rather than the Military system.

However, Congress has opposed everything this President has tried to do. In the case of the prisoners at GITMO, he signed an Executive Order to close GITMO. then Congress refused to funding the cost of housing them on US soil along with the cost of such a transfer to an American prison. Then Congress eliminated the use of funds for any civilian trial on US soil.

That having been done, there was nothing the administration could do other than put them on trial at GITMO or out right release them, which he is not going to do. I do not consider this action as a broken promise. If people want to blame someone for this they should blame Democrats and Republicans in Congress for defunding all funds for transport to American soil and for defunding funds to pay for any federal trial in civilian courts.

Read the article CNN/ Gitmo commission move the latest in a long line of Obama shifts

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This makes me want to cry. This country, my country, the one I served during the years I spent in the military, has lost its moral authority. We've forgotten Paine's advice: "An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot."

Read the article NEW YORKER/The KSM Trial decision

 

Election 2012: The Long Race Begins

 

Mr Obama has demonstrated that he is able to lead a divided government. That is the most difficult task of any president. He will be difficult to unseat.

Whether a one-termer or a two-termer his election has been good for America.

First, it exposed the underlying racial hatred that still exists among many citizens. Bringing this to the surface has been a positive development...exposing cockroaches to the light of day always makes them scurry away. Those who think racism and racial hatred are a thing of the past have learned otherwise.

Second, it exposed the underlying vitriol and nastiness of SOME of his opponents in politics and in the press. The unending falsehoods and misrepresentations speak for themselves. These people are nasty and desperate and will do anything to try to destroy another person. Exposing them has at least let the rest of us see clearly what they are all about. No. No. No.

(The previous statements are not meant to imply that ALL or even MOST of his detractors are racists or nasty. Not at all. I think most of his detractors have honest disagreements with his ideas)

Third, it demonstrated the difficulty of governing a nation split between two major economic factions. The wealthy and international corporate interests willing to do anything to protect their tax privileges...and the middle and working classes, struggling to survive yet still bearing the burden of taxation. Who owns Congress ? You can figure it out. But exposing this systematic corruption has been a good thing. We have seen how those with power react , and react quickly, when their privilege is challenged.

Obama is hardly the best president ever nor is he the worst. He was the better of two options. Ask yourself. Where would the economy be had McCain/Palin took over ? What was John's solution to the depression ? (Reminder: More tax breaks for the wealthy, nothing else) What would be the situation in Iraq ? Afghanistan ? The entire Middle East ?

In order to unseat Mr Obama the GOP will have to present a centrist like Romney and even then it will be difficult. Now Mr O has a GOP Congress to run against...and he can look to Ohio and Wisconsin as models of what the new GOP has in store for working people. He will be hard to beat.

Read the article .POLITICO/President Obama launches re-election campaign

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Campaign promises?
Still in Iraq
Increased cost in Afghanistan
Lobbyist (who wrote Obamacare)
Gitmo
Patriot Act
Libya
Transparency
Bringing manufacturing back to the US
Reducing the debt (ya right)
Bipartisanship

Look bashing the Tea Party is really not a liberal's concern. They will vote accordingly. Its independents Obama needs to worry about.

Read the article NPR/Obama announces reelection bid for 2012

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I'll confess that while it would be great to see Obama give an LBJ-style statement from the Oval Office announcing he won't run again, I am morbidly curious to see what exactly a 2012 reelection campaign would look like. He has nothing he can run on.

Oh sure, he and his sycophants in the media will attempt to spin everything positively(i.e. he "inherited" anything bad from Bush, the chaos in the Middle East is all about democracy and freedom, he's saved 10 billion jobs from being lost thanks to his economic policies, he had to spend trillions because of the evil Republicans, those union thugs in Wisconsin are just honest, good-natured Americans, we deserve to pay high gas prices because oil is evil and we need to switch over to cars that run on unicorn farts and fairy dust, etc.). And everything else will just be ignored or downplayed.

But it doesn't change the fact that he'll still have to go out there and make speeches that consist of more than just "yes we can" and "hope and change". He'll have to defend his record at 3 Presidential debates(and Biden at 1 VP debate). He'll no longer be able to count on ACORN to help out in swing states. The youth and anti-war vote will be less enthusiastic. Independents have abandoned him in droves. And the two most important items in the average American family's budget(food and fuel) are skyrocketing in cost thanks to Obama's policies of huge deficit spending, allowing the Fed to print trillions of dollars, and a stubborn refusal to allow domestic drilling.

Dems can trash the 2012 GOP field all they want, but reelection campaigns are never about the challenger. They're about the incumbent. The 1992 Democrat crop of candidates was a joke. The two finalists were Jerry Brown and Bill Clinton(who no one had even heard of as early 1992 for God's sake). The reason the Democrats won the White House that year was because we were coming out of a recession, Bush had broken a key promise from 1988, and the Republicans ran an uninspired and ugly campaign.

Which is what 2012 is shaping up to look like for Obama. So it doesn't really matter who the Republicans nominate(although Romney would be a poor choice, IMO). It all comes down to whether or not Obama can sell the electorate on giving him 4 more years and based on what the first 2 years and 2 1/2 months have looked like, that's a tough pitch to make.

Read the article .POLITICO/President Obama launches re-election campaign

 

 

Unfortunately for you, there is no such thing as a "generic republican" candidate. Sooner or later a name will be in the placeholders place and that's when the warts will start to appear. And as the right even acknowledges, Obama is a formidable campaigner and orator.

Heres the facts, Obama approval is about 47%. Not great, but not terrible either. Historically, No President has lost with a 47% approval rating, George W Bush managed to win in 2004 with a 43%. So if it were to happen it would be a first.

Furthermore Obama's the president, and a sitting president has only lost reelection twice in 70 years. Not such a good omen for the GOP...

Next, the economy is healing, and even jobs are recovering. If it continues to get better, that's only going to play in Obama's favor.

And lastly of course, there are no viable GOP candidates as of right now. None of the candidates that are going to run have a real chance except for Romney, and the radical right and Tea-Party hate Romney because his ideas sound a lot like Obama. Read the article DAILY BEAST/Obama launches reelection campaign

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This will be an interesting campaign. I don't think it will be difficult for the President to run on his record. He has signed enough progressive legislation to keep the progressives happy, and will continue working with conservatives so as to be able to demonstrate to moderates and independents that he is bipartisan in nature - which is what everyone wants.

His opponents, on the other hand, have painted themselves into a corner. Having attacked him at every turn in the most irrational and hypocritical ways, they now have to choose between working with the man whose morality, patriotism, and identity they have previously questioned, or taking extreme positions that will alienate a huge slice of the electorate. If the GOP nominate Romney, Obama will win, but by a relatively narrow margin. He will humiliate all of the others.

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Obama begins re-election bid facing new challenges

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Ok, Obama asked us to judge him on his "performance." After five years of Dem/socialist policies, we have:

1) The Great Recession - the longest recession since data has been compiled.

2) Unemployment hovering at or around 9% with underemployment at 17%. The actual number of "employed" workers actually stagnated since 2009.

3) Record bankruptcies, mortgage defaults, and people at or below the poverty rate.

4) A record number of Americans receiving food stamps and other government assistance.

5) A 17% increase in government employment even as the private sector was shedding jobs.

6) Record federal budgets in the trillions (averaging now $11,000 for every man, woman and child in America per year). As a percent of GDP, going from 18% during the Bush years to over 27% under Obama.

7) Record federal debt as a percent of GDP.

8) Gasoline again at the $4/gal because of our "no energy" Energy Policy.

9) American troops involved in three wars and stationed in over 130 OTHER countries,

10) A Democrat controlled Senate that simply refuses to rationally address any of the above problems.

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Obama begins re-election bid facing new challenges

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If name-calling (Odumbo et al) is the only thing you people got then I guarantee you that it WILL be a landslide for Obama. I promise you that.

Get this through your head, we (Americans) want politicians with solutions to the nations problems, not cheap partisan theatrics on either side. Name-calling or even criticizing Obama without any worthwhile alternative will make you lose next year.

Obama has a few accomplishments to show for his efforts, what has the GOP done that's so great? Thats the question you had better start answering...

Right now the only GOP candidate I see with a viable plan is Romney. The problem is that Romney's ideas sound remarkably similar to Obama's.

You people had better start getting your act together and start coming up with an alternative. Otherwise the rest of us will have to sit and listen to your endless whining about Obama for another 4 more years.

Read the article DAILY BEAST/Obama launches reelection campaign

 

Census 2010 Sees Hispanic Population Top 50 Million

PEW HISPANIC CENTER REPORT

One of the most consistent things people do is declare themselves part of a group, than declare that group better than all other groups. Little kids will do this almost immediately if you just put them in different color shirts. Still, I am always shocked just how much people fall into this trap again and again. During the 1800s it was Irish and Eastern European immigrants. They were ruining the country!

Today even if you, like me, have ancestors who came to America in the mid 1600s you also are likely to be part Irish and part Eastern European. That of course didn't hurt our country one bit. Now it seems that Mexican immigrants, in particular illegal immigrants, are the new scapegoat.

They are just that, a scapegoat. They don't actually hurt this country. They commit crimes at similar rates to Americans, they are typically hard workers, and despite what many here portray second and third generation immigrants are fluent in English so we won't be a Spanish speaking country as a result of this immigration.

Now that birth rates in Mexico have plummeted ( http://www.tradingeconomics.com/mexico/fertility-rate-total-births-per-woman-wb-data.html )and the economy in America is not as good, the illegal immigration "problem" is fixing itself. Since politicians are wasting time attacking a scapegoat rather than fixing real problems, this reduction in immigration won't improve your life.

Read the article LOS ANGELES TIMES/Hispanic population in U.S. tops 50 million

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If Hispanics would come to this country legally, pay taxes along side the rest of us, assimilate into our culture and learn English, I might consider them similar to previous decades of immigrants. However, we have millions of people who come here for free social services and know how to milk the system and they all consider themselves to be Mexican, not American.

They wave Mexican flags and consider this the "reconquista" of Norte Americana. Immigrants from the past loved the United States. They learned our language and did their best to fit in. These new immigrants from Mexico and South America are only interested in what they can get for free. They do not consider themselves to be America but rather Mexicans working and living abroad.

Read the article LOS ANGELES TIMES/Hispanic population in U.S. tops 50 million

Yes, our collective ethnic mix is evolving - but in terms of American character and values, it is much ado about nothing. Assimilated Latinos are as American as apple pie.

I am a first-generation American, born to Mexican parents. I attended university (and graduate school), I've had professional stints in New York, London, and Zurich (primarily in the banking sector). I speak three languages fluently (and a fourth conversationally).

I pay a lot of taxes (more than most posters on this Board, I assure you), and to the best of my recollection, I have never recieved a direct government handout in my life. I watch C-SPAN, read American and British newspapers, enjoy Shakespeare and Napa Valley wine, and if my GMAT score is any indication, I have better command of the English language than 98% of my fellow Americans. During winters on the east coast, I even pass for a regular white guy.

I am 100% American, and my Mexican heritage does not change that at all.

Read the article LOS ANGELES TIMES/Hispanic population in U.S. tops 50 million

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As a CA native, I can attest to the anchor baby phenomena. For decades now we have seen our schools deteriorate, hospitals bankrupt because of all the nonpays showing up in emergency rooms, and our social services programs struggle under the burden of so many anchor babies. It is one of the main reasons our state is now nearing bankruptcy.

No one around the country would listen to our pleas when we tried to rein in the illegal immigration problem back when it was just a southwest issue. When we voted in a law to deal with it, the supreme court struck it down. Now you all are getting a taste of what we've had to deal with. 50 million hispanics in the country, all having multiple babies that will be raised by the state.

As American citizens, they get the full range of welfare and other benefits granted to children from parents here legally and paying taxes. They enter the school system and enjoy years of education paid for, not by their parents, but by you the taxpayer. If someone breaks an arm, theres free health care at the hospitals.

Democrats want their votes. Republicans want the "cheap" labor. Meanwhile, wages continue to fall, taxes continue to rise, and we end up with little more than a 3rd world country ruled by billionaires. Now with 50 million+, they have the voting power to keep changes from being made. Sad.

Read the article LOS ANGELES TIMES/Hispanic population in U.S. tops 50 million

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I'm very disappointed by so many racial remarks agains Hispanics. That's funny...none of my fellow Marines gave me any racial slurs. As a matter of fact, they called me "bro," short for brother.

You had best put yourself in check and look at what Hispanics have offered and sacrificed for this country. Hispanics have won more medals of honor in combat than any other minority in the U.S. There are hispanics in every field of industry making a noticeable contribution to our country and society.

Don't generalize and make stereotypes. After all, not every race of people is perfect. Remember that. Carry on. Dude

Read the article LOS ANGELES TIMES/Hispanic population in U.S. tops 50 million

 

Maine Labor Mural Furore: Taking a Page Out of History

Courtesy: Judy Taylor Fine Art Studio

These murals should not be taken down. They are statements about the labor movement in the state of Maine. We have a proud history of earning rights for workers.

Mr. LePage is making a grievous political error by disrespecting middle class Americans. Let's please do away with the pensions for ex-governors - they have no trouble finding their next cushy job 

Read the article SUN JOURNAL/LePage orders removal of labor mural, sparking outcry

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I read this and had to contribute. I agree with Ms Thompson and Mr Savard. Unions did have a big part of maine history, but it is myopic to dedicate 11 panels to this. I have never seen these murals and looking closely they are offensive.

Maine people are historically renowned world wide for work ethic, not unions, even today. The murals should be a celebration of the ingenuity of Maine workers, not strife between the evil corporations (trusts) and unions. But, hysteria reigns I guess.

Why not a mural of Hiram Maxim, or the Stanley Brothers. Snowmaking was invented here, all by laborers. The skidder was developed here. Not to mention shipbuilding.

My own great grandfather a machinist for International shoe machine helped or singly invented the machines and the TOOLS to manufacture shoes. How about the potato industry and the incredible ingenuity of the farmers. And, lets not forget the contribution of the paper industry and the workers who developed most of that.

How about the often not talked about stone and brick masons. Or the carpenters. All, developed and created implements that were so revolutionary for the time most of those tools are still used today.

Let's not forget Marguerite D'Youville quite possibly one of the most diligent and tireless workers of them all.

So, I agree with the Gov. To dedicate 11 murals to Strife is a gross misrepresentation and most of the people of that time I think would find it offensive. Not saying that there wasn't strife, but what is represented is a total history of strife. It's wrong, take them down.

Read the article SUN JOURNAL/LePage orders removal of labor mural, sparking outcry

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The message from state agencies needs to be balanced," said Demeritt, adding that the mural had sparked complaints from "some business owners" who complained it was hostile to business.

If 'Business' wants the message balanced - they have their own Department in which they may do so. This is nothing but a blatant attempt to silence Labor's Message in their own Department.

The mural is in the Maine Department of Labor. That's 'Labor' - Folks, not 'Business Management and Corporate.'

It would be appropriate for Business and Corporate interests to install their own Mural in the offices of the "Maine Department of Economic & Community Development" which also contains the "Office of Business Development."

The Governor obviously is pushing his weight around and silencing the 'Little People" again for his undisclosed backers with the Big Buck$$ in Big Busine$$.

And they claim Unions are Bullies?

Read the article SUN JOURNAL/LePage orders removal of labor mural, sparking outcry

Courtesy: Judy Taylor Fine Art Studio

 

Wow what a collection of posts. People here believe that the unions are either straight-up evil or that they have served a purpose and are now quaint antiques.

What about the predominantly black and female workforce who works for the late Frank Perdue in South Carolina? These women must wear diapers to work because the line does not stop excepting for shift changes.

What about the coal miners in Harlen County Kentucky who have company insurance that does not cover black lung?

Here's one to turn tides; What about the convenience store clerks that are prohibited by company policy from carrying a concealed weapon?

I am delighted that The Bangor Daily News remembered the Triangle Shirtwaist fire of March 25, 1911. I hope they post some of the "cartoon's" created by the newspapers of the day after the fire. Imagine 14 year-old girls jumping 8 and 10 floors to their death on the pavement below. Sort-of like 9-11 in black&white.

I'm done working, so it is up to today's laborers what is to be done with unions, but I would advise they investigate how the Chinese treat their workers, and what "business owners" are proposing as ways to compete with their child labor, unsafe factories, and $2 a day wages.

Read the article BANGOR DAILY NEWS/Scrubbing Labor's History

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As a former union worker and now a business owner, I can tell you that I would be offended and not expect any help form this department after passing by this propaganda.

If I did make it to one of the conference rooms after quelling the urge to turn tail and run,I definitely would feel uncomfortable after seeing the names assigned there.

It's pretty simple.

You want jobs?

Make business happy to locate or expand here.
For far too long, the next stop for a worker on their quest for help from this state would be the DHHS offices.

Read the article BANGOR DAILY NEWS/Scrubbing Labor's History

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Maine, more than most states was built by the efforts of workers. The mill and factory owners came to Maine looking for cheap natural resources and cheap labor. The existence of the mills and factories (wood products, fish canneries, textiles and food products) allowed the middle class that provided other goods and services to develop.

Without labor Maine would not exist. Attacking working people is cowardly and shows ignorance.

Read the article BANGOR DAILY NEWS/Mural's planned removal heats up labor dispute

Man at the Crossroads - Diego Rivera

 

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Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Westboro Baptist Church Funeral Protests MARCH 2011

 

 

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