Judge disqualifies all 250 prosecutors in Orange County, CA because of widespread corruption.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/29/1388819/-Judge-disqualifies-all-250-prosecutors-in-Orange-County-CA-because-of-widespread-corruption?detail=facebook_sf

Between San Diego and Los Angeles is Orange County, California. With more than 3 million residents, it's larger than 21 states. If Orange County were a separate country, its economy would be the 45th largest in the world. Now known for Disneyland, the county may soon be known for having one of the most corrupt justice systems in the world. The width and depth and duration of the corruption truly boggles the mind. A case that should've been open and shut has blown the lid off some deep secrets.

On October 12, 2011, Orange County experienced the deadliest mass killing in its modern history. Scott Dekraai killed 8 people, including his ex-wife, in a Seal Beach beauty salon. He was arrested wearing full body armor just a few blocks away. Without a doubt, Dekraai was the perpetrator. A dozen surviving witnesses saw him. He admitted to the shooting early on. Yet, nearly four years later, the case against him has all but fallen apart.

It turns out that prosecutors and police officers committed an egregious violation of Dekraai's rights—so much so that Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals shocked everyone and removed the Orange County District Attorney's Office, and all 250 prosecutors, from having anything more to do with the case.

Jeb Bush wants us to forget the election fraud that stole the White House for GW Bush.

http://www.occupydemocrats.com/jeb-bush-wants-us-to-forget-his-election-fraud-that-stole-the-white-house-for-george/

As Jeb Bush prepares for his imminent presidential campaign, the American people must keep in mind just who this man is and the crimes he committed rigging the 2000 presidential election, which put his brother George W. in the Oval Office, set us on the road to the Iraq War, the Great Recession, destroyed America’s standing in the world, altered American history forever.

Jeb Bush just so happened to be the Governor of Florida during that election, and as you may recall, the Florida vote was so close that recounts were requested and eventually declared his brother the winner. Katherine Harris, Jeb’s secretary of state and the co-chair of the George W. campaign, organized the election system that somehow ended up losing or spoiling the ballots of hundreds of thousands of African-American voters, who just so coincidentally tend to vote Democratic. During the recount period, it is documented that the Governor’s office made 95 calls to the Bush campaign- calls which Jeb somehow “cannot remember” the reason for. That answer is unacceptable for allegations of such importance. Why can’t you remember, Jeb?

Jon Stewart blasts News Media for dismissing Bernie Sanders Presidential R/un

http://mediamatters.org/video/2015/05/29/the-daily-show-blasts-medias-dismissive-coverag/203808

Bernie has such a great message and it is slowly getting out.

10 Crucial Issues Politicians (except Bernie Sanders) lie about.

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/10-crucial-issues-most-politicians-except-bernie-sanders-lie-about?akid=13149.294211.Ookz29&rd=1&src=newsletter1037039&t=3

With Bernie Sanders running, I think we can have a real discussion of issues which impact the middle class and poor.  I like Hillary and will support her if and/or when she gets the nomination but I think Bernie and Elizabeth Warren are the two people who speak for the average person.  I think Bernie will keep the conversation based on what is good for people like you and I.

10 Crucial Issues Most Politicians—Except Bernie Sanders—Lie About

From too-big-to-fail to TPP, Sanders' entry into the race is sure to elevate the conversation.

U-Haul is loaded and ready to go

Yesterday was load a U-Haul Day.  My Daughter just graduated from OHSU Medical School and she is moving to Arizona to do her residency.  We loaded the truck and it is sitting outside waiting to be gassed up and drive for 24 hours to Arizona.  We unload, set up the house and fly back next week.

I have also been working on a property up by Mt. Rainier and it is looking amazing.  We have a top tile man (retired) who is really an artist who did the floor and bathroom tile.  It is truly stunning.

I slept well last night after loading the truck and will be leaving today for my trip to AZ.

NPR doing the Economic Dirty Work of Right Wing Deficit Crazies

http://www.alternet.org/economy/how-npr-doing-right-wings-economic-dirty-work-debt?akid=13149.294211.Ookz29&rd=1&src=newsletter1037039&t=17

I am bothered that NPR and Public Broadcasting is being bought up by Billionaires.  The Koch Brothers are funding Science Programs which means there will be little/no discussions of Climate Change.  Now, Pete Peterson, Billionaire is getting his Right wing Reduce Deficit with subtitle (never mentioned) of NEVER RAISE TAXES ON US BILLIONAIRES message out on NPR now.

 NPR Is Doing Right-Wing's Economic Dirty Work on Debt

There's no crisis. A progressive economist explains.

By Dean Baker / Beat the Press

May 28, 2015

Print

57 COMMENTS

Photo Credit: Image by Shutterstock, Copyright (c) PathDoc

Billionaire Peter Peterson is spending lots of money to get people to worry about the debt and deficits rather than focus on the issues that will affect their lives.

National Public Radio is doing its part to try to promote Peterson's cause with a Morning Edition piece that began by telling people that the next president "will have to wrestle with the federal debt." This is not true, but it is the hope of Peter Peterson that he can distract the public from the factors that will affect their lives, most importantly the upward redistribution of income, and obsess on the country's relative small deficit. (A larger deficit right now would promote growth and employment.)

According to theprojections from the Congressional Budget Office, interest on the debt will be well below 2.0 percent of GDP when the next president takes office. This is lower than the interest burden faced by any pre-Obama president since Jimmy Carter. The interest burden is projected to rise to 3.0 percent of GDP by 2024 when the next president's second term is ending, but this would still be below the burden faced by President Clinton when he took office.

Texas Flooding a result of Climate Change: Conservatives go nuts when that is said.

http://www.alternet.org/environment/conservatives-go-berserk-after-bill-nye-links-texas-floods-climate-change?akid=13146.294211.ORS6gJ&rd=1&src=newsletter1036987&t=15

Conservatives Go Berserk After Bill Nye Links Texas Floods to Climate Change

'Billion$$ in damage in Texas & Oklahoma. Still no weather-caster may utter the phrase Climate Change,' he tweeted.

20 Big Ideas of Bernie Sanders, well worth reading

http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/20-big-ideas-bernie-sanders-reverse-inequality-expand-safety-nets-and-stop-americas?akid=13146.294211.ORS6gJ&rd=1&src=newsletter1036987&t=3

20 Big Ideas From Bernie Sanders to Reverse Inequality, Expand Safety Nets and Stop America's Plutocrats

Sanders outlines his platform in a major hometown speech.

Film the Police - It is legal in all states (disturbing video clips - caution)

http://www.bravenewfilms.org/filmthepolice?utm_campaign=ftp_security&utm_medium=email&utm_source=bravenew

Warning: This short contains disturbing footage of police violence. Film The Police! is the second installment in a short series aiming to invigorate the fight for racial justice in this country. And, as the short states, our right to film the police is now being threatened. Don't be deterred - it is your right to film bad policing! 

Working at an abortion Clinic: The Reality: My Pro Choice Views were challenged but confirmed.

http://www.salon.com/2015/05/25/working_at_an_abortion_clinic_challenged_my_pro_choice_views_%E2%80%94_and_confirmed_them/?utm_source=nar.al&utm_medium=urlshortener&utm_campaign=FB

It was as a counselor that I really started to understand the bonds between all women. I saw so many different types of women, from teens to mothers of teens soon to leave the nest not wanting to start over with a new baby. Some women were in good relationships, some were not. Some weren’t involved with the father anymore at all. Some wore sweat pants, some seemed overdressed in cute outfits and strappy pumps. Some were in college, some were professionals, some could barely scrape up the money for the procedure. Some already had small children and couldn’t afford or cope with more. Some were using birth control, some were simply careless.

All of them had their reasons for not wanting to carry their pregnancy to term.

And there were some who never thought it would happen to them, like the one who sat across from me, her long blond hair pushed back with a hairband. Her eyes were curt as she tried to look everywhere but at me.

“I don’t even believe in abortion,” she finally told me. “I’m Catholic.”

The Great CHARTER SCHOOL RIPOFF is being exposed.

http://www.alternet.org/education/great-charter-school-rip-finally-truth-catches-education-reform-phonies?akid=13141.294211.62ra8c&rd=1&src=newsletter1036926&t=7

The Great Charter School Rip-Off: Finally, the Truth Catches Up to Education 'Reform' Phonies

Reports highlight awful charter schools and people are catching on.

Charter Accountability Now

Of course, now that the truth about charter schools is starting to leak out of the corners of the “black box” the industry uses to protect itself, the charter school PR machine is doing everything it can to cover up reality.

Beginning with the new school year, the charter school industry has been on a publicity terror with a national campaign claiming to tell “The Truth About Charters” and high dollar promotional appeals in Philadelphia and New York City.

But the word is out, and resistance to charter takeovers is stiffening in more places than York. In school systems such as Philadelphia, Bridgeport,Pittsburgh, and Chicago, where charter schools are major providers, parents and local officials have increasingly opposed charter takeovers of their neighborhood schools. A recent poll in Michigan, where the majority of charter operations are for-profit, found that 73 percent of voters want a moratorium on opening any new charter schools until the state department of education and the state legislature conduct a full review of the charter school system.

Shock: Congress will pay for TPP by taking 700 Million from Medicare

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/congress-plots-pay-reviled-tpp-deal-raiding-medicare?akid=13141.294211.62ra8c&rd=1&src=newsletter1036926&t=15

Shock: Congress Plots to Pay for Reviled TPP Deal by Raiding Medicare

It's a move that will result in deaths.

DeClassified Senate Report will confirm the war crimes of Bush/ Cheney

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/08/06/declassified-senate-report-confirm-bush-cheneys-war-crimes.html

A war crime is a serious violation of the laws and customs of war, or international humanitarian law, that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility. There are many examples of war crimes, such as murdering or mistreating prisoners of war or civilian internees, and under the auspices of the George W. Bush administration including then-vice president Dick Cheney, Americans committed war crimes when they tortured prisoners of war and Iraqi civilian internees.

Although it is common knowledge around the world and in America, President Obama had the unfortunate task of admitting at a press conference that America did torture detainees after 9/11. The President’s remarks were ahead of a soon-to-be-declassified Senate report about the CIA’s “enhanced interrogation program” (torture). In speaking about the CIA, the President said, “We tortured some folks. We did some things that were contrary to our values. A lot of those folks were working hard and under enormous pressure, and are real patriots. But having said all that, we did some things that were wrong.” Then, why in dog’s name are they not being prosecuted? Patriots or not, torture is a war crime, and in the same was Israel’s targeting of innocent Palestinian civilians was a war crime, Americans torturing prisoners of war and civilian detainees is a war crime; it does not matter if people were patriotic, afraid, angry, or following orders, torture is criminal.

Former vice president and convicted war criminal Dick Cheney’s daughter does not think torture is a violation of international law, and is furious at President Obama for announcing what the all the world, including Americans, will “officially” know when the Senate report is released. A report, by the way, that concluded the Bush/Cheney authorization of so-called ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ of detainees in the wake of the 9/11 attacks was ineffective and yielded no critical intelligence

Texas Republican Hypocrisy: Texas Flooding = Federal Money> (They voted NO on Sandy Disaster funding.)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/27/1388090/-As-Texas-floods-now-is-the-time-to-examine-its-teaparty-Republicans?detail=facebook

The drought in Texas ended with a wet, thundering bang last weekend, but the political hypocrisy may just be getting started. The Lone Star State is currently ruled by the worst sort of Tea Party Republicans. We brought you Senator hopes-to-be-President of the Confederate-States-of-America Ted Cruz and Louie the-dumbest-man-in-Congress Gohmert just to name a couple. We even elected this clown:

West, TX is represented in Congress by Bill Flores, who is also asking that the government declare the impacted area a federal disaster—and is requesting federal money. [...] Mr. Flores was one of the 67 members of the House of Representatives who voted against the Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief.

Spending is only big and bad and out of control when it helps people Bill Flores and his ilk don't care about. Case in point, it's now flooding down in Texas:

This is when Texas nationalists and secessionists really look foolish. With 46 counties now declared disaster areas by Gov. Greg Abbott and no end in sight until summer, Texas welcomes federal officials and disaster relief.

Veterans Day: How the Republicans are for Veterans AS LONG AS THEY DON'T SPEND ANY MONEY on Vets.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/05/25/the-one-video-everyone-needs-to-remember-on-memorial-day-video/

When we gather with our family and friends to remember the those who have served in the U.S military there are a few politicians who should be remembered as well. Last February Senator Bernie Sanders (I) Vermont, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veteran’s Affairs introduced a bill that would provide $21  Billion dollars in benefits to veterans. The Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014 (S-1982) was supported by every major veteran’s organization. The bill was blocked 56-41 with all but two Republicans voting against it. S-1982 would have provided much needed funding for medical care, jobs training, and education for veterans. The major reason Republicans cited for blocking the bill was because they did not want to add to the deficit. That seems odd, as most of the the 21 billion dollars to fund the bill came from money unspent from Afghanistan and Iraq troop withdrawal.

This election year we should consider making election day a day of remembrance for our veterans and remember who voted against VA benefits. The above video mashup is from when the bill was being decided.  The video can be summed up with one quote from Sen. Bernie Sanders,

“If you think it is too expensive to take care of veterans, don’t send them to war.”

Unfortunately for veterans, Republicans did and do not agree.

EX-Reagan Advisor accuses FOX news of brainwashing Republicans and making them stupid

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/14d87d95770e7b69

This Sunday, economist Bruce Bartlett, a former adviser to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, accused the conservative propaganda machine known as Fox "News" of "brainwashing" Republicans "bubble" of misinformation that is making conservatives more misinformed:

“Many conservatives live in a bubble where they watch only Fox News on television, they listen only to conservative talk radio — Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, many of the same people. When they go onto the Internet, they look at conservative websites like National Review, Newsmax, World Net Daily.”

“And so, they are completely in a universe in which they are hearing the same exact ideas, the same arguments, the same limited amount of data repeated over and over and over again. And that’s brainwashing.”

Even better, he accuses FOX News viewers of drinking “very heavily from the Fox waters,” leading them to become more extreme in their misinformed conservative views.

More Surveillance of Protestors: The FBI Response to Another Killer Cop being set free

http://www.alternet.org/fbis-response-another-killer-cop-set-free-more-surveillance-protestors

The FBI's Response To Another Killer Cop Set Free? More Surveillance of Protestors

FBI gives ominous press conference detailing their monitoring of #BlackLivesMatter.

Elizabeth Warren is remaking Politics and she is NOT even running for President.

http://www.alternet.org/elizabeth-warren-winning-how-progressive-icon-remaking-politics-without-running-president?akid=13136.294211.V3LEQZ&rd=1&src=newsletter1036812&t=5

Elizabeth Warren Is Winning: How the Progressive Icon is Remaking Politics — Without Running For President

Take a look at how the liberal superstar is changing the debate on trade if you want to see the party's future.

Climate Change is affecting our National Security - 4 examples.

http://www.alternet.org/environment/4-main-arguments-president-obama-tying-climate-change-national-security?akid=13133.294211.9uG9hD&rd=1&src=newsletter1036788&t=15

1. Climate change puts coastal areas at risk
Citing the lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy, the effects of which were worsened by the fact that the sea level at New York Harbor had risen by a foot since 1900, the report called the nation's coastal areas "the frontlines of the threat posed by climate change."
"Critical infrastructure, major military installations, and hurricane evacuation routes are increasingly vulnerable to impacts, such as higher sea levels, storm surges, and flooding exacerbated by climate change.
2. The changing Arctic poses risks to other parts of the country
Expanding on the president's National Strategy for the Arctic Region document from May 2013, the report says the Arctic region offers a "vivid case study" that reveals how climate change and national security are intertwined.
"Temperatures in the Arctic are rising at twice the rate of the rest of the world on average, and melting glaciers and land-based ice sheets are contributing to rising sea levels," the report states. "Rising ocean temperatures are causing northward range shifts of certain fish species, affecting ocean ecosystems and the communities and economies that depend on them.

20 Years of Voter Data: Congress DOES NOT CARE what the electorate thinks.

http://www.upworthy.com/20-years-of-data-reveals-that-congress-doesnt-care-what-you-think?c=rpu1

Bernie Sanders slams the media for Biased Presidential Political Coverage. (He is right)

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/05/24/bernie-sanders-slams-media-biased-presidential-campaign-coverage.html

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) called out the media for their biased coverage of presidential campaigns, and refusal to inform the American people during an interview on CNN’s Reliable Sources.

During the interview, Sanders hit on the media bias against discussing issues, and the media’s obsession with negative campaigning.

Video:

Transcript via CNN:

At a baseball Tournament in Redmond, OR

I have seen 2 games so far.  My Grandson Sky is playing in his first big tournament this year.  He is really looking like a ball player.  He is the Number 4 hitter in the line up Power Hitter Position.  He has been catching fly balls very well.  The other teams are finding out it is wise to hit to other positions. 

The Umpire in this last game was sketchy at best.  He was calling high balls as strikes (for our team only) in the first two innings.  The rest of the game our team was swinging at high balls.  It was crazy.
There were tag outs and our team was called OUT while but the other team were safe with similar calls.  At the end of the game, our team was coming back and looking strong and our runner was called out even though it was a late tag.   There were a couple of comments that it was a 'bad call.'  THE UMP CALLED THE PARENTS ASSHOLES in front of the kids.  Earlier in the game, a boy on the other team was called strike 3 and the parents complained so he said foul tic.  It was not a foul tic. 

Sky plays again in an hour.  I hope his team has a different umpire.  The other team plays in a higher league but Sky's team actually played better, more consistant ball.

MARCH AGAINST MONSANTO Getting Larger and now WORLDWIDE. 428 CITIES.

http://www.naturalnews.com/049833_March_Against_Monsanto_citizen_protests_glyphosate_toxicity.html

March Against Monsanto explodes globally... World citizens stage massive protests across 38 countries, 428 cities... mainstream media pretends it never happened

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/049833_March_Against_Monsanto_citizen_protests_glyphosate_toxicity.html#ixzz3b5WGkXS4

When will we examine our heavily armed gun culture?

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20150518-john-traphagan-when-will-we-examine-our-heavily-armed-culture.ece

In the past few years, Americans have witnessed shootings at a movie in Colorado, a 3-year-old shooting and killing his father in Indiana and, most recently, nine people killed in a fight among biker gangs in Waco.
Amazingly, Americans seem to see these regular incidents as normal. It’s a powerful and sad testament to how anesthetized we have become to this ongoing violence. And despite all of this violence and loss of life, many in Texas and elsewhere want to increase gun ownership and allow people to openly carry firearms.
Since 9/11, Americans have been deeply concerned about threats to national security. Our tendency has been to define national security only in terms of external threats. A much better way is to see national security is in terms of the well-being of our population. If we think of it this way, the evidence is clear — a heavily armed population in the U.S. is not secure because our culture does not seem to lend itself well to allowing the proliferation of guns.
There are many law-abiding American gun owners who do not go out and kill people and who keep their guns stored safely. But as a whole, Americans do not seem to be able to handle gun ownership in a way that permits maintenance of a civil society. The reality is that the significant numbers of bad apples have spoiled it for those law-abiding gun owners, and it’s time that gun rights organizations such as the National Rifle Association recognize this and begin working with those who want realistic gun control laws, in part as a way of building trust with those who do not own guns.
It’s the one thing we agree on: a desire for a safe and secure society.
Often, those against gun control argue that if you take away the guns from regular people, only the criminals will have guns. Thus, people need to be armed in order to protect themselves. This has not proved true in countries such as Australia, Japan and South Korea that have fairly recently enacted strict gun control laws.

Matt Taibi explains why the DOJ will not jail Bankers or Corporate welfare queens. It won't change either.

http://www.ringoffireradio.com/2015/05/matt-taibbi-explains-why-the-doj-never-puts-wall-street-thugs-in-prison-will-not-change/

Journalist Matt Taibbi appeared on Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman to discuss the soft approach the Justice Department takes against Wall Street criminals. There’s a dangerous pattern where executive white collar criminals rip off the lower classes, get caught, and the bank only has to pay a fine. No one ever goes to jail, and justice remains unserved.

watch the video

New Documents show GW Bush planned Iraq War well before 9/11 attacks

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/new-documents-show-bush-administration-plan

All of us knew it but couldn't prove it. Now we can prove it. Newly declassified documents published at the National Security Archive prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the Bush administration planned to topple Saddam Hussein and invade Iraq as early as January, 2001, and were making strategic plans and resource allocations as early as November, 2001.

January 30, 2001 – Bush administration principals (agency heads) meet for the
first time and discuss the Middle East, including Bush’s intention to disengage from the Israel-Palestine peace process and “How Iraq is destabilizing the region.” Bush directs Rumsfeld and JCS chairman Hugh Shelton to examine military options for Iraq; CIA director George Tenet is directed to improve intelligence on the country. Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill and counterterrorism coordinator Richard Clarke are both struck by the emphasis on confronting Iraq, an aim consistent with Rumsfeld’s hiring of Wolfowitz and later Feith, well known for their bellicosity on the issue, for high-level Pentagon
positions. (Source: EBB/Franks Timeline (PDF))

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When did we invade Afghanistan? Oh, that's right...it was October 7, 2001.

GW Bush did much much worse things than only lie us into war

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/22/1386781/-George-W-Bush-Did-Something-Much-Worse-Than-Lie-Us-Into-War?detail=facebook_sf

The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons, is rebuilding the facilities to make more and, according to the British government, could launch a biological or chemical attack in as little as 45 minutes after the order is given. The regime has long-standing and continuing ties to terrorist groups, and there are al Qaeda terrorists inside Iraq. This regime is seeking a nuclear bomb, and with fissile material could build one within a year.
Radio Address of George W. Bush, September 28, 2002

Something critical is being lost in the torrent of pixels being spilled by the media as Jeb Bush wriggles haplessly, like some prehistoric insect trapped in amber, struggling to explain away, recast or rationalize his brother's hideous legacy. Many of us with functional memories concluded long ago that Jeb's brother deliberately lied us into a pointless war, one that resulted in pointless maiming and pointless deaths of our own soldiers and perhaps a million Iraqi civilians, and the equally pointless rise of a nihilistic cult of deluded savages we know as ISIS. And although many Americans, for various reasons, don't want to face up to it, that is the truth. There may be be a "competing narrative," there may be political "spin," but there really can only be one truth, and Jeb Bush and the secretive Billionaires who hope to install him as the country's next President know that truth happens to be very, very inconvenient for him when the country has not yet forgotten what happened the last time a Bush occupied that office. When Jeb said he'd rely on his trusted brother for foreign policy advice, well, that just made things worse.

Paul Krugman is right, The Iraq war was a Bush Crime

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/05/22/krugman-right-iraq-war-bush-crime.html

Although it seems counterintuitive from a psychological perspective, but believe it or not there is some value in being reminded periodically, or repeatedly for that matter, of a disastrous occurrence if for no other reason than to avoid it in the future. Republicans consistently either forget or ignore their past disasters and in the preponderance of cases are intent on repeating them for reasons that defy all sense of logic and reason; it is just the Republican way of doing everything and adverse consequences be damned. Even though many Americans would like to either forget the national disgrace that was one of the Bush administration’s greatest disasters and affronts to humanity, or ignore it all together, the Iraq war is a nightmare that is a recurring reminder of the Bush administration’s crimes against humanity and the American people.

Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman spent his allotment of words in the New York Times Monday on an opinion piece titled “Errors and Lies.” In the op-ed Mr. Krugman noted that with the “maybe” candidacy for president of Jeb Bush, “We may finally have the frank discussion of the Iraq invasion we should have had a decade ago.” Although having a discussion will not change the disastrous consequences of Bush and company’s crimes, bring back the three-quarters of a million dead Iraqi civilians or thousands of American soldiers, it may inform Americans of the intent of Republicans defending the invasion and occupation.

Krugman implies that the current narrative is that “invading Iraq was a terrible mistake that everyone admits, so let’s move on.” However, and here is where Krugman gets it partially right; that narrative may be true of some in the media, but not everyone admits the war was a mistake and no Republicans are admitting that the Bush administration lied to frighten Americans into supporting a disastrous enterprise they are panting to continue unabated.

KEN BURNS give speech about Race. Excellent!!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/21/1386320/-Ken-Burns-Commencement-Speech-line-On-BlackLivesmatter-Gets-Huge-Applause-In-One-for-the-Ages?detail=facebook

Today in Ferguson 150 years after the Civil War we see "ghastly remnants of our great shame emerging still"/Lincoln warned of "national suicide" if we neglect to be a "nation of freemen"/Mark Twain's Huck Finn deciding to "go to hell" instead of turning in the "property" of his runaway slave friend Jim "may be the finest moment in all of American literature"/Our insistence on "Exceptionalism" blinds us to making necessary fixes/BlackLivesMatter because we have not achieved a post-racial society when institutional racism is still enshrined.
If you like to get a little history now and then from your tv on these United States (which I do and enjoy as a supplement to reading books) and are not a cave dweller in New Mexico or something then Ken Burns needs no introduction. He is an icon of documentary film-making, with techniques that have revolutionized the art of historical story-telling. His style is so well-known and vaunted in documentary film-making that one could say he's as much a standard as The Beatles "Sgt. Pepper" was to serious album-making (even the I-Photo program of Apple Mac's has a "Ken Burns effect" feature). Which is probably why he's been an exclusive part of a legacy that values nuanced and critical story-telling (PBS), rather than one that pumps out sensational and often jingoistic pap for the undiscerning (The History Channel).
Given that he occupies such strata through his lifetime devotion to history, his decision to lay bare the moment we find ourselves in, with respect to America perhaps finally coming to terms in grappling with, after a very long avoidance of, the malignancy of systemic racism, was a very powerful and instructive deed.

Elizabeth Warren - Great Speech

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/05/20/elizabeth-warren-issues-her-best-speech-yet-blasts-gop-frontrunners-for-attacking-middle-class-america/

Elizabeth Warren Issues Her Best Speech Yet, Blasts GOP Frontrunners For Attacking Middle Class America

New Study: WALL STREET IS AS GREEDY AND IMMORAL AS EVER. (Maybe worse)

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/05/19/wall-street-labaton-sucharow-study/

Seven years have passed since Wall Street crashed the world’s economy, and guess what? They’re as greedy and immoral as ever.
Sure, we get to cheer as our corporate kleptocracy hands us an occasional victory, yet these victories ring hollow as Wall Street banks get bigger and fatter and more profitable than ever.
Hooray! Standard and Poors settled with the U.S. government for helping cause the 2008 meltdown. Boo! They only paid a paltry $80 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and mumbled some vague not-apologies and “admissions of wrongdoing.” Hooray! Six big global banks paid $4.3 billion to regulators in the U.S., U.K., and Switzerland…But wait: That was after manipulating the foreign currency exchange for an entire six years. And the Foreign currency exhcnage is worth $5.3 trillion per day. What a joke.
Now, the New York Times reports on a new study that reveals some disturbing information about Wall Street and the financial industry.

Biker Brawl Suspects only slightly outnumber Presidential Candidates - Borowitz

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report?mbid=nl_052015_Borowitz&CNDID=24484788&spMailingID=7759602&spUserID=MjczNzc1NzE1MjES1&spJobID=682275520&spReportId=NjgyMjc1NTIwS0

WACO (The Borowitz Report) – Suspects in the recent biker brawl in Waco, Texas, only slightly outnumber the 2016 Republican Presidential candidates, leading some voters to have difficulty distinguishing between the two groups, a new poll shows.
According to the poll, voters who were presented the names of a biker-brawl suspect and a Republican Presidential candidate correctly identified both only thirty per cent of the time.
For example, fifty-seven per cent of voters erroneously identified the former Texas Governor Rick Perry as a member of the Bandidos motorcycle gang, while forty-one per cent believed he belonged to the Cossacks.

RETRIEVER TOWING UPDATE: A Predatory Towing Company in Portland, OR

Grandma M asked Retriever to talk about why the numbers on the invoices DO NOT ADD up to $357.00 which she was charged for the tow.  The following is their response followed by my (Richard's) response to Retriever.

Provide a copy of the receipts that you were give and the rate sheet you are looking at.

Scott Williams

Retriever Towing

West and South Side Manager

1551 NW Quimby St

Portland, OR 97209

Office: 503-222-4763

Fax: 503-241-9781

http://wwww.retrievertowing.com

Up to $20,000 Fine to Tower for Blatant disregard of the 2007 Towing Laws.  (The fine is written into the law.)

LAW SAYS:  TOWER MUST KEEP (paper) RECORDS FOR 2 YEARS.  (I believe It also says you must keep electronic records for another 3 years.)

You have the original records - which are clearer.

MARCIA WAS ASKING:

1.  DOT NUMBER

2.  PLEASE ADD UP THE ORIGINAL TOWING CHARGE PRICE SHEET. 

3.  PLEASE ADD UP THE RECEIPT (original) WHICH YOU HAVE IN THE MARCIA BRISCO FILE.

4.  SEND THE CREDIT CARD RECEIPT.

Pictures:  MARCIA WAS NOT PARKED IN A FIRE ZONE.  We took our own pictures.  The Fire Zone is 50 Feet away.  Interesting:  The Fire Zone allows cars parked on one side:  15 Food of clearance.  WHERE MARCIA WAS PARKED THERE IS 22 FEET OF CLEARANCE.  There are NO  FIRE ZONE DESIGNATIONS ANYWHERE NEAR WHERE MARCIA WAS PARKED.

If you DO NOT HAVE THE RECORDS which Marcia is requesting THEN YOU ARE IN BLATANT VIOLATION OF THE 2007 STATE LAW WHICH REGULATES YOU.

Please sent the pictures, DOT number, Receipt added up and the Unregulated Tow Charge Sheet added up as well?   Richard will bring in your illegal form with HOLD HARMLESS crossed out in a week or two.  We are still gathering lots of information.

Marcia and I can prove the numbers DO NOT ADD UP TO $357.00.  NUMBERS NOT ADDING UP TO THE AMOUNT CHARGED IS A VIOLATION OF THE 2007 TOWING LAWS.

Thank You for responding to Marcia.

Please Provide the Information which YOU MUST HAVE ON HAND TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE 2007 STATE LAW WHICH GOVERNS YOU.

Sincerely.

Richard and Marcia Brisco

You are more than welcome to call and discuss this issue if you wish.

INFRASTRUCTURE DISASTER: AMTRAK is just the latest. More to come because Republicans stop improvments.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/derailing-amtrak-latest-disaster-infrastructure-crisis?akid=13117.294211.ujIkN4&rd=1&src=newsletter1036595&t=21

Derailing Amtrak: The Latest Disaster in the Infrastructure Crisis

Lawmakers (Republicans) have proposed massive cuts to Amtrak’s budget virtually every chance they get.

In an article titled “Why You Can’t Talk About the Amtrak Derailment Without Talking About Our Infrastructure Crisis,” Aviva Shen observes that the Northeast Corridor is the busiest and most profitable rail route in the US. The line, which runs from Boston through New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore to Washington D.C. , is dealing with more riders now than ever. But Amtrak has been starved of the funds required to keep up with this increased demand. It faces a backlog of repairs on bridges and tunnels that date back to the beginning of the 20th century, obsolete rail interlockings, and trains that rely on 1930s-era components. Repairs for the Northeast Corridor are expected to require $4.3 billion in fiscal years 2015-2019, while federal funding is expected to dwindle to $872 million

The Intentional Lies of Bush/ Cheney to get the US to invade Iraq. Finally coming out.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/05/michael-morell-bush-cheney-iraq-war

For a dozen years, the Bush-Cheney crowd have been trying to escape—or cover up—an essential fact of the W. years: President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and their lieutenants misled the American public about the WMD threat supposedly posed by Saddam Hussein in order to grease the way to the invasion of Iraq. For Bush, Cheney, and the rest, this endeavor is fundamental; it is necessary to protect the legitimacy of the Bush II presidency. Naturally, Karl Rove and other Bushies have quickly tried to douse the Bush-lied-us-into-war fire whenever such flames have appeared. And in recent days, as Jeb Bush bumbled a question about the Iraq War, he and other GOPers have peddled the fictitious tale that his brother launched the invasion because he was presented lousy intelligence. But now there's a new witness who will make the Bush apologists' mission even more impossible: Michael Morell, a longtime CIA official who eventually became the agency's deputy director and acting director. During the preinvasion period, he served as Bush's intelligence briefer.
Appearing on MSNBC's Hardball on Tuesday night, Morell made it clear: The Bush-Cheney administration publicly misrepresented the intelligence related to Iraq's supposed WMD program and Saddam's alleged links to Al Qaeda.

WHY SOCIAL SECURITY SHOULD BE RAISED! Robert Reich

http://www.salon.com/2015/05/15/robert_reich_the_right_gets_social_security_dangerously_wrong_partner/

Robert Reich, one of the nation’s leading experts on work and the economy, is Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton. Time Magazine has named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the last century. He has written 13 books, including his latest best-seller, “Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future;” “The Work of Nations,” which has been translated into 22 languages; and his newest, an e-book, “Beyond Outrage.” His syndicated columns, television appearances, and public radio commentaries reach millions of people each week. He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine, and Chairman of the citizen’s group Common Cause. His new movie "Inequality for All" is in Theaters. His widely-read blog can be found at www.robertreich.org.

Sorry Jeb, Your Brother DID CREATE ISIS!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/17/1384913/-Sorry-Jeb-Your-brother-did-create-ISIS?detail=email

It must be tough being the brother of the man who is responsible for the world-historical disaster that was the U.S. invasion of Iraq. It's tougher still to try to replace him as the next Republican president of the United States.
This week, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush found that out the hard way. Mocked by the press and his GOP rivals for first announcing, "I would have" gone into Iraq knowing what he knows now, Jeb reversed course days later in declaring, "I would not have gone into Iraq." But even before the pain had subsided from that severe case of whiplash, Bush was embarrassed at an event in Reno by 19-year-old college student Ivy Ziedrich. When Bush tried to pin the paternity for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on President Obama, the University of Nevada political science major replied simply:

"Your brother created ISIS."

Ziedrich's is a bold claim. After all, for her to be right, ISIS—the dangerous movement combining Saddam loyalists, former Al Qaeda members and disgruntled Sunni fighters—would have to have emerged as a direct result of the war Bush launched in 2003. The disbanding of Saddam's 400,000-man army would have to be laid at the feet of "The Decider." Foreign fighters must have flocked to Al Qaeda—a non-factor in Iraq before the U.S. invasion—specifically to target American troops. And while those unlikely allies forged ties in U.S and Iraqi prisons, Sunni tribesmen once paid by American forces would have to have become alienated by a sectarian Shiite strongman in Baghdad beholden to Iran. The inevitable outcome of such U.S. mismanagement of post-Saddam Iraq, as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld privately warned his boss on October 15, 2002, would be that "Iraq could experience ethnic strife among Sunni, Shia, and Kurds" with the result that "it could fracture into two or three pieces, to the detriment of the Middle East and the benefit of Iran." Unfortunately for Jeb Bush—and to Ivy Ziedrich's credit—that is precisely what transpired. Or to push in terms even Republican mythmakers can understand: ISIS? George W. Bush built that.
To see how, continue reading below.

Bristol Palin NOT getting married this Saturday. Fiance may still be married..

http://www.alan.com/2015/05/16/radar-online-bristol-palins-fiance-may-still-be-married/#email-modal

Before Bristol Palin walks down the aisle, her medal of honor winner fiancé may have to shed his wife.
RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned that Bristol Palin’s new fiancé has a secret wife!
According to a marriage certificate in Dakota Meyer’s name, he was married to a Michigan woman named Cassandra Wain.
The official document shows Meyer and Wain were hitched in Campbellsville, Kentucky, on May 20, 2008.
However, it remains unclear when — or even if — the two are officially divorced since information about the marriage is sealed, making it impossible to determine the current status of their union.

TERRORISM - BIG NEWS: Unless it is White Christians who want to level a Muslim Community

http://fair.org/home/a-plot-to-level-a-village-isnt-news-when-targets-are-muslim-and-plotter-is-christian/

No crime fascinates US media like terrorism–provided it’s the right sort of terrorism, that is.
The media-approved sort of terrorist is motivated by some fanatic strain of Islam. Terrorists motivated by other ideologies are often forgotten by corporate media (Extra!, 6/13)–sometimes to the point where pundits deny that non-Muslim terrorists exist (FAIR Blog, 12/16/14)–even though the vast majority of terrorist attacks in the United States are carried out by people with agendas unrelated to Islam (Extra!, 8/13)
Sensational acts of or schemes for political violence are ignored because they don’t fit Islamophobic stereotypes (FAIR Blog, 1/11/13, 1/25/14)–or, if the violence is too dramatic to overlook, journalists decline to affix the “terrorism” label to it (FAIR Media Advisory, 4/15/14; FAIR Blog, 6/13/14).

White Gang Violence sure seen differently than Black Violence

http://www.vox.com/2015/5/19/8620357/waco-biker-shootout-race

Over the weekend, a shootout between three rival biker gangs at a bar in Waco, Texas, left at least nine gang members dead and 18 others hospitalized with gunshot and stab wounds.
It was a huge, devastating tragedy. The New York Times reported that law enforcement sources called it "the worst violence in the Waco area since the siege on the Branch Davidian compound in 1993 that left 86 people dead."
But if you follow the social media conversations around the incident, you'll see something in addition to the predictable shock, curiosity, and mourning for the victims: there's frustration and anger over how the Waco shootout (whose perpetrators appear to be mostly white) is being talked about — and, specifically, how that contrasts with the coverage and commentary of crimes when the people involved are black.

GW Bush/ Cheney LIED us into the War in Iraq.

http://www.alternet.org/media/paul-krugman-drops-epic-truth-bomb-latest-round-lies-about-iraq-war

The Iraq War was no innocent mistake based on faulty intelligence, Krugman argues compellingly. "America invaded Iraq because the Bush administration wanted a war," he writes. "The public justifications for the invasion were nothing but pretexts, and falsified pretexts at that. We were, in a fundamental sense, lied into war."

And we knew it—or certainly should have. Krugman:

The fraudulence of the case for war was actually obvious even at the time: the ever-shifting arguments for an unchanging goal were a dead giveaway. So were the word games — the talk about W.M.D that conflated chemical weapons (which many people did think Saddam had) with nukes, the constant insinuations that Iraq was somehow behind 9/11.

Iraq was invaded by GW Bush when in fact: Saudi Arabia paid for an abetted terrorists.

http://www.ifyouonlynews.com/weird-news/how-the-bush-administration-managed-to-clear-the-saudis-and-blame-iraq-for-911/

Saudi Arabia is often called the world’s largest exporter of Salafist jihadism, or the ideological basis for groups like Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, ISIS, and others. When it comes to terrorism and exporting terrorism, Saudi Arabia can’t be beat — it’s a surcharge-free ATM for radical Islamist movements.
Truly, successfully, waging a “war on terror,” where “terror” means “Islamic extremism,” would require cutting all support for the theocrats in the Saudi government. After all, 15 of the 19 hijackers on the morning of September 11, 2001 were Saudi.
And yet, those facts were conveniently overlooked in the wake of 9/11, when the Bush Administration, declaring its war on terror, displaced the kingdom’s culpability. So how exactly did the Bush administration manage to divert attention from Saudi Arabia to Iraq?

IN GOD WE TRUST: Which of the hundreds of Gods are we trusting? A list of GODS to choose from.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/05/17/in-god-we-trust-so-in-which-god-are-we-trusting-heres-a-list-of-possibilities/

There are many more GODS when you follow the link.

A, Adad, Adapa, Adrammelech, Aeon, Agasaya, Aglibol, Ahriman, Ahura Mazda, Ahurani, Ai-ada, Al-Lat, Aja, Aka, Alalu, Al-Lat, Amm, Al-Uzza (El-‘Ozza or Han-Uzzai), An, Anahita, Anath (Anat), Anatu, Anbay, Anshar, Anu, Anunitu, An-Zu, Apsu, Aqhat, Ararat, Arinna, Asherali, Ashnan, Ashtoreth, Ashur, Astarte, Atar, Athirat, Athtart, Attis, Aya, Baal (Bel), Baalat (Ba’Alat), Baau, Basamum, Beelsamin, Belit-Seri, Beruth, Borak, Broxa, Caelestis, Cassios, Lebanon, Antilebanon, and Brathy, Chaos, Chemosh, Cotys, Cybele, Daena, Daevas, Dagon, Damkina, Dazimus, Derketo, Dhat-Badan, Dilmun, Dumuzi (Du’uzu), Duttur, Ea, El, Endukugga, Enki, Enlil, Ennugi, Eriskegal, Ereshkigal (Allatu), Eshara, Eshmun, Firanak, Fravashi, Gatamdug, Genea, Genos, Gestinanna, Gula, Hadad, Hannahanna, Hatti, Hea, Hiribi, The Houri, Humban, Innana, Ishkur, Ishtar, Ithm, Jamshid or Jamshyd, Jehovah, Jesus, Kabta, Kadi, Kamrusepas, Ki (Kiki),

Top 10 times David Letterman made Conservatives look like fools

http://www.alternet.org/media/top-10-times-david-letterman-made-right-wingers-look-idiots?akid=13111.294211.Ewde_J&rd=1&src=newsletter1036499&t=3

1. David Letterman vs. Bill O’Reilly: “Sixty percent of what you say is crap.”
2. Letterman: “Cheney and Bush...couldn’t care less about Americans.”
3. David Letterman vs. Bill O’Reilly: “You’re putting words in my mouth. Just the way you put artificial facts in your head.”
6. Letterman: “Republicans are unstable.”
 

FOX News and the Republican Party are literally dying off.

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/05/18/fox-news-republican-party-literally-dying.html

Fox News has the oldest audience on television, and their struggles to attract young viewers mirror a Republican Party that according to a new study is literally dying off.

Daniel J. McGraw of Politico Magazine crunched the numbers and confirmed that Republicans have a party that is dying:

By combining presidential election exit polls with mortality rates per age group from the U.S. Census Bureau, I calculated that, of the 61 million who voted for Mitt Romney in 2012, about 2.75 million will be dead by the 2016 election. President Barack Obama’s voters, of course, will have died too—about 2.3 million of the 66 million who voted for the president won’t make it to 2016 either. That leaves a big gap in between, a difference of roughly 453,000 in favor of the Democrats.

15 Things you would know if we had a liveral media.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/08/10/15-things-everyone-would-know-if-there-were-a-liberal-media/

1. A ‘liberal media’ would tell us where the jobs went.

Outsourcing (or offshoring) is a bigger contributor to unemployment in the U.S. than laziness.

2. Upward wealth redistribution and/or inequality.

In 2010, 20 percent of the people held approximately 88 percent of the net worth in the U.S. The top 1 percent alone held 35 percent of all net worth.
The bottom 80 percent of people held only 12 percent of net worth in 2010. In 1983, the bottom 80 percent held 18 percent of net worth.
These statistics are not Democratic or Republican. They are widely available to reporters. Why aren’t they discussed in the “liberal media?”

4. A “liberal media” would report the number of people in prison. 

Which country in the world has the most people in prison? You might think it would be China, with over a billion people and a restrictive government, or former Soviets still imprisoned in Russia.
Wrong. The United States has the most people in prison, by far, of any country in the world. With five percent of the world’s population, we have 25% of the world’s prisoners – 2.3 million criminals. China, with a population four times our size, is second with 1.6 million people in prison.
In 1972, 350,000 Americans were in imprisoned. In 2010, this number had grown to 2.3 million. Yet from 1988 – 2008, crime rates have declined by 25 percent.

Open Carry a gun: White - no problem, Black - Get on the Ground and many cops show up

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/05/17/how-not-racist-cops-react-when-a-black-man-tries-to-open-carry-video/

Open carry laws. like Stand Your Ground laws, were never intended for Black people. They were created by frightened white people, who feel the need to have a gun with them at all times. That’s so they can feel like they’re safe from all the scary Black men, the scary Muslims and the scary immigrants (*not the white ones, Ted Cruz is OK). Most of all, they need to feel like they’re safe from the president, who they think is a super-scary-Black-Muslim-‘Not-American’ with the power to invade Texas and put them all in FEMA camps.
A Black man legally carrying a gun in Amerikkka is more likely than not to end up as a dead man. In spite of that fact that a majority of white people still deny the police are racist, study after study shows that there is a very real problem with racism in the US. There is also a very real problem with both overt and underlying bias in American policing. Contrary to white people beliefs, racist cops are the norm, not the exception.
Whether you’re talking about stand your ground, stop and frisk, the war on drugs, incarceration rates or simple traffic violations, racism is reflected in every single statistic. The most alarming statistic, however, is that Black people are as much as eight times more likely than white people, to be killed by police.

3 Gangs have a shootout in Texas: 9 dead, many wounded

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/rival-motorcycle-gangs-behind-shooting-texas-restaurant-article-1.2225691

A McLennan County deputy stands guard near a group of bikers being detained in the parking lot of Twin Peaks Restaurant after Sunday's gunfight.

Several factions of rival motorcycle gangs are believed responsible for a large gunfight that killed nine bikers and injured 18 outside a Waco, Texas restaurant, authorities said Sunday.
The lunchtime shooting sent witnesses scrambling for cover outside the Twin Peaks Restaurant where a shootout spilled out into the parking lot between three known “rival criminal biker gangs,” Waco Police Sgt. W Patrick Swanton said at a press conference.
Several law enforcement agencies including uniformed Waco police officers were already outside the restaurant as hundreds of gang members converged. They were expecting trouble. Despite their presence, the shootout ignited with officers returning fire amid pandemonium.
“We are not horse playing,” Swanton said. “So many rounds were fired from bad guy weapons here. It is amazing that innocent civilians were not injured here."
No officers were among the 18 injured in what he described as the biggest gun battle in the history of Waco’s city limits.

18 Crazy Right Wing Myths about President Obama - DEBUNKED.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/01/13/debunk-right-wing-obama-myths/

1) Obama takes too many vacations.

 FACT: As of August 16th of 2013, Obama had taken 92 days of vacation vs 367 for George W. Bush.

2) Obama has divided the nation.

FACT: Obama has done more to unite this nation than any president since Lincoln. But he’s up against a phalanx of 21st Century separatists, racists and neo-fascists, some of whom have openly proposed seceding. Here… let me hold that door for you. Besides; who’s dividing the Republican party into right wing and ultra-far right wings? Is Obama doing that too? Nope. Look in a mirror Teabigots.

3) Obama’s policies are bankrupting America.

FACT: Reagan added $1.9 trillion to the debt. Bush Sr. added an additional $1.5. Clinton added $1.4. Dubbya added $6.1. Obama has added less than $3.0, the bulk of which was to offset the effects of the Bush recession. Who holds that debt? China; $1.2 trillion. Japan; $900 billion. The Fed; $1.6 trillion. The public; $3.6 trillion. Government trusts; $1.9 trillion. Social Security; $2.7 trillion. So nice try, but no Kewpie doll for you

4) Obama’s a socialist.

 FACT: Hardly. Obama’s economic and social policies are to the right of Kennedy’s, Eisenhower’s, Nixon’s, and even some of Reagan’s. If Obama’s a socialist, then Eisenhower, who had a 91% top tax rate, was a Republican Marxist.

5) Obama lied about keeping your present healthcare insurance.

4 Companies making BIG BUCKS off of the Gulf Arab Conflice with Iran. War is a moneymaker.

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/4-us-companies-getting-rich-gulf-arab-conflict-iran?akid=13110.294211.ncacDS&rd=1&src=newsletter1036465&t=7

4 U.S. Companies Getting Rich Off Gulf Arab Conflict With Iran

They're are striking contracts with the Department of Defense to supply missiles, helicopters and fighter jets.

Veterans lash out at GOP for denying them needed help upon the return from Military Service.

http://www.ifyouonlynews.com/politics/angry-veterans-lash-out-at-gop-dont-you-dare-thank-me-for-my-service-images/

The Republican Party has changed from the party of fiscal conservatism, smaller government, and checks and balances to the party of corporate interests, screwing the American people, and forgetting the people who served as soon as they no longer qualify as a part of the ever so profitable war machine.
Very few people have come out in the discussion on the behalf of the Republicans. They have to know just how ignorant they would sound defending a platform that has been so pro-vet in voice but no-vet by their actions.

Super Rich stealing money from the elderly, middle class and handicapped to fund their 5th mansion and bigger private airplane.

http://egbertowillies.com/2015/02/02/enslaved-by-wealthy-economic-system/

Americans are used to being told how to think and what to think. Freedom of choice is cherished yet never really demanded. Americans have allowed the real dependent class, the wealthy, license to enslave.

Those opposed to a true egalitarian society where government, ’we the people’ play a prominent role in deciding what is best for us all claim that government should not pick winners and losers. They claim the ‘free market’ is the best arbiter of the most efficient distribution of capital.

What does that even mean? Potholes, medical needs, alimentary needs, shelter needs, and clothing needs exist irrespective of economic system. If these needs cannot be satisfied within the confines of the economic system it means the economic system is flawed.

The economic system is manmade. Needs for the most part are not. As such it is the economic system that must adapt to a society and not the other way around. Those that practice unfettered capitalism are no different than the ideological clergy who attempt to fit their ancient scripture driven ideologies into today’s realities. The authors of those scriptures likely neither had the tools nor the mental maturity to extrapolate into the future that is now today. But just like many have blind faith and believe in the absoluteness of ancient scriptures, so do those that believe in unfettered capitalism.

It is all about the effectiveness of the tools. No amount of prayer will change the outcome of one who has Lou Gehrig’s disease. No amount of bloviating will change the mathematical certainty that unfettered capitalism destroys the middle-class and provides no pathway for the poor in the aggregate. The mathematics required to illustrate that fact is simple. The narrative necessary to maintain the status quo creates a complexity that gives plausibility to fallacies.

Here are some common sense realities. The income and wealth of the rich are growing at a faster rate than the economy at large. That means income and wealth must be skimmed from the masses to satisfy that growth. That is exactly what has happened. The manifestation of this is lower wages, outsourced jobs to less expensive job markets, followed by the re-importation of jobs at a reduced wage.

How was this accomplished without notice? Economist/Professor Richard Wolff’s Capitalism Hits the Fan lays it out perfectly. He showed how Americans were enslaved by the semblance of prosperity pre 2008 Great Recession.

NASA: The Antarctic Ice Shelf could collapse by 2020

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/05/15/this-antarctic-ice-shelf-could-collapse-by-2020-nasa-says/

It has been a really bad week for the ice shelves of the quickly warming Antarctic peninsula, the part of the vast frozen continent that extends northward toward South America.
Earlier this week, we learned that the gigantic marine-based Larsen C ice shelf, which is almost as big as Scotland, has several worrisome vulnerabilities — including a growing rift across it. Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey and several other research centers say this could pose an “imminent risk” to its stability.
[This ice shelf is nearly the size of Scotland — and it could be at “imminent risk”]

And now, NASA scientists are giving an even worse verdict for the remnants of the nearby Larsen B ice shelf, much of which already disintegrated back in 2002. Back then, the shelf lost a region larger than Rhode Island, but there are still 618 square miles left of it — for now.
However, in a new study in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, researchers with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of California at Irvine say that this remnant now faces its “approaching demise.” In a news release, NASA adds that the ice shelf “is likely to disintegrate completely before the end of the decade.”

Put money into Amtrak infrastructure or we will see another tragedy.

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/another-amtrak-disaster-likely-unless-we-fix-our-broken-down-rail-system?akid=13109.294211.b_OjJF&rd=1&src=newsletter1036432&t=5

Another Amtrak Disaster Is Likely Unless We Fix Our Broken-Down Rail System

Our railroads used to be the envy of the world, but now they're a joke - a joke that in some cases, leads to tragedy.

Time to scrap the Corporate Tax Credits to Corporations: Corps are making record profits.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/07/1349414/-Corporate-profits-are-sky-high-wages-down-Yet-extending-corporate-tax-breaks-is-an-urgent-issue

Corporate profits are sky high, wages down. Yet extending corporate tax breaks is an urgent issue?

The problem that beggars a solution is the fact that corporations, by any number of measures, are earning more profits than at any previous point in our history, yet the wages of the workers they employ are dropping, and not in the good way, like when Beyoncé drops a new release.
Please follow me beyond the fold for discussion of the disconnect between what John Boehner and his friends want to do, and what Congress should actually be doing.