Armor To Collect Fines

Wisconsin Sheriff Sends Military Armored Vehicle To Collect Fines From 75-year-old Man | Crooks and Liars:

A 75-year-old Wisconsin man is considering filing a federal civil rights lawsuit after officials in Marathon County sent an armored military to collect fines that resulted from a property dispute...

No Escape From NY

Quarantined nurse knocks Ebola policy - CNN.com:

Kaci Hickox, a nurse placed under mandatory quarantine in New Jersey, went on CNN on Sunday and criticized the "knee-jerk reaction by politicians" to Ebola, saying "to quarantine someone without a better plan in place, without more forethought, is just preposterous."

Hickox, an epidemiologist who was working to help treat Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, has tested negative twice for Ebola and does not have symptoms, she said...

Ebola Freak Out Boogey

The Rude Pundit: The Rude Pundit's Chicken Soup for the Ebola'd Soul:

...They're not homogenous down there. There's a lot of people in the South just like the Rude Pundit's friends. And we're not homogenous up here. We are filthy with religion, too.

But here's the difference, the reason that we're not freaking out. Our lawmakers, for the most part, know that science, not Jesus, shows us we shouldn't freak out. The people, for the most part, think that, too (and, besides, it's a helluva lot easier to go about your daily routine than change it up). So the pressure will be on us to panic. People who profit from such things will attempt to assure that it does. And maybe you will be able to wipe the smirk off our smug faces as we board our windows after another half dozen cases...

I have neither seen, nor heard, nor read of anyone "down" here freaking out. It's been decades since anyone tried to "Jesus" me and I've never heard Christian music played in a public space, though that would be a break from the never ending goo of elevator music.

On The Latest Shooting

UNARMED Hero Teacher Crushes NRA Talking Points, Courageously Stops WA School Shooter (Video) - Firebrand Progressives:

...The shooting could have been much worse, as Fryberg was reportedly reloading his “rapid fire” pistol and was poised to shoot a few more people. But during the time he paused to reload, a courageous teacher approached Fryberg and put a stop to it.

The teacher, who was initially described as being a “lunch lady” but was later identified as first year social studies instructor Megan Silberberger, grabbed Fryberg’s arms while he was reloading. And then the gun went off, striking and killing Fryberg. It is unclear if he intentionally shot himself or if the shot was a result of Silberberger’s intervention. But at any rate, the tragedy was over, and this brave teacher surely prevented it from being a bigger tragedy...

Mitch The Clot

George Will, master troll: Why his new screed about dignity and the GOP cannot be serious - Salon.com:

...Will is correct about how the Founders designed the Senate: to be the forger of consensus, to cool the majoritarian impulses of the House. There are numerous veto points blocking a bill’s passage from drafting to a final vote on the floor. In order to make this sort of thing work, though, senators have to work in good faith; the minority party won’t abuse those veto points. It will only draw on them in extreme circumstances. Mitch McConnell is an incredibly consequential figure in Senate history already: He exposed the flaws in the Senate’s design. He recognized that a minority party could act in bad faith and get away with it. There is no one more to blame for the breakdown of the Senate than Obama-era Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

McConnell made a decision at the very beginning of the Obama presidency that he, and his conference, would filibuster every significant piece of legislation that the Obama administration proposed, before even hearing out the merits. He and his party would then criticize the president for refusing to work with Republicans. This, in turn, would give the administration a reputation for being partisan and ineffective. This plan was as cynical as it gets, was in purely bad faith, and it worked...

He;s Still Dead-- They're Still Free

Cops' Killing of Homeless Preacher to Cost Denver $4.6 Million | The Smirking Chimp:

Surveillance video shows the large, open booking room of Denver’s brand new Downtown Detention Center, shortly after 3:30 a.m. on July 9, 2010. It shows Denver County sheriff’s deputies grabbing and killing an unarmed, shoeless black man in a public place for no good reason. More than four years later, an all-white, seven-member federal jury has now delivered a verdict against the cops and the city of Denver. On October 14, the jury found that the cops had acted with “evil motive” toward Rev. Marvin Booker, and the city is ordered to pay $4.6 million to the victim’s family...

SC GOP Crook Goes Down

South Carolina house speaker pleads guilty in ethics case, to resign | Reuters:

South Carolina House of Representatives Speaker Bobby Harrell pleaded guilty on Thursday to criminal ethics charges and agreed to immediately resign from the legislature.

Harrell, a Republican who became speaker in 2005, pleaded guilty to six counts that included using campaign funds for personal expenses, misconduct in office and false reporting, in a case that has laid low a key figure in the state Republican Party...

Today In GOP Sensitivity

And Up From The Ground Come A'Bubblin' Crude - Esquire:

I have to say that Wasilla, Alaska has to be the single greatest place on earth right now. It seems that Congressman Don Young came by to give the young folks a talk about suicide. Things did not go quite as planned, Wasilla water apparently coming from a deep underground reservoir of pure, crystal-clear crazy...

Will Global Warming Create A 51st State?

South Miami commissioners propose seceding from Florida - CNN.com:

Miami-area lawmakers are proposing adding a 51st star to the American flag.

City of South Miami commissioners have approved a resolution that calls for splitting Florida in half. The resolution outlines a new state, made up of 24 counties in the southern part of the peninsula...

Amendment Clash

1st v 2nd Amendment: Anti-gun activist outs concealed-carry license owner with lawn sign — RT USA:

A difference of opinions between a lawful gun owner and a concerned neighbor has caused a commotion in Rochester, Minnesota over the rights protected by the First and Second Amendments to the United States Constitution.

The debate at hand involves a local woman’s recent decision to post a sign on the front lawn of her Rochester home announcing to passersby that an area man, Matthew Halleck, carries a concealed handgun on him every day when he walks his two daughters past her property on his way towards Harriet Bishop Elementary School...

Demographic Change In Iowa

With Farms Fading and Urban Might Rising, Power Shifts in Iowa - NYTimes.com:

...Those changes have turned Iowa’s older, Republican precincts even redder and its younger, Democratic districts even bluer, while giving rise to suburbs whose politics can be harder to categorize — a mixture of millennial generation religious conservatives, baby boomer libertarians and Generation X liberals...

Ebola Vaccine Nuts

Here's Some Stupid For Lunch - Esquire

Joon Noel · Top Commenter

When these holier-than-thous start adopting multiple unwanted, uncared for and especially, unwanted disabled and mentally retarded children with Duggarish enthusiasm, I'll be more inclined to listen to their whining about saving snowflakes and zygotes. There are hundreds of thousands of living, grown, walking around children needing saving right this minute. How many have opened their homes and hearts to them? It's just so much easier to adopt a cardboard sign.

GOP Top Ten Stupids

10 Of The Most Outrageous And Idiotic Statements By GOP Hopefuls - Liberals Unite | Liberals Unite:

 1) “Well what I want them to know is just like, John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That’s the kind of spirit that I have, too.” —Michele Bachmann, June 2011, getting her John Waynes mixed up during an interview after launching her presidential campaign in Waterloo, Iowa, where she grew up. The beloved movie star John Wayne she was referring to was born in Winterset, Iowa, three hours away. The John Wayne that Waterloo was home to is notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy...

In case you've forgotten why you should be voting.

Trolls Beware

Internet Trolls Could Get Two Years in Jail : Discovery News:

People found guilty of Internet "trolling" in Britain could be jailed for up to two years under government proposals outlined on Sunday, following a number of high-profile case of abuse on Twitter...

A Real American Hero

Captain America - Esquire:

...And then, when confronted by Robinson with this covert campaign of decency and integrity, this is how Moulton explained it.

In the interview, Moulton asked that the Globe not describe him as a hero. "Look,'' he said, "we served our country, and we served the guys next to us. And it's not something to brag about.' The greatest honor, he said, his voice choked with emotion, had nothing to do with the medals. "The greatest honor of my life was to lead these men in my platoon, even though it was a war that I and they disagreed with."

Nobody who reads this blog can be unclear about where I stand on how I hope the midterms play out. But I can honestly say that there's only one person for whom I am shamelessly rooting. That person is Seth Moulton and, if the veterans of our 21st century wars are looking for their own JFK, be that John F. Kennedy or John Forbes Kerry, I think they've found him...

Have We Become A Nation Of Cowards?

In U.S., Fear of Ebola Closes Schools and Shapes Politics - NYTimes.com:

...A crowd of parents last week pulled their children out of a Mississippi middle school after learning that its principal had traveled to Zambia, an African nation untouched by the disease...

Comment Of The Day: Phony Patriot Edition

A Texas Border Militiaman Reconsiders the Mission

blakektn  David 9 hours ago

I spent 24 years in the US Army, all of it in combat arms. I'm entitled to wear the Combat Infantryman's Badge on appropriate occasions. Most of the guys in these militia organizations seem to be people who never had what it takes to volunteer for military service where they might actually have to put their lives on line for the nation. Doing this sort of crap makes them feel all manly and important, but, as the article points out, what they are mostly doing is chasing down people who are tired, hurting and dehydrated, and then abusing them once they catch them. We used to have a term for people who beat up on people who can't fight back, and it wasn't a nice term at all. 

You will have noticed, haven't you, that none of these militias are offering to go over to the Middle East and help the Kurds fight ISIS? Says a lot, right there.

NRA & Ebola

Howard Dean Slams Rick Perry As Know Nothing 'Ignoramus' On Ebola | Crooks and Liars:

...HOWARD DEAN: I think it's fine. He's a manager. He's not a doctor. Look, the Republicans just slay me. They are just so ridiculous. So they had an Ebola czar. His name is Vivek Murthy. He's President Obama's nominee for Surgeon General which the Republicans have been stalling at the request of the National Rifle Association since February. So, the Republican's idea of how to practice medicine is to listen to the National Rifle Association. I discount everything they say, they know nothing. They're not interested in health; they're interested in politics. We've got to manage this thing. I think Klaine is a good manager...

Ginsburg Gets Real

Justice Ginsburg sees what motivates Texas' voter ID law: racism - LA Times:

As one might expect, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had no difficulty putting her finger on the point of Texas' voter ID law: it's openly racist...

Muslims In India

Why India’s Muslims Haven’t Radicalized - NYTimes.com:

...Back in 2009, the New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman reported on a growing trend among Indian Muslims wherein community members refused to bury the bodies of suicide bombers. “That’s why India’s Muslims, who are the second-largest Muslim community in the world after Indonesia’s, and the one with the deepest democratic tradition, do a great service to Islam by delegitimizing suicide-murderers by refusing to bury their bodies. It won’t stop this trend overnight, but it can help over time,” he wrote.

“The fact that Indian Muslims have stood up in this way is surely due, in part, to the fact that they live in, are the product of and feel empowered by a democratic and pluralistic society,” Mr. Friedman explained. “They are not intimidated by extremist religious leaders and are not afraid to speak out against religious extremism in their midst. It is why so few, if any, Indian Muslims are known to have joined Al Qaeda...”

Inequality Number One

Americans consider inequality world’s greatest danger | Making Sen$e | PBS NewsHour:

Nuclear weapons. Ethnic conflict. Global warming. Americans have a lot to be worried about these days. But what do they see as the biggest threat to the world? Inequality.

Americans aren’t alone. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, Europeans, too, rank inequality as the top threat. People in the Middle East, meanwhile, are most concerned about religious and ethnic hatreds, while Asians worry about pollution and the environment. For Latin Americans, nuclear weapons pose the greatest global threat, and for people in African nations, it’s AIDS and other diseases. Note that the survey was conducted between March 17 and June 5 — before either ISIS or Ebola had become big international stories...

Good News In WI

Scott Walker fighting for his political life as voters reject his callous policies - Salon.com:

Less than three weeks before voters head to the polls, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker finds himself in a struggle for political survival, with a new survey from the state’s most respected pollster finding that his lead over Democratic challenger Mary Burke has vanished.

The poll, from Marquette University Law School, shows a dead heat between Walker and Burke, with each candidate garnering 47 percent among likely voters. Two weeks ago, Marquette’s survey had given Walker a five-point lead. RealClearPolitics’ polling average now gives Walker just a 0.4 point edge over Burke...

A Touch Of FL Justice

Michael Dunn gets life in prison for killing teenager over loud music - CSMonitor.com:

A man convicted of first-degree murder for fatally shooting a teenager in an argument over loud music outside a Florida convenience store was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole...

The Goating Of Todd

Dem rallies for Grimes: McConnell can’t win with ‘words that come out of Chuck Todd’s goatee’:

...“And what the national folks haven’t seemed to catch on to is this, this election is not going to be won by some party hack or words that come out of Chuck Todd’s goatee!” Conway exclaimed. “It’s going to be won by you on the ground, and your hearts and minds, and Allison’s hard work!”...

Today In Ebola Nuttiness

Conservative Activist Klayman: Obama Must Be 'Taken Alive' For Inflicting Ebola On White Americans | Firebrand Progressives:

The furor over the Ebola “outbreak”, the one that has affected a massive 3 people in the United States, has really exposed us for how collectively stupid we are. The media has most of us freaked out with their wall to wall coverage of the virus, to the point where many of us are sitting on the edge of our couches, scared that the next person who contracts Ebola just might be our next door neighbor. It’s like we’re all itching to go into panic mode. Maybe we’re just looking for an excuse to not go to work the next day, or maybe we’re all subconsciously hoping for a complete breakdown in society that many of us are not happy with....

Any Important Voice Against Police Militarism

WATCH: “My Son-In-Law Was Killed By The SWAT Team I Founded” Former Sheriff Turned Activist, Speaks Out:

William “Dub” Lawrence is a former city police officer, former US Marine, and former Sheriff of Davis County who has awaken to the reality of Police State USA. Sadly this awakening was sparked by the murder of his son-in-law by a SWAT team that he created.

In September 2008, he watched helplessly as the same SWAT team he helped create over 30 years earlier shot and killed Brian Wood, his 36-year-old son-in-law...

There is a contingent who say the SIL deserved shooting but that's another story.

PC Stupidity

Thanks, Duke English Department, for coming up with this "politically correct" nonsense. Liberals need to get away from this kind of energy-sucking crap and focus on important issues like income disparity. (A heavier teaching load for university faculty would have prevented pcism from taking hold.)



Despite Critics, Army Helicopters Named After Indian Tribes Are Not Racist - Investors.com:

Political Correctness: Despite the latest example of word-use insanity, naming a helicopter after the Indian nation that handed the U.S. Army one of its most ignominious defeats is a sign of respect, not racism...

Sermon Hysteria

No, The City Of Houston Isn't Bullying Anti-Gay Pastors - This Is Basic Lawyering | Blog | Media Matters for America:

...But the facts of the case - and normal legal procedure -- don't support right-wing claims of religious persecution:

The Subpoenas Are In Response To A Lawsuit Filed By HERO's Opponents. The subpoenas are part of the discovery phase of a lawsuit filed by HERO's opponents after they unsuccessfully tried to gather signatures to repeal the ordinance. The lawsuit claims that the City Attorney "wrongly determined that they had not gathered enough valid signatures" to qualify for a vote to repeal HERO. As one conservative commentator noted: "This is basic court procedure. But the headlines make it sound like a surprise attack by leftists advancing their agenda on unsuspecting Christians..."

Lying Liars Lying About Campaign Spending

Fox News Ignores "Dark Money" To Pretend Democrats Are Destroying Republicans In Election Spending | Blog | Media Matters for America: .

...But Fox News is trying to absolve Republicans by dismissing dark money and pretending it is not, as the Center for Responsive Politics says, "still dominated by conservative organizations."

As the amount of conservative-leaning dark money is expected to double between now and the election, this distinction could make a huge difference. Despite Fox News' protests, the Koch brothers and others who oppose campaign finance transparency are still very much one of the big stories of 2014...

Crazy In NC: Profitizing Children Edition

Charter School Power Broker Turns Public Education Into Private Profits - ProPublica:

...In that regard, Mitchell, 74, appears to be thriving. Every year, millions of public education dollars flow through Mitchell's chain of four nonprofit charter schools to for-profit companies he controls.
How Public Dollars for Charters Flow to For-Profit Companies

Over six years, Mitchell's two companies have taken in close to $20 million in fees and rent — some of the schools' biggest expenses. That's from audited financial statements for just two schools. Mitchell has recently opened two more.

The schools buy or lease nearly everything from companies owned by Mitchell. Their desks. Their computers. The training they provide to teachers. Most of the land and buildings. Unlike with traditional school districts, at Mitchell's charter schools there's no competitive bidding. No evidence of haggling over rent or contracts...

To Err is GoodHair (ebolaebolaebola)

Why Is Texas Gov. Rick Perry Hiding From The Ebola Virus In His State? | Crooks and Liars:

...OMG, say it ain't so? He left his home state to run to Europe for a conference while an infectious disease is on the loose there? (That's what Fox News would have you believe anyway) Where's those leadership skills that he's been telling us about? Doesn't the governor have a duty to protect his people and take an active role in a situation like this?...

Union Truths And Ebola

Dallas Nurses Accuse Hospital of Sloppy Ebola Protocols - ABC News:

Co-workers of a Dallas nurse who contracted Ebola from a sick patient say they worked for days without proper protective gear and that the hospital’s Ebola protocols and procedures were unclear and inadequate, leaving workers and hospital systems prone to contamination, according to a statement by the largest U.S. nurses’ union.

The statement, which was provided by National Nurses United on behalf of several registered nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, details hospital procedures after Thomas Eric Duncan arrived at the hospital. The nurses are not represented by the union, and the group declined to reveal the nurses’ identities...

Fear Mongering Winning

Republicans Are Pressing the ISIS Fear Button Hard for Midterm Votes - The Daily Beast:

Jihadis pouring across the border. Obama powerless to respond to the chaos. Democrats out to lunch. That’s the picture GOP campaigns and political groups are painting—and it’s working...

What's Wrong With Congress

This article is a long, thorough and enlightening examination of Congressional dysfunction. Our Lives are Hell - Esquire

Con Icon Fries Voter ID

Reagan-Appointed Federal Judge Who Approved First Photo ID Law in 2008 Writes Devastating Dissent AGAINST Photo ID Voting Restrictions | The BRAD BLOG:

If you read just one top-to-bottom dismantling of every supposed premise in support of disenfranchising Photo ID voting restrictions laws in your lifetime, let it be this one [PDF]!...

Bad Advice For Dems

How to save the Democratic Party from milquetoast sellouts - The Week:

...That brings us to policy, which is where Marshall really goes off the rails. Again he admits that Republicans have the worst of it, with their vicious austerity budgets and their magic asterisks. But he insists that Democrats are just as bad because they have built up progressive advocacy groups, think tanks, and so forth. Lefty organizations both new and old, he moans, are mobilizing against self-evidently wonderful things like "modernizing entitlements" (read: cutting Social Security and Medicare), free trade agreements, and fracking! We should be focusing instead on getting some high growth, the "best antidote to inequality" since it ensures "shared prosperity..."

Gov. GoodHair Loses One

Supreme Court blocks Texas abortion restrictions | Reuters:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked certain restrictions on abortion contained in a Texas state law that abortion rights groups said would have forced all but a handful of clinics to shut down in the state of 26 million people...

Holy Rollin' The Economy

How Righteousness Killed the World Economy - NYTimes.com:

...Why are debtors receiving so little relief? As I said, it’s about righteousness — the sense that any kind of debt forgiveness would involve rewarding bad behavior. In America, the famous Rick Santelli rant that gave birth to the Tea Party wasn’t about taxes or spending — it was a furious denunciation of proposals to help troubled homeowners. In Europe, austerity policies have been driven less by economic analysis than by Germany’s moral indignation over the notion that irresponsible borrowers might not face the full consequences of their actions...

...But it has been very hard to get either the policy elite or the public to understand that sometimes debt relief is in everyone’s interest. Instead, the response to poor economic performance has essentially been that the beatings will continue until morale improves...

Support Daily Puma's Debt Neutrality Petition!

If "They" Fill Heaven, I'll Stay Here

Christian right’s vile PR sham: Why their bizarre films are backfiring on them - Salon.com:

...“We don’t believe that billions of people are going to be tortured in hell,” David told me recently. His is a mature faith, based on reason, self examination and even doubt. He seems as exasperated with the religious right as I am. For me they are a never-ending source of essay fodder but for my father in law, they have hijacked and twisted his deepest beliefs. Religion and non-religion can only live together if we acknowledge each other’s fundamental humanity and right to exist. Even though I’m an atheist, I can see a place in society for faith communities built on kindness and mutual understanding. This kind of community is not the face of American Christianity nor do you ever see this message in any Christian film.

The people who create and consume Christian film are neither mature nor reflective. They are at their core superstitious, afraid and tribal. They self-identify overwhelmingly Republican and shout about “moochers” while vilifying the poor. They violate the teachings and very essence of their own “savior” while deriving almost sexual pleasure from the fictional suffering of atheists, Muslims, Buddhists, Wiccans, Hindus, and even liberal Christians. To top it all off, the stories they tell themselves are borderline psychotic...

More Murdering Cops

Colorado family stunned: Cop breaks in, fatally shoots man in back, and ‘no one knows why’:

Sara Lindenmuth told KRDO that a Rocky Ford police officer forced down the door to their home sometime after her brother-in-law, 27-year-old Jack Jacquez, came home around 2 a.m. on Sunday morning.

She recalled that the two men started shouting at each other...

Texas Voter Suppression Blocked

Federal Court Blocks Texas Voter ID Law, Calling It A 'Poll Tax':

A federal judge in Texas struck down the state’s voter ID law on Thursday, calling it an “unconstitutional poll tax” intended to discriminate against Hispanic and African-American citizens that creates “an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote.”

In a 147-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos, an appointee of President Barack Obama confirmed to the bench in 2011, ruled that the law passed by Texas legislators and signed by Gov. Rick Perry (R) took an “unorthodox” approach they knew would have a disparate impact on minority voters. The law requires voters to produce government-issued identification before casting a ballot...

GOP Is Ebola Friendly

The right’s scary Ebola lesson: How anti-government mania is harming America - Salon.com:

If not for serial budget cuts to the National Institutes of Health, we would probably have an Ebola vaccine and we would certainly have better treatment, NIH director Dr. Francis Collins tells the Huffington Post’s Sam Stein. This comes on the heels of reporting that the Centers for Disease Control’s prevention budget has been cut by half since 2006, and new revelations about how botched protocols at the Dallas hospital that turned away Thomas Eric Duncan and then failed to treat him effectively also led to the infection of one of Duncan’s caregivers...

The Double Standard In The Media

The Kentucky Senate Race And The Media's Double Standard For Disqualifying Candidates | Blog | Media Matters for America:

...Recall that query ("Is she ever going to answer a tough question on anything?"), and the way Todd described it as a disqualifying trait for a Senate candidate. Because the day before the Grimes interview, McConnell called into Kentucky Sports Radio to talk with host Matt Jones. Days earlier, the popular host had interviewed Grimes with the understanding the McConnell campaign had also agreed to an interview. But after Jones grilled Grimes on the air, McConnell's campaign refused to answer Jones' emails and phone calls with regards to finalizing an appearance.

After days of on-air pleas, McConnell, without advance notice, finally called into the show last Wednesday and spoke with Jones for 14 minutes. Among the actual topics covered (in the place of optics analysis) were climate change and gay marriage. McConnell basically refused to answer questions about either:...

Flogging The Teahadists

Wouldn't let me post a sample without obtaining a license. WTH?  You'd think a site would be tickled to let someone copy a few lines but I guess they've been infected by AP.



A Retired Navy Officer Rips Tea Party Terrorist Behind ‘Reward for Capture of Obama’ Facebook Page | Americans Against the Tea Party

I Blame UFOs

After-dark clown sightings trouble California city | Nation & World | The Seattle Times:

People dressed as clowns are causing a stir in California's San Joaquin Valley.

The latest after-dark sighting came Saturday, when police in Bakersfield responded around 8 p.m. to a report of a clown holding a firearm...

Why There Are Liberal Professors

Fox News Disparages Critical Thinkers From Harvard For Thinking Critically | Crooks and Liars:

But the final objective of this pointless conversation, where the intellectual is mocked and disregarded, is to find the real culprits, the bad guys. It is none other than who is teaching them. 90% of all professors (who usually possess a Masters Degree or PhD) lean liberal. Since the people who are educated, critical-thinkers, believe in a more pro-analytic, scientific and fact-based liberal way of thinking, they must be wrong. The more the Fox-Go-USA-cheer leading squad mocks and laughs at these silly Ivy Leaguers, the better they make themselves feel about the xenophobic, narrow-minded bigots they really are. It's the Fox way: put down those who threaten you in a pathetic attempt to lift yourself up...

Dutch Retirement

No Smoke, No Mirrors: The Dutch Pension Plan - NYTimes.com:

Imagine a place where pensions were not an ever-deepening quagmire, where the numbers told the whole story and where workers could count on a decent retirement.

Imagine a place where regulators existed to make sure everyone followed the rules.

That place might just be the Netherlands. And it could provide an example for America’s troubled cities, or for states like Illinois and New Jersey that have promised more in pension benefits than they can deliver...

On Police Violence

How Much Does Police Brutality Cost Taxpayers?:

...If you aren’t outraged by these injustices already, chances are there isn’t much else that’s going to set you over the edge, short of a massacre of children or an accidental no-knock raid on your home that kills your own dog or maims your own child.

If you cannot be bothered to care about the physical, emotional, and inhumane trauma inflicted upon your fellow citizens, maybe you will find motivation to care in the cold, calculable numbers. Not of lost life, but that police departments inflict upon the taxpayer–not in human dignity, abuse or surrender of freedom–but in dollars...

Deficit Fall Continues

Secret Deficit Lovers - NYTimes.com:

What if they balanced the budget and nobody knew or cared?

O.K., the federal budget hasn’t actually been balanced. But the Congressional Budget Office has tallied up the totals for fiscal 2014, which ran through the end of September, and reports that the deficit plunge of the past several years continues. You still hear politicians ranting about “trillion dollar deficits,” but last year’s deficit was less than half-a-trillion dollars — or, a more meaningful number, just 2.8 percent of G.D.P. — and it’s still falling...

Guardrail Killers

Guardrail Company Accused of Deadly Safety Cover-Up, Fraud - ABC News:

The company that makes many of the safety guardrails found next to highways across the country will defend itself in court next week against accusations of a massive cover-up and fraud against the U.S. government that the company’s accuser says is linked to dozens of gruesome injuries and deaths.

Jury selection begins Monday in Marshall, Texas in a federal suit brought against Trinity Industries of Texas by Joshua Harman, who claims the company defrauded the government when it sought for, and was granted approval to sell its ET-Plus guardrail end terminal to state departments of transportation without disclosing all of the design changes it had made. Harman claims small but crucial alterations made the device defective, causing severe injuries or deaths to some highway drivers who hit the guardrails in accidents. The federal government has chosen to not participate in this case...

The War On Okra Continues

Heavily armed drug cops raid retiree’s garden, seize okra plants - The Washington Post:

...Okra busts like these are good reason for taxpayers to be skeptical about the wisdom of sending guys up in helicopters to fly around aimlessly, looking for drugs in suburban gardens. And that's not to mention the issue of whether we want a society where heavily-armed cops can burst into your property, with no grounds for suspicion beyond what somebody thought he saw from several hundred yards up in a helicopter...

Drug Test Congress

Trey Radel, Busted On Cocaine Charge, Voted For Drug Testing Food Stamp Recipients:

In September, Rep. Trey Radel voted for Republican legislation that would allow states to make food stamp recipients pee in cups to prove they're not on drugs. In October, police busted the Florida Republican on a charge of cocaine possession.

“It’s really interesting it came on the heels of Republicans voting on everyone who had access to food stamps get drug tested," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told BuzzFeed Tuesday. "It’s like, what?”...

Lying Liars Benghazi Lying Again

Fox News Deceptively Clips Obama To Claim Panetta Interview Revealed Benghazi Deception | Blog | Media Matters for America:

Fox News used doctored video of an interview with President Obama to claim his description of briefings he received on the night of the Benghazi attack contrasts with former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's. In reality, their accounts are consistent...

This Is What Happens When You Divide One Brain 19 Ways

Duggar daughter blames the Holocaust on evolution, then compares it to abortion - Salon.com

Un Missing

Where's Kim Jong-Un? North Korean leader disappears from public eye - World News | TVNZ:

The rumour mill is turning following the absence of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at a number of event over the last month.

The North Korean leader hasn't been seen since September 3, sparking rumours the 31-year-old is ill or has been overthrown by a coup...

Mass Murder By Bottom Line

Michael Moore - Our health insurance companies have killed more...:

Our health insurance companies have killed more Americans than ISIS will EVER dream of killing...

Crazy In NC: Aiken Edition

Oh snap! Barbs fly in Clay Aiken-Renee Ellmers debate | OnPolitics:

...The hour-long debate sponsored by the North Carolina Bankers Association, which aired Monday on WRAL-TV, normally wouldn’t be the subject of so many news stories in local and national outlets except for Aiken’s candidacy. He has fought hard to beat back negative perceptions about his candidacy and has drawn on his experience as a special education teacher.

His special-ed experience will be helpful in Congress.

Stealing From Teachers

Reading, Writing, Ransacking - Esquire:

...They all have so very much to answer for, the people who have decided to enrich themselves by bashing public school teachers and, in doing so, putting the entire philosophy of public education, one of the lasting contributions to society of the American political commonwealth, at serious risk. No wonder they operate secretly, and in the shadows, and beyond the reach of public accountability. They are burglarizing the future for their own profit.

Ernst Corruption

EXCLUSIVE: Iowa Senate shocker — contracts awarded to Joni Ernst’s father raise conflict of interest questions - Salon.com:

A construction company owned by GOP Iowa Senate candidate Joni Ernst’s father received more than $200,000 in county contracts while she served as auditor of Montgomery County, Iowa, despite a strict conflict of interest code governing the provision of contracts to family members of county officials.

A new review of records — as well as an analysis of the Code of Iowa — by Salon reveals that the nature of the contracts and how they were promulgated, may have violated relevant county standards...

Jobs Truth

Jared Bernstein: It's Not A Skills Shortage That's Keeping Wages Down | Crooks and Liars:

The missing piece that economist and former White House advisor Jared Bernstein knows and is too nice to say, is that the Powers That Be set out to deliberately suppress wages, to the point where hiring an engineer in America won't cost any more than hiring one in Pakistan. But I'm not that nice, so I'll say it for him. Whenever you see the president making his speech about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) training for good jobs, what he really means is that corporations demand a glut on the market that will drive down wages. Because we already have plenty of unemployed people in those fields, people employers don't want to hire at the rate their skills demand. And new graduates are also having trouble getting hired. So when employers talk about a STEM skills shortage, they almost always mean "trained people who will work for peanuts." See how that works?...

Selling Competence

Things In Politico That Make Me Want To Guzzle Antifreeze, Part The Infinity - Esquire:

...At this point, anyone who is still defining the Affordable Care Act by its "sputtering launch" is just being a hack. But the rest of this swill is also simply rote memorization of the narrative that the Republicans want to sell, and I do mean sell, to a midterm electorate scared stupid by six years of deliberate disinformation. The people selling that narrative are the people who purposely wrecked the government's "track record" in unprecedented fashion, and not simply to demolish the agenda of a Democratic president, but also because they are the creatures of a philosophy and of a self-contained political universe in which government is not supposed to work, at least not for the general good, anyway. So, now, having thrown a carload of spanners into the works, the same people point out that the mechanism was built to fail. It's a neat trick, and it almost always works. But, let's press ahead past all the dead horses there in the road and check out the people whom the writer believes are the folks to build a bridge across Competence Gap...

Comment Of The Day: Tuff O Edition

Here's Some Stupid For Lunch - Esquire

Barry Friedman · Follow · Top Commenter · University of Tulsa · 148 followers

To: Senator Kelly Ayotte
From: A dead Somali pirate
Re: Your statement: "I'm very concerned about that, Chris, and his resolve in this regard."

He put a bullet in my head and bullets in the heads of those who came before and after me.
I only wish there was a problem with his resolve. Oh, gotta go. Osama just floated by.

The Right Wing And History

Why the GOP hates U.S. history: Inconvenient truths that freak out American conservatives - Salon.com:

... American’s right wing, you see, is terrified of history because it is always sentimentalizing it. Many of its arguments rely on a feeling of nostalgia for “good old days,” that appeals almost exclusively to aging whites. That means that a more accurate history, one that considers groups that are traditionally marginalized — women, people of color, Native Americans, immigrants and the poor — don’t necessarily sit that well. Their stories, the stories of the downtrodden, crush the false narrative that many conservatives like to imagine — that of a idyllic past marred by the New Deal, women’s liberation and civil rights...

Donor Costs Revealed

G.O.P. Error Reveals Donors and the Price of Access - NYTimes.com:

...Such an error by the Republican Governors Association recently resulted in the disclosure of exactly the kind of information that political committees given tax-exempt status usually keep secret, namely their corporate donors and the size of their checks. That set off something of an online search war between the association and a Washington watchdog group that spilled other documents, Democratic and Republican, into the open,

The documents,many of which the Republican officials have since removed from their website, showed that many of America’s most prominent companies, from Aetna to Walmart, had poured millions of dollars into the campaigns of Republican governors since 2008. One document listed 17 corporate “members” of the governors association’s secretive 501(c)(4), the Republican Governors Public Policy Committee, which is allowed to shield its supporters from the public. ...

Trooops Say No To More War

Poll: 70% of troops say no more boots on the ground in Iraq | Military Times | militarytimes.com:

As the tide of war rises again in the Middle East, the military’s rank and file are mostly opposed to expanding the new mission in Iraq and Syria to include sending a large number of U.S. ground troops into combat, according to a Military Times survey of active-duty members...

Free Markets And Education

Free Market Forces Will Not Save US Education -- They Will Destroy It�|�Peter Greene:

...But then, the market has only one measure for winning, and that is the production of money. The heart of a business plan is not "Can I build a really excellent mousetrap?" The heart of a business plan is "Can I sell this mousetrap and make money doing it?"

There is nothing about that question that is compatible with pursuing excellence in public education.

The most incompatible part of market-driven education is not its love of money-making winner, but its attitude about losers. Because the market hates losers. The market has no plan for dealing with losers. It simply wants all losers to go away...

O Pokes Fox News

Update: BillO Whines

Pres. Obama Claps Back at Fox News; Anchors Take Offense:

*President Obama took an opportunity Thursday to fire a shot at Fox News over its constant bashing of Obamacare...

Hospital Ebola Questions

A reminder about ebola treatment | The Confluence:

...Do we know whether Mr. Duncan has insurance? He’d better because no one in Texas without insurance is allowed to get ebola. Perry didn’t expand Medicaid. Update: Duncan is not an American citizen. He’s just here for a visit. So, we can guess that one of the reasons why the hospital didn’t keep a sick Liberian who was showing signs of possible ebola infection when he first showed up is because they were concerned with the costs. Oh, yes, my best beloveds, hospitals are more than willing to toss sick people out when it starts to get too expensive for the insurance company. We have been there.

We really need an investigation of the behavior of the hospital that discharged Mr. Duncan to discover whether this was the result of a bad cost-benefit calculation. Did the hospital just take a wild bet that Mr. Duncan did not have ebola so they wouldn’t have to keep him in an expensive isolation unit? Enquiring minds want to know...

The first response to all medical errors: Blame The Nurse.

Palestine To Be Recognized

Sweden to become first major European country to recognize state of Palestine - The Times of India:

Sweden's new centre-left government will recognize the state of Palestine in a move that will make it the first major European country to take the step, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said on Friday...

Is this the foreign affairs equivalent of pot being legalized in Colorado?

Ebola Looney Tunes

The "Alternate-Universe" Origins Of The Far Right's Anti-Immigrant Ebola Doctor | Blog | Media Matters for America:

Conservative media outlets, including Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham, are fanning the flames of Ebola panic and anti-immigrant sentiment by highlighting the unfounded opinions of fringe medical expert Dr. Elizabeth Vliet, the former director of an organization that claimed that undocumented immigrants caused a leprosy epidemic...

RS Retorts To Koch Claims

Koch Industries Responds to Rolling Stone – And We Answer Back | Rolling Stone:

Koch Industries has written a lengthy response to our feature story on the company in the latest issue of Rolling Stone. In tweets the company apparently paid to promote, Koch bills this write-up as a "point-by-point response to Rolling Stone writer Tim Dickinson's dishonest and misleading story." The salient feature of Koch's response is that the company does not argue the core facts of our 9,000-word expose. Instead, Koch targets the messenger. Koch's top target here is not even Rolling Stone, but me, Tim Dickinson...

Why SS Chief Fell

Scandal and secrets contributed to end of Pierson's Secret Service tenure | The Rundown | PBS NewsHour:

One lesson from Julia Pierson’s short tenure as director of the agency that protects the first family: The Secret Service can’t keep secrets from the president.

Pierson’s undoing was not telling the president about a Sept. 16 incident in Atlanta in which President Barack Obama rode an elevator with an armed security contractor during a visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two White House officials said. The armed contractor’s proximity to Obama violated the agency’s security protocols...

White Guilty Of Murdering Black

Florida Man Convicted of Murder in Dispute Over Rap Music - NYTimes.com:

A Florida man was convicted Wednesday in the 2012 fatal shooting of an unarmed teenager amid a dispute at a gas station over loud rap music blaring from a car...

Will all the "liberals" screaming about Confederates and racists now stand up and apologize to the 10 rednecks on the FL jury?

Criminalizing The Poor

Cannonfire "The Cops Are Robbers":

Do the cops profit personally from these seizures? Oh yes:

As outlandish as these facts seem, this happens every day across the country to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Under federal law and the laws of 42 states, law enforcement officials are entitled to keep most (and sometimes all) of the money and property they seize. The money goes to pay for salaries, advanced equipment and, in one Texas county, travel to Hawaii for "training."

No wonder our cops are increasingly despised by the communities they are supposed to serve.

The cops have become robbers.

Pot Firing In CO

Court mulls legality of firing for pot use off job - Houston Chronicle:

Pot may be legal in Colorado, but you can still be fired for using it...

AP.

Koch Bought

Conflict Of Interest: George Will Again Uses His Column To Prop Up A Koch-Backed Candidate | Blog | Media Matters for America:

Weeks after appearing at a VIP dinner for the Koch brothers-backed political group Americans for Prosperity (AFP), George Will devoted his Washington Post column to promoting one of the Kochs' favored political candidates without disclosing the conflict of interest.

Last month, Politico reported on Will's attendance at a private dinner featuring an "exclusive group of major donors and VIPs" as part of AFP's Defending the American Dream summit. Despite repeated attempts by Media Matters, neither Will nor AFP would answer whether he had been paid for the appearance or compensated for his travel expenses. Will has repeatedly devoted column space in the past to promoting Koch-backed candidates and policy issues.

When the journalism group Society of Professional Journalists released its new Code of Ethics in September, the group's ethics chair cited Will's relationship with AFP -- and his refusal to disclose whether he had been paid by the group -- as the type of conflict journalists should try to avoid...

The Crooked Fed

Elizabeth Warren calls for investigation of Federal Reserve - UPI.com:

"This American Life" did a program on Friday on the information obtained by Carmen Segarra from her time as a New York Fed bank examiner in 2012, where she investigated Goldman Sachs and began to notice the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was unwilling to support her allegation that the bank was missing policies regarding conflicts of interest. Now, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is calling for a congressional hearing to discuss corruption in the Federal Reserve Bank. She has already received support from Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio."These allegations deserve a full and thorough investigation, and American taxpayers deserve regulators who will fight each day on their behalf," Brown said in a statement...

Tasering Kids

10-Year Old Tasered By Police On Career Day As A Lesson | Crooks and Liars:

Amazing.

...The lawsuit claims police officers drove their patrol cars onto the intermediate school campus, where Webb asked a group of boys which one would like to clean his patrol unit.

R.D. raised his hand to say he did not want to clean the police officer’s car.

Webb then said, according to the lawsuit, “Let me show what happens to people who do not listen to the police.” He then “shot his Taser gun at the boy’s chest,” said the family’s attorney Shannon Kennedy of the Kennedy Law Firm of Albuquerque.

I hope the judge or jury awards the kid millions and this cop goes to jail for a very, very long time. There is no excuse -- zero -- for that kind of sadistic behavior toward a kid, or anyone else for that matter.

Religion And Climate Change

Religious faith and the science of climate change united | News:

A union that may seem strange to some has been becoming increasingly common as of late: the idea that you can hold religious faith and also acknowledge the evidence that climate change due to human intervention is occurring...

American Made

Made in America: why American Giant didn't want to build factories in China | Business | theguardian.com:

...It’s a fallacy, Winthrop says, that in order to purchase an American-made product consumers either have to sacrifice quality or put up with high prices. When he considered factories in China, “I realized I was chasing the cheapest material, the cheapest labor,” he explains to the Guardian.

With main offices in San Francisco and staff of about 23, Winthrop works with five US-based factories to make basic wear like sweatshirts, shirts and now even sweatpants. Two of the factories are based in California, three in North Carolina.

“People want to buy American made products,” says Winthrop. “Sweatshirts, particularly, are an iconic American wear and no brand had owned or done a particularly good job with it”.

North Carolina “is still a million times easier than Shenzen,” he has told reporters...

Evil Coke

Hokay, I’m done with Coke | The Confluence:

...So, you might be wondering who is in this shadowy group that is supporting the attack on women’s reproductive rights and cutting social safety net programs to the bone. The usual suspects are here. But there are also a couple of surprises:

The most elite group, known as the Statesmen, whose members donated $250,000, included Aetna; Coca-Cola; Exxon Mobil; Koch Companies Public Sector, the lobbying arm of the highly political Koch Industries; Microsoft; Pfizer; UnitedHealth Group; and Walmart. The $100,000 Cabinet level included Aflac, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Comcast, Hewlett-Packard, Novartis, Shell Oil, Verizon Communications and Walgreen.

Exxon, the Koch brothers and Pfizer don’t surprise me. But Coca-Cola and Microsoft? Really??

You mean every time I drink a diet Coke or buy another annoying Word license, I am contributing the the erosion of women’s rights or depriving some kid of food stamps?

Um, that’s disgusting.

I might not be able to get around Microsoft but I can definitely cut Coke out of my life. Boycotts might be ineffective but this is a personal choice and I’m not consciously contributing to my own demise.

Thieving Bosses

Employers Steal Three Times More From Workers Than All Robberies Combined:

The amount of money employers had to pay because they were found guilty of wage theft is nearly three times greater than all the money stolen in robberies, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

EPI gathered figures of money recovered for victims of wage theft — which occurs when an employer has workers perform tasks off the clock or pay for their own uniforms, violating labor laws — from the Department of Labor, state labor departments, state attorneys general, and research firms. In 2012, $933 million was paid in back wages for wage theft violations, although that figure is an under-count because there were six state departments of labor and five attorneys general the organization couldn’t contact...

HS Students vs. The Idiots

This Gives Me Hope - Esquire:

...Which is why what high school students and their teachers in Colorado are doing fills me with some small degree of hope for the future. In the middle of a brawl over wages, the new conservative majority on the local school board, and Colorado conservatives who often bury the needle on wingnuttery, is trying to bring something like the philosophy behind the concept Intelligent Design to the AP American History classes there.

The school board on Thursday tabled a proposal to form a controversial new curriculum review panel. The proposed criteria call for teaching materials promoting patriotism, respect for authority and the free-market system while avoiding material that would encourage or condone "civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law." "It's chilling," said school board member Lesley Dahlkemper, who typically clashes with the conservative majority. "Does it mean Jeffco will no longer study the civil rights movement, the Boston Tea Party or women's suffrage?"...

NRA Has Killed Hunting

TBogg: I was the NRA:

...I used to hunt and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the hell out of it. But I wouldn’t consider attempting it now, in an age where gun-owners lump AR-15′s in with sporting guns. Where a lousy shooter can disguise his inability to shoot with an extended clip that allows him to keep shooting until he finally hits something, anything. Where hunters feel the need for silencers for God knows what reason.

The NRA has killed off the sportsman with their neglect and replaced him with the gun nut who spends more money on more guns, not out of a desire to feed his family, but to stave off a mythical jack-booted government bogeyman coming to take away those guns. This paranoid vision of America that the NRA sells is why we have the gun violence that we have today, because no sensible gun legislation can be passed because of what the father of one of Elliott Rodger’s victims described as “craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA...”

A Minor Rape Problem

GOP strategist gets scolded on Texas TV for calling rape, incest victims ‘minor issues’:

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Wendy Davis said this week that comments made by one of her opponent’s surrogates calling rape and incest “minor issues” prove that the Republican Party does not value women.

During a debate on Lone Star Politics, which is produced by The Dallas Morning News and KXAS, Democratic strategist Matt Angle reminded viewers that Republican candidate Greg Abbott even opposed abortion in cases of rape and incest...

ACA Getting Stronger

Obamacare Critics Just Lost Another Talking Point:

Obamacare's so-called government takeover of health care was supposed to destroy the private insurance market. Somebody forgot to tell the health insurance companies.

More health insurers are signing on to participate in Obamacare, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said during a speech Tuesday at the Brookings Institution in Washington...

Comment Of The Day: Climate Change Edition

The Face Of Disgrace - Esquire

Matthew Pensinger · Top Commenter

Not a story, because hippies. Also not enough 'splosions.

Now, if we could BOMB climate change somehow, or dress it up like Hitler, or figure out how to get the Clinton Guy Shocked By Blowjobs to "report" that climate change would have killed us in our beds tomorrow if we hadn't blown it up it today, anonymous national security experts tell him... well then, that'd be differ'nt.

Threatening Democrats

'Wisconsin Poll Watcher Militia' plans to confront Scott Walker recall petition signers at polls : Ct:

A self-described militia group claims to be checking names on the 2012 Scott Walker recall petition and plans to confront those found to have outstanding warrants or tax defaults at the polls on Nov. 4.

"We prefer our people be armed," reads a Facebook post by Wisconsin Poll Watcher Militia, screen captured on a blog at Politicususa.com. "Some will be heading to some of Milwaukee, Racine, and Beloit's worst areas. We will be armed with a list of people to look for at each location."

The exchange posted on Politicususa continues:

Patrick Murray: "Just so you are aware, I will not report Republicans. Only Democrats."

Wisconsin Poll Watcher Militia: "We will be targeting heavy democrat districts, so it is doubtful this will even be an issue..."

War Protests In Russia

Thousands March In Moscow Against Ukraine Fighting:

Tens of thousands of people marched through central Moscow on Sunday to demonstrate against the fighting in Ukraine and Russia's alleged complicity in the conflict...

No Safety Net In Higher Ed

Professors on food stamps: The shocking true story of academia in 2014 - Salon.com:

You’ve probably heard the old stereotypes about professors in their ivory tower lecturing about Kafka while clad in a tweed jacket. But for many professors today, the reality is quite different: being so poorly paid and treated, that they’re more likely to be found bargain-hunting at day-old bread stores. This is academia in 2014.

“The most shocking thing is that many of us don’t even earn the federal minimum wage,” said Miranda Merklein, an adjunct professor from Santa Fe who started teaching in 2008. “Our students didn’t know that professors with PhDs aren’t even earning as much as an entry-level fast food worker. We’re not calling for the $15 minimum wage. We don’t even make minimum wage. And we have no benefits and no job security...”

Maddow Irked

Rachel Maddow Is Repulsed At Congress For Taking A Bajillion Days Off While New War Is Launched:

...“Sixteen-hundred US military families have gotten the call that they've had their loved ones deployed to Iraq, they’re flying those missions right now,” Maddow said. “But Congress? Heading home for another seven week break, because they can’t be bothered to think about that right now. They’ve got more important business to tend to they’ve gotta get re-elected. Because that's the most important thing they do, right?"

Crazy In NC: We Were Sane Edition

North Carolina Exceptionalism | PoliticsNC:

...While our GDP might not have been significantly better than our neighbors, our quality of life was. Until 2012, our median income was significantly higher than all of our southern neighbors. Our poverty rate is lower and our high school graduation rate is higher. We have lower infant mortality and we live longer. From 1979 to 2007, North Carolina’s average income grew by a far greater rate than other Southern states and the income was distributed more equitably. And between 2000 and 2010 we grew significantly faster than any other Southern state besides Georgia. People were coming here because North Carolina was an attractive place to work and live, not because of low wages and low taxes, though neither were too high.

Under Republican rule, we’re starting to lose some of those advantages. Our median income is down, our poverty rate is rising and, for two years in a row, our infant mortality is up...

On The Scottish Vote

Scotland could have been like Denmark, but decides to stay with UK - Opinion - The Boston Globe:

...If the vote had gone against England, the English would have had only themselves to blame. The “Better Together” relied too much on threat, and didn’t come to grips with the emotional pull of Scottish independence, concentrating only on economic matters and the punishment they would exact...

...Over the years I saw a class element sneak into the debate. The educated and middle-class Scots trended toward keeping the union, while the poorer, working-class Scots, who saw heavy industry collapse take their jobs away, tended to prefer a role of the dice to see if their condition might not be made better by going it alone. Indeed Scotland would like a Scandinavian-style socialism, while London and the southern counties are Tory and can’t do enough for the one percent, at least in Scottish eyes... 

Dems Looking Up

Dems Now Have 51% Chance Of Holding Senate Control. What Changed? | Crooks and Liars:

What you want to watch is the momentum as we draw closer to the election, because the candidates who are gaining almost invariably win. Me, I lean heavily on one other historical electoral indicator: When ordinary people bring up politics, it's gonna be a change year -- and last week, my haircutter was talking about getting her entire family out to vote:...

No Debt Relief For Students

Sentenced to Debt: Republicans Block Student Loan Refinance Bill - MainStreet:

Yesterday the Senate blocked a vote on the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinance Act, which would have let people with lingering student loans refinance them at the same rates offered to new borrowers in the past year—rates lower than on loans going back to the last decade.

“Life is about choices,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “Each of us have made a choice on education, like where we’re going to go to school and what we’re going to study. There was a choice made on the Senate Floor today, and it was a choice by Senate Republicans to ignore students across America who are struggling to make ends meet because of overwhelming amounts of student loan debt...”

Comment Of The Day: Iran Raygun Edition

Here's Some Stupid For Lunch - Esquire

Andy Koenigsberg · Top Commenter · Westborough, Massachusetts

Your assessment is spot on CP, but no one seems to remember that, or that Reagan's henchmen negotiated with the Iranians to not let the hostages go until Carter was actually out of office.

I am sure you are as flumoxed as I am that no one seems to remember that it was St. Ronnie who made the deal with the Ayatollahs and their minions. Why none of this is in the current narrative about Reagan presidency says a lot about us as a country and it's not flattering.

Crazy In NC:Tillis Riot Edition

This Republican Tried To Stop North Carolina From Apologizing For A Racist Massacre. He’d Like Your Vote, Please. | Mother Jones:

...But at the time, Tillis—who showed up in Wilmington on Tuesday with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in tow—offered another explanation for opposing the measure: Not all whites had participated in the riots. So Tillis pushed for an amendment introduced by a fellow state representative that would have added language to the bill commemorating the heroic white Republican lawmakers who had opposed the violence. "The proposed amendment would have acknowledged the historical fact that the white Republican government joined with black citizens to oppose the rioters," he argued. The amendment failed, and Tillis ended up voting no on the final version...

Palin Pugilistics, Part 3

Stretch Hummers. A bloody brawl. And Sarah Palin? - The Washington Post:

...Meanwhile, because the drama never ceases, the next night, Bristol Palin returned to her home in Wasilla to find a stalker in her driveway, who was arrested and charged with felony stalking...

Crazy In NC: Fracking Dirty Tricks Edition

Asheville Citizen-Times-"Group Challenges Pro-Fracking Support"

Homeless men unfamiliar with fracking were bused from Winston-Salem to a state hearing Friday on the controversial technique for extracting natural gas, an effort to bolster a pro-fracking turnout, according to an environmental group and a published report.

“They were clueless,” said Bettie “Betsy” Ashby, a member of the Jackson County Coalition Against Fracking. “At least two of them I met definitely came from a homeless shelter. One of them even apologized to me and said, ‘I didn’t know they were trying to
do this to me.’ One said, ‘I did it for the ...’ and then he rubbed his fingers together like ‘for the money.’”

Several of the men were wearing turquoise shirts or hats that said “Shale Yes” on the front and “Energy Creates Jobs” and “N.C. Energy Coalition.com” on the back.

The hearing about hydraulic fracturing took place at Western Carolina University and attracted about 600 people. Opposition to fracking was overwhelming in comments made during the fourhour hearing, hosted by the N.C. Mining and Energy Commission...

Ripping Fox

From Bernie Sanders To Miss Piggie - Top 20 Insults Directed At Fox News | Liberals Unite