Friday, November 30, 2012

Just Label It

Song for the night: Marc Cohn - The Things We've Handed Down (Special)

Rep Alan Grayson took a "special" gift to Walmart Strikers...



We love Alan Grayson too.

Paul Krugman: Class Wars of 2012 | Common Dreams

Class Wars of 2012 | Common Dreams:

'via Blog this'




On Election Day, The Boston Globe reported, Logan International Airport in Boston was running short of parking spaces. Not for cars — for private jets. Big donors were flooding into the city to attend Mitt Romney’s victory party.
They were, it turned out, misinformed about political reality. But the disappointed plutocrats weren’t wrong about who was on their side. This was very much an election pitting the interests of the very rich against those of the middle class and the poor.
And the Obama campaign won largely by disregarding the warnings of squeamish “centrists” and embracing that reality, stressing the class-war aspect of the confrontation. This ensured not only that President Obama won by huge margins among lower-income voters, but that those voters turned out in large numbers, sealing his victory.
The important thing to understand now is that while the election is over, the class war isn’t. The same people who bet big on Mr. Romney, and lost, are now trying to win by stealth — in the name of fiscal responsibility — the ground they failed to gain in an open election.
Before I get there, a word about the actual vote. Obviously, narrow economic self-interest doesn’t explain everything about how individuals, or even broad demographic groups, cast their ballots. Asian-Americans are a relatively affluent group, yet they went for President Obama by 3 to 1. Whites in Mississippi, on the other hand, aren’t especially well off, yet Mr. Obama received only 10 percent of their votes.
These anomalies, however, weren’t enough to change the overall pattern. Meanwhile, Democrats seem to have neutralized the traditional G.O.P. advantage on social issues, so that the election really was a referendum on economic policy. And what voters said, clearly, was no to tax cuts for the rich, no to benefit cuts for the middle class and the poor. So what’s a top-down class warrior to do?
The answer, as I have already suggested, is to rely on stealth — to smuggle in plutocrat-friendly policies under the pretense that they’re just sensible responses to the budget deficit.
Consider, as a prime example, the push to raise the retirement age, the age of eligibility for Medicare, or both. This is only reasonable, we’re told — after all, life expectancy has risen, so shouldn’t we all retire later? In reality, however, it would be a hugely regressive policy change, imposing severe burdens on lower- and middle-income Americans while barely affecting the wealthy. Why? First of all, the increase in life expectancy is concentrated among the affluent; why should janitors have to retire later because lawyers are living longer? Second, both Social Security and Medicare are much more important, relative to income, to less-affluent Americans, so delaying their availability would be a far more severe hit to ordinary families than to the top 1 percent.
Or take a subtler example, the insistence that any revenue increases should come from limiting deductions rather than from higher tax rates. The key thing to realize here is that the math just doesn’t work; there is, in fact, no way limits on deductions can raise as much revenue from the wealthy as you can get simply by letting the relevant parts of the Bush-era tax cuts expire. So any proposal to avoid a rate increase is, whatever its proponents may say, a proposal that we let the 1 percent off the hook and shift the burden, one way or another, to the middle class or the poor.
The point is that the class war is still on, this time with an added dose of deception. And this, in turn, means that you need to look very closely at any proposals coming from the usual suspects, even — or rather especially — if the proposal is being represented as a bipartisan, common-sense solution. In particular, whenever some deficit-scold group talks about “shared sacrifice,” you need to ask, sacrifice relative to what?
As regular readers may know, I’m not a fan of the Bowles-Simpson report on deficit reduction that laid out a poorly designed plan that for some reason has achieved near-sacred status among the Beltway elite. Still, at least you can say this for Bowles-Simpson: When it talked about shared sacrifice, it started from a “baseline” that already assumed the end of the high-end Bush tax cuts. At this point, however, just about all the deficit scolds seem to want us to count the expiration of those cuts — which were sold on false pretenses, and were never affordable — as some kind of big giveback by the rich. It isn’t.
So keep your eyes open as the fiscal game of chicken continues. It’s an uncomfortable but real truth that we are not all in this together; America’s top-down class warriors lost big in the election, but now they’re trying to use the pretense of concern about the deficit to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Let’s not let them pull it off.

originally here: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/11/30-4

Lloyd Blankfein is the Face of Class Warfare



That's why I love Bernie Sanders.

Grandlund on Romney's visit to white house

Lukovich on Romney visit to White House

Capitalism And Class In America



Good piece.

Favorite CNN Wall Street mascot Erin Burnett interviews Julian Assange

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Song for the night: Arlo Guthrie - "Darkest Hour"

Michigan Chamber of Commerce says no to "right-to-work"


Filthy Mitt Romney Delivers Campaign Speech To Audience Of Confused Shoppers In Ohio Safeway | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Filthy Mitt Romney Delivers Campaign Speech To Audience Of Confused Shoppers In Ohio Safeway | The Onion - America's Finest News Source:

'via Blog this'




CANTON, OH—According to eyewitnesses at the scene, an unkempt and thoroughly disheveled Mitt Romney gave an impassioned campaign speech Monday to a group of bewildered shoppers inside a local Safeway.
Sources confirmed the filth-covered former presidential candidate walked into the store unannounced early yesterday evening, went to the store’s cereal aisle, and started to play Kid Rock’s “Born Free” on a portable boom box, enthusiastically waving and pointing to no one in particular.
As customers began to recognize the 2012 GOP nominee through his scraggly beard and uncombed hair, Romney reportedly picked up a can of Pringles from a nearby shelf, held it near his mouth, and began loudly addressing the growing crowd of confused onlookers.
“How are we feeling out there, friends?” said Romney, who paused briefly as though waiting for applause from the baffled and completely silent supermarket shoppers. “First and foremost, thank you so much for coming out here today and for your continued support throughout the campaign. We’re making our voices heard across the country—that’s for sure!”
“Together, we’re going to bring some real change to Washington!” added Romney, who staggered slightly as he spoke but maintained his balance.
Witnesses told reporters that Romney walked around the store barefoot as he gave his speech, wearing only a pair of dirt-caked jeans and a wrinkled dress shirt covered in food stains.
Safeway patrons also said the former Massachusetts governor gave off an incredibly strong odor and appeared to have gone “days, possibly weeks” without bathing.

Original posting: http://www.theonion.com/articles/filthy-mitt-romney-delivers-campaign-speech-to-aud,30522/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=standard-post:headline:default

Goldman Sachs CEO on avoiding the fiscal cliff



Lloyd Blankfein, chairman of Goldman Sachs, wants to change the entitlements. I wonder what he thinks of the entitlements they keep giving Goldman Sachs. They keep shuttling people into government, money to politicians, and more money to Goldman Sachs who gets a very thick and non-porous safety net.

Cliff Diving

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Song for the night: Dive in to me, Big Country

Extreme Fox News Bias: Walmart Interview

Cute: Tis the Season To Get Trampled...

American Madness - Character



This is an earlier Frank Capra work, 1932, where he seems to be sharpening his economic theory. thanks for pointin this film out ashling democratic underground

The US Revolt Against the Revolting: Election 2012! Absurdity Today, No...

Behind closed doors - What Wal-Mart is really saying about strikers

I just went to see It's A Wonderful Life (1946) yesterday. It may be more relevant today than when it was made. James Stewart - George Bailey's Speech

Wal-Mart gets through black Friday


Friday, November 23, 2012

Song for the night: Don Henley - Sunset Grill (Live in Japan)



Watch the basket people walk around and mumble

Greatest hits of 2008: Black Friday Walmart Stampede Kills Store Worker - News Anchor Says Shit...

Dedicated to Gover Norquist: BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO - NEIL SEDAKA





This is dedicated to Grover Norquist and the GOP. Everyone thought they'd be cutting tax forever but now it seems the GOP just isn't so into him so much with friends with benefits.


Protest in Wisconsin

Totally Biased: Sweet Potato vs. Pumpkin Pie-Off

Walmart sale in Georgia: Unbelievable must have been one hell of a sale


MOULTRIE, Ga. -- Walmart says no one was injured in a frenzy over a Black Friday deal at one of its stores in south Georgia.
A video of the incident circulating online shows a large crowd of people pushing, yelling and grabbing boxes off a shelf at the store in Moultrie.
Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove says a deal on a cell phone with a prepaid, unlimited usage plan "led to excitement among our customers." He called the incident unfortunate, but said it was isolated.
He says staff and security were on hand at the store to handle the situation and that no injuries were reported and no one was escorted from the store.
Originally posted here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/22/black-friday-2012-live-updates_n_2166965.html#75_walmart-says-no-one-was-hurt-in-frenzy



Anthem

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

A song for the night: Rickie Lee Jones - Satellite

Ron Paul: "Secession Is a Deeply American Principle"

Mitt isn't a taker so he goes right back to work


Congressman Allen is out. Too bad: Waaaaaaah

Meanwhile FOX tries to help out Walmart

WalMart on CNN

How the Right Wing Destroyed the U.S. Postal Service

Naomi Klein: Sandy's Devastation Opens Space for Climate Change Action, ...

Naomi Klein on Climate Change

Strategic Maneuvers - The Revolving Door from the Pentagon to the Privat...

Monday, November 19, 2012

Song for the night: The Who - Substitute



 was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth
The north side of my town faced east, and the east was facing south

Funny I guess Lincoln had enough of their loose talk


President Carter and Bruce Springsteen: Help Habitat help disaster victims

Did Anonymous stop Karl Rove from Stealing Ohio again?



This was originally posted by Wonkette posted here: http://wonkette.com/489966/anonymous-claims-it-stopped-karl-rove-from-hacking-the-election-by-hacking-orca-we-think#idc-cover


Chris Christie Pushes Camden Police Force To Disband, Despite Questions Over New Plan's Finances

Chris Christie Pushes Camden Police Force To Disband, Despite Questions Over New Plan's Finances:

'via Blog this'



LP: Chris Christie bipartisan superhero should really move to Camden to prove that we are all in this together.


As residents decry the violence, local leaders are readying a radical plan that they call the only practical solution at hand to calm the streets: the dismantling of the Camden Police Department and the outsourcing of policing to a new, cheaper force run by the county government, to be called the Camden Metro Division. They say the closure of the 141-year-old department and the creation of a new agency is necessary because the existing union-negotiated police contract is no longer sustainable in a time of deep budget deficits.
The plan was sold to Camden residents as a security fix: by firing the existing police force, they were told, millions of savings would be redirected into hiring about 130 new uniformed officers -- a 50 percent increase over current staffing.

"It's time to reject the status quo and ramp this police department up to a level that it needs," Thomas Capelli, director of the Camden County Board of Freeholders, which would control the metro agency, tells The Huffington Post.
City and county leaders approved the plan last year, and it cleared major legal hurdles this summer, opening the way for full implementation. Applications are being accepted for the new force, and training for the first group of hires will begin in November, according to Dan Keashen, a county spokesman. As early as next March, the old police department will be shut down for good. Other Camden County cities have been invited to join the new department, but none have shown interest yet.
On the surface, the shift to a county-run force resembles efforts in other cities around the country to save money by merging departments and regionalizing police services. But several experts say there are few specific parallels with the Camden plan, which involves a densely populated, high-crime city, and will not include any actual merger between police departments.
"I don't know that this has been done before," says Louis Tuthill, a criminal justice professor at Rutgers University. "I have never heard of it."
Some see the move to shut down the Camden Police Department and shift to a cheaper county-run model as a frontal attack on public safety unions. They warn the same strategy may soon be used to extract concessions from cops and firefighters across New Jersey, and ultimately the country.
"This is not a policing strategy. This is something more sinister," says Eugene O'Donnell, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. "Every cop in America should worry about what's happening in Camden."
Backing the plan are Camden's mayor and six of seven city council members -- all Democrats -- together with the Democratic-controlled Camden County Board of Freeholders, which represents the county's 400,000 residents. Those involved say New Jersey's Republican Gov. Chris Christie has also been a crucial force behind the proposal. In interviews and town hall meetings over the past two years, Christie has repeatedly denounced the Camden police contract as "obscene" and described the county police plan as a common-sense measure to bring down public safety costs during tough economic times.
"The taxpayers of New Jersey aren't going pay any more for Camden's excesses," Christie said in a 2011 interview on MSNBC, as the police plan began gathering steam.
Originally posted: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/19/chris-christie-camden-police_n_2025372.html

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Song for late night: Steely Dan Dirty Work 1972

Some wisdom from Molly Ivins


Clay Bennett's Thanksgiving


From Crooks and Liars: Fox Blames Union for Hostess Bankruptcy - Ignores CEO Pay and Hedge Funds. It's those damn unions.





Today, Hostess Brands inc. — the company famed for its sickly sweet desert snacks like Twinkies and Sno Balls — announced they’d be shuttering after more than eighty years of production.
But while headlines have been quick to blame unions for the downfall of the company there’s actually more to the story: While the company was filing for bankruptcy, for the second time, earlier this year, it actually tripled its CEO’s pay, and increased other executives’ compensation by as much as 80 percent. [...]
Certainly, the company agreed to an out-sized pension debt, but the decision to pay executives more while scorning employee contracts during a bankruptcy reflects a lack of good managerial judgement.
It also follows a trend of rising CEO pay in times of economic difficulty. At the manufacturing company Caterpillar, for example, they froze workers’ pay while boosting their CEO’s pay to $17 million. And at Citigroup, CEO Vikram Pandit received $6.7 million for crashing his company, walking off with $260 million after the business lost 88 percent of its value.


Original Post:

From Gawker: Unionmade: Retailer of Expensive Fashions That Are Not Union Made

Bullshit News, Video and Gossip - Gawker:

'via Blog this'


Unionmade is an upscale men's clothing store, based in San Francisco and celebrated by GQ, that sells $258 "Vintage Styled Work Shirts" and $68 Cow Horn Combs and $565 "Vintage" Levi Jeans, and things of that nature. The company says that it "aims to improve the lives of our customers, community and suppliers by offering fairly priced products made from the best available materials." You might want to know, however, that Unionmade's products are notunion made.
We live in an age in which organized labor is on the decline—a fact that makes the remaining unions all the more important. The people who care about unions, labor, and workers rights know this. They make up quite a committed support base. If they think they have found a fellow traveler—a popular retailer that supports the cause—they will make it a point to support that retailer. Which brings us to Unionmade. We would never have heard of them, except for the fact that twice in the past few months we have gotten emails from people who were excited to finally go out and shop at a store that supports unions, only to have those illusions shattered.
First, we heard from a woman who emailed Unionmade saying that she wanted to buy a present for her dad, a Teamster. They informed her that, no, their goods are not actually union made—"The name UNIONMADE is an overarching concept and narrative for the store, signifying that we strive to carry well made and aesthetically timeless goods." A rather unsatisfying explanation for a term that already has a well understood explanation.
Then, we heard from another disappointed would-be customer, who wrote:
There is a store (and website) in San Francisco that calls itself "Union Made Goods" (http://www.unionmadegoods.com/). As a member of a union household, I was initially excited to learn about the store, as I try to buy union-made goods as much as possible. Unfortunately, when I inquired by email whether the store called Union Made Goods does in fact sell union-made goods, I was disappointed to learn that the name is merely an "homage to a time in our history when products were crafted with care, quality, longevity, and respect to the people that made them." The email went on to say "we try to carry products that represent the "Union Made" ideals of yesteryear as it is virtually impossible to curate a store entirely of union labor made products."
While I support the store's effort to 'curate' its inventory with products that are crafted with care, etc., the name of the store seems pretty fraudulent and insulting. "Union made" is not just an "ideal of yesteryear." There are websites out there that sell goods that were actually made by union members, under the protection of a union contract. See, e.g., http://www.unionlabel.com/. As many workers that you've written about can attest, collective bargaining through a union representative remains an important path to a living wage and basic protections for employees. It's something that many people fight hard for, today.
That sums up the point well. If you want to have an attractively curated store that sells insanely overpriced clothes designed to mimic the clothes that poor people wore a century ago, fine. But calling your store "Unionmade" (and modeling your logo on the AFL-CIO's) while not selling union made goods is just as asinine and insulting as calling your store "Americanmade" while selling things manufactured in China. It's blatantly misleading. It's fraudulent. It's the fashion equivalent of a TV preacher using Jesus love for the poor as a selling point to line his own pockets. On the other hand, subjugating the meaning of a real, serious political issue that affects millions of people's lives to the fact that you like the vibe of the sound of the name of it seems perfectly in character for a store that sells luxury-priced 1890s miners clothes to affluent people who will wear them while sitting inside their air-conditioned advertising agency office job.
We emailed Unionmade about this, and received the following response:
You are correct, though some of the brands we carry are union made, many are not. The unfortunate reality is that there are not many unions left in the garment industry and so the name was cultivated as a signifier of well-made and aesthetically timeless goods. There have been customers that take issue with the store's name and we certainly understand and respect their opinion, though by and large the majority of our customers understand the use of the name as an overarching narrative of the store. This being that we strive to carry well-made items that will age well in regard to both wear from use and stylistically.
At this rate, your $1,085 Unionmade military jacket will last longer than unions will.

Originally published in gawker: http://gawker.com/5961169/unionmade-retailer-of-expensive-fashions-that-are-not-union-made

Bill Maher And Eliot Spitzer Take On Fox News

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Song for the night: Gone Hollywood by Supertramp (studio version with lyrics)

Clips from the documentary "Maxed Out!"



That's why we love Elizabeth Warren

Backlash - Greece


Clips from the documentary "Maxed Out!"



That's why we love Elizabeth Warren.

November 6th: Hitler Finds Out Obama Won Re-election



The only thing I can say is they lost me on the end when he calls for Karl Rove I thought that was Karl Rove.

Republican Congressman Joe Heck Baffles Soledad O'Brien With Bizarre Qua...



I love Soledad O'Brien one of the few journalists out there.

The Us Military Brass in action


According to RT: Thousands of Spanish police officers march against austerity (PHOTOS) — RT

Thousands of Spanish police officers march against austerity (PHOTOS) — RT:

'via Blog this'

Spanish police officers take part in a demonstration against the Spanish government′s latest austerity measures in the center of Madrid on November 17, 2012 (AFP Photo / Dominique Faget)

Around 5,000 Spanish police officers marched through the streets of Madrid on Saturday to protest government austerity measures, including frozen pensions and the elimination of their Christmas bonuses.
Officers travelled from across Spain to take part in the demonstration which was called by the nation’s main policing union.
Protesters blew whistles, shouted slogans, and carried anti-austerity banners as they marched through the city centre to the interior ministry.
"Citizens! Forgive us for not arresting those truly responsible for this crisis: bankers and politicians," read one banner.
The Spanish government has imposed harsh spending cuts aimed at saving 150 billion euros between 2012 and 2014. The move has been met with anger and protests from hundreds of thousands of Spanish citizens.
The austerity measures are in exchange for a rescue loan of up to 100 billion euros from the EU to help the country’s stricken banks.
"The problem is they take from us to give to others, like the autonomous regions and the banks," 33-year-old police officer Antonio Perez told AP. 
But it’s not just their pay the police are worried about.  
A spokesman for Spain’s Unified Police Union, Jose Maria Benito, said the cuts will affect the nation’s security, adding that working conditions have become more precarious and law enforcement equipment was no longer up to standard.
“We are here to tell the government that security has to be its priority…in socially convulsive times, we need an adequate police response,” Benito told AP. He added that 15,000 workers who have left the force were not going to be replaced.
"Each year, between 1,500 and 2,000 police officers retire and 125 are recruited, which means in three or four years, there will be more insecurity and crime in Spain," the union’s general secretary Jose Maria Sanchez Fornet said in a speech.
The rally comes just three days after an anti-austerity strike in Spain rolled out across the EU – hitting Portugal, Italy, Belgium, and Greece.

originally posted here: http://rt.com/news/spain-protests-police-austerity-953/


The Tea Party is out of here, do they promise?


  • Photo

Seal the US Border


Texas is seceding please stop them

Friday, November 16, 2012

A song for the night: Jackson Browne For A Dancer



Keep a fire burning....

Black Friday Revolution? Wal-Mart Workers Plan Strike

Totally Biased: Kamau Talks to Wanda Sykes

A good cartoon from Margulies


Florida's Privatized Vote Problem

Colbert report: The best description I've heard of general soap opera.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
General's Hospital
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogVideo Archive

Occupy Sandy Relief: Naomi Klein Interview in Rockaway Park, Queens

Two good cartoons about the election and thanksgiving by Mike Luckovich






Thursday, November 15, 2012

Song For the night: Jimmy Buffett.....Barometer Soup

GOP Maine Chairman- 'Dozens, Dozens Of Black People' Voted



He has a black friend which makes him not a racists.

Two million pizzas or health care at Papa John's

Some wisdom


RT Europe on the brink anti-austerity protests across Europe Valencia Spain.



original post: http://rt.com/news/austerity-protests-eu-solidarity-727/

Little Luke Russert asking Nancy Pelosi if she should step aside to make room for younger leadership

Maybe somebody should have asked him the same questions about his late father when he was still alive, who carried the company's water so effectively that he even earned his son, now in his big boy suit, a job as a legitimate reporter.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

The US media takes a serious look at the the US armies commitments. It's about time that the US army trouble's have leaked into the romance novel industry



I used to think it was fiction and now I realize it is just Petraeus's military. The loved across three continents as the world blew up around them. The IUDs.... the poppy crops....they moved through the chambers of power in Washington, the green zone, and Kabul.... they surged.

The Rise Of The Anti-Secession Petitions | TPM2012

The Rise Of The Anti-Secession Petitions | TPM2012:

'via Blog this'




Thousands of petitioners are demanding the White House let them secede from America. Thousands more are petitioning the White House to just kick them out already and be done with it.
Since President Obama’s re-election last week, the White House website, which offers Americans a chance to gather signatures to demand an official response from the administration, has seen a flood of petitions aimed at securing a peaceful exit from the union for various states. One petition demanding the administration “grant the State of Texas to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government” has secured over 83,000 signatures. The White House has said it will respond to any petitions that receive backing from 25,000 people or more.
The movement has drawn enough attention to prompt several top Republican politicians and commentators to distance themselves from it. Now it’s spawning a counter-movement of satirical counter-petitions.
petition to “Deport Everyone That Signed A Petition To Withdraw Their State From The United States Of America” has already gained over 7,500 signatures.
Another one asks the president to “sign an executive order such that each American citizen who signed a petition from any state to secede from the USA shall have their citizenship stripped and be peacefully deported.” It has over 4,440 signatures.
Liberal blogger Dave Waldman took a more absurdist approach with his petition: “Peacefully grant the State of Herp-a-Derp to withdraw from the United States of America & create its own NEW government.” It concludes with a plea to “please keep sending my Social Security check. I earned that, yo.”
Asked for comment, Waldman told TPM, “I actually don’t have anything to add. There’s no deeper hidden meaning or anything.”
 Originally posted here:  http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/11/the-rise-of-the-anti-secession-petitions.php?ref=fpb

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Texas Collects 25K+ Signatures to Secede from USA



One more story from crazy television.

Texas Secession Being Discussed Again

Song for late night: The Beach Boys - Sail on sailor

The GOP WAAAAAA!


  • Any fool can start a petition.  It doesn't represent the states, or state governments.  It represents a bunch a cry babies!    Read about all the ridiculousness:
http://huff.to/RxkqvI

Strip the Citizenship from Everyone who Signed a Petition to Secede and Exile Them | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government

Strip the Citizenship from Everyone who Signed a Petition to Secede and Exile Them | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government

Their is another blog here to strip people of citizenship of all those who signed petitions to succeed.

you'll find it here: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/strip-citizenship-everyone-who-signed-petition-secede-and-exile-them/ZbMjcwPf

Wannabe Secessionists, Go For It, Pretty Please | Common Dreams

Wannabe Secessionists, Go For It, Pretty Please | Common Dreams:

'via Blog this'


Now that the country has doomed itself by re-electing a commie Muslim Kenyan, unhappy residents of at least 20 states have filed petitions for secession in the right-wing, worst-case version of moving to Canada or Costa Rica. Petitions have come into the government's "We the People" website from expected places Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi - and others less so: Oregon and New York? Interestingly, it turns out most red states aremoochers and welfare queens who take more than they give in federal funds. We wish them godspeed, and good luck with their budgets. For a look at who the secessionists are, here'sthe guy who wants Alabama to leave the union. The new country will presumably have topless car washes for all.
Update: Now there's a new petition asking the U.S. to deport everyone else who wants to secede. This is getting ridiculous.
"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."



originally published here: http://www.commondreams.org/further/2012/11/13-1

Thom vs. Applebee's CEO Meltdown

Colbert and Stewart have fun at Karl Rove or Ham Rove's expense

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Colbert Super PAC SHH! - Karl Rove and Jon Stewart
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Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogVideo Archive

NY Applebee's CEO Zane Tankel May Fire Employees to Avoid Paying for The...



Maybe Applebees should try something different to make more money like making better food.


Imagine how much expansion he could do if he didn't have to pay his workers at all.  He could provide endless green establishments.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Song For the night: The Temptations - Ball of Confusion



Probably one of the first raps.

What's Left To Cut? 'Greece sacrifice on Euro altar'

Citizens in 15 states file petitions to secede from United States - Spokane Conservative | Examiner.com

Citizens in 15 states file petitions to secede from United States - Spokane Conservative | Examiner.com



(LP: I thing many of the citizens from these states tried this once before and it didn't end up that well.)

As a result of Tuesday's election, Americans in 15 states have filed petitions to secede from the United States, Regina Conley reported at Red Alert Politics on Saturday.

So far, she says, residents in Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky, Colorado, New Jersey and ten other states, have filed petitions at the White House petition site requesting secession. A petition for New York to secede was file by "C R" of Grand Forks, North Dakota on Saturday.

Examiner's Sheila Carroll says those other states include Montana, North Dakota, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Oregon.

On November 7, the day after the election, "Michael E" from Slidell, Louisiana, filed a petition at the White House "We the People" site, requesting that Louisiana be allowed to secede.

Of Course it really didn't end so well last time.
 
Charleston
 


"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation," the petition reads, quoting the Declaration of Independence.

As of this writing, the petition has 8.162 signatures and needs 16,838 to reach a goal of 25,000.
On Friday, a Texas resident created a petition to secede in order to protect the standard of living Texans now enjoy.

"The US continues to suffer economic difficulties stemming from the federal government's neglect to reform domestic and foreign spending. The citizens of the US suffer from blatant abuses of their rights such as the NDAA, the TSA, etc. Given that the state of Texas maintains a balanced budget and is the 15th largest economy in the world, it is practically feasible for Texas to withdraw from the union, and to do so would protect its citizens' standard of living and re-secure their rights and liberties in accordance with the original ideas and beliefs of our founding fathers which are no longer being reflected by the federal government," the petition reads.

As of this writing, that petition had 5,289 signatures.

Atlanta


The Oregon petition, started Saturday by "Kristopher W" of Tillamook, Oregon, wants the state to remain an ally of the United States and possibly vote to rejoin the Union once "the citizens of Oregon felt the Federal Government was no longer imposing" what it calls a tyrannical government that cares nothing about the future of Oregon's children."

Petitions on the White House site have 30 days to reach a threshold of 25,000 signatures.

"While these petitions serve more to make a point than to present a serious proposition, they are a physical symbol of the deep resentment for the direction in which the United States is moving under the Obama administration," Conley added.

Update: Citizens in four more states have filed petitions at the White House web site, bringing the total to 19. More here.

Originally published here: http://www.examiner.com/article/citizens-15-states-file-petitions-to-secede-from-united-states