Kill Capital Punishment

From Jimmy Carter...

Show death penalty the door.

Southern states carry out more than 80 percent of the executions but have a higher murder rate than any other region. Texas has by far the most executions, but its homicide rate is twice that of Wisconsin, the first state to abolish the death penalty. Look at similar adjacent states: There are more capital crimes in South Dakota, Connecticut and Virginia (with death sentences) than neighboring North Dakota, Massachusetts and West Virginia (without death penalties). Furthermore, there has never been any evidence that the death penalty reduces capital crimes or that crimes increased when executions stopped. Tragic mistakes are prevalent. DNA testing and other factors have caused 138 death sentences to be reversed since I left the governor’s office.

I agree with the former President for many of the same reasons. Kill the death penalty.

Join the Revolution!

A story missing from our media: Iceland's on-going revolution.

Contrary to what could be expected, the crisis resulted in Icelanders recovering their sovereign rights, through a process of direct participatory democracy that eventually led to a new Constitution.

What are we waiting for? Let's do this thing! Throw the bastards out and try some REAL democracy for a change.

401k Exorcism

I am not an investment specialist nor do I play one on TV, in film, or even a second rate web series. Do not follow my example! When it comes to matters of finance I am certifiably insane. Consider this your warning.

This is not about how we got duped into the 401k sham. That's a different rant. This is about investing and it is really bad advice. That was another warning.

Like most working people I have a 401k. In the past I have taken a very hands off approach to my investments. I know for a fact that there are people far better at making investment decisions than myself and chose to let them do it.

While reading through the prospectus for a venture fund that was part of my portfolio, I cringed. There were several holdings as part of the fund that I had moral objections to.

After a total review of my portfolio and the options available to me through my current 401k plan, I managed to purge most of the evil. Most.

While being mature enough to take an interest in my retirement savings, I still harbor plenty of that youthful rebellion that doesn't want anything to do with large, exploitative companies.

I'd love to hear stories from others who have faced this investment dilemma.

APO PANTOS KAKODAIMONOS!

FOX Patriarch Thrashed

Rupert Murdoch deemed 'not a fit person' to run international company.

I concur with the Parliamentary committee's findings.

The 99% Prop Up the American Economy

US economic growth slowed to an annualised pace of 2.2%

Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of the US economy, grew by a 2.9% annual rate, the fastest pace since the fourth quarter of 2010.

The rich horded so much they managed to SLOW what should have been a growth economy.

Fuck the rich. Then tax the hell out of them.

Space Race Heating Up

BBC News - Plans for asteroid mining emerge:

The founders include film director and explorer James Cameron as well as Google's chief executive Larry Page and its executive chairman Eric Schmidt.

They even aim to create a fuel depot in space by 2020.

About freakin' time!

California Could Abolish State Subsidized Murder

BBC News - California to vote on abolishing death penalty:

The measure would see death row inmates have their sentences commuted to life. Just 13 people have been executed since the law was re-introduced in 1978.

As someone who has been wrongly accused and presumed guilty of something potentially life threatening, I really hope California can end this.

Chavez Not Dead Yet!

BBC News - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dismisses death rumours:

Mr Chavez, 57, dismissed rumours that he had died undergoing radiotherapy for a second tumour in his pelvic region.

He's not dead, just a little crazy.

He's been in the top spot so long he has started to fear that everyone is out to get him. Too bad. He had a lot of potential.

Socialism Leads to "The American Dream" (all rights reserved)

“If Americans want to live the American dream, they should go to Denmark.” | I Acknowledge Class Warfare Exists

If social mobility is the name of the game ("If I try hard enough I can be rich and successful.") then the place to is Denmark.

Or perhaps you want to stick with The American Nightmare. The one where no matter how hard you try you just can't seem to get ahead. And you show up to class naked.

Stein Gets Labor

Stein calls Obama "win-win" Colombia trade agreement a "lose-lose" for workers

"President Obama called it a win-win. No, it's a lose-lose for workers," Stein said. "It's a deadly assault on the freedom of Colombian workers to organize, as well as on the freedom of American workers from unfair competition from workers who make poverty wages because they are violently repressed."

What she said.

NRA is Right Wing Puppet

Let's make this nice and sparkling clear. Romney and Obama have the exact same position on gun control. Both of them agree on background checks. Both of them cite the need to keep guns out of the hands of potential criminals. They walk the middle ground together.

When the NRA supports Romney over Obama, and they will, ask yourself if they truly support the Second Amendment. It seems to me they use the Second Amendment to gain support for Republicans.

Personally, I would like to see guns become fashion statements. Let everyone have them. Cars are far more deadly and absolutely anybody can buy one*. Besides, wouldn't it be great to see a woman with a well maintained black powder revolver on her hip (or even this gal) making fun of the obvious overcompensation for personal inadequacies of the M-4 toting tea bagger?

Guns for everybody except those who don't want them!

* You do not need a license to purchase a car from a private party. You only need one to drive it on a public road.

Wrong Way on Marijuana Laws

California Medical Marijuana Numbers: Amount Of Patients With Pot Prescriptions Is Difficult To Gauge Because California Doesn't Require Registration

Sponsored by Assemblywoman Nora Campos, a San Jose Democrat, the bill would require anyone who wants to claim a legal right to use marijuana for health reasons to apply for a county-issued identification card. Marijuana patients also would have to say if they plan to grow their own pot or to purchase it from a patient collective, and name the collective.

If a person is prescribed oxycodone they aren't required to register with the county just so the cops won't bust them for taking their medicine. Other medical marijuana states should be moving towards California's interpretation of how to deal with medications, not the other way around.

Link found between Pot and Not Killing Yourself

Study: suicide rates fall when states legalize medical marijuana.

In addition:

They also note that the sale of alcohol to young males declines in states that legalize medical marijuana and note that alcohol is a known depressant...

Next we need a study on what happens when states legalize recreational marijuana.

Boycott the Wicked

For years I have been practicing and preaching the 'Buy American' ethos. Yes, it is difficult.

In this installment of What Would Jello Do, Jello advocates for a parallel plan; boycott the evil bastards and buy local.

We are essentially aiming in the same direction with the same intent. Watch, listen, join the revolution!

Continuing to Draw the Line

Capitalists possess things.

Socialists do things.

Noun.

Verb.

Rock vs. River.

End Drug Violence

BBC News - Drug cartels threaten Latin American democracy

Cartels are influencing elections by threatening politicians and even running their own candidates, OAS Secretary for Multidimensional Security Adam Blackwell said.

As the world's largest illegal drug consuming country we can stop this. End the drug war. Legalize, tax, regulate. Save the rest of the Americas from the violence.

The Power of Denial

Falling for passionate political speak leads to artistic hilarity.

Return of the Aging and Ranting Punks!

WWJD?

What Would Jake Do? He'd watch this video.

What Would Jello Do...

WalMart is Evil

WalMart is the essence of Evil.

A company that instructs managers how to help employees sign up for public assistance is evil. A not-evil company would pay employees enough to not need the public assistance intended for the truly needy.

A company that will take a loss at one store to drive local stores owned by local people out of business is evil. If you can leverage this kind of control you are too fucking big.

When someone is injured on your property and it is covered by your insurance, pay up. That is what insurance is for. Having a massive team of lawyers dedicated to not paying out a single cent even in legitimate cases is fucking evil.

Leveraging your size and influence to force other manufacturers to produce shit for zero profit is bullshit.

If you are truly offering people the best deal around, why are the Waltons on the short list of the richest people in the world? Sounds like they could cut prices a little more. Or they could share the wealth instead of being a burden on society.

Walmart is evil. I saw it destroy my hometown. I have seen it destroy communities. If you shop at WalMart, you are part of the problem. End of story.

If elected President of these United States I will bring WalMart up on treason charges for betraying the people of this country to the enrichment of the Chinese Government.

Have a nice fucking day.

Open Primary Season

While most folks focus on the circus that is the Republican nomination process, there is a match of actual interest going on.

Roseanne Barr vs. Jill Stein for Green Party Presidential candidate. Stein is currently trouncing Barr.

Here's a suggestion for any knee jerk closet racist conservatives happening across this; support Roseanne. Don't deny it, you hate Muslims. How do you think they would feel having to meet with Roseanne as heads of state? Just saying.

Who are the 99%?

As #occupy continues to go through media cycles (largely based on police violence) it becomes clear that the 99% will no longer remain silent. Who are they? The Washington Post answers the question from the other side.

Taken literally, the top 1 percent of American households had a minimum income of $516,633...

The number looks large but attainable. Then comes the real shock.

When you look at the disparity in net worth, things look even more skewed. Wealthier Americans have assets — in home equity, stocks and other investments — that generally outstrip their cash income. Average wealth of the top 1 percent was almost $14 million in 2009...

Yikes! Nobody in my circle of friends can boast that. The flip side is even scarier.

By contrast, the poorest households were experiencing declines in net worth even before the recession hit. In 2007, the bottom 20 percent of households had an average (negative!) net worth of –$13,800 in 2007, which fell further to –$27,200 in 2009. Altogether, “average wealth of the bottom 80 percent was just $62,900 in 2009 — a dropoff of $40,900 from 2007,” EPI writes. That means the wealthiest 1 percent held an average of 225 times the wealth of the average median household in 2009 — a ratio that was 125 in 1962.

Big numbers make the head spin. Visual!

Remember, that first group is NEGATIVE!

Who are the 99%? Just about everyone. Why are they speaking out? Because you don't become one of the 1% by working hard and lining up for Black Friday bargains.

More numbers and pictures at the New York Times.

UC Davis Incident

Watch the whole thing. What do you see? What reactions do you have?



Did you watch it? If not, do so now!

Then continue with this news article.

Officers in pepper spray incident placed on leave

Charles J. Kelly, a former Baltimore Police Department lieutenant who wrote the department's use of force guidelines, said pepper spray is a "compliance tool" that can be used on subjects who do not resist, and is preferable to simply lifting protesters...

After reviewing the video, Kelly said he observed at least two cases of "active resistance" from protesters. In one instance, a woman pulls her arm back from an officer. In the second instance, a protester curls into a ball. Each of those actions could have warranted more force, including baton strikes and pressure-point techniques.

"What I'm looking at is fairly standard police procedure," Kelly said.

At some point the people of this country accepted this behavior from the police. Now that people carry a pocket video camera with them at all times the behavior looks different. I read the above news story and compared it to what I saw in the video.

UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza has said the decision to use pepper spray was made at the scene.

"The students had encircled the officers," she said Saturday. "They needed to exit. They were looking to leave but were unable to get out."

Is that what you saw? What are your reactions now?

Constitutional Law

I have a radical idea.

The ACLU and the NRA should become a single entity. Join forces/resources. Fight the good fight together.

Honestly. I like them both.

The Occupation is Over; Long Live #Occupy!

The three most news worthy #occupy camps in three days all with mayors talking about health and safety issues. Just coincidence. Move along.

We should all be glad for this. The 1% has shown their hand. They say the word and the politicians leap. Spread the word and laugh.

Laugh because #occupy is far from gone. #ows got right back in the park. #occupyportland is still holding daily GA's. A contingent from #occupyoakland marched five miles to support Berkley. A movement that had settled into a simmer came roaring back into national news.

Are you enjoying this as much as I am?

Oakland Police Department Lies

The lies of the Oakland Police Department disturb me.

From the Guardian...

(I)nterim police chief, Howard Jordan, was similarly defensive when he spoke to reporters, denying that his men had used rubber bullets or flash-bang grenades, as some protesters alleged and adding: "It's unfortunate it happened. I wish that it didn't happen. Our goal, obviously, isn't to cause injury to anyone."

How can someone lie in the face of such condemning evidence? It certainly looks like a flash-bang grenade was tossed right in the middle of those protestors trying to help out a fallen protestor; a Marine who survived two tours in Iraq only to return to the United States and get his skull fractured for peaceful unarmed protest.



While on the topic of the Occupy Movement...

Several people have complained recently about protestors destroying parks. We could debate that point. I choose not to. Assume their occupation destroys the parks they inhabit. Better a few trampled parks than one trampled United States Constitution (First Amendment). Anyone else have good responses to these types?

Libyarated

BBC News - Libya's new rulers declare country liberated. Crowds cheered as one leader that wasn't elected announced the death of another leader that wasn't elected.

I am as misinformed about the meaning of 'Liberated' as I was about the phrase 'Mission Accomplished'.

Obama Pulls Out

US pulls out way too late. Says, "Don't worry, baby. I'm sure everything will be fine."

BBC: All US troops to leave Iraq in 2011.

So when Obama promised an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, he meant that he would get around to it when election season started up again? Lame!

Occupy Wall Street Lunatic 'Fringe of the Fringe'

The Forbes 'Occupy Wall Street' Gaining Respect...From Wall Street? article by Kenneth Rapoza is poor journalism.

The left wing lunatic 'fringe of the fringe' is gaining respect from the very source of the movement's disdain: Wall Street itself.

A 'news' article calling a movement of thousands in New York and hundreds of thousands if not millions showing solidarity as the movement turns into Occupy Everywhere can not be called lunatic 'fringe of the fringe'. This seems like a deliberate attempt at belittling the very movement the article purports to report support for.

Whether it fizzles out or gets busted up through divide and conquer strategies remains to be seen, but the movement, which got its start in the editorial offices of Adbusters, a non-influential magazine based in Vancouver, continues to spread around the world.

Send Mr. Rapoza back to school! First and foremost, this would make a fine example of a run-on sentence in any grammar book. The poor use of commas further complicates comprehension. The opening line, "Whether it fizzles out or gets busted up..." assumes unknowable foreknowledge. It again belittles the protests and assures the reader that this too shall pass into obscurity before any results are achieved. Calling Adbusters a non-influential magazine flies in the face of all evidence. The Occupy Wall Street idea started there and has spread around the globe over the past month. While the magazine may have played almost no role in organizing the event, their influence is evident.

Did Forbes and Mr. Rapoza deliberately publish propaganda? Are they shitty journalists? Do we have to choose?

Keeping things in check

Abolish the minimum wage. Institute a maximum wage of no more than 10x what the lowest paid workers make. Watch the lowest paid workers earn more than they ever thought possible.

Customer Service

One way to view the Occupy Wall Street/Occupy America demonstrations...

This is a customer service call. The citizens subscribe to a service called American Democracy. They are unsatisfied with that service. So they are calling out the service providers. They aren't clear on what the service provider needs to do, just what the failings of that service are and that they better do something because the service sucks.

Dear Service Provider,
Make It Right!

The Occupation Continues

What's it all about?

Anti-Wall Street Protests Spread From New York to San Francisco - Businessweek

“They’re just a bunch of wacko leftists trying to get on TV,” said Onel Delorb, 33, an unemployed office worker from the Bronx. “It’s my fault that I’m not doing anything for work. It’s not government’s fault.”

He said the demonstrators undermined their credibility by carrying iPhones and iPads made by Apple Inc., which is valued at $350 billion.

A valid point. Or it is a further indicator of how giant corporations fleece the population by over-charging for their goods. Having watched a lot of the live feed, I could also argue the protesters made wise investments in tools that have allowed them to become their own media outlet and spread the word. No major media outlet filmed policeman Anthony Bologna pepper-spraying innocent protesters. The protesters did it for themselves and spread it around the world in an instant. They aren't trying to get on TV because they don't need the TV.

Using the products of corporations against them. Definitely revolutionary*.

* In the sense that many revolutions are initially armed by the forces they come up against.

Truth be Told

After ten years of intense government surveillance of the citizenry, the public is turning the surveillance back on the watchers.

There is an attempt to edit history. I will do my best to not let them get away with it. I hope you will too.

How? By making certain as many people as possible know about it. Check out The New York Times. The originator highlights the times but also check out the authorship.

Then from the BBC you have to wade through a dozen paragraphs about demonstrator disorderly conduct before getting to this.

BBC News - Hundreds of Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested

Some of the protesters said police had allowed them on to the roadway and were escorting them across when they were surrounded and the arrests began.

We can't keep them from rewriting the page but we can keep them from rewriting history.

One Bad Pig in a System of Swine

Since September 17 a group of demonstrators has been practicing deliberative democracy while occupying Wall Street in NYC. The demonstrators have been heroically peaceful. Unfortunately, others have not.

Occupy Wall Street: 'Pepper-spray' officer named in Bush protest claim | World news | guardian.co.uk

The Guardian has learned that the officer, named by activists as deputy inspector Anthony Bologna, stands accused of false arrest and civil rights violations in a claim brought by a protester involved in the 2004 demonstrations at the Republican national convention.

In case you think that perhaps there was some provocation for Bologna's actions, watch this excellent piece that shows what happened.

Anthony Bologna should not have a badge.

Taxing the Rich Benefits the Rich

People opposed to taxing the rich don't understand why it is such a fabulous idea.

From a BBC News article:

"This administration's insistence on raising taxes on job creators and its reluctance to take the steps necessary to strengthen our entitlement programmes are the reasons the president and I were not able to reach an agreement previously, and it is evident today that these barriers remain," (House Speaker Boehner) said.

Let us assume that the rich are the job creators. I don't buy into this but millions of the citizenry do. Rather than argue with them we will, for argument's sake, play along.

The rich, as mythically heroic job creators, currently don't have a need for all of the workers available. They benefit from having such a large pool to pull from. So it's only fair that they pay for this benefit since they have the means to do so. They can pay for people to sit around waiting until the job creators have need of them for their next adventure. They can pay to keep them healthy since debilitated job applicants would do them no good should they decide to create some jobs. They can even pay to educate them so when they create those jobs they have the best possible pool to pull from. They can even pay for people to sit around and do absolutely nothing because it is cheaper to do that than to finance the criminal justice system that will have to deal with those whose options have completely run out. Ten years obviously isn't long enough for the rich to create those jobs they were talking about. Let's give them more time to hatch those grand ideas that will turn into jobs for people by having the rich pay for people to wait it out.

A little wealth redistribution can go a long way. Help the rich help themselves. Demand higher taxes on millionaires and corporations!

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Apparently it will be streamed.

Global Revolution

Terror Alert and I Just Don't Care!

New York on security alert amid warning of 9/11 terror threat. I don't care anymore. Every freakin' year as we approach September 11th a news story announces some terror plot meant to disrupt observation of the anniversary of what US citizens simply call 9/11. Every year the threat level gets raised yet again. And every year it amounts to nothing.

I think most of us recall the story of the boy who cried wolf. I just don't care anymore.

For the record, I still don't buy the official line as to what really happened that day. I don't claim to know what did happen, but what we've been sold isn't it.

This is the modern day JFK event. Most of the world seems 99.9% certain that the CIA orchestrated that one (while details vary). Most US citizens still like to live in denial about it. The level of disinformation surrounding September 11th leaves a familiar flavor.

But as for these annual terror alerts, I just don't care.

Two Views of the Same Event

Read both of these stories about the same event. Yes, read both of them.

Longshoremen expected to return to work in wake of federal court order

Long History Of Longshore Labor Unrest On West Coast

I realize that both stories have a certain amount of bias, but the FOX version would make a good substitute for ipecac.

America; Love It or Color It

Hey kids! Let's all take out our propagandist coloring book and learn what Right Wing Extremists think we should all believe about 9/11!

In Solidarity with Verizon Workers

Verizon Strike Highlights Union Effect on Middle Class Jobs. As someone working in a non-union shop, I appreciate all the struggles of the union workers. Their strength and success makes conditions at my place of work better. Fight on!

For the Anarchists

Seventy-five years ago the Spanish anarchists were in a fight with Spanish fascists... and winning! May workers one day rediscover their inherent strength.

Rich Guy Says, "Why isn't the government taxing the fuck out of me?"

That isn't exactly what Warren Buffet says, but it summerizes his sentiment as expressed in the New York Times.

Stop Coddling the Super-Rich - NYTimes.com

"I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation."

Wow! This country must be facing some serious shit if a billionaire is telling people that the rich must be taxed if we are to make it through.

South Africa becomes newest nation to make USA look like backwards hicks.

While citing the deep inequality between rich and poor, South Africa makes the United States look ill.

BBC News - South Africa unveils universal health care scheme

'The private sector is held up as an example of good service and quality of care - and this is mostly justified. What is not justified is the price tag that comes with certain forms of private health care provision,' he said.

'This is not only a burden to people using private health services, but a disservice to our country as a whole because it distorts pricing across the board.'

In other news, with the United States' credit rating getting a downgrade, for the first time in history all nations with a AAA credit rating have socialized medicine.

When Religion Controls the State

Some people are easily convinced that the United States is controlled by the Zionists and will do whatever Israel tells them to do. They are also easily convinced that Obama is a Muslim who does whatever the Arab world tells him to do. They don't trust the Pope much either. Many of these same people, without even a hint of irony, would support the posting of the Ten Commandments in public buildings.

Divide and Suffer

What we have is 90% of the people versus 90% of the money, and the money is winning hands down.

It wins because it pits the people against each other. It makes imaginary divisions between the ethnicities and pits those perceived as Mexicans or Asians or other immigrant groups against those who consider themselves 'Real Americans™' because they immigrated before everyone else was doing it.

It splits the people into ideological opponents based on two political parties that historically aren't that different from each other when it comes to capitulating to the wants and desires of those who have the money. It splits them into some weird left and right scenario hoping nobody will ever think to look up.

It divides the poor from the impoverished calling one group the middle class and the other a bunch of welfare loafers. It constantly draws attention to the small amounts being siphoned off to help those who are part of the 90% of the people while hiding the ever growing wealth in the 90% of the money.

It wins by selling people the idea of some day being a part of that super fantastic rich lot. Strike it rich at the casino, winning lotto ticket, smart investing, or maybe just in the right place at the right time. Then they will be the ones with the wealth and the power and they sure as hell wouldn't want anyone taking that prize away from them.

As they say, ain't no war but the class war. If you made less than a million last year, you know which side you're on.

90% of the people can totally take down the 90% with the money.

Commie Pinko Teabaggers

They said taxes were too high. They said they wanted a flat tax with no loop holes. They said they wanted less government control of their money. They said they were fiscal conservatives.

So I lay out the voluntary tax model for them. I explain how the government offers their constituents a bill of goods and services while people can pick and choose what they will and will not support. Then they send in as much as they are willing to give to the things they deem important.

They hated the idea. They called it the dumbest idea they had ever heard. Somehow I had managed to out-conservative the conservatives exposing them as Communists. Yes, they wanted government services (mostly military, medicare, and social security) but they wanted everybody to pay for it.

Communists!

Of course what they really wanted was for somebody else to pay for everything they wanted from the government. They were dead certain that the rich and the poor (people other than them) weren't paying their fair share. Yet they maintained that you can't tax businesses because doing so forces jobs out of the country. We had to capitulate to the demands of business for our own good.

Fascist Commies!

Guess I won't be getting their vote in 2012. Fine. I wouldn't want a bunch of fascist commies voting for me, anyway.

Trickle Down!

Trickle Down Economics

definition: The feeling that you are constantly getting pissed on.

1 > 85+

Today's top story:

Violent death of at least 85 people at the hands of a conservative Christian in the largest terrorist attack in Norway since WWII is completely overshadowed by 1 drunk celebrity snuffing it.

Income Disparity

Today a person explained to me how the wealth disparity in the United States is the greatest in recorded history. Even worse than at the height of the Roman Empire or just before the French Revolution when people rose up and put the heads of the wealthy on pikes.

Ponder, if you will, a radically simple solution. Let's do away with minimum wage laws and replace them with maximum wage laws. Nobody can make more than 10x what the lowest paid individual makes.

Simple, isn't it? Current National minimum wage is at $7.25/hour. Instead let's say that nobody can earn more than $72.50/hour. Assuming a 40 hour work week, that means a CEO couldn't earn more than an estimated $150k ($150,000) per year. Horrifying! At least it would be horrifying to the average CEO that currently makes $11.4M ($11,400,000) a year. But if our current minimum wage assumes that a full time worker can actually live on $15,000 a year, I feel certain the CEOs could figure out a way to survive. After all, they are so smart that they deserve to get paid huge sums.

But some people just love to make loads and loads of money. We can't just take that away from them. No problem! Two simple solutions. (I do love simple solutions.)

First, they can work tirelessly to raise the bottom income. If the lowliest worker saw a moderate increase to just $10/hour, a CEO could then earn over $200,000 a year! Raise it to $20/hour and the top dogs could bring home $400,000. And you can bet the minimum would go up fast if it directly affected the maximum.

The second option for people who just can't make enough money is to let them earn as much as they want. That's right, you can't actually cap their genius money making capabilities. They were born to horde cash! So every dollar earned over the 'maximum' gets taxed at a 75% rate. They still get to make more than everyone else and it helps to fund the government services we have all come to expect. Is that so much to ask? I bet everyone making less than $150,000 a year (roughly 95% of Americans) would find this acceptable.

Or we could just put rich people's heads on pikes.

Cops & Robbers

Cops vs. Criminals? Try Cops vs. Citizens.

Cops don't bust criminals. They can't bust criminals. Not if we wish to maintain the notion that a person is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Contrary to popular opinion (even I am prone to forgetting this), 'innocent until proven guilty' is not a right. Placing the burden of proof on the accuser rather than the accused is, however, a standard practice in our legal system. A damn good one at that!

Cops bust people. A court of law that could very well involve a Constitutionally guaranteed jury of one's peers determines if a crime was committed. Until that time, we should presume the person(s) innocent.

The next time you look through mug shots, observe an arrest, or even hear of one in the news try to think of 'the perp' as just another citizen or at the very least 'the accused'.

Or perhaps you like the idea of cops viewing everyone as potential criminals. Who am I to judge, jury or execute?

Gay Marriage in Old New York

BBC News - New York state approves gay marriage

New York has become the sixth and most populous US state to allow same-sex marriage.

I think we are reaching a point where this movement is snowballing. Coincidentally I also approve of snowballing. Whatever floats your boat.

As long as we have states that recognize same sex marriage the federal government needs to as well. I hear the disparity between state and federal tax codes makes it a real bitch to file.

We could make this whole thing super easy by outlawing ALL marriage. Then only outlaws would have in-laws.

War on (Some) Drugs

BBC News - Central America drugs war: Clinton pledges more funds

Mrs Clinton said funding for the fight against transnational organised crime in the region would be increased from $260m in 2010 to almost $300m this year.

Or we could legalize all drugs, tax them, generate millions in revenue, and no longer give a rat's ass about foreign drug cartels.

Too simple?

If you vote, It's your fault.

Jesse Ventura on Good Morning America

As much as I like Jesse, I don't think I could support him as part of a Ron Paul ticket. I'd be willing to entertain him as a Presidential candidate, though. Especially if I was on the ticket as VP.

Americans

As a nation we call ourselves Americans. The name America was derived from the feminized Latin form of an Italian cartographer's name who was in the employ of the Portuguese exploring the coasts of what would presently be Brazil.

Next time someone tells you that they are Proud to be an American, share this.

What Do You Mean 'Tunnel Vision'?

Let me start with a disclaimer*: In no way do I mean for this to support one party over another. I offer this as an illustration of how we trap ourselves in the reality tunnels we wish to perceive.

Study this chart. What do you see? Do you draw any conclusions based on this data?

I shared this chart with working class individuals of various political persuasions to get their reactions. As expected, those who tend to favor Democrats see this as 'proof' that Republicans lie about the 'tax and spend' agenda of their favorite party.

Those who favor the Republican party did not respond as I expected. I expected them to dismiss the data, call it misleading, claim that Republican administrations inherited terrible budgets and got it all straightened out just in time for Democrats to come along, take all the credit, and then ruin it all over again. Instead I repeatedly got reactions so coherently summed up by one individual when he said...

Whoa! Obama sure didn't waste any time ruining our economy.

Turns out I have no comprehension of how the conservative mind works. Any ideas for research that can help me better understand this phenomenon?

*A posting that starts off with a disclaimer probably has a hidden agenda, offensive material, or both.

Attention Walmart Shoppers!

China would like to thank you for making them what they are today. It wouldn't have been possible without you.

BBC World Service

China has overtaken Japan to become the world's second largest economy.

At its current rate of growth, analysts say China will replace the US as the world's top economy in about a decade.

Some day even our "Made in the USA" labels will be made in China.

Socialism vs. Capitalism

Socialism prioritizes investment in society.
Capitalism prioritizes investment in capital.
Of course I speak in utopian altruisms and over simplifications.
Of course.

Progressive Taxation

Senator Sanders has something to say.

This is not a tax on the rich. This is a tax on the very, very, very rich.

Christmas Myth

For several years I was forced to listen to Christmas music at work. Then a giant corporation bought up the facility. Last year when the holidays rolled around, no Christmas music.

Still, that was a whole hell of a lot of Christmas music I was forced to listen to. So while some have started decorating their personal work spaces for the holidays, I just had to plaster this one to my tool chest.

I guesss before 1963 atheists were a bunch of real pricks.

Deception

Noam Chomsky and Robert Trivers discuss deception.

Propaganda Overdrive

Couldn't even make it a week.

In an effort to diversify my news sources I had been getting a feed from an English language Iranian news source. While it was great to see all of the news stories from a radically different perspective, in less than a week I grew tired of the propaganda. It was the Iranian equivalent of FOX News.

News feed canceled.

LHC and mini-Big Bangs

Large Hadron Collider creates 'mini Big Bang' with lead ion.

And it didn't destroy the Earth... yet.

Self Referencing Propaganda

Hunter S. Thompson once cited rumors about Senator Muskie using the drug ibogaine and how that might account for his strange behavior. When questioned about it he reminded people that he had said it was a rumor which was absolutely true because he had started the rumor.

It's more fun when the rumors are outrageous and the reporters admit to circle jerking their own lies. Otherwise we just have a nasty propaganda machine just like the ones that my high school civics teachers told me made the Nazis and the Russians such evil bastards.

The Birth of Jesus H. Christ

It's only the week after Halloween and the Christmas flood gates have been released. The levy of sane, rational thought and financial responsibility gives way to what has become a two month long national disaster. People will over-eat, over-spend, and over-extend themselves to fulfill their impossible dream of a perfect holiday.

All to celebrate the retailer's equivalent of a golden calf, the birth of Jesus H. Christ. In a nation that always wants more Jesus, the "H" must stand for Heroin.

These are a few of my favorite things...

...and some of my least favorite.

Did I mention I'm back? The other campaign is over and the American Dream could use one hell of a fisting.

Worker Solidarity

Can the working class unite? (emphasis mine)

...it is almost common sense today, on both the right and the left, to equate the right-wing Tea Party movement with the working class. It is assumed that workers are more likely to be duped by the likes of Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin. However, analyses of the ranks of the Tea Party have shown that its supporters tend to be wealthier, older, better educated and whiter than the U.S. population as a whole.

Tea Baggers are better educated? That gives me so much more hope for the working class.

Still Crazy

It's not what it looks like. You don't understand. Yes, they bent me over backwards, took my money, and left me to die or rot in jail. They then slapped me around until I apologized for making them do all that. But deep down they are good politicians who really do love me. This little affair with business is just a passing thing. They'll come back to me and love me and treat me right. You'll see. You just don't know them like I do.

Or is comparing voters to domestic violence victims a bit crude? Fine, I'll try it another way.

So I met this total creepoid at a bar. They kept buying me drinks and nobody else was talking to me. Next thing I know I'm waking up someplace that isn't my home, I'm tied up, and my ass is bleeding. The creepoid is there. They stuff a tissue up my ass (so it doesn't stain the carpet) and ask me if I'd like to do it again. I figure since I can't remember what happened the first time, there's no harm in doing it a second time.

Still seems a bit complex.

Stupid poor people for maintaining the status quo!

Damn. It sounds right but it just isn't as much fun as a good analogy.

Every election cycle I think US citizens are going crazy. I think back on the good old days and remember that the USA has never been sane.

The Other Campaign

He's not an anarchist but rather Minnesota DFL (Democrat Farmer Laborer). We don't have the same opinions on everything nor do we see the same solutions. That said, he is my dad and I wholeheartedly support his campaign.

Hiatus

This campaign is going on hiatus while I work on another.

PSA: Don't Drunk Dial Freedom Works

Inside the place where America's favorite toys come from

Do you like all of your really cool gadgets from Apple, Dell, HP, Sony, Amazon, and others?

The fate of a generation of workers: Foxconn undercover

This super factory that holds some 400,000 people isn't the "sweatshop" that most would imagine. It provides accommodation that reaches the scale of a medium-sized town, all smooth and orderly. Compared to others, the facilities here are well-equipped and superior, with employee treatment meeting standard specifications. Thousands of people flock here each day just to find a place of their own, to find a dream that they'll probably never realize.

It's a fascinating read. Haunting.

The wealth of being an American is built on foreign exploitation.

Illegal Everyone

Everyone does illegal things every day. Most people I know will exceed the speed limit. Maybe just a little, but it is still breaking the law. Or maybe you don't always come to a complete stop. Or you stop at the sign instead of at the crosswalk. Or you cross a street at a place other than the designated crossing zone. Ride your bicycle on a sidewalk. Forget to use turn signals. Don't signal your turns and stops while on a bicycle. Use an illegal substance. Misuse a prescribed substance. Use a pirated copy of an operating system or application. Illegally download media. Know someone who participates in any of the above activities yet you don't turn them in. The point is everyone I know breaks the law and usually does so knowingly and willingly on a near daily basis.

Many of these same people who knowingly and willingly break laws still make a big fuss about those who break laws they think should be obeyed. While I could point out many hypocrisies, right now I happen to be talking about illegal immigration.

So why the difference in treatment? A speeder may feel they are in complete control of the situation while their actions can cause insurance premiums to go up for others. Just because a lot of young white males have been documented as speeders, insurance premiums go up for all young white males. It hardly seems fair. Or maybe they get into an accident which kills a few people, slows down traffic, requires extra law enforcement, or any number of results that can affect the pocketbooks of Americans. People cross the streets illegally which can result in the need to install speed bumps, flashing crosswalk signs, stricter speed regulations, and increased law enforcement to monitor these activities. Some people use drugs responsibly while others abuse them at a cost to all Americans. People download media without paying for it causing the price of the product to go up for those who choose to use it legally and requiring courts and investigators when license holders choose to take legal action against offenders. Illegal activity comes with a price. People will yell about the injustice of their actions being illegal yet will quickly point out the illegal actions of others. It just doesn't make sense. It's as ridiculous as the Bible thumpers who are quick to point out that homosexuality is an abomination yet readily chow down on shellfish or pork. Silly.

It is especially silly for us to claim that people have moved into this country illegally when the nation was stolen in the first place. Other people lived here and a bunch of immigrants moved in, kicked them out, and formed a government that proclaimed themselves the rightful owners of said property. If I stole my neighbor's RV and lived in it, when someone else decided to start a home under it, what gives me the right to declare their activity as trespassing? Silly.

First we must admit that we judge people based on their appearance. We can't stop the behavior, only alter the actions taken. Like when I asked a recent immigrant from Vietnam where to get the best Phở in town. Vietnamese eat Phở. It's their heritage, right? Except the guy really didn't care for Phở and would much rather go to a steak house or barbecue joint. My mistake was just as racist as those people who believe all blacks like fried chicken and watermelon or Hispanics cram their entire extended family into a two bedroom apartment. Just because a person looks a certain way or apparently comes from a particular ethnic group does not mean they adhere to the activities we as individuals ascribe to 'those people'. Silly.

That is one of the biggest problems I see with Arizona's new legislation meant to deal with people who see the border differently than we do. It is now possible for a police officer to be sued by ordinary citizens if they think he should have asked to see someone's documentation. Natural born American citizens are not required to carry proof of citizenship. Until I turned 15 and received my first driving permit I never carried any sort of identification. A person who pays cash for goods, doesn't drive, never leaves the country, doesn't smoke, doesn't drink, and doesn't gamble is a very dull individual but they have no need to carry any sort of identification. I know of a former Marine who refused to carry ID after men in suits driving a dark sedan took all of his identification before giving him back his wallet with all the money still in it. He was so worried that these were government agents stealing his identity that from that point forward his thumbprint was the only identification he kept with him. While a bit paranoid, there was nothing illegal about his actions. If he were to go to Arizona today and someone thought him to be an illegal immigrant and saw the police talking to him without asking for identification, those officers could be brought into court. If those officers did request identification from him and he refused to show it having none, they would detain him, a legal American citizen and Marine Corp veteran. They would eventually sort it all out and I am certain our fine and trustworthy police force who have no record of physical abuse or over zealous use of tazers would treat him justly while they had him unlawfully detained. Or a police force with an already long history of pulling people over for driving while black, walking while Latino, or dancing while queer will take the easy way out and consider this a great scapegoat to increase racial profiling even though the law says they can't while simultaneously making them punishable for not doing it. Silly.

I am not completely unreasonable. I allow for a certain generational gap in racism. Anyone old enough to have served in Vietnam gets a bit of a pass. They grew up in different times. Laws allowed for racial discrimination. Those old imprints can be hard to break. They told jokes about niggers and spics and kikes and dykes. They thought it was funny. When they were kids they could be horrible bigots and completely get away with it. Even my own past has had some horrible transgressions. The older bigots know that they harbor racist thoughts. They know how they feel about 'those people'. They are comfortable with their bigotry because it used to be okay. Silly.

Now it is not. People are still learning how not to be racist, but we should all know by now that judging people based on their appearance is not okay. Yet people who should know better continue to do so. They continue to make judgments about people they have never even met. They label them as some separate entity that somehow does not deserve the same treatment. 'Those people' are somehow 'different'. Maybe it wouldn't bother me so much if people admitted their bigotry. It seems to ease the strain with the older generation. Lift the facade of equality and let it be known that we still have a long road towards racial equality. But I'm talking about people who grew up after the Civil Rights Movement. Not really. The Civil Rights Movement has never ended because the bigotry never ended. Racism just dug itself deep and masqueraded as patriotism. Silly.

If you've read this far and you still feel absolutely certain that this country needs to do more to stop the menace of illegal immigration, here are a few tips. Stop eating fruit. You can probably find locally grown fruit picked by genuine United States citizens. If you get your strawberries at a great price from the big grocery store, or strawberry ice cream or watermelons or juice or any other number of fruits and fruit products, you will likely encounter products picked by illegal migrant workers. Unless you can be absolutely certain of the source and the labor used to harvest it, no more fruit for you. A lot of vegetables are out as well. As is most fast food. Many suppliers of beef and chicken regularly get busted for hiring illegals. Yet they are still in business because the illegals get sent home, the company pays their little fine, and then right back to business as usual. Seafood also uses a lot of illegals. Next time you stay at a hotel, ask the management to prove that all of their employees are US citizens or resident aliens. There are lots of other things you should also stop spending your money on but it all gets rather... Silly.

With all that said, it is my personal opinion that all of the illegal immigrants I have come into contact with have broken the law for the right reasons. They were all brave enough to knowingly take extreme risks to improve their lives. Can speeders say that? Electronic pirates? J-walkers? Drug dealers? Any of you people who break the law on a near daily basis? When compared to the bravery of illegal immigration, my daily self-righteous and self-justified crimes seem silly.

Wordcraft

BBC News - BP wrestles with oil spill hitch in Gulf of Mexico

"I wouldn't say it's failed yet. What I would say is what we attempted to do last night didn't work."

Doug Suttles, chief operating officer for BP

Bravo! Not only do you make the words dance, but you get them to tango in 5/4 time.

Woody Harrelson on Stuff

While I may not feel quite as romantic about 'the way things were', I still enjoyed this.

It's Okay to Flip-Flop

Sometimes people need an example to fully understand the possible ramifications of certain actions.

BBC News - California's Schwarzenegger turns against oil drilling

California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has withdrawn his support for a plan to expand oil exploration off the state's coast.

He said the spill in the Gulf of Mexico had changed his mind about the safety of oil platforms in the Pacific Ocean.

Way to go, Arnie. You saw what can happen and changed your opinion. Good for you.

Illegal Immigrant

I was all ready to continue an argument on Facebook over someone agreeing with this guy.

Install microchips in illegal immigrants, GOP candidate says

Instead of building a border fence to help stem illegal immigration, the U.S. government should implant microchips into immigrants before deportation, much like what is done with pets, Pat Bertroche, an Urbandale physician and one of seven Republicans running in the 3rd District Congressional primary, said Monday.

Almost got snared into an FB debate. YIKES!

So instead I come here where my voice can stand alone with the occasional Korean porn entrepreneur commenting in an attempt to fish up some traffic.

Let's start with this whole bag 'em and tag 'em approach. Sounds like a whole lot of money down the drain. Say the United States were to do such a thing. We spend a whole hell of a lot of money on chips, medical staff to implant them, and technology to track them. Then we ship them back across the border where black market doctors remove them. Or maybe they just get real good at digging them out with rusty knives. Or they ditch the device in some other way. Then they come back across and if they get caught they do it all over again. Not only does it waste money, it would inflate the perceived immigration problem. I'm surprised a so-called conservative would advocate for such a wasted expenditure and flamboyant expansion of government.

Next, let's consider this whole damn immigration thing. Let's face it, they mean Mexicans. I've known a few Canadians who have resided in the United States illegally and they never, ever have worried about getting caught. Even the Russians and Slavs and other 'white' immigrants don't have nearly the police hassle. Cops don't pull them over for 'driving while white'. Some have even shared stories with me about tricking dumb cops with total bull. "It's an international driver's license. It allows me to drive anywhere." A Mexican trying that would get hauled in. So when we talk about curbing illegal immigration, it's really a thinly veiled yet socially acceptable racial slur. Claiming otherwise is like claiming the KKK is a social club.

As for the language, this country purchased holdings from the French and naturalized the French speaking residents. It also got land from Spain and naturalized the Spanish speaking residents. Throughout the vast majority of American civilization, nobody in what we know of as the United States had ever even heard a single word of English. American English is our common language, not our national language. Someone coming here will do well to learn it but if they can get by without ever speaking a word of it, more power to them. The English speakers came to this continent and managed to supplant the languages already in use. Then again, they had gun powder on their side.

Which segues into what will be my last point (because I don't feel like rambling any more than this already has). The 'Mexicans' are quite often mestizo with some indigenous heritage as part of the mix. Quite frankly, some of their ancestors were roaming around this continent long before whitey came on the scene. How dare we call them illegals in the land we stole from them. If you don't like them wandering around wherever they please just as their ancestors did for MILLENIA, go back to wherever you came from you racist white illegal immigrant!

Financing a Volcano

For those who are dexterous enough to have kept all portions of their body above the trachea safely stowed in their own gluteal cavity, a volcanic eruption in Iceland ended up grounding most of Europe's air traffic for a week. Business people were stranded. Many vacationers had to extend their visits. Even the prime minister of Norway was stuck in New York, unable to return home, forcing him to do his job remotely via a new iPad. Now people are asking, Who should pay for the volcano disruption?

Europe is starting to reopen its skies almost a week after the eruption of an Icelandic volcano grounded most planes. Who should pay for the cost of this disruption?

At least 95,000 flights were cancelled in the past six days, and the air transport group IATA (The International Air Transport Association) says the delays have cost the industry $1.7bn (£1.1bn).

Forced to abandon scheduled flights, many passengers have funded their own return to the UK travelling by trains, buses, ferries and hire cars. Thousands of passengers remain stranded abroad and are still paying hotel and living expenses.

Is it reasonable to expect a budget airline to reimburse such high expenses for a low cost ticket? How can airlines recoup the cost of this disruption? Who do you think should pay the cost of returning passengers to the UK?

Who is going to pay for all this!?

As for stranded passengers, extended vacations, and all manner of stuck individuals, I have no easy answers. Perhaps those you found yourself stuck around will understand, consider it extenuating circumstances, and cut you a deal or even forgive the intrusion. These poor folks had nothing to do with that volcano erupting.

As for the airlines, they deserve no money for lost revenue. A person who lives in the same place their entire life knows what to expect and might never have to experience any sort of natural disaster. A company that provides flights for an entire continent and in some cases all over the world should expect to run into disasters. People are often expected to save up for 'incidentals'. Businesses, especially ones that involve air travel (what large business doesn't with shipping, global client meetings, running off to countries where it is legal to pay someone to engage in a particular form of sexual gratification not accepted in the so-called civilized world, etc.) should expect these things. Perhaps they could buy insurance to cover such costs or maybe just keep a 'rainy day' fund for when it does something odd like rain ash or fish, things that could ground airplanes.

To answer the questions from the article:
Is it reasonable to expect a budget airline to reimburse such high expenses for a low cost ticket? I think so, but wouldn't it be nice if we could just make it work without forcing companies to fork over dough? Wouldn't it be great if your boss paid you anyway, because it really wasn't your fault that you couldn't get back to work on schedule? Wouldn't it be fabulous if the hotel waived the fees due to the nature of the extended visit? Wouldn't it be nice if people just chose to be nice about it?

How can airlines recoup the cost of this disruption? I don't care how. Seriously, they should have planned for it to happen sooner or later. It should have been part of their operating model.

Who do you think should pay the cost of returning passengers to the UK? If I pay someone to take me somewhere, they better take me there or get someone else to do it. It has been a hard week, we should cut them a little slack on the time table. Those who sold a service need to honor it, no matter what the fine print says.

And if money is their biggest problem, then these folks don't have a whole lot to worry about.

Today is 4/20

Pot culture has latched onto the number 420. The reasons why are uncertain but as a result, April 20th, 4/20, has become a bit of a holiday for the marijuana crowd.

Here are some interesting perspectives on drugs to celebrate this day.

Obama Wants to Invade Mars!

BBC News - Obama sets Mars goal for America

"By 2025, we expect new spacecraft designed for long journeys to allow us to begin the first ever crew missions beyond the Moon into deep space," he told his audience. "So, we'll start by sending astronauts to an asteroid for the first time in history."

And then he added: "By the mid-2030s, I believe we can send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth, and a landing on Mars will follow."

Yes! But is it a sound financial choice?

"For pennies on the dollar, the space programme has fuelled jobs and entire industries. For pennies on the dollar, the space programme has improved our lives, advanced our society, strengthened our economy and inspired generations of Americans. And I have no doubt that Nasa can continue to fill this role."

Good enough. Let's get to it.

Worker Overtime: A Postition Statement

Let's outlaw overtime. Not the practice of paying overtime. Hell no! Let's outlaw having to work overtime. All overtime. Mandatory or voluntary, let's end overtime hours.

As long as we have people unemployed who would like to find work, why the hell do other people get paid a modest bonus to sell a little bit more of their life away? Not good. Force those companies to hire the staff they need! Force them to give those people the benefits they deserve. Then take a little time to actually live your life rather than selling it away for a mere pittance so people who made errors in their production scheduling can get a big fat bonus. Screw them! Let's recognize workers as the precious resource they are instead of tricking them into being bum licking whores. If companies want that order out on time they can damn well learn how to staff for it!

I still stand behind my old position that we should do away with the minimum wage and replace it with a maximum wage. No person, not even a CEO, should make more than ten times what the lowest paid person makes. Impose that restriction and the minimum wage will skyrocket.

Yet another reason Corporate America will never let me get elected.

God Hates What?

After some one-on-one time with God, Rev. Fred Phelps of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church had to quickly change his protest strategy.

The Lord spoke to me. This time it was in a much quieter place and it turns out that He hates figs. Can't say I care for them much myself. So all you faggots can go back to your bum humping while we go blame everything that's wrong with America on Nabisco.

Later that day the Rev. Phelps was seen at Topeka gay bar the Tool Shed Tap playing pool with Senator Pat Roberts while discussing the evils of fig products in the hands of the coons.

Change you can believe in!

Barack Obama eases offshore oil drilling ban

Oil firms could be given the chance to explore for reserves off the US coast for the first time in decades, under plans outlined by President Obama.

The White House says drilling will be allowed off Virginia and considered off much of the rest of the Atlantic coast.

The plans would overturn moratoriums on exploration put in place in the 1980s.

So I sit here and have to remind myself that this guy is still better than a McCain/Palin ticket would have been. I think about the average American, and think that this guy is fairly representing them. The odd bit is that at least half of the people he is fairly representing think he is a Godless Commie Antichrist who isn't a legal American. Okay, those are the real nut jobs*, but it is still amazing that he seems to be advancing things that were once part of the Republican agenda.

Those moratoriums on offshore drilling that were put in place in the 1980's came when a right wing agenda was pushing heavily for more nuclear power to curb dependence on foreign oil**.

The only offshore drilling I would lift the ban on may involve oil, but it also requires consenting adults.

* Which may include some of my household's family.

** And possibly to piss off all the hippies for having a really great time with the free love and pot while they had to sneak around snorting expensive coke and paying for hookers.

Marijuana might be more than medicine for California

Californians have managed to get the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis into the hands of the people.

Measure to legalize marijuana will be on California's November ballot

An initiative to legalize marijuana and allow it to be sold and taxed will appear on the November ballot, state election officials announced Wednesday, triggering what will probably be a much-watched campaign that once again puts California on the forefront of the nation's debate over whether to soften drug laws.

It looks quite promising. If ever there were a state where it made total sense to legalize marijuana, it would be California. Then again, it made total sense for that state to legalize same sex marriages and they didn't.

Good luck to California on this one. If nothing else, your state sure could use the tax money.

Union Power

We live in a union. We often call it a union. Yet the unions have trouble in our union.

In response to an impending British strike, the BBC asks...

Do unions have too much power?

Compared to many European Countrys, British Unions have far less power.
Which is probably why the UK Worker is sacked first, has lower redudancy terms and has one of the lowest pensions in Europe.
Sadly, most British Workers don't have the backbone that the French, Germans and Italians have to stick up for the Jobs. Can you imagine Renault,Fiat or Mercedes workers allowing their jobs to be shipped to China without a long hard fight?

This responder has nailed it dead on. Main land Europeans have really strong and very effective unions that have learned to fight every step of the way to keep what little they have. Compared to them, British unions are crap.

American unions are like festering boils compared to the plump bums of the Brits. Unions are not an end, but a means, a process. Americans have let their unions go to shit.

Do unions have too much power? What a stupid question. When have workers, organized or otherwise, ever had too much power?

Give 'em hell Unite!

Seeking Space

Today someone asked me if I could travel abroad, where would I go first?

"Australia." True enough.

Then I admitted that my travel dreams reach a bit further. "What I'd really like is to live in an orbital colony."

After a brief confirmation that orbital colony meant exactly what it sounded like and wasn't a name for some terrestrial bound location, I was asked why. "Wouldn't you miss trees and grass and things?"

A very valid question. On the one hand, I might. On the other hand, with the research I have done on space migration I see no reason why I would have to do without things like trees and grass while living in an orbital colony. Plant life would have to be part of a sustainable solution to the problem.

So why move into space?

First and foremost, because we can! We have all the necessary technology. We have the means. If we were to give up the war in Iraq or Afghanistan for one year, just one of those countries for just one year, we'd have enough to do it. Not that such a project could get completed in a year. It would take longer. But the funds from doing that would cover the costs. Rather than focusing on death and destruction it seems to me like a far greater achievement to build a permanent space habitat orbiting the planet. Such a project is one of hope not just for the space dreamers, not just for the citizens of our country, but for the whole of the planet. To have the ability to reach out beyond our little gravity hole and see people living where they have never lived before would speak volumes for the human potential.

While on the topic of gravity, perhaps that plays a role in my personal affection for the prospect of space migration. Here in the full gravity of Earth I weigh in around 220 pounds. Weight. Gravity creates weight. That equals about 100 kilograms. That is mass. Here on Earth, mass and weight amount to the same thing. In the absence of that gravity, 100 kilos is still 100 kilos, but 220 pounds becomes... 0 pounds! No weight to move around. Instead it becomes mass. Once you get mass moving, it becomes momentum. I feel like I should have momentum. Just a change in the perspective of the thing could change a lot of people's lives.

Another change in perspective would be spatially related. While we live in and have the capability to perceive three dimensional space, our existence relies almost entirely on two dimensional navigation. Look at a map, or a globe, or even Google Earth and you begin to understand how we live on a 2D plane wrapped around a 3D object. With the absence of gravity, we lose the up/down perspective. We shift into a truly 3D environment. With such a shift the brain will adapt to a fuller utilization of our visual perception skills. What glorious developments await for a brain liberated from having to move about on a surface?

On a more personal note, this leads to another dream of mine. Often in my slumbers I dream that I can fly. It is not the flight of a glider, or a bird, or the free fall of sky diving. In my dreams I float and move at my whim. I want that to be a reality.

On an even more personal note, I am obsessed with the concept of breasts in zero gravity. Not only do I want to see free floating boobs, but I want to see what breasts that had never known the tortures of gravity would be like. So even if we had an orbital colony in place within five years and some amorous adventurers got right down to business, I'd still have to wait another 25 years to see the results of mammary glands that had never been pulled down by the Earth. Unless the life extension enthusiasts are correct and everyone currently under the age of 40 can expect to live indefinitely, we need an orbital colony now!

And of course there is all of the great scientific research that can only be done in zero gravity or is best done far away from the obstructing atmosphere of a planet. Things you can't even do in Australia.

Let's get out there!

Pro-Abolishment

If there is any human invention mandated by governments that is potentially more ridiculous than war, it would be Daylight Savings Time. Let's abolish it!

Sweden's Socialist Nightmare

The right keeps telling me that Obama is a Socialist trying to change America into a Socialist nation like Sweden. What would that mean?

BBC News - Adjusting to Swedish life after the Andijan massacre

'This place,' says Bahram, shouting somewhat, 'is amazing! You can't imagine! The schools, the hospitals! The way they live! And nothing's done by hand! Even the baking! Even cleaning the street! They have these little carts... you just press a button. The police! They smile at you and say 'Hey!'...

It is another world - a looking glass through which the Uzbeks see themselves and their country.

So even as Sweden amazes and delights Bahram, it breaks his heart. 'If we had just a fragment of this development in Uzbekistan,' he says. 'If I could take just a tiny part of this when I go home...'

'Here in Sweden there are laws,' he says. 'And even the government obeys them! There was a minister who did not pay his TV licence - and he lost his job. Can you imagine? And the way they treat people! We saw a prison and do you know, in the canteen, the prisoners take a tray and chose the food they want. Different salads, meats, yogurt… everything. Fresh! In prison! Oh my lord above!'

Those poor people. How dreadful it must be.

Please, don't let America slip into a Socialist nightmare like modern day Sweden.

Class Warfare Continues

Dissident Voice : The Rise of the Economic Elite

The Economic Elite have escalated their attack on US workers over the past few years; however, this attack began to build intensity in the 1970s. In 1970, CEOs made $25 for every $1 the average worker made. Due to technological advancements, production and profit levels exploded from 1970-2000. With the lion’s share of increased profits going to the CEOs, this pay ratio dramatically rose to $90 for CEOs to $1 for the average worker.

As ridiculous as that seems, an in-depth study in 2004 on the explosion of CEO pay revealed that, including stock options and other benefits, CEO pay is more accurately $500 to $1.

Winner takes all, and the game is rigged.

Madam Governor

A former New York madam will run for Governor in 2010.

Last Saturday I gave the first political speech of my life. I spoke to the Manhattan Libertarian party and told them I planning a campaign for Governor of New York State. I have not decided whether to seek the Libertarian party nomination or form my own party based on my platform; legalization, regulation and taxation of prostitution, marijuana, and legalizing gay marriage.
When was the last time a candidate put forward this kind of honest, radical platform? When is the last time a politician offered the voters something different than higher taxes, more spending, greater debt and service cuts.

All for it.

Financial Lies

2009: Wall Street bounced back, Main Street got shafted

But if 2009 has proved anything, it's that the bailout of Wall Street didn't trickle down to Main Street. Mortgage delinquencies continue to rise. Small businesses can't get credit. And people everywhere, it seems, are worried about losing their jobs. Wall Street is the only place where money is flowing and pay is escalating. Top executives and traders on the Street will soon be splitting about $25 billion in bonuses (despite Goldman Sachs' decision, made with an eye toward public relations, to defer bonuses for its 30 top players).

What utter crap. Blatant liberal media lies. At least 10% of Americans are not worried about losing their jobs because they have no job to lose.

Think Green, Think Condoms

I think this makes the Pope one of the world's leading contributors to global climate change.

Contraception is 'greenest' technology

Are condoms and birth control pills more cost effective than windmills and solar panels as tools to curb global warming?

Yes, and by a wide margin, contends a recent study from the London School of Economics asserting that family planning is nearly five times more cost effective in mitigating global warming emissions than green energy technologies like wind and solar power.

Each $7 spent on basic family planning over the next four decades would reduce global CO2 emissions by more than a ton. To achieve the same result with low-carbon technologies would cost a minimum of $32. The UN estimates that 40 percent of all pregnancies worldwide are unintended.

Is it possible that my vasectomy more than offsets the global footprint of my old gas guzzling truck? It may even offset my contributions to deforestation through the manufacture of saw chain. I'm a lean, green, baby-stopping and carbon reducing machine!

Contraception for all, and to all a green life! Happy Holidays!

Change it Again, Uncle Sam

Obama promised change. People liked that idea and voted for him. Now a whole bunch of the liberals who voted for change via Obama have gotten upset because he has not changed direction, just speed.

A minor misunderstanding.

Bank of the Americas Pay Back

Bank Of America Repays $45B In Bailout Funds : NPR

Bank of America Corp. said Wednesday it has repaid the entire $45 billion it owed U.S. taxpayers as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

If the government would have bailed me out to the tune of $45 billion I would have gladly repaid them 99.9% of it the very next day.

Death by Prescription

Overdose deaths from painkillers skyrocketing in Ontario: report - The Globe and Mail

Painkillers are causing twice the number of overdose deaths in Ontario than they were two decades ago, a precedent-setting study has found. Most of the people these opioid-related drugs are killing got them through a prescription and had seen a doctor in the month before they died...

The study found prescription opioids kill, on average, 300 people in Ontario each year. HIV/AIDS, by comparison, kills 100 people annually; H1N1 has killed 100 people in Ontario so far. Other illicit drugs cause few overdose deaths by comparison.

Because 'prescription' means safe. Because 'Doctor recommended' means 'no worries'.

Opioids are hard core drugs. They also work extremely well. As most heroin addicts will attest to, there ain't nothin' in the world another fix won't cure.

Relatively small study, though. Just Ontario. Still, it means that prescription opioids killed more people in one Canadian city last year than marijuana killed world wide last century. How many of those people who were prescribed that medication would have been better off had they received a non-lethal medication?

Losing Faith

Even the Wall Street Journal admits that our money means very little.

James Grant Mourns the Loss of the Gold Standard - WSJ.com

In ancient times, the solidus circulated far and wide. But it was a tangible thing, a gold coin struck by the Byzantine Empire. Between Waterloo and the Great Depression, the pound sterling ruled the roost. But it was convertible into gold—slip your bank notes through a teller's window and the Bank of England would return the appropriate number of gold sovereigns. The dollar is faith-based. There's nothing behind it but Congress.

But now the world is losing faith, as well it might. It's not that the dollar is overvalued—economists at Deutsche Bank estimate it's 20% too cheap against the euro. The problem lies with its management. The greenback is a glorious old brand that's looking more and more like General Motors.

What I Like About the Obama Crowd

What makes the liberal base better than the conservative base?

Barack Obama - Salon.com

Tom Hayden, the liberal activist best known for his work in the '60s, when he helped found Students for a Democratic Society, was once pretty enthusiastic about Barack Obama. Back in March of 2008 he had the first byline on an article in the Nation -- also attributed to Bill Fletcher Jr., Danny Glover and Barbara Ehrenreich -- that began, "All American progressives should unite for Barack Obama."

Now, though, after the president announced his decision to send an additional 30,00 troops to fight in Afghanistan, Hayden's had enough. His latest piece for the Nation begins with a very different sentiment than the one he expressed not two years ago. Now, Hayden says, "It's time to strip the Obama sticker off my car."

Conservatives got Bush elected and, on average, spent the next eight years standing up for all of the crap he did even when it went completely against the conservative values they had initially said Bush stood for. The acted as buffers for the crimes of a mad man.

The liberal base pushed hard for Obama, got him elected, and then felt screwed. While some do apologize for his sad excuse for a liberal agenda*, plenty feel betrayed and have withdrawn their support. Too little too late, perhaps. But at least they admit to getting suckered. We all get suckered now and again. People of integrity admit it.

* Even I will stand up for Obama. Like when right wing tea bagger nut jobs call him a Marxist, I stand up for the guy and let them know that Obama has shown as much love for big business capitalism as Reagan did.