The Evening Blues - 4-21-16
Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features early blues and jazz singer Victoria Spivey. Enjoy!
Victoria Spivey - Paris Moan
"A pension is nothing more than deferred compensation."
-- Elizabeth Warren
News and Opinion
Since, as Elizabeth Warren points out a pension is deferred compensation, Obama is engaging in wage theft.
Bill That Obama Extolled Is Leading to Pension Cuts for Retirees
One of the many obscure provisions jammed into a last-minute budget bill in 2014 endorsed and signed by President Obama is leading to what would be the first cuts in earned pension benefits to current retirees in over 40 years.
The Washington Post reports that the Treasury Department is on the verge of approving an application from the Central States Pension Fund – a plan that covers Teamster truckers in several states – to cut worker pensions by an average of 23 percent, and even more for younger retirees. Over 250,000 truckers and their families would be affected. Workers over 75, or those who have acquired a disability, would be exempt from the changes. ...
The pension changes in the CRomnibus enable trustees of multi-employer plans — union-negotiated pension benefit funds that cover employees across entire industries like trucking or construction — to apply to the Treasury Department to cut benefits for current retirees in order to stretch the fund’s resources. This changed the ban on cutting such benefits written into the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974, which governs private-sector pension plans.
There were no public hearings on this change to pension law, and the details were only made available days before the vote. ...
Treasury has a deadline of May 7 to announce its decision. Cuts to retiree paychecks would begin July 1.
Diplomats Warn Syrian Peace Talks Could Be Done for ‘At Least a Year’
With the rebels withdrawing from the Geneva peace talks and gearing up for the resumption of the Syrian Civil War, diplomats are desperately scrambling to try to keep the process going, and warning that if this round collapses, there won’t be another chance at serious talks for “at least a year.”
The rebel High Negotiation Committee (HNC), which represents only some rebels, pulled out citing anger over the Syrian offensive against al-Qaeda-held territory in Aleppo Province. Before that, there wasn’t much progress in the talks.
Russia was quick to criticize the HNC for pulling out, saying they’d come to the talks like they were a “eastern bazaar,” and had no real proposals to offer, only crude blackmail.
Kurds Battle Assad's Forces for Second Day in Syria's Qamishli
Deadly clashes between Kurdish and pro-government factions in the northeastern Syrian town of Qamishli have entered a second day, in the bloodiest flareup for some time.
Violence between Kurdish police, known as Asayish, and forces loyal to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad broke out on Wednesday morning, reportedly after a dispute at a checkpoint manned by the Assadist National Defense Forces (NDF) militia.
The Asayish were quickly reinforced by their SWAT-style squad, known as HAT, and Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters. The two sides exchanged machine gun and rocket fire, with some of the fiercest fighting focused on government-held Allya Prison, which is now reported by some local activists to be in Kurdish hands.
Control of Qamishli has been split between Syrian government and Kurdish administration since 2012. An uneasy peace has largely been maintained, with Kurdish and government forces even allying against advances from the Islamic State (IS) group, but tensions have spilt over into violence on a number of occasions.
US drone strikes outnumber warplane attacks for first time in Afghanistan
Drones are firing more weapons than conventional warplanes for the first time in Afghanistan and the ratio is rising, previously unreported US Air Force data for 2015 show, underlining how reliant the military has become on unmanned aircraft.
The data show strikes by unmanned aircraft accounted for 56% of weapons deployed by the air force in Afghanistan in 2015, up dramatically from 5% in 2011.
In the first quarter of 2016, about 300 weapons were deployed by the air force, with drones accounting for 61%.
The trend may give clues to the US military’s strategy as it considers withdrawing more troops from the country, while at the same time shoring up local forces who have struggled to stem a worsening Taliban insurgency. ...
President Barack Obama said in 2013 the Afghan drawdown after 2014 and progress against al-Qaida would “reduce the need for unmanned strikes”, amid concerns from human rights groups and some foreign governments about civilian casualties. ...
Yet as the force has shrunk, it has leant on unmanned aircraft more than ever, the Air Force data reveals, with drone strikes accounting for at least 61% of weapons deployed in the first quarter of this year.
Obama in Saudi Arabia: Obama and Salman discuss regional conflicts, human rights
Obama's chilly reception in Saudi Arabia hints at mutual distrust
Barack Obama arrived to a noticeably low-key reception in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday against a background of mutual irritation in a relationship tested by a turbulent Middle East, plummeting oil prices and economic and political uncertainty.
The US president was greeted at the airport by the governor of Riyadh, Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud, and the event was not broadcast live on Saudi TV, as is routine with visiting heads of state – quickly generating talk of a snub.
Underlining the coolness, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, accompanied by other senior figures, was shown earlier on state television greeting the leaders of neighbouring states on the tarmac – ahead of Thursday’s summit of the six-member, Saudi-dominated Gulf Cooperation council, which Obama is to address.
Shortly afterwards King Salman greeted Obama in the opulent surroundings of the capital’s al-Auja palace, where they posed for a photo opportunity and exchanged stilted formal remarks before a two hour meeting. ...
Mustafa Alani, a Gulf security analyst who is close to the Saudi establishment, said Obama would find a leadership “that’s not ready to believe him”. The decision not to send a high-level delegation to the airport was intended to signal that they have little faith in him. “The Saudis had disagreements with previous presidents,” Alani told the Associated Press. “Here you have deep distrust that the president won’t deliver anything.”
Senator Lindsey Graham Says He May Back Bill He Co-Sponsored if it is Modified
A bill opposed by the Obama administration that would expose Saudi Arabia to legal jeopardy for any role in the Sept. 11 attacks appeared to gain momentum on Tuesday when the senator holding it up said he would be open to supporting it.
Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said in an interview on Tuesday that he would drop his opposition to the bill — predicting it could pass the Senate next week — if the sponsors of the legislation agreed to changes that he believed were important to protect American interests abroad. He did not specify what changes he was requesting. ...
Mr. Graham was an original co-sponsor of the bill, but has tried to block the legislation in recent days as his concerns grew about possible unintended consequences.
Obama administration officials have been vigorously lobbying against the Sept. 11 bill, which has broad bipartisan support, arguing that Americans overseas could be put in legal jeopardy if other nations were to retaliate and strip them of immunity in foreign courts. But the measure is gaining support in Congress at a time when many lawmakers are demanding greater scrutiny of Washington’s alliance with the kingdom, which for decades has been a cornerstone of American foreign policy in the Middle East and once the subject of little examination on Capitol Hill.
'Not My Chancellor': Merkel rating drops after allowing prosecution of Erdogan-mocking comic
'Staggering Reach' of UK Surveillance and 15-Year Coverup Revealed
Newly released documents reveal the "staggering extent" of the British government's mass surveillance of its citizens, ongoing since at least the 1990s, and its 15-year coverup of those operations.
The documents, acquired by the London-based watchdog group Privacy International, show that the UK's intelligence agencies—MI5, MI6, and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)—"routinely requisition personal data from potentially thousands of public and private organizations" under Section 94 of the 1984 Telecommunications Act.
That includes financial data; confidential health records; travel records; content of communications, including with lawyers, doctors, and ministers of Parliament; and personal online activity, such as petition signing, among other data. The documents also show that agencies continued to request information on scores of citizens despite privately acknowledging (pdf) that it is "unlikely to be of intelligence or security interest."
Privacy International obtained the documents as part of an ongoing case about the use of these so-called "Bulk Personal Datasets" and the 1984 law, which the group describes as "pre-internet legislation that was never intended to enable this level of intrusion in a digital age." A trial will take place later this summer at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), which hears cases about surveillance and intelligence.
"The information revealed by this disclosure shows the staggering extent to which the intelligence agencies hoover up our data," said Millie Graham Wood, legal officer at Privacy International. "This can be anything from your private medical records, your correspondence with your doctor or lawyer, even what petitions you have signed, your financial data, and commercial activities."
The Daily News’ Shaun King Was Accused of Plagiarism. Here’s How He Got Vindication.
Shaun King, the justice columnist for the New York Daily News, found himself on the defensive Tuesday when an editor at the Daily Beast publicly accused him of plagiarizing two paragraphs from a recent article by Daily Beast crime reporter Kate Briquelet. That accusation was quickly followed by another, concerning a recent piece by King that appeared to lift material from an article originally published by FiveThirtyEight. ...
Before long, King’s editors at the Daily News came to his defense and took the blame for the lack of attribution. ...
Late Tuesday afternoon, the Daily News released a statement saying that an unnamed editor was responsible for stripping out the links and attributions from King’s drafts. That editor has now been fired. ...
King said Tuesday’s scare will lead him to re-evaluate how he views the editing process. “It warrants saying, ‘We need to do this differently.’ I’m shell-shocked by it.”
Heh, journalists gone wild! Looks like they are emulating the mob behavior that you see at the GOS.
False Plagiarism Accusation Against Shaun King Shows Dangers of Online Mob Journalism
On Tuesday afternoon, The New York Daily News published a column by its criminal justice writer, Shaun King, that denounced the harrowing treatment of a 37-year-old mentally incapacitated veteran, Elliot Williams, who died from neglect in an Oklahoma jail. Earlier that day, The Daily Beast had published a long, detailed, richly reported article on Williams’ death by Kate Briquelet, and King’s column was obviously based on Briquelet’s reporting.
But as it appeared in the Daily News, King’s column provided no citation or attribution to Briquelet’s Daily Beast article. ... Almost instantly, multiple Daily Beast journalists and editors, in unison, ran to Twitter to proclaim to the world that King was guilty of plagiarism, a career-destroying offense (at least for most writers). Countless journalist-friends of these Daily Beast writers also immediately jumped on the bandwagon, unquestioningly echoing and amplifying this accusation against King.
As it turns out, there were two problems (at least) with this accusatory journalistic mob. First, none of the journalists who publicly accused King of plagiarism bothered to speak with King first to ask for his side of the story, nor, by all appearances, did they contact his editors. ... Second, at least if The Daily News editors and King (along with the documentary evidence they produced) are to believed, yesterday’s accusation against King was totally false, even though the Daily Beast‘s accusatory tweets continue to be re-tweeted right through this very minute. ...
What happened here? Many of the journalists who joined the mob are good reporters and know better. They and their media outlets would never dream of publishing an article accusing a journalist of plagiarism without at least first trying to contact the accused and relevant editors for comment. ... But because they were voicing these accusations on Twitter, rather than at their own sites, they apparently felt totally liberated from the most basic journalistic standards. They evidently had no compunction about publicly accusing someone of a reputation-destroying transgression without first contacting the accused and, worse, without making any effort to gather the elementary facts.
But there was something darker going on here. This accusatory orgy had all the characteristics of mob behavior. As soon as popular-among-their-peers Daily Beast journalists began accusing King of plagiarism, other journalists swarmed right with them, wanting to be part of the crowd as it carried out its righteous, exhilarating search-and-destroy group mission.
Brazil embroiled in political and economic crisis
Eduardo Cunha: Brazil president's chief accuser faces allegations of his own
After the impeachment vote against Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, attention is shifting to her accuser-in-chief, who is charged with greater crimes – but looks more likely to escape justice.
The lower house speaker, Eduardo Cunha, an evangelical conservative and conspiratorial mastermind, started and steered the drive to remove the country’s first female leader from power as a means of reducing the risks to himself from investigations by a congressional ethics committee and prosecutors for alleged perjury, money laundering and receipt of at least $5m in bribes.
After being condemned on Sunday for fiscal irregularities that had gone unpunished when used by the previous administration, Rousseff turned her fiercest fire on Cunha.
“This process was initiated by a misuse of power, revenge, an explicit revenge,” she told a press conference of foreign journalists on Tuesday. “I feel the victim of a process, a process in which my judges, especially the speaker of the chamber, has a background that does not behove him to be a judge of anything – it behoves him as a defendant.”
The public appears to agree. Brazil loathes its politicians, but none more so than Cunha. A Datafolha survey this month found 77% of the public wanted him to be stripped of his mandate, compared with 61-67% for Dilma, who is blamed for a dire recession, political turmoil and failing to stop corruption even though she is not accused of any crime.
But the political tide appears to be moving in Cunha’s favour. Almost as soon as the vote was over, conservative allies – many of whom are likely to join a new government next month – began lobbying for him to be protected. The deputy speaker, Waldir Maranhão, called for the ethics committee investigation into Cunha to be limited.
Repression Against Landless Peasants Movement in Brazil
Brazil's Rousseff going to U.N. over impeachment; cabinet in crisis
Beleaguered Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will travel to New York in a bid to rally international support against her impeachment, leaving behind a Cabinet paralyzed by political crisis as another minister defected on Wednesday.
Rousseff aides said the leftist leader will attend a United Nations event on Friday in New York where she will denounce as illegal the attempt to impeach her, a process that could see her forced from office within weeks in a process she calls a "coup d'état without weapons."
Energy Minister Eduardo Braga said he was quitting her government following orders from his centrist PMDB party, Rousseff's main coalition partner until it abandoned her last month to back her ouster. Rousseff's impeachment would end 13 years of rule by the leftist Workers Party.
Nine ministers in Rousseff's 31-member cabinet have now resigned, leaving important portfolios without politically appointed heads, including the Tourism and Sports ministries only four months before Brazil hosts the Olympic Games. Rousseff may not even be president by the time the Games start. ...
Two presidential aides said Rousseff would use her visit to New York to defend herself in interviews with international media.
As Officer Who Killed Akai Gurley Gets No Jail Time, Asian Americans Debate Role of White Supremacy
Los Angeles to increase homelessness spending nearly fivefold to tackle crisis
The mayor of Los Angeles has announced a dramatic spending increase to tackle the city’s homelessness crisis, reflecting growing alarm in California over the number of people without shelter.
Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled a proposed budget on Wednesday which would more than quadruple spending on homelessness, a response to critics who accuse authorities of ignoring the informal camps multiplying across LA.
Garcetti pledged $138m for the fiscal year that begins in July, a nearly fivefold increase from the $34m set aside in the current fiscal year. Sceptics however doubted the pledge would be fully realised.
The commitment helped nudge the city’s total annual budget from $8.58bn to a proposed $8.76bn.
It was the latest sign that policymakers were waking up to a crisis that has grown acute in the western United States. Cities in California, Oregon and Washington have recently declared states of emergency, or some kind of shelter crises, and sought federal help.
LA is arguably the epicenter. Its chronically homeless population has spiked 55%, to 12,536, since 2013, according to the Housing and Urban Development Department. Nearly all sleep on the streets.
College-educated women earn $8,000 less a year than men as gap widens
The gender wage gap is not shrinking – it’s growing. Female college graduates now earn $8,000 a year less than their male contemporaries, a gap that has widened in the past 16 years, according to a new report published by the Economic Policy Institute.
“Young male college graduates earned 8.1% more in 2016 than in 2000, while young female college graduates earned 6.8% less than in 2000,” according to Elise Gould, senior economist at EPI and one of the report’s authors.
Critics of the gender wage gap theory point out that the discrepancy in pay between men and women is due to the types of careers women opt for. Meaning that women are more likely to work in lower-paying jobs like retail, fast food, teaching or nursing.
“It’s an interesting idea when you say that out loud. Women chose lower paying jobs. Who would chose a lower paying job? How does that even make sense?” said Gould. She added that it’s true women might be likely to select different majors than men and that men tend to end up in higher professions.
“It’s still remains a fact that even within occupations, even within let’s say finance, women are making less than men. So some of it is because of the major or occupation that somebody chose, but those could also be driven by discrimination at younger ages.”
Yes, Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat — and Hillary represents the very worst of the party
A new strategy has emerged in the Hillary Clinton camp: No longer even try to match Bernie Sanders’ left-wing politics — which the Wall Street-backed multimillionaire war hawk Clinton is fundamentally incapable of doing. Instead, appeal to authority and accuse the democratic socialist of disloyalty to the corrupt Democratic Party.
Clinton campaign accuses Sanders "of trying to convince the next generation of progressives that the Democratic Party is corrupt"
— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) April 18, 2016
The notion that Sanders had to try to convince progressives of this in the first place is ludicrous. The warmongering, corporate-funded, pro-privatization Democratic Party leadership has long made it loud and clear that it is thoroughly corrupt and reactionary. ...
Since the rise of the Clintonian “New Democrat” almost three decades ago, the party has moved so far to the right it has little in common with the base it purports to represent.
President Obama campaigned on the promise of change, but, in many ways, his presidency — particularly in the first term — was George W. Bush lite.
The Obama administration barely even slapped the banks and financial elites responsible for the Great Recession on the wrist. Not a single Wall Street executive went to jail while, today, the very banks responsible pose just as much of a systemic risk as they did in 2008.
The Obama administration killed thousands of people, including an unknown number of civilians, with its secretive drone war. It expanded the war in Afghanistan — twice — dragged its feet on Guantánamo, backed a right-wing military coup that overthrew Honduras’ democratically elected left-wing government and dropped 23,400 bombs on six Muslim-majority countries in 2015. ...
This is the Democratic Party Americans have grown up with in the past nearly 30 years, since the rise of the Clintonism. And, in these same decades, wages have stagnated, poverty has increased and people have become more and more dissatisfied with the way things are.
Sanders Campaign’s Commitment To Victory Irritates Media, Offends Clinton Campaign
Once again, for the umpteenth time in the Democratic presidential primary, there is a dominant narrative in the establishment news media that it is over for Bernie Sanders. News outlets have crunched the numbers, again, and after the loss to Hillary Clinton in New York, conventional wisdom is Sanders cannot win.
Such harping is presented as if it is a neutral perspective solely based on mathematics that is not driven by any influence the Clinton campaign may have over media institutions. However, the fact is there are 1,400 pledged delegates left to win in contests. Clinton has 1,442 pledged delegates while Sanders has 1,209 pledged delegates. It’s a lead of 233 pledged delegates, which he could still overcome in June, especially if he continues to surge in California—a state with 475 delegates to be won. ...
The establishment news media—in service to the Clinton campaign—has patronized Sanders as if he was a marginal candidate, even when he won state primaries. “Will you support Hillary?” “Will you tell your supporters to vote for Hillary?” “Will you make sure the Democratic Party can unify in November?” “Will you tone it down?” “Will you reconsider repeatedly pointing out how Clinton is a corporate Democrat because it is disrespectful?”
But Sanders and his campaign have no interest in playing the part of protest candidate, especially because talking like Sanders does not mean Clinton will follow through on the rhetoric she deploys to prevent her campaign from dwindling. It also is premature to grapple with how the movement around the campaign can continue after the campaign is over when it frankly is not over yet. The Sanders campaign is in the midst of a war for a nomination that will give voters a viable alternative to two oligarchs in November, and it is not about to quit now.
Sanders Constituency Will Shape U.S. Politics for the Next Decade
Arab-Americans, including ‘Watan’ Newspaper, Endorse Bernie Sanders
Watan noted that Sanders lived in a kibbutz in his youth in what the paper calls “Occupied Palestine” (but it later spoke of “Israeli” kibbutzes). But it went on to praise Sanders for voting in 1991 to hold up aid for Israel because of its colonization of the Palestinian West Bank; and it praised him for voting in 1990 against the Gulf War (Sanders did not think the war would make the Middle East more stable).
It then lauds him for his opposition to the Bush administration’s USA PATRIOT Act (which weakened 4th amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure), and for his 2002 stance against the Iraq War.
The paper carefully lays out his domestic policies, including his concern with growing wealth inequality and the impunity of Wall Street and the big banks.
It notes that Sanders’s demand for even-handedness in US policy toward Israel and Palestine is unusual in the Democratic Party.
A major Arab-American leader and head of the Arab American Institute, James Zogby, has also endorsed Sanders; his reasons for doing so are completely centered on the senator’s domestic policies.
New York's Attorney General Will Investigate Alleged Voter Suppression in State's Primary
New York state's attorney general has opened an investigation into alleged "improprieties" in the state's presidential primary election on Tuesday that prevented people from voting, starting with a probe of the New York City Board of Elections.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement on Wednesday that he was "deeply troubled by the volume and consistency of voting irregularities" during the primary. Schneiderman's office set up a hotline for voters experiencing issues at the polls on Tuesday, and he said that his office received "more than one thousand complaints."
"If necessary, we will initiate inquiries in additional areas of the state where voting irregularities appeared unusually high," Schneiderman said. "Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy, and if any New Yorker was illegally prevented from voting, I will do everything in my power to make their vote count and ensure that it never happens again."
The attorney general's announcement comes just a day after Election Justice USA, a new watchdog group formed in response to other voter suppression allegations in Arizona last month, filed a lawsuit on behalf of more than 200 New York voters yesterday.
Earth's Temperature Just Shattered the Thermometer
The Earth is warming so fast that it's surprising even the climate scientists who predicted this was coming.
Last month was the hottest March in 137 years of record keeping, according to data released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It's the 11th consecutive month to set a new record, and it puts 2016 on course to set a third straight annual record.
Now, it might seem premature to talk about setting a new yearly record after just three months of data, but these months have been such an extreme departure from the norm that Gavin Schmidt, who directs NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has already made the call.
Too soon? I estimate >99% chance of an annual record in 2016 in @NASAGISS temperature data, based on Jan-Mar alone pic.twitter.com/mEDvHxfmjj
— Gavin Schmidt (@ClimateOfGavin) April 15, 2016
The March data follows the hottest winter on record worldwide. Results from the world’s top monitoring agencies vary slightly, but NASA, NOAA, and the Japan Meteorological Agency all agree that 2016 has no precedent in the modern climate record.
Study reveals greater climate impacts of 2C temperature rise
A difference of half a degree centigrade may be barely noticeable day to day, but the difference between 1.5C and 2C of global warming is a shift into a new, more dangerous climate regime, according to the first comprehensive analysis of the issue.
The scientists found the additional 0.5C would lead to longer heatwaves, greater droughts and, in the tropics, reduced crop yield and all coral reefs being put in grave danger.
The global climate change deal agreed in Paris in December pledged to “hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5C.” Vulnerable countries, such as low-lying islands, have warned that 2C of climate change would wipe their nations from the map.
Understanding the different impacts from 1.5C or 2C of warming has been made more urgent by the recent run of record temperatures, with 2014 and 2015 breaking long-term records and recent months smashing previous highs. In February, the global temperature was 1.34C above the average from 1951-1980, according to Nasa data.
The new research was published in the journal Earth System Dynamics, and lead author Carl Schleussner, a scientific adviser at Climate Analytics in Germany, said: “We analysed the climate models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [and] considered 11 different indicators including extreme weather events, water availability, crop yields, coral reef degradation and sea-level rise. We found significant differences [between 1.5C and 2C] for all the impacts we considered.”
Groups to Obama: Declare Climate Emergency, Ban Crude Oil Exports
Hundreds of organizations on Wednesday filed a legal petition (pdf) calling on the Obama administration to declare a "national climate emergency" and end all U.S. crude oil exports, which they say would keep millions of tons of greenhouse gas pollution from entering the atmosphere.
The petition comes as the U.S. nears a signing date for the COP21 climate agreement agreed to late last year in Paris.
Less than a week after pledging to lower greenhouse gas emissions, President Barack Obama in December also signed the omnibus spending and taxation bill that lifted a 40-year-old export ban on crude oil.
Environmental advocacy groups Center for Biological Diversity and Food and Water Watch, who organized the petition, stated:
As global temperatures hit record highs, the petition points out that “climate change is unquestionably a national emergency.” It also notes that halting crude exports is essential to the Paris Agreement’s goal “to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.”
And the U.S. Senate on Wednesday advanced a bill known as the Energy Policy Modernization Act that included, among other things, "expedited review" of natural gas exports.
"This is a most pernicious form of climate denial," said Friends of the Earth climate and energy program director Benjamin Schreiber. "Expediting approval of liquefied natural gas terminals will increase fracking and poison communities. Even as the American people are mobilizing to demand fossil fuels stay in the ground, the U.S. Senate is listening to Big Oil and helping to send them overseas."
Victory: Kinder Morgan Nixes New England Pipeline Plan
Pipeline company Kinder Morgan has suspended its plans to build a fracked gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts, citing poor demand for its gas in a statement (pdf) released late Wednesday. Pipeline opponents are cheering the decision.
The pipeline would have cost over $3 billion and spanned nearly 200 miles, according to the Boston Globe. ...
Kinder Morgan had threatened to seize private land by eminent domain to build the pipeline, as the Berkshire Eagle reported, and people living on the route had so opposed the project that they had barred company officials from their property, organized multiple protest marches, and even constructed a replica of Henry David Thoreau's Walden cabin to block the pipeline's path.
San Francisco adopts law requiring solar panels on all new buildings>
San Francisco has this week passed landmark legislation requiring all new buildings under 10 storeys in height to be fitted with rooftop solar panels.
The city’s San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the new rule on Tuesday, making the metropolis the largest in the US to mandate solar installations on new properties.
Smaller Californian cities such as Lancaster and Sebastopol already have similar laws in place, but San Francisco is the first large city to adopt the new standard.
From January 2017 all new buildings in the city with 10 floors or fewer must have either solar PV or solar thermal panels installed. The measure builds on existing Californian state law which requires all new buildings to have at least 15% of their roof space exposed to sunshine, in order to allow for future solar panel use.
Volkswagen to buy back 600,000 cars in framework deal over emissions scandal
Volkswagen, the US government and private lawyers have reached a deal for the automaker to buy back some of the nearly 600,000 diesel cars that cheat on emissions tests and spend just over $1bn to compensate owners, according to a person briefed on the matter.
The “deal in principle” includes a maximum amount of spending, but the final details, like how much each owner would get, are still being worked out, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the deal has not been made public.
Some owners would get a choice of having VW repair their cars or buy them back, but that would vary by model year and engine type, the person said. The deal likely is part of a bigger payment package from VW. It does not yet include plans on how to repair the cars, the person said. The cars can spew out harmful nitrogen oxide at 40 times the allowable limit, the person said.
The agreement is likely to be announced on Thursday morning during a federal court hearing in San Francisco. The person says it will not include plans to fix the cars. Those plans, and the cost of the fixes, apparently are still under negotiation.
“They’ve agreed on a maximum amount of money, over $1bn” for compensation, said the person. “How it’s allocated and distributed, that remains to be seen.”
Koch brothers said to be funding plan to block Grand Canyon conservation
Billionaire businessmen Charles and David Koch are channeling money into an Arizona-based organization that’s fighting a plan that would include a permanent ban on uranium mining around the Grand Canyon.
A proposal to declare the area around the Grand Canyon a national monument – Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument – calls for protecting 1.7m acres of land from uranium mining. A number of environmental groups and native tribes as well as the vast majority of Arizonans support the plan.
Still, a handful of Arizona Republicans and a major not-for-profit group are trying to block it. Much of the group’s efforts apparently are being funded by the Koch brothers, according to Greg Zimmerman of the Center for Western Priorities. ...
“I wish I could say I was surprised by this, but honestly I wasn’t,” Zimmerman said.
“We know that these anti-public land efforts have a lot of money behind them,” he continued. “It’s not surprising to learn that the Koch brothers and other wealthy, ultra-conservative industrialists are funding these efforts to roll back conservation measures across the American west.”
Also of Interest
Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.
After drones: the indelible mark of America's remote control warfare
U.S. Government Is Now a Major Counterparty to Wall Street Derivatives
John Maynard Keynes died 70 years ago. We ignore his wisdom at our peril.
Elizabeth Warren Scorches the S.E.C.
Atmospheric CO2 Is Rising Off the Chart — Spikes Above 409 ppm on April 10
Repetitive Encryption Tirades Could Be Giving Way to Debate Over “Lawful Hacking”
What Released Emails Reveal About the First Criminal Charges in the Flint Water Crisis
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick comments on Flint water crisis with letter from prison
How a Simple Request Got Me Blacklisted by the Pentagon
Bungled NYC primary voting sparks Board of Elections probe: 'It's time we clean up this mess'
New York voting fiasco just the warm-up for the November game
New York Primary Lawsuit: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
Only known film of Louis Armstrong in studio discovered in storage facility
A Little Night Music
Victoria Spivey - My Handy Man
Victoria Spivey - Black Snake Blues
Victoria Spivey - Any Kind A Man
Victoria Spivey & Lonnie Johnson - Steady Grind
Victoria Spivey w/Red Allen's NY Orchestra - How do They Do It That Way?
Victoria Spivey - Murder In The First Degree
Victoria Spivey - Your Worries Ain't Like Mine
Victoria Spivey - One Hour Mama
Comments
(Early) Evening joe. I've called Obama Bush-lite for years too.
I used to have a shorthand in correspondence with a friend. Pappy was B1. Dubya was B2. Obama was B3. And it appears that Dems are ready to nominate B4, while the GOP wants to nominate either PT Barnum or Caligula.
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
evening gerrit...
heh, i had a number of ways of referring to george w. obama, some of them seemed to upset the denizens of top, though i thought that i was being restrained, all things considered.
It sure is nice to breathe free air here on c99, joe :=) I love
being able to speak my mind and have folks either agree or just calmly blow it off, without anyone freaking out. You folks have built a fine, democratic, free space here on c99 and we're real grateful. Enjoy your evening mate,
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
The G.W.O.T., brought to you by the G.W.O.T.
the Global War on Terror™ <— · —> the George W. Obama Team™
A GOPer in bluedog clothing, for sure
I was over at Crooks and Liars on a thread featuring Robert Reich's call for party unity and mostly for the two sides to tone things down. Needless to say neither end was accomplished—actually it was one of the more epic flame wars, but at least the trolls bearing "site staff" badges weren't present this time around. It's odd that these folks think that attempting to bully folks was going to translate into votes for Clinton.
I like and respect Robert Reich quite a bit, but if he thinks that Clinton would be a fine, status quo president, then I have to hope his judgment is blinded by friendship rather than simply being that bad.
Unless Bernie gets the nod, I think there's a high probability that there will sufficiently many candidates getting electoral votes in November that the election will get thrown in to the GOP controlled house: loads of fun.
Hey, MinuteMan, couldn't find the C&L thread, but
I must say, that some of Reich's interviews on NPR are concerning.
He often pairs up with the George Mason University, and Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow, and libertarian economist, Jason Fitchner as the 'opposing side.' Unfortunately, he often agrees with him, even on social/economic policy.
The last straw for me was when Fitchner enthusiastically praised Reich for not proposing 'redistributive' policies as solutions to inequality [in his most recent book.] I haven't read Reich's book, but I'm considering getting the cheap Kindle version of it, out of curiosity.
(I'm not sure of the name of the book, but I heard their radio interview about a year ago, so I'm guessing it's the 2015 book on Amazon.)
BTW, Fitchner has long called for deep Social Security cuts, and served as a Deputy Secretary of Social Security in (I believe) GWB's Administration.
Here's link to Fitchner's bio. The Mercatus Center is Koch funded, IIRC.
Hey, if you get a chance, would appreciate a link to the Reich thread. Thanks!
(Music City) Mollie, C99P & Daily Kos
elinkarlsson@WordPress
"The obstacle is the path."--Zen Proverb
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Dropping another link for the perusal of the c99'ers
The New Enlightenment - I like this idea, and I think we're on the verge of it. Robert C. Koehler is writing of which we (mostly everyone here) have been discussing.
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/04/21/new-enlightenment
Cheers to those who are looking beyond the short term victory - my offspring and their offspring are going to need the hard work of us all for their long term survival.
Think off-center.
George Carlin
evening seefleur...
he's probably on to something. lots of us are invested in various ways in the success of the sanders campaign, though it is far from all that we want or suspect that is needed. we are facing the catastrophic consequences of the systematic destruction of the planet and all of its life forms. mere survival requires much more than some tweaking of politics and economics, it's going to require new systems and new ways of thinking.
This quote is relevant
Although I knew the policies were harmful, I didn't realize that they didn't even save money - not that that would be a justification, but it was their justification for some of the cuts:
On the broader point of the article - I sure hope so. I keep hoping that this is going to continue to build steam and its not just my imagination that things are changing.
Dropping this off
I find it important to listen to (some) Republicans. First, it helps to find on what things we actually agree (and there are some). Second, it helps define their positions and thinking which gives us a better idea of how to either combat them or (see reason one) how to come to consensus that works for all (even if well meaning--and sometime not--some Democratic ideas need further thought). Third, it helps get rid of the idea that ALL Republicans are crackpots and therefore should be dismissed.
I found this an interesting piece in that it is advice to HRC on how to beat the Republican candidates during an election debate. While there is some good stuff earlier on, the HRC stuff starts around minute 22. Note: The description on the page is a bit inaccurate. The speech does not cover an HRC presidency--which may be covered in his book--but discusses the election.)
There is no way that I know of to post the video itself, so here is the link:
Hugh Hewitt C-Span video
I think his advice of getting his book on the Best Seller list to aggravate HRC is excellent advice. We should do the same in regards to staying in her face.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
evening winddancer...
well, i gotta say that his platform is largely a bad idea given that it has little to do with the issues that are driving people to support the insurgent candidacies. she is a traditional republican, but traditional republicans are not in style this year. running as a traditional republican probably plays to her druthers, but it is not, as hewitt claims, good advice.
hewitt ought to just shut up and take comfort in the fact that if she does run as the candidate of the democrats that she will run as a democrat and govern like a republican as all recent democrats have done.
Hey Joe
I agree about his platform, but keep in mind that this speech was given when Webb and 16 republicans were still in the running so he would not have seen what was coming regarding the insurgency, and he is also talking about the general election. I think there was one issue in there that she has been using in the primary. I cannot remember right off hand which one it was...one of the last three. In a way, she is also using the second one...running for Obama's third term at least for now.
Maybe the reason he felt comfortable advising her is that he recognizes the fact that she is a republican, but cannot come right out and say that, so he gave her talking points against the ones who are actually running on the Republican ticket. I am not so sure that she will run as a democrat should she make the general, probably more of a half-and-half.
I also disagreed with his take on what she would do about war. She will not sit back and watch but be an active actor in it.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
heh...
on the other hand, maybe he felt okay about giving a fellow republican (hillary) the benefit of his wisdom is that she was a better republican than any of the republicans that were standing for office at the start of the primary season.
Double vision
If a true Hillary clone were to get the nomination as a GOPer running against her original self as a Democrat, I might actually vote for the GOPer instance. That way the clone could drage the GOP towards the middle rather than drag the Democratic party even more to the right as well as consolidate the DINO establishment's hold on the party.
Greetings, Bluesters! Quick (friendly) drive-by
before running errands, and walking 'the B.'
--EDITED TO POST NO LABELS 'NATIONAL STRATEGIC AGENDA.'-- (Below.)
And thanks for tonight's excellent New & Blues, Joe!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the piece on the [Teamster's] Central States Pension Fund cuts, and the evisceration of the Multi-Employer Pension Plans. I'll be back for further comment on that debacle.
I'm still waiting to post the piece on the cuts to CURRENT federal employees, until I can find more than the announcement of the cuts. Those cuts to the Agency--which created the need for these cuts--can be laid at the feet of this Administration, since they are contained in the PBO-appointed Fiscal Commission's proposal proposal, "The Moment Of Truth."
Oh, yeah, gonna post my "No Labels" signature line a little later, since I'm planning to start flogging their [No Labels] austerity 'Playbook' that they're getting ready to trot out--in hopes that the Presidential candidates will push it.
Have a nice evening, Everyone!
Mollie
elinkarlsson@WordPress
Visit Us At Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD)
"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive."
--Gilda Radner, Comedienne
"The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil."--Cicero
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
evening mollie...
if you go to dayen's article on the intercept, there's a link to a washington post article in it that has some further details that might also be of interest to you.
Thanks, Joe! Just printed/bookmarked several of them. ;-) EOM
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Evening Joe and Progressive Sisters And Brothers
I would have tweeted that a little differently, such as...
"Next generation of progressives want Sanders to say publicly that Clintons and Democratic Party are corrupt."
But what evs..
Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.
evening coe...
that's probably a good revision. my entry:
clinton wants sanders to know that part of running as a democrat is shutting up about the corruption of the party elites.
You are exactly correct, joe.
I suspect it's the bottom line.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
It’s what the odious Larry Summers told Elizabeth Warren about
having to choose between being an insider and an outsider — to be an insider, you must never criticize other insiders.
Mod question: what's the latest on comment notification? Or am
I just the last to know? :=)
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
Mod question: What's best for a night out? turtleneck? or...
dress shirt with tie or something else?
Recommendation
Some kind of bottom apparel may be needed as currently the lower extremities appear to be uncovered. Maybe cutoffs or bell bottoms?
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Heh. Good one.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Hi Geritt...
we're still waiting for the dev team to finish it. I contacted them this morning and raised some hell and was assured that it would be finished by tomorrow morning, but it will still have to be implemented on our live site. I'm pretty upset about the whole thing because the work order was established way back on April the 5th.
The initial project was finished last Wednesday but wasn't up to contract specs so I sent it back to the drawing board and am still waiting for the reworked product. It's pretty typical dev bullhockey so we shall see. It's out of my hands until it's finished and installed.
thanks for the work
Hey JtC,
Thanks for dealing with all the frustration of new software issues. I appreciate you and the site.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Gerrit--In the upper R.H. Corner, click on "Contact Us,"
then in drop box, select 'Administrators' if you're seeking assistance with your Group project (the banner, etc.), or 'Moderators,' if you've looking for assistance with the blog discourse.
Hope that helps!
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Evening Joe and all
There has been a lot of talk of strategies as we move forward today. The news about climate change suggests to me it is our great challenge. The changes required to really deal with it are significantly more challenging than our uphill struggle with Bernie. The green party already has a start and a reasonable platform. The democrats are corrupt corporate shills.
I'm with Bernie all the way, but like most of you I'm wondering how we move the movement.
PS Another great news summary Joe. How in the world do you manage to put it all together? Thanks for your work!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Hi Lookout. Great points. Over here, when our prog party sold
out and hired a corporatist as leader, I left - after 25 years - and joined our provincial Green Party. The Greens are an option to consider. Enjoy your evening,
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
evening lookout...
yep, the movement needs to find a new home, whether that's the greens or a new party or something beyond the realm of electoral politics altogether, it doesn't matter, but we need to find a way to hang together.
soaking in it now
To paraphrase the old Palmolive Dish Detergent commercials, has it occurred to you that we're soaking in it now?
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Oops...bit of toe scuffing...Ty Mollie :=) Never even saw that
button. "Must learn to read the instructions, G." Preferably before my next birthday! Thanks for this; I'll get the hang of it eventually :=)
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
Whoah! Just realized that I completely 'misread' your
question that (thankfully) JtC answered, about the new and improved, and soon-to-be implemented comment system.
Sorry, Guys!
Mollie
elinkarlsson@WordPress
"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive."
----Gilda Radner, Comedienne
National Mill Dog Rescue
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
De nada, Gerrit! ;-D EOM
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Had a nice day today...
Did a four Hour volunteer shift at Free Geek today, and just got home.
It's a good workload, feels good to have done it, and makes me happy that I'm helping people get online who need to be.
So in a way, today was my FUCK YOU to the MSM. I helped people get their own information today.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
evening dmw...
thanks for helping empower people to get the information they need to participate actively.
Very very cool, DMW. You keep doing it; I salute you, mate.
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
Thanks. It doesn't hurt...
that I get a great discount on refurbished Computer parts because of it.
That's the best kind of Charity, IMHO. When you help other people, but also get something good out of it. (I don't consider that hypocrisy at all. I consider "pure" charity to be the domain of those that can afford it, and I can't. Far as I'm concerned, working for free is a bigger personal investment than writing a check, but of course, I'm poor, so what do I know?)
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
heh, I got a refurbished laptop two days ago, and
am glad, because it didn't burn a big hole in my budget and it even has warranty on it.
Of course now I am fully embedded with my laptop in bed and enjoy all my addictions I am accusing myself of.
It's good. Internet access and a phone and a car are the things you need if you are homeless. So helping with that is just a very good deed. Of course sometimes it makes me sick to see that we can't live, work and survive in our hemisphere without.
What sold me on this place...
was that they literally GIVE away computers to anybody who asks and needs one. No, they aren't the best computers on the market, but they're recycled and decent computers that fulfill the basic functions.
So, yeah it's a good deed, but I'm also learning stuff, helping myself with my social anxiety problems and getting a material benefit. (As far as quality of life, I believe having a job that you believe in is one of the most important things... So, there IS some selfishness here, but IMHO it's overridden by the good it does.)
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Good evening joe and bluzerz!
Elizabeth Warren is absolutely correct! My pension is deferred compensation and if they cut it, I will be in a world of hurt. In fact, I still have to work a full-time job and collect my pension, which is disgraceful in and of itself! Raggedy Andy works full-time, too. Think of that!!! I'd have to get another job to make up for it. Incredible that the candidate for change is willing to change the incomes of thousands for the good of the 1%.
I had read that Glenn Greenwald article earlier today and was outraged by what happened to Shaun King. Here we go with another smear on this fellow. Of course, these are the lessons we learn about trusting others with our work. Who knows the motivations of that editor for scrubbing the citations. People are capable of committing such horrible acts. Just look at our horse race and what HRC is doing to Bernie in order to win. Don't get me started!!!
I had one of those VW's for seven years. I sold it a couple years ago. I guess that leaves me without a claim, although they should pay me something for polluting the air for seven years without my knowledge. We'll see what happens.
Thanks for the great music, joe - always such great stuff! Have a lovely evening everyone!
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
evening ra...
yep, it's sad to see mr. hope and change sell out old folks who have little ability to recover from his foul deeds. i hope that there's a warm spot by the lake of fire for obama and his neoliberal pals.
i am a bit curious as to how somebody hired as an editor (generally a senior postion given to highly experienced people of good judgement) could do what king's editor did absent malice. given that, i can't imagine why the paper is protecting their former editor.
oh well, have a great evening!
pay back?
You remember Shaun wrote the pro Bernie piece in answer to the Daily endorsement of Clinton? Reckon that plays into the Clinton mafia machine?
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
sounds like a possibility...
on the other hand, perhaps they just want to avoid lawsuits.
Polls show little support for free trade agreements
if only our votes mattered
evening gj...
i have some hope that in europe people have a bit more power to control their governments and ttip may well fail.
In Germany the Left Party, Greens, and the new right-wing AfD
are all against the trade treaties.
https://www.gruene.de/ueber-uns/jetzt-erst-recht-ttip-und-ceta-stoppen.html
Trying to push the trade treaties through: Merkel's Christian Democrats, their traditional partners the Free Democrats or “Liberals” (in the European sense of laissez-faire capitalist), and the Social Democrats.
Just another example of the SPD being out of touch. Voters are deserting them in droves and they refuse to get it.
Dear joe shickspack
I think that you are looking for something that will not happen.
Europe is in the throes of a propaganda crisis that is resulting in a stronger right-wing.
As for Germany, forget it. The Germans fell asleep, except the AfD, who are probably fueled by outside money from Russia or other right-wing sources.
The AfD do have a point: for twenty-five years the former East Germany was told that there was no money to help stabilize unemployment and smooth out the transition to the divine cult of the individual called capitalism. Now, suddenly, when non-German refugees arrive, there is a lot of money available to deal with this problem.
If I lived in one of the many towns which lost its jobs when the country was annexed to West Germany, I would be furious.
Actually, I am furious.
Thanks for helping me out with that.
Still, the AfD platform seems to sit very well with the interests of a large petroleum producing nation just to the east. Denying climate change? Which German in his or her right mind, even among the AfD elite, truly believes that climate change is not of anthropic origin? Well, then again, the Republican Party elite don't believe their own propaganda either.
As for democracy, Germany has a lot of problems in this regard, structurally, due to the way the government is organized, and due to Brussels. If the United Googleface of America did not have rigged elections, it would be superior. There are far fewer elected offices in Germany. It is not uncommon for even local elected offices to be occupied by party apparachiks who come from outside the community.
The US still has a great advantage over much of Europe: no nation really trusts its own. Germans do not trust each other, etc. For good reason. There are a lot of advantages which the US has. It has to use them, but that means we have to use them, which means more time organizing and doing things and defeating the interests of those who simply do not care about anyone, caring only for profit and their own safety and security.
I cannot go into this more now.
Peace and love be with you, reader.
ok, some actual numbers of what Bernie needs
We've heard that Bernie needs 57% or so of the remaining delegates. After New York that's up past 58%. In real numbers Bernie must get 817 delegates to Hillary's 583. That's a tall order.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey are the largest states before California. They worry me. They have 315 delegates combined. They're too much like New York for my taste.
California has 475. If Bernie hasn't made up any ground by then he'd need to win 354 delegates there to Hillary's 121....which seems impossible. So he'll have to pick up some in Oregon, Puerto Rico and Indiana.
60% of the California total would be 285. If he can get that, which would give Hillary 190, he'd get a net gain of 95. I think that's probably the best he can do...although I hope not, obviously. If he has that net of 95 then he has to do well next Tuesday. Even that California gain would still leave him 140+ behind.
So it's a tough task for sure. Now the bad news on my end. I flunked my driver's test today! I have an expired license and I think I need a current one to switch my registration so I can vote in the Democratic primary, and the deadline for switching is next Tuesday. The next date that I can get for a test is after the deadline. I'll try going down to election HQ and see if I can get them to help me out.
(when you come to a stop sign, come to a complete stop...do not "pause" and especially do not do it several times...just a tip if you ever need to take that test)
evening shahryar...
i don't know about oregon, but in maryland you can get an "age of majority" card that is a state issued id (that you get from the mva) that is as valid as drivers license for id purposes (though not for driving, of course).
i would think that oregon would have to have some similar thing, since people who don't drive still need a valid id. just a thought.
thanks for the math exercise. the big question at this point (imo) is whether sanders can keep the margins small enough that hillary can't get to the magic number of delegates to seal the deal before superdelegates.
if bernie can do well enough tuesday to keep hillary from the magic number and then win california by a significant margin before the convention, then i'd guess the democrat establishment has a big problem just handing the nom to clinton.
indictment?
Can I dream? Didn't the bird tell us?
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Nice ! Love that poster!
Hey, I actually thought of 'Birdie Sanders' when a California Condor flew and landed right near us on HWY 1 Big Sir last week.
A real beaut, huh!
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Wow
We've got vultures, but no condors. That is a beaut!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
heh...
the first time that i saw a condor up close i realized that they, like vultures, look much better at a distance.
You do not need a drivers license to vote....
Call or go online to the Sec. of State office to see what you need or a state ID. It is just as good as a driver's license for ID.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Thanks for the numbers.
Did you add in the caucus delegates that he will be picking up before then? I think WA had an extra 12 that will be assigned at the state convention on top of whatever gains he makes otherwise.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Good Evening, Joe, tonight I really enjoyed the songs
of Victoria Spivey, it's the kind of blues I like the most. Somehow so straight up to godly honest kind of singing.
The news? Tonight? Ha. I didn't get bothered.
The RT piece of Merkel doesn't have a chance to convince many Germans, I would guess. She is still my Chancellor. And Erdogan can just kiss my behind, Boehmermann's comedy skills ... oh well, I guess his style is today's chic and just "in". Back in the days comedians and satire producing folks were very good and didn't need as much vulgarity to make their funny points. Whatever. NO big deal. I heard that the law Merkel based her decision on is very old, was never used and the intention is to get rid of it. So, let's get rid of it. We never needed it before. I think Merkel had to weigh what is more important to her, Mr. Boehmermann's freedom of foaming from his mouth or the fate of the deal she hoped to make with Turkey to get relief for the refugees.
The US press has its "Germans slaughter their freedon of speech"- party and as always dwells in making the point that the Germans are too authoritarian and don't protect their freedom of speech well enough. They always jump on that and always the same authors in the WP and NYT, I realized that in the nineties. I feel more free in Germany to speak my mind that I do feel in the US, just to make it clear. Like it or not.
At least we don't have to listen to Drump-like shit that makes the case that torture is just really good and a lot of fun too. I hope he doesn't become President and talks shit like this while it be certain that "polite" Germans let him get away with that kind rhetoric on his potential trips to Germany. Pfui Deibel. If that should ever happen, he can expect my eggs and tomatos thrown straight into his face. Of course I do that only in Germany. Here in the US I behave. Rest assured.
The media takes itself so very, very serious and omnipotent and I guess Boehmermann is the type, who just can't resist to foam from his mouth to make sure everybody gets his satire and will recognize him.
As the video said: German internet is not happy.... with Merkel. Oh, have you seen a lot of "happy internetters" lately? Seems to me they always shout at each other vulgarities, incite hate everywhere they can. Nothing new there. The left in Germany is not happy, of course not, at least they have to voice their criticism. I get that.
I bet a dollar (it's not worth more) that Merkel will stay in her saddle and Boehmermann will not go into the annals as great comedian and RT must have not enough worthy news to report on - what a pity, guys, just have to dig harder.
The German RT piece is btw. much better.
Thanks, mimi, I always enjoy your take on things, especially
about European values and news.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Something you will not see reported in the media
I ran into this today:
So, 15% of HRC supporters won't vote for Sanders. Maybe someone should ask HRC if she will support Sanders when he is the nominee.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Blunt post
"there's something so especially sadistic about waving the flag of a country that you're actively destroying" -- Aaron Mate
blunt post
Really good article regarding Clinton's attacks on Sanders
This following is from the article Why Bernie Sanders Supporters Won’t Back Clinton: Part One
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
At least we know who will be in her cabinet posts
We don't have to wait to be betrayed as we were when Obama fired all of his campaign advisers and installed both the Clinton retreads and the same people who crashed the global economy.
When he did that there was such a feeling of betrayal by him. Then all the shit he pulled during the health care debate, and the rest of his broken campaign promises.
And next came the cat food commission and then more wars in the Middle East to be topped off by the TPP and I keep reading comments stating that he has been the best president ever since fdr.
It doesn't matter that the middle class is losing ground or the rich are getting richer or any of the other shit he has done.
Hillary comes along and says that she is going to continue his legacy and people say "great".
But we had the chance to vote for Bernie who ran on everything opposite those two and people "no thanks, you can't get it done because congress won't work with you", even though the republicans hate Hillary as much as they did Bill.
Except for the ones who are in favor of more wars and finally being able to dismantle social security and privatize it. As Bill would have done if not for Monica Lewinsky. It was almost a done deal.
Unfuckingbelievable!
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
The media again
The media has spent the last seven years decrying the side shows without informing the public about the actual policy issues that Obama has failed us in. I doubt very much that his approval rating would be so high if people understood how he put social security in danger or his cozying up to Wall St or understood just how much of a neo-con he is. And it is those approval ratings that are helping HRC.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
You're right, WD13--but remember, he got two Social Security
cuts to Spousal Benefits, amounting to as high as $50,000 to $60,000 over a couples' benefits lifetime). This cut was in his past budget proposal, and passed just months ago.
***Edited to Correct 'When' Cut Was Passed. Erroneously posted cuts were passed in 2014--which was when the Multi-Employer Pension Plan (ERISA) cuts were enacted. Sorry!***
As hard as some of us tried to get the word out--Joe did some excellent writing on some of the cuts--most of the MSM, and the progressive blogosphere (C99P excluded, of course!) turned a blind eye to the cuts. Just as they have to the Medicare cuts, federal civilian and military pension cuts, cuts to LIHEAP, SNAP, etc.
It's being reported that this Congress is currently working on on a major tax overhaul--a prerequisite for striking a Grand Bargain.
My concern is that the MSM giving 'cover' to the President and Congress when they pass and implement austerity measures, will not end with PBO.
What to do about it? I wish I knew.
*Sigh*
(Music City) Mollie, C99P & Daily Kos
elinkarlsson@WordPress
"The obstacle is the path."--Zen Proverb
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
thank you for the reminder.
I had seen that new reduction and had forgotten it as it does not have an effect on my social security. I do feel sorry for those people who had planned on having a good life after retirement.
Someone needs to remind me just what part of Obama's legacy he is so proud of that he needs someone to carry it on. I cannot think of one good thing that has come out of his terms (ACA does not count as it was a give away to insurance and Big Pharma).
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Good evening, Joe. Wage theft is exactly what that
pension scam is. It is pretty despicable and probably only the beginning.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Good evening joe, all. Love that first tune.
But I have to say that 'bi-partisan' pension change is, like a friend often says, as 'f*cked up like Hogan's Goat.'
http://members.shaw.ca/TBM3E/hgoat.htm
That hole bill was fine example Dem Party 'embrace the suck' bs.
Hope the Teamsters take it to the street!
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
afternoon do...
heh, i hope that the teamsters get off their asses and start acting like a union.
Lovely Sanders video
talking about growing up in Brooklyn and more:
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass