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There is no global warming problem
Richard Moore
In questions of science, the authority
of a thousand is not worth the humble
reasoning of a single individual.
– Galileo Galilei
Whenever you find that you are on the
side of the majority, it is time to pause
and reflect.
– Mark Twain
You've all heard of Occam's Razor: the simplest explanation is to be preferred. I have my own rkm's razor: whatever the regime is selling is based on lies. I was quite concerned about co2 emissions for years, right up until the time Gore took up the cause. Then I said, Whoa! Time to reconsider.
PolitiFact's Lie of the Year: 'Death panels'
Angie Drobnic Holan
Of all the falsehoods and distortions in the political discourse this year, one stood out from the rest.
"Death panels."
The claim set political debate afire when it was made in August, raising issues from the role of government in health care to the bounds of acceptable political discussion. In a nod to the way technology has transformed politics, the statement wasn't made in an interview or a television ad. Sarah Palin posted it on her Facebook page.
Her assertion — that the government would set up boards to determine whether seniors and the disabled were worthy of care — spread through newscasts, talk shows, blogs and town hall meetings. Opponents of health care legislation said it revealed the real goals of the Democratic proposals. Advocates for health reform said it showed the depths to which their opponents would sink. Still others scratched their heads and said, "Death panels? Really?"
Then the Financial Tsunami Hit... Frontline report
This is a front line report on the class war. Edwin Girdle (The Colonel) had an excellent business going until he needed a loan after the shock of 2008. The banks that got billions weren't lending and there was no help anywhere else in the "safety net." His story is compelling and clear. Noted at Jerome Doolittle's blog at SmirkingChimp.com who first posted this and reprinted with Mr. Girdle's permission. Michael Collins
For three years I owned and operated a mini-market/gas station in a Cincinnati, Ohio suburb. I bought an already existing store using all the assets I had, including my 401K funds, after being down-sized from my middle-management career of 22 years (in one of the many industries which the U.S. can no longer keep onshore).
Things went along fairly well and the business grew as I acquired a large clientele of regular customers from the local construction companies, other business owners, and the Ford plant. My girlfriend and I worked 90+ hour workweeks and, along with help from a few part-time employees, we operated 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. In other words, I was a real practitioner of the kind of free-enterprise capitalism that our windbag politicians and business leaders praise to the heavens while making sure it doesn’t apply to them.
Obama Year One: Betrayal and Failure (Part I)
Stephen Lendman
Promising change after eight George Bush and Republican dominated years, Barack Obama won the most sweeping non-incumbent victory in over 50 years along with congressional Democrats gaining large House and Senate majorities. In addition, at 56.8%, voter turnout was the highest since Richard Nixon's "secret plan" to end the Vietnam war and his "Southern" and "law and order" strategies beat Hubert Humphrey and independent George Wallace in 1968.
On election night, the mood celebrated hope for progressive change, an end to imperial wars, and a new day for America. When word came around 10PM, expectant thousands in Chicago's Grant Park erupted with chants of "yes we can," hoping Obama would make a difference at a time of deepening economic duress.
In its November 4, 2008 editorial titled, "The Next President," The New York Times called it "one of those moments in history when it is worth pausing to reflect on the basic facts," then listed some:
-- for the first time, Americans elected a black president;
-- his triumph was "decisive and sweeping, because he saw what is wrong with this country, (and will change direction) to regulate the economy fairly, keep the air clean and the food safe, ensure that the sick have access to health care, and educate children to compete in a globalized world;"
-- he "committed to ending a bloody and pointless (Afghan) war (and) restore Americans' civil liberties and (the nation's) reputation around the world;"
-- he must now "prevent an economic collapse fed by greed and an orgy of speculation (by) impos(ing) control, coherence, transparency and fairness," in contrast to George Bush; and
-- he "now needs the support of all Americans (to help him deal with the) many other urgent problems that must be addressed."
The Salvation Army: It gets worse
Mary Shaw
It's that time of year again. At shopping centers everywhere, representatives from the Salvation Army, dressed in their paramilitary attire, ring their bells and aggressively invite your holiday donations. And I always see people eagerly throwing money into their big red kettles. I suspect that most of these generous individuals aren't aware of what their dollars are actually funding.
Last year I wrote a column titled "The Salvation Army's red kettle of trouble", in which I outlined the Salvation Army's long and disturbing history of religious coercion, abuse, and intolerance. An excerpt:
I have spoken with a number of people who have sought assistance from the Salvation Army in the past, particularly for disaster relief. I was told of how these people were preached to and forced into praying with the Salvation Army folks to their Christian God as a prerequisite for receiving services. If you're Jewish, tough. If you're Hindu, tough. Gotta pray their way, to their God, or else you're not worthy of assistance. It's quid pro quo. Gotta take advantage of people when they're most vulnerable. Contrast this with the secular Red Cross, which just wants to help disaster victims, not save their souls. (In the interest of full disclosure, I personally received help from the Red Cross when my apartment building burned down in 2001. They were extremely helpful and compassionate, and expected nothing in return.)
On A Parent's Death And Minding Your Tongue In The U.S.A.
By Emily Spence
I'll be quite frank. I'm never completely comfortable in discussing certain persons, such as Fidel Castro, on the phone, nor forwarding e-mail content concerning them, such as his Visiones Alternativas - Reflections of Fidel:The moment of truth about the recent Copenhagen events. Certainly, it would be so much easier to simply avoid certain topics altogether in communications because there so often are direct or indirect repercussions for involvements in particular matters, as is inferred at Ex-Snoop Confirms Echelon Network - 60 Minutes - CBS News:
"Everywhere in the world, every day, people's phone calls, emails and faxes are monitored by Echelon, a secret government surveillance network. No, it's not fiction straight out of George Orwell's 1984. It's reality..."
We learn more fully about this spy activity from a Transcript of 60 Minutes on Echelon:
"KROFT: ... Is it possible for people like you and I, innocent civilians, to be targeted by Echelon?
Bended Knees: Zionist Power in American Politics
By James Petras
“Obama wants to see a stop to settlements: Not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth exceptions”. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, May 2009
“What the prime minister has offered in specifics of a restraint on the policy of settlements…..is unprecedented, there has never been a precondition, it’s always been an issue within negotiations.” Hillary Clinton, BBC, November 1, 2009 (my emphasis)
“The US administration understands what we have always said … that the real obstacle to negotiations is the Palestinians (calling for a freeze on settlements)”. Israeli Minister of Science and Technology Daniel Hershkowitz, November 1, 2009 (my addition).
“America, stop sucking up to Israel!” Gideon Levy, Israeli journalist, Haaretz, November 1, 2009.
“US Zionists are sticking it to America, 24/7”, Anonymous Staff Official, Washington D. C., October 31, 2009.
Senate Speech Heralds New Social Movement Seeking Health Care for All
By Margaret Flowers, Katie Robbins and Andy Coates
Sen. Sanders Single Payer Speech Came About Thanks to Persistent Efforts of 'Medicare for All' Advocates in the Face of Congress Trying to Ignore the Will of the People
This week the sincere effort of millions of people across the nation once again proved effective in the face of determined opposition from the White House and Congress, as single payer health reform reached another milestone in its historic journey.
Neo-Catholics and Neo-Cons: An Unholy Alliance (Satire)
by William Hughes
“Just when I discovered the meaning of life, they changed it!” - George Carlin
To: Guardian of the Holy Index of Proscribed Books at the Vatican
From: Your Deep Cover, Ever Faithful Agent in Godless America
You want to know, Your Worshipfulness, how bad things are here, then consider this: The “National Enquirer,” a weekly scandal sheet, is selling out faster than President Barack Obama can break his campaign promises! All you hear about is Tiger Woods and his bimbos. Every day, there’s another expose’. This pleases TV-Talk-Show guru David Letterman and ex-Presidential candidate, John Edwards. Why? Because it pushes their sexual dalliances to a back burner. I’m writing to let you know that there is a disturbing new book out--“The Neo-Catholics: Implementing Christian Nationalism in America.” The author is Betty Clermont.
Morgan Stanley Just Walks Away from Huge Mortgages
If you did that, they'd call it immoral
Over at The Agonist, Numerian offered up a short, powerful explanation of what's happened with Wall Street bailout recipient, Morgan Stanley. The former investment bank bought five properties in San Francisco as the market verged on a sharp downturn. Their value fell precipitously. The office buildings lost 50% of their value at purchase.
Numerian's piece shows that the cosmetic terms used to differentiate Morgan's “structured default” are no different than individual home owners who abandon their mortgages for purely financial reasons.
“Morgan Stanley doesn't look at it that way, not when it comes to its own behavior. It only expects you, the consumer and homeowner, to have moral attitudes about financial decisions. With the corporations, morality doesn't enter into it; it's just business. That is why it is very, very important for strategic defaults by firms like Morgan Stanley to be dressed up as something different - as a negotiation done voluntarily for mutual agreement. And after all, Morgan Stanley itself isn't going bankrupt, just the subsidiary that bought these properties is acting like it's bankrupt.
ee Morgan Stanley Defaults, Numerian, The Agonist
Morgan Stanley received $10 billion in federal bailout funds as Wall Street high fliers faced collapse. in 2008. Just months after the citizen subsidy, Morgan gave 438 executives seven figure bonuses.
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