Today on The Stars Hollow Gazette

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 27 February 2011 04:33:06 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Our regular featured content-Six In The Morning by mishimaOn This Day In History by TheMomCatPunting the Pundits by TheMomCatEvening Edition by ek hornbeckPrime Time by ek hornbeckAnd these articles-The Week in Editorial Cartoons, Part I - Union Busting[...]

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Live Updates: Police to Clear Protestors from
Wisconsin Capitol Building

post from Firedoglake on 27 February 2011 04:30:35 PM. © Firedoglake

I'm collecting live coverage of events as police prepare to clear out the Wisconsin Capitol Building in Madison, WI on the 14th day of protests against Gov. Walker's unionbusting bill. Police are scheduled to remove protestors at 4pm CST, with several[...]

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HAMP II: The $20 Billion Get Out of Jail Free
Card

post from Firedoglake on 27 February 2011 04:25:16 PM. © Firedoglake

For the low, low price of $20 billion, the Administration proposes, banks could be excused for the abundant mortgage fraud they've committed. But $20 billion won't even begin to compensate those victims of fraudulent appraisals for the fraud committed on[...]

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GOP to Workers: "Why Should They Get What We Took
Away From You"

post from MyDD on 27 February 2011 04:19:19 PM. © MyDD

Was recently listening to the journalists on Slate's Political Gabfest pondering why union density is so much higher amongst public sector workers than the private sector. None of them mentioned the most important difference: It's harder for a[...]

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Video of WI GOP lawmakers ramming through
anti-union bill

post from The Politics of Jamie Sanderson on 27 February 2011 04:01:27 PM. © The Politics of Jamie Sanderson

You've got to see this new video of Wisconsin Assembly Republicans holding a vote at 1am Friday morning for literally a few seconds and ramming through Gov. Walker's radical bill to cut worker benefits and rights. It's a crazy abuse of power.

Now, the only thing keeping this horrible bill from becoming law are state Senate Democrats -- who boldly left the state and are blocking the Senate from voting.

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-ramming.html

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Georgia GOP: Miscarriages and abortion to be
called 'prenatal murder'

post from AMERICAblog News on 27 February 2011 04:00:42 PM. © AMERICAblog News

Even worse, either could be punishable by death in the proposed bill. The GOP Rep. who has proposed the bill has been in the news earlier with his proposed Uterus Police. MotherJones:

It's only February, but this year has been a tough one for women's health and reproductive rights. There's a new bill on the block that may have reached the apex (I hope) of woman-hating craziness. Georgia State Rep. Bobby Franklin?who last year proposed making rape and domestic violence "victims" into "accusers"?has introduced a 10-page bill that would criminalize miscarriages and make abortion in Georgia completely illegal. Both miscarriages and abortions would be potentially punishable by death: any "prenatal murder" in the words of the bill, including "human involvement" in a miscarriage, would be a felony and carry a penalty of life in prison or death. Basically, it's everything an "pro-life" activist could want aside from making all women who've had abortions wear big red "A"s on their chests.

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Gadhafi's Son: It's Just A Big Misunderstanding,
No Attacks On Civilians

post from Crooks and Liars on 27 February 2011 04:00:08 PM. © Crooks and Liars

In an interview with "This Week" with Christiane Amanpour, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son of Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi and one of his chief advisers, insisted Libya was calm, the military has not attacked any civilians and reports of Libyan diplomats abandoning their posts were simply a 'miscommunication.:

There was a "big, big gap between reality and the media reports," Gadhafi told Amanpour. "The whole south is calm. The west is calm. The middle is calm. Even part of the east."
In response to President Barack Obama'scall for Moammar Gadhafi to step downand the UN Security Council's unanimous vote to impose an arms embargo on Libya and urge nations to freeze Libyan assets, Gadhafi's son was defiant.
"Listen, nobody is leaving this country. We live here, we die here," he insisted. "This is our country. The Libyans are our people. And for myself, I believe I am doing the right thing."
"The President of the U.S. has called on your father to step down. How do you feel about that?" Amanpour asked.
"It's not an American business, that's number one," said Gadhafi, who was dressed casually as he spoke with Amanpour. "Second, do they think this is a solution? Of course not."
"[Obama] says if a person can only keep control by using force, then legitimacy is gone," Amanpour pressed. Gadhafi responded, "Right, but what happened? We didn't use force. Second, we still have people around us."
Amanpour noted the extensive reports of attacks on Libyan civilians in recent weeks."Show me a single attack, show me a single bomb," he told her. "The Libyan air force destroyed just the ammunition sites. That's it."

"Show me a single attack"? Okay, since you asked:

Amanpour also sat down with Gadhafi other son, Saadi, in Tripoli. A professional soccer player who is less involved with politics than his brtoher, Saadi Gadhafi still had an ominous warning about what would happen if his father were to step down."If he were to leave today, there would be war," he said. "Civil war in Libya."
He also described the massive protests in his country spreading like a "fever.""It's going to spread everywhere. No one can stop it," he said. "That is my personal opinion, and the chaos will be everywhere...they think it's about freedom. I love freedom. You love freedom, but it's powerful, this earthquake. No one can control it."
Regarding the UN vote calling for the freezing of Libyan assets, Saif Gadhafi said, "First of all, we don't have money outside. We are a very modest family and everybody knows that. And we are laughing when they say you have money in Europe or Switzerland or something. C'mon, it's a joke."

Translation: No, my $15 million mansion in London doesn't count! Neither do those kickbacks. Hey, that's just the cost of doing business!

Amanpour asked Gadhafi about the Libyan diplomats who have resigned from their posts in DC, New York and elsewhere.
"You know, we are the victims of miscommunication," he said. "And they were under the influence of a strong media campaign, well-organized. So, you know, they are human beings at the end."
"But they've defected," Amanpour noted.
"Not defected, none of them defect. They were so moved because they--"
Amanpour interrupted. "But they are calling on your father to step down," she said.
"C'mon, they are employees working for the government," Gadhafi said. "It's not their business."
Until civil unrest in Libya exploded over the few last weeks, Gadhafi, the second oldest of Col. Moammar Gadhafi's children, had been seen as the western face of the regime. Educated at the London School of Economics, he promoted Libya's potential, telling The New York Times in February 2010 that Libya "can be the Dubai of North Africa."
Now one year later, he is defending his father's regime. Amanpour asked, what about all those western-oriented reforms he tried to implement?
"I worked very hard to implement many ideas, but things went wrong," he said.
"So now we are [in] a difficult situation," Gadhafi added.

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If the Buck Stops at the Top, Scott Walker is
Responsible for the Death of 15-year-old Jared Kellner

post from BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash on 27 February 2011 03:51:41 PM. © BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash

MARK KARLIN, BUZZFLASH EDITOR FOR TRUTHOUT

It was June of 2010 and Jerald Kellner, 15-years-old, was on his way to Miwaukee's "Summerfest" when he was killed by a slab of falling concrete in a parking garage poorly maintained by Milwaukee County.

Scott Walker, then the long-term chief executive of Milwaukee County, indignantly denied that he was responsible for not maintaining the safety of county buildings. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "County Executive Scott Walker said he knew of no report that would suggest the O?Donnell ramp [parking garage] suffered from deferred maintenance."

But it would appear highly unlikely that Walker was not aware that he was trying to prove himself a loyal Koch brothers acolyte by insufficiently managing and funding basic services, such as county building maintenance, that might have saved the life of Jared Kellner.

According to "The Daily Reporter," a Wisconsin paper that covers the construction industry, an October 2010 report by the Milwaukee County Department of Audit, the county, under Walker, was not systematically overseeing the maintenance of county buildings and property:

A report released Monday by the Milwaukee County Department of Audit revealed what everyone long suspected: Milwaukee [County's] public structures are in disrepair.

There is more than $193 million in necessary repairs needed on 521 Milwaukee County buildings inspected. Nearly one-quarter of the reported deficiencies are ?currently critical,? which means structures pose an immediate safety risk, fail to comply with the American with Disabilities Act, or are deteriorating altogether ? and, in some cases, all of the above.

Hundreds of immediate public safety hazards were identified, totaling $5.5 million in repairs. The report suggests a large portion of particularly critical repairs be addressed within a year, but those structures deemed most vulnerable should be county officials? first priority.

The report blames spending cutbacks and a disorganized building inspection system for the poor conditions of county buildings.

Of the neglect of public safety under the Walker Milwaukee County Administration, the Milwaukee County Audit director was frank:

Jerry Heer, Milwaukee County audit director, said this suggests the county maintenance duties fell behind, and officials attempted to toss money at problems once deficiencies became too large to ignore.

?We don?t really do preventative maintenance,? Heer said. ?We wait till things are really bad and need major repairs.? (Bolded by BuzzFlash at Truthout.)

In a recent BuzzFlash at Truthout article, we noted that Walker has appointed his former county chief of staff, who oversaw the staff responsible for Milwaukee county buildings and property on a day to day basis, the person in charge of state buildings, licensing of amusement parks, state property and the public safety of Wisconsin residents.

The man appointed to this state position is named Tom Nardelli, 66, and is currently receiving two taxpayer funded pensions, and is on his way to two more for a total of four. But that relates to Walker's hypocrisy in allowing unlimited taxpayer pensions for his cronies, while trying to crush the pensions of the public unions.

The actual possible threat posed by Nardelli's overseeing a large staff responsible for state building and safety codes is his performance of letting hazardous conditions remain unrepaired in Milwaukee County buildings, according to "The Daily Reporter."

In terms of this aspect of the Walker/Nardelli symbiotic relationship, it's not just hypocrisy at work; this is managerial neglect -- under the guise of saving taxpayer dollars -- that could be deadly to the citizens of Wisconsin.

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185 – 3.18 – TELLUS, SOLON, AND
CROESUS

Excerpt From:Chapter 3 ? The Wisdom of Solon ? The Lessons of CroesusCroesus of Lydia was born[...]

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'Talking smack' won't save Haley or the people of
South Carolina

I suppose our current governor is following in the footsteps of former governor Mark Sanford.

It was Sanford who coined the phrase "make noise" in regards to getting federal government support for dredging the Georgetown port. Now, Gov. Nikki Haley says she will "talk smack" toward unions looking to better the life of South Carolinians - to which Haley and Republican lawmakers perform the opposite.

"What you are seeing right now is a whole lot of political talk in D.C. and a whole lot of work in the states," said Haley, who was sworn in as the state's first female governor a little more than six weeks ago. "These governors get it. Washington, D.C., has totally lost the message. We are taking our governments back and giving it to the people."

Well, Nikki, you are now grouping yourself with the same rhetoric you just spoke against. So, "talking smack" is going to do what? Giving government to the people? You are TAKING IT AWAY, Nikki. Ask the children, who almost half live in some sort of poverty in S.C.

"The more heavy-handed the unions are with us, the more we are going to talk smack back," Haley said.

Please, I encourage you to "talk smack" with unions. Hey, how about start with me. Let's listen to your smack talk. So childish. What unions are doing now is not talking smack. They are fighting against governments that push anti-worker agendas. Talking smack is what teabaggers are known for.

Your position is that of a bully, knowing the law in the state is forcefully against unions. You'd rather politic with the positions unions stand on - those that empower workers, improve working conditions and increases wages - than actively solve the problems of this state. WE NEED JOBS. WE NEED REVENUE. WE NEED EDUCATION.

You'd rather call a presser and exclaim joy over cutting from children in the state. Laughable and truly sad all at the same time.

Listen to your handlers, Nikki. Don't accept my challenge. I would hate to embarrass you in your first year as governor.

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aley-or-people.html

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