Good Morning 99percenters!
Morning news dump and music for Father's Day.

Where does one go to find some uplifting news, is there any?

The Dangers of Religious Primitivism
By stirring up the Middle East – from Western exploitation of oil to Zionist expulsion of Palestinians – Christians and Jews set in motion today’s “clash of civilizations” with Islam and launched all three religions on a path toward dangerous primitivism, a threat to humanity’s future, writes Lawrence Davidson.

I am on vacation this week and will not be able to participate in this Open Thread so I decided to keep this Open thread very benign.

Good morning 99percenters!
Morning news dump and music by The Temptations

UK under pressure to respond to latest Edward Snowden claims
Sunday Times says Downing Street believes Russia and China have hacked into American whistleblower’s files, endangering US and British agents

Downing Street and the Home Office are being challenged to answer in public claims that Russia and China have broken into the secret cache of Edward Snowden files and that British agents have had to be withdrawn from live operations as a consequence.

Good morning 99percenters!
Morning news dump and music by Blind Faith

Dallas police in standoff with armed suspect as bombs found in HQ - rolling coverage
Follow the latest updates as police deal with bombs left at headquarters and local stations and pursue up to four armed suspects

Four bags were found in front of the Dallas Police Headquarters. According to the Dallas police, one bag was confirmed to contain pipe bombs.

An explosive ordinance robot was dispatched to move the bags found in the parking lot. The police department just reported that the robot took a hit during an initial explosion. It remains functional, however.

Good Morning. Caucus99. Let' take it one day at a time. All will be good. That's the way I survive. I am offering you a Smörgåsbord this morning. Hmm... salmon ...scambled eggs ... caviar...

Today I am going to be traveling so I will not be able to respond to comments on this thread until late today. This will be a truly Open Thread. But while you are contemplating what you want to post, I am going to post a little music courtesy of one of my favorite song writers/musicians, Darrell Scott. While many of you may have never heard of Darrell Scott, I suspect some of you are familiar with his songs.

Good morning 99percenters!
Morning news dump and music by Arlo Guthrie.

20,000+ Police March In Force Against G7 Protests in Germany
Though more than 20,000 police officers were deployed to keep voice of the people away from powerful leaders, the critiques offered by demonstrators appear highlighted by the enormous efforts made to silence them

Good morning 99percenters!
Morning news dump and music by Hot Tuna.

As Crucial Vote Nears, How Many Dems Will Stand Against Destructive TPP?
As progressive opposition to Fast Track intensifies, Leader Pelosi is conspicuously absent from the fight,' says CREDO Action

With proponents expressing increasing confidence that they have the bipartisan support to pass Fast Track in the House—and Republicans pushing to hold a vote as early as next week and certainly by the end of the month—progressive groups are dialing up the pressure on key lawmakers whose influence they see as critical in the fight over corporate-friendly trade deals.

As many of you already know, I enjoy watching birds come to my bird feeders. I maintain two hanging seed feeders, two pole feeders, and one hummingbird feeder. My two hanging feeders are suspended from the eaves of my house. To fill them, I must lower them to the ground via the lines that suspend them. Generally, these feeders are relatively secure from the squirrels. For a squirrel to raid either of them, it must make a major leap from a nearby tree.

My Weird High School.

I attended High School from 1968-1972 in a small town (about 30,000) in northern Illinois. The Dennis Hastert incident brought this to mind as the school I went to is only about 40 or 50 miles from Yorkville.