Category Archives: ALEC

Mold

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…grows in the dark….is what passed in my head while reading this.

I just can’t wrap my brain around this.  The hubris is just beyond me.  What gives us the right?

 

 

Bradley Foundation

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PRWatch has this up on the behind-the-scenes work of the Bradley Foundation.

From the article:

In advance of the 2012 elections, Bradley was revealed as the secret funder that had bankrolled giant billboard ads, exclusively in neighborhoods of color, stating “Voter Fraud is a Felony” during a period when voter ID was on hold in Wisconsin and many were confused as to its status. It funded groups that employed James O’Keefe, whose heavily-edited undercover videos hyped voter fraud allegations and helped take down ACORN, which had helped millions of low-income people register to vote. It also funded the legal advocacy group that represented O’Keefe.

Both Bradley and Searle have funded the American Legislative Exchange Council, which promoted voter ID laws in states across the country. And in the wake of Shelby County, ALEC-inspired voter ID bills and other restrictions will likely take effect across the South. As many as eleven percent of registered voters don’t have government-issued photo ID and would be unable to vote under the laws, with those percentages even higher among communities of color and students.

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(In case you missed it, James O’Keefe has crawled out from the rock he was under (after pleading guilty to misrepresenting himself as a telephone employee at Mary Landrieu’s office)  and is now proclaiming to be a journalist who was victimized. Bwahahahahahahaha….seriously….bwahahahahaha.   Let’s hope that his *cough* journalism efforts land him in jail for a looong time this go around…)

Be sure to click on the link explaining the Bradley foundation and its links to none other than….the Kochs and the John Birch Society.  Also, the link for  “group that brought both challenges”  is very informative.  Truly, their motives are to go back to “separate but equal” status of education.   Yeah, we all know how that worked out.   And the Searle connection…you know, one has to consider all the possibilities of drug companies that are behind racist overtures.  Kind of scary, isn’t it?

Good God,  these people  are control freaks.  And evil.

More on ALEC

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From the last post, Center for Media and Democracy has this up on filing suit for Ethics investigation of unreported gifts.

I really wanted to get access to the Financial Times article that includes John Kerry’s dirty fingers in the pie, but I don’t have a subscription….can Kerry get any farther from the Vietnam protester that he once was?  What the hell happened to him?

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Here is a group fighting back against the privatization of public interests.  What bothers me about this is that I don’t see language here that expressly denies privatization, but rather, it seeks to make more stringent rules.  Making rules is good, don’t get me wrong, but to me, privatization should be illegal when taxpayers have already foot the bill for building roads (and keeping them maintained with paving and such); when taxpayers paid for parking meters; when taxpayers built huge water reservoirs, when taxpayers paid for library books that are now being dumped and then sold by so-called ‘friends of the library”…and on….

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The dirty nine

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Nine state legislators were flown on a chartered flight and…well, you can read the rest here.

From the article:

The tar sands of Alberta are estimated to be the third largest reserve of crude oil on the planet. But the process of turning the tar-like bitumen into a refined product that can be used as fuel is extremely energy intensive and highly polluting. The former NASA scientist James Hansen, warned that the extraction and use of Canadian tar sands would mean “game over” for the climate. TransCanada is the operator of the proposed KXL pipeline, which would carry the tar sands to Texas for processing and likely for exports to markets abroad.

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I think it’s really important to highlight NASA scientist James Hansen’s statement on this because most folk think that folks who believe in climate change are “fringe” liberals, when they’re not.  Dr. Hansen is a prime example of that.

More:

TransCanada, which is a member of ALEC, sponsored ALEC’s Spring Task Force Summit in Oklahoma City in May 2013, alongside other corporations with tar sands interests including BP, Devon Energy and Koch Industries. TransCanada’s Vice President Corey Goulet presented to legislators at the conference during a session called “Embracing American Energy Opportunities.“

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Dimon stayed in touch with Adams’ office over the proceeding months, providing his staff with further materials about Keystone XL, including a set of talking points stamped with the TransCanada logo.

By February 14, Adams had an updated draft that had been reviewed by the Ohio legislative service commission, the non-partisan body that assists legislators with drafting legislation. Adams staffer Ryan Crawford sent this language to Rob Eshenbaugh, a lobbyist with Ohio Petroleum Council, the state affiliate of the American Petroleum Institute. “Please let me know if I can be of further assistance,” Crawford wrote to the lobbyist. Eshenbaugh responded with some requested changes, which Crawford then incorporated into the bill.

 

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So…yeah….pretty glaring examples of not so subtle bribery.  Unethical. Unethical. Unethical.

I have something of a quibble with the story saying that the XL has become a national issue….where were you when Enbridge was getting the northwest Indiana pipeline approved even though it runs near Lake Michigan and other sources of water?  Does anyone know why Indiana is ignored?    I’d like to know why we don’t matter….somebody tell me, please.

 

 

 

 

Burr on your being paranoid

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Thomas Burr, a *cough* reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune,  was on CSPAN this morning telling everyone what paranoids they are…the NSA is not spying on you, they are just gathering data.

And that 1 million square foot facility in Utah?  Pshaw…it’s only got a tiny, tiny bit of space devoted to that data.

And they *only* have 200 employees for that giant space (well…as far as we know….the exact number is…you guessed it…secret.)

And they’re not analyzing the data collected.  Really.  Would he lie to you?  Why are you so paranoid?  You probably need to take something for that.   /extra snarky

And when a  caller point blank said this was illegal and needs to be stopped, Burr spent the next few minutes speaking in double speak evading the question she asked about the legality of it.

 

 

Sally Lightfoot Crab

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…is the endangered species of the month of July.    (there weren’t any last month, in case anyone is wondering…they just had a serene pic of a beach…nice)

While searching the web, I found this excellent site that has a couple of videos on how climate change is affecting the Galapagos.  He has a clear, non jargon manner that is refreshing.  I wish that the mainstream media would put him on the air to explain Climate Change.  Whenever they mention Climate Change (IF they mention climate change) they don’t do a good job explaining it or to note changes already happening…gah, I wonder if the many commercials for BP and other oil companies has anything to do with it…?  (said with dripping sarcasm) (with the exception last night of CBS–they asked if all the wild fires going on now are a result of climate change and if the fire fighters believed in it.  The fire fighter interviewed said they would not find any fire fighter that has seen the incredible heat and intensity of these fires deny climate change.)

I saw on some sites that people were taking these crabs home for their aquariums.  Please don’t do this.  Enjoy the moment, and then leave them be.

Cultural Revolution of the United States – a la destroying public schools

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Diane Ravitch has this up on the lack of accountability and oversight of a voucher program.  Children watching DVD’s in a gymnasium…seriously??

I found the comments particularly poignant–that what is happening to public schools is akin to the Chinese Cultural Revolution.   Can you imagine how the American public would react if these were called Communist Revolution programs?  The * fit * would hit the * shan *….

And I like the idea of some of these folks bankrupting school systems to be brought up on criminal charges and serve some jail time for fraud.

Why aren’t they?

Nina Olson, Taxpayer Advocate

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…was on CSPAN today.

She is responsible for advocating for the lowly taxpayer and gives an annual report to Congress…which they promptly ignore.

She stated what I had surmised what the real problem was when this whole IRS mess came up–that there weren’t enough people to process applications for those wanting tax exemptions.  She stated that this has been an ongoing problem.  The graphic they showed was that it now takes 17 minutes of waiting on hold before an IRS staffer can take someone’s call.  It was only 3 minutes in 2004.

So…the whole whining by the Tea Party/repub conservatives who want tax exempt status for their dirty little political organizations but don’t want to pay up like everybody else…was a…wait for it…repub fiasco by wanting to shrink the gov’t down to drown it in a bathtub….which means cutting federal employees….

…but yet they’re whining about not getting fast enough service for the IRS to do its job of investigating whether they are political organizations or not….where’s Mrs. Alito when you need her?

Is anyone else sick of the Tea Party whiners?

And can we define mental illness by the act of cutting the budget, cutting employees but demanding that they get a speedy answer on their applications….and then playing the victim?

 

The Food Stamp Lie **edited

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**edited.  I missed the claim that he purchased all of this on $21.55  + 6.03 …. So, he’s saying that he used this for a week? At five weeks, that would be $137.90…and that’s only if you live within walking distance of a big box store (that pays minimum wage to its employees) …..but it still stands that this is not  healthy nor sustainable, without meat, fruits and veggies, butter (or olive oil) and eggs.

Donny Ferguson, an aide in the office of Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX), made the bogus claim that he could eat well on the amount of food allowed with Food Stamps, or SNAP, as it is officially called.

I was surprised to see such a well thought out response here.  Not expecting that from Forbes, for sure. 🙂

I read a rather lame article on MSNBC.  (not linking to it, you’ll have to google it.)   The article writer didn’t bother listing the food items that Ferguson bought, but started with the headline “Republican Staffer Beats Food Stamp Challenge”   I don’t know why folks think MSNBC is liberal…it’s not.  Save for a couple of the more enlightened ones.  I’m sure they’ ll be gone, however, if they really stick their necks out….a la Phil Donahue.  (I find it highly ironic that I grew up on Phil Donahue and my kids have control freak and bully Dr. Phil.)

The llist of the items bought by Ferguson:

For $21.55 Ferguson purchased at Dollar Tree:
Two boxes of Honeycomb cereal
Three cans of red beans and rice
Jar of peanut butter
Bottle of grape jelly
Loaf of whole wheat bread
Two cans of refried beans
Box of spaghetti
Large can of pasta sauce
Two liters of root beer
Large box of popsicles
24 servings of Wyler’s fruit drink mix
Eight cups of applesauce
Bag of pinto beans
Bag of rice
Bag of cookies

For $6.03 at the Shoppers Food Warehouse next door Ferguson bought a gallon of milk and a box of maple and brown sugar oatmeal.

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First, there are no can sizes listed. Highly suspect.  How big a box of sugar-coated cereal?  How big a can of chemically suspect red beans and rice?  How big a jar of grape jelly?

Speaking from a Celiac viewpoint, I couldn’t get past Day One of this wheat based diet.  I would be ill after the first meal, and in a hospital by the end of the month….if I made it that long.

Secondly, as the Forbes article mentions, this diet is void of fruits and vegetables.  And meat, too.  Not one egg.  No flour.  No butter. It has everything to encourage heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and dental decay.  There is nothing nutritious or healthy about this diet.

I don’t drink milk, but if I did before the crash and burn, I would have stopped by now because it’s too expensive and nutritionally questionable with pasteurized milk from grain-fed cows kept in captivity shot up with antibiotics.

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This is not a sustainable diet–for the planet nor for its inhabitants.  It’s disingenuous.  And no doubt if someone follows this diet, the repubs would be blaming them for getting sick and costing taxpayers $$$ dollars in healthcare costs.  Pffft.

The Voting Rights Act

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What can I say?

Roberts says that times have changed and things are different now.  Yes and No.

Yes we have our first African American president.  I see African American professionals in many places.  It was especially poignant to watch the coverage of the recent tragedy in Philadelphia–when the building collapsed.  The mayor, the head of the fire dept., and another official were all African Americans.  That was a proud moment.

But, No,  racism has not been eliminated.  Roberts should know this….in his own backyard of Laporte County, Indiana, was a case of someone spraying racial slurs on the sidewalk of an African American church about three years ago.  There was snow on the ground, to make tracking easier….but somehow the culprits got away….

Voting Rights Act was put into place because of the stuff we’re seeing yet today…

…like the attack on ACORN…an organization that sought to get the poor and others registered to vote…

…Florida thwarting voters…

…so to say that everything is just fine and it’s okay to let these states once again do as they please is just plain wrong.

Saying racism is “over” is like saying that sexism has been eliminated because we see *some* women in positions of power.  And those women don’t necessarily speak for women who stay home, out of the rat race, so to speak.  So it’s not a fair representation of all thoughts.   It’s also not a representation of actual progress.  When women who stay home are acknowledged as contributing to society as much as a woman who brings home a paycheck;  when rape is no longer seen as the fault of the woman; when domestic violence is acknowledged for its devastating effects on women, children, and society; when tenderness is no longer seen as weakness….only then will anyone convince me that sexism is no longer an issue.

And racism and sexism are created from the same mindset of power-over.