tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75541778676135943532024-03-02T13:01:50.403-06:00The Greene RoomWhat's happening in AmericaJacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-40953165281994848492011-10-13T17:09:00.000-05:002011-10-13T17:09:06.957-05:00Job CreatorsI just <i>had </i>to post this.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3PAuLE7E2Y6mJ5GJ7jwxQnMS1cZOtk5l5mw1NDY3XdCH-KVAFieOSeBmCXIetubNHgkartf8k5wclSrS0Fg6veCOeY_Mr3qW0S4sv9FEGVaCS89iUJVYhP-6CjET15iP6LcZWSTr0R4/s1600/jobcreator3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3PAuLE7E2Y6mJ5GJ7jwxQnMS1cZOtk5l5mw1NDY3XdCH-KVAFieOSeBmCXIetubNHgkartf8k5wclSrS0Fg6veCOeY_Mr3qW0S4sv9FEGVaCS89iUJVYhP-6CjET15iP6LcZWSTr0R4/s1600/jobcreator3.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-58159002437192568922011-10-12T15:41:00.000-05:002011-10-12T15:41:36.805-05:00Republicans Deny America Jobs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyyHWDotAi_hOSi7io5UZgwzuVxug304O7qHZd57WPes4DYzWCvI5zNkr7QRLHJcTQKA6VxrLUCMOfNx3H8Tfq71tBB59fF28V9swlRMvcBLuen_OobgTOboBOpu0SxpYAoFzRZqUrDW4/s1600/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyyHWDotAi_hOSi7io5UZgwzuVxug304O7qHZd57WPes4DYzWCvI5zNkr7QRLHJcTQKA6VxrLUCMOfNx3H8Tfq71tBB59fF28V9swlRMvcBLuen_OobgTOboBOpu0SxpYAoFzRZqUrDW4/s1600/Untitled.jpg" /></a></div>Obama's <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obama-lays-out-447-billion-plan-to-boost-nations-economy/2011/09/08/gIQAk3ELDK_story.html">$447 billion plan to create jobs</a> went before the Senate last night.<br />
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And it failed.<br />
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The Republicans filibustered, meaning the plan would require 60 votes to pass, and then literally every single Republican voted against the plan. If there's anything that the Republicans can unite for, it's to oppose something that would help the American worker.<br />
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Even two of the more "moderate" Democrats sided with the GOP in the vote. What a surprise. Considering the direction American politics has gone over these last twenty years, half the so-called "Democrats" currently in office are just conservatives in disguise. But while that's a problem, it's a lesser concern to what's happening right now.<br />
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The GOP is <em>actively working against</em> the American worker, citizens trying their best to succeed in a country that is increasingly ruled by a hyperwealthy elite. If we want any chance of continuing to live in a free country, this has to stop. <br />
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Call your congresspersons; write them letters. Tell them how disappointed you are in their behavior, and remind them that their actions determine your next vote. Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-62271563089107159862011-10-12T15:02:00.001-05:002011-10-12T16:59:00.758-05:00Financial Inequality and HypocrisyOver at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-wall-street-protesters-are-so-angry-about-2011-10?op=1">Business Insider</a>, they've got an article up with a lot of charts that are absolute must reads for any patriotic American. I've posted two of them below<br />
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These charts tell a powerful truth. While unemployment is higher, for longer, than it's ever been before, corporations are making record shattering profits. The country, as a whole, is making more money than it ever has before. We're a wealthier country than we have ever been.</div>
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But one in ten people are unemployed. If you add in the people who want to work full-time, but can only find a part-time job, then it's almost one in <i>five</i>. Almost one in five American citizens are either unemployed or can only find a part-time job, when they need a real one. </div>
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America is more profitable than it has ever been, but more people than ever before are losing their jobs and their homes. Where is that profit going? To the corporations, of course! Who use that money to buy more power in our government, and relax their own regulations. Which lets them steal more money from us, which lets them buy more of our government, and so on.</div>
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A few months, ago Republican politicians demanded of Obama, "Where are the jobs?" Now, as the jobless are finally starting to stand up for themselves, to blame the ones <i>responsible</i> for their joblessness, the Republicans have suddenly changed their mind. They yell at the protesters, "Go get a job!" </div>
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It's typical conservative behavior. If they can blame a Democrat, they'll admit there aren't any jobs. They'll say it's Obama's fault. But the instant the unemployed actually demand economic fairness, they claim there's enough jobs for everyone! The jobless are just lazy! </div>
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The GOP is the definition of two-faced. They're lying. Either there aren't enough jobs, and the protesters can't find work, or there <i>are</i> enough jobs, and Obama has fixed the problem. They want to have it both ways, but they can't! </div>
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Has Obama fixed the problem? No -- the House of Representatives, ridden with Tea Party idiots, has forcibly stopped his every attempt. There <i>aren't enough jobs</i>. And the Occupy Wall Street movement is right.</div>
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They're the patriots. Stand up with them.</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Charts: </i></span><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/" jquery1510926198910437837="113"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>St. Louis Fed</i></span></a><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>, via Business Insider</i></span></div>Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-53491790340743462802011-10-10T15:42:00.002-05:002011-10-10T16:28:17.002-05:00Are We All in This Together?<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
We the people. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9698cGA0k6gJxuve4jKHTkMmweFRBJcrjb7HePqkqfXQPb_wZHKG3BHa5AkchRejkAQZcAGLA0aKeQUwTbb9KHtorwSBWDzoLiH1Z3RQMUEMucHVRSHr8rGIMbzVsPHL4ro_aPTiJOVw/s1600/cons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117px" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9698cGA0k6gJxuve4jKHTkMmweFRBJcrjb7HePqkqfXQPb_wZHKG3BHa5AkchRejkAQZcAGLA0aKeQUwTbb9KHtorwSBWDzoLiH1Z3RQMUEMucHVRSHr8rGIMbzVsPHL4ro_aPTiJOVw/s320/cons.jpg" width="320px" /></a>Those three words are the start of the most important document in our nation, the foundation for our society and our way of life, the Constitution of the United States. But it's more than that, as well. Those words are the basic symbol of American unity. These words imply that we are a <i>people</i>, not just 310,000,000 individuals who happen to live in the same place. </div>
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We <i>are</i> a people. We are a <i>nation</i>. When the nation succeeds, we all succeed. When it fails, we all fail. </div>
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That is patriotism. That is love of country. Anyone who disagrees with this is not only unAmerican, but anti-American. They are against the very essence of the foundation of our country.</div>
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The Republican Party has shown itself to be anti-American. No, more than that. Over the past few years, the GOP has bragged about its lack of patriotism. It's shouted its hatred of our nation from the highest rooftops it can, and all the while it's plastered American flags on every free surface. As if we're so stupid that we'd be tricked by that.</div>
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The Republicans want to fool us. They think that if they shout "America!" and "Patriotic!" enough, we won't notice that almost <i>every single action </i>they take is the opposite of either of those things. That we won't notice that they are systematically removing our liberties and destroying everything that makes our country great. But we know better than that, because we've been watching them. We've seen how they're trying to hurt our nation.</div>
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In August, the Republicans threatened to shut down the government unless they got their way. In effect, they were holding the country hostage. This proves two things. One: the Republicans don't care about the country. You don't take something hostage if you care about it. Two: the Republicans <i>know </i>that the Democrats do care about the country. Watch any movie where a bad guy grabs a hostage, points a gun to its head, and makes demands of the hero. The bad guy can't just grab someone that the hero doesn't care about! Even if it's a random person off the street, the message is clear: the hero wants to save that person, and the villain doesn't care if they die.</div>
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It's clear that the Republicans are the villain. They're the ones willing to threaten our country to get their way. Even if the Democrats aren't perfect, which they aren't, that situation <i>proves</i> that the Democrats are the ones who want to help the people. Who care about the nation.</div>
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Another deadline is coming up in November, though, and the Republicans have already started making their demands. One of their bigger demands is that we make <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/06/13/243560/gop-nutrition-cuts-azaleas/">large cuts in a nutrition program for low-income women and children</a>. The Republicans want to deny help to more than 700,000 poor women and young children.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the GOP chopping block</td></tr>
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No, they don't simply want to do this. They are <i>demanding </i>it, and they are willing to hold the rest of the nation hostage.</div>
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Let's remember that currently, in America, 37% of all families with young children are living in poverty. That's literally the highest percentage on record. That doesn't stop the Republicans from taking away their food.</div>
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The Regressives also want to <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/05/news/economy/medicaid_cuts_budget_republicans/index.htm">cut Medicaid funding by $771 billion over the next decade</a>. Who do they want to pay for it? Increased taxes on low-income Americans.<br />
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Our economy is bad right now. We all know that. The United States is in the middle of the worst economy we've had since the Great Depression. The poor and the young are hurt the most by this, and the Republicans have decided that they should also bear the largest share of the cuts. They've even taken to pointing fingers at the poor, claiming that <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/business/project_syndicate/2011/01/did_the_poor_cause_the_crisis.html"><i>they're</i> the ones who caused the economic collapse</a>! Yes, those hedge fund investors and Wall Street executives had nothing to do with it. The hyperwealthy? Why, there's no reason to ask <i>them</i> to help out! They're doing well! The Republicans can't punish those who are doing well!<br />
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They can only punish those who are doing not so well. They can only punish those who, in their eyes, have already failed. <br />
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Making these cuts during an economic upturn would be wrong. It would be cruel, selfish, and greedy. Making these cuts now is an act of moral bankruptcy verging on evil. The GOP has effectively abandoned any hope of being seen as benevolent or compassionate, except by those too stupid or brainwashed to step outside of their FOX News-induced bubbles of anti-reality. These acts are the acts of a callous party, an uncaring party, a greedy, selfish party that doesn't give one damn about whether you live or die.<br />
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Regressives do not see us as a nation. They do not see us as a people. Regressives see our nation as a series of "us versus them." They see us only as "the successful" and "the failed," and they measure success entirely by wealth. The rich have succeeded, and by Republican logic, cannot be taxed because that would be punishing them for their success. The poor, however, they have failed. The poor can be taxed as much as possible; they can be ignored by our healthcare institutions; they can be left in the streets to die. Because they failed, and in the eyes of a Republican, they deserve to die. If anyone disagrees they're simply labeled a communist.<br />
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Republicans make their cries of "<a href="http://www.thegreeneroom.us/2011/09/class-warfare.html">class warfare</a>" so often because they've <i>already decided</i> that a class war exists. They cannot see our nation in any other way. But we, the people, can. <br />
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Are we all in this together? That's the question that we have to answer. The Republicans say no. They say that we're all in this alone. They say that society exists only to help the wealthy and the successful, and they are willing to let people starve to make their point.<br />
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But I say yes. Stand up with me, patriots, and with the rest of America, and remind the Republican elite that <i>we are a people</i>.Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-45368544667498810492011-10-07T09:51:00.004-05:002011-10-07T09:56:26.822-05:00How Wall Street Hurts America<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://occupywallst.org/">Occupy Wall Street</a> is getting some bad press. <br />
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</div>I mean, it's getting some <em>really bad press</em>. Especially from Regressive linchpin FOX News.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Famous reality denier <a href="http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/bill-oreilly-occupy-wall-street-protest">Bill O'Reilly</a> has declared that the protesters are jobless because "they don't want to work." According to <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/10/01/fox-host-occupy-wall-street-protestors-are-dirty-and-useless/">Kimberly Guilfoyle</a>, the movement is nothing but a bunch of useless people who "dirty the streets." <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/media/2011/10/01/333593/hannity-tells-occupy-wall-street-protester-you-dont-believe-in-freedom/">Sean Hannity's</a> response to the protesters is to talk over them, say they don't like freedom, and accuse them of destroying the country.</div> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And really, these are just specific examples. Turn on the news and watch almost any coverage of Occupy Wall Street, and you hear the same thing over and over: they're dirty hippies who need to get a damned job. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: Dirty Useless People</td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Well let me tell you something: if they could <em>get</em> a damned job, they might not <em>be</em> there! If the economy hadn't been <em>wrecked</em> by billionaires and their corporations, then maybe people wouldn't be this angry! If those hyperwealthy that FOX News and their Republican cohorts keep calling "job creators" actually created some <em>jobs</em>, then maybe things wouldn't have reached this point!</div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">But the economy <em>was </em>wrecked by these people. These "job creators" don't <em>want</em> to create jobs -- they'd rather sit on their money than "waste" it on employees. And so nearly one in ten Americans <em>can't get a job</em>. <br />
<br />
Regardless of the facts, conservative newspeople and pundits argue over and over that Occupy Wall Street protesters must just not want to get a job, because anyone who wants a job can get one.</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It's hard to figure out what goes on inside a Regressive mind, but it appears to be something like this: when the unemployment rate goes up, that just means America is lazier than usual. It's apparently got little to do with the economy. Because after all, even when some think the country's actually <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/38831550/Economy_Caught_in_Depression_Not_Recession_Rosenberg">entering a depression</a>, anyone who <em>wanted</em> to work <em>could</em>. </div><br />
They're literally pointing at the the unemployed, the homeless, and the starving and saying, "The bad economy is their fault!" Well, it's not. You know who I point at? The banks, the hyperrich corporations, and the billionaires. <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>This is <em>THEIR</em> fault.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdbtV7rsspu0e2uxcIPFW-BNlIyG1s_xzO2XbJYM_iRr_8Tx0IFwkUIl2dXmc2lJP7Ot3oMhZKqYXvINZ4PpZ8X0LhyD8P19SPGFuGjI1nixt5fbmu4Gf7UW3aWGUzpqx5SHLfjmx6poQ/s1600/800px-Wall_Street_Sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdbtV7rsspu0e2uxcIPFW-BNlIyG1s_xzO2XbJYM_iRr_8Tx0IFwkUIl2dXmc2lJP7Ot3oMhZKqYXvINZ4PpZ8X0LhyD8P19SPGFuGjI1nixt5fbmu4Gf7UW3aWGUzpqx5SHLfjmx6poQ/s320/800px-Wall_Street_Sign.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The American "nobility" and FOX News spout off about the horrors of socialism anytime they want to scare their peasants into giving them more power and wealth. But these corporations and banks are the worst kind of socialists. The phrase <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Too_big_to_fail">"too big to fail"</a> is the worst thing that's happened to our economy in recent times. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">These corporations put themselves, again and again, in extremely risky situations in the hope of making extraordinary profit. For years it works out for them. But you can't keep sticking your hand into a grinder without ever getting hurt, and eventually they ruined themselves.</div></div><br />
So far, so good, right? Risk vs reward; the hallmark of capitalism! But the corporations didn't think so. They, and their GOP cronies, argued that they were too important to be allowed to fail at all! So they got the biggest bailout in American history. <br />
<br />
They can keep sticking their hand in that grinder as much as they want, now! Because if they ever get hurt, they've got <em>hundreds of billions of dollars</em> worth of insurance money, sitting right here, with us! The taxpayer takes the risk. If the company fails, we pay. If the company succeeds, then it profits.<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Notice that there's no way for us to profit, and no way for the company to pay.</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">That's socialism, right there. It's just the <em>bad</em> part of socialism, where everyone has to pay for someone else's mistake. The part where everyone gets helped out by someone's success? Well that's left right out. Apparently that's the only part of socialism that the GOP doesn't like.</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Wall Street is the problem. They directly caused the economic crash. Not home buyers. You'll hear that a lot from conservatives. "Poor people were stupid and bought more than they could afford! That caused the crash!" <br />
<br />
Well of course the Regressives blame the poor, they hate the poor. But it was Wall Street that saw an opportunity in high-risk mortgages. They're the ones who encouraged the poor and middle class to buy more than they could afford, with lying explanations about how it would work out. They're the ones who bundled up those mortgages into complex new securities, gave them AAA ratings, and made billions off of assets they <em>knew </em>to be toxic. They knew they wouldn't be able to keep that scheme going forever; they just hoped they could keep it going long enough for <em>their</em> corporation to profit, and if the rest of the economy goes down the tubes, well . . . that's not their problem, is it?</div><br />
Except they messed up, and when things went south, all of Wall Street was taken with it. So they cried "too big to fail!" and got their trillion dollars in taxpayer money.<br />
<br />
You know what they did with that money? That money that they said they needed to continue supplying America with jobs and prosperity? They gave it to their executives, as bonuses. Some of these were even called "performance" bonuses. I can only imagine that they were trying to rub it in.<br />
<br />
Since 2008, the rich have gotten richer, while the middle class and the poor have gotten poorer. The top six banks in the country are worth <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/oct/06/bernie-s/bernie-sanders-says-six-bank-companies-have-assets/">more than 60% of the GDP</a>. Profits in the Fortune 500 soared 81% last year. <em>That's almost double</em>. Non-executive wages and salaries? Those went up barely 1%. <br />
<br />
In the 1970s, American CEOs made an average of 30 times more than what their average employee made. In 2010, those CEOs made an average of <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/06/21/249949/32-corporations-spent-more-compensation-paid-taxes/">263 times what their employees make</a>. Some sources show that in the past year, that number has gone up even more, with CEOs making an average of 475 times what their employees make a year! <br />
<br />
Compare that to Japan, where the ratio is closer to 11 to 1, or Germany where it's about 12 to 1. Point this out and watch GOP pundits cry "socialism" and "destroying the country" until their throats are raw. Because Japan and Germany are so lazy and unproductive. Right.<br />
<br />
The GOP has responded to this inequality by lowering taxes -- on the rich. (They've increased taxes on the rest of us, and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/18/paul-ryan-tax-increases-middle-class_n_968408.html">want to increase them higher</a>.)<br />
<br />
Interesting fact: a normal person can pay up to 35% of their top income bracket in taxes, and that's only if they're making more than $379,000 a year! A venture capitalist making tens of millions a year pays closer 15%, and that's if he's not hiding anything. Why so little? The Regressive argument about this basically boils down to, "But he's a better person than you, so he should get taxed less."<br />
<br />
That's right. If you wanted to be taxed less, you should stop being lazy and start making millions of dollars a year. Anyone who isn't a billionaire doesn't even deserve to be listened to.<br />
<br />
What if a bunch of middle class folks <em>does</em> demand to be listened to? Well, they're labeled as a bunch of useless, dirty hippies. If they wanted to have a voice, they'd go make a billion dollars.<br />
<br />
Oh is <em>that</em> all.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">First image by </span><a class="author id-t2_3lwdf" href="http://www.reddit.com/user/NYCCine"><strong><span style="font-size: xx-small;">NYCCine</span></strong></a><span style="font-size: xx-small;">, second by </span><a class="extiw" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:RMajouji" title="en:User:RMajouji"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">RMajouji</span></a><span style="font-size: xx-small;">, CC-BY-2.5.</span>Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-70798191371833500992011-10-07T09:50:00.001-05:002011-10-07T09:57:56.935-05:00GOP Legislator Works to Bring Dwarf Tossing Back to Florida<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJNRnKF561Mc-XW_ciliDRSRWum7ml4WEZXLYDl3G6gzZsBdxI1FYb5nYHKgPl0it7XJ4vM7ImQj73mfxmhxMlXGTZyr8skPGnY2iBX40a67Z0ugm8f3B76Si4kQkuLLgsfN-To9e7f6g/s1600/Ritch_Workman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJNRnKF561Mc-XW_ciliDRSRWum7ml4WEZXLYDl3G6gzZsBdxI1FYb5nYHKgPl0it7XJ4vM7ImQj73mfxmhxMlXGTZyr8skPGnY2iBX40a67Z0ugm8f3B76Si4kQkuLLgsfN-To9e7f6g/s1600/Ritch_Workman.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ritch Workman</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The economy is in ruins. Unemployment threatens to break records. America is in trouble. People are scared, worrying about their future, wondering if they'll even be able to keep their homes. Fortunately, someone has a plan. One man has the courage, the integrity, and the will to stand up and fight for what's needed.<br />
<br />
Ritch Workman, Republican legislator from Florida, has made it his goal to <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/10/06/141133785/dwarf-tossing-long-banned-may-return-in-florida">bring back dwarf-tossing</a>. If he succeeds, then Floridian bars will no longer languish under draconian laws dictating what entertainment is allowed and what is not. No longer will little people have to suffer the cruel indignity of no one picking them up and drunkenly hurling them as far as possible.<br />
<br />
After all, says State Representative Workman, "in this economy, or any economy, why would we want to prevent people from getting gainful employment?"<br />
<br />
Fight on, you magnificent man.Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-87565862971480289042011-10-05T17:55:00.003-05:002011-10-05T18:16:28.051-05:00Boycotting Koch Industries?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Been reading about Koch Industries and <a href="http://www.thegreeneroom.us/2011/10/koch-industries-destroying-america-for.html">its complete disregard of American law</a>? Want to do something about it? <br />
<br />
A lot of people have been talking about a boycott, but it's hard to get a good list of what, exactly, the corporation owns. Koch Industries is huge, and it owns a staggering number of brands. To truly boycott them, we need to stop purchasing anything made by <i>any</i> of the following:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvu20Wt2uZ9KaHgwTN0waq9N0SDo_LwIUjGCKNWFQmwaH3ey8LEHUHc6d1s8aOcsSZFMj0Iv7WGhP5RDtsWmgDLRY1dWPIB5LPxlJdVdGaiYSqSrrSLK4qvOsQ55e2VRaTr-HRnkQNL4s/s1600/toomuchkoch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0p_EWPALfFGBHu8qCWxlhzZKsSp3MxT749WSVeHF04pArW8GLwI-EyJmPwjWlcvZusbLErviyAwjNvNUxOOgcOfakzSaxPTCSHiFOSZqK0SLqf3TtjokhIs-557v5yLJCmxmD5-SQrg/s1600/toomuchkoch3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0p_EWPALfFGBHu8qCWxlhzZKsSp3MxT749WSVeHF04pArW8GLwI-EyJmPwjWlcvZusbLErviyAwjNvNUxOOgcOfakzSaxPTCSHiFOSZqK0SLqf3TtjokhIs-557v5yLJCmxmD5-SQrg/s1600/toomuchkoch3.jpg" /></a>Angel Soft - toilet paper</li>
<li>Brawny - paper towels</li>
<li>Dixie - cups, napkins, plates</li>
<li>Mardi Gras - napkins, paper towels</li>
<li>Quilted Northern - toilet paper</li>
<li>Soft 'n Gentle - toilet paper</li>
<li>Sparkle - napkins, paper towels</li>
<li>Vanity Fair - napkins</li>
<li>Zee - napkins</li>
<li>Insulair - cups</li>
<li>Perfect Touch - cups, paper products</li>
<li>Stainmaster - carpet, flooring, paint</li>
<li>Spectrum - printer paper</li>
<li>Lycra - spandex</li>
<li>Teflon - nonstick coating</li>
<li>Georgia Pacific - paper products, envelopes, etc</li>
<li>DensArmor - drywall, decking products</li>
<li>Flexrock</li>
<li>Georgia Pacific industrial plasters (Used by many contractors and builders; you'll want to check.)</li>
<li>FibreStrong - rim board</li>
<li>Blue Ribbon - construction products</li>
<li>Nautilus - wall sheathing</li>
</ul>
<ul>
</ul>
<ul>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQwoLrImVe3Zg3MBD-6Tu0sfE6C48egMrYvSx3qKN3NMAMxNAMhMMMlhF5v1OfKASlyU_9hmm5P3wyC7v5j1YQs8k3mVXpv7vPRSFje1J9RG7-52fSEQP8lCiI6OA2CaPVLRCnSvOc1i0/s1600/toomuchkoch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<br />
This is not an inclusive list, especially in the construction part, but I included all of the products that most people will likely run into. Most of the things left out will be identifiable by the Georgia Pacific logo. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfxqM54P0YMPT7_nFJ4Qs2duucovPU6Br8eSB6z9ma1O0ydmizWdX55MSPZFhA07p7yrNlHHyr4TB_k2udnUWbqBHQHLDSu3Q4ts4ZuSmSSoHJmbrY5oxCWgztyIXkx5kwHagt6G8pyc/s1600/Georgia+Pacific+Logo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfxqM54P0YMPT7_nFJ4Qs2duucovPU6Br8eSB6z9ma1O0ydmizWdX55MSPZFhA07p7yrNlHHyr4TB_k2udnUWbqBHQHLDSu3Q4ts4ZuSmSSoHJmbrY5oxCWgztyIXkx5kwHagt6G8pyc/s1600/Georgia+Pacific+Logo.gif" /></a></div>
Always check for the Georgia Pacific logo. It's the same thing as Koch. Stand up for yourself, stand up for our rights! Stand up for America.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, this boycott isn't enough, not by itself. Koch Industries is too entrenched in our society to simply stop supporting it entirely. After all, Koch supplies state governments across the nation with much of the materials needed for asphalt. It's hard to stop using roads. And that's not even touching the fact that Koch is primarily an energy company, and that they make most of their money by selling oil, natural gas, coal, and the electricity produced from these things. <br />
<br />
But this <i>does</i> send a message. It shows both our government and the corporations taking advantage of us that we're paying attention. It's a hard, long job, but we can make them afraid of us.<br />
<br />
Remember, though: to actually limit Koch's power, and take our country back from corporations like this, we need to change our government.Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-13360755780231265262011-10-05T13:45:00.001-05:002011-10-05T16:53:45.236-05:00Koch Industries: Betraying America for ProfitI've had a problem with Koch Industries for quite a while.<br />
<br />
They're the second largest privately held company in America, and they're one of the most powerful hyper-conservative forces in the world today.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiST4IYJekTN96j01JZdSx-rXhNrVnFjOH9LmpaKTX-L-oxzljeqXQmqjgYdvFMnroWchlwN7zUr3cNlF_k13UoDN1Pedo3gmxintAlPsud9MS4FzK98dqiHvYFsAEGYVkTXSY76DRTSXI/s1600/koch-industries2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiST4IYJekTN96j01JZdSx-rXhNrVnFjOH9LmpaKTX-L-oxzljeqXQmqjgYdvFMnroWchlwN7zUr3cNlF_k13UoDN1Pedo3gmxintAlPsud9MS4FzK98dqiHvYFsAEGYVkTXSY76DRTSXI/s320/koch-industries2.jpg" width="320px" /></a>They were the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2011/02/18/koch-brothers-behind-wisconsin-effort-to-kill-public-unions/">main reason Governor Walker fought so hard to kill public unions </a>in Wisconsin earlier this year, and they heavily funded his campaign. They basically own <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_for_Prosperity">Americans for Prosperity</a>, a political advocacy group that describes itself as supporting business and opposing regulation. They basically paid for and invented the "Tea Party," financially backing groups that have trained thousands of Tea Party activists. They've donated tens of millions to groups that deny global warming, and millions more to groups that oppose clean air laws. <br />
<br />
Koch Industries clearly doesn't care about us. <br />
<br />
Of course, it's standard conservative politics to argue that companies should be allowed to pollute as much as they want, and screw everyone else. So what about Koch is worth singling out? <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Bloomberg recently <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-02/koch-brothers-flout-law-getting-richer-with-secret-iran-sales.html">published an article about Koch Industries </a>that is simply <i>excellent. </i>You should go read it now. It's a long one, though, so I'll summarize.<br />
<br />
In 2008, Koch's compliance officer and ethics manager found evidence that its companies were engaged in bribery and corruption in France, India, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia. Koch's own investigation substantiated these findings, but the company still responded by calling her incompetent and firing her. <br />
<br />
They've also:<br />
<ul><li>sold millions of dollars of petrochemical equipment to Iran, in violation of US law.</li>
<li>stolen oil from Federal land.</li>
<li>built a shoddy pipeline that exploded and killed two teenagers, neither of which were trespassing or hanging around any hazardous equipment. </li>
<li>lied to regulators, and asked their employees to falsify information to the government. </li>
<li>been involved in a felony to restrain trade.</li>
<li>exposed its workers to an illegally high level of benzene, a known cause of leukemia, and hid that information from regulators.</li>
<li>stolen oil from American Indian reservations. </li>
</ul><br />
Let me clarify something. It has been illegal to trade with Iran since 1995, when it was declared a threat to national security. Koch Industries <i>immediately</i> began working on ways to trade with Iran anyway. <br />
<br />
They don't care about national security. They only care about money. Conservatives use "national security" to scare their peasants into giving them power, but this proves they will risk that security in an <i>instant</i> as long as it makes them money. <br />
<br />
So how has Koch Industries been punished for these illegal activities? Have the hyperwealthy Koch brothers been forced to answer for these crimes? Of course not. They've blamed their employees and they've paid fines. Millions of dollars worth of fines. That might sound like a lot, but they make at least one hundred <i>billion</i> dollars a year. (Exactly how much they make is unknown; they're a private corporation and are very private about their finances.) As a corporation, Koch Industries has basically no actual liability whatsoever. <br />
<br />
Let's put this into perspective: in 1999, Koch had to pay $296 million because their negligence caused two teenagers to be burned to death. That's the largest wrongful death damages ever awarded against a corporation in the United States. <br />
<br />
That's less than a third of one percent of what they make in a year. <br />
<br />
That's not a punishment. That's not even a slap on the wrist. For letting two people burn to death.<br />
<br />
Koch Industries has no problem destroying the land, polluting the air, engaging in bribery, or selling equipment and supplies to known threats to national security. Of <i>course</i> they're against government regulation. They break regulations on a day-to-day basis! Think of how much money they have to spend lying to the government and hiding their illegal activities! <br />
<br />
It's a much better investment for them to put Republicans into office. Koch Industries has donated money to Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, and more. Basically, they've paid for the campaigns of the entire Republican party. And that's no wonder! Bachmann, Gingrich, and Perry have all sworn to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/18/us/politics/18epa.html">shut down the EPA as soon as they get elected as President</a>.<br />
<br />
These Regressives don't disagree with the EPA's focus, or think the agency should be handled differently. They disagree with the very <i>concept</i> of protecting the environment.<br />
<br />
And considering that they've each been bought and paid for by corporations like Koch Industries, that's no surprise.Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-81907681635809893782011-10-03T21:15:00.003-05:002011-10-03T21:15:53.230-05:00"More Pepper Spray! Please!"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Want to get angry? Here are some <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/09/26/nypd-no-new-occupy-wall-street-arrests/tab/comments/">comments on the Wall Street Journal</a> about the protests taking place at <a href="http://www.thegreeneroom.us/2011/10/occupy-wallstreet-and-americas-nobility.html">Occupy Wall Street</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
These protesters are parasites on our economy and country, seeking government handouts at the expense of hardworking Americans. You and your protester friends are not one of these Americans. - JonJ</blockquote>
<blockquote class="commentContent">
welcome to New York — we are not London — cops here do not run in the opposite direction of mob thugs. - noislamists</blockquote>
<div class="commentContent">
<blockquote>
More pepper spray! Please! </blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIpxoCBYSthXvqnLSCYqjdc9WdkcjWNzJxIxY4-Og0oPPJSaXsj5biTTv5svcgLbb2_Mp253RNeEVm3c36MpQ5IasCLPjDXv93D_xnT5Bfnp0Dcpo4RNF24uAlBtx7YnlICRhtmts3yA/s1600/mace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIpxoCBYSthXvqnLSCYqjdc9WdkcjWNzJxIxY4-Og0oPPJSaXsj5biTTv5svcgLbb2_Mp253RNeEVm3c36MpQ5IasCLPjDXv93D_xnT5Bfnp0Dcpo4RNF24uAlBtx7YnlICRhtmts3yA/s1600/mace.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We need more? Really?</td></tr>
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That last one is signed "Me," in one of the biggest failures of creativity I've seen, even online, but I'm going to say that "noislamists" is probably the best indicator of the kind of people we've got here.<br />
<br />
These are the people that oppose us. What's sad is that there's a good possibility that these are middle class Americans. The nobility has them so cowed and broken that they'll cheer <i>innocent people being maced</i>. They kneel at the feet of the rich simply because they're rich. "He has more money than me, so he must be worth more." Remember, these are the kind of Ayn Rand worshippers believe that the poor should be allowed to starve to death. <br />
<br />
We can find these people everywhere. Stand around a few minutes next to any newsstand and you'll hear someone complaining about how "Obama's stealing our money" or something. Because that healthcare bill, the one that keeps people from dying? That's just one step too far. They're usually too embarrassed about their opinions to voice them in public.<br />
<br />
On the internet, you'll see what they're really like.<br />
<br />
Regressives like this are our enemies. They are traitors to the American public, and are doing their best to sell us out to their corporate lords.<br />
<br />
Be better than that. </div>
Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-2236510664075814882011-10-03T14:36:00.002-05:002011-10-03T16:30:33.214-05:00Occupy Wallstreet and America's Nobility<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Does anyone reading this think that the wealthy should have more legal rights than the poor? If so, please enlighten us on how that makes any sense at all. Because I'd have to call that the stupidest, most offensive thing I've heard in awhile. <br />
So it kills me to say that in America, the rich have more legal rights than the poor. In this country, a rich person can have a poor person arrested for inconveniencing him. Even if that poor person is protected by the Constitution of the United States, the police show no reluctance in arresting them and hauling them off. After all, a public street is only public as long as we don't offend the businessmen nearby.<br />
<br />
Over the last two weeks, thousands of Americans, indignant at the growing inequality between the rich and the poor, angry at the slow but steady destruction of the middle class, have gathered in New York in a protest known as <a href="http://occupywallst.org/">Occupy Wall Street.</a> <br />
<br />
In their own words, "We are the 99% who will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%."<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>This does not sit well with the nobility. The rich prefer us to stay where we are. They want us to stay home and watch TV, listen to commiserating songs, and if we do get angry about what's been done to us, they want us to blame each other. Of course, they'll want that protest to go away. And it's clear that the police, the very ones most charged with our protection, have sided with the wealthy.<br />
<br />
Why else would the police lure thousands of protesters onto a bridge, then <a href="http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2011/10/seven-hundred-arrests-and-no-lack-resolve-new-york/43211/">trap and arrest over seven hundred people?</a> That's more than seven hundred people in <i>five hours</i>. I was shocked when I read about that, and shock remains my biggest reaction. I'm angry too, oh you bet I'm angry, but <i>seven hundred people in five hours?</i> That doesn't happen in America!<br />
<br />
Except that it does.<br />
<br />
Maybe it shouldn't be surprising. Not when the police <a href="http://boingboing.net/2011/09/30/another-hit-from-nypds-mace-in-the-face-cop-di-anthony-bologna.html">mace people for no reason</a>. Not when peaceful protesters are <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uiraDbcx14c">caged and sprayed with mace</a>, apparently for no reason. Congregating peacefully in a public area isn't a crime, after all. It's specifically protected by the constitution! But if your congregation annoys the wealthy, watch out. You'll be caged, maced, and arrested.<br />
<br />
Similar protests have sprung up around the country. Boston, Los Angeles, and even smaller cities such as Charlotte and Oklahoma City have seen gatherings of protesters showing support for those in New York. <a href="http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/arrests-boston-and-san-francisco-occu">Arrests have been made there, too.</a><br />
<br />
If there's any doubt that to exactly why the police are so clearly on the side of the wealthy, take a look at this recent release from <a href="http://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/Home/article/ny-13.htm">JPMorgan Chase</a>: <br />
<blockquote>
JPMorgan Chase recently donated an unprecedented $4.6 million to the New York City Police Foundation. The gift was the largest in the history of the foundation and will enable the New York City Police Department to strengthen security in the Big Apple</blockquote>
I like that part about strengthening security; it sounds a lot better than "keep those dirty poor people from bothering us."<br />
<br />
There has been some support for the protesters. The United Steelworkers Union has <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/30/3951832/usw-supports-the-occupy-wall-street.html">announced its support of Occupy Wall Street</a>, as has the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/29/nyc-transit-union-joins-o_n_987156.html">NYC Transit Union</a>. <br />
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Stand up against these insanity. We are American citizens! We can <i>not</i> allow ourselves to be treated in this way! Does that sound entitled? Good. We <i>are</i> entitled. We are entitled to the same rights, legal privileges, and legal protection as the richest people and most powerful corporations in this country!<br />
<br />
The conservative elite want to take away our liberty. But we can stand up for ourselves. <br />
<br />
We will stand up for ourselves.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo: Paul Stein/Flickr</span>Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-7040011852179452022011-09-25T20:05:00.000-05:002011-09-26T17:43:29.458-05:00Herman Cain: Pizza Guy for President?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ex CEO of Godfather's Pizza Herman Cain</td></tr>
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On Saturday, Herman Cain <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/64343.html">won Florida's straw poll</a>, and by quite a large margin. He's showing himself a serious threat to Rick Perry in the fight for the Republican candidacy. Unfortunately, Herman Cain is an incompetent, inexperienced bigot who has absolutely no business being considered for President.<br />
<br />
First, let's talk about his political experience. Well, there is none. That was easy. He's never held any political office. He's absurdly proud of this, going so far as to claim it's a good thing:<br />
<blockquote>
Knowing how Washington works isn't necessarily an advantage. As a
businessman going in, I don’t want to know how Washington works. I want
to change Washington D.C. and so by not knowing how it is supposed to
work I can ask tough questions that will help change the culture.</blockquote>
That's wonderful. He doesn't want to know how Washington works. Cain apparently thinks that being President of the United States is like being in a comedy movie, where pluck and audacity is enough to succeed at pretty much any task in the world. Maybe he imagines that he's like Reese Witherspoon in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legally_Blonde_2:_Red,_White_%26_Blonde">Legally Blonde 2</a>, and that his ignorance of political culture will be just what's needed to shock all those stuffy old codgers out of their ruts and get something done for a change! He's definitely shown that he doesn't have the slightest idea how government works, with <a href="http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/06/herman-cain-i-will-only-sign-small-bills">bizarre statements</a> about how he'll only sign bills that are three pages or shorter. I guess he just doesn't like to read.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Of course, maybe he's just playing on the Republican love of ignorance in all its forms. A little knowledge is a bad thing, according to these folks. After all, Rick Perry <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/15/perry-brushes-off-bush-comparisons/">brags about being less intellectual than George W. Bush.</a> Why wouldn't Cain brag about not knowing the first thing about being President? <br />
<br />
Cain's supporters point to his experience in the corporate world, repeatedly touting that as more important for a President than any history of public service could ever be. Republicans do adore their corporate masters, so someone with experience running corporations is worth five times as much political experience. Herman's biggest claim to fame is that he managed to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godfather%27s_Pizza">keep a troubled pizza chain alive</a>. Sure, he did it by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/is-herman-cain-really-such-a-great-businessman-after-all-2011-6">firing hundreds of workers,</a> but he did keep the store from failing. But is that really the kind of experience we look for in our nation's leader? What else has he done?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now that's experience.</td></tr>
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<br />
Well, he led a <a href="http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/05/herman-cain-aquila-lawsuit-2012">lucrative energy corporation into an Enron-like downward spira</a>l, pushing them away from energy production and into energy trading. As the company's stock fell by 94% and the employee's retirement fund lost $200 million in a single year, Cain rewarded the company's top five executives with $30 million in bonuses. Typical of Republican leadership, Cain prefers to reward the rich, while punishing anyone doing actual work.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cain is a veritable treasure trove of fringe beliefs, but let's touch on one of the stranger ones. He's stated publicly that <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/15/cain-planned-parenthood%E2%80%99s-mission-is-planned-genocide-of-black-babies/">Planned Parenthood is engaged in a genocide against black babies.</a> Of course he supports the complete de-funding of Planned Parenthood, as a Republican, it's a given that he's against women's freedom. I should mention that fewer than one in ten abortion clinics are located in predominantly black communities, but Cain's never been one to let the facts get in the way of his sweeping statements.<br />
<br />
Then you have what might be the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ-WTFA2vXY">most offensive political ad ever aired</a>. It's basically just a two minute long montage of horrific imagery from the 9/11 attacks, set to Herman's rendition of "God Bless America." The ad ends by quoting Cain, "We must never, never, never, never forget."<br />
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It's pretty much the most transparent attempt to scare people that's been aired in years. Sure, we might expect this kind of viciously disrespectful display from some local politician hoping to scare the uneducated common-folk into voting for someone to save them, but this is from a <i>major political figure</i>. Someone that might have a chance at being the Republican candidate for <i>President</i>. It's offensive, and it's vile. <br />
<br />
Now, let's talk about his bigotry. <br />
<br />
Cain's bigotry is so blatant that it overshadows anything else I could say about him. He's basically running for President on a campaign of "Muslims are scary." Even for conservatives, that's disgusting. If there's one thing that Cain wants everyone to know, it's that he hates Muslims, and that Muslims have no place in his America. <br />
<br />
Cain has promised that he will require Muslims to give a
loyalty oath before being able to serve in his administration, an oath
he <a href="http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/herman-cain-doubles-down-on-his-muslim-loyalty-oath-idea/">states will not be required of any other faith</a>. This is toned down a little from his <a href="http://www.alan.com/2011/03/27/gop-hopeful-herman-cain-i-would-not-appoint-a-muslim/">earlier statement</a>
that he would not be comfortable appointing any Muslims at all, but
it's still pretty blatant. He insists that this is not discrimination. I
can only assume this means that he makes up his own secret definitions
of words, which he doesn't tell the rest of us, because it's hard to
imagine a clearer case of religious discrimination.<br />
<br />
Well, it's hard for <i>me</i> to imagine a clearer case of discrimination, but not harder for Cain. Herman's also said that communities have the right to <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/07/18/herman_cain_communities_ban_mosques/index.html">ban Islamic mosques</a>.
He claims that this is in no way against freedom of religion, which
makes me wonder about those secret definitions of his again.<br />
<br />
Simply
put, he doesn't think that Americans have the right to choose their own
religion. He supports the governmental restriction of our liberties as
American citizens, and wants to take away our rights. But we knew that
already, didn't we? He's a Republican, after all. Of course he wants
the government to tell us which God we can and can't worship. <br />
<br />
But hey, he sure can run a pizza chain, can't he?Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-28793295407297032862011-09-22T09:14:00.004-05:002011-09-22T09:30:44.115-05:00Did Georgia Kill an Innocent Man?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWSiOEsKPi3ZTgmvfN8hxiOJDc7yhFwtQ0PnthnzT7TbMkqbcc-_O7VD_hB7H1BaXMT_sBJ8XxtTzYtMHLEW4ecHW_GKt52VqCpcw9FXNXJsTVXPiFlv8-uSi26nk5gjtfczjIrzc7dI/s1600/Troy_Davis_Paris_demo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWSiOEsKPi3ZTgmvfN8hxiOJDc7yhFwtQ0PnthnzT7TbMkqbcc-_O7VD_hB7H1BaXMT_sBJ8XxtTzYtMHLEW4ecHW_GKt52VqCpcw9FXNXJsTVXPiFlv8-uSi26nk5gjtfczjIrzc7dI/s1600/Troy_Davis_Paris_demo.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Short answer: Probably.<br />
<br />
Slightly longer answer: Probably, but there's no way to know for sure, <em>since they killed him</em>. <br />
<br />
Troy Davis was charged with killing a police officer in 1989. There was no physical evidence of the murder, only witness testimony and circumstantial evidence. Since then, out of nine eyewitnesses, seven of them have recanted. They signed affidavits changing their testimony. Witnesses stated publically that they had been pressured by the police to implicate Davis. But the prosecution argued that the affidavits were not admissable in court, and that the statements of the other witnesses were not relevant. The court ignored the fact that witnesses implicated someone else as well.<br />
<br />
Another man <em>confessed to the murder. </em>Three witnesses signed affidavits stating that he confessed to them. But this man was not subpoenaed, so the evidence was dismissed.<br />
<br />
They executed him last night. With no direct evidence of guilt. With the majority witness testimony that was used as proof recanted by the witnesses themselves. With the witnesses stating that they had been pressured to implicate him. With another man having confessed.<br />
<br />
Anyone who doesn't think that <em>any </em>of these developments is enough to cast some doubt on the case is an idiot or they're just blood-thirsty. Any one of these things casts doubt, and all of them together casts a whole lot of it.<br />
<br />
And he wasn't even given another trial.Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-34463556651604795662011-09-19T11:25:00.010-05:002011-09-19T16:48:01.266-05:00Class WarfareAnyone who pays even the slightest attention to the media knows that the GOP loves to accuse liberals of something they call "class warfare." By the Republican definition, it seems that anything that doesn't benefit the rich is a form of class warfare. Raising taxes on the wealthy, lowering taxes on the middle class, increasing social benefits for the poor, it's all somehow class warfare. A liberal can't order coffee in the morning without a gaggle of Repubicans shouting, "Class warfare! Class warfare!" <br />
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It's ridiculous. It's also dishonest. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">President Barack Obama</td></tr>
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Today, President Obama called for a <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/09/obama-targets-the-rich-in-proposal-to-raise-15-trillion-in-taxes/245275/">series of tax increases worth</a> 1.5 trillion dollars. Coupled with other program reform and policy changes, this would reduce the deficit by more than 4.4 trillion dollars. He's also made a proposal that he calls "the Buffett rule," patterned after Warren E. Buffett's call for the government to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html">"stop coddling the super-rich."</a> The rule would call for a new minimum tax rate for individuals making more than one million dollars a year, forcing them to pay at least as high a percentage of their earnings as their employees do.</div>
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That seems fair, doesn't it? No one's trying to stop the rich from being rich. I think that's a pretty important point to make: <i>the hyper-rich get to continue being hyper-rich</i>. The rich keep to keep on being rich. America's seen some tough times, recently, and our economy isn't as good as it should be. As it <i>could </i>be, if we pulled together. So isn't it fair to have the rich shoulder their share of the burden?</div>
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Not according to Republicans. Paul Ryan, U.S. Representative from Wisconsin and Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget, has come out with the standard GOP reply for anything that even remotely touches taxation: <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/09/18/321875/paul-ryan-calls-for-increasing-taxes-on-middle-class-but-dismisses-millionaires-tax-as-class-warfare/">"Class warfare!"</a> </div>
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It looks like the President wants to move down the class warfare path. Class warfare will simply divide this country more, will attack job creators, divide people, and it doesn’t grow the economy.</blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZN4Su60pIvWWKWXnjz4PTO3R9piPqQ-OiyB65PW7S6JSOZ0K0j9s6BJoaIfe9toTRQvsl9LvU2y-WH_vz4Wt73EuPun5LwnIB3N2vhkeFuGJNApDOxiGT659Zg_DC_UHA0wy4Olmvt_I/s1600/ryanpaul3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320px" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZN4Su60pIvWWKWXnjz4PTO3R9piPqQ-OiyB65PW7S6JSOZ0K0j9s6BJoaIfe9toTRQvsl9LvU2y-WH_vz4Wt73EuPun5LwnIB3N2vhkeFuGJNApDOxiGT659Zg_DC_UHA0wy4Olmvt_I/s320/ryanpaul3.jpg" width="224px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Representative Paul Ryan</td></tr>
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So what's Ryan's plan to fix the economy? Well, he wants to raise taxes. His plan would raise taxes by more than 50% on individuals making less than $106,000 a year. Ryan doesn't care about the middle class at all, which fits standard Republican behavior. From the GOP's point of view, if a person makes less than a million dollars a year, then they don't matter. <br />
<br />
It's only class warfare when it's hurting the rich, apparently.<br />
<br />
Think about it. In 2001 and 2003, President Bush cut taxes on the rich. These tax cuts were, supposedly, for the purpose of "creating jobs." (It's fairly easy to take a look around and see how well that worked.) Did Republicans let loose their accusations of "class warfare" then? Well no. Of course not.<br />
<br />
But fast forward a few years to 2010, when those tax cuts were about to expire. Suddenly, Republicans were pouring out of the woodwork, their shouts of "class warfare!" ringing through the air. It was almost impossible to have a conversation about the subject over their cries.<br />
<br />
As GOP Senator Orrin Hatch said, "“The place where you’ve got to get revenues has to come from the middle class."<br />
<br />
It's obvious how the Regressives think: taxing the rich is wrong, it's class warfare. On the other hand, taxing the middle class and the poor is great! It's simply sharing the burden! We all must do our civic duty, after all! Funny how "civic duty" only comes up when they're talking about people with less money than them.<br />
<br />
The Republican agenda is clear: they are trying to create an American noble class. So far, they are succeeding. The rich are immune to laws that would destroy an average citizen's life. At a time when the government is intruding more and more on our personal lives, the rich are almost free from government interference. It would be almost admirable, if we were grading them on a scale of villainy, but we're not. It's repugnant on almost every level.<br />
<br />
A noble class can't exist without a peasant class. Guess which one we're in.<br />
<br />
Class warfare <i>is </i>being waged. It's being waged by the Republican elite against a middle-class they see as weakened and struggling. They will do everything they can to grind us away, up to and including increased taxation, the removal of social benefits, and <a href="http://www.thegreeneroom.us/2011/09/rar-rar-rar.html">taking away our right to vote</a>. <br />
<br />
Obama's tax reform and Buffett's millionaire tax will not stop them, by themselves. But they are important first steps that we need to take, if we're going to defend ourselves against the agenda of the Republican elite.<br />
<br />
Call or write your Congressmen and let them know that you support Obama's taxation reform. Even if they're a Republican, make sure they know which side you're on. <br />
<br />
They can only win if we let them win.<br />
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Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-46684412659181576682011-09-18T04:43:00.000-05:002011-09-18T04:48:43.415-05:00Bigotry is Bad for Business<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Hughes, Co-founder of Facebook</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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As you can tell from my <a href="http://www.thegreeneroom.us/2011/09/north-carolinas-amendment-one.html">previous post</a>, I don't have much patience with people who are willing to deny an American citizen their rights. It's simple: this is America, and we have rights. Those rights don't get to be threatened and denied just to make some people feel like they're better than others. Because of that, I didn't get too much into any other reasons. If we're arguing against slavery, should we have to bring up economic reasons to end it? That's nothing short of insulting.<br />
<br />
But there are other reasons, too. Chris Huges, one of the founders of Facebook and a native of North Carolina, explains too the Wall Street Journal that discrimination like this is more than just morally reprehensible, <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/in-charge/2011/09/12/facebook-co-founder-anti-gay-marriage-amendment-%E2%80%98bad-for-business%E2%80%99/">it's bad for business, as well.</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote>
Hughes . . . who is engaged to social activist
Sean Eldridge, says the move will chase entrepreneurs like himself out
of the region and hobble job-creation efforts at a time when state unemployment is above 10%.</blockquote>
He's even said that he'll donate $10 for every person who "Likes" the Facebook page of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/equalitync">Equality NC</a>, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to equal rights. (Up to $10,000.) Good for you, Chris.<br />
<br />
Lots of people talk about conservatives as if they just have different priorities. Republicans are said to care about business so much because they think that happy, unregulated and un-taxed businesses are the only thing that can pull us out of our economic slump. And sure, 90% of the time, a Republican lawmaker will go out of his way to give a corporation anything it wants, regardless of the individual citizens that he hurts along the way.<br />
<br />
But then you see something like this. It's pretty clear that when it comes down to the line, Republicans are more concerned with controlling our lives than they are helping businesses. Or maybe they just don't want any new businesses. After all, their campaign trails are paid for by the old businesses, who feel like they'd do better without the competition from any fresh new business.<br />
<br />
Maybe it's more fair to say that they "making things better" isn't really something Republicans care about at all.Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-64703277928789194152011-09-15T09:23:00.013-05:002011-09-15T18:21:30.240-05:00North Carolina's Amendment One<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Throughout the nation, conservatives are working hard taking away our rights as American citizens. In many cases, it's not enough for them to simply deny a person's liberty. The average Republican respects strength, brutality, and clear statements of superiority. What could be more brutal than stomping down on the face of someone you've already defeated? Conservatives are never happy with merely winning a fight, they need to grind their opponents into the dirt, laughing at their own barbarism. Anything to feed their sense of superiority. <br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OP0C8tLW37TsjbAAlH3BnTC-T8IQy4qhxMRjhdN8imrZ-zDU5iXCqxdCCC5dEOjSs2LTAGrdxk6SyMpABpNbl9x1PxjO-z0s_2VFmsOAPqRzBZt8SDAKW1819Hzr3bRCYuvfiZGS5ek/s1600/IMG00050-20110126-1322-600x447.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238px" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OP0C8tLW37TsjbAAlH3BnTC-T8IQy4qhxMRjhdN8imrZ-zDU5iXCqxdCCC5dEOjSs2LTAGrdxk6SyMpABpNbl9x1PxjO-z0s_2VFmsOAPqRzBZt8SDAKW1819Hzr3bRCYuvfiZGS5ek/s320/IMG00050-20110126-1322-600x447.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">North Carolina remembers that it's supposed to be bigoted</td></tr>
</tbody></table>This is happening right now in North Carolina. The opponents of freedom in the state's House and Senate have passed a bill that could <a href="http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2011%20%20&BillID=s514">amend the state's constitution</a> to deny the right to marry to anyone who doesn't meet the state's stringent "moral standards." This anti-rights amendment could be put on ballots as early as May of 2012, during the primary election.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Friends, there's something you need to understand. North Carolina <i>already</i> has laws against the freedom of marriage. Can two men get married in North Carolina? Can two women? No. That's illegal, and has never been allowed. So why an amendment to the state constitution? </div><br />
That's the stomping I mentioned earlier, the grinding into the dirt. It's not enough that gay marriage is <i>illegal</i>, they want it to be <i>unconstitutional</i>, enshrined into the very basis of the law.<br />
<br />
Regressives have been fighting to amend the state's constitution for years, but every time the legislation was put forward, the House and Senate stopped it. That changed this year, as Republicans took control of both chambers for the first time in over one hundred years. <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">To stack the deck, they put the amendment on the primary ballot, next May. There's a Democrat in the White House right now, and it's pretty unlikely that he'll have a primary challenger. In most situations, liberals wouldn't have any reason at all to vote in next year's primaries. Compare that to the circus of Republican presidential contenders -- it's hard to remember when a primary has gotten so much attention. Republicans will be out in droves that day, deciding whether they want a fascist, an idiot, or both for a president. Democrats will only be voting if they've both heard of the amendment and care enough to vote against it, while I'd bet that most of the Republicans who show up will have not heard of it at all! But since it's on the ballot, they'll sure as hell vote for it.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">They're taking a Republican-backed amendment and putting it on a ballot that will be seen almost entirely by Republicans. That's just fundamentally dishonest.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Religious extremists have already begun celebrating. Mark Creech, the executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina, takes this amendment as an <a href="http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/BPnews.asp?ID=36108">almost personal victory</a>. "It was more of a fight than I anticipated," he said, while describing the amendment as a "culmination of over 10 years of intensive work." That's a whole lot of effort just to keep someone else from their rights. </div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirUiW-HPICi-4-ScR8f3tGTwJaHtkGqjV5UTVz2UoLHM1ySWBv1dwgYu-L9kmYSJbPA-ti8xSGZTEggEtnR9RIN6dBBRDFB8hWMXlzo1I3M0xuU24g45HxqoUtZ51R7zaMczkqnhyYsXE/s1600/untitled.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213px" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirUiW-HPICi-4-ScR8f3tGTwJaHtkGqjV5UTVz2UoLHM1ySWBv1dwgYu-L9kmYSJbPA-ti8xSGZTEggEtnR9RIN6dBBRDFB8hWMXlzo1I3M0xuU24g45HxqoUtZ51R7zaMczkqnhyYsXE/s320/untitled.bmp" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extremists protesting the rights of American citizens</td></tr>
</tbody></table> In one laughable statement, Creech insisted that churches address the issue "compassionately and lovingly." I'm not sure how forcing Americans into being legally second-class citizens can be "loving." Maybe I'm not enough of an extremist to see how that makes sense.<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Regressives will tell us that they're not taking away rights from anyone. They'll say that gay people have never had the right to marry each other, so there's no problem! Of course, until 1967, North Carolina didn't allow interracial marriages, and those rights hadn't been "taken away," either. Black people had never had the right to marry white people! <br />
<br />
But rights don't suddenly appear the first time they're allowed. Slavery wasn't magically wrong the day it became illegal. African Americans have <i>always</i> had rights. Gay people have <i>always</i> had the right to marry. The laws against them were <i>wrong</i>. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Remember that North Carolina never actually legalized interracial marriage. It was forced upon the state by the Supreme Court of the United States. Now the conservatives are afraid that their own state's courts might recognize the basic human liberties of their fellows, so they're scrambling to enshrine their bigotry into their constitution.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It should be a sad day, when one of the main goals of a political party is to take away basic human rights. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
This is only the latest attack on liberty by the Regressives, but it's an important one. Remember, Republicans want a huge government more than anything. They want to take control of every aspect of our lives. Under Republican rule, we have no rights, no liberties. If they continue getting their way, we will only have the "rights" they <i>allow</i> us to have, and those rights will be conditional on whether or not we conform to their expectations. Think about it: they want to control the most basic definition of family! The amount of arrogance they must have, to think that they can dictate, by law, what a family is! The amount of <i>stupidity</i> their supporters must have, to allow them to do this!</div><br />
Believe me, the Regressives won't stop there. Do you think they'll rest, once we allow them control over our families, over our morals? There's no chance. Conservative politicians think it's ok to deny marriage to anyone who doesn't meet their personal standards. Right now they're focused on gay marriage, but what happens if they win that fight? What stops them from denying marriage to Buddhists, too? To atheists? To Christians in the wrong denomination? The very idea sounds ridiculous, but it's no different than what they're doing right now.<br />
<br />
I'll tell you what stops them. We do.<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-37243962455859355132011-09-13T12:15:00.006-05:002011-09-13T17:18:15.884-05:00The pro-death Republican partyDon't let anyone ever tell you that the Republicans are "pro-life." My friends, that is a bald-faced lie. The GOP is many things -- pro-business, pro-intrusive government, anti-science, and anti-liberty -- but pro-life is not one of them. <br />
<br />
Republicans do tend to be pro-<i>embryo</i>. I'll give them that. They'd rather a woman die in child-birth than to have an abortion, and they'd <a href="http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2011/02/miscarriage-death-penalty-georgia">execute a woman for having a miscarriage</a>, if she can't prove her innocence. But pro-life? Not at all. Republicans love death.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Republican Congressman Ron Paul</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Did anyone catch the GOP debate last night? At one point, Wolf Blitzer asked Ron Paul what should be done with a 30 year old without insurance, but who needed hospitalization to live. Ron wouldn't come out and say it, but his answer did imply that he should be left to die. But as horrible as that is, that's not what scares me the most. <br />
<br />
Blitzer followed up by asking point blank, ""Are you saying society should just let him die?" <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/12/tea-party-debate-_n_959142.html#28_the-crowd-on-health-insurance">And the crowd cheered, "Yeah!"</a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"></div>These people don't care about life. They don't care about people at all. The candidates themselves might be too timid to come out and say it, but their supporters aren't. They like death. I won't claim to know why. Maybe it makes them feel powerful, to know that others are dying while they continue to live. Maybe they get a visceral thrill from imagining anyone they disagree with dying, unaided.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Republican Governor Rick Perry</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After all, this is the same group of people who <i>cheered</i> at <a href="http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/09/reagan-library-crowd-goes-wild-for-perrys-234-executions-video.php">Rick Perry's record breaking 234 executions.</a> It was the <i>biggest applause of the night</i>, and for what? For Rick Perry's callous disregard of human life. For his driving desire to kill a man, even when <a href="http://camerontoddwillingham.com/?p=154">the evidence shows that the prisoner is innocent.</a> When a government committee gathered evidence disputing the conviction, Perry fired them, rather than have the new evidence considered.<br />
<br />
One Republican voter commented about the charge, <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/08/03/perry_willingham_survey">"It takes balls to execute an innocent man."</a><br />
<br />
You read that right. The execution of an innocent man might have actually <i>helped</i> Rick Perry's campaign.<br />
<br />
Friends, I'm not entirely against the death penalty. The sad fact of the matter is that there are some people out there that just don't have any business being alive anymore. If a person disrespects the lives of others to that degree, then maybe we don't need to respect his, either. The problem is that there's no court in the country that's 100% perfect, all the time. People make mistakes, even when they're judges, even when they're jurors. And until someone's <i>killed</i>, there's always a possibility that person will turn out to actually be innocent.<br />
<br />
Now look at how Rick Perry does things. He <i>suppressed evidence</i> that could have freed an innocent man. And why? Because he'd rather kill that innocent man than let him go. There's no word for that other than bloodthirsty. And it was that bloodthirstiness, that blatant disregard for an American citizen's life, that got Perry a cheering applause at that GOP debate.<br />
<br />
So what have we got here? We've got two viable Republican candidates: Rick Perry, whose supporters applaud the reckless execution of innocent citizens, and Ron Paul whose supporters call out for the lingering death of anyone without insurance.<br />
<br />
Don't <i>ever </i>let the Republican party tell you they're pro-life. They're nowhere close.Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554177867613594353.post-81018470048265775292011-09-10T03:22:00.009-05:002011-09-10T04:47:35.221-05:00The Poll Tax is BackWhat do you think of when you think of America? Do you think of pie? Sports? Or do you think of something more important, more visceral, more righteous? Do you think of freedom?<br />
<br />
I do.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMPl2pfAam-2oSB1AQnqsWfThcLWPOLHtwewDFEMkVXpZrXkVS4q6w1NBJhNc58UGSyECPk9dqV7zNGhjYMEh02H4hZwiNEGdpg2veYFbV0fmQVVAONyu77ylb2dLvcznY9NuFTY_q_U/s1600/ballot-box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMPl2pfAam-2oSB1AQnqsWfThcLWPOLHtwewDFEMkVXpZrXkVS4q6w1NBJhNc58UGSyECPk9dqV7zNGhjYMEh02H4hZwiNEGdpg2veYFbV0fmQVVAONyu77ylb2dLvcznY9NuFTY_q_U/s320/ballot-box.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most important freedom of all.</td></tr>
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One of the most important freedoms we have is the freedom to vote. Unfettered access to the polls is one of the most vital freedoms that an American citizen can have. Voting is the foundation of our liberty, for through voting, our government is made answerable to us. If we cannot freely vote, then we cannot take part in the most fundamental activities that make our country "free." Let me give a brief history lesson.<br />
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In the past, states have passed laws that required voters to pay for the privilege to vote. These laws were largely considered "Jim Crow" laws, enacted largely to keep the black population from having equal legal footing. Through these poll taxes, states could say, "Everyone has the equal right to vote, it costs the same for everyone." But while most whites could easily afford the tax, African Americans were significantly poorer, and had a much harder time doing so. The poll taxes effectively barred a large population of blacks from being <i>allowed to vote in their own governmental elections</i>.<br />
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That's right. States passed laws disallowing their own citizens from voting. They took away the most basic freedom possible. They were citizens, but without the ability to vote, how could they stand against their own government? How could they make their voices heard? <br />
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Fortunately, the Supreme Court <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harper_v._Virginia_Board_of_Elections">disallowed this practice entirely in 1966.</a><br />
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And yet today, right now, <i>as you are reading this</i>, states like Wisconsin, Indiana, Texas, and more are enforcing laws nearly identical to those ruled unconstitutional nearly fifty years ago. The Republican Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, has signed legislation <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/25/wisconsin-voter-id-law-scott-walker_n_867090.html">requiring a citizen present a photo ID before they will be allowed to vote.</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjitVqD2sqDuaIMru3a2CQNLK1M323E9NX2cjHxP7O5Mh6igaJu2Lj4zxPyHwDT-KC1SuT2EJkTC0Mpo6EgfbmlfCE-ENnjFe8y-uf4G519hKgAg5LOVjW12MlEq38wEeTw3hIPZL8Zei0/s1600/scott-walker-15719dd83eaf5818.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjitVqD2sqDuaIMru3a2CQNLK1M323E9NX2cjHxP7O5Mh6igaJu2Lj4zxPyHwDT-KC1SuT2EJkTC0Mpo6EgfbmlfCE-ENnjFe8y-uf4G519hKgAg5LOVjW12MlEq38wEeTw3hIPZL8Zei0/s320/scott-walker-15719dd83eaf5818.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Republican Governor Scott Walker</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table>"What's so wrong with that?" you might ask. Surely it's important to verify a voter's identity before letting them vote. Indeed, that's the rationalization that the Republicans have given. Time and time again, they have insisted that voter fraud is a huge problem, and must be dealt with! They've been crying "voter fraud!" since 2008, when it became possible that Obama might actually win the presidency. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/27/opinion/a-poll-tax-by-another-name.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss">But there <i>is</i> no problem with individual voter fraud.</a> Indiana has not been able to cite a <i>single</i> instance of voter fraud in its entire history. Kansas has had more UFO sitings than it has had allegations of voter fraud. No, my friends. These laws have nothing to do with stopping nonexistent fraud. They have everything to do with keeping undesirables from having a say in the government.<br />
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And we have to remember, government IDs cost money. Money that for many people may be inconsequential. What's thirty dollars? But not everyone has that money, and those most likely to not have an ID (the poor and the elderly) have had no reason to obtain one. After all, if they didn't drive, they didn't need one. Until now.<br />
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Now, these states do have to comply with the letter of the law. They can't <i>require </i>money in exchange for the ability to vote. If a citizen asks for a free voter ID, they have to be given one.<br />
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But a recently surfaced internal memo from the Republicans shows that DMV employees were <a href="http://www.wisconsingazette.com/breaking-news/gop-memo-instructs-dmv-workers-not-to-tell-voters-that-photo-ids-are-free.html">specifically instructed to not tell citizens that voter IDs could be had for free.</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>So by law, they are required to let people vote without paying a tax. But they've built a situation where people are <i>told</i> that they need to pay. The <i>only</i> way to be able to vote without paying a government fee is to <i>specifically ask</i> <i>if you can vote for free</i>.<br />
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It's obvious that the poor are being targeted by these laws. After all, the poor have the most to lose if these Republican regimes stay in power. Governor Walker and his counterparts in other states are afraid of the poor vote, and so they're stomping down on it as hard as they can.<br />
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If we needed any more proof of this blatant discrimination, then pay attention to this: <a href="http://solidaritywisconsin.com/content/wisconsin-walker-shuts-down-dmv-offices-democratic-areas-after-passing-voter-id-law">after passing the voter ID law, Governor Walker began shutting down DMV offices in primarily Democratic areas.</a> At the same time, he began expanding the hours of DMVs in Republican-heavy areas. In many of the poorer areas of the state, DMVs are now open only one or two days a week, and only for a couple hours a day.<br />
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This isn't just Wisconsin, folks. Similar laws have been passed in Texas, Indiana, Kansas, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. All Republican controlled, all with reason to fear the disenfranchised.<br />
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Jim Crow laws are back, but this time they're targeting anyone that the Republicans think might stand against them.Jacob Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640400507724783553noreply@blogger.com2