Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Meghan McCain makes a lot more sense than her father

There are several videos on the following link of Meghan's appearances on The View.  If she represents the youth of the Republican Party, there may be hope for it in the future. But I do wonder why she doesn't just become a Democrat, where her views are already embraced by the party.  Would her father disown her?  His handlers  actually asked her to leave the campaign trail when McCain was running for president!  She tells about this on the video with George Stephanopolous, which airs on the following link before the several The View videos.  And the Bushes disinvited her from a lunch at the White House when Dubya was president, after they had invited her (and she had already ARRIVED!).  As she says, "I am probably the only person invited to the White House for lunch who had to take the lunch home in a doggy bag."   I continually get e-mails from ultra-conservative right wingers who tell me how polite the Bushes were/are.  Hmmmm.......their definitions of "polite" and mine greatly differ.  You might enjoy the following videos--there are 4 or 5 of them, so wait a bit after the first one finishes for the rest to be played...
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Politics/exclusive-meghan-mccain-breaks-silence-sarah-palin/story?id=11521614

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Monday, August 30, 2010

Oxford study: Vitamin D can prevent cancer & autoimmune disease


A new study out of Oxford University pinpoints vitamin D deficiency as a culprit in serious illnesses like cancer and autoimmune disorders. According to the report, which was recently published online in the journal Genome Research, genetic receptors throughout the body need adequate vitamin D levels to prevent these and other serious illnesses from developing.

Multiple sclerosis, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Chron's disease, leukemia -- these and many more diseases are often caused by a lack of vitamin D. Your genes literally have receptors that need vitamin D in order to properly express themselves. If there is not enough of the vitamin, serious illness is prone to develop.

The Oxford team made specific observations about the importance of vitamin D in the genome regions associated with autoimmune diseases and cancer, noting that the nutrient is absolutely vital in helping to prevent these diseases from forming.

"Considerations of vitamin D supplementation as a preventative measure for these diseases are strongly warranted," expressed Sreeram Ramagopalan, author of the study.

However, current recommendations for vitamin D intake are unacceptably low, and many nations are considering updating their guidelines. The U.S. Institute of Medicine, for example, recommends getting a mere 200 to 600 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day, an amount far too low to have much therapeutic effect.

Since summer sun exposure creates about 20,000 IU of vitamin D in the skin in just 15 minutes, supplementation with at least 5,000 to 10,000 IU of vitamin D daily, particularly during the winter, is preferable. Healthy blood levels of vitamin D are somewhere between 50 and 80 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml), so many health professionals recommend having a "25 OH Vitamin D" blood test performed to check these levels.

Sources for this story include:

http://health.usnews.com/health-new...

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Sunlight emerging as proven treatment for breast cancer, prostate cancer and other cancers

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IT'S WITCH HUNT SEASON by Paul Krugman

Paul Krugman, far-seeing economist whose past comments have been right on the mark about practically everything political, speaks wisely once again -- but is ANYone in power listening???????  NO.  The Limbaughs and the Becks are taking over where the ought-to-be-responsible political leaders on the right are maintaining silence.  We the people will pay a huge price for the silence of the high echelon Repuglicans -- and for the do-nothing president who promised us change. The right-wing fanatical, crazed inmates will soon once again be in charge of the asylum.   Following is Krugman's perceptive, wise analysis of our present and near-future.  Woe is Us!

The last time a Democrat sat in the White House, he faced a nonstop witch hunt by his political opponents. Prominent figures on the right accused Bill and Hillary Clinton of everything from drug smuggling to murder. And once Republicans took control of Congress, they subjected the Clinton administration to unrelenting harassment — at one point taking 140 hours of sworn testimony over accusations that the White House had misused its Christmas card list.

Now it’s happening again — except that this time it’s even worse. Let’s turn the floor over to Rush Limbaugh: “Imam Hussein Obama,” he recently declared, is “probably the best anti-American president we’ve ever had.”

To get a sense of how much it matters when people like Mr. Limbaugh talk like this, bear in mind that he’s an utterly mainstream figure within the Republican Party; bear in mind, too, that unless something changes the political dynamics, Republicans will soon control at least one house of Congress. This is going to be very, very ugly.

So where is this rage coming from? Why is it flourishing? What will it do to America?

Anyone who remembered the 1990s could have predicted something like the current political craziness. What we learned from the Clinton years is that a significant number of Americans just don’t consider government by liberals — even very moderate liberals — legitimate. Mr. Obama’s election would have enraged those people even if he were white. Of course, the fact that he isn’t, and has an alien-sounding name, adds to the rage.

By the way, I’m not talking about the rage of the excluded and the dispossessed: Tea Partiers are relatively affluent, and nobody is angrier these days than the very, very rich. Wall Street has turned on Mr. Obama with a vengeance: last month Steve Schwarzman, the billionaire chairman of the Blackstone Group, the private equity giant, compared proposals to end tax loopholes for hedge fund managers with the Nazi invasion of Poland.

And powerful forces are promoting and exploiting this rage. Jane Mayer’s new article in The New Yorker about the superrich Koch brothers and their war against Mr. Obama has generated much-justified attention, but as Ms. Mayer herself points out, only the scale of their effort is new: billionaires like Richard Mellon Scaife waged a similar war against Bill Clinton.

Meanwhile, the right-wing media are replaying their greatest hits. In the 1990s, Mr. Limbaugh used innuendo to feed anti-Clinton mythology, notably the insinuation that Hillary Clinton was complicit in the death of Vince Foster. Now, as we’ve just seen, he’s doing his best to insinuate that Mr. Obama is a Muslim. Again, though, there’s an extra level of craziness this time around: Mr. Limbaugh is the same as he always was, but now seems tame compared with Glenn Beck.

And where, in all of this, are the responsible Republicans, leaders who will stand up and say that some partisans are going too far? Nowhere to be found.

To take a prime example: the hysteria over the proposed Islamic center in lower Manhattan almost makes one long for the days when former President George W. Bush tried to soothe religious hatred, declaring Islam a religion of peace. There were good reasons for his position: there are a billion Muslims in the world, and America can’t afford to make all of them its enemies.

But here’s the thing: Mr. Bush is still around, as are many of his former officials. Where are the statements, from the former president or those in his inner circle, preaching tolerance and denouncing anti-Islam hysteria? On this issue, as on many others, the G.O.P. establishment is offering a nearly uniform profile in cowardice.

So what will happen if, as expected, Republicans win control of the House? We already know part of the answer: Politico reports that they’re gearing up for a repeat performance of the 1990s, with a “wave of committee investigations” — several of them over supposed scandals that we already know are completely phony. We can expect the G.O.P. to play chicken over the federal budget, too; I’d put even odds on a 1995-type government shutdown sometime over the next couple of years.

It will be an ugly scene, and it will be dangerous, too. The 1990s were a time of peace and prosperity; this is a time of neither. In particular, we’re still suffering the after-effects of the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, and we can’t afford to have a federal government paralyzed by an opposition with no interest in helping the president govern. But that’s what we’re likely to get.

If I were President Obama, I’d be doing all I could to head off this prospect, offering some major new initiatives on the economic front in particular, if only to shake up the political dynamic. But my guess is that the president will continue to play it safe, all the way into catastrophe.


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Sunday, August 29, 2010

A Superb Evaluation of Glenn Beck

from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.  You don't want to miss this video--it is right on the mark:  http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/stewart-blasts-beck-rally-i-have-scheme
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Friday, August 27, 2010

Here comes the government naysayer re. UFO book and pilot witnesses

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38852385/ns/technology_and_science-space/

Our government is still sending out denials with spokespersons like the bought-and-sold Oberg, a past NASA man who now writes for NBC News as their in-house "space analyst" -- I hope most people are smart enough now to recognize government bullcrap, funneled through the corporate-owned major media, when they hear it.  No mention at all is made in Oberg's article about the high-echelon military witnesses of UFOs through these many past decades, or the astronauts who have come forward with their own stories of seeing UFOs.  By demeaning airline pilots who certainly ought to know they were seeing something VERY unusual in the skies around them, Oberg and the government behind him are STILL hoping to discourage popular belief in extraterrestrial visitation of the earth.  They are calming the fears of fundamentalists with this hogwash. I do hope others have more intelligence than to fall for it.

Those who are curious and openminded may want to read Leslie Kean's book
"UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go on the Record" and form their own opinions. Interesting, isn't it, how Oberg, in his arrogant dismissal of all the witnessing pilots, completely ignores the generals and government officials who have also gone on the record about their own sightings and experiences with UFOs?  He can't touch that part without casting aspersions on our military and government leaders.  Oops. But he hopes you won't notice that "little" omission....

For more honest, discerning reviews of this excellent book, you can go to amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/UFOs-Generals-Pilots-Government-Officials/dp/0307716848/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282950054&sr=1-1.  Here are just a few of the reviews from well-credentialed folks in all areas of science and academia:

"At last, a serious and thoughtful book about this controversial subject. Skeptics and true believers will find a treasure trove of insightful and eye opening information. This book is bound to set the gold standard for UFO research."                    
—Michio Kaku, Ph.D. Author of Physics of the Impossible and host of Sci Fi Science on the Science Channel

“I was astonished by the care and precision of Leslie Kean’s research in this terrific book.  Her analysis is carefully reasoned and to the point; her craftsmanship in organization and writing are superb.    Her expose' raises important questions: Why does the US government create public distrust by neglecting this important topic? Why do its agencies avoid investigating cases of interference with flight operations and instead issue absurd cover-up stories?  This book is ultimately an appeal to all scholars for an "extraordinary investigation of an extraordinary phenomenon.” 
—Rudy Schild, Ph.D., Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
 
“Like me, Leslie Kean is an agnostic on the issue of UFOs.  Her book is a fine piece of journalism - not about beliefs, but about facts.  Kean presents the most accurate, most credible reports on UFO's you will ever find.  She has fought long and hard to discover the facts and let the chips fall where they may
.  She may not have the final smoking gun, but I smell the gunpowder.”
—Miles O'Brien, former CNN space/science correspondent
 
“I find explanations offered by UFO enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists to be implausible, but I also have little patience with "deniers" who ridicule credible reports.  Leslie Kean has found a thoughtful path between extreme views, documenting the UFO mystery with intelligence and insight. She makes a strong case for U.S. participation in official, international UFO investigations and for public dissemination of the results.  The fascinating first-hand accounts make this a thought-provoking book, even for those of us who don’t know much about UFOs.”    
—Neal Lane, Ph.D., Rice University; former Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
 
“If you don't know much about UFOs, you must read this book. If you think that UFO reports are nonsense, this book will disabuse you of that notion. Leslie Kean's UFOs informs readers at every level of knowledge and belief.  It could, and should, become the "tipping point" that leads to public acceptance of the reality of UFOs and all of its implications.”
—Don Donderi, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, McGill University (Ret.)
 
“In an area of study where there aren’t many, this is a serious book.  It is credible, clear, and compelling, without any farfetched jumps in logic and assumption.  Its credibility begins on the first page with John Podesta and continues with case studies of extraordinary quality to the very end.  Leslie Kean not only makes the case for, but calls for, a whole new concrete and realistic perspective on UFOs that has more honesty and integrity than any other that I have read.  This is a book for anyone with an open mind.” 
—John L. Petersen, Founder & President of The Arlington Institute
 
“In these pages we are confronted head-on by the UFO phenomenon as revealed firsthand by highly credible government officials and military aviation experts. Their credibility and integrity cannot be questioned, and their firsthand observations cannot be ignored.  Leslie Kean provides a challenging analysis and she writes with penetrating depth and insight. The revelations in this book constitute a watershed event in lifting the taboo against rational discourse about this controversial subject.”
—Harold E. Puthoff, Ph.D., Director of The Institute for Advanced Studies at Austin
 
“When I started reading Leslie Kean’s UFOs, I found it very difficult to stop. This is an unprecedented assessment of what may be the greatest challenge ever presented to mankind
. In an outstanding piece of investigative journalism, Kean provides a well-written and convincing appeal for change in dealing with a phenomenon that can no longer be ignored.”  
—Jean-Claude Ribes, Ph.D., Paris Observatory (Ret.)
 
“For anyone who questions why - after more than fifty  years of denial, ridicule, and dismissal - many scientists, academics, political figures, and military personnel still insist that the subject of UFOs should be taken seriously, this book provides the answer.  Leslie Kean offers compelling documentation that physical objects, with flight characteristics not yet achievable by known technology, are being routinely reported in our skies.  They represent a mystery that needs to be solved.” 
—Stuart Appelle, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Science and Mathematics, State University of New York, Brockport

"Leslie Kean’s astonishing book is the finest piece of investigative journalism ever written on this subject.  She has an incomparable ability to ‘give voice’ to a constituency of exceptionally qualified and unbiased first-hand observers. They are not from the fringe, not groupies, and not delusional.  Rather, they are high-level military, intelligence, aerospace, and government officials who speak with authority while providing reports that document actual, physical craft. Kean’s book represents the first important step toward a new U.S. government openness about UFOs.  It brings forward a reality otherwise buried for far too long inside official mystery, and elevates the discourse above that of small-minded public discussions."
—Christopher C. Green, MD, Ph.D., Harper University Hospital, Wayne State University School of Medicine
 
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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Oops! Many right wingers aren't happy about this

Ken Mehlman, former RNC Chairman, has announced he is gay.  When the Tea Party/fundamentalist Republicans start stating their true feelings about him and his sexual orientation, he may soon begin to wonder if he is in the right political party.

News article:
Ken
Mehlman, who headed the Republican National Committee between 2005 and 2007, has come out in an interview with the Atlantic's Marc Ambinder:
Mehlman arrived at this conclusion about his identity fairly recently, he said in an interview. He agreed to answer a reporter's questions, he said, because, now in private life, he wants to become an advocate for gay marriage and anticipated that questions would be asked about his participation in a late-September fundraiser for the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the group that supported the legal challenge to California's ballot initiative against gay marriage, Proposition 8.

"It's taken me 43 years to get comfortable with this part of my life," Mehlman said. "Everybody has their own path to travel, their own journey, and for me, over the past few months, I've told my family, friends, former colleagues, and current colleagues, and they've been wonderful and supportive. The process has been something that's made me a happier and better person. It's something I wish I had done years ago."

Mehlman headed the RNC when the Republican Party was pushing anti-gay initiatives and increasingly speaking out against marriage equality. Former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie and Mehlman's longtime friend called Mehlman's coming-out "significant," but added that he remains opposed to gay marriage
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More info coming out on UFOs -- interesting!

Interesting article -- and photos at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/23/ufo-on-the-record_n_689518.html#s129372

It seems the government is slowly drawing back the curtain -- after many decades of denial.  Little by little the truth is being revealed about UFOs and extraterrestrial visitors to our planet.  So many sightings, so many muzzled witnesses -- but they can't keep it secret any longer.  Hopefully, the fundamentalist fanatics on our planet won't go crazy when they find out we aren't the only beings in "God's" universe. 

EXCERPT: The subject of UFOs -- of intense interest to the general public -- is no longer something that reputable journalists will feel they need to avoid or dismiss as silly. Popular culture has distorted the facts about this compelling mystery, and a new book sets the record straight. "UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go On the Record" (Harmony Books / The Crown Publishing Group) by journalist Leslie Kean pulls back the curtain on the incredible occurrences of unexplained behavior by unknown objects over many decades.

"UFOs" includes a foreword by John Podesta and riveting, first-person accounts written by over a dozen military and aviation witnesses and official investigators from around the world. Contributors include a former governor of Arizona, the former head of the FAA's Accidents and Investigations Division, military generals from five countries, a retired senior research scientist from NASA, Air Force and commercial pilots, and government officials from agencies investigating UFOs in their respective countries.


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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

A sweet, poignant essay from Bob Herbert

Talking about his childhood and love of baseball -- he made me feel as if I were there with him in his memories....I loved baseball, too, when I was a kid.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/24/opinion/24herbert.html?_r=1&hp

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Quotes of the Day

These quotes should be read by all right-wing fundamentalist types, but, sadly, they wouldn't get the point or even recognize the reference to themselves:

I was raised in a tradition of inquiry. If you encounter something that doesn't fit your worldview, it's more intellectually honest to say, 'maybe there's something wrong with this worldview,' than to try to shoehorn your findings into an existing belief.   -- John Mack

It is hard to let old beliefs go. They are familiar. We are comfortable with them and have spent years building systems and developing habits that depend on them. Like a man who has worn eyeglasses so long that he forgets he has them on, we forget that the world looks to us the way it does because we have become used to seeing it that way through a particular set of lenses. Today, however, we need new lenses. And we need to throw the old ones away. -- Kenich Ohmae


The ultimate test of a moral society is what kind of world they leave to their children.   -- Bonhoefer

To sin by silence when we should protest makes cowards out of men.  -- Elsa Wheeler Wilcox

There is a principle which is proof against all information, which is proof against all arguments, which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance; that principle is contempt, prior to investigation. -- Herbert Spencer


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Monday, August 23, 2010

Levi Johnston files to run for office in Wasilla

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20014470-503544.html?tag=stack

Levi wants to run for mayor.  The people in that town are just crazy enough to elect him (it's the office they elected Sarah Palin to fill years ago. Enuf said?)  I've heard the book Game Change is great--my daughter read it and said she will bring it to me to read.  All about the 2008 race for the presidency, including the McCain/Palin train wreck.
The McCain camp found Sarah Palin by doing computer searches of female Republican officeholders. Great way to pick a running mate. But after she was chosen, it seems Sarah was uneducable on the issues -- she didn't want to learn anything new.  Gee, wouldn't she make a great president?  The Tea Partiers think so.  I'll bet they think Levi would make a great president, too, in just a few years.  God help us all!

Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin

Read more about it at: http://www.amazon.com/Game-Change-Clintons-McCain-Lifetime/dp/0061733636/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282623877&sr=1-1
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More insanity from the far right wing fundamentalists

Expanded Stem Cell Regulations Stopped because of Right Wing Crazies.  Progress of any kind is impossible with these fanatical nutsos constantly obstructing it.  They ought to have their very own planet called NONO where they can scream and shout "NO! NO!" to every proposal meant to better their existence.  Wouldn't the rest of us love to wave Bye Bye to them as they leave Earth for their new adventure?!!!!  If only this dream could come true!!!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/23/stem-cell-regulations-tem_n_691738.html

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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

No Graceful Exit by Bob Herbert

I wish Obama would listen to sage advice like the following, instead of the military/industrial complex.  But we know who owns him and any politician who makes it to the higher echelons in the political ranks.  A sad, sad story of our democratic republic, once so promising, but now in its waning days.  Earth humanity is not yet evolved enough to overcome the temptations of greed and power lust in those who scramble over each other to reach the top.  On this planet, no one is ever satisfied with a little power or a little money -- "just enough" is not a term any of the elite recognize.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/opinion/17herbert.html?_r=1&hp

EXCERPTS:
I stand in awe of the heights of hypocrisy scaled by conservative politicians and strategists who demand that budget deficits be brought under control while cheering the escalation in Afghanistan and calling for ever more tax cuts here at home....

Sept. 11, 2001, was nearly a decade ago, and the war in Afghanistan was hopelessly bungled by the Bush crowd. There is no upside to President Obama’s escalation of this world-class fiasco.

We are never going to build a stable, flourishing society in Afghanistan. What we desperately need is a campaign of nation-building to counteract the growing instability and deterioration in the United States.


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No Graceful Exit by Bob Herbert

I wish Obama would listen to sage advice like the following, instead of the military/industrial complex.  But we know who owns him and any politician who makes it to the higher echelons in the political ranks.  A sad, sad story of our democratic republic, once so promising, but now in its waning days.  Earth humanity is not yet evolved enough to overcome the temptations of greed and power lust in those who scramble over each other to reach the top.  On this planet, no one is ever satisfied with a little power or a little money -- "just enough" is not a term any of the elite recognize.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/opinion/17herbert.html?_r=1&hp

EXCERPTS:
I stand in awe of the heights of hypocrisy scaled by conservative politicians and strategists who demand that budget deficits be brought under control while cheering the escalation in Afghanistan and calling for ever more tax cuts here at home....

Sept. 11, 2001, was nearly a decade ago, and the war in Afghanistan was hopelessly bungled by the Bush crowd. There is no upside to President Obama’s escalation of this world-class fiasco.

We are never going to build a stable, flourishing society in Afghanistan. What we desperately need is a campaign of nation-building to counteract the growing instability and deterioration in the United States.


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Sunday, August 15, 2010

Study: Prayer Actually Heals

Study: Prayer Actually Heals




Prayer heals when it's close-up and personal, and there's a study to prove it.

It's not just any kind of prayer, but "proximal intercessory prayer," or PIP — when one or more people pray for someone in that person's presence and often with physical contact — that was found by a team of doctors, scientists, and religious experts to have remarkable results in healing some patients.

A team of medical doctors and scientists led by Indiana University professor of religion Candy Gunther Brown found in the study, conducted in rural Mozambique, that prayer brought "highly significant" improvements to hearing-impaired participants and significant changes to the visually impaired.

Fourteen hard-of-hearing and 11 visually impaired study participants were recruited at meetings of pentecostal Christian groups in three Mozambican villages and one town.

They were tested with a handheld audiometer or vision charts, depending on their impairment, both before and after they took part in a prayer session.

"There was a highly significant improvement in hearing across 18 ears of 11 subjects" and "significant visual improvements," says the study, which will be published next month in the peer-reviewed Southern Medical Journal.

Two of the hard-of-hearing study participants were able to hear sounds at 50 decibels lower after the prayer session and three of the visually impaired subjects saw their vision improve from 20/400 or worse to 20/80 or better.

The study focused on the clinical effects of prayer and did not attempt to explain how or why some participants saw such remarkable improvements.

"This study shows that in some instances there are measurable effects that can be demonstrated using clinical studies," Brown told AFP.

"I consider this very much a first step and an indication of the direction for where research needs to head. Much more needs to be found out about why these effects are noticed, what are the mechanisms, are there structural changes involved," she said.

Stressing that their study sample was small and the conditions under which the study was conducted were far from ideal, the researchers urged "future study... to assess whether PIP may be a useful adjunct to standard medical care for certain patients," especially in countries with limited care options.

"The implications are potentially vast given World Health Organization estimates that 278 million people, 80 percent of whom live in developing countries, have moderate to profound hearing loss in both ears and 314 million people are visually impaired," the study says.

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Saturday, August 14, 2010

Explanation of how things really work (or don't) in our world

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/mikhail-branski/30728/the-tale-of-obama-and-the-pissed-off-left
By Mikhail Branski

Read the following and you'll realize that, of course, the author is correct.

EXCERPT:  
Let me create the scene for you once President Obama took office. He sat in the oval office, admiring the view (and wondering how the hell he did it!) and suddenly the Powers-That-Be strolled in, uninvited mind you, and essentially told him who ran things. They were the representatives of the titans of finance, of banking, of oil, of insurance, of exports, of pharmaceuticals, etc. Moreover, they informed the President what he could and could not do. Then they asked him if what they said was clear? And without waiting for an answer, they sat down and ordered drinks.

Dear reader, do you get it yet? Of course, the above is just an allegory. But there are mountains of truth in it. The system is controlled by plutocrats and, as any astute high school student knows, they finance political campaigns and the careers of politicians. For these bribes, they obtain access to our esteemed legislatures and influence or stymie bills in Congress, as each individual case is considered as to what benefits them.

They buy our Senators and Congressmen. That’s the way it works most of the time.
That’s the nature of American Democracy! (Cue the national anthem in the background, the Hendrix version, please!).

And if you don’t understand how the system works yet, you probably are barely aware of the decision made by the Supreme Court. Oh yeah, they ruled that corporations (confirmed as individuals with rights of their own over 100 years ago by that same august body), now have the right to contribute untold millions to the advertising campaigns of politicians. The Supreme Court calls this free speech. Ouch! Take that you motherfucker progressives! In your face!

Not to sound too pompous but here’s a little refresher on how the system works.
Our bicameral legislature, which makes the laws, ensures that business is conducted very agonizingly slowly with versions of bills developed in each house. Typically, the work week is only three days, Tuesday through Thursday. Any bill can be hindered by any number of methods or parliamentary strategies, the most controversial one being the invocation of a filibuster in the Senate which can forestall a vote on a bill. That means 60 votes are required to invoke the so-called cloture rule and limit debate.

In other words, a minority can hold all business hostage to their whims, hurts, egos and assorted power-grabs. (There are other parliamentary maneuvers as well, some allowing a single congressperson to prevent a bill from moving forward).

And in the meantime, a horde of cockroaches come out to impede the progress (if you care to call it that) of the bill. These cockroaches, also known as lobbyists, acting on behalf of the sinister plutocrats, mesmerize the representatives with promises of alluring treats, vacations, jobs for their family, and perhaps a sexual dalliance of his or her choice.

The next thing you know, the bill is stalled or compromised so much that it is not a bill anymore but a degenerate and bastardized piece of crap (like the Healthcare or Financial Regulation bills that ultimately became law). And then, everybody criticizes Obama for being unable to compel the congress to behave.

Folks, get real. Our system is antiquated, dysfunctional and so corrupt that the peoples’ business is impossible. In reality, the corporations run the show. Democracy? Please! The Senate is the least democratic institution we have. Give me a break!

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VERY INTERESTING INFO from former Presidential language interpreter

The wanttoknow site has so much information and so many links, you could spend weeks in this one site alone, learning a great deal of what has been kept from the public.  Impressive site. Only reliable, vetted sources are quoted.  This is like going to a UFO/political/spiritual conference for free -- you can pick and choose which subject you want to learn more about. And choose to believe what you read--or not.  For curious folks, this is a very interesting site to explore.  It offers an education you can't get in the mainstream media, that's for sure!  If you have curious open-minded friends who are interested in the interconnectedness of us all, this is a good site to pass along to them.

To start, go to:   http://www.wanttoknow.info/

Interesting stories about Fred Burks' years of interpreting in high-level political meetings: http://www.wanttoknow.info/050418fredburksinterpretingstories

Free online courses:    http://www.wisdomcourses.net/    
http://www.wanttoknow.info/g/hidden_knowledge

Best Online Lesson on UFOs: A powerfully revealing online lesson brings together the best video, quotes, essays, and much more on the important topic of UFOs. Developed by individuals involved with WantToKnow.info, this dynamic two-hour lesson provides a greater context with which to understand not only the cover-ups and manipulations going on involving UFOs and ETs, but how this directly affects our lives and world. This eye-opening lesson also gives ideas on what you can do to make a difference, and leaves you feeling a refreshing sense of hope for the future of our world.

http://www.insightcourse.net/lessons/06a_ufos_testimony

Speculation on UFOs and the Big Picture on Earth: This seven-page essay by the founder of WantToKnow.info provides deep speculation on the UFO presence on our planet and its implications. Though this is a speculative essay in which the sources provided are not as reliable as those usually used on the website, plentiful links are provided to explore some of the fascinating theories proposed. Don't miss this inspiring essay which calls on each of us to join in transforming our beautiful planet.

http://www.WantToKnow.info/meaningoflifebigpicture - A Speculative Look at the Big Picture



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Alien Encounters documentary video from Disney

It appears even Disney Studios have aligned themselves with those who are wanting to get the truth out about UFOs. You can see this documentary video at: http://www.personalgrowthcourses.net/video/ufos_disney_alien_encounters_video

Note that the site contains links to other videos you can see online re. the same subject. My opinion is that Out of the Blue is the very best. It contains solid-gold information and irrefutable evidence through credible witnesses and films of UFOs. This DVD is the one I consider most valuable for educating skeptics. If the footage in that documentary doesn't convince you that our government is withholding important UFO evidence from us, nothing will.

My own opinion about all of this is that our government is trying to convey some of the truth, piece by careful piece, to the public through videos like this, which are more frequently being seen on cable TV channels and even major network channels (i.e., ABC's UFO series narrated by Peter Jennings -- Seeing is Believing). If you missed seeing it, you can read about the ABC report at: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Primetime/story?id=468496 I believe Steven Spielberg's UFO films (ET, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and his TV series Taken) were made with the sanction of the U.S. government for the purpose of acclimating the public to seeing real evidence, thereby slowly leading them to an acceptance of the fact that evolved extraterrestrial civilizations not only exist, but several of them are visiting our planet at this time--and have been for years. World governments want to avoid mass terror and panic, such as occurred in the '30s when Orson Welles' radio presentation of War of the Worlds was broadcast so realistically that many people actually believed aliens had invaded Earth.

In the past few years, there have been many, many TV presentations on this subject. By now, I would think most people on the planet have been exposed to the truth in this way. So it may be time now for the full truth to be told -- which civilizations are here, why they are here, and what has been their agenda in all these covered-up years. Yes, we are living in "interesting" times.

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More interest in Dr. David Kelly's death

And it's about time! For curious people who want truth in what is really going on in our world, this article is an important read:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1302939/Dr-David-Kelly-hitlist-says-UN-weapons-expert-calls-grow-inquest.html

EXCERPT: 
A leading UN weapons inspector last night added his voice to the growing clamour for a full inquest into the death of Dr David Kelly.  Dr Richard Spertzel claimed Dr Kelly was on a 'hitlist' in the final years of his life.

The former head of the UN Biological Section, who worked closely with Dr Kelly in Iraq in the 1990s, has written to Attorney General Dominic Grieve about the 'mysterious circumstances' surrounding the death.  The weapons inspector's body was found after he was unmasked as the source of a damaging BBC news report questioning the grounds for the Iraq war.   Officially, he took his own life.

Yesterday Dr Spertzel told the Mail that the British authorities were 'intentionally ignoring' the issue.  He believes that there is something 'fishy' and insisted that a coroner should examine the death as soon as possible.

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Friday, August 13, 2010

More UFO information

In my attendance at many UFO seminars through the years, I've met Stanton Friedman and heard him speak several times.  As a physicist with strong scientific credentials and credibility, he's also appeared in many of the UFO documentaries and series one can often view on the Discovery channel, History channel, or the Natl. Geo. channel.  Friedman has been a major figure in the UFO scene for decades. Schmitt is a dedicated UFO researcher,who has written articles and books on the Roswell incident, but I've not seen him on the seminar circuit. The following article is good news, but I hope it doesn't take another decade to get the movie made. 

Ufologists Stanton Friedman and Don Schmitt, along with Hollywood producers Bryce Zabel and Don Most, discussed the film Majic Men, which will be based on their careers as UFO investigators searching for the truth about the Roswell incident. "It's time to get the real story out there," Friedman declared. He expressed optimism about the film because Most and Zabel are serious students of the UFO phenomenon who are well-versed in the Roswell story. Meanwhile, the producers reflected on how powerful Friedman and Schmitt's journey of discovery has been. "Everything that both of these men have gone through to break this story involves drama," Zabel observed, "it's incredibly dramatic and it's human too."

On how he feels to have his story turned into a motion picture, a gratified Friedman was hopeful that the film would capture some of the emotions he's experienced fighting for UFO truth. "I think the movie will be able to present some of that frustration, some of the joy, and some of the exciting moments," Friedman said. Both researchers pointed out that the film has the potential to reach far more people than just those who have read their books. "I could lecture for an awful long time and not reach the audience that one movie can reach simultaneously, almost, all over the world," Friedman laughed. While they were humbled by the acclaim they've received as news of the film has spread throughout the UFO research community, ultimately it is that potential for education of the public which they see as most important. To that end, Schmitt said, "I'm not looking for applause, I'm looking to finish this mission."
Zabel, who will be writing the screenplay for Majic Men, described his vision of the film as similar to the movie All the President's Men, as he plans to highlight the investigators, Friedman and Schmitt, as much as the actual Roswell event. "Majic Men will be the story of two down to Earth guys that are chasing a story that is out of this world," he mused. Looking at the timetable for when the film may actually make it to theaters, Most explained that staying true to the story trumped rushing it to the silver screen. "Getting somebody that has the same commitment to the vision we have is of the utmost importance," he said. While Zabel noted that most films can take up to 10 years to get made, he said that the climate of interest in UFOs makes him cautiously optimistic that Majic Men could see completion in "years and not a decade."


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Brazil will make public UFO documentation, sightings

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/12/brazil-ufo-sightings-to-b_n_679796.html

With many countries (UK, Spain, Russia, France and now Brazil) making public their documentation on UFOs, can it be that the education of the masses on this subject (through TV documentaries, movies, etc.) is now considered strong enough to finally let the public know what has been going on for decades on this planet, regarding visitations from several different types of extraterrestrial civilizations? Apparently, it was feared by officials of all countries that the masses would be panicked by this kind of news (back in the 1940s when visitations started to become much more frequent in number), so they kept it from us, decade after decade, putting out denials, false information, and ridicule of anyone who reported seeing UFOs. They also feared that some religious groups would not be able to handle true facts about the origins of our species. It was thought that their beliefs in a personal God, etc. would be threatened by hearing alternative understandings from more evolved civilizations, and religious fundamentalists of all kinds would "freak out." The U.S. government so far keeps denying what most intelligent people already know -- that we are not alone in this universe. Many, many credible witnesses have come forth with their own experiences -- and those sources include high-echelon military members, astronauts, pilots, even Presidents (Jimmy Carter, for one), all of whom attest to having seen UFOs and, in several cases, seen the alien visitors as well--both dead and alive. How long can our government keep this information from the U.S. public at large? With revelations from other countries popping up every day, it looks as if the answer to that is "Not much longer."

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Thursday, August 12, 2010

Global Warming - Extreme Climate is now the norm

Yet there are still the right wing naysayers -- and the United States and other countries are still dragging their feet in making any kind of remedial changes.  It's the way of our world now--obstructionist politics, and it will be the end of us.
Read it and weep: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/12/global-weirding-extreme-c_n_680364.html

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Interesting movie on Pat Tillman's covered-up death coming to town

Also, at the end of this story, there is a copy of a letter Pat TIllman's father wrote to the Senate Armed Services Committee about his son's death....  The military tried to use Tillman as a hero in order to entice others to enlist.  All the while they knew he had been killed by "friendly fire."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/12/pat-tillmans-father-to-ar_n_680128.html
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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Newt Gingrich's Second Wife Tells All About the Real Newt

By Elyse Siegel

A new Esquire profile of Newt Gingrich offers a rare glimpse into the personal life and political ambitions of the former House Speaker as he vies to make a comeback after resigning in disgrace over a decade ago.

Gingrich himself was interviewed for the feature story; however, some of the juiciest insight into the life of the prominent conservative voice comes from his ex-wife, Marianne Gingrich, whom he divorced in 2000.

"He asked me to marry him way too early," she revealed. "And he wasn't divorced yet [from his first wife Jackie Battley]. I should have known there was a problem."

Marianne Gingrich suggested that the former House Speaker found himself in the same relationship pattern eighteen years later when he sought to marry his current wife, then-congressional aide Callista Bisek.

"I know," she explained. "I asked him. He'd already asked her to marry him before he asked me for a divorce. Before he even asked."

The profile paints a silhouette highlighting the intersection of Gingrich's personal life and political career:

"There's somebody else, isn't there?"

She kind of guessed it, of course. Women usually do. But did she know the woman was in her apartment, eating off her plates, sleeping in her bed?

She called a minister they both trusted. He came over to the house the next day and worked with them the whole weekend, but Gingrich just kept saying she was a Jaguar and all he wanted was a Chevrolet. "'I can't handle a Jaguar right now.' He said that many times. 'All I want is a Chevrolet.'"

He asked her to just tolerate the affair, an offer she refused.

He'd just returned from Erie, Pennsylvania, where he'd given a speech full of high sentiments about compassion and family values.

The next night, they sat talking out on their back patio in Georgia. She said, "How do you give that speech and do what you're doing?"

"It doesn't matter what I do," he answered. "People need to hear what I have to say. There's no one else who can say what I can say. It doesn't matter what I live."

As for 2012, Marianne Gingrich shared her take on speculation swirling over the possibility of Newt Gingrich making a run for the White House in the next election cycle. The bottom line, she said, is that "there's no way" he'll be president.

"He could have been president," she explained. "But when you try and change your history too much, and try and recolor it because you don't like the way it was or you want it to be different to prove something new . . . you lose touch with who you really are. You lose your way."

Marianne Gingrich suggested that her ex-husband "believes that what he says in public and how he lives don't have to be connected" and added, "If you believe that, then yeah, you can run for president. ... He always told me that he's always going to pull the rabbit out of the hat."

Gingrich's second wife zeroed-in on what she suggested might be her ex-husband's achilles' heel:

"He was impressed easily by position, status, money," she says. "He grew up poor and always wanted to be somebody, to make a difference, to prove himself, you know.

There's much more in the full Esquire profile -- click here to read it all.


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Monday, August 09, 2010

Good God - Will Palin-mania never stop?

Sarah Palin's erstwhile on-again, off-again son-in-law- to be, Levi Johnston, is running for Mayor of Wasilla -- True Fact. God help those poor people in Alaska.
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=11362537

Maybe she'll pick him for her vice presidential running mate when she runs for president in 2012.  Now there's a dream (nightmare type) ticket!
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Saturday, August 07, 2010

Very touching video of autistic little girl who found her voice on the computer

Wonderful child, wonderful parents...This one will bring tears to your eyes with the inner beauty of this little girl who finally found a voice with which to communicate to the world.

Video of the Day

Carly Fleischmann has severe autism. And for 11 years she couldn't communicate. But then she started typing. It changed everything

 
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Massive ice island breaks off Greenland

Reaction from Al Gore haters and science deniers:  Global warming?  What global warming?  Some just never learn.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/08/07/greenland.ice.island/index.html?hpt=T1

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Friday, August 06, 2010

The Flim-Flam Man by Paul Krugman

I'm grateful for the Paul Krugmans of our world keeping check on the flim-flammers who try to make you think black is white in order to increase $$ in the pockets of the rich, at the expense of the rest of us. Today's column by Krugman explains the latest scam attempt by one of the GOP's new flim-flam men.

One depressing aspect of American politics is the susceptibility of the political and media establishment to charlatans. You might have thought, given past experience, that D.C. insiders would be on their guard against conservatives with grandiose plans. But no: as long as someone on the right claims to have bold new proposals, he’s hailed as an innovative thinker. And nobody checks his arithmetic.

Which brings me to the innovative thinker du jour: Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

Mr. Ryan has become the Republican Party’s poster child for new ideas thanks to his “Roadmap for America’s Future,” a plan for a major overhaul of federal spending and taxes. News media coverage has been overwhelmingly favorable; on Monday, The Washington Post put a glowing profile of Mr. Ryan on its front page, portraying him as the G.O.P.’s fiscal conscience. He’s often described with phrases like “intellectually audacious.”

But it’s the audacity of dopes. Mr. Ryan isn’t offering fresh food for thought; he’s serving up leftovers from the 1990s, drenched in flimflam sauce.

Mr. Ryan’s plan calls for steep cuts in both spending and taxes. He’d have you believe that the combined effect would be much lower budget deficits, and, according to that Washington Post report, he speaks about deficits “in apocalyptic terms.” And The Post also tells us that his plan would, indeed, sharply reduce the flow of red ink: “The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan would cut the budget deficit in half by 2020.”

But the budget office has done no such thing. At Mr. Ryan’s request, it produced an estimate of the budget effects of his proposed spending cuts — period. It didn’t address the revenue losses from his tax cuts.

The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has, however, stepped into the breach. Its numbers indicate that the Ryan plan would reduce revenue by almost $4 trillion over the next decade. If you add these revenue losses to the numbers The Post cites, you get a much larger deficit in 2020, roughly $1.3 trillion.

And that’s about the same as the budget office’s estimate of the 2020 deficit under the Obama administration’s plans. That is, Mr. Ryan may speak about the deficit in apocalyptic terms, but even if you believe that his proposed spending cuts are feasible — which you shouldn’t — the Roadmap wouldn’t reduce the deficit. All it would do is cut benefits for the middle class while slashing taxes on the rich.

And I do mean slash. The Tax Policy Center finds that the Ryan plan would cut taxes on the richest 1 percent of the population in half, giving them 117 percent of the plan’s total tax cuts. That’s not a misprint. Even as it slashed taxes at the top, the plan would raise taxes for 95 percent of the population.

Finally, let’s talk about those spending cuts. In its first decade, most of the alleged savings in the Ryan plan come from assuming zero dollar growth in domestic discretionary spending, which includes everything from energy policy to education to the court system. This would amount to a 25 percent cut once you adjust for inflation and population growth. How would such a severe cut be achieved? What specific programs would be slashed? Mr. Ryan doesn’t say.

After 2020, the main alleged saving would come from sharp cuts in Medicare, achieved by dismantling Medicare as we know it, and instead giving seniors vouchers and telling them to buy their own insurance. Does this sound familiar? It should. It’s the same plan Newt Gingrich tried to sell in 1995.

And we already know, from experience with the Medicare Advantage program, that a voucher system would have higher, not lower, costs than our current system. The only way the Ryan plan could save money would be by making those vouchers too small to pay for adequate coverage. Wealthy older Americans would be able to supplement their vouchers, and get the care they need; everyone else would be out in the cold.

In practice, that probably wouldn’t happen: older Americans would be outraged — and they vote. But this means that the supposed budget savings from the Ryan plan are a sham.

So why have so many in Washington, especially in the news media, been taken in by this flimflam? It’s not just inability to do the math, although that’s part of it. There’s also the unwillingness of self-styled centrists to face up to the realities of the modern Republican Party; they want to pretend, in the teeth of overwhelming evidence, that there are still people in the G.O.P. making sense. And last but not least, there’s deference to power — the G.O.P. is a resurgent political force, so one mustn’t point out that its intellectual heroes have no clothes.

But they don’t. The Ryan plan is a fraud that makes no useful contribution to the debate over America’s fiscal future.

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Thursday, August 05, 2010

Betrayal of the voters who elected him

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/doug-giebel/30549/flip-flops-and-failures-obamas-political-nonsense
OBAMA'S POLITICAL NONSENSE
By Doug Giebel

EXCERPT:

How long will apologists for President Barack Obama continue to excuse his administration's flops and failings?

How long, too, must concerned Obama supporters ask, "Whatever happened to the guy who campaigned as a fired-up crusader for truth, light and justice?" For it is painfully obvious that Barack Obama abandoned his campaign-winning persona once he prevailed in the election.

...For all the times it came, that clarion call for "change," it is now beyond doubt that Barack Obama has been unable to overcome his own demons and challenge the "way things are" in Washington. "Change" is a word that's easy to say, but it's much harder to accomplish. To cite John Donne, "no man is an island," and Barack Obama seems to have forgotten how many true believers across this country and across the globe were rooting for his success -- and would stand with him again, if he had the courage to call them into action. Or, would stand with him again if they had not been burned once by a group whose ambition truly seems to be "the last infirmity of noble minds."

It is not cynicism to wonder if Barack Obama ever really believed his own most eloquent words.

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Churchill ordered UFO Cover-up, UK national archive files reveal

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10853905

More articles on UFO secrecy by government are listed at the end of this article.

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Dondi, 36-year-old elephant, dies in Mass. Zoo

http://www.care2.com/causes/animal-welfare/blog/dondi-the-elephant-dies-in-massachusetts-zoo/

Elephants are too big to be caged...they should be free to roam and be with others of their kind.  This poor elephant was all by herself...I agree with the commenter in the article, that elephants are usually very social animals.  The comment from the zoo that she didn't want to be with other elephants just doesn't ring true.


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Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Deadly Heat Wave hits southeast and midwest

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/deadly-heat-wave-sweeping-midwest-southeast-bringing-triple/story?id=11326471

Here in coastal California we are having a year without a summer, with very cool temps, fog, and overcast days much of the time--even to the point of having to turn on the furnace (I have not yet resorted to that!). I'm not complaining about it, though, especially when I read about the heat wave hitting much of the rest of the nation.

Yet, some people still don't believe in global warming. What would it ever take to convince them?
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NBC News: British Files Reveal Secret UFO Study

Mainstream news catching up slowly (very slowly) -- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38566733/ns/technology_and_science-space/

They're leaking UFO info. to the masses little by little -- no doubt hoping to prepare them for truth about the visits of extraterrestrials to our planet that have been taking place over many centuries -- and that have increased dramatically in the last 50 years.  So much to learn -- and so few know the truth.  We still live in an age of naivete of the masses, an age where religions still hold control over most of the people.  We must look like an extremely backward civilization to the visitors. 



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Republicans are covering all bases in a dizzying way

They are both FOR and AGAINST many issues, leaving it up to Democrats running against them to figure out HOW to run against them. It would be hilariously amusing (and it is, keeping you laughing through your tears) if this incredible hypocrisy were not being swallowed whole, without a chaser, by the Limbaugh and Beck dittoheads nodding their heads as if it all makes perfect sense. "Oh, our candidates are For Cap and Trade (originally a Republican idea)-- but, wait a minute--now they're Against Cap and Trade. OK, got that."

"Oh, they're For a Health Care mandate...Oops...No, they're Against a Health Care mandate." (Republicans first proposed a health care mandate in the 1980s -- the same senators who introduced it then, now have come out against it.)

Mitch McConnell this past week led a campaign against his own ideas on campaign finance, leading the charge against himself!

"Oh, they're
F
or helping small business."...BUT a bill that would help small business with expanded loan programs and tax cuts (just what the Republicans asked for!) came up, and what did the Republicans do? They filibustered it! They didn't allow it to come up for a vote!

This is all verifiable on tape! See these crazy-makers on video, talking out of both sides of their mouths. And then contemplate in wonder how their Republican supporters can twist their minds six ways from Sunday around the issues, as their champions bounce from one side to the other, without embarrassment or apology -- or explanation. If the Democrats agree with their proposal and climb on board to help them pass what they said they wanted, they suddenly jump ship and swim in the opposite direction. This is the worst in reactionary, obstructionist politics -- that help no one!

It truly pays to be insane if you count yourself as a Republican. You just love being called a "dittohead" by those who lead you around by the nose -- and you pay no attention to the number of times your candidates jump back and forth on the issues. Wherever they jump, you follow. Whatever they tell you, you swallow. No need for a mind of your own -- or intelligent evaluation of the issues and your candidates. Just follow the bouncing balls--all over the place.


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The Democrats need to use this footage for some campaign ads this year. Rachel Maddow lays out how the Republicans have continually flip-flopped on their own campaign issues once Democrats decide to embrace them whether it be health care reform, campaign finance reform, aid to small businesses or cap and trade. As she said in the clip of this rank hypocrisy, they're just not embarrassed. But then since the media largely gives them a pass on this kind of stuff, why should they be?

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Same Sex Marriage Ban Overturned in California

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/04/proposition-8-overturned_n_670739.html
YES!!!  Compassion, Intelligence, and Wisdom prevail in the Golden State...for a while.  But we know the Tea Party self-proclaimed "Christian" types, who don't want others to enjoy the same freedoms they have, will carry their appeal (and hatred/prejudice) all the way to the Supreme Court.  Theirs is the kind of "Christianity" that would not be recognized by Christ as any of his teachings. 

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Sense and Senselessness in romantic comedy movies

I love those Roz Russell/Cary Grant - type movies of the '30s and '40s, where the smart, sharp dialogue zips and zings.  What we now have in present-day stuff is tripe.  Everything has been dumbed down.  This Maureen Dowd column hits it right on the mark -- look at what corporatism gone wild has given us.  In almost every important way, society has been dumbed down to the point where most people wouldn't appreciate--or even understand--the fast-paced repartee' between the men and women in those romantic comedies of the past.  For proof of that statement, just look at what the GOP (Greed Over People) puts forth as a presidential hopeful: Sarah Palin.  It seems they didn't get enough stupidity from their last bumbling idiot, Duhmbya Bush, who trashed our country beyond recognition.  I rest my case.  Read what Maureen Dowd has to say:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/opinion/04dowd.html?_r=1&hp 

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Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Real journalism is defunct

The days of depending on journalists to bring forth truth to the masses are long gone.  They will not police themselves, thus allowing FAUX news to fool the people, many of whom don't seem to care whether they get truth or fiction from their news reporters.

From www.crooksandliars.com 
By David Neiwert

Bill O'Reilly was all giddy last night about the news that in the wake of the seat-shuffling that followed Helen Thomas' departure from her front-row seat at White House press conferences, Fox News has managed to nab a front-row slot (the AP was awarded Thomas' coveted spot).

BillO even implied that he'd be coming down and making things rough on Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. Ho ho ho ho hah.

But as Lynn Sweet's report notes, Fox was awarded the spot over two other superb news organizations: NPR and Bloomberg. Indeed, both are at least legitimate news organizations and not the brazen propaganda outlet that Fox News has become.

Fox has been able to get away with being a propaganda organ while pretending to do real "news" because of the cowardice of real working journalists, who have simply failed in their supposed role as the profession's "internal policing" mechanism.

This was exemplified, really, by the White House press corps' craven surrender to Fox's campaign to get that front-row seat, even though every working journalist in that room knows that at the end of the day, even a semi-decent guy like Major Garrett has to answer to Roger Ailes. Every one of them knows, too, that Fox churns out right-wing propaganda as a 24/7 operation.

But they will never do anything about it.

I was reminded, incidentally, of the old seven techniques of the propagandist, identified back in the 1930s:

· Name Calling: hanging a bad label on an idea, symbolized by a hand turning thumbs down;

· Card Stacking: selective use of facts or outright falsehoods, symbolized by an ace of spades, a card signifying treachery;

· Band Wagon: a claim that everyone like us thinks this way, symbolized by a marching bandleader's hat and baton;

· Testimonial: the association of a respected or hated person with an idea, symbolized by a seal and ribbon stamp of approval;

· Plain Folks: a technique whereby the idea and its proponents are linked to "people just like you and me," symbolized by an old shoe;

· Transfer: an assertion of a connection between something valued or hated and the idea or commodity being discussed, symbolized by a smiling Greek theater mask; and

· Glittering Generality: an association of something with a "virtue word" to gain approval without examining the evidence; symbolized by a sparkling gem.

That describes Fox News' daily "news" operations to a T.

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Bob Herbert--A voice of sanity in a world of lunacy

But no one in power is listening. Oh, they'll tell us, "You don't understand all the ramifications and subtle nuances of the problems we're dealing with..."  And on and on it goes, year after year, decade after decade, war after war, with more of the poor and middle class kids giving their lives and limbs and minds to the rich men's dreams, as the rich men acquire more and more wealth at the expense of the chess piece people they maneuver on the board of life.  Such a world...such a world...

The Lunatic's Manual
by Bob Herbert, NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/opinion/03herbert.html?hp

EXCERPT: As if there is not enough that has gone tragically wrong in this era of endless warfare, the military is facing an epidemic of suicides. In the year that ended Sept. 30, 2009, 160 active duty soldiers took their own lives — a record for the Army. The Marines set their own tragic record in 2009 with 52 suicides. And this past June, another record was set — 32 military suicides in just one month.

War is a meat grinder for service members and their families. It grinds people up without mercy, killing them and inflicting the worst kinds of wounds imaginable, physical and psychological. The Pentagon is trying to cope with the surge in suicides, but it is holding a bad hand: the desperate shortage of troops has forced military officials to lower the bar for enlistment, thus letting in people whose drug and alcohol abuse or other behavioral problems would previously have kept them out. And the multiple deployments (four, five and six tours in the war zones) have jacked up stress levels to the point where many just can’t take it.

...It’s time to bring the curtain down for good on these tragic, farcical wars. The fantasy of democracy blossoming at the point of a gun in Iraq and spreading blithely throughout the Middle East has been obliterated. And it’s hard to believe that anyone buys the notion that the U.S. can install a successful society in the medieval madness of Afghanistan.

For those who haven’t noticed, we have a nation that needs rebuilding here at home. Maybe we could muster some shared sacrifice on that front.


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Monday, August 02, 2010

Sunday, August 01, 2010

Why You're Alive and Can Never Die

This article by Dr. Robert Lanza offers some intriguing ideas about life and death.  It's interesting to read and ponder thoughts of this nature.  Considering this to be of paramount importance in the grand scheme of things, I've spent much of my life doing just that.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-lanza/why-youre-alive-and-can-n_b_660552.html
Other articles by Dr. Lanza are included in the links that follow this one.

EXCERPT: P
hysics tells us that energy is never lost, and that our brains -- and hence the feeling of life -- operate by electrical energy, and this energy simply can't vanish. The biocentric view of the timeless, spaceless world allows for no true death in any real sense. Immortality resides outside of time altogether. Eastern religions have argued for millennia that birth and death are equally illusory. Since consciousness transcends the body -− "external" is a distinction of language alone −- we're left with consciousness as the bedrock of existence. Death has always meant only one thing: an end with no reprieve. If we're just our body, then we must die. But if we're our consciousness, the sense of experience, then we can't die for the simple reason that consciousness is expressed in manifold fashion and is ultimately unconfined.
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