Sanity, Wherefore Art Thou

post from DemConWatch on 11 March 2011 06:00:00 AM. © DemConWatch

Does anyone else feel as if something has gotten into the water and greatly affected the minds of incredible numbers of people? Or is it just me?

Perhaps you've heard, read, or personally known about someone who had his/her house foreclosed upon wherein there was no mortgage, and the address was wrong. Or someone who had been making payments all along while working for a modification, which was still in progress, when the house was sealed up as part of a foreclosure action. Even if you haven't, any logical person would assume that at some point in time, there was one house, just one, which was incorrectly foreclosed upon. Well, you're not the Federal Reserve, which has concluded that NOT ONE HOME was foreclosed upon incorrectly. NOT ONE. Just for the record, in 2010, there were over 3 million foreclosure notices, and to come to this conclusion, the Fed reviewed a total of 500 cases.

Then, there's the case of the idiot criminal. Pretend you're a criminal, of the murdering kind. You decide to leave town, change your name, change your life, and live simply. As a rancher maybe. You do this for almost 20 years. You are accepted as a little odd, but a good neighbor in your small town. You settle down, pay your taxes, have a couple kids and no one knows where you are. Would you then file court papers under your REAL name? For any reason?

The Supremes drank the water a long time ago, as witnessed by their recent decisions. They've got another case on the docket, and the likelihood is that the Republican majority will stick with supporting Shrub and his cronies in everything they did illegally. In this case, the charges are against John Ashcroft personally. The case is Abdullah Al-Kidd v John Ashcroft. The Cliff Notes version is that Al-Kidd, an American citizen on American soil, was arrested as a material witness related to a case for which he was never called to testify. He was imprisoned, strip-searched, shackled, moved between facilities, and later restricted to Nevada. The 9th Circuit found:

Al-Kidd was not arrested and detained because he had allegedly committed a crime. He alleges that he was arrested and confined because former United States Attorney General John Ashcroft (Ashcroft), subordinates operating under policies promulgated by Ashcroft, and others within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), unlawfully used the federal material witness statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3144, to investigate or preemptively detain him. Ashcroft asserts that he is entitled to absolute and qualified immunity against al-Kidd’s claims. We hold that on the facts pled Ashcroft is not protected by either form of immunity, and we affirm in part and reverse in part the decision of the district court.

Ashcroft is appealing to the Supremes. The Times has a nice op-ed on the matter.

The GOP wants to repeal the light bulb bill. Best blog title related to the hearings and legislation: The GOP's Dim Bulb Bill.

On top of everything else, we may have to live without bananas. I am not making this up. In my house, "bananas" comprise an actual food group, as do "organic green grapes" and "heirloom peaches." The loss would be greatly felt.

And finally, there's Charlie Sheen. Although as I understand it, he didn't drink the water, rather, he drank Tiger Blood. Since he's a warlock. Something like a witch for guys, which doesn't mean he's related to Christine O'Donnell. I'm relatively oblivious to pop culture, but this whole thing is ubiquitous. And in the interest of full disclosure, I've seen his show, and I find it hysterically funny. Unlike his implosion, which is likely due to manic-depression for which he self-medicated for decades.

So these are the things which have caught my attention, and I'm really wondering if there's something in the water - does it seem to anyone else that the world is truly going crazy? How is it that James Clapper thinks Kaddafi is going to prevail while the rest of the US Administration doesn't? France has already recognized the rebels, and is starting diplomatic relations with them. Can the administration really not get on the same page? Will Walker be recalled? Will "regular folks" realize that what the Wisconsin Senate did in the dead of night is just plain wrong? Have "regular folks" drunk so much water that they cannot see that the ultimate aim was union busting and not the state budget? Do they not know this is another destructive cause backed by Karl Rove? Tell me, is my model Chicken Little or the kid who yelled that the Emperor had no clothes?

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http://www.Demconwatchblog.com/diary/4416/sanity-wherefore-art-thou

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Muse in the Morning

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 11 March 2011 06:00:00 AM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Muse in the MorningTime for a break from poetry...in order to create some art.Must you value what others value,avoid what others avoid?How ridiculous!--Lao TzuColor Splash 3 I know you have talent. ?What sometimes is forgotten is that being practical[...]

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The Golden Rule writ simple

post from Occasional Planet on 11 March 2011 05:00:19 AM. © Occasional Planet

I don’t know Kathy Conley-Jones, but I wish I did. I think I’d like her. Conley-Jones is owner of the Conley Financial Group in St. Louis. In an article in the St. Louis American in May 2010, this obviously successful African-American woman was quoted as saying: “Success is not about money. It’s living in a [...]No related posts.

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http://www.occasionalplanet.org/2011/03/11/the-golden-rule-writ-simple/

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Massive earthquake followed by tsunamis hit Japan

post from AMERICAblog News on 11 March 2011 05:00:14 AM. © AMERICAblog News

The only good news is that the earthquake was relatively far from the large population in Tokyo. So far there is no news about any deaths. This is not the largest ever in Japan or the world, but 8.8 is extremely strong. Initial reports are saying this is the worst earthquake in 140 years in Japan.

A series of powerful earthquakes have struck north-east Japan on Friday afternoon, triggering warnings of tsunami as high as 10 metres and shaking buildings in Tokyo.

The first earthquake struck at 2:46 pm local time and measured magnitude 8.8, according to the US geological survey. Within 30 minutes the same region was rocked by two more big quakes of slightly lower intensity, Japanese news reports said.

The first quake, Japan's biggest for seven years, struck at a depth of six miles (9km) about 80 miles of the eastern coast, according to Japan's meteorological agency.

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owed-by-tsunamis.html

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Earthquake and Tsunami (UPDATED)

post from DemConWatch on 11 March 2011 04:48:23 AM. © DemConWatch

Japan was rocked this morning by an 8.9 magnitude earthquake slightly offshore, which has generated a tsunami expected to impact not only Japan, but many small Pacific Islands, potentially washing low elevation ones away. Tsunami warnings have been issued for the US from the Mexican through parts of Alaska. (The red "A" in the picture shows the location.)

Details are still unfolding at the time of this post (4:48 am ET).

All we can really do now is hope that the loss of life and property is minimized as much as possible.

From the LA Times:

Estimated arrival times:

PORT SAN LUIS HARBOR 8:09 a.m.
SANTA BARBARA HARBOR 8:17 a.m.
SANTA MONICA: 8:32 a.m.
SAN PEDRO 8:32 a.m.
NEWPORT BEACH 8:45 a.m.
LA JOLLA 8:48 a.m.

Minimal damage is expected.

Some video of the tsunami hitting in Sendai, Japan.

UPDATE 5:50 AM ET: Full list of estimated tsunami arrival times. Mostly between 7 and 9 AM PT.

UPDATE 6:35 AM ET: Click here for minute by minute updates via the Guardian. A nuclear reactor has been shut down, and reports from the south indicate the damage is far reaching within Japan.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.Demconwatchblog.com/diary/4417/earthquake-and-tsunami

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Earthquake and Tsunami

post from DemConWatch on 11 March 2011 04:48:23 AM. © DemConWatch

Details are still unfolding at the time of this post (4:48 am ET).

All we can really do now is hope that the loss of life and property is minimized as much as possible.

From the LA Times:

Estimated arrival times:

PORT SAN LUIS HARBOR 8:09 a.m.
SANTA BARBARA HARBOR 8:17 a.m.
SANTA MONICA: 8:32 a.m.
SAN PEDRO 8:32 a.m.
NEWPORT BEACH 8:45 a.m.
LA JOLLA 8:48 a.m.

Minimal damage is expected.

Some video of the tsunami hitting in Sendai, Japan.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.Demconwatchblog.com/diary/4417/earthquake-and-tsunami

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Huge Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

Huge earthquake in Japan...and tsunamis.[...]

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Japan Tsunami: Pacific Rim Travel Times

Link: North American Tsunami Arrival TimesClick on title to read more... [...]

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http://feeds.the-environmentalist.org/~r/the-environmentalist/~3/ISfHGotff9g/japa
n-tsunami-pacific-rim-travel-times.html

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Japanese earthquake triggers risk-aversion

Source: Advanced Currency Markets | G10 Advancers and Decliners vs USD CHF -0.01 GBP -0.09 EUR -0.19 JPY -0.31 Asian markets felt jitters as a strong earthquake measuring 8.8 hit Japan sending stocks tumbling as Nikkei dropped 1.72%, Topix dropped 1.65%, Hang Seng dropped 1.5% and Shanghai Composite was down 0.4%. Downslide in the . . . → Read More: Japanese earthquake triggers risk-aversion

Read The Full Article:
http://jutiagroup.com/20110311-japanese-earthquake-triggers-risk-aversion/

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