Texas would like all likely Dem voters to just dry up and blow away.
Romney still hates the poor…
*yawn* <coming from someone who brags at paying less than his fair share in taxes who expects the gov’t to pick up the tab for feeding and care of his horse and hides money in foreign bank accounts…>
Yes, we are all victims who *love* being dependent on the gov’t for handouts. It’s sooo much fun not being in control of your own life. It’s sooo much fun being the object of scorn. And it’s freaking hilarious to be sick and not have that illness recognized–so much easier to just call someone lazy…I just don’t understand why more people aren’t doing it. /snark
Birds of a Feather…
I found this on the long relationship of Benjamin Netanyahu and Romney. So…Netanyahu appears to be part of the mindset of austerity measures, if what I’m reading between the lines is correct…
So, if we’re supposed to come running when they start bombing Iran…isn’t that asking government to interfere?
Doesn’t that go against the idea that gov’t should just get the hell out of our lives…?
Oh…I think I get it now…there’s a book out there on teenagers that goes something like “I hate you, Stay out of my life! But first, can you take me to the mall?”
Netanyahu is like a teenager…”Get out of my life, but can you bomb Iran first…?”
News from Indian Country
Here’s a story on the continuing fight for sacred sites and the environment. Another story about it here.
Why are they making fake snow? And why are they occupying a sacred space?
~~~~~~~
Story here on the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous. I’m glad that the U.S. has finally signed on. Special Rappoteur statement here.
One of the problems is that with my generation, the Boomers, we grew up with “Cowboys and Indians” …with the Indians being the “bad guys”. Along with that, we had John Wayne movies (and others) that also portrayed them as the bad guys. Then, when we studied history, we were told of all the brave settlers and how they were to be commended for “settling” the West…we were never told of the other side, or if there was, it was only when the “good Indians” helped whites to settle the land.
It was only when I began reading the Native Americans own account of their history that I began to realize how one-sided my history book had been. This would also include women’s history, by the way, but that is another topic for another day.
I would learn that they were in many ways just the opposite of what I had been told: they were spiritual; they were compassionate; they cared deeply for the environment (the “wilderness” of America was actually a carefully cultivated ecosystem); they respected their elders; they looked out for one another; they were not greedy–they took only what they needed.
We lost so much when we sought to impose our own beliefs on the Native Americans instead of trying to understand their culture.
Loyalty
Capitan has to be one of the most loyal dogs out there.
A thought struck me as I read this story–supposing that the dog picked up his owner’s scent…
…what if the owner wasn’t really dead and the dog was trying to tell someone that? (only half-serious…I think…)
Show me the money…
Adidas is not paying workers of a factory closed even though they have promised to adhere to a code of conduct.
After I became aware of the use of sweatshops for clothing, I started to deny my kids certain clothing they wanted because it was made in a country operating sweatshops. I recall yelling matches with one of my daughters because she couldn’t have the “cool” clothes these stores were selling.
At my university, there was a hunger-strike because the university was using sweatshops for its apparel. There was a lively discussion on it in one of the classes (a rare thing, believe me, because classes were set up to have lecture-only–rarely did we have meaningful discussions) –angry students were going to grill some steaks by the hunger-strikers. These folks had done nothing to them–they were protesting mistreatment to other human beings—so why would that anger them? Unbelievable.
I used to own several shirts with the university’s logo on it. I threw them out when I learned of the sweatshops. What still boggles me is when people find out that the chic clothing they’re wearing is made by someone earning a $1 per day, they merely shrug their shoulders and go on with their lives.
As it became harder and harder to buy non-sweatshop clothing, I thought I could just sew all my clothes, but when went to the fabric stores and looked at the place of manufacture–yep, you can guess it–China, Guatemala, etc. I couldn’t even buy fabric made in the U.S. to sew with.
Here’s a website of stuff still made in the U.S.A. I can’t make any claims to know about the fair wage practices of the manufacturers, so enter at your own risk.
Sleeping with the enemy…
…toxic chemical manufacturers created a front group to promote the use of fire retardants…and the guy behind it was also a mouthpiece for the tobacco industry.
Be sure to click on the Chicago Tribune’s excellent piece.
Here’s the kicker: fire itself is not usually the cause of death–it’s smoke inhalation. From chemicals. One of the fire guys I talked to told me that burning plastic is the worst–burning plastic creates cyanide and it will “drop you like that” (as he snapped his fingers). He said they never go into where plastic is burning without their oxygen masks.
Here’s a report from the LA Times in 2011.
…and the next question should be: If it affects humans, what effect does it have on nature?
Here’s a short blurb on the increase of the toxic chemicals in the oceans.
These stories make me glad that I sewed my kids’ pajamas when they were young, using untreated cotton…at least I spared them that exposure.
Libya, et al…
Well, now, common sense hasn’t left Washington, after all….
…of course Romney is gung-ho on getting us into yet another war–his five boys aren’t going to bleed for the country…
This up on the idiots behind the film that set off the violence…
Financial crimes. Check.
Pose as someone else. Check.
Claim to be a Jew when you’re a Christian. Check.
Sounds like a stand-up sort of guy. /snark
And let’s not ignore that Steve Klein is what appears to be a religious right activist who is training militias in churches…stunning, just stunning…
Do as I say, not as I do…
…is how Rahm Emanuel operates.
Story here on the private school where he sends his kids. His kids enjoy a good education with art, physical education, languages, and God forbid, libraries…
…while he advocates charter schools run not by education majors, but finance majors; busing kids clear across town; longer school days that don’t necessarily mean a better education; and questionable evaluation measures for the kids and their teachers…
From the story:
Writing on the University of Chicago’s Lab School website two years ago, [Director David] Magill noted, “Measuring outcomes through standardized testing and referring to those results as the evidence of learning and the bottom line is, in my opinion, misguided and, unfortunately, continues to be advocated under a new name and supported by the current [Obama] administration.”
Well said. But is anyone listening…?
Hightower on Romney
He has this piece up on the *cough* energy policy Romney designed with the help of oil executives.
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