Bradley Manning to Testify on Unlawful Pretrial
Punishment He Endured

post from Firedoglake on 28 July 2012 01:00:41 PM. © Firedoglake

A comprehensive motion containing allegations and evidence from the defense for Pfc. Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of releasing classified information to WikiLeaks, was filed on July 27. The 110-page motion, which Manning's defense lawyer said[...]

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http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/07/28/bradley-manning-to-testify-on-unlawfu
l-pretrial-punishment-he-endured/

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Tea-Party Hearts Soar in Oregon For Another
'Gathering of Eagles'

post from Crooks and Liars on 28 July 2012 01:00:36 PM. © Crooks and Liars

Fake Thomas Paine Rallies the Crowd at 2011 'Gathering of Eagles'

Click here to view this media

I am soooooo disappointed. I can't tell you how disappointed. Because, alas and alack, I'm going to have to miss next week's gathering of tea-partying wingnuts down in Oregon, aka the "Gathering of Eagles".

My friend Carla at Blue Oregon tipped me off about this shindig. Seems they held the GOE last year at the same rural ranch outside of Turner, and everyone had such a grand time they decided to hold it there again.

You remember the "Gathering of Eagles." These were the pre-Tea Party Cro-Magnons who organized back in 2008 to create a right-wing counter-protest intended to "protect" the Vietnam Veterans memorial in D.C. One of their Fearless Leaders raised eyebrows a couple of years back by telling Chris Dodd to go kill himself.

Just for fun, you can go read belief system, which really can just be summed up with the penultimate entry:

Together we will fight liberalism, socialism, progressivism, and communism and bring back our individual freedoms to choose our own destiny.

Here's the PDF. I dunno about you, but I'm just all verklempt to miss out on this prime opportunity to hobnob with both Tom DeLay and John Fund. The conversations we could have!

FWIW, the host is a genial fellow who sells roofing compound and ran for Oregon governor back in 2010 (not so successfully).

Among the guests, besides DeLay and Fund, will be Bob Basso, who got famous pretending to be Thomas Paine on a few episodes of the Glenn Beck show, which he then parlayed into a swinging career on the right-wing chicken-dinner (or eagle-gathering, or what have you) circuit. You can tell that none of these morons ever bothered to actually read Paine, especially not "Agrarian Justice" -- else they would know that "income redistribution" not only well preceded Karl Marx, it was adamantly advocated by their hero!

We especially recall the time Basso called for an armed "Second Revolution" to take back the country from the evil Obamaites:

Basso: Join the grassroots movement of the Second American Revolution -- not of guns and violence, but of pressure, pressure, pressure. ...
Take back America now! Choose to be part of the Second American Revolution! Pressure, pressure, pressure! No presidential candidate, no political party can save you now. Only an aroused citizenry will turn this uncommon sense around. And he or she who does nothing now is helping them to destroy America!

One can hardly wait to see the eagles soaring. Darn.

I have to be off camping and watching whales again. What a bummer.

Read The Full Article:
http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/tea-party-hearts-soar-oregon-another

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Saturday hate mail-a-palooza

post from Daily Kos on 28 July 2012 01:00:06 PM. © Daily Kos

U.S. Marines receive an outpouring of support as active and non-active U.S. military personnel participate for the first time in San Diego's Gay Pride Parade in San Diego, July 16, 2011. The group is reported to be the first openly gay enlisted service members to march in a pride event in the United States following Congress repeal of the Marines and Navy personnel march in last year's Gay Pride Parade in San Diego. If wingnuts want to confuse me with these guys, why would I get upset?One of these days, dumbass conservatives will figure out that calling me gay is not an insult.

It's a compliment.

And no, they'll never really figure that out.

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http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/4BG4a2AbwW4/-Saturday-hate-mail-a-
palooza

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Sarah Palin Gives Thumbs Up To Anti-Gay
Chick-fil-A

post from ThinkProgress on 28 July 2012 01:00:03 PM. © ThinkProgress

Sarah Palin is joining a who’s-who of conservative activists — Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, Rev. Billy Graham, The Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America — in supporting Chick-fil-A, the fast food chain that has donated millions of dollars to anti-gay organizations, including “reparative therapy” groups like Exodus International.

“Stopped by Chick-fil-A in The Woodlands to support a great business,” the former Alaska governor tweeted on Friday night and posted a picture of her and husband Todd giving a thumbs up to the restaurant:

Chick-fil-A is one of a very small number of major national companies that refuses to offer any employment protections to LGBT employees. In fact, the company received a 0 rating from the Human Rights Campaign and has a record of firing employees it believes engage in ?sinful? behavior. Activists from across the country are protesting the company after its president condemned homosexuality in a recent radio interview.

The Palin’s, meanwhile, have long been accused of being hostile to gay and lesbian equality. During a recent episode of Bristol Palin’s Lifetime Show, Life?s a Tripp, her young son used the epithet ?faggot? to deride his aunt. Asked about the incident in Los Angeles recently, Palin grew visibly upset and proclaimed, ?I like gays. I?m not homphobic and I?m so sick of people saying that just becuase I?m for traditional marriage,? she said. Her parents’ very public enthusiasm for a company that donates millions to groups that try to “cure” people of being gay, however, may undermine her claim.

(HT: The New Civil Rights Movement)

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http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/07/28/601771/sarah-palin-gives-thumbs-up-to-an
ti-gay-chick-fil-a/

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Reports Of 6-Year High In Air Pollution Levels As
Olympics Begin

post from ThinkProgress on 28 July 2012 01:00:03 PM. © ThinkProgress

Photo Courtesy AP

According to the British government, the Ozone concentration in southern England on Thursday was nearly twice the World Health Organization’s guidelines and the highest its been since 2006, just in time for the start of the Summer 2012 London Olympics.

The increased pollution, coupled with a heat wave, is expected to make things much more difficult for athletes competing in the games:

According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, [exercise-induced bronchoconstriction or EIB] affects an estimated 20% of top athletes and an estimated 1 in 6 of all Olympic athletes.
?It has been well documented that elite athletes in the Olympics have an increased prevalence of EIB. They may not have suspected it, since they don?t have chronic asthma but rather a narrowing of the airways that comes specifically with exercise,? explained William S. Silvers, MD, FAAAAI, of the AAAAI?s Sports Medicine Committee.
An added concern for athletes with asthma and EIB is the amount of pollution in London, which may cause symptoms to worsen. Ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitric oxide and other pollutants can inflame the airways of sensitive people and even cause an asthma attack.

Professor Frank Kelly, Director of King’s College London’s Environmental Research Group, said recently that athletes “won’t be able to get enough oxygen in the body to perform at the highest level. What that means is they probably won’t be breaking any records under these conditions.” He added that the condition are “not ideal for athletics and certainly not for long distance events.”

In addition to the ozone, London also has a “higher concentration of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere than Beijing, China, had during the last summer Olympic games before the Chinese government banned half of all cars in an effort to reduce pollution.”

Though athletes, who breathe heavily during competition and training, will be the most vulnerable to air pollution, spectators will not be immune to the conditions:

“Probably about 20 percent of the healthy population will feel some tightening of the chest as they go about daily normal activities,” said Kelly…. Government officials said most people were not affected by short term peaks in ozone but those with existing heart or lung conditions may experience increased symptoms.”

Prior to the Beijing Olympics in 2008, there were concerns about severe effects that the air might have on the athletes, particularly distance runners. The concerns turned out to be unfounded as everything turned out alright but as pollution from anthropogenic sources continues to accumulate in the atmosphere, the air quality at future Olympic games will continue to deteriorate. Add that to the massive changes in sports we’ll see thanks to climate change, and the Olympics in 20 years might look nothing like the London Games.

– Max Frankel

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/07/28/600711/reports-of-6-year-high-in-air-
pollution-levels-as-olympics-begin/

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Meet Nancy Pelosis New Archbishop

post from Firedoglake on 28 July 2012 12:00:59 PM. © Firedoglake

On the Feast day of St. Francis, the Archdiocese of San Francisco will officially receive its new archbishop: Salvatore Cordileone. Between now and then, things will be very interesting for Catholics on both sides of the San Francisco Bay. Cordileone[...]

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http://firedoglake.com/2012/07/28/meet-nancy-pelosis-new-archbishop/

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Stupid Right-Wing Tweets: Jennifer Rubin Edition

post from Crooks and Liars on 28 July 2012 12:00:49 PM. © Crooks and Liars

enlarge

Mitt Romney's biggest fangirl at the Washington Post busts the old "Obama the Muslim sympathizer hates the Jews and hates Israel card."

Meanwhile, back on planet Earth, the president signed the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act.

"I have made it a top priority for my administration to deepen cooperation with Israel across the whole spectrum of security issues, intelligence, military, technology," Obama said during the White House bill signing ceremony.
Obama touted America?s "unshakable commitment to Israel," and praised the Iron Dome defense system as
?critical? in defending the nation?s citizens from missile strikes.
"We are standing by our friends in Israel when it comes to these kinds of attacks," said Obama.

But he said it with such disdain!

What a nutbar.

Read The Full Article:
http://crooksandliars.com/blue-texan/stupid-right-wing-tweets-jennifer-rubin

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This week in the War on Women: Let's send some
women to end this damn war

post from Daily Kos on 28 July 2012 12:00:06 PM. © Daily Kos

Protester at a rally to support Planned Parenthood, holding a sign that says Who's up for some time travel? Let's go way back in time to, oh, say, the beginning of Republican control of the House:

A war is coming.
Congressional Republicans have already made clear that their top priority, once they take control of Congress in the next session, is to make sure President Obama is a one-term president.
But there is a second priority that many Republicans in Congress, and in state legislatures around the country, have promised to pursue: the further restriction of women's reproductive rights.

In those long-ago days of early 2011, the "War on Women" was not a commonly used phrase. Outside of feminist circles, it was largely dismissed as hyperbole. It's not a war on women, critics argued. At most, it's a war on the "right to choose."

Things sure have changed since then, haven't they?

We've seen just how far the Republican Party is willing to go to wage its war. It's not just about restricting abortion rights. It's about defunding women's basic health care; opposing birth control; redefining rape; opposing protection for victims of domestic violence; opposing equal pay for women; slashing food stamps and welfare and Medicaid and other basic services on which women rely to care for themselves and their children.

The War on Women is no longer merely a feminist catch-phrase; it is front and center in our national discourse, especially in this election. The Republican Party has mobilized to deny the existence of its war; to insist that it a fake issue contrived by the media and/or Democrats and/or President Obama; to even claim that it is Democrats who are waging a war on women. Not that anyone is buying their bogus claims.

As I wrote in April:

The War on Women isn't about zingers. It's about a constant legislative assault by the Republican Party, at the state and federal level, on women's equality and basic rights, from health care to equal pay to funding programs to combat violence against women. Women aren't stupid, even if Republicans, like Herman Cain, insist that "men are much more familiar with the failed policies than a lot of other people."
Women know what they care about and whose policies they think are better for them. Republicans can't deny that away, and they know it. And they're scared. And they should be.

We cannot afford to let Republicans continue to wage their war. Even with Democrats in control of the Senate and White House, the Republicans have wreaked havoc on women's lives, and the consequences of the atrocious legislative assaults and obstruction are real and severe and make it that much harder for women to move closer to that ultimate dream of true equality.

This is a long war with many battles. Some won, some lost. There will be others ahead. But in order to fight and win, to stop the Republicans' war and to start making things better, we need to keep the White House and the Senate, retake the House, and make sure we send women to Washington who will fight to end the war.

Daily Kos has endorsed, and will continue to endorse, some incredible women who are running for office. These are women who will fight for progressive values, who will fight against the Republican obstructionism and cynicism that harms every American who isn't part of their beloved one percent, and who will make sure that when it comes to making decisions for women, women actually have a say.

Please give $6 to each of the amazing Democratic women we have endorsed, $1 for each of these six amazing candidates.

If we can elect more, better women to the halls of power throughout this country?if we can ensure that when our elected leaders are making decisions about women's lives, women actually have a voice and vote in those decisions?we can stop their war. Hell, if we send enough women, if women's voices are too many and too loud to ignore, we just might win.

Fight back against the Republican War on Women by contributing $1 to each of our six outstanding candidates.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/AivWQqGRQ-M/-This-week-in-the-War-
on-Women-Let-s-send-some-women-to-end-this-damn-war

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Stupid Right Wing Rumor Debunk: Churchill Bust
Edition

enlarge Mitt Romney is having a terrible week. Again. But you'd never know it from the right wing blogs and columns. Why, Charles Krauthammer just came out yesterday with the worn-out old claim in his that President Obama banished poor Churchill's bust back to the United Kingdom. How unAnglo-Saxon of him!

Can we bust this rumor once and for all? The White House hopes so, and released that picture showing Mr. Churchill's bust to prove it. From their blog post:

Now, normally we wouldn?t address a rumor that?s so patently false, but just this morning the Washington Post?s Charles Krauthammer repeated this ridiculous claim in his column. He said President Obama ?started his Presidency by returning to the British Embassy the bust of Winston Churchill that had graced the Oval Office.?
This is 100% false. The bust still in the White House. In the Residence. Outside the Treaty Room.
News outlets have debunked this claim time and again. First, back in 2010 the National Journal reported that ?the Churchill bust was relocated to a prominent spot in the residence to make room for Abraham Lincoln, a figure from whom the first African-American occupant of the Oval Office might well draw inspiration in difficult times.? And just in case anyone forgot, just last year the AP reported that President Obama ?replaced the Oval Office fixture with a bust of one of his American heroes, President Abraham Lincoln, and moved the Churchill bust to the White House residence.?
In case these news reports are not enough for Mr. Krauthammer and others, here?s a picture of the President showing off the Churchill bust to Prime Minister Cameron when he visited the White House residence in 2010.

Meanwhile, Mitt Romney is still having a very, very terrible week. There's your bust, Charlie. Mitt. Not Winston.