The Nightowl Newswrap

post from They gave us a republic... - Front Page on 02 May 2012 01:00:00 AM. © They gave us a republic... - Front Page

By BG & YD

Shorter @ScottBrownMA: Obamacare protections for me, but not for thee! The Derek Zoolander of the US Senate who was elected to "Stop ObamaCare!!!1@!!! is all about keeping his 23-year-old daughter on his Congressional Health Plan, even though he has voted to overturn the law that afforded him that option. If he had prevailed in overturning ObamaCare, she would have "aged out" on her 23rd birthday and been paying through the nose on the private market, or had to -- gasp! -- get a job or maybe even go without coverage like other people's kids do.

You already knew that Rudy-9/11 and Mittens were a couple of scumbags, right? On the anniversary of Osama bin Laden sleeping with the fishes, Rudy and Mittens went to a Manhattan firehouse that lost 11 members of the family on that awful day, and like good photo-op whores, they took pizzas for the folks at the firehouse. And as soon as they thought they were out of sight of the cameras they both piled all the pizzas they were carrying in the arms of an aide and forgot all about how they're such big fans of firefighters and stuff.

When the drug war produces cops that are as bad as the drug gangs they exist to counter it's time to stop the drug war and start decriminalizing and taxing the drugs that people are taking anyway. Throwing a college student in a holding cell and forgetting about him for five days -- because he was caught up in a raid while he was smoking weed with his buddies -- is a bit beyond the pale for even the fascist fuckers in the DEA. He spent three days in ICU after his ordeal, he has not been charged with any crime and the DEA has not apologized.

As First Amendment near absolutists, we don't want Faux Noise silenced, we want them countered. We want the Fairness Doctrine brought back and strengthened so the truth has a chance to get it's britches on before the lies they tell make it all the way around the globe, that's all.

Fans of the "Walk and Talk" will love the new web ad by Funny or Die that promotes walking.

The exodus of sponsors from ALEC continues. The latest to bail is the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. From the statement issued by the group: "Given recent events, the new NBPTS President and CEO decided to discontinue engagement with ALEC. As a result, NBPTS terminated its membership as an Education Task Force Member of ALEC effective April 18, 2012, and also withdrew from participating in the upcoming ALEC conference."

There is no room for gays at the Republican Inn -- and they'll call the Centurions if you don't move along. You won't even get offered the manger.

...and assholes like this will smear your blood on their faces and dance over your battered body...literally if given half a chance.

So they should just die paupers then? Georgia Rep. Tom Price -- and here's the scary part, he's a licensed physician -- thinks that it is a "terrible idea" to bring people with pre-existing conditions into the insurance system. He knows damned good and well that over 40,000 Americans die every single year because they lack coverage. Mr. Price should have to look a roomful of their families in the eye and explain why their loved one deserved to die for being a deadbeat who couldn't afford healthcare.

Most meaningful May Day in quite some time. "Tens of thousands of people have descended on streets across the world to mark International Workers' Day. Colourful protests organised by trades unions and left-wing parties across Asia shared the theme of better pay and conditions, and denunciations of government policy, as living costs increase in fast-growing economies. Marchers in Europe used May 1, a national holiday in more than 80 countries around the world, to protest against government-imposed austerity measures. Thousands of May Day protesters in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan demanded raises in pay that they say has not kept up with rising consumer prices, while also calling for lower school fees and expressing a variety of other grievances. Indonesian workers held Asia's biggest rally, watched warily by a heavy police and army presence. Carrying banners saying "raise our salaries" and "stop outsourcing contracts", more than 9,000 workers gathered at Jakarta's main roundabout before marching to the state palace."

Now this is a game-changing idea. Throw in the fossil-fuel industry and we're in. "President Evo Morales has announced that his government is completing the nationalisation of Bolivia's electricity sector by seizing control of its main power grid from a Spanish-owned company. Morales on Tuesday took advantage of the symbolism of May Day, the international day of the worker, to order troops to occupy installations of the company, a subsidiary of Red Electrica Corporacion SA."

Bharain's murderous tyrants didn't honor May Day. "Riot police firing tear gas and stun grenades routed protesters in Bahrain's capital as the government came under mounting international pressure to release jailed leaders of last year's uprising. An appeals court decision on Monday to grant a retrial to 21 opposition figures was not enough to defuse resurgent unrest among the Gulf Arab state's majority Shia Muslims, and street rallies resumed on Tuesday."

And finally...

Now this gives social media some redeeming social value. "The NHS and social networking site Facebook have joined forces in an attempt to increase the number of organs being donated. People will be able to register as an organ donor through the website and share their intentions with family and friends. Three people die every day while waiting for a transplant, NHS says. NHS Blood and Transplant said the partnership was an "exciting new way" to encourage donation. Around 10,000 people in the UK are on the waiting list for an organ. The NHS said only half of registered organ donors told their families that they wanted to donate their organs after death. If somebody is on the register then legally the organs can be used for transplantation. However, organs are not taken if the family is too upset by the prospect. The NHS said relatives who knew the person's wishes were far more likely to consent. People can now say they are an organ donor as part of their "Facebook Timeline"."