Late Night Karaoke

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 14 March 2011 03:00:00 AM. © Docudharma - Front Page

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Yen Strengthens in Response to Nations Worst
Disaster since WWII

post from Jutia Group on 14 March 2011 02:51:47 AM. © Jutia Group

Source: ForexYard Yen Strengthens in Response to Nation's Worst Disaster since WWII

Speculators have flocked to the yen following the devastating earthquake and Tsunami that struck Japan on Friday. The yen is expected to continue to strengthen as insurers are forced to repatriate funds to pay billions of yen in insurance claims.

Economic . . . → Read More: Yen Strengthens in Response to Nation’s Worst Disaster since WWII

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When Will Government Get Out Of Our
LivesSocialism In Clear View

post from Texas Liberal on 14 March 2011 01:43:01 AM. © Texas Liberal

Above is a picture I took two days ago in Cincinnati’s Eden Park. Look at all the ways government intrudes in our lives. Government tells us we are at the corner of Alpine and St. Paul. Maybe we feel we are someplace else. The government just wants us to think we are at the corner of Alpine and St. Paul. Government [...]

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Trickle Down = Inequality

post from jobsanger on 14 March 2011 01:07:00 AM. © jobsanger

These two very revealing charts from Mother Jones shows what the failed Republican "Trickle Down" economic policy has done to this country. It has turned a country that was working for everyone into a third-world plutocracy where most income, wealth and power goes to the super-rich. And the Republicans want to continue this indefensible policy!

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Republicans Still Want To Cut Social Security And
Medicare

post from jobsanger on 14 March 2011 01:06:00 AM. © jobsanger

I have been saying for a while now that the Republicans in Congress aren't really interested in cutting the deficit. If they were they wouldn't have pushed through an unneeded and massive tax cut for the rich -- a move that increased the deficit by nearly 50%, about $400 billion. As they showed during the Bush administration, they have no problem with a large and growing deficit as long as the money borrowed is used to increase military spending or fatten corporate bank accounts.

What they are opposed to is the government spending any money to help ordinary Americans, like on unemployment insurance, help for the poor and disabled, Social Security, Medicare and other such necessary programs. It doesn't matter to them that these programs are working, and many times are the only thing keeping people from starving, being homeless, or going without medical care. They seem to believe that if you wanted food, housing, education or medical care then you should have been born rich.

But the two programs they seem to hate the most are Social Security and Medicare -- the so-called "entitlements". They didn't support these programs when they were established and they've been trying to destroy them ever since then. And in case there was any doubt in your mind, last weekend Minority Leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell (pictured), reaffirmed the desire of all 47 Senate Republicans to make substantial cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

In fact, he says they are willing to stop a raising of the government debt ceiling unless cuts to those programs are made -- a move that could not only cause serious damage to the American economy (perhaps throwing the nation into a full-blown depression), but could have enormous financial implications to economies around the world. They simply don't care how much damage they do as long as they and their rich buddies can increase the size of their already bulging bank accounts.

They still seem to think they can fool the American people into thinking these "entitlements" are the reason for the deficit. They aren't. They aren't even paid for out of general funds (which makes up the deficit spending). They actually have a surplus, and with only minor revisions can remain healthy far into the future -- meaning cuts are NOT needed in these programs. The cuts that are needed are the Republican giveaways to the rich and the corporations.

They are lying and they know it. They are just counting on ordinary Americans to not know they are lying. It's time to call them on their lies.

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The New Radicals

post from jobsanger on 14 March 2011 01:05:00 AM. © jobsanger

Political cartoon is by Steve Breen in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

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Mistreatment Of Bradley Manning

post from jobsanger on 14 March 2011 01:04:00 AM. © jobsanger

The picture above is of Private Bradley Manning, a member of the United States military. The United States government suspects Private Manning of being the person who leaked government documents to the website WikiLeaks (who then published them to the entire world). Although the leaked documents were deemed to be secret by the government, there is no evidence that their release put any American (or anyone else) in danger. They were embarrassing though, and that seems to be enough to hold Manning without a trial in very abusive conditions.

Here's how Glenn Greenwald described those conditions:

Brig officials now confirm to the New York Times that Manning will be forced to be nude every night from now on for the indefinite future -- not only when he sleeps, but also when he stands outside his cell for morning inspection along with the other brig detainees. They claim that it is being done "as a 'precautionary measure' to prevent him from injuring himself." Has anyone before successfully committed suicide using a pair of briefs -- especially when under constant video and in-person monitoring? There's no underwear that can be issued that is useless for killing oneself? And if this is truly such a threat, why isn't he on "suicide watch" (the NYT article confirms he's not)? And why is this restriction confined to the night; can't he also off himself using his briefs during the day? Let's review Manning's detention over the last nine straight months: 23-hour/day solitary confinement; barred even from exercising in his cell; one hour total outside his cell per day where he's allowed to walk around in circles in a room alone while shackled, and is returned to his cell the minute he stops walking; forced to respond to guards' inquiries literally every 5 minutes, all day, everyday; and awakened at night each time he is curled up in the corner of his bed or otherwise outside the guards' full view. Is there anyone who doubts that these measures -- and especially this prolonged forced nudity -- are punitive and designed to further erode his mental health, physical health and will? As The Guardian reported last year, forced nudity is almost certainly a breach of the Geneva Conventions; the Conventions do not technically apply to Manning, as he is not a prisoner of war, but they certainly establish the minimal protections to which all detainees -- let alone citizens convicted of nothing -- are entitled.
The conditions are so appalling that even some staunch defenders of the president are beginning to show their disappointment. UCLA Professor Mark Kleiman says, "The United States Army is so concerned about Bradley Manning's health that it is subjecting him to a regimen designed to drive him insane. . .This is a total disgrace. It shouldn't be happening in this country. You can't be unaware of this, Mr. President. Silence gives consent."

And even some critics of both WikiLeaks and Manning can't understand the abuse. Former Army officer James Joyner says, "Obama promised to close Gitmo because he was embarrassed that we were doing this kind of thing to accused terrorists. But he's allowing it to happen to an American soldier under his command?"

While on the campaign trail in 2008 Barack Obama said, "Government whistleblowers are part of a healthy democracy and must be protected from reprisal." I must have missed the part where he added under his breath that it didn't apply to whistleblowers while He was president. The fact is that President Obama has been as thin-skinned as his predecessor, and people who speak their minds in his administration are summarily dealt with.

Take P.J. Crowley for example. The senior spokesman for the U.S. State Department made the mistake of saying what he really thinks recently. He said that although he believed that Manning should be in jail, "I spent 26 years in the Air Force. What is happening to Manning is ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid, and I don't know why the DoD [Department of Defense] is doing it." A couple of days later Mr. Crowley has submitted his resignation. And anyone would have to be incredibly naive to believe he wasn't forced to resign.

I'm not saying that Manning shouldn't be punished if he really was the one who released the documents, but that is for a court to decide -- not the military or the Obama administration, and it is certainly wrong to abuse him or try to break him or drive him insane before any trial. One of the biggest mistakes of the Bush administration was the government deciding who would be given a fair trial and who would be tortured and tried by a kangaroo court -- in other words, a failure to follow the same rule of law with everyone. It makes me sad to see that the Obama administration has just continued that policy rather than rectifying it.

I think Matt Yglesias hit the nail on the head when he said, "Manning is alleged to have committed serious crimes. The correct response would be to put him on trial. To hold a person without trial in solitary confinement under degrading conditions is a perversion of justice."

If it is OK to treat Bradley Manning in this reprehensible manner, then it would be OK to do the same to any other American citizen. Our Founding Fathers meant for our rights to extend equally to every American citizen, because that is the only way they can be guaranteed. Allowing the government to choose who has rights is a straight road to the end of those rights for everyone.

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Cuts

Political cartoon is by Steve Sack in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

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An Excellent Suggestion For Tx Democrats

It's no secret that the Texas Democratic Party is in pitiful shape. Republicans have ruled the state for a couple of decades now and currently the Democratic Party doesn't have a single statewide office holder. And all of their candidates were soundly defeated in the last election.

But Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is retiring at the end of her current term, and with the rather sad crop of Republicans who have indicated they want her seat this should be a golden opportunity for Democrats to take that seat back -- especially with the re-energizing of Democratic and Independent voters in light of recent draconian cuts proposed by state and national Republicans. The problem is that the Democratic Party doesn't have a strong candidate to offer the voters. The candidates suggested so far (John White, Chet Edwards, Chris Bell) are unlikely to win even against a weak Republican candidate.

So what are Democrats to do? Giving up is not an option, even for a struggling and virtually leaderless party. Radio commentator and Houston Chronicle blogger Geoff Berg has an idea. He thinks the state's Democrats should draft Tommy Lee Jones (pictured) -- the very popular and respected Texas actor (and resident).

At first this suggestion took me back a bit, but the more I think about it the more I like it. He is very popular and well-respected in Texas, and he has always struck me as being an imminently sensible person. He's not as far to the left as I personally would like, but I have no doubt he would do what is best for all the citizens of Texas -- not just the rich. I doubt he would want the job, but if he could be talked into it I think he would make a great candidate. Here is what Berg had to say about it:

So why not give the Democratic nomination to somebody capable of electrifying the race and energizing the Texas' dispirited Democratic base? And why shouldn't that be Tommy Lee Jones? There'd be no need for him to introduce himself to the state, he'd have no trouble raising money and he'd bring a ton of charisma to a party that lacks it. Independents and Republicans -- voters any Democrat will need to attract to win -- already like him, giving him an additional advantage no other Texas Democrat has. (Jones is a Democrat, by the way. He placed the name of his college roommate, Al Gore, in nomination at the 2000 Democratic Convention and has given money to the DNC and John Kerry.). . .He's from here (and talks like it), speaks Spanish fluently, and lives full-time on a ranch near San Antonio.

Frankly, I think this might be the only real hope of a Democratic victory in Texas in 2012. The state party is in such bad shape that they need a game changer, and Jones could be it. Here's how fellow Texas blogger Perry Dorrell of Brains and Eggs puts it:

The Texas Democratic Party is in the same shape as the California Republican Party: impotent, toothless, and all but extinct. There's lots of excited liberals and progressives throughout Texas -- just look at the rallies taking place yesterday and next Tuesday -- but the TDP has spectacularly weak management at the top, little money, less enthusiasm, and no improved prospects for the future. All that after seventeen years of 100% Republican rule at the statewide level, all nine SCOTX justices, and in the wake of the 2010 Red Tea Tide, near-supermajorities in the Texas House and Senate. . .Every time a famous person's name gets floated for office anywhere, it makes me cringe. Still, seventeen years wandering in the desert is too long. It's past time for a saviour, and Jones will do until one gets here.

That sums it up perfectly. I just wish I had said it.

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