Wall Street: They need to make less money so our economy can move forward

Wall Street apologists argue that financiers are responsible for boosting U.S. productivity and creating new, decent-paying jobs. Well, we're still waiting. In fact, in the decade following the early 1990s, labor's share of our national income actually declined by 7.2 percent. Why?

http://www.alternet.org/economy/american-economy-recover-we-need-fewer-people-working-wall-st-making-much-less-money?akid=11570.294211.ccLPyf&rd=1&src=newsletter966557&t=2

Republicans are desperate at finding a scandal.

Issa held a hearing when he knew the person would not testify.  He would not let the Democrats ask any questions and in my mind, Republican Issa made a fool of himself.

http://www.msnbc.com/politicsnation/watch/republicans-desperately-seeking-scandal-183626819873

Jon Stewart - What would Reagan do with Putin and Russia?

Great information

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-february-25-2014/anarchy-in-the-ukraine---what-would-reagan-do-

Fresh Water - Drinking water is a crisis

 

Have you heard? The world is running out of accessible clean water.
Humanity is polluting, mismanaging, and displacing our finite freshwater sources at an alarming rate. Since 1990, half the rivers in China have disappeared. The Ogallala Aquifer that supplies the U.S. breadbasket will be gone “in our lifetime,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture says.

http://www.alternet.org/saving-our-blue-future?akid=11567.294211.1X-X3b&rd=1&src=newsletter966085&t=23

KeyStone Pipeline would be like adding 42 coal plants - A Hazard to our Environment. (Raise the cost $10.00 barrell too)

A new study says our environment will be in danger if Keystone is allowed.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/03/04-5

Polar Ice Cap Melt - see it here

Ice reflects the heat back into space.  As we lose ice, the heat does not reflect and heats up our atmosphere.  The less the ice, the more the heating.

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/03/05/watch-arctics-ice-not-so-magically-disappear.html

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/03/05/watch-arctics-ice-not-so-magically-disappear.html

Kochs - 7ways they benefit from Welfare for the Rich

Charles and David Koch, the secretive billionaire brothers who own Koch Industries, the largest private oil company in America, have spent millions bankrolling free-market think tanks and pro-business politicians in order, as David Koch has put it, “to minimize the role of government, to maximize the role of private economy and to maximize personal freedoms.” But a closer look at their dealings reveals that for the past 35 years the brothers have never shied away from using government subsidies to maximize their own profits, even while endeavoring to limit government spending on anything else. Simply put: the Kochs have no problem with socialism — as long as they’re in on the action.

http://exiledonline.com/a-people-history-of-koch-industries-part-ii-libertarian-billionaires-charles-and-david-koch-are-closetcase-subsidy-kings-who-milk-big-government-tyranny-but-want-to-slash-spending-on-anyone-else/

Putin and Russia are not healthy - a few facts

Under what metric are Putin and Russia “#winning” with the invasion into Crimea? The Russian Central Bank just raised interest rates 150 bps in response to weakness in the Ruble. The Ruble is now the worst performing currency in the world this year.

The Russian economy has been very weak already so a rise In interest rates will weaken it even more going forward. This is all happening before the West imposes any sort of sanctions against the Russian government and those connected to Putin. Enormous sums of wealth from Russia have been laundered in the US and Europe so there are plenty of assets to go after. Even with all of the above it’s clear that Russia has lost a significant chunk of Ukraine from its influence. If there is a partition there will be a large portion of Ukraine that is western leaning. So, how is Russia better off now than they were three months ago? Putin must be playing some game of 3D chess.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/is-this-a-strong-position

9 Toxins to Remove From Your Life

Interesting stuff

http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2011/11/9-toxins-to-remove-from-your-life.html

REMOVE MOLD WITH TEA OIL

http://naturehacks.com/house-and-home/how-to-naturally-remove-mold-with-tea-tree-oil/

Duke Oil is ruining the water and NORTH CAROLINA said nothing - UNTIL THE BIG SPILL

From now on, regulators were told, they must focus on customer service, meaning issuing environmental permits for businesses as quickly as possible. Big changes are coming, the official said, according to three people in the meeting, two of whom took notes. “If you don’t like change, you’ll be gone.”

But when the nation’s largest utility, Duke Energy, spilled 39,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River in early February, those big changes were suddenly playing out in a different light.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/01/us/coal-ash-spill-reveals-transformation-of-north-carolina-agency.html?_r=1

Guns cause 3 times the number of people killed and injured from the 9/11 attacks - YEARLY!!

The terrorist attacks on on the New York Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 resulted in 2,996 deaths. More than 6,000 were injured. Firearms cause cause death and injury at the rate of about three (3) September 11s each year.

http://wickershamsconscience.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/firearm-violence-thinking-about-the-butchers-bill/

The new laws in Arizona are not just racist, they are stupid! It was vetoed for the wrong reasons.

With every piece of ludicrous legislation, it becomes increasingly apparent that AZ- the postal abbreviation for the Grand Canyon State- stands for Angry Zenophobes. And yes, xenophobe is actually spelled with an X, but the insensible and intolerant denizens of Arizona are probably unaware of that. Arizona: the American Uganda. It’s not the hate, it’s the stupidity.

http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/arizonas-absurd-legislation-its-not-hate-its-stupidity?akid=11561.294211.g4zcUV&rd=1&src=newsletter965135&t=21

7 Numbers show how most American were robbed of their retirement money.

 

 

The dream of a comfortable retirement is dying for many Americans. It's being extracted as a form of tribute to the very rich, a redistribution of our nation's wealth, a "tax" imposed on the middle and lower classes and paid for with their retirement savings.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/7-numbers-show-how-most-americans-were-robbed-comfortable-retirement?akid=11561.294211.g4zcUV&rd=1&src=newsletter965135&t=9

Mendenhall Glacier Pictures from today.

 I skied into Mendenhall Glacier today.  I broke a ski pole which was a pain.  It was sunny and about 30 degrees but the wind was blowing 20 to 25 MPH to make it quite cold.  A little over a week ago I was in Death Valley and today skiing over a frozen lake to hang out at Mendenhall Glacier.  

I feel fortunate.

Van Jones: 'You can't point to God to excuse your bigotry.'

Van Jones is great, as always.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/02/van-jones-to-rich-lowery-you-cant-point-to-god-to-excuse-your-bigotry/

GW Bush Iraq invasion has Handcuffed President Obama on Options against Russia

For over two hundred years, America refrained from the practice of unilaterally invading a sovereign nation. It was part of our national DNA not to partake in preemptive war and as such we were on firm moral footing to call out the very kind of aggressive conduct the Russians are engaging in Ukraine.
We do not have those unimpeachable credentials, now - and we do not have them because President George W. Bush launched a preemptive war against a sovereign nation not to protect American lives and interests, but rather what one could strongly argue was more accurately the satisfaction of a personal vendetta.
The final analysis must reflect  that the Bush administration’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003, without cause or justification, perhaps forever weakened America’s position to call out other nations for unprovoked aggression. Inescapably, that puts President Obama and American prestige in the untenable position it is today.

http://www.theeverlastinggopstoppers.com/2014/03/bush-administration-handcuffed-obamas-russian-options/

Pallet Home - Interesting

It says it can be built in one day.

http://www.viralforest.com/pallet-house/

8 Funny Auto Corrects

http://thestir.cafemom.com/technology/168508/8_inappropriate_grandma_autocorrects_that?utm_medium=sm&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=likeyourkids_fanpage&newsletter

Union Membership in many countries.

What I find interesting is that the most unionized countries generally have the best economies and the most people working.

http://theweek.com/article/index/257210/speedreads-union-density-across-the-world-in-one-eye-popping-chart

Job Growth in the Private Sector has been steady and growing under President Obama.

It would even be better if President Obama had gotten his jobs bill and a tax credit for bringing jobs  back from overseas.

http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-next-time-that-your-conservative.html

How Corporations conquered Anerica and ruined our health.

Corporations only care about money NOT HEALTH or the safety of the consumer.
On the business side, corporate managers really had only a few choices that allowed them to satisfy investors’ growing thirst for quick and steady returns on investment. They could create blockbuster products that produced windfall profits for at least a few quarters or years. They could dramatically increase market share by finding new populations of customers or by driving competitors out of business. They could buy and sell companies, hoping to profit by selling off assets or acquiring fast-growing businesses. Finally, companies could increase profits by firing workers, cutting benefits, or using their political muscle to lower taxes or resist or weaken regulations, thereby leaving more revenue as profit. On the political front, corporations expanded each of these opportunities by deploying their new armies of lawyers, lobbyists, public relations staff, and trade associations.

http://www.alternet.org/books/mcdomination-how-corporations-conquered-america-and-ruined-our-health?akid=11560.294211.mKbwfN&rd=1&src=newsletter964793&t=5

People Killed by guns - A comparison

The US is highter than countries that have strict gun laws.  I had someone send me a chart where the US was low but the chart left off countries that were lower.  This is the real chart.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate

13 Amazing Wildlife Photos

He's only been taking photos in a serious way for about 3 years — but you'd never know it by looking at his portfolio. Take a look.  Tin Man Lee is the Photographer

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/13-how-did-you-get-that-wildlife-photos-from-tin-man-lee

Republican Lies: Pentagon Budget NOT CUT TO 1930's levels. The truth

To fully grasp how absurd and filled with historical amnesia this “pre-World War II” claim is, just look at how the United States Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) characterized the challenge facing General George C. Marshall in 1939—before Germany invaded its first country and then-President Fraklin D. Roosevelt pretended that the U.S. was neutral while sending old Army planes to England.
“The U.S. Army in 1939 ranked 17 ^th in the world in size, consisting of slightly more than 200,000 Regular Army soldiers and slightly less than 200,000 National Guardsmen—all organized in woefully understrength and undertrained formations,” a SSI paper by Col. John T. Nelson said. “The Army possessed ony 329 crude light tanks and only a handful of truly modern combat aircraft with a total inventory of just over 1,800 planes.”

http://www.alternet.org/media/no-pentagon-not-cutting-army-budget-1930s-levels-medias-latest-big-lie-debunked

Bill Maher to Bill Crystal - Have you even met a war you didn't love?

I really like Bill Maher. 

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/02/watch-bill-maher-call-out-bill-kristol

32 DeTox Smoothies

32 detox drinks to detox various parts of the body

http://bembu.com/detox-drinks

Maddow - Texas - War on Women explained. Big Problems for Women

30,000 Unplanned Pregnancies because of closing services for Family Planning.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/most-needy-are-victims-of-texas-war-on-women-175855683617

Bill Maher smacks down the entitled rich

Living on 500 Million dollars is so very difficult?  Really?  You are oppressed because of your millons?

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/01/bill-maher-wants-to-give-self-pitying-billionaires-something-real-to-cry-about/

http://egbertowillies.com/2014/03/01/bill-maher-entitled-rich-smack-down/

20 Foods to give you the most energy

http://ecosalon.com/20-foods-to-give-you-energy/

Minimum Wage for the wealthy

$150,000 per year is all the wealthy ask. 

http://www.cagle.com/2014/02/minium-wage-for-the-wealthy/

EPA Moves to Block Pebble Mine - Great News!

The fisheries in Bristol Bay could be devastated by the Pebble Mine.  Pebble needs to be stopped.

http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2014/03/epa-moves-to-officially-block-pebble.html

Medicaid Expansion - Jon Stewart, Where Expansion was not done - result

Al Madrigal talks to people without health care because Republican Governors turned down Medicaid Expansion.

http://rackjite.com/daily-show-al-madrigal-makes-fool-ashley-landess-medicaid-expansion-refusal/

Texas Conservative Republicans took away Health Care for Women in Texas - The Result

Texas has slashed funding for women’s health, leaving  more than 155,000 women statewide without cancer screenings, birth control, and other health care. This shameful status is an “achievement”? The inadequate avenues still standing can be “better coordinated”? Sen. Nelson’s Orwellian doublespeak is a political farce, and it doesn’t fool the savvy women of this state. They are fed up with out-of-touch politicians and ready for change.

http://www.alternet.org/texas-women-face-health-disaster-thanks-right-wing-politicians?akid=11559.294211.PHGmeX&rd=1&src=newsletter964515&t=15

Guttng Public Education: Conservatives and vouchers are dumbing down our kids. 7 crazy things they are now vbeing taught.

Conservatives are masters at using distortion and subterfuge to sell people on things they would never buy if properly labeled. Nowhere is this more evident than in the arena of “school choice” -- a conservative euphemism for "gutting public education from the inside out."

http://www.alternet.org/education/7-most-absurd-things-americas-kids-are-learning-thanks-conservative-gutting-public?page=0%2C1&akid=11559.294211.PHGmeX&rd=1&src=newsletter964515&t=3