tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86173152024-03-13T04:19:28.627-07:00seajaneThoughts from a Yellow Dog Democrat living in Olympia, in the great BLUE state of Washington
<br> <br>
I am a liberal because it is the political philosophy of freedom and equality. And I am a progressive because it is the political path to a better future. And I am a Democrat because it is the political party that believes in freedom, equality and progress.
-- Digbyseajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.comBlogger447125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-43090069222106239072013-08-31T08:22:00.001-07:002013-08-31T08:22:05.584-07:00There's Something Wrong with ThisIt's the same week -- two trials in military courts -- one in Texas and one in Washington state. Both defendants plead guilty -- one to killing 13 adults; the other for killing 16 men, women, and children. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/23/us-usa-afghanistan-trial-idUSBRE97L0YV20130823">Robert Bales </a>gets life imprisonment for killing the 16 and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/28/nidal-hasan-death-sentence_n_3831672.html">Nidal Hasan </a>gets the death penalty for killing the 13.
Both crimes are horrible. Both defendants deserve punishment. But why did the military courts come up with such different sentences? Both are American born citizens. Both are in the military. The standards of sentencing should be the same in both military courts. Of course! Bales is a Christian and Hasan is a Muslim.
And we wonder why people in other countries think we're prejudiced against Muslims.
seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-83046113242673215872012-07-20T12:01:00.000-07:002012-07-20T12:01:19.293-07:00Colorado Batman Movie Shooting<a href="http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-real-crime-is-talking-about-causes.html">Digby</a> is so smart:
<blockquote> . . . We aren't shocked anymore when children are killed. It's become a normal part of American life. The taboo has shifted from horror at the shootings to horror at talking about shooting. This is called "politicizing tragedy" as if these mass murders are an act of nature rather than an act of human evil or madness (or both) enabled by easy access to the tools of mass murder.
But let's not go there. We will mourn the casualties the way we mourn the deaths of those in hurricanes and tornadoes. Gun violence is now a "natural" event in America, as unpredictable as the weather, and there's nothing we can do about it except gather together in the aftermath to help the victims. Indeed, the only enduring threat these events foretell is from those who would question a culture that deifies the gun as if it were a religious symbol rather than a lethal weapon.</blockquote>
When are we going to pull the curtain and expose the NRA for the gun and bullet manufacturer/dealer marketing ploy it is? I'm like Digby -- the question used to be 'how many have to die before . . ." but it is becoming increasingly clear that we'll never reach that magic number. We have to collectively say "enough is enough."seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-9615550836739806992012-06-19T09:35:00.000-07:002012-06-19T09:41:15.628-07:00My Favorite Protest Sign from Michigan<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4rKf3p64CPs/T-CnLPGRgRI/AAAAAAAAAWg/wmcyj5NJnro/s1600/vj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="136" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4rKf3p64CPs/T-CnLPGRgRI/AAAAAAAAAWg/wmcyj5NJnro/s200/vj.jpg" /></a>
Pix from the comments at <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/19/1101238/-The-Vagina-Monologues-at-the-Michigan-state-Capitol-in-Lansing-Michigan-PHOTOS-VIDEO">Daily Kos</a>.
If men want to declare this war on women, they better be prepared for us to respond.seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-41273070106537442392012-06-12T08:07:00.000-07:002012-06-12T08:07:46.715-07:00Blaming Bush<a href="http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/06/george-w-bushs-tab.html">Andrew Sullivan </a>has it right.
<blockquote>When you check reality, rather than the alternate universe constantly created by Fox News and an amnesiac press, you find that Bush had a chance to pay off all our national debt before we hit the financial crisis - giving the US enormous flexibility in intervening to ameliorate the recession. Instead, we had to find money for a stimulus in a cupboard stripped bare - its contents largely given away, by an act of choice. I'm tired of being told we cannot blame Bush for our current predicament. We can and should blame him for most of it - and remind people that Romney's policies: more tax cuts, more defense spending are identical. With one difference: Bush pledged never "to balance the budget on the backs of the poor."
Mitt Romney has no qualms about doing that very thing. And he will, if he is given the chance.</blockquote>
I am afraid of what these Republithugs will do if they win in November.seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-50175582859756829882011-12-28T10:39:00.000-08:002011-12-28T10:54:17.798-08:00I Remember Newt and MittNewt and Mitt seem to think we are all too young to remember or we are all afflicted with Alzheimer’s. I remember. <br /> <br />I remember Newt Gingrich’s disastrous term as Speaker from 1995 to 1999. I remember that he was disciplined in January 1997 by the House of Representatives for ethics accusations. I also remember that Gingrich resigned from the House on November 5, 1998, under pressure from his Republican colleagues. I remember him being divisive, using extremist language, and closing down the government when he wasn’t given a seat up front in Air Force One. I remember that he not only was against gays in the military but also was against women serving – something about hunting giraffes and our ‘cycles’ being problematic in the trenches. He says he wants to bring us back to Reagan era job creation. Really? I remember the Fed funds rate being over 20% during the Reagan era. There weren’t a lot of jobs being created with that rate. Unemployment reached a high of almost 17% under Reagan and by the end of his term we had only improved to around 8% -- not far from where we are now. No thank you, I don’t want to go back to those good ole days. <br /><br />Mitt Romney says he learned from his father how to lead. Whoa! I remember George Romney. I remember difficult race relations in Detroit during his term as governor from 1963 to 1969. Race riots, block busting – horrible stuff. I was raised in Detroit so conditions might not be as clear in your memory but Romney was always finding ways for his friends to profit on the misery of others and racial unrest was just another opportunity. He then went on to be <a href="http://www.hudnlha.com/housing_news/hud_history.pdf">Secretary of HUD </a>– what a disaster! He allowed improper behavior with FHA mortgage insurance and Section 235 subsidies and did nothing. There were inflationary appraisals, faulty repairs, and rushed approvals so his friends could make a quick buck. Later the bulldozers had to level the homes and neighborhoods were destroyed by HUD. But George Romney taught his son well as Mitt now spouts idiocy about ‘let the values decline until investors are attracted’. There were a couple books really popular during Romney’s rein in HUD: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Federal-Bulldozer-Martin-Anderson/dp/0070016402/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325097785&sr=8-1">The Federal Bulldozer </a>by Martin Anderson and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unheavenly-City-Nature-Future-Crisis/dp/B0006CUBPG/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325097849&sr=1-2">The Unheavenly City </a>by Edward Banfield – both highly regarded by Milton Friedman and Mitt often quotes from them when talking about the housing crisis. I remember George Romney’s crowning glory was the dynamiting of the Pruitt Igoe public housing project. HUD under George Romney disbursed millions and millions of tax dollars to his friends supposedly to fix Pruitt Igoe but by the end of Romney’s term it was deemed a failure and dynamited. So why should vacant foreclosed homes be of any concern to Mitt?<br /><br />Mitt used these lessons of rewarding your friends well when he formed Bain Capital. <a href="http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/09/mitt-romney-bain-capital-debate">Andy Kroll </a>(another guy that seems to remember) over at <strong>Mother Jones </strong>has an excellent article on his ‘job creation’ experience worked at Bain. Dade International is an excellent example. Kroll writes: “Dade International, a medical testing company acquired by Bain and Goldman Sachs in 1994. As Bloomberg reported, Bain cut 1,600 jobs from the company between 1996 and 1999 after merging the company with several others as part of Bain's restructuring plan. In 1999, Bain and Goldman sold Dade International, as it was later called, for a profit, but left the company buried in debt. It filed for bankruptcy in 2002.” Kroll has other examples but be sure that the investment partners at Bain enjoyed wildly lucrative financial benefits while the workers and companies got screwed. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-geldard/the-bain-of-romneys-exist_b_1168733.html">Richard Gelard </a>is also someone who seems to remember and writes “Mitt Romney, if elected, would break up America and sell of the pieces to the ever hungry 1%.”<br /><br />We need to do an intervention to our friends and colleagues who are in their Fox induced dissociative fugue state and are thinking about support Newt or Mitt. They need to hear our witnessing of the realities and our memories of these two dangerous guys.seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-35309068216939965832011-10-18T16:18:00.000-07:002011-10-18T16:23:28.699-07:009-9-9The number 1 job classification in the State of Washington in 2009 was construction. If Cain wins and he enacts his 9-9-9 plan, we'll never recover. Who would buy a new home and pay the 9% sales tax when they could buy a used home and not be taxed?<br /><br />The sales of new cars will also be adversely impacted by this 9% tax when used cars are not taxed. So kiss the auto industry goodbye!<br /><br />What a disaster this man will be for our economy!seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-71266173360934827832011-07-17T10:41:00.000-07:002011-07-18T09:50:08.072-07:00A Jeopardy Winner to Head CFPB? Really!??President Obama passed over Elizabeth Warren and <a href="http://swampland.time.com/2011/07/17/obama-picks-former-ohio-ag-warren-deputy-to-head-consumer-bureau/">nominated Richard Cordray</a>, a former Ohio attorney general, state lawmaker,and 5 time "Jeopardy!" winner to run the nascent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. <br /><br />The White House is spinning this by saying "Cordray’s resume is well suited to the task at the CFPB . . ." But I don't see he is anywhere near the caliber of Elizabeth Warren.<br /><br />Here's what is in his official <a href="http://www.smartvoter.org/2000/03/07/oh/state/vote/cordray_r/bio.html">biography</a> from when he ran unsuccessfully for Senate:<br /><blockquote>As State Representative, Richard Cordray was the principal sponsor of legislation fighting crime, preserving the environment, and protecting children and families. His Community Service Education Act was the first law in Ohio to promote community service education as a way to teach values and responsibility in our schools. His Environmental Siting Disclosure Act ensured more public involvement and input into decisions about locating facilities that are environmental hazards. Richard Cordray also helped pass laws promoting undercover sting operations, improving our ability to deal with juvenile crimes, reforming death penalty juries, and raising the penalty for attempted aggravated murder, as well as the first Ohio law making stalking a crime. He fought for a family leave law in Ohio before Congress ultimately was able to pass federal legislation. <br /><br />Richard Cordray's record shows that he is tough on crime, tough on bigotry, and tough on protecting children and families. </blockquote><br /><br />Nice guy, sure. Good Democrat, yes. But where is the extensive experience and life time of consumer protection advocacy that Elizabeth Warren has?<br /><br />Why do we have to settle for someone who has not the skills, passion, and knowledge of Elizabeth Warren?<br /><br />Of course the bigger questions, when is Obama going to stand up to the Republithugs and quit selling us out?seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-24829102974656794172011-06-08T12:29:00.000-07:002011-06-08T12:38:20.882-07:00OMG -- I agree with a National Review Writer!!Quick! Take my temperature! I must be sick!!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/269072/i-dont-care-what-photos-anthony-weiner-sends-david-gelernter">David Gelernter </a>over at the <em><strong>National Review </strong></em>wrote an excellent (cough, cough) piece that I agree with entirely (swoon). (I'm scared!!)<br /><br />Here's a piece:<br /><blockquote>Weiner didn’t commit adultery or anything near adultery. He committed tasteless stupidity, and there’s no law against that. When reporters first asked him about the expose reports, he should have said “Butt out.” . . .<br />For my part I couldn’t care less what sort of pictures or messages Weiner has been sending around the Net, and it’s an imposition to be required to care; to be unable to avoid the topic. I find that I have no interest in Congressman Anthony Weiner’s sex life or virtual sex life whatsoever. And I’ve heard enough tearful on-camera contrition to last me the rest of my life. I don’t want to hear Weiner’s apology. It’s got nothing to do with me, tells me nothing I want to know; the cable news media, conservative and liberal, would do the public a favor if they would agreed to a blanket tearful-apologies ban effective this instant. . . .</blockquote><br /><br />I suspect David Gelernter's days at the <strong><em>National Review </em></strong>are numbered.<br /><br />Please shoot me if I ever quote Pam Geller.seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-64032949698004708242011-04-15T11:58:00.000-07:002011-04-15T12:07:42.646-07:00Let's All Remember THIS Vote<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xf1jJBRCB7Y/TaiWehG_21I/AAAAAAAAAWU/nev1dAE_jc0/s1600/scarlet%2Bletter.bmp"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 225px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xf1jJBRCB7Y/TaiWehG_21I/AAAAAAAAAWU/nev1dAE_jc0/s320/scarlet%2Bletter.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595887988035803986" /></a><br />Doc Hastings, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and Jaime Herrera Beutler all <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll277.xml">voted</a> to end Medicare as we know it, replacing it with subsidies for private insurance and it would simultaneously spend trillions of dollars to reduce tax rates on the wealthiest Americans. Reichert didn't vote. <br /><br />Let's never say their names without this shaming suffix: <blockquote>Jamie Herrera, who voted to end Medicare, replace it with subsidies to private insurance companies, and reduce taxes on the wealthiest Americans . . .</blockquote>seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-80585305596389467872011-03-17T10:29:00.000-07:002011-03-17T11:17:26.525-07:00When is the Right Time to Debate?Certainly, now when we are in the midst of an emergency with reactors in Japan melting down, it is not the time to debate nuclear power safety -- so say the Republicans.<br /><br />When is the right time?<br /><br />Is it far enough away from 9-11 in time that we can talk about sensible safety on airlines instead of this hodge-podge of ridiculous steps we talk now that doesn't make anyone feel safer?<br /><br />Has enough time passed from when the miners were lost at a mine in West Virginia that had repeated and egregious safety violations for years for us to have the conversation about mine safety and regulation?<br /><br />How about wet land restoration and effective dike building? Has enough time passed since Katrina that we can begin to debate this?<br /><br />Obviously it's never the right time to have a debate about gun safety, no matter how many public officials or public safety officers get killed!<br /><br />It's been months since BP created a huge dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico -- can we talk about drilling safety now?<br /><br />It's been several years since Lehman was closed but now Basel III is recommending minimum capital level below what Lehman had at the time of their failure -- can we talk about that now or is it still too close to the banking bailout?<br /><br />How many states have to experience their water table being poisoned by fracking techniques before we can debate safety of gas extraction procedures?<br /><br />How come it's not the right time to debate nuclear reactor safety but it is the right time to reduce funding for tsunami warnings?<br /><br />Idiots!seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-61890089489078708622011-01-12T14:37:00.000-08:002011-01-12T14:57:41.408-08:00Pawlenty Shoots Himself in the FootTim Pawlenty was on <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/#41038052">Morning Joe </a>this morning to shill his book and announce that he's probably going to run in 2012 and then he blew it big time. <br /><br />Joe Scarborough asked him about Sarah Palin's pathetic video this morning and Pawlenty wimped out and missed a huge chance to show some leadership. It was sad to watch. Scarborough even tried to give him a couple more chances to recover and Pawlenty didn't get it. Scarborough and Brzezinski asked him about Palin's map with the targets on the Gabby Gillfords district and Michele Bachmann's "armed and dangerous" comments and Pawlenty caved in and said meekly "it's just not my style". He had such an opportunity to say something important and blew it. How hard would it be to say something like:<br /><br /><em>My initial response was to defend the fact that I'm sure no one ever condoned such violence, and never would. But the fact is, if we in any way contributed to an unhealthy political climate, we have to be more careful and deliberate in our public language rather than merely sharpen defenses.</em><br /><br />Pawlenty could have been a contender and blew it on the easiest TV show outside of Fox News.seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-77750791688793119422010-11-03T13:53:00.000-07:002010-11-03T13:56:01.092-07:00We Need GraysonI agree with <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/11/02/confidential-to-alan-grayson">Dan Savage</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>To Alan Grayson:<br />So it looks like you're out—hell, it looks like you got your ass handed to you. That sucks. The country needs you, Congress needs you, Dems need you.<br /><br />I'm guessing you've met Jay Inslee. Jay is a member of the House of Representatives from Washington state. Jay has represented Washington's 1st Congressional District since 1999. But Jay was first elected to Congress in 1992 from Washington state's 4th Congressional District. Jay lost that seat in the Republican Revolution of 1994. Turns out Jay was too liberal for Washington state's 1st Congressional district. (Jay didn't think people should be able to send their pre-schoolers to daycare with guns.)<br /><br />Washington state's 4th Congressional district is way over on the east side of our state—it's rural, red, conservative, and crazy (gun crazy, hate crazy, and just plain crazy crazy). Washington state's 1st Congressional district is over here on the west side of the state—it's urban and suburban, liberal, and pretty sane. Jay's in Congress now because he moved.<br /><br />You lost, Alan—tuns out you were way too liberal, and way too outspoken, way too sane, for your district. So do like Jay did and move. And run. And get your ass back into Congress. We need you.</blockquote>seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-71954206672756820522010-11-01T08:39:00.000-07:002010-11-01T08:53:34.093-07:00My Brain Could Not Process This<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/TM7frFsBAEI/AAAAAAAAAV8/hXk253TKc1Y/s1600/ozzy-osbourne-cat-stevens-2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 223px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/TM7frFsBAEI/AAAAAAAAAV8/hXk253TKc1Y/s320/ozzy-osbourne-cat-stevens-2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534606923439079490" /></a><br /><br />The Rally to Restore Sanity was a fun show and the signs were clever but this blew my mind.<br /><br />My favorite sign:<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/TM7iEwqsC2I/AAAAAAAAAWE/RzKVXLg7VC8/s1600/god+hates+figs.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 123px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/TM7iEwqsC2I/AAAAAAAAAWE/RzKVXLg7VC8/s200/god+hates+figs.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534609563496221538" /></a>seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-59230950188920792842010-10-24T06:56:00.000-07:002010-10-24T07:33:45.569-07:00I'm Tired of Subsidizing the RichI'm sick and tired of my income being unfairly redistributed to the rich. We have got to stop extending tax breaks to the rich. This week it was reported that <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-21/google-2-4-rate-shows-how-60-billion-u-s-revenue-lost-to-tax-loopholes.html">Google pays only a 2.4% tax rate</a>. We lost $3.1 BILLION in tax revenues from Google alone due to a tax shifting loop hole. Who makes up that $3.1 billion? -- The middle class.<br /><br />I'm sick and tired of this phoney whine by the rich that small businesses make up 50% of the income andnot extending their precious tax breaks will adcversely impact small businesses. Bull shit. They keep tossing out that small businesses make 50% of the income. But they are not defining small business as mom and pop businesses with small payrolls or low revenues like the <a href="http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?region=DIV1;type=boolean;c=ecfr;cc=ecfr;sid=91a1d3a360b64583dc860746886c6767;q1=121;rgn1=Part%20Heading;op2=and;rgn2=Section;op3=and;rgn3=Section;view=text;idno=13;node=13%3A1.0.1.1.16;rgn=div5#13:1.0.1.1.16.1.265.1">SBA</a>. They are using the IRS definition which \has to do with the number of owners, not employees or receipts. So partnerships and LLCs are small businesses in the eyes of the IRS -- like <a href="http://www.bechtel.com/about_bechtel.html">Bechtel</a> and <a href="http://www.kochind.com/">Koch Industries</a>. <br /><br />Here's some others as identified by <a href="http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/21/privates08_Americas-Largest-Private-Companies-Conglomerates_4Rank.html">Forbes</a>:<br /><br /><strong>Company, State </strong><br />Platinum Equity, CA <br />Washington Cos, MT <br />Sammons Enterprises, TX <br />Ebsco Industries, AL <br />Ingram Industries, TN <br />Roll International, CA <br />Berwind, PA <br />API Group, MN <br />Deseret Management, UT <br /><br />They have total revenues of <strong>$212.95 BILLION </strong>and employ 85,879 workers. And they can't afford to go back to the same tax rate they had during the first 6 years of the Bush administration?!! They need me to subsidize them??!!<br /><br />I'm sick and tired of this arguement and refuse to stand by while our elected officials keep redistributing my income to the wealthy.seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-74622192342875798812010-09-10T07:53:00.000-07:002010-09-10T07:58:51.937-07:00Solution to the "Burn the Qur'an" ControversyI say let's rendition this fame whore "pastor" Jones to Kandahar and quit giving him a microphone and quit giving him the attention he demands.seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-26078647222261791852010-08-17T09:55:00.000-07:002010-08-17T10:13:00.851-07:00Harry Reid is a Disappointment (Again)<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/TGrAzzJTICI/AAAAAAAAAVk/PJ5jQEUlJaQ/s1600/reid.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 136px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/TGrAzzJTICI/AAAAAAAAAVk/PJ5jQEUlJaQ/s200/reid.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506425490548924450" /></a><br />Harry Reid claims that while he respects freedom of religion, he's not willing to support an Islamic center near Ground Zero.<br /><br />Specifically, <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/08/breaking_reid_calls_for_mosque.html">says Reid spokesman Jim Manley</a>, he thinks the "mosque" should be built "some place else":<br /><br /><blockquote>The First Amendment protects freedom of religion. Senator Reid respects that but thinks that the mosque should be built some place else. If the Republicans are being sincere, they would help us pass this long overdue bill to help the first responders whose health and livelihoods have been devastated because of their bravery on 911, rather than continuing to block this much-needed legislation.</blockquote><br />The second most powerful Democrat in the country is not willing to support the First Amendment.<br /><br />What makes this an even greater disappointment is that Reid is a Mormon. Opposition to Mormonism began before the first Latter Day Saint church was established in 1830 and continues to the present day. The most vocal and strident opposition occurred during the 19th century, particularly during the Utah War of the 1850s, and in the second half of the century when the practice of polygamy in Utah was widely considered by the U.S. Republican Party as one of the "twin relics of barbarism" along with slavery. This is widely know by all Mormons and is a basic part of their history. But here is Reid who should be empathetic to the demonization and virulent discrimination of a religious group, taking sides with those who wish to discriminate.<br /><br />How does he reconcile this in his soul?seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-75646178712076589062010-07-20T19:12:00.000-07:002010-07-20T20:34:57.198-07:00We've Got to Quit Dancing to Their Sick Music<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/TEZawFmo8lI/AAAAAAAAAVc/FKnnUQSwAeY/s1600/shirley.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/TEZawFmo8lI/AAAAAAAAAVc/FKnnUQSwAeY/s200/shirley.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496180177436734034" /></a><br />Don't we all remember Bush's greatest Bushism:<br /><blockquote>"There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." </blockquote><br />This was one lesson we could have learned from Bush. But instead we are the fools. Why are we allowing a pond scum dweller like Andrew Breitbart play us like marionettes?<br /><br />He unfairly smeared and broke ACORN and now he's after Shirley Sherrod. And just like the good little puppets, Obama and the press do exactly what he wants and look guilty.<br /><br />We have got to stop this nonsense!!<br /><br />Andrew Breitbart selectively edited a clip of an African-American USDA official seeming to admit she treated a white farmer poorly out of her own racial bias while an USDA employee. It turns out that Shirley Sherrod was actually telling an anecdote of an experience she had 28 years ago to show how the issue of race often obscures the issue of class, and the fact that poor black farmers and poor white farmers had a lot in common (eventually, she helped and became close to the white farmer and his family) — but Breitbart left all of that out of the video (just as he selectively and unfairly edited his cartoonish ACORN tapes). The White House immediately insisted she resign before doing any kind of investigation and now looks like a whimp.<br /><br />I hope Shirley Sherrod sues the life out of Breitbart! But only after Obama publicly apologizes to her and reinstates her immediately!<br /><br />h/t http://www.srbwi.org/<br /><br />UPDATE: Rachel Maddow was just on and reminded me that this really the third time they have done this. I completely forgot their role in getting <a href="http://vanjones.net/">Van Jones </a>fired.<br /><br />We have got to grow a spine!seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-69296136854055124872010-06-21T14:13:00.000-07:002010-06-21T14:59:14.592-07:00How Do These Idiots Get on TV to Pontificate??Former GE CEO and Chairman Jack Welch was on <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/ns/msnbc_tv-morning_joe">Morning Joe </a>this morning demonstrating that he is senile.<br /><br />He was asked by Joe whether it was a problem that Americans don't manufacture things anymore and that the Chinese are the big manufacturers now. Welch, who oversaw a lot of this off-shoring manufacturing during his rein as master of the Universe, said some stunningly stupid things. He claimed that the Chinese only manufacture small things where we have retained the manufacturing of important things like the iPad. One of the other "experts" on Joe's panel asked "what about <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704025304575283953879199386.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopBucket">high speed rail</a>?" Welsh said that isn't the Chinese, he claims the high speed rail is in Japan. Yes, Japan has had high speed rail for year but unless you are under a rock everyone should know China has just leapfrogged over everyone with their high speed rail -- faster, safer, longer, freigh handling -- and Jack doesn't know?! China builds 1200 miles of high speed rail and has it operational this year and Welch denies it's occurring! He thinks we make the iPad?!! Is <a href="http://www.theipadguide.com/content/ipad-production-problems-samsung-joins-lg/7174625">South Korea </a>part of the USA now? Because Samsung, the manufacturer of the iPad is in South Korea. Only small things, huh? I guess Jack considers the <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_26/b4184024284469.htm">GE wind turbines </a>"small things" made in China. <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/TB_dDG7nr8I/AAAAAAAAAVU/eESCdFjQktU/s1600/wind.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 138px; height: 138px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/TB_dDG7nr8I/AAAAAAAAAVU/eESCdFjQktU/s200/wind.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485345916630577090" /></a>They are 80 meters high and made in Shenyang, China! It takes at least 6 HUGE flat bed tractor trailer trucks to move one of them from the port where we import them to the Columbia Gorge where they are being installed. GE's Global Research Center is in Shanghai and Jack Welsh doesn't know??!! <br /><br />Idiots! Scarborough should do just a little sanity test on proposed guests before booking them on his show. At a minimum they should be up on current events <strong>in their own freekin' industry!</strong>seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-52598247673282962102010-06-18T10:14:00.000-07:002010-06-18T11:19:18.596-07:00Open Letter to Bill RandallBill:<br /><br />I heard that during a campaign stop for the House in North Carolina <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/06/nc-gop-congressional-candidate.html?wprss=44">you said that "there was some sort of collusion" between BP and the government </a>that allowed the Gulf Coast oil spill to happen. <br /><br />You asserted that the government let BP get away with breaking offshore drilling regulations, which then led to the oil spill fiasco: <br /><br /><blockquote>"I don't know how or why, but in that situation, if you have someone from a company proposing to violate the safety process and the government signing off on it, excuse me, maybe they wanted it to leak." <br /><br />You acknowledged that your theory is "purely speculative and not based on any fact," but you insisted that there might be a "cover up going on."</blockquote><br />I think you are right. But I think you have the parties involved confused. What possible motivation would BP have to participate is such a scheme with the government? Since the so called 'accident" had to be set in place during the Bush administration when they selected just the right place to destroy, how did they get the Obama administration to agree to allow it to trigger? No, these participants don't make sense. <br /><br />But there is a conspiracy that does make sense and is already working. I think there is evidence that there is collusion between the various oil companies. For example, during the testimony before the Senate hearing this week it was disclosed that the <a href="http://www.read-news.info/general/oil-execs-grilled-on-copycat-emergency-plans/">Gulf of Mexico response plans </a>for ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Shell are virtually identical to BP’s and just as deficient. It is well known that<a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=E01"><blockquote>they share lobbying companies and associations and all have been very generous to many of the same candidates.</blockquote></a><br /><br />But why? Well, if the Gulf of Mexico is made into a dead zone and fishing and tourism is killed off completely then the only industries and jobs available to border states will be in the oil industry. They will bow to the oil companies and give them any franchise they want to drill, baby drill. It could be a free-for-all! If the Gulf is dead, what more harm could be done?<br /><br />We are already seeing evidence that pressure for this is being pushed. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is critical on the moratorium on new drilling. <a href="http://www.pbs.org/nbr/site/onair/transcripts/governor_haley_barbour_of_mississippi_100617/">He said</a>:<br /><blockquote>. . . we've lost off shore jobs because we have a lot of them. But I'm going to tell you, my concern is bigger than that. My concern is because we produce 30 percent of all the oil in the United States in the Gulf of Mexico and that more than 80 percent of that is from deepwater drilling, what you're talking about is reducing American oil production by about a fourth. That's the opposite of what we need. We need more American energy.</blockquote><br />Congressional representatives from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi are appealing to the Obama administration to shorten the six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf, noting the damage that will be done to regional economies dependent on the oil and gas industry. <a href="http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/economy-and-business/Experts-Drilling-Moratorium-May-Do-More-Economic-Damage-Than-Oil-Spill-96524924.html">Louisiana's governor, Bobby Jindal</a>, has described the moratorium as a self-inflicted wound that will make it even harder for his state to recover. Louisiana's two senators, one a Republican and one a Democrat, have also argued against the length of the moratorium.<br /><br />I think you are thinking too small. There is a conspiracy but it's not between Obama and BP. It's ALL the oil companies conspiring to create conditions for a drilling free-for-all and buying politicians to implement it. You should conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. In fact you might want to withdraw from your Congressional race so you can devote full time to this investigation.<br /><br />Good luck! I'm sure you will be very successful in your investigations. Go get em!! You'll be our hero!seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-43452911844568019782010-06-10T09:45:00.000-07:002010-06-10T10:31:58.395-07:00Volunteers Bail out BP<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/TBEZ46LNn5I/AAAAAAAAAVM/TlgX0OeH66g/s1600/cleaning-oil-spill-2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 136px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/TBEZ46LNn5I/AAAAAAAAAVM/TlgX0OeH66g/s200/cleaning-oil-spill-2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481190686966259602" /></a><br />I volunteer in my community and I'm a big believer in volunteering but in the case of the aggregious actions by BP, no American should do volunteer work to clean up for them. BP should be required to pay everyone a prevailing wage for sopping up shorelines, picking up and cleaning wild life, and all the other jobs currently being done by volunteers. And BP should cover every person who works on this clean up with medical coverage in case they get sick handling their mess. This is not a time for volunteers -- god bless them -- to be bailing out an irresponsible corporate giant but instead they need to be compensated by the offender and protected. Let's not have another situation like the <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/11/eight_years_after_9_11_ground">9-11 responders</a> who were forgotten when they got sick from being at ground zero.<br /><br />Another outrage that is little reported is how the government is cooperating with BP on the extent of the damage this gusher has caused and is causing. Reporter Mac McClelland reported for <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/environment/the-oil-reaches-grand-isle/1299/">Need to Know </a>from Grand Isle, La. where she was refused entry to a publically owned beach by local law enforcement. He told her she had to get a pass from BP's public information office if she wanted to go to a public beach. WTF!!seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-34683476525763319202010-05-29T20:37:00.000-07:002010-05-29T20:52:00.223-07:00Deja Vu All Over Again<a href="http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/coast-guard-grounds-ships-involved-oil-cle">BP's insistence that the air is safe </a>to breathe and workers don't need protection seems to be a repeat of the Administration assuring us that the air at the World Trade Center was <a href="http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/36023/">safe after 9-11</a>. The only difference seems to be that it took longer for the symptoms to show up on the 9-11 workers than it is for the workers on the oil gush cleanup.<br /><br />When are we ever going to choose to be more concerned about the safety of people over corporate profits?seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-5005928979889451842010-05-28T08:06:00.000-07:002010-05-28T08:16:44.433-07:00Conservatives Divide<a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/05/noonan-unhinged.html">Andrew Sullivan </a>tore into <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704269204575270950789108846.html">Peggy Noonan </a>this morning. How come a conservative musters more passion supporting Obama than Democrats?<br /><br />Here's some of his best quips:<br /><blockquote>. . . It heralds nothing less than the end of the Obama presidency just a year and a half in:<br /><blockquote><em>The disaster in the Gulf may well spell the political end of the president and his administration </em>...</blockquote><br />Seriously? Her evidence for this? She claims the Democrats don't love him. The latest poll of polls shows over 80 percent support. She claims that he is "weakened, polarizing and lacking broad public support." Really? With unemployment at near record highs after a deep recession, Obama's approval ratings are stuck just below 50 percent - and have been remarkably stable for months. At this point in his presidency, Obama is about five points more popular than Reagan, who was poised to drop to 37 percent approval by January of 1983. Clinton was lower than Obama in June 1994. In today's polarized climate and awful economy, Obama is remarkably resilient. He has a favorable rating over 52 percent, and his unfavorable rating is at a six month low of 39 percent. This is Obama's political end?<br /><br />The premise of Noonan's moronic column is that the federal government, especially the president, should be capable of ending an oil-pipe rupture owned and operated by private companies, using technology that only deep-sea oil companies deploy or understand. And if such a technical issue is not resolved by government immediately, it reveals paralyzing presidential weakness and the failure of an entire branch of political philosophy. Again: seriously? It's Obama's fault that under Bush and Cheney, government regulation of oil exploration was so poor and corrupt, corner cutting appears to have been routine? And this, Peggy, is what governments do, even when run by crazy-ass liberals. Governments do not dig for oil; they merely regulate those who dig for oil. That the government failed to do so under the previous administration does not seem to me to be proof that this administration has failed.<br /><br />What I have also learned these past few years is that the right seeks merely a narrative to lead themselves out of the hole they dug for all of us. Reality be damned. The job of the rest of us is to insist that reality matters and that these fools be exposed.</blockquote><br /><br />Come on, Democrats! Let's show a little support and passion. We are in the majority, for GAWDS sake!seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-22580586812168828452010-05-11T13:54:00.000-07:002010-05-11T14:45:01.051-07:00Kagan Should Not Respond<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/S-nJUBvqIII/AAAAAAAAAU8/e5yri6iX5_g/s1600/contender.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 110px; height: 110px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/S-nJUBvqIII/AAAAAAAAAU8/e5yri6iX5_g/s200/contender.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470124568321073282" /></a><br />It appears that the <a href="http://trueslant.com/charlesjohnson/2010/05/11/kagan-partisan-or-pragmatist/">extreme</a> <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=63222&type=gaylesbian">right</a> is pushing the Republithugs to <a href="http://voices.kansascity.com/node/8941">question Kagan's </a>sexuality.<br /><br />I say she should pull a Laine Hanson and refuse to answer the question if they have the balls to ask it. Laine Hanson is a character from the 2000 movie, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0208874/">The Contender</a>. Joan Allen plays Laine. <blockquote>Laine Hanson, a senator who is nominated to become Vice President following the death of the previous office holder. During the confirmation process, Laine is the victim of a vicious attack on her personal life in which stories of sexual deviancy are spread. She is torn as to whether she should fight back, or stick to her high principles and refuse to comment on the allegations. Although it isn't easy, she sticks to her guns, and in the end she is rewarded for it. </blockquote><br />I know life isn't the movies and movies are not life but Laine Hanson's reasons for not responding are valid -- if she responded to the questions it meant that the questions were appropriate. I don't care whether Elena Kagan is gay or not but I do deeply care that some people think it is an appropriate criteria to judge whether she can perform as Associate Justice. <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/S-nJoVNMthI/AAAAAAAAAVE/87ZvbTRwgX0/s1600/roberts.bmp"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 182px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/S-nJoVNMthI/AAAAAAAAAVE/87ZvbTRwgX0/s200/roberts.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470124917142631954" /></a>I searched the record of the <a href="http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/senate/judiciary/sh101-1263/browse.html">David Souter hearings </a>and despite his being a life long bachelor no one ever asked him about his sexuality. Roberts married late in life and had some strange views about women and one could read things about this picture. <a href="http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/senate/judiciary/sh109-158/browse.html">But no one ever asked him about his sexuality</a>.<br /><br />If Kagan addresses this subject it will become the litmus test forever in the future. She should pull a Laine and refuse. It is irrelevant and inappropriate to ask.<br /><br />UPDATE: No matter how many times <a href="http://www.nndb.com/people/205/000024133/">Condoleeza Rice </a>answered questions from the Senate and Congress, no one ever asked her about her loan partner, business associate, home co-owner, friend. <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article2983771.ece">It wasn't relevant</a>.seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-85767235518983709912010-05-09T11:43:00.001-07:002010-05-09T12:00:24.907-07:00Thursday's Stock Market Dive<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/S-cCkaLYXoI/AAAAAAAAAU0/XLQqtv3IpYw/s1600/stock.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 116px; height: 116px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nv-hoWIW7R0/S-cCkaLYXoI/AAAAAAAAAU0/XLQqtv3IpYw/s200/stock.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469343096990359170" /></a> Thursday the stock market nose dived almost 1000 points in 15 minutes. The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/business/09trading.html?src=mv">NY Times </a>says <blockquote>President Obama and lawmakers called for action, and regulators at agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission promised to deliver, even as they struggled to understand the origins and particulars of Thursday’s chaos. <br /><br />The gist of the solution, according to regulators, traders and academics is that markets need uniform rules for intervening when a stock goes into free fall.</blockquote><br />I've heard excuses that it was "<a href="http://www.3news.co.nz/Fat-finger-causes-biggest-fall-in-Wall-Street-history/tabid/421/articleID/154698/Default.aspx">fat finger syndrome</a>", the <a href="http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978220449">Greek riots</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gI0dJX0tGGVl4HuE-eohpSBxG_YwD9FINBBG0">computerized trading</a>, but what I never hear about is computer hacking.<br /><br />As Amy Poehler said on Saturday Night Live Last Night: "You mean a trader can trade a billion shares without manager oversight, while if I try to use a $50 bill to pay for a Starbucks it becomes a 4 person transaction -- REALLY?" <br /><br />My hope is that SOMEONE is investigating whether this was due to hacking but they just aren't talking about it until they can set up safeguards to prevent it from happening again. <br /><br />Sometimes I am a Pollyanna and live in my own happy safe world.seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617315.post-33856993573260704962010-05-06T14:47:00.000-07:002010-05-07T06:50:13.110-07:00Palin Inserts Foot in Mouth<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/27/california-senate-2010-el_n_516062.html">Sarah Palin </a>announced today:<blockquote>I’d like to tell you about a Commonsense Conservative running for office in California this year. She grew up in a modest home with a school teacher dad, worked her way through several colleges, and then entered an arena where few women had tread. Through a combination of hard work, perseverance, and common sense, she proved the naysayers wrong to reach the top of her field, where she led with distinction – facing hard truths, making tough decisions, and showing real leadership through a rocky transition period. Where others had failed, her company had weathered the storm and settled on a stronger new foundation.<br /><br />Her name is Carly Fiorina, and I’m proud to endorse her for U.S. Senate.</blockquote><br />I've made no secret as to my feelings about <a href="http://seajane.blogspot.com/search/label/Fiorina">Fiorina</a>. Maybe I shouldn't be surprized that Sister Sarah would think Carly was impressive. ARGH!<br /><br />BUT her Facebook followers turned on Palin. Seems that Carly isn't Tea Bag worthy. Oops! Fiorina is not Bat Shit crazy enough for them. Could Sister Sarah be losing touch with her adoring fans??seajanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13049460986627250352noreply@blogger.com0