Come Saturday Morning: Whos Sticking Knives in
Nancy Pelosis Back

post from Firedoglake on 16 April 2011 09:45:33 AM. © Firedoglake

Why the sudden effort, in the midst of a long and intense budget fight, to poor-mouth Nancy Pelosi? And who's behind it?[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/NOFNfzR-e-g/

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

Weekly Address: America's Fiscal Future

post from DemConWatch on 16 April 2011 09:41:22 AM. © DemConWatch

The President discusses his plan for our fiscal future, a comprehensive and balanced approach to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over twelve years.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.Demconwatchblog.com/diary/4500/weekly-address-americas-fiscal-future

Digg this

This Week In The Dream Antilles

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 16 April 2011 09:37:37 AM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Your bloguero's muse seems to have gone on vacation. Or at the very least has decided not to take his calls. He dials, asking for inspiration, and what does he get? He gets to leave his message after the beep.His muse, however, isn't[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Docudharma/~3/JsApV8IdeNQ/this-week-in-the-dream-a
ntilles

Digg this

Scott Walker Reveals His Inner Orwell in DC
Congressional Testimony

post from BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash on 16 April 2011 09:14:47 AM. © BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash

MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH FOR TRUTHOUT

Calling much of contemporary political rhetoric coming from the right "Orwellian" has become a cliche, but that's only because it is so true.

Take the recent "shock doctrine" tactics of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who bullied through legislation denying collective bargaining to unions almost exclusively on the claim that it was vital to reducing a future state budget deficit.

The House Republicans thought that this made Walker a hero and invited him to testify before a GOP-controlled committee on April 14. But what Walker must have thought would be a hero's welcome turned out to be a grilling that unmasked his deceit.

After claiming that he was accomplishing something "truly progressive," Dennis Kucinich got Walker to admit that his union-busting legislation would not save the State of Wisconsin any money at all.

According to the Madison CapTimes:

When Walker failed to address how repealing collective bargaining rights for state workers is related to state debt or how requiring unions to recertify annually saves money - one of the provisions in Walker's amended budget repair bill - Kucinich tried one more time.
"How much money does it save Gov. Walker?" Kucinich demanded. "Just answer the question."
"It doesn't save any," Walker said.

Furthermore, as BuzzFlash documented in an earlier commentary, Walker confirmed that despite his claim of a voter mandate to repeal collective bargaining for public employees, he had never once mentioned the plan when he campaigned for governor, not once.

If you define Orwellian as language uttered that is the opposite of reality, then Walker is a master Orwellian politician.

Read The Full Article:
http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/12609

Digg this

Scott Walker Reveals His Inner Orwell in
Congressional DC Testimony

MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH FOR TRUTHOUT

Calling much of contemporary political rhetoric coming from the right "Orwellian" has become a cliche, but that's only because it is so true.

After claiming that he was accomplishing something "truly progressive," Dennis Kucinich got Walker to admit that his union-busting legislation would not save the State of Wisconsin any money at all.

According to the Madison CapTimes:

When Walker failed to address how repealing collective bargaining rights for state workers is related to state debt or how requiring unions to recertify annually saves money - one of the provisions in Walker's amended budget repair bill - Kucinich tried one more time.
"How much money does it save Gov. Walker?" Kucinich demanded. "Just answer the question."
"It doesn't save any," Walker said.

If you define Orwellian as language uttered that is the opposite of reality, then Walker is a master Orwellian politician.

Read The Full Article:
http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/12609

Digg this

Kucinich 2012!

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 16 April 2011 09:04:28 AM. © Docudharma - Front Page

[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Docudharma/~3/tVrRveE2lRE/kucinich-2012

Digg this

"The Pirates of Capitol Hill"

post from They gave us a republic... - Front Page on 16 April 2011 09:01:51 AM. © They gave us a republic... - Front Page

Charles Blow of the New York Times finally blew his stack. It's about time!

Corporations are roaring. Wall Street is rolling in cash. C.E.O. bonuses are going gangbusters. It's a really good time to be rich!
If you're poor, not so much. The pall of the recession is suffocating. The unemployment rate is still unbearably high. The Census Bureau reported in September that the poverty rate for 2009 was 14.3 percent, higher than it has been since 1994, and the number of uninsured reached a record high. And the Department of Agriculture has reported record "prevalence of food insecurity."
So in a civil society, which of these groups should be expected to sacrifice a bit for the benefit of the other and the overall health and prosperity of the nation at a time of great uncertainty? The poor, of course. At least that seems to be the Republican answer.
Under the guise of deficit reduction, the Republicans are proposing to not only make the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy permanent, but to reduce their taxes even more - cutting the top individual rate from 35 percent to 25 percent to "promote growth and job creation." And they plan to pay for this by taking a buzz saw to programs that benefit the poor, elderly and otherwise vulnerable.
But the spurious argument that cutting taxes for the wealthy will somehow stimulate economic growth is not borne out by the data. A look at the year-over-year change in G.D.P. and changes in the historical top marginal tax rates show no such correlation. This isn't about balancing budgets or fiscal discipline or prosperity-for-posterity stewardship. This is open piracy for plutocrats. This is about reshaping the government and economy to benefit the wealthy and powerful at the expense of the poor and powerless.
And it's not that the rich haven't already gotten their tax cuts. According to an analysis released Thursday by the Economic Policy Institute, the average tax rate for the top 1 percent of households dropped by about 20 percent from 1979 to 2007, while the average tax rate for all Americans dropped by just 8 percent over that time. However, in just the period from 1992 to 2007, the tax rate on the top 400 households in America - those with an average annual income of nearly $350 million - fell by more than a third. In fact, the tax rate for these supermillionaires is now less than the tax rate for average Americans.
This even though, as the institute pointed out, "between 1992 and 2007, a time in which income for the average household and top 1 percent grew 13% and 123%, respectively, the income for the top 400 households grew fully 399%."
As my colleague Catherine Rampell pointed out last month on the Economix blog, the top 1 percent of Americans earn a fifth of the income and control a third of the wealth.
More tax cuts would be gluttony in a time of starvation. That is not America. That is a nation about to be plundered, and a people laid to waste.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheyGaveUsARepublic-FrontPage/~3/xs9CHvbAH-g/the-p
irates-of-capitol-hill

Digg this

Lee Jenkins: Grassroots Leadership Plan

(Editor's Note: This is not an endorsement. Sharing information only.)

President Obama, in a speech following the Super Tuesday results of the 2008 democratic primary said, "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."On April 30^th2011, you can bring much needed change to the South Carolina Democratic Party.Lee Jenkins, candidate for SCDP State Chair is proposing a Grassroots Leadership Plan that would give all democrats the opportunity to participate in building a new state party. Lee is the Chair for Marion County, a graduate of the University of South Carolina and a U.S. Army veteran. He is the host of "Let's Talk", a radio talk show that allows Pee Dee residents to discuss politics and issues that impact the lives of working families. He is also a business consultant who has written several successful grants to fund projects for rural communities. As a county chair, Lee knows the struggles and issues that face the grassroots. Half of our state's population lives in 39 of the most rural of our 46 counties. We need to ensure that the party hears from the democrats that live in the 39 less populous counties. We need the next Chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party to know how the 'other half' lives."I am not an elected official or a Democrat with the 'WOW' factor of national recognition. I'm simply a grassroots member of the party just like YOU. We have worked hard for the Democratic Party, knocking on doors, phone-banked, working the polls, donating money and attending meetings and breakfasts. We all work together to elect our leaders, but oftentimes only a privileged few are allowed a voice in the party's decision making process. Under a grassroots leadership plan, the voices of the grassroots members will be equal to elected officials and the party elites."Together we can build a new party by electing the only candidate for state chair who is more interested in building solidarity within the party than just fighting with Republicans; more interested in preparing the party for its future than dwelling on its past. Join us April 30^th at the State Democratic Convention and support the Grassroots Leadership Plan by voting for Lee Jenkins and ensuring that every Democrat; no matter age, race, gender, social or economic status will have the opportunity to offer his or her input, ideas or suggestions for growing a new South Carolina Democratic Party.Sincerely, Michael RodgersKey Points of the Grassroots Leadership Plan:Chairman's Advisory Council: a council of (7) seven chairmen elected from regional advisory councils composed of county chairs selected from each congressional district. The chairman of each council shall become the designated member of the Chairman's Advisory Council. Special Interest Caucuses: committees that deal with specific voting blocs and areas of concern. (A Rural Caucus to draft an agenda and deal with issues and concerns of rural voters and a Minority Caucus to represent and voice the ideas and concerns of minorities within the party) Other caucuses will be established upon recommendations of party members.Voting Rights: All Ex Officio Members of the State Executive Committee such as; Young Democrats, Stonewall Democrats, Democratic Women's Council should be granted one full vote on the State Executive Committee. (Currently, the presidents of these organizations are recognized members of the Executive Committee but have no voting rights.)Designation of Deputy Chairs: Presiding members of all Democratic clubs shall be recognized as Deputy Chair's, i.e. (West Ashley Democrats, Westside Democrats, South Enders Democrats, Southeast Democrats, Charleston Peninsula Democrats, Northeast Democrats, Irmo Democrats just to name a few.) *** These groups are listed as examples of democratic clubs only and in no way indicates an endorsement by these groups of the candidate or the Grassroots Leadership Plan***Faith Council: This council will be composed of faith leaders, who will develop and maintain a statewide database of churches and other houses of faith and faith based organizations. The council will be available to advise and provide party leadership and democratic candidates with contacts and resources for outreach efforts targeting the faith community.Standing Committees: Create standing committees that will do the work of the party. The composition of committees shall consist of nine members; six Delegates (from any county) and three General Members (must not hold any party or public office). - Examples; Legal Aide (Lawyers Only), Event Based Fundraising & Merchandising, Small & Big Dollar fundraising committees, and Municipal & County Campaign Committees. Other committees will be established upon recommendations of party members.

Read The Full Article:
http://thepoliticsofjamiesanderson.blogspot.com/2011/04/lee-jenkins-grassroots-le
adership-plan.html

Digg this

People's Budget

Not counting Senator Bernie Sanders, there are 80 voting members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Friday co-chairs Raúl Grijalva and Keith Ellison introduced the People's Budget as an alternative to Paul Ryan's-- and to a lesser extent, Chris Van Hollen's-- corporately-oriented budgets. The People's Budget, for all its reflection of public opinion priorities, only wound up with 77 votes. So 3 members of the caucus didn't vote for it? More.

Non-caucus members who did vote for it were Joe Baca (Blue Dog-CA), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Hansen Clarke (D-MI), Mike Doyle (D-PA), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Cedric Richmond (D-LA), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Edolphus Towns (D-NY), and David Wu (D-OR).

I counted this Caucus members among the NO votes: Pete DeFazio (D-OR), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Dave Loebsack (D-IA), Jim Moran (D-VA), Jared Polis (D-CO), and Henry Waxman (D-CA). I won't dwell on it.

On Wednesday, President Obama spoke in eloquent language of our social contract, of a progressive patriotism, and of a role for government that helps us "do together what we cannot do as well for ourselves." It was a clear rebuke to the GOP's Robin Hood in Reverse agenda-- taking from the poor and middle-class in order to preserve tax breaks for corporations and the wealthiest Americans.

Obama made the right choice in defending Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and pushing instead for healthcare reform-- even putting negotiating drug prices on the table. He again refused to renew the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy-- a pledge he has made and broken in the past. He also called for cuts in a defense budget that has contributed 2 out of 3 dollars in increased discretionary spending since 2001.

Yet in many ways his approach continues to legitimize the inside-the-beltway consensus that spending cuts must lead the way toward achieving fiscal responsibility. Just as the Simpson-Bowles Commission proposes, for every $1 raised by closing tax loopholes on wealthy Americans, the President proposes $2 in spending cuts. Two-thirds of those cuts would come from education, health and other social programs, while only one-third comes from the military budget. While the president speaks eloquently of his vision of "shared sacrifice," in reality it is still a budget that hits the poor and the middle-class hardest while wealthy Americans and the military are asked to sacrifice far less.

An alternative approach that deserves more attention is the "People's Budget" offered by the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC). It will be introduced in the House on Thursday and it is the strongest rebuke-- in the form of an amendment-- to the unconscionable "Ryan Budget" for FY 2012. It's a budget that gives the people-- according to poll after poll-- exactly what they want (something which shouldn't be a rarity in a healthy, vibrant democracy).

The People's Budget lays out what a robust progressive agenda looks like. It protects an already frayed social net and promotes a progressive tax policy that makes millionaires, billionaires, and big corporations pay their fair share. It doesn't stop at cutting the low-hanging fruit at the Pentagon, instead it brings our troops home from two wars that cost trillions of dollars and do nothing to make the U.S. safer, and resets and rethinks what real security means in the 21st century.

"The People's Budget generates a government surplus by 2021 by closing tax loopholes, ending corporate giveaways to oil, gas and nuclear entities, bringing our troops home, and creating jobs that expand the American tax base," said Representative Raul Grijalva, co-chair of the CPC. "This is a sensible solution that listens to what the American people have said about where our budget priorities should be."

Read The Full Article:
http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2011/04/peoples-budget.html

Digg this

This week in science

Tom Levenson at Balloon Juice rips a creationist for using Einstein in their deceptions and wins the coveted pole position this week:

Einstein himself was high school and college science teacher. He taught secondary school briefly during the years between his graduation from Zurich?s ETH (1900) and the start of his job at the Swiss Patent Office (1902), tutoring a private student or two as well. He became a university professor in 1908, and taught at that level until his move to Berlin in 1914. He?s part of the set that the Representative?perhaps stunned by a too-prolonged exposure to tangerine skies?would seek to diss.

No idea how plausible, but I asked around and was told by couple of people the man is not a crackpot, but the ideas are highly speculative:
Early last year, Dutch theoretical physicist Erik Verlinde published a manuscript to the arXiv that purports to explain why science cannot reconcile all four fundamental forces. According to him, it is simple: "gravity doesn?t exist."
Another great music streaming site I just started using a few weeks ago: Pandora. Where one song or artist can be used to build an entire radio station just for you!
Check out one hell of an opening graf in a science article:
As a fish swims over the ocean floor, it?s being watched by hundreds of rocks. The rocks are actually the eyes of a chiton, an armoured relative of snails and other molluscs. Perhaps uniquely among living animals, it sees the world through lenses of limestone, and its eyes literally erode as it gets older.