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May 26, 2012

RayFltr --- MemorialDay - GlobalFoodSecurity - Science - Cuba/Disasters - Change - Poverty - FBI/OCCUPY/SupremacyGroups - DerivativeEconomy - SandFracking - KeystonePipeline/GasPrices - China - France/Monsanto - USembassy/Pakistan

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"What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the human soul." 

~ Joseph Addison

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>>>>>> 'news' you may have missed <<<<<<
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Memorial day - what is it? - forgetting? - whistling past the graveyard of Empires? - start of summer? - barbeque cookouts? - surely it must be more important - Tom Engelhardt ---
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Good story - Americans more optimistic - emotional health better than anytime since January 2008 ---
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Good story - President speaks to Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security - hopefully this will help turnaround the more recent decline in support for global food security - thanks D... ---
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Good story - seeing the glass as half-full rather than half-empty - leads to a richer life ---
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Good story - global maternal deaths reduced in half over the past 20 years ---
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Good story - science - improvement in solar cell technology ---
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Cuba - a very disaster-prone country - but - has one of the best disaster preparedness/mitigation/response systems - very low death rates for natural disasters - a model for other countries ---
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Change - uncertainty - certainty - science - religion - mystery ---
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"All truth is manipulated, because the universe is chaotic. What we divine from it is the superimposition of some kind of order, whether it's religion, superstition, story and art, literature, science — all of them are an attempt to keep the wolf from the door. And that wolf is the panic of chaos."
--- Ken Burns, The Writer's Almanac
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The poor as piggy bank - these United States - exceptualism - more debtor's prisons - vicious cycle of poverty - will the people caught in the 'education debts' join this cycle? - related to my theory that we've become the new 'feudal society' - the working class/poor provide the base economy for the 'nobility' to 'harvest/scam' the low-hanging fruit - solution? - not with our motto of - can't ---
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And then - is there a difference between who the FBI puts its full weight on? - OCCUPY protesters? - or - white supremacy groups? - why the difference in how stings/entrapments are handled now? - v-a-v - how they were handled in the 70s? - interesting - frightening ---
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The Derivative Economy - The 1% sow the wind and the 99% reap the whirlwind. ---
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Sand fracking - mining sand for hydraulic oil-shale fracking - destroying communities - environmental effects? - silicosis? - aquifer recharge? - not important - cost of 'progress'!! ---
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Ten dumbest Congresspersons - no comment ---
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Played for 'suckers' - once again - the Keystone pipeline will increase gasoline prices by 10/20 cents per gallon - how? - decrease supply to upper Midwest refineries and increase supply to coastal refineries - for export ---
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China - economy not as precarious as many think - The Economist ---
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EU says France cannot ban Monsanto's maize - huhhh!!!??? - why? - US involvement? ---
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Expand US embassy in Pakistan - rival to Baghdad - why? - Pakistan objects ---
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Borowitz
Aid to fledging democracy ---
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Cartoons:
The way it used to be - diversifying of America - return to the 'good ole days' ---
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Government by Bain ---
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Spending - Reagan > Obama ---
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Failure ---
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Domestic spying ---
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Arizona Presidential ballot ---
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<<<>>>>
The World is my country, all humankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.
--- Thomas Paine, thanks L...
zzzzzzzzz
60s/70s/80s - some nice rains - enjoy the holiday weekend

May 26, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

May 24, 2012

Letters to --- WashPostColumnist - Henneberger

 

Dear Ms. Henneberger:

I find it curious that in your column today about 'contraception contretemps' you don't mention that Federal funds are involved. The Bishops have made the case that the issue is a matter of religious dictates. Doesn't that raise constitutional issues of providing taxpayer federal funds in support of a religious issue? Isn't the matter of federal funds an important part of the context of the issue?
  
In one respect, I'm surprised that Republicans haven't latched on to the issue as they're generally concerned about constitutional issues and this seems like an ideal issue for them constitutionally and also as a prime candidate for spending cuts i.e. just remove all federal funds from all religious institutions.
 
Not being Catholic, I was also surprised when Dolan said they might have to give up their support for the poor and children. That a highly placed leader of the Catholics is willing to consider a Church dictate developed by humans on contraception to be more important than a dictate directly from Jesus Christ of helping the poor is rather incredible and makes me glad I'm not a Catholic.
  
Thanks.

Sincerely,

May 24, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

May 20, 2012

RayFltr --- Elephants/HumanDeath - NDAA - PressFreedom - ThrowawayPeople - Investment/Science - Poverty - Austerity - Campaign - SS - Israel - Bahrain/US - MiddleClass - Occupy

"Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth."
~Ludwig Börne, daily zen
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>>>>>> 'news' you may have missed <<<<<<
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Good story - elephants trek to pay homage to the death of their 'savior' the elephant whisperer - huh??? - what to think? - quantum teleporting? ---
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Good story - judge ruled that indefinite detention of NDAA is unconstitutional - major initial victory for due process and rule of law - but will be appealed ---
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International Press Freedom Day - yesterday - the US? - ranks 22nd - 22nd? - 75 jounalists have been arrested since OCCUPY last September - transparency in 1st amendment freedom? - not now - but - there is hope - Justice Department is taking some notice ---
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Another exceptualism - US ranks 25th - 25th - as best country in which to be a mother - lowest of most developed countries ---
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America's 'throwaway people' - our justice system - justice? - values? ---
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More on 'throwaways' - wouldn't snitch - received worst sentence - even though only indirectly involved - justice? - senseless drug war? ---
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More throwaway people - Wells Fargo - Corporate Banking - own us - home loan fraud - foreclosure mistreatment - causes suicide - criminal - will the Bank be indicted? - don't hold your breath ---
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Texas - executed innocent person in 1989 - sloppy investigation, prosecution - guilty person was maybe a police informant - so prosecute a 'look alike' - another 'throwaway'? ---
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Investment - Big Science - more aircraft carriers, B-2s? - James Webb space telescope? - the directive to invest in basic science should be a no brainer to any country that intends to either remain in, or climb to, a position of world leadership. - priorities - choices - ignorance - are we a declining empire? ---
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Science advance? - highest resolution photo of earth - Russia - investment? ---
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Science - quantum teleporting - China - what next? - and US declining 'belief' in science? ---
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Mind reading - really - wonder how long before it becomes the favorite form of 'intelligence' interrogation? - no more water-boarding? ---
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Disaster mitigation - Colombia - river basin - in my opinion, the nexus between mitigation of potential hazards/disasters and development is the key to sustainability ---
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Lower priority spending - poverty - not 'defense' - shameful! - DoD's budget is known for having the most corruption and fraud particularly with contractor spending - they should be cut every year until they can provide an auditable accounting which they haven't been able to do for years ---
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Austerity - Joseph Stiglitz - there is no example of a large economy – and Europe is the world’s largest – recovering as a result of austerity. ---
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Middle class - only solution to the economy - the 99% - Nick Hanauer - wealthy - says wealthy don't make jobs - TED talks wouldn't publish his speech - excellent reading - much like my favorite example - the $20 billion bonus shared by a handful of Wall Street Casino players didn't have the economic multiplier effect that $20 billion would have if shared by 1 million workers - why doesn't he get more media? ---
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Campaign 2012 - winner will be - US Security State - militarism - Lt. Col. Astore explains ---
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The political tactics of division and slander are not our values. They are corrupting influences on religion and politics, and those who practice them in the name of religion or in the name of the Republican Party or in the name of America shame our faith, our party and our country.
 
Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance.
--- Sen John McCain in 2000, What happened?
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Social Security - again - I think it deserves a repeat - the major reason for cutting it - in my view - is to not having to repay the excess revenues paid in over the last 30 years - and often they ignore the interest due on the excess receipts ---
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Israel - delegitimization - new power? - what next? - thanks A... ---
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US arms sale to Bahrain - Arab Spring? - not if we have military interests i.e. large military base in country - do as we say NOT as we do ---
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May the gods help us ---
I can't name a single Romney foreign policy adviser who believes the Iraq War was a mistake.
---Christopher Preble, Cato Institute, The Nation
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OCCUPY - Nurses - financial transaction tax - Robin Hood tax - strongest union today - activist union - interesting - Bill Moyers ---
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"Truth has a power of its own... // A poem can inspire a movement. // A pamphlet can spark a revolution. Civil disobedience can arouse people and provoke us to think."
- Howard Zinn
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Federal and White House coordination against OCCUPY - Fusion Centers - a means to get around legal constraints such as CIA domestic spying and domestic military activity under Posse Comitatus Act ---
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Is Koch Industries 'Big Oil'? - who do you believe? - actions speak louder than words ---
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Russia Today - RT America - better than US media? - are the US media and Russia media more alike than most people think/realize? - is the audience acceptance for RT America, Al Jazeera et.al. an indication of the decline of US media? ---
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Media failure - JPMorgan/Dimon - Meet the Press - what wasn't asked - I thought this helped clarify some of the 'mistake' for me ---
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Support the troops? - yes - but not if they're gay or lesbian - listen to the advice of military commanders? - yes - but not if I disagree - don't load down defense bills with social agenda? - yes - unless it's my social agenda - what's with these people? - and they're the country's 'leaders' - what arrogance - how sad ---
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State - marriage/weddings - I thought this the most lucid and rational commentary on the issue and emblematic of the discussion that should be taking place rather than the shrill, vitriolic rhetoric that is too common - thanks P... ---
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We are not returning to the days of back-room abortions, when countless women died or were maimed. The decision about abortion must remain a decision for the woman, her family and physician to make, not the government. We are not going back to the days when women could not have full access to birth control.
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We are not going back to the days of wide-scale domestic violence, even if 31 Republican men in the Senate recently voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act because it expanded coverage to the gay community and Native Americans.
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We are not going back to the days when it was legal for women to be paid less for doing the same work as men, even if the governor of Wisconsin recently signed a bill to repeal that state's pay-equity law.
--- Sen Bernie Sanders
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Borowitz ---
JPMorgan - AlQueda ---
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Facebook ---
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Cartoons:
JPMorgan - regulations ---
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Build infrastructure? - can't --
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Haircut ---
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<<<>>>
Fear, hatred, and suspicion narrow your mind – compassion opens it.
--- Dalai Lama
zzzzzzzzz
50s/60s/70s - sunny - enjoy the weekend

May 20, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

May 17, 2012

Letters to --- WashPost - Factchecker - SocialSecurity/Obama

 

Dear Mr. Kessler:

With regard to your giving Obama 3 Pinocchios, I have trouble understanding your conclusion. It seems that maybe you felt that he used the wrong version of Rommney's proposals to compare.
 
You don't give a basis for saying that he is using a "potentially unrealistic outcome". This is only true if you take as a given the conventional 'wisdom' of one side of the discussion that SS is in trouble. There are a goodly number of economists and persons directly involved in the SS system who don't accept that point of view. To say that even if Obama does something to improve the solvency of SS, benefits are likely to be cut in some fashion is only true if the people allow it to happen. The 'fix' is quite easily achieved by simply increasing the threshold of income subject to FICA equal to what it was before. I believe it was to ensure that 90% of all income is subject to the tax.
 
I'm always perplexed by the seemingly excessive focus on an issue which the best analysis says won't happen for 20 years or more when we should be concerned about the next 2 years. This particularly when SS has nothing to do with the deficit which is the prime call for the fearmongerers to cut benefits. The only reason for the drive to cut benefits now is to increase the excess receipts so the $2.6 trillion excess receipts don't have to be paid back. Just another example of placing the economic recovery on the backs of those who had nothing to do with the destruction of the past 3 years. Apparently, Chinese citizens should have a higher priority for repayment of loans than American citizens.
 
There are many reasons for the decrease in the balance for the future. Maybe Obama didn't have a choice but cutting the FICA tax was simply another way of helping the opposition have more leverage for cutting benefits as there is less excess receipts now. Another reason is that the high unemployment level affects those working people that are now no longer contributing. And a major reason is the increased inequality of income increases over the past 30 years most of which has benefited the top which doesn't help the account. That almost 90% of the benefits of the increased productivity over the past 30 years has gone to the top 5% does nothing for the account. After all the $20 billion that a handful of Wall Street Casino persons shared a year or so ago did absolutely nothing for the account although that same $20 billion spread among a million working class people would have had a significant effect on the account balance.
 
Confusing the SS account with the general budget account is a major effort of the SS killers to try to make the case for the 'need' to 'fix' the SS system when what they mean to do is 'fix' it like a randy tomcat is 'fixed'.
 
The SS account needs to be taken off budget so its receipts can't be confused with general tax receipts. The $2.6 trillion excess receipts over the past 20 years has allowed Congress and the media to hide the actual deficit over that time.
 
SS is an insurance program which has been paid for by premiums primarily from the working class. If you had paid for a whole life policy for 45 years and then when you wanted to annuitize it at retirement you were told the funds weren't there because they had been used for 'other' purposes such as excess profits for the insurance co., I think you would be pretty unhappy. In reality, the SS age should be lowered in order to get more people out of the workforce and make space for the younger people who are suffering the high unemployment. This was actually being discussed only a few years ago. As was decreasing the medicare age. But now the wealthiest country in the world has as its mantra - can't.
 
I realize this is too long for you to read and I'm only a senior citizen without sufficient understanding of the complexity and definable as less than 'with it' as I still pay for the printed Post with less news and more opinion; but I get frustrated with the lack of full context in the reporting and commentary of today's media.
 

Sincerely,

May 17, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

May 14, 2012

RayFltr --- GoodStories - Republican? - SouthernPovertyLawCtr - Realists/ForeignPolicyWConsensus - VietNam - Plutonomy - Migration - WomenHumanRights - Prisons - War/Iran

We refuse to be//What you wanted us to be;//We are what we are://That's the way it's going to be.
--- Bob Marley (thanks L...)
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>>>>>> 'news' you may have missed <<<<<<
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Good story - two girls safe - but two dead ---
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Good story - Rescue dog - anticipates owner's seizures - no training - sensory communication? ---
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Good story - Kentucky Supreme Court upholds Southern Poverty Law Center judgement against KKK leader for beating teenager ---
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Good story - Schwarzenegger - OpEd - what is a Republican? - moderate Republicans - big tent - solutions - we have to fix the center in both parties to achieve anything ---
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And Sen. Lugar's statement - sad - what is a Republican? - whose orthodoxy must be followed? ---
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"Dick Lugar may be a statesman, but he's not a conservative."
--- Club for Growth (How sad is that? or maybe scary)
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And that's why I can't go home - Kansas - UN takeover? - what idiocy ---
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Children's Defense Fund - Southern Poverty Law Center - people who don't condone bigotry and hatred must speak up - their voices must be heard ---
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I liked this - if realists were in foreign policy - what might have been different? - thanks B... ---
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Is the Washington Consensus ending? - a financial Copernican revolution? - interesting possibility perspective - what will the economic future be? ---
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VietNam - a development success story - meeting MDGs for 2015 - world's second largest rice exporter - but -climate change threatens - 40% of Mekong Delta could be flooded - would have major global food impact ---
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Commentary - Noam Chomsky - past<>future - Plutonomy<>Precariat ---
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Plutonomy? - renouncing US citizenship - taxless - stateless - rootless - outside society - 'me' ---
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Plutonomy? ---
No one has counted the millions of hours and thousands of lives given for the entertainment of the rich.  This is a  sad fact that does not amuse me.
--- Muhammad, Wise Thoughts - Leo Tolstoy
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Manifest Destiny - immigrants - all migrations created equally? - a little reality? - Luis Alberto Urrea -  “Yeah, my family was immigrants, too, but we came here legally.” ------- “Who stamped their visas, Crazy Horse or Geronimo?” ---
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Women in human rights - Nobel Laureates -"The future is not a gift; it is an achievement." (Robert Kennedy) ---
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Mobile communications revolution - key to economic growth in Africa - skipping lunch to have a mobile phone ---
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These United States - border human rights abuses - can we get our country back? ---
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Private prisons - profitability - keep the prisons full - if Corporations own the prison - do they 'own' the people in them? - very analogous to former slave system - money drives everything - private prisons will set up a system
similar to the military-industrial complex ---
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Prisons - privatization - Mississippi - judge - ... “has allowed a cesspool of unconstitutional and inhuman acts and conditions to germinate.” - this is our country - where is our humanity? ---
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War!! - against Iran? - major US military buildup - where is the MSM? - energy disputes - assets - access - around the world - Mid East - Asia - SAmerica - “It’s the oil heartlands of the planet, stupid.” - TomDispatch/Micheal Klare ---
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Cartoons:
Iran - attack ---
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Dissidence - lonely ---
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Suspect - trial ---
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Holy Matrimony - NC style ---
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And don't 'marry' flavors ---
<<>>
“Love is the absence of judgment.”
― Dalai Lama XIV
zzzzzzzzz
50s/60s/70s - nice rains - cool again - good weekend

May 14, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

May 06, 2012

RayFltr --- Scholarships/WarMaterial - Ecuador - Women'sWork - ScientismSciencePhilosophy - Life - CongressExtremism - America - Homophobic - Financialization - Violence - OCCUPY

As individuals and nations become increasingly interdependent, we have no choice but to develop a sense of universal responsibility.
-- Dalai Lama
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>>>>>>> 'news' you may have missed <<<<<<<
Good story - save Grandma's house - 12 year old - there is goodness ---
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Good story - cut waste - 100 million pounds - Ford - corporations aren't all bad ---
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Good story - AID's $13.5 million scholarship program in Lebanon - much more effective for stability than - $1.3 billion in tanks and planes to Egypt - one is for 'making people' - the other for killing people - 'win friends'? ---
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Good story - Time names only woman (Elinor Ostrom) Nobelist in economics to - 100 most influential list -"A conversation about economics solely between men is not a conversation: it's a frat party." ---
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Good story - Obamacare - 2 years worth - thanks J... ---
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Interesting - Ecuador - progress - low unemployment - coming out from recession - I thought there were more problems with the economy in Ecuador - maybe Carrera is good ---
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I thought this really good - women's work - when is stay at home work the most important? - if you're married have money? - but it's the lowest paying job if you pay for it i.e. teenagers, elderly, undocumented apparently can do much of it? - but it's idleness if you're unmarried on welfare? ---
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Life - science - 'know' > knowledge > power > new secular religion? > scientism - faith > life is richer than science? - think ---
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Science and Philosophy - physics -philosophy - religion? - why is there something? - not nothing? ---
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I thought this is 'life' today ---
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way ..."
--- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, The Writer's Almanac
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And to Dickens - SCOTUS > Arizona/Immigration - regardless of the final decision, I thought this a good analysis of reality - depressing - human rights? - basic humanity? - not even important enough to consider ---
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It's even worse than it looks - extremism in Congress - one of the authors is from AEI - but still blames the Republicans - do I have to modify my feelings about AEI? - thanks D... ---
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... however awkward it may be for the traditional press and nonpartisan analysts to acknowledge, one of the two major parties, the Republican Party, has become an insurgent outlier — ideologically extreme; contemptuous of the inherited social and economic policy regime; scornful of compromise; unpersuaded by conventional understanding of facts, evidence, and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition. When one party moves this far from the center of American politics, it is extremely difficult to enact policies responsive to the country's most pressing challenges.
--- It's Even Worse Than It Looks
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Productivity - median compensation growth - improved living standards - are they linked? - they used to be but not for the past several decades ---
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This isn't new but noone pays any attention - jobs - infrastructure - we can do it - we've done it before - where is the American initiative? - where is its 'can do' spirit? - we need to invest in the future ---
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"When you look at America, you have to concede that we have failed. Most Americans today are worse off than they were fifteen years ago. A full-time worker in the US is worse off today than he or she was 44 years ago. That is astounding – half a century of stagnation. The economic system is not delivering. It does not matter whether a few people at the top benefited tremendously – when the majority of citizens are not better off, the economic system is not working."
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Is IBM an example of Stiglitz quote? - interesting article - couple of interesting Steve Jobs' quotes - IBM cutting people in US and increasing with more but cheaper outside - I liked the line it's 'like getting 9 women to make a baby in one month' - about what some of the goals look like ---
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"If advertisers spent the same amount of money on improving their products as they do on advertising then they wouldn't have to advertise them."
-- Will Rogers, Evolving Excellence
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Did half a million Americans die and noone noticed? - sharp increase in American deaths when Vioxx was introduced and sharp decrease when it was removed - where was the media? - asleep? - or - are American lives just cheap? ---
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Homophobic - maybe you're gay - interesting - I've long thought there was a little of 'methinks thou doth protest too much' in some antigay protests ---
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More on 'methinks' - sex hypocrites - not new but listed in one place ---
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Arizona again - imaginary agendas - conspiracies - wonder when we'll start burning people at the stake again? ---
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Gas prices - financialization of the industry - or when metastastasized maybe casinolization is a better term - I thought this a good descriptive piece ---
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Financialization is a process whereby financial markets, financial institutions, and financial elites gain greater influence over economic policy and economic outcomes…..Its principal impacts are to (1) elevate the significance of the financial sector relative to the real sector, (2) transfer income from the real sector to the financial sector, and (3) increase income inequality and contribute to wage stagnation.
--- Thomas Palley
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"Speculators may do no harm as bubbles on a steady stream of enterprise. But the position is serious when enterprise becomes the bubble on a whirlpool of speculation. When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. The measure of success attained by Wall Street, regarded as an institution of which the proper social purpose is to direct new investment into the most profitable channels in terms of future yield, cannot be claimed as one of the outstanding triumphs of laissez-faire capitalism…."
--- John Maynard Keynes, 75 years ago
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NYPD tactics - no longer just against persons of color or Muslims ---
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Violent America - another rampage of death - Arizona - militia/hate group - when will we make as much effort to really work on the hate groups rather than on teaching muslim wannabes how to become terrorists? - when will we recognize that hate groups have many people that are mentally unstable? - when will we accept that many of these are the result of 'war' experience ---
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Spring offensive - OCCUPY ---
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Cartoons:
What kind of name? ---
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Problem solving ---
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God and taxes ---
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Political theater ---
<<<>>>
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
--- Charles Darwin, daily zen
zzzzzzzzz
50s/60s/70s/80s - tree pollen - grass pollen - Spring

May 06, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 28, 2012

RayFltr --- SocialSecurity - ClimateChange - WarAgainstWomen - BigBrother/NSA - Accountability/Military/BorderControl/LawEnforcement/CorporationsWalmart - America/Religion - Israel - Cuba

“To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Tiny Buddha
>>>>>>> 'news' you may have missed <<<<<<<
Good story - the innate value/worth of every human being - the ability, determination, will, capacity, of basic humanity - national penmanship award - born without hands - tragic? - beautiful ---
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Increase Social Security benefits - this was a more common viewpoint several years ago - now it's a contrarian viewpoint - I'm glad someone is bringing it back - we need to get more of the elderly out of the workforce to decrease unemployment - SS needs to be taken completely off budget to decrease misrepresentation - make it stand by itself - it is against current law for SS to add to the deficit so why is it a continual part of the deficit rhetoric? ---
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Climate change - migration - conflict - NW Africa - Nigeria > Niger > Algeria > Morocco > Europe - interesting - depressing - increasing populations - decreasing economic opportunity - US support? - at risk because of 'austerity' ---
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"Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk."
— Doug Larson, the daily zen
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Is the war against women - a war against the working class? - guerilla campaign of harassment and attrition? - Stephanie Coontz - working class has made little progress over past 50+ years ---
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Women of the world unite for justice - progress? - yes and no - fight must continue ---
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Violence against women - why is there even a question about renewal? ---
We really have to look at the values that guide us. We have to work toward an ethic that respects every individual, to be physically and emotionally safe. No one, regardless of age, color, gender, background, any other factor, deserves to be physically or emotionally unsafe. In a just society, we pledge to act together to ensure that each individual is safe from harm. In a just society -- I think we have to say this over and over and over -- we are not going to tolerate the violence.
--- Sheila Wellstone, Sen Al Franken broke down while repeating these words in advocating for renewal of the Violence against Women Act
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Big brother - NSA is watching - a career intelligence person - a film maker - a hacker - Bill of Rights? - are you kidding? ---
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Occupy - May day - a month - call for action - how many will respond? ---
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Accountability??
“I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that there would have been no crime here except the government instigated it, planned it and brought it to fruition…That does not mean there was no crime."
--- US District Judge Collen McMahon, Sentencing 4 men in a FBI sting operation
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Accountability - military - why have there been so few Generals held accountable for the atrocities that have occurred in Iraq and Afghanistan? - used to be that an officer was responsible for anything in his unit - Andrew Bacevich - I like him, partly I'm sure, because he provides support for my biases ---
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Accountability - Border Patrol - extrajudicial killings - rogue groups? - apparently murder is OK - shown on PBS Need to Know ---
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Accountability? - Oklahoma City revisited - what was missed - other militia groups? - hate groups? - can we expect more McVeighs resulting from Iraq and Afghanistan 'wars'? --- not paranoia - why do we focus on Muslims rather than native groups? ---
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Memory failure at Pentagon - war of attrition - are we using the wrong metrics? - tactical gains/losses for us? - symbolic gains/losses for the Taliban? - have the guerrilas learned more from the Tet offensive than the Pentagon? - can a trillion dollar military's territorial 'gains' overcome a ragtag opposition's 'futility' gains? - I think there is a lot of 'reality' here - Nick Turse/TomDispatch - does it well ---
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Our Corporatocracy - WalMart - Mexico - corporate ethics? - what's that? - criminal? - we'll see ---
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Romney - job creator? - job killer - no respect for people below him - American parasite - skim profits - let government pick up pieces - transfer of taxpayer funds to the oligarchy - thanks D... ---
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America's religious/Christian hypocrisy - why aren't we more like GBritain? - religious values conflate with liberal values - can we go back to our heritage? - hope - thanks P... ---
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This may be too much about religion but it seems to be out there - the right's War on the religion of Secular Humanism - really? - this is going to be an interesting election campaign - take notes for history ---
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Israel - retroactive legalization of settlements - thumbing their nose again - apparently - "lives of individuals" doesn't refer to Palestinians ---
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Israel - Palestine - Christians - if you missed the CBS 60 minutes program - it has become very controversial - apparently it wasn't vetted with the Israeli ambassador first - there were complaints about it before it was even produced - rather unusual - thanks A... ---
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Cuba - this isn't recent but more detailed than before - thanks P... - Gross apparently isn't as innocent as much of the rhetoric says - we wouldn't accept his type of activities by an outsider in this country - if we want to do this - remove the sanctions - do it transparently under diplomatic agreements ---
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Cartoons:
Obama's 'context' ---
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Patriot - but - banks ---
The border ---
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Knowledge - too much? ---
...
Pot >> kettle?? ---
...
Campaign - too true ---
...
Gingrich - Churchill? ---
...
Take and give ---
<<<>>>
“The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination.”
~Carl Rogers, The Tiny Buddha
zzzzzzzzz
50s/60s/70s - still really enjoyable - great weekend - flowers are still blooming - trees are in leaf - Spring - enjoy - summer is coming

April 28, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 21, 2012

RayFltr --- CEOethical behavior - RuleOfLaw - WarWomen - TheRich - AusterityReligion - BigBrother - Justice - Peru

 

The United States is getting accustomed to a completely crazy level of inequality."
--- Thomas Piketty, French economist, NYT
>>>>>>> 'news' you may have missed <<<<<<<
Good story - CEO rehires workers when conditions changed so they could cash in on their options - ethical behavior - good to see examples ---
...
Good story - rule of law - can the UN start toward a global agreement - hope - international rule of law - national rule of law - can we at least agree on some minimal basic agreements? - common basis? - stateless children - silenced websites - racial profiliing - law should apply equally to all ---
...
Protect children - not guns ---
...
"It is possible that the world will not warm over the coming years. It is possible that the impacts will be small. It is possible that a miraculous technology will be invented that can suck CO2 out of the atmosphere at low cost. But in view of the evidence we now have, it would be foolish to bet on these outcomes just because they are possible."
--- William Nordhaus, Cosmos and Culture
...
War against women - incarcerate the victim ---
...
The rich are different - Bill Moyers - they even get a tax break for private jets - just say they need it for security ---
...
And they hold the cards - latest SEC/Goldman Sachs deal is worst ever - felonies and they get a pat on the arm - 'we won't do it again - again' - where/when will there be accountability? - I'm about ready to simply vote against any incumbent politician ---
...
Whattt? - shareholders reject CEO compensation at Citigroup - benefit of Dodd-Frank - may it increase - Citigroup has a terrible record ---
...
“C.E.O.’s deserve good pay but there’s good pay and there’s obscene pay”
--- Brian Wenzinger, a principal at Aronson Johnson Ortiz
...
Austerity religion - 'suicide by economic crisis' - suicide rates climbing rapidly in Europe - what will happen here if the Republican 'austerity' policies are implemented? - use of religious language - 'cleansing' - 'virtue' - 'sacrifice' - 'suffering to cleanse the soul' - how many will die? ---
...
Romney picks his senior economist advisor in the mold of the economists who have caused the economic debris for the past decades - an economist who was key during the recovery and investigations of the Savings and Loan debacle says we need to get better economists who are for the 99% ---
...
In combination, deregulation and perverse compensation are so criminogenic that they can produce green slime in such massive amounts that it dominates massive aspects of finance. --- Economists who apologize for elite fraud and support the wreckage of our financial system should be driven out of the public sphere.
--- William K. Black
...
Big brother is watching - and ... - moving toward fascism - Naomi Wolf - how does one separate paranoia from real concerns? ---
...
Justice? - pre-emptive prosecution - is our justice system being changed - does it depend on who you are? - Chris Hedges ---
...
“I was unprepared for the fact that the government would put together a case that was just one lie piled up on top of another lie, and when you pointed it out to them they didn’t care. They didn’t refute it. They knew that it was a lie. The facts of most of these pre-emptive cases don’t support the charges. But the facts are irrelevant. The government has decided to target these people. It wants to take them down for ideological reasons.”
--- Stephen Downs, attorney
...
The good ol' days? - Carter - when murder wasn't made acceptable with torturous legal reasoning/rhetoric - spin ---
...
Israel - well-being of its children and grandchildren - Israel cannot be like America - thanks I... ---
...
The Amazon Gold Rush - Peru - disastrous - illegal - destroying rainforests - toxics into the rivers - bubble? - too late ---
...
The American Dream - I don't generally put videos on the Fltr as I assume you don't have that kind of time but I think this is one of the best Bill Moyer's interviews - a vision - optimism in these times of social and economic distress - race - opportunity - California is already a state with a majority of minorities - as is Fairfax County - why don't we invest in that diversity as an opportunity? - having such a diverse skilled workforce would be more able to connect with cultures around the world - a real opportunity to lead in the globalization construct - but we aren't investing in the education necessary to achieve this - California used to be the world envy in education - now it is at the bottom in many criteria - the future is in that 7 year old Latino or black child - will we meet it? - Angela Glover Blackwell ---
...
And so this country, as a democracy, really cannot expect to continue to be proud on the world stage, competitive in the global economy, or having a democracy it can put forward as working in a multi-racial society if we don’t invest in the people who are the future.”
--- Angela Glover Blackwell, Moyers & Company
...
Cartoons:
Stand your ground ---
...
Stand your ground 2 ---
...
Meltdown ---
<<<>>>
"My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate."
--- Thornton Wilder, The Writer's Almanac
zzzzzzzzz
50s/60s/70s - still really enjoyable - great weekend - flowers are still blooming - trees are in leaf - Spring - enjoy - summer is coming

April 21, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 19, 2012

Letters to --- WashPost - TaxFairness

 

Dear Editors:

I think the letter from Tom Kiley regarding 'fairness' in taxes deserves a response. I certainly agree that claiming 'fairness' requires consideration of several issues.
  
1. Why should the cost basis for capital gains be indexed for inflation and not wages?
  
2. Double taxation. If I pay someone to fix my roof, s/he has to pay tax on what I pay even though those funds I
provide have already been taxed. Why should double taxation of corporations be treated differently, particularly, since corporations are now to be considered as persons?
  
3. Corporations' taxes aren't unusually high as fewer than half of US corporations pay corporate taxes. Also the actual tax rate paid by US corporations is among the lowest of industrialized nations.
  
4. Why should someone who rents his/her body for physical work and in some cases at considerable risk pay a different tax rate for their 'rental' income than someone who provides (rents) capital to a corporation pays on their rental income (dividends)?
  
I also hope that our next president will exert leadership to realize the goals of a tax code more fair, simpler, and effective at raising revenue.
  
I suggest the following as a start toward fairness and believe that most of the 99% would accept them.
1. Tax all income at the same rate regardless of source.
..
 
2. Eliminate tax benefits for second homes in every case.
 ..
 
3. Pass the Buffett Rule
 ..
 
4. Tax all Wall Street financial transactions at a rate that will recover, over the next six years, the bailout funds provided financial institutions.
 ..
5. Have a corporate alternative minimum tax that would ensure that all corporations with a profit pay at least some tax.
..
I realize that these steps wouldn't completely solve the debt or deficit problem but they would at least be a start in that direction.
..
Thank you.
..
Sincerely,

April 19, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 13, 2012

RayFltr --- ObamaAchievements - ParticipatoryDemocracy/SDS/Occupy - SocialDarwinism - HigherEd - CEOs - MilitaryCommissions - Iran - War/Women - Peru - Roma - CorporateIntelligence - Speculators - TaxAvoidance

Opinions are flexible prejudices."
— Gerald Horton Bath, daily zen
...
>>>>>>> 'news' you may have missed <<<<<<<
...
Good story - jobs for military spouses - Michelle Obama/Jill Biden ---
...
Good story - Obama - 50 achievements - remember these when the campaign gets dirty against him ---
...
Participatory Democracy - participate in own destiny - 50 yrs ago - SDS - today - OCCUPY - many similarities - but differences - assassinations defeated SDS future - 2 Kennedys - King - Malcolm X - SDS became radicalized - surveillance by Military Intelligence, FBI - but progress - civil and voting rights laws - end of draft and Vietnam - War Powers Resolution - Freedom of Information Act - Nixon's environmental laws - amnesty for war resisters, 2 presidents forced from office - 18 year old vote - disability rights - great history - can progress come out of the current chaos? - will the current social media help - hope? - deja vu? - Tom Hayden ---
...
"I am often asked whether I am optimistic for the future of humanity. My simple answer is yes."
--- Dalai Lama
...
Social Darwinism - valid? - what is it? - some explanation ---
...
Higher education under siege - adjuncts - temporaries - indication of national 'decline' - empire is more important? - very short-term thinking ---
...
Great CEOs? - not!! - abuse of workers - Steve Jobs/Apple? - abuse of Chinese workers - Jeff Bezo/Amazon? - abuse of US workers - Jack Welch/GE - what!!?? - apparently 'success' doesn't mean respect for people ---
...
Military Commissions - justice? - I think we need to read this sort of commentary again - and not forget what is said ---
...
Pakistani drone strike lawyer - can't get a visa to speak at meeting in DC - transparency? - silencing 'truth'? - of what is the US afraid? - that real figures of civilian deaths by drone strikes will come out? ---
...
Iran - I thought this by an Iranian-American was good - level-headed - do sanctions work? - who knows - sanctions against Iraq estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands children - how many will we kill in Iran? - no one talks about it - the MSM is complicit ---
...
War against women - India - 53 sterilized in 2 hrs - unqualified medical assistance - no running water - disastrous ---
...
War?- violence against women - acid attacks - Pakistan - is there hope for legal support for future victims? - maybe ---
...
War against women - Texas - do by regulations what can't be passed into law ---
...
Environmental risks - abandoned oil wells - Peru - fossil energy addiction - who pays? - people ---
...
More Peru environment - US still importing illegal timber - why? - because they can ---
...
Discrimination against ROMA (Gypsy) in Europe - since ancient times - racism - ROMA - Muslims - ?? ---
...
US supports/trains State Department named terrorist groups - JSOC - in Nevada - source of Iranian nuclear scientist assassinations? - if you, and particularly if you're a Muslim, support an Islamic group's charity efforts - you're 'done' - stick a fork in you - duplicity? - transparency? - hypocrisy? - well nooo - it's good policy ---
...
Corporatization of US Intelligence complex - outsourcing federal spy functions to corporations - whose interests? - anything-goes ethic - who profits? - hint - not the taxpayer - not us - Jim Hightower ---
...
Four years ago Wall Street crashed the economy - 2 yrs ago Dodd-Frank bill was a feeble attempt to partially 'fix' the cause - now lobbyists are gutting the Dodd-Frank - particularly the Volcker rule portion - incredible - and Congress? - aaaahhh!! - welllll - seee - 'they' have money 'needs' - Bill Moyers ---
...
Speculators - something must be done - we need a tax on all financial transactions - and a higher tax if you don't have actual product in the game ---
...
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes genius to move in the opposite direction."
---Einstein, daily zen
...
Tax avoidance - who takes the gold? - Boeing ---
...
Origen of life - current work - for those of you interested in science and philosophy ---
...
Supporting mayhem and murder in the name of religion? - Hagee ---
...
Cartoons:
Individual rights are important - but - depends ---
...
Beer buddy ---
...
First they ... ---
...
No discrimination ---
...
Bogus issue? - women? ---
...
Lucky Ducky - pink slime ---
...
Entitlements - how true ---
<<<<>>>
"Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth."
--- Buddha, daily zen
zzzzzzzzz
40s/50s/60s/70s - Wow!!! - 2 wks now - really enjoyable - great weekend - flowers are blooming - trees are greening - Spring - enjoy - summer is coming
 

April 13, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 06, 2012

RayFltr --- ForestEcosystem - Tax/Speculators - Healthcare - WorkerAbuse - Homelessness/Poverty - Earthquakes/Manmade - CorporatePower - NAFTA/Obesity - StripSearches - Climate/Agriculture - Energy/Africa

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. "
-Steve Jobs, daily zen
...
>>>>>>> 'news' you may have missed <<<<<<<
...
Good story - man plants forest ecosystem by himself - never underestimate what one person's endeavor can achieve - a lesson for all of us ---
...
Good story - a tax on financial trades - errr.. - speculators - France - will it happen here? - one can always hope ---
...
High gas prices - speculators ---
...
Healthcare - the insurance rabbit hole - penury for life - 'life'? ---
...
Worker abuse - where? - China/Apple? - no - here - Amazon - Kentucky - corporate power ---
...
Homelessness - poverty - 17% of NCarolina below poverty scale - seems hopeless - don't become complacent - it doesn't have to be ---
...
“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”
― Mahatma Gandhi, daily zen
...
Earthquakes - man-made - drilling - wait for it - earthquake deniers are getting ready ---
....
Sustainable prosperity - possible? - not on the current path - WorldwatchInstitute's - State of the World 2012 - interesting topics ---
...
Corporate power - Monsanto - GMO food - Vermont - labeling - open/'free' market? - not so much - we want to 'hide' - however - we don't define differing 'GMO' food - GMO is broader than just Bt pesticide incorporation ---
....
Whatttt??? - NAFTA causes obesity? - in Mexico - another of our great exports ---
...
Strip searches - privacy is over - be careful and don't 'jaywalk' - another Big Brother 'tool' - protesters disincentive - TSA groping? - ahh yes - those were the good ol' days ---
...
Corporations - from Producers - to - Predators - dividends - buy backs - this is good for a better understanding of the 99% being thrown 'under the bus' ---
...
"I see in the future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of the war."
- Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864 (letter to Col. William F. Elkins)
...
A fable - the ending is up to us - Robert Reich ---
...
The Snellings' story - Alzheimer's - love story? - but - can't predict the future - what is 'life'? - relationships ---
...
Climate-smart agriculture - change is needed - we have much of the necessary information - but - difficult to implement ---
...
Energy - major oil finds in E Africa - who will exploit it? - will the natives benefit? ---
...
Cartoons:
Voter fraud? - not anymore ---
...
Overreach - Obamacare ---
...
All's fair in ..... ---
...
Budget - Etch-a-Sketch ---
...
Science - Math - all the same - unbelief ---
...
Science - undercover ---
...
Socialism ---
...
Health insurance - broccoli ---
<<<>>>

"What you are basically, deep, deep down, far, far in, is simply the fabric and structure of existence itself." -Alan Watts, daily zen

zzzzzzzzz

40s/50s/60s/70s - this is better - really enjoyable - great weekend - flowers are blooming - trees are greening - Spring - enjoy - summer is coming

April 06, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 02, 2012

RayFltr --- SolitaryConfinement - WindEnergy - GayFamily - Science/Life - PostalService - GasBlowout - Climate - Guns - ScreeningTechnology - Women'sWar - Education - BigMedia - Budget

daily zen ---
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”
― Jimi Hendrix
...
>>>>>>> 'news' you may have missed <<<<<<<
...
Good story - rethinking solitary confinement - Mississippi of all places - closed section permanently - it works ---
...
Good story - wind energy - world's first 6 MW turbine - this thing is huge - Netherlands - off-shore ---]
...
Good story - family - gay - I thought this was a great story - simply humanity ---
...
Science and the meaning of life - is there more than just the technology? - the mechanics? ---
...
Meaning in life comes from our connection to all that's around us. We create meaning by actively participating in life in a conscious and caring manner.
--- Jodi I.
...
More prison isolation - for non-violent crime - cruel and unusual punishment - for what - personal interest? - Congressperson? ---
....
US Postal Service - a bargain - sabotaged by Bush et.al. - prepay health care for 75 years - 75 years - overcharge by 80 billion - Postal Service has made a profit without the absurd charges - excess charges drains funds from service - Jim Hightower - something for society? - why? ---
...
Another blowout - gas - North Sea - could be worse than 'Deepwater' - will we ever learn when we don't 'know' - drill baby drill!! ---
...
Climate - controversy - I thought this a rather good commentary ---
...
Marian Wright Edelman - 'Protect Children Not Guns' - the Children's Defense Fund - has just released the study ---
....
We often talk about moral values, justice and trust, but the important thing is to put them into effect in our everyday lives.
--- Dalai Lama
...
Freedom? - Homeland Security - new program FAST - Future Attribute Screening Technology - 'pre-crime' personal identification - innocent until proven guilty? - use of biological metrics including physiological and behavior sensor technology with algorithms - your next security screening for a job? - coming soon to an airport near you? - the next public gathering? - Occupy demonstrations? - speech? - what's that? - no Personally-Identifiable Information (PII) stored? - yeah!! - we know how fast that can change - or - be hidden - thanks M... - I think ---
...
Again - men making decisions affecting women particularly - SCOTUS ---
...
War against women - today's absurdity - Wisconsin lawmaker - spousal abuse? - don't leave ---
...
Education - testing - today's 'system' - a letter from a teacher to her 8th grade students ---
...
Outsourced - political party? - Republicans? - interesting commentary - what will happen? - I'd read before how Justice Powell had started the process before he was on the court ---
...
Big media's bad behavior - greed - journalism? - broadcasters? - they 'own' the airwaves ---
...
Moderate politicians? - you have to go 'down-under' - conservatives and liberals in NZ would both fit within the US Democratic Party - not anti-science - not focussed on 'social/religious' issues - interesting ---
...
The more educated conservatives are the more likely they are to be the strongest 'climate change deniers' - huhhh!!! - interesting - certainty? - truth? - change resistance? ---
...
Interest rate swaps - major grief for local governments - another sliced/diced paper like derivatives - I don't understand all of this but you economists must - another example of the greed of the major banks and financial institutions like GoldmanSachs causing major losses to the rest of us ---
...
What an obscenity - disgusting - NRA - capitalizing on a tragedy - hoodie with concealed weapon pockets ---
...
The whole damned history of the world is a story of the struggle between the selfish and the unselfish! . . . All the bad around us is bred by selfishness. Sometimes selfishness even gets to be a cause, an organized force, even a government. Then it’s called Fascism.
—Garson Kanin, Born Yesterday
...
Budget comparison - Obama - Ryan - Progressive Caucus ---
...
Moral crisis? - in America? - yes - but - what is it? ---
...
Cartoons:
Wheelchairs or--- martini bars? ---
...
Voter fraud - Texas ---
...
Healthcare insurance - not necessary ---
...
Memory loss ---
...
Open mic ---
...
<<>>

"The meaning of life cannot be told; it has to happen to a person." — Ira Progoff, daily zen

zzzzzzzzz
50s/60s/70s - it's still March - flowers are blooming - trees are greening - plants are emerging - Spring - enjoy - summer is coming

April 02, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

March 30, 2012

Letters to --- WashPost - Ex-Im Bank Privatization

 

Dear Editors:

With regard to Mr. Boudreaux's letter advocating that the Ex-Im Bank be privatized. What is the "taxpayers will be spared the expense" since the Bank is making a profit? Apparently, Mr. Boudreaux thinks it's better for some individual to obtain the profits of the Bank than the taxpayers. Do we really need more billionaires to skim the profits of the economy that the 99% produces?
 
It's interesting that the Post allows Mr. Boudreaux to pass himself off as any normal reader rather than the libertarian and very strongly anti-government person that he is while taking advantage of taxpayer provided public funds at George Mason University. Even ignoring his links to Koch Funding for GMU's economics program, the Post should require better accounting of reader input.

Sincerely,

March 30, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

March 24, 2012

RayFltr --- ConnectingHumanity/Adoption/Church/Israel - Women - Guns - UniversityCampus - Haiti - Honduras - FarmStuff

The most powerful force ever known on this planet is human cooperation — a force for construction and destruction.”
--- Jonathan Haidt
*************
>>>>>>> 'news' you may have missed <<<<<<<
...
Good story - connecting humanity - open adoption - birth parents - adoptive parents - not always easy - but generally more satisfactory ---
...
Good story - connecting humanity at church - I thought this was a really good story - with all that we have currently with using religion to separate us - to denigrate 'others' - for violence - this story illustrates that maybe there is hope - that it costs nothing to use religion for good - it costs nothing to 'help' those in need - that it can be a unifying force - may it be the 'future' ---
...
Good story - another connecting humanity - Israel/Iran - people-to-people - the solution - a similar action by women in N Ireland was effective ---
...
Good story - women - Hillary Clinton - impressive - I agree - one of the best decisions Obama has made ---
...
"Those who advocate for expanding the circle of human rights were and are on the right side of history, and history honors them. Those who tried to constrict human rights were wrong, and history reflects that as well."
--- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, December 6, 2011 (thanks T...)
...
Good story - stray dog - saves woman and child from man with knife - 'life' connection - good ending ---
...
Guns - everywhere - neighborhood watch - another senseless killing - this was an early piece and much more has come out although it is still not clear how much was due to - racism - vigilantism - machismo - stupidity - probably all involved - and the killer was a candidate for a 'justice' role? - incredible - but Florida's new 'self-defense' law will make it problematic to do something ---
...
More guns - sales soaring - multimillions sold - what a sad commentary ---
...
Marian Wright Edelman of the Children's Defense Fund gives a good commentary of the above - 'walking while black' ---
...
War against women - attempted suicide is a mental issue for most people - if you're pregnant it's a crime and you may be charged with murder - WHAT???!!! - one law for pregnant women - another for everyone else - equal treatment under the law? - forget it - miscarriage or other issue? - you may be charged - 60 in Alabama - are we becoming a theocracy like some Islamic countries? - what next? ---
...
"A woman's a woman until the day she dies, but a man's only a man as long as he can."
--- Jackie Mabley, The Writer's Almanac
...
Incredible - how can this be? - take infants from their mother/parents? - civil rights? - human rights? - basic compassion? - respect for humanity? - who appointed them 'god'? - subterfuge to gain access ---
...
War against women - GA legislator considers pregnant women equivalent to pregnant cows/pigs - carry stillborn fetuses to term - and we consider ourselves an advanced civilization? - with people like this as our so-called leaders no wonder the rest of the world considers us 'nuts' - a really good exposition from an angry woman - the wrong people are in institutions - Solidarity ---
...
Dailyzen
“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”

― Albert Einstein

...

The new University Campus - swat teams - spies - pepper spray - 'less lethal weapons' - big brother? - fascism? - money is speech - but students' demonstrations? - not if we can prevent them - go to Egypt or someplace where we like them ---
 
...
Haiti - Aristide - democracy - US government plans - we don't have a very good record of our actions there - what's our problem? ---
....
Honduras - dirty war - Obama/Clinton? - nothing - Biden visits - increase in military 'gifts' - what gives? ---
...
I liked this - a farmer's law suit for growing wheat might be the basis for a decision in the health care case before SCOTUS - what a strange web we weave ---
...
More farm stuff - tax benefits for the 1% - if there are cows, donkeys, bees - surely there must be a way to 'fix' these types of flagrant abuse - but that would involve ethics or even morality ---
...
Illegal logging - is criminal - go after the kingpins behind the activity - World Bank - should we call it terrorism? - naahhh!! - it's only terrorism if you're trying to prevent the logging (in US) or to save the forests ---
...
Is Obama keeping a Yemeni journalist in prison? - why? - aggressive reporting? - or same as going after whistleblowers? ---
...
Senators warn about use of the Patriot Act - finally - turning citizens into suspects - will there be any change? - doubtful ---
...
Cartoons:
Only too true - veteran abuse ---
...
Gas prices ---
...
A well-regulated militia? ---
...
Learning? or definition of stupidity i.e. doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result ---
...
Dream? - nightmare!! ---
...
Who fought for a 40 hr week? - unions - where's the gratitude? ---
...
Deficit reduction - Ryan plan ---
...
~~~~~~~~
Addicted to electronic media even when with others?
If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything.”
~~Thich Nhat Hanh
zzzzzzzzz
50s/60s/70s/80 - it's still March - but - flowers are blooming - Spring - enjoy - summer is coming

March 24, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

March 21, 2012

Letters to --- National Priorities - Budget

 I'm not sure why you continue to call FICA receipts taxes with the special negative connotation of the term taxes. FICA receipts are fees for the purpose of the safety net for all contributors - do you call highway tolls - taxes? You also combine medicare and SS receipts on the revenue side in your graph but separate them on the spending side - why? I realize that it is difficult to do a clear job of showing budgetary matters but if you're going to include FICA issues as general budgetary issues then you should really make an effort to show all spending issues including tax expenditures which are a much greater quantity and hidden from taxpayer eyes.

With all the current rhetoric about deficits and debt, I would be very interested in a graph showing what the deficit and debt would look like over the past 25 years with SS taken off budget. If the public realized how the working salaried people have paid for the pork of Congress to the tune of $2.5 trillion and hidden the real deficit over that time perhaps we might see some change. All the political rhetoric about the need to 'fix' SS is simply so they don't have to pay back the $2.5 trillion and will have continuing excess receipts as a slush fund - a tremendous transfer of wealth from the FICA paying workers to others. Why should Chinese bond holders have a higher priority for payment than US citizens.
 
I realize that we all see 'facts' from a different perspective but as one of the 99%, I don't think we get our perspective recognized.

March 21, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

March 17, 2012

RayFltr --- SafeWater - BrazilianWomen/Happy - ICC/DROC - AlaskaDrilling - WindPower - SolarPower - WarWomen - Poverty - Occupy - Hate - Peru/ShiningPath - Cato/Koch - UgandaGays/Evangelical - Whistleblowers

“Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown again into instant flame by an encounter with another human being.”
― Albert Schweitzer, daily zen
************
>>>>>>> 'news' you may have missed <<<<<<<
...
Good story - 2 billion more people have access to safe drinking water - ahead of the 2015 UN goal - keep going ---
...
Good story - Brazilian women are the world's happiest - great progress economically ---
...
Good story - ICC - accountability - DROCongo - child soldiers - hopefully Kony et.al. next - why won't the US work closer with the ICC? - control ---
...
Good story - Senate rejects - drilling in Alaska refuge ---
...
Good story - world wind power sets new record - Europe leads all regions - China leads all countries - US? - pathetic - current mantra? - we can't ---
...
Good story?? - solar power - Germany is world leader - will cut subsidies because growth is too high - how will it affect new installations? ---
...
Interesting - US/Britain - release petroleum from strategic reserve? - maybe - I think Obama should make an unannouced release and 'kneecap' the speculators ---
...
What? - resume military aid to Eygpt? - why? - once again - military is first response - 5 times as much as other aid - democracy? - we have to support the generals - the military support can't be justified ---
...
Unbelievable - more 'war on women' - isolate young women from trusted adults in their lives - interstate? - how about 'helping' people instead? ---
...
Still more 'war on women' - Arizona - Mississippi - Kansas - other states - incredible - sickening - and some of these bills originate with women - and will renewal of the 'Violence Against Women Act' be blocked? ---
...
Poverty in America - 130% increase in households living on less than $2/person/day - doubling of number of children living in these extreme conditions - major cause - 1996 Welfare Reform - different perspective - not great 'success' - depressing - fixing budget on backs of the poor - so-called 'Christian' nation values - laughable ---
...
We’re virtually ignoring the way that we treat poor children in this country. It’s not even on the agenda for either party in the political debate that’s going on right now.”
—Jack Frech, director, Athens County Department of Job and Family
...
Social Security privatization - Slovakia - Kochs - Cato - Chile/Pinera - Chile has large inequality now - Slovakia turned back - here - wait and see ---
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Republican leaders - PA - ride roughshod over local jurisdictions - small/limited government? - government is best closest to local people? - not if it involves money from oil/gas industries - wonder what the tipping (pun intended) point is between earthquakes and money? ---
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The basis for the 'need' for Occupy - Goldman Sachs culture - will Britain blacklist Goldman - doubtful ---
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And Occupy - BoA - women activists on Int'l Women's Day - women are 32% more likely than men to receive subprime mortgages ---
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Peru - Maoist Shining Path last remnant - child soldiers - still ---
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Hate - anti-government groups - tremendous increase in numbers ---
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Ugandans file suit against US Evangelical for his work on the 'Kill the Gays Bill' in Uganda - he was also involved with an anti-gay law in Russia - how can someone with such hatred have any religious sense/credibility? ---
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I know that some of you already receive the Borowitz Report - but if not, here is an example of prime satire - Goldman - sociopaths? - some of these can make your day ---
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And where does Cato Institute fall? - libertarian or - Republican shill - corporatist rights aren't human rights - hypocrisy in spades - if the Koch Bros are successful in their takeover - it would remove the pretense from Cato's activities - it does indicate that we need a major overhaul of 'non-profit' entities - a good commentary on the 'fight' ---
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On-line newspapers - Huffington Post - the new giant - will it continue? ---
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War against whistleblowers - Peter Van Buren to be fired - why is Obama so harsh against whistleblowers? - transparency is unwelcomed ---
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Cartoons:
A wonderful waste ---
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Southern Grits ---
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Learn? - nope - simply too true ---
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Goldman - force of habit ---
/////////
Music is a higher revelation than all of wisdom and philosophy." ~Beethoven
zzzzzzzzz
50s/60s/70s/80 - 80??!! - it's still March!! - but - flowers are blooming - Spring - enjoy - summer must be coming

March 17, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

March 11, 2012

RayFltr --- Int'lWomen'sDay - GasPrices - Justice/SCOTUS - CivilRights/Guns - Poverty/Detroit - Kochs/Cato - Iran - Nation/Fear - AIPAC/PressFreedom

"Life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor."
--- Sholem Aleichem, The Writer's Almanac
*************
>>>>>>> 'news' you may have missed <<<<<<<
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Great!! - Int'l Women's Day - a pictorial review globally - thanks Common Dreams - we must dream - but also 'act' ---
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Good story - apropos for women's history month - change - women respond to Limbaugh - good! - women arise! - don't take this sort of crap any more - bring out the pitchforks! - I thought that the comment - 'there aren't nearly as many loaded words against men' - sort of says the history against women ---
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Good? story - important story - Women's Day - progress? - stalled progress - regression? - Stephanie Coontz - short historical commentary - attacks against women - against the most vulnerable - we can't allow this!! ---
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And then there's Texas - reality - welcome to the 18th century - regression? - regressive - violent ---
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And - women are at the forefront - Russia - human rights ---
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Good story - Republican lawmaker - vote for Obama - Republican candidates would take women back decades ---
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Good story - AG Cuccinelli loses again - VA Supremes disallow his subpoenas for scientist's emails ---
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Gas prices - 70 Congress persons say - stop the speculators - finally - but will it help? - doubtful ---
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Justice? - SCOTUS - 7 hrs interrogation - not coercion? - good for Ginsberg - a major reason why Obama needs to win ---
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Civil rights? - whose? - our weaponized society - University CO can't control safety on its campuses - concealed weapons OK?? - thanks P... ---
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Detroit - 51% of kids 17 and under in poverty - 33% of all ages - every one - lives in poverty - this is America?? ---
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Kochtopus - Cato Institute - Heartland - Americans for Prosperity - Freedom Works - follow the money - non-profit org rules/issues needs to be tighten - non- tax makes the rest of us pay more ---
-- a nice graphic of the above ---
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More on Kochs' takeover of Cato Institute - intellectual ammo-shop for Republican mouthpiece ---
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Iran - sanctions? - won't work - the other side - a different perspective - I agree completely - doesn't anyone remember the thousands of Iraqi young we killed with our sanctions against Iraq? - if we would put half the effort into working with rather than against with threats - what could happen? ---
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And Chomsky on Iran - may be too rational - but I agree with him ---
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When there's war all the time, there's no such thing as after the war anymore, no victory over our enemies day, no victory worth selling tickets for day, just days to celebrate that we're still the killers and not the killed.
--- Jose Padua, short excerpt from To the Valley in the Morning with Blood and Guts and Fear, FPIF
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Nation of fear - drones - tanks - submarines - weaponized Homeland Security State - police? - or? - land of the free? - ??? - brave? - risk of dying in terrorist attack? - 3.5 million to 1 - driving to work? - much, much higher - $600+ billion - our tax dollars - to - Intelligence/Military/Industrial complex largess ---
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Press freedom? - AIPAC - bans certain press writers from its convention - bipartisan? - uuummm? ---
Cartoons:
Kindergarten to the future ---
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Intelligence - almost too logical ---
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Founding Fathers ---
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Political Center - too true ---
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"If by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I'm proud to say I'm a 'Liberal."
... JFK, various
zzzzzzzzz
40s/50s/60s/70s - but back to 30 - sunny - flowers are blooming - Spring - enjoy

March 11, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

March 04, 2012

RayFltr --- USexceptualism/RatingLast - Cato/KochBros - HigherEd - GunrunnersDelight - Hunger/LivingWage - Women/Healthcare - Religion/War - Israel/AIPAC - Africa/Hope - WallStreet/Wealthy/Corporations - KeystonePipeline - LandGrab

Generosity is the most natural outward expression of an inner attitude of compassion and loving-kindness--- Dalai Lama...

>>>>>>> 'news' you may have missed <<<<<<<
A 'must read' - long but please read at least the first and last pages - exceptualism? - number one? - yes - but at the bottom of OECD countries - what has happened to people like Speth - I remember reading him 15/20 years ago - there were more 'solid', wise, knowledgeable people like him - how did we get 'saddled' with the idiots who control the rhetoric and everything else today? - no true discussion of the total context - where is the 'movement' that will take this commentary as a 'call to action'? - has Ayn Rand won? - I liked his item of needing better indicators than GDP or 'Grossly Distorted Picture' - read and weep ---
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This is 'funny' - ironic - 'grab a beer and watch' - Koch bros. want control of the CATO Institute - Cato Institute was started by the Koch Foundation - did it go off 'script'? - stay tuned ---
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Public Higher Education - in crisis - public funding is continually being cut - resulting in increased tuition and fees - this country used to be proud of its higher education system and placed effort in making it affordable - now? - the future of our country depends on it but - who cares? - not the cognoscenti ---
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Support the 'gunrunners' - protect his citizens? - not so much - VA governor - I can't say anything else ---
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Hunger strike - UVA students - demand living wage for all employees - good for them - Administrators are some of the highest paid in VA ---
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Women's health care - 'war'? - healthcare? - religion? - hospital mergers ---
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War on religion? - a good perspective ---
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Africa - change - hope - fast growing economies - sounds good - sustainable? - I think it is still controversial ---
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Israel - AIPAC - undermining democracy - in the US - in Middle East - using US taxpayer money - against our national interests - tail wagging the dog? ---
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Wall Street wins again - no unemployment for Big Banks - best profits in 5 yrs - even while total revenue decreases - Main Street? - including small banks? - 99%? - small government? - certainly - except for Big Banks ---
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Santorum - JFK - Top 10 differences - where are the statesmen today? ---
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Interesting - wealthy are more unethical - greed - but - if you win the lottery - you also become more unethical - entitlement feeling? - if you are wealthy and see a film on poverty - you become more ethical - again - education - information - knowledge - are most important - but - sadly - we're more 'know nothings' than ever ---
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Are corporations 'persons' just for campaign contributions uuuhhh!! - speech? - or also for human rights? ---
It would "create a weird paradox" if the corporations are people when funding campaigns but not when they violate human rights, said Peter Weiss, vice president of the Center for Constitutional Rights in
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Is this true? - a conspiracy? - House of Lords asked to investigate major illegal fund transfer - 15 $trillion from NY Fed - Shanghai - Royal Bank of Scotland - Alan Greenspan - Geithner involved - ????? ---
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Samuelson recently said in a WaPo OpEd that to say that money rules politics is absurd - the first comment by 'rational revolution' on this blog is really excellent in explaining how far off base he really is ---
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Opening Pandoras' Box - global land grab - extractive industries/mining - environmental devastation - turning communities into refugees on their own land - greed in spades ---
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Might makes right? - how we've inverted Lincoln ---
"Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."
--- Abraham Lincoln, The Writer's Almanac
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I thought this a really good commentary, incisive, extensive, knowledgeable - hit a lot of bases - probably somewhat long for some of you - but really a perspective that I think is needed to 'face' the future ---
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Monsanto wins - corporations win - Judges shouldn't rule on something they don't understand ---
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Keystone Pipeline - Flim/Flam - would not decrease the price of gasoline in US - export - increase Oil cos. profits - but we can't cut the subsidies of the oil producers - Jim Hightower calls it as it is ---
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Prosecute Bush and Cheney? - I believe a case could be made but I don't think that they will ever be prosecuted - Nixon said he was above the law but was shown that he wasn't - but the country has changed and doesn't have the higher standards anymore ---
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Cartoons:
Transportation needed ---
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Religious rights - for everyone? ---
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Well-regulated militia - going to school ---
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Church/State ---
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NYPD intelligence unit ---
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The Cuckoo's Nest - new version ---
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Brainwashing? ---
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White horse? - not out of the picture yet ---
zzzzzzzzzzzzz
After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.
--- Aldous Huxley, daily zen
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30s/40s/50s/60s - good rain - sunny - flowers are blooming - Spring - enjoy

March 04, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

March 02, 2012

Letters to --- WashPost - ASloan - Social Security

 

Mr. Sloan.

Thanks for your article in the WashPost today. The increasing deficit in Social Security is troubling. However, you seem to focus on the outgo rather than the income. What has been the impact of the high unemployment on SS receipts over the past 3 to 4 years? It would seem to me that most of the unemployment is in the range of job income particularly important to SS receipts and surely must have had a significant impact on receipts. Also, what has been the impact of the increasing inequality over the past 20 years? I believe there is strong evidence that almost 90% of the financial benefit from the significant increase in productivity over the past 20 years has gone to corporate upper management and dividends. Surely, if there had been a more equitable distribution of these benefits to the workers involved there would have been a significant increase in SS receipts over the past 20 years and the resulting deficit wouldn't be as great.
  
Then there is also the problem of including SS expenditures in discussions of total governmental spending with general budgetary expenditures. Isn't this a little of comparing apples and oranges? If we had a separate tax of 12.6% for Defense and National Security it might make sense but with its own funding stream why is SS even in the picture? Wouldn't a better analysis/picture of the problem be possible if SS was taken off budget? I realize it might not 'cure' the problem of Congress using excess SS receipts to hide actual budgetary deficits as it has for the past 20 years but wouldn't it be more honest? Why does Congress put a higher priority on repaying Bonds held by Chinese citizens than on SS bonds held by US citizens? Is the real reason for 'fixing' SS so Congress can continue to have excess receipts in order to continue to have their 'slush' fund? Isn't this a transfer of wealth primarily from the working class to other recipients?
 
And then there is the question of since everyone has to pay SS insurance premiums, what is the problem with everyone having to pay healthcare insurance premiums?
 
Anyway, I do enjoy your articles - thanks.

Sincerely,

March 02, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

February 29, 2012

Letters to --- WashPost - OpEd/Lane - GasPrices

Thanks for your OpEd in today's Post about gas prices being largely independent of government.  However, you seem to put it almost entirely in the realm of supply and demand and market forces, leaving out the significant impact of speculation. Why are prices going up when gasoline demand is at a low currently in this country? Isn't that contrary to the so called free, open market explanation? Why are we exporting significant quantities of gasoline while prices are going up?
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What would happen to prices if the Government would unexpectedly release oil from the 'reserve' and thus 'hit' the speculators?
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Anyway, thanks for your OpEd - I always enjoy reading them.
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Sincerely,

February 29, 2012 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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