Friday, 30 March 2012
{Political_Views} The Conservative Agenda in the Trayvon Martin Case | Mother Jones
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
{Political_Views} Fw: UPDATE: Supreme Court
Right now, the Supreme Court is deciding whether or not to strike down Health Insurance Reform. At this critical moment, let's show the world that we are united and strong behind President Obama's law and that every American deserves access to quality, affordable health care. Send a message to the Court: Help us reach 100,000 strong standing up for Health Care Reform before tomorrow's final day of arguments. I'm proud to support health care for all Americans. I'm proud that thanks to all of our efforts, millions of Americans can no longer be dropped from their coverage when they get sick. And I'm proud that when the law takes full effect, being a woman will no longer be classified as a "pre-existing condition." Let's stand proud for health care reform: http://dccc.org/Support-HCR Thanks for standing with us, Kelly Kelly Ward DCCC Political Director
This message was sent to: rockieball@yahoo.com | To unsubscribe, click here: http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63cf14/1b459372/367a7c41/4e0ce533/2913820227/VEsC/. Change or update your email address and contact information by clicking here. |
{Political_Views} The Religious Frenzy of a Court You Can't Believe In - Esquire
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Monday, 26 March 2012
{Political_Views} Trayvon Martin: What RFK Said
I live in Orlando, so a number of people have asked me what I think about the death of Trayvon Martin. Trayvon, a teenager, was shot dead by a "neighborhood watch" member as Trayvon was walking home from a convenience store. Trayvon was armed with nothing but a bottle of iced tea and a bag of Skittles. For me, it calls to mind the sentiments in the speech that Robert F. Kennedy gave from his heart on April 4, 1968, in Indianapolis, after Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed. This is what Robert F. Kennedy said:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I'm only going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening, because I have some – some very sad news for all of you – Could you lower those signs, please? – I have some very sad news for all of you, and, I think, sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world; and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.
Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black – considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible – you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.
We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization – black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion, and love.
For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.
But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond, or go beyond these rather difficult times.
My favorite poet was Aeschylus. And he once wrote:
Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget
falls drop by drop upon the heart,
until, in our own despair,
against our will,
comes wisdom
through the awful grace of God.
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.
So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love – a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke.
We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We've had difficult times in the past, but we – and we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the end of disorder.
But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.
And let's dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.
Thank you very much.
Courage,
Alan Grayson
{Political_Views} In Humor, Truth: Bank of America wants you to die...
>
> You've heard that truth is stranger than fiction?
>
> Bank of America claimed to "need" a Death Certificate of a living
> borrower to complete his loan modification.
>
> At first this borrower gave Bank of America the benefit of the
> doubt, thinking that the request was surely a mistake.
>
> Then they did it again, and further requested a statement of death
> benefits as well.
>
> Apparently, that's they're sick way of saying that he will die
> before they'll modify his loan.
>
> Video:
>
> http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/9941.html
>
> Goodman Green
> - Brasscheck
>
> P.S. Please share Brasscheck TV e-mails and
> videos with friends and colleagues.
>
> That's how we grow. Thanks.
>
> ================================
> Brasscheck TV
> 2380 California St.
> San Francisco, CA 94115
>
> To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:
> http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?zAxs7OwctCzs7AwsLBwctEa0jMwcbJyMjGw=
>
>
{Political_Views} Analysis: House GOP Budget Gives $187,000 Tax Cut To Every Millionaire | ThinkProgress
{Political_Views} State to Investigate Jailing of Burnsville Man After Siding Violations | KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul
Sunday, 25 March 2012
{Political_Views} The Barbarism of the Health-Care Repeal Crusade -- Daily Intel (Also a rant)
Saturday, 24 March 2012
{Political_Views} Rick, If You're Against Porn, Don't Watch It
In a TV interview on Sunday, Rick Santorum said that if he is elected President, he will file criminal charges against the distribution of pornography. Santorum specifically referred to "exposure on the Internet," so presumably he would censor the Internet.
The Internet Police. What a concept.
Santorum complained that President Bush enforced "the law" (probably alluding to the "Child Online Protection Act," passed in 1998), but President Obama has not. Well, there's a reason for that. The US Supreme Court held that the law is unconstitutional, and the Court issued its final ruling in that case on the day after President Obama was sworn into office.
But let us give credit where credit is due. A Republican candidate for President finally has come up with a jobs program: policing the Internet for porn. All 50 billion pages of it.
I have a dramatically simpler idea.
Rick, if you're against pornography, then don't watch it.
You see how that works? Let me give you some more examples.
If you're against contraception, don't use it.
If you're against abortion, don't have one.
If you're against Moslems, don't become one.
If you're against gay marriage, don't have one.
If you're against unions, don't join one.
If you're against universal health care, just keep your distance from doctors and hospitals.
If you're against homosexuality, then feel free to limit your sexual interest to the 3 billion human beings of the opposite gender.
What I'm basically trying to say to Rick Santorum, and everyone like Rick Santorum, is this: mind your own business.
Courage,
Alan Grayson
"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you." 1 Thessalonians 4:11 (Paul of Tarsus, quoting Jesus)
Friday, 23 March 2012
Thursday, 22 March 2012
{Political_Views} Robert Reich (The Republican's Social-Darwinist Budget Plan)
{Political_Views} Are Walmart's Chinese Factories as Bad as Apple's? | Mother Jones
{Political_Views} The man blocking America's recovery - The Washington Post
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
{Political_Views} Fw: Election Year Economics
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{Political_Views} Schools are prisons Attack dogs used against High Schoolers for planned protest and thought crimes
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
{Political_Views} History: The Battle of Athens, Tennessee
>
> The video clip I'm sharing with you today is from a made-for-TV
> movie titled "An American Story" (1992).
>
> It's based on the true story of the 'McMinn County War' which took
> place in Athens and Etowah, Tennessee on August 1st and 2nd 1946.
>
> There had been long-standing concern in McMinn County about
> political corruption and possible election fraud. At citizen
> request, the U.S. Department of Justice had investigated
> allegations of electoral fraud in 1940, 1942, and 1944, but had
> done nothing.
>
> In 1946, as Sheriff Paul Cantrell tried to steal another election,
> the residents of Athens and Etowah, including a group of G.I.'s
> having just returned home from the WWII, took up arms and refused
> to allow the fraud to continue.
>
> This is a piece of Second Amendment history that I was totally
> unaware of until a subscriber at 2nd Amendment TV pointed me in its
> direction. Thanks Al...
>
>
>
{Political_Views} The Power of Recalls in Wisconsin | The Nation
{Political_Views} Fw: Trayvon
Just minutes before Trayvon was killed, Zimmerman had called police stating that Trayvon looked "suspicious." Trayvon was unarmed and walking back to his father's home in Sanford, Florida when Zimmerman accosted him.
At the crime scene, Sanford police botched their questioning of Zimmerman, refused to take the full statements of witnesses, and pressured neighbors to side with the shooter's claim of self-defense.2 As it turns out, Sanford's police department has a history of failing to hold perpetrators accountable for violent acts against Black victims, and the police misconduct in Trayvon's case exemplifies the department's systemic mishandling of such investigations.3 And now, the State Attorney's office has rubber-stamped the Sanford police's non-investigation, claiming that there is not enough evidence to support even a manslaughter conviction.4
Trayvon's family and hundreds of thousands of people around the country are demanding justice.5 Please join us in calling on the Department of Justice to take over the case, arrest Trayvon's killer, and launch an independent investigation into the Sanford police department's unwillingness to protect Trayvon's civil rights. It takes just a moment:
http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/Trayvon
Walking home from the store shouldn't cost you your life, but when Black youth are routinely assumed to be violent criminals, being randomly killed is a constant danger.6 Before Zimmerman decided to get out of his parked car — gun in tow — to pursue Trayvon on foot that night, he called the police to identify Trayvon as a "suspicious person" — apparently because he was wearing a hoodie and walking too slowly in the rain for Zimmerman's liking. Despite being instructed not to follow Trayvon, Zimmerman proceeded to confront and fatally shoot the boy in the chest within a matter of minutes.7
The case has been compromised from the beginning. When Sanford police arrived on the scene, Zimmerman was first approached by a narcotics detective — not a homicide investigator — who "peppered him with questions" rather than allowing him to tell his story without prompting. Another officer "corrected" a witness giving a statement that she'd heard Trayvon cry for help before he was shot, telling her she had heard Zimmerman instead.8 And beyond the questions of professional competence or even the police's disregard for the facts, Florida's notorious "Shoot First" law takes a shooter's self-defense claim at face value — incentivizing law enforcement not to make arrests in shooting deaths that would lead to murder charges in other states.9
Sanford has a history of not prosecuting when the victim is Black. In 2010, the white son of a Sanford police lieutenant was let go by police after assaulting a homeless Black man outside a downtown bar. And, in 2005, a Black teenager was killed by two white security guards, one the son of a Sanford Police officer. The pair was arrested and charged, but a judge later cited lack of evidence and dismissed both cases.10
Please join us in calling on the Department of Justice to arrest Trayvon's killer and launch an investigation into the Sanford police department's mishandling of the case and when you do, ask your friends and family to do the same:
http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/Trayvon
Thanks and Peace,
-- Rashad, Gabriel, Dani, Matt, Natasha, Kim and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
March 19th, 2012
Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don't share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:
http://www.colorofchange.org/donate
References
1. "Witnesses in Trayvon Martin death heard cries before shot," Miami Herald, 03-15-12
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1228?akid=2382.1295322.iqHETE&t=7
2. "Orlando Watch Shooting Probe Reveals Questionable Police Conduct," ABC News, 03-13-12
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1219?akid=2382.1295322.iqHETE&t=9
3. "Trayvon Martin Case Salts Old Wounds And Racial Tension," Huffington Post, 03-14-12
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1220?akid=2382.1295322.iqHETE&t=11
4. "Police: No Grounds For Arrest in Trayvon Martin's Death," WESH-2 Orlando, 03-16-12
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1227?akid=2382.1295322.iqHETE&t=13
5. "Trayvon Martin Family Seeks FBI Investigation of Killing by Neighborhood Watchman," ABC News, 03-18-12
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1221?akid=2382.1295322.iqHETE&t=15
6. "Ramarley Graham: NYPD Slays Unarmed Black Teen as Outrage over Targeting of People of Color Grows," Democracy Now!, 02-08-12
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1222?akid=2382.1295322.iqHETE&t=17
7. "Trayvon Martin would be alive if Neighborhood Watch rules followed," Orlando Sentinel, 03-14-12
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1223?akid=2382.1295322.iqHETE&t=19
8. See reference 2.
9. "Teen's death suggests review of 'Stand Your Ground Law' needed," Tallahassee Democrat, 03-16-12
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1224?akid=2382.1295322.iqHETE&t=21
10. "Five years since Florida enacted 'stand-your-ground' law, justifiable homicides are up, Tampa Bay Times, 10-17-10
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1225?akid=2382.1295322.iqHETE&t=23
{Political_Views} New High School Principle
EVERY SCHOOL SHOULD HAVE THESE PRINCIPLES
Subject: Fw: New High School Principle
Amen to all of this!
THIS PRINCIPAL PUTS IT ON THE LINE...TOO
BAD OTHER SCHOOLS DON'T FOLLOW THIS APPROACH
PLEASE, MAKE THE TIME TO READ THIS and SHARE IT…..
New high school principal
We watched high school principal Dennis Prager of Colorado, along with Sara Palin and Tom Brokaw on TV a couple of weeks ago....what a dynamic, down to earth speaker. Even though Palin and Brokaw were also guest speakers they did little but nod and agree with him. This is the guy that should be running for President in 2012!
A Speech Every American High School Principal Should Give.
By Dennis Prager
To the students and faculty of our high school:
I am your new principal and honored to be so. There is no greater calling than to teach young people.
I would like to apprise you of some important changes coming to our school. I am making these changes because I am convinced that most of the ideas that have dominated public education in America have worked against you, against your teachers and against our country.
First, this school will no longer honor race or ethnicity. I could not care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red, yellow or white. I could not care less if your origins are African, Latin American, Asian or European, or if your ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower or on slave ships. The only identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize, is your individual identity -- your character, your scholarship, your humanity. And the only national identity this school will care about is American.
This is an American public school, and American public schools were created to make better Americans. If you wish to affirm an ethnic, racial or religious identity through school, you will have to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity, race and non-American nationality-based celebrations. They undermine the motto of America , one of its three central values -- e pluribus Unum, "from many, one." And this school will be guided by America 's values. This includes all after-school clubs. I will not authorize clubs that divide students based on any identities. This includes race, language, religion, sexual orientation or whatever else may become in vogue in a society divided by political correctness.
Your clubs will be based on interests and passions, not blood, ethnic, racial or other physically defined ties. Those clubs just cultivate narcissism -- an unhealthy preoccupation with the self -- while the purpose of education is to get you to think beyond yourself. So we will have clubs that transport you to the wonders and glories of art, music, astronomy, languages you do not already speak, carpentry and more. If the only extracurricular activities you can imagine being interested in are those based on ethnic, racial or sexual identity, that means that little outside of yourself really interests you.
Second, I am uninterested in whether English is your native language. My only interest in terms of language is that you leave this school speaking and writing English as fluently as possible. The English language has united America 's citizens for over 200 years, and it will unite us at this school. It is one of the indispensable reasons this country of immigrants has always come to be one country. And if you leave this school without excellent English language skills, I would be remiss in my duty to ensure that you will be prepared to successfully compete in the American job market. We will learn other languages here -- it is deplorable that most Americans only speak English --but if you want classes taught in your native language rather than in English, this is not your school.
Third, because I regard learning as a sacred endeavor, everything in this school will reflect learning's elevated status. This means, among other things, that you and your teachers will dress accordingly. Many people in our society dress more formally for Hollywood events than for church or school. These people have their priorities backward. Therefore, there will be a formal dress code at this school.
Fourth, no obscene language will be tolerated anywhere on this school's property -- whether in class, in the hallways or at athletic events. If you can't speak without using the f-word, you can't speak. By obscene language I mean the words banned by the Federal Communications Commission, plus epithets such as "Nigger," even when used by one black student to address another black, or "bitch," even when addressed by a girl to a girlfriend. It is my intent that by the time you leave this school, you will be among the few your age to instinctively distinguish between the elevated and the degraded, the holy and the obscene.
Fifth, we will end all self-esteem programs. In this school, self-esteem will be attained in only one way -- the way people attained it until decided otherwise a generation ago -- by earning it. One immediate consequence is that there will be one valedictorian, not eight.
Sixth, and last, I am reorienting the school toward academics and away from politics and propaganda. No more time will be devoted to scaring you about smoking and caffeine, or terrifying you about sexual harassment or global warming. No more semesters will be devoted to condom wearing and teaching you to regard sexual relations as only or primarily a health issue... There will be no more attempts to convince you that you are a victim because you are not white, or not male, or not heterosexual or not Christian. We will have failed if any one of you graduates this school and does not consider him or herself inordinately fortunate -- to be alive and to be an American.
Now, please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. As many of you do not know the words, your teachers will hand them out to you.
Pass this along if you agree. . . . If not delete…..and later regret it !
Monday, 19 March 2012
{Political_Views} FOCUS: Judge Bars 17 Chevron Executives From Leaving Brazil
Sunday, 18 March 2012
{Political_Views} IRS to be challenged in major lawsuit over licensing scheme
> This video deals with the new IRS licensing scheme, which is now
> the subject of a lawsuit, from the angle of some 350,000
> independent tax return preparers (workers) who will be run out of
> business, leaving only the major firms who would then have a good
> deal less competition.
>
> Which is an extremely valid and legal angle to approach it.
>
> I see this also as a way to CONTROL those who prepare taxes. If you
> need a license to prepare taxes, then you had better prepare the
> tax papers the way the IRS wants or your license can be withdrawn
> or refused renewal.
>
> It has elsewhere been demonstrated that independent tax prepares
> often come up with different numbers than major tax preparing
> firms, that almost always means a larger return for the taxpayer.
>
> Yeah, I think it's a control scheme as well as limiting competition
> for major firms.
>
> Video:
>
> http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/9836.html
>
> Goodman Green
> - Brasscheck
>
> P.S. Please share Brasscheck TV e-mails and
> videos with friends and colleagues.
>
> That's how we grow. Thanks.
>
> ================================
> Brasscheck TV
> 2380 California St.
> San Francisco, CA 94115
>
> To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:
> http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?zAxs7OwctCzs7AwsLBwctEa0jMzs7KzsHAw=
>
>
{Political_Views} In a Power Grab, the Kochs' Struggles Are Revealed
{Political_Views} Fw: Afghan Code Declares "Men are Fundamental, and Women are Secondary"
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Saturday, 17 March 2012
{Political_Views} Taking it to the Tea Party Ten
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