Category Archives: public protests

Happy Labor Day, Mom

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Wow. what a great piece.

When I first saw the title, I thought it was going to be a piece on the unsung workforce of women who take care of the home and children…with nary an acknowledgement by law or wages…but I was pleasantly surprised that even though it was about a mother who works outside the home, it held such a great depth and context.

I disagree with the author’s assertion, however, that the education “reformers” don’t seem to grasp the hard-won battles women have had to fight for the same rights that men enjoyed without resistance….

…the “reformers” know EXACTLY what they are doing.  They know that the teacher’s unions have protected working women with equal pay for the same work performed as men teachers, with protection of being dismissed for asserting the same equal rights enjoyed by men such as being able to be married, have children, have reasonable work hours and good pay.  You have to remember who the “reformers” are and their indifference towards women, or worse, loathing of women.

(By a weird circumstance, I belonged briefly to the American Federation of Teachers and was amazed at their strength, unity, and benefits.    It was like nothing I had seen before. )

 

 

 

A discussion on population…

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Gene Logsdon has put up a post on his thoughts on population growth and food availability.

It’s a touchy and uncomfortable subject….to say the least.

It brings up eugenics–there are stories out there of people like Bill Gates and the Rockefellers advocating for population control via eugenics and even through genetically modified food.  There is a video out there of Bill Gates advocating vaccines for this purpose.  I don’t know what to make of the video, so I’m not posting it– you’ll have to go find it yourself.

I think advocating de-population is morally and ethically wrong.  We get into the self-righteous, superiority of those who think they are *more special* than the rest, therefore, they should live while others die.

The comments are as interesting as the blog–with one suggesting that the population growth perhaps was a spiritual one of bringing more light into the world….

…with that, I would disagree.  There is so much negative energy on Earth that I would happily volunteer to go right now if God would take me.   Just give me enough morphine to stop my heart, and I’m good to go…

Speaking of negative energy, I was just thinking last night how much I missed teaching.  I enjoyed it and the kids’ earnest quest for knowledge.  I also liked that I didn’t have to put up with office politics nor office gossip.  When I was teaching, I would stay in the room and eat my lunch so I didn’t have to hear the teachers gossip (yes, they gossiped…mostly about stupid substitutes…).  I went in, did my job, and went home while avoiding all of that negative energy.  I didn’t have to put up with the tired questioning of my single status–there is definitely a prejudice against single people in this country.  The downside, of course, is the pay and the work-on-demand instead of a steady schedule.

And if you try to avoid the gossip and cut people off…as some suggest you do…you’re still screwed because the gossips then turn on you as a target.  I’ve actually had that happen to me.  I ended up leaving a good job because of it.

I suppose the questioning of population growth is related to our bad economy…not enough jobs that pay living wages….while jobs are shipped to other countries for even lower wages…and Burger King and their ilk go to other countries so they don’t have to pay their fair share of taxes….while war hawks push us towards another war again…while not taxing the rich….

Yeah, I’m in a negative mood…how could you tell?  😦

 

The crises in Haiti continues…with the “help” of Bill and Hillary Clinton

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...disaster capitalists….(no wonder Hillary Clinton supports Israel’s bombing innocent Gazans…she probably wants a piece of the action, too, to gain financially from the “rebuilding” of Gaza.)

…because you know, the poor are just “useless eaters” (Hillary Clinton supposedly said that although I haven’t been able to confirm it.)

I have a question–why isn’t Bill Clinton in jail for misappropriation of funds?

My other posts on Haiti:

Earthships in Haiti (this would be a big help to the poor)

Where’s the money, Bill and Hillary??   Be sure to click on the mismanagement link–good source of info.

 

 

Israel seeking to cash in on destruction

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If I am reading between the lines correctly, Israel is now seeking to cash in on the destruction it caused to Gaza.  My mind is just reeling. Disaster capitalism at the very worst.  Holy crap.

Yair Lapid announced a “diplomatic initiative” to increase efforts to “demilitarise Gaza and the transfer of authority in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority (PA) while maintaining Israel’s strategic security interest.”

He called for Egypt to host a conference to be attended by the US, EU, Russia, Jordan, the PA and the Gulf States that would discuss Gaza reconstruction and establish “economic ties between Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab world.”

“The initiative also calls for the involvement of states which will provide economic support for the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip and the creation of projects which will lead to long term economic cooperation in the region,” the statement from Lapid’s media advisor said –

– See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-minister-calls-saudi-arabia-join-gaza-reconstruction-conference-757495015#sthash.JEM7OSbr.dpuf

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So…we have a bully that bombs the hell out of a place, destroying homes, schools, hospitals…killing women, children, innocents sitting in a cafe listening to the World Cup…who now wants to greedily make a profit off of rebuilding that which they destroyed.

Are you effing kidding me??  WTH?
The writer is perpetuating the lie that Saudi Arabia supported the destruction of Gaza, when King Abdullah made a strong statement to the contrary, and he accused Israel of war crimes.
So I would be surprised if Saudi Arabia would go along with Israel’s scheme.
This also lends credence to Palestinian claims that Israel had no intention on seeking agreement with Gaza on their demands and that they walked away from the negotiating table while Palestinian negotiators were still attempting to reach agreement.  Israel has had other plans all along.
And, as a side note~~~I read that a senior Hamas official’s wife and 7-month-old baby were killed in an assassination attempt.  While I don’t agree with Hamas violence, I do feel for the people of Gaza.  I am so sorry.
If I could, I would help you rebuild with sustainable housing where you could live without worry of being dependent on Israel.  Perhaps earthships would work for you…sustainable housing with water, solar heating, and the ability to grow your food….

ALEC interfering with local control

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This has got to be the worst that I’ve seen yet of ALEC.  When people get wise to what is happening, ALEC has devised a way to thwart their efforts to take back control through local governments and regulations–removing your right to self-governing and autonomy.  Their arrogance is mindboggling.

After years of trying to thwart local government, last week ALEC launched a new offshoot aimed at infiltrating it. The American City County Exchange (ACCE), had its first meeting last week, coinciding with ALEC’s Dallas meeting. ACCE’s goals, structure, and funding mirror those of its parent organization. According to The Guardian, the agenda for ACCE’s initial meeting focused on privatization and fighting public sector unions. Or, translated into ACCE doublespeak, “Effective Tools for Promoting Limited Government” and “Releasing Local Governments from the Grip of Collective Bargaining.”

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More here on workers fighting back. against low wages. And here on sick days.

 

 

ALEC and Fossil Fuels

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PRWatch has this up on ALEC continuing its dirty campaigns against everything that is logical.

From the piece:

ALEC is even going after people who want to generate solar power for their homes. The boom in home solar energy generation—there has been a 60 percent increase in domestic solar installations in the past year—is a threat to ALEC’s dirty energy producing members, so they have a bill to amend so-called net metering laws that allow homeowners to sell excess electricity back to the grid. It is the ability to do this that makes solar an increasingly affordable possibility for homeowners. ALEC’s bill would charge homeowners additional fees, with ALEC environment task force director John Eick telling The Guardian that these users are “free riders on the system.”

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You know, it’s one thing to try to promote your heavy-metal containing pollution, but it’s a whole ‘nother thing to try to prevent people from taking a proactive stance against your dirty fuel.  Unreal.

Solar energy has sooo many benefits–one of which is independence from the greedy energy producers whom have stripped our lands of trees, poisoned our water and soil, and then not paid for the land use nor taxes on top of that.

Sixty percent increase in solar energy use…just in the last year…this is a *huge* threat to them.

Mike Pence, doing ALEC’s bidding, along with the coal industry.

Not long ago, Indiana ranked in the top five for low cost of electricity. Now, thanks to an onslaught of regulations from Washington, Indiana ranks somewhere firmly in the middle of the pack.

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Reading between the lines, this is as much an admission of guilt for polluting our air, water, and soil with heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic) from coal. They were getting away with it until regulations prevented the free-for-all.

I keep thinking about that 17 million pounds of toxins put into our waterways every single year…and BP dumping mercury into Lake Michigan every single year, courtesy of Indiana Dept. of Environmental Mis-Management….and the lack of action when the toxic spill floated down the Ohio…

 

 

 

A rabbi condemns Carter for defending Palestinians

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This piece is so slanted I nearly fell off my chair reading it….

Rabbi Shmuley chooses to ignore President Carter’s monumental act of getting Egypt and Israel to broker a peace deal…a peace that has lasted decades. And the hostages deal is a cheap shot.  They were deliberately held so that Reagan could claim victory…a piece of history that strangely is never reported by the brain-dead media.

Rabbi Shmuley chooses to ignore the interference of food, water, jobs, paychecks, and the ability to earn a living that Israel has imposed on the Palestinians…leaving them little choice.  He also ignores Israelis’ own bloody history of killing innocents to gain control of what was once Palestinian land.  And he ignores Palestinian wishes for a two-state solution.

Carter states in the video that he does not agree with bad things Hamas has done.

 

 

 

More on Gaza and what it’s like to be Palestinian

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DN! has another good piece on life in Gaza….if you can call it that. Existence is more apt a word…

Israel targeted yet another hospital…and yet another playground with children.

I just can’t wrap my brain around anyone justifying this–only a mentally ill person would rationalize killing children and innocent people whom have nothing to do with Hamas.

And the cruel mind games Israel is playing—calling people and telling them to leave because they are about to be bombed…when there is clearly nowhere else to go.  As the piece illustrates–a man who left to go to “safety” was bombed there, too.  Where are they to go?

Another segment the other day said that Israel is also playing mind games by calling people up and telling them they are in their crosshairs.  And there are drones overhead all the time….even when there was supposedly a cease-fire that Israel claimed to uphold.  Who would trust someone like that?

DN also had this up yesterday of a Palestinian’s account of his own personal tragedy.  It’s hard to watch–he clearly is heartbroken over losing so many members of his family.

Again, Israel has a lot of fire power because of the United States giving them billions every single year.  I do not support my tax dollars going towards killing innocent people…innocent children playing on a playground…people in hospitals that have already been greatly harmed…

~~~More of this segment also explores the overreach of the NSA, CIA, et al, and how the Fourth Amendment is ignored.  Brian Ross has stated that he now begins telephone conversations with “I’m an American citizen, are you?”  because he says they are not supposed to be listening in on American citizens’ conversations.  This is a protective measure.  It is incredible how paranoia has become so extreme that journalists now feel like criminals and have to act like they’re mafia or something in order to develop contacts and be able to investigate the very people who are trying to usurp the press’ ability to investigate them.

Meanwhile, the petition for Freedom of the Press and Whistleblowers has now reached over 100,000 like-minded folks who believe in the First Amendment and Fourth Amendment which a healthy democracy needs to survive.

First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. – See more at: http://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment1/amendment.html#sthash.8k4V7g5s.dpuf
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Fourth Amendment:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. – See more at: http://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment4/amendment.html#sthash.Ihw0OGGC.dpuf
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Americans protests of Israel bombing/blockade

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In New York City, protesters staged a “die-in” at an Israel bank.  The article is slanted towards Israel…saying that the protesters were siding with terrorists…so what else is new?

…people who kill innocent people cannot claim innocence nor can they claim to be the victim here.