Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Threats flood into Arizona judge’s office after SB-1070 ruling.
“She has been inundated,” said U.S. Marshal David Gonzales, indicating his agents are taking some seriously. “About 99.9 percent of the inappropriate comments are people venting. They are exercising their First Amendment rights and a lot of it is perverted. But it’s that 0.1 percent that goes over the line that we are taking extra seriously.”
Bolton is not the only official facing hostility following Wednesday’s ruling. Yesterday, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) was forced to close his district office in Yuma, AZ, after “finding a window shattered and a bullet inside.” In April, when SB-1070 was signed into law, Grijalva — an outspoken opponent of the legislation — closed two district offices after death threats to his staff.
- Nina Bhattacharya
Remove Autoplay & Grey Bar Youtube (Firefox & Google Crome)
Install Greasemonkey (FireFox Users)
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Google Crome Extention:
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For Firefox Users Use this Script Extention:
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/8...
Winston S Churchill: We Shall Fight on the Beaches
The great PM gives one of his most famous speeches. It starts off quite calmly but the old master builds the suspence.
Once Churchill was speaking in Parliament and was slightly muddled and incoherent in his speech. A rather unattractive lady MP on the opposite benches declared to Churchill: 'Sir, you are drunk!'. To which he replied 'Madame that may be true, but in the morning I shall be sober whereas you will still be ugly'.
Weiner 9 11 Health Bill 072810
This clip of Anthony Weiner going ballistic on the House floor is one for the ages -- it should be watched again and again and again, and not only because he was angry and frustrated, but because he spoke a truth that all of us expect from our representatives. It's really quite simple: "If you believe that it's right, you vote yes. You don't hide behind procedure and give cover to your pals."
It's really that simple, but here's the backstory. The House has been trying to re-open the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund through 2031 for 9/11 responders whose health has been affected.
When it became apparent that the Republicans were going to attach "poison pill" amendments to the bill that had nothing to do with 9/11 and everything to do with their political agenda, Democrats shut down the possibility of amending the bill by moving it to the suspension calendar, where a minimum 2/3rds vote is needed for it to pass.
Republicans applied the same old talking points, calling it a "massive new entitlement program". Actually, that's not quite right. They called it a "massive job-killing new entitlement program", because that's the Frank Luntz mantra of the week. (I was monitoring the Senate at the same time, and somehow the Small Business Jobs bill also became another "massive job-killing new entitlement program.") Of course, that's nonsense too, given that it had been structured to be paid for by closing a tax loophole for foreign corporations.
If you believe it's right, you vote yes.
Republicans, for all their breast-pounding and glory-singing about patriotism, wouldn't know a patriot if it came up and bashed them between the eyes. Instead of standing for those people who gave no thought to their own safety but rushed forward to search for and rescue possible survivors of the attack, they defeated the measure.
Because it took a 2/3rds vote to pass without any amendments attached, most of the Republican caucus stood firm, and it went down 255-159, short of the 276 votes needed to pass.
There's only one reasonable conclusion to draw: Republicans don't believe it's right to care for 9/11 responders. They think it would be better for those responders to have to go to court, evidently because they might die before receiving a settlement to help them with their health problems.
The ten minutes leading into Rep. Weiner's rant give a sense of how cynical these people truly are. As the time for the vote neared and it was clear the bill might not pass, Speaker Nancy Pelosi came to the floor to exhort everyone to do the right thing:
The American people are looking to us to do the right thing for the men and women who answered the call of duty and continue to suffer from ill health effects on their service.
It is my understanding that the people affected by this live in 433 of the 435 congressional districts, because people not only rushed in from New York and surrounding areas, they came and brought their expertise and their help from all over the country.
And therefore, the consequences of their bravery are felt all over the country and the impact on their health is an important part of the challenge that they face and that we owe them for.
This legislation fulfills our obligation to those Americans.
And then Rep. Peter King (R-NY) stood and proved how craven Republicans really are:
What we are doing tonight is a cruel hoax and a charade. Everyone knows this bill won't get the 2/3 majority required on the suspension calendar and everyone also knows that this bill would pass with a clear majority if the Democrat leadership would allow it to come to the floor under the regular procedures of the House.
The reason HR 847 is not being brought up under regular order is the majority party is petrified of having its members face a potential vote on illegal immigration.
You can blame the Republicans, and I've been strongly critical of the Republican position on this issue but the reality is, you could pass this bill if you wanted to. You are in control, you have the power and you have the responsibility.
So to review, the Democrats bring a bill to the floor to pay the debt this country has to 9/11 responders. It doesn't have any poison pills, but the Republicans want to add something that involves illegal immigration, so that Democrats will look like they voted against illegal immigration when they were voting on a bill to take care of 9/11 responders.
And according to Peter King, it's all the Democrats' fault. Got it. (Note: Peter King voted for the bill...)
If you're not as angry as Anthony Weiner at this point, I can serve up some Senate shenanigans as a side dish. Between the two of them, Republicans proved themselves as evil as they truly are.
Here are the names of the Representatives (Republican AND Democrat) who turned their backs on all 9/11 responders, but especially those responders in their state. They should be posted on milk cartons nationwide with the words: MISSING: Morals, ethics, and human compassion next to their name and picture.
AL-1 Bonner, Jo [R]
AL-2 Bright, Bobby [D]
AL-3 Rogers, Michael [R]
AL-4 Aderholt, Robert [R]
AL-6 Bachus, Spencer [R]
AZ-2 Franks, Trent [R]
AZ-6 Flake, Jeff [R]
AR-1 Berry, Robert [D]
AR-3 Boozman, John [R]
CA-2 Herger, Walter [R]
CA-3 Lungren, Daniel [R]
CA-4 McClintock, Tom [R]
CA-21 Nunes, Devin [R]
CA-24 Gallegly, Elton [R]
CA-25 McKeon, Howard [R]
CA-26 Dreier, David [R]
CA-40 Royce, Edward [R]
CA-41 Lewis, Jerry [R]
CA-42 Miller, Gary [R]
CA-44 Calvert, Ken [R]
CA-45 Bono Mack, Mary [R]
CA-46 Rohrabacher, Dana [R]
CA-48 Campbell, John [R]
CA-49 Issa, Darrell [R]
CA-50 Bilbray, Brian [R]
CA-52 Hunter, Duncan [R]
CO-5 Lamborn, Doug [R]
CO-6 Coffman, Mike [R]
DE-0 Castle, Michael [R]
FL-1 Miller, Jeff [R]
FL-4 Crenshaw, Ander [R]
FL-5 Brown-Waite, Virginia [R]
FL-6 Stearns, Clifford [R]
FL-7 Mica, John [R]
FL-9 Bilirakis, Gus [R]
FL-12 Putnam, Adam [R]
FL-13 Buchanan, Vern [R]
FL-14 Mack, Connie [R]
FL-15 Posey, Bill [R]
FL-16 Rooney, Thomas [R]
FL-18 Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [R]
FL-21 Diaz-Balart, Lincoln [R]
FL-25 Diaz-Balart, Mario [R]
GA-1 Kingston, Jack [R]
GA-3 Westmoreland, Lynn [R]
GA-6 Price, Tom [R]
GA-7 Linder, John [R]
GA-9 Graves, Tom [R]
GA-10 Broun, Paul [R]
GA-11 Gingrey, John [R]
HI-1 Djou, Charles [R]
ID-2 Simpson, Michael [R]
IL-6 Roskam, Peter [R]
IL-8 Bean, Melissa [D]
IL-13 Biggert, Judy [R]
IL-15 Johnson, Timothy [R]
IL-16 Manzullo, Donald [R]
IL-18 Schock, Aaron [R]
IL-19 Shimkus, John [R]
IN-4 Buyer, Stephen [R]
IN-5 Burton, Dan [R]
IN-6 Pence, Mike [R]
IA-4 Latham, Thomas [R]
IA-5 King, Steve [R]
KS-2 Jenkins, Lynn [R]
KY-1 Whitfield, Edward [R]
KY-4 Davis, Geoff [R]
KY-5 Rogers, Harold [R]
LA-1 Scalise, Steve [R]
LA-4 Fleming, John [R]
LA-5 Alexander, Rodney [R]
LA-6 Cassidy, Bill [R]
LA-7 Boustany, Charles [R]
MD-6 Bartlett, Roscoe [R]
MI-3 Ehlers, Vernon [R]
MI-4 Camp, David [R]
MI-6 Upton, Frederick [R]
MI-8 Rogers, Michael [R]
MI-11 McCotter, Thaddeus [R]
MN-2 Kline, John [R]
MN-3 Paulsen, Erik [R]
MN-6 Bachmann, Michele [R]
MS-3 Harper, Gregg [R]
MO-6 Graves, Samuel [R]
MO-7 Blunt, Roy [R]
MO-8 Emerson, Jo Ann [R]
MO-9 Luetkemeyer, Blaine [R]
MT-0 Rehberg, Dennis [R]
NE-1 Fortenberry, Jeffrey [R]
NE-2 Terry, Lee [R]
NE-3 Smith, Adrian [R]
NV-2 Heller, Dean [R]
NJ-5 Garrett, Scott [R]
NY-26 Lee, Christopher [R]
NC-5 Foxx, Virginia [R]
NC-6 Coble, Howard [R]
NC-9 Myrick, Sue [R]
NC-10 McHenry, Patrick [R]
OH-2 Schmidt, Jean [R]
OH-3 Turner, Michael [R]
OH-4 Jordan, Jim [R]
OH-5 Latta, Robert [R]
OH-7 Austria, Steve [R]
OH-8 Boehner, John [R]
OH-12 Tiberi, Patrick [R]
OH-14 LaTourette, Steven [R]
OK-1 Sullivan, John [R]
OK-3 Lucas, Frank [R]
OK-4 Cole, Tom [R]
OK-5 Fallin, Mary [R]
OR-2 Walden, Greg [R]
PA-5 Thompson, Glenn [R]
PA-6 Gerlach, Jim [R]
PA-9 Shuster, William [R]
PA-16 Pitts, Joseph [R]
PA-19 Platts, Todd [R]
SC-1 Brown, Henry [R]
SC-2 Wilson, Addison [R]
SC-3 Barrett, James [R]
SC-4 Inglis, Bob [R]
TN-1 Roe, Phil [R]
TN-2 Duncan, John [R]
TN-5 Cooper, Jim [D]
TN-7 Blackburn, Marsha [R]
TX-1 Gohmert, Louis [R]
TX-2 Poe, Ted [R]
TX-3 Johnson, Samuel [R]
TX-4 Hall, Ralph [R]
TX-5 Hensarling, Jeb [R]
TX-6 Barton, Joe [R]
TX-7 Culberson, John [R]
TX-8 Brady, Kevin [R]
TX-10 McCaul, Michael [R]
TX-11 Conaway, K. [R]
TX-12 Granger, Kay [R]
TX-13 Thornberry, William [R]
TX-14 Paul, Ronald [R]
TX-19 Neugebauer, Randy [R]
TX-21 Smith, Lamar [R]
TX-22 Olson, Pete [R]
TX-24 Marchant, Kenny [R]
TX-26 Burgess, Michael [R]
TX-31 Carter, John [R]
TX-32 Sessions, Peter [R]
UT-1 Bishop, Rob [R]
UT-3 Chaffetz, Jason [R]
VA-1 Wittman, Rob [R]
VA-4 Forbes, J. [R]
VA-6 Goodlatte, Robert [R]
VA-7 Cantor, Eric [R]
VA-10 Wolf, Frank [R]
WA-4 Hastings, Doc [R]
WA-5 McMorris Rodgers, Cathy [R]
WA-8 Reichert, Dave [R]
WV-2 Capito, Shelley [R]
WI-1 Ryan, Paul [R]
WI-5 Sensenbrenner, F. [R]
WI-6 Petri, Thomas [R]
WY-0 Lummis, Cynthia [R]
There it is. The 2010 9-11 Hall of Shame. They all walk with the weight of those lives on their heads -- the lives of the unselfish responders who didn't worry about anything but saving lives, even at the cost of their own.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Counselor Refuses to Help Gay Student
www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mi-student-lawsuit-h,0,4774005.story
chicagotribune.com
Eastern Michigan U. student's lawsuit is dismissed
Associated Press
1:09 PM CDT, July 28, 2010
DETROIT
Advertisement
A conservative legal group says it will appeal a federal judge's decision to throw out a lawsuit brought by an Eastern Michigan University student who says she was kicked out of a master's degree program because of her religious views against homosexuality.
Julea Ward says she was removed from Eastern's counseling program because she refused to counsel gay clients, saying she believed homosexuality was morally wrong.
She sued the Ypsilanti school last year, alleging a violation of her constitutional rights.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh ruled in favor of the university and granted it summary judgment.
Alliance Defense Fund attorney David French says the group will appeal the decision.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News Audience Just 1.38% Black
Fox News may be the undisputed ratings champion in cable news, but not among black viewers.
The New York Times' Brian Stelter tweeted that, according to Nielsen Media Research, Fox News has averaged just 29,000 black viewers in primetime so far this television season (9/09-7/10). That represents just 1.38% of its 2.102 million total viewer audience.
CNN and MSNBC, meanwhile, both have far more black viewers, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of their overall audiences.
MSNBC has averaged 145,000 black viewers, representing 19.3% of its 751,000 total viewer audience.
CNN has averaged 134,000 black viewers, representing 20.7% of its 648,000 total viewer audience.
Stelter noted that he pulled the Nielsen numbers after working on his story in Monday's New York Times on race and cable news.
His piece, "When Race Is the Issue, Misleading Coverage Sets Off an Uproar," examines the recent media firestorm over comments made by USDA official Shirley Sherrod as an example of "warfare" waged by conservative media.
The New York Times' Brian Stelter tweeted that, according to Nielsen Media Research, Fox News has averaged just 29,000 black viewers in primetime so far this television season (9/09-7/10). That represents just 1.38% of its 2.102 million total viewer audience.
CNN and MSNBC, meanwhile, both have far more black viewers, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of their overall audiences.
MSNBC has averaged 145,000 black viewers, representing 19.3% of its 751,000 total viewer audience.
CNN has averaged 134,000 black viewers, representing 20.7% of its 648,000 total viewer audience.
Stelter noted that he pulled the Nielsen numbers after working on his story in Monday's New York Times on race and cable news.
His piece, "When Race Is the Issue, Misleading Coverage Sets Off an Uproar," examines the recent media firestorm over comments made by USDA official Shirley Sherrod as an example of "warfare" waged by conservative media.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Black Adversity: The Opposite of White Privilege
However, yesterday, I wondered about the opposite of white privilege and what that's called. Today, I've given it a name. I call it black adversity. They are the challenges and disadvantages that blacks have to struggle with. I wanted to focus on the realities of black life in a white-dominated society. So, I made a list of black adversities.
I want to go on record that the list of adversities are not excuses, nor should it be held as reasons for not trying to understand. They do not describe black life in its entirety, and a few, if not some, are not restricted to just blacks. However, the list shows the harsh realities that blacks face no matter the socioeconomic, political, or religious/spiritual sense or status. Some of these vary depending on the individual, but overall, here's a list of adversities blacks have to struggle with and overcome. Also within the list are things whites must be aware of and overcome which is associated with fear.
1. If I'm in a group of others who look like me, that is a cause for some kind of suspicion.
2. In order to not cause suspicion, I must be in the company of (mostly) whites.
3. If I move, I can be sure I will likely end up in poor neighborhood whether I want to or not.
4. If I move into a white neighborhood, it will be enough to arouse suspicion with my neighbors.
5. When I go shopping, I can be sure I will arouse suspicion and be followed around.
6. I will be sure that when I turn on the TV, I will most likely see others who look like me as ball players, criminals, clowns or overall failures of society.
7. When I turn to the local news on tv or in a newspaper, I can be sure most of the crime reported will have faces of suspects who look like me.
8. I know that my history is celebrated during the shortest month of the year and will likely not be celebrated any other time.
9. I know that most of the history taught is of history of mainly white people.
10. I can be sure that most of the stories I have to read for class are stories written by whites featuring white characters.
11. I can be sure that in order to pass in school I have to learn history and literature of whites by whites.
12. In order for whites to listen to me, I must agree with what they think about me and my people.
13. I can be sure that whites will not listen to me when it comes to race and racism.
14. I can be sure that in order to "make it" in the music industry I must sing or rap about sex, drugs, violence and killing my own people.
15. I can be sure that in order to "make it" in the music industry I must be an R&B, Jazz, rap or hip-hop artist.
16. When I use cash, checks, or credit cards, my skin is enough for suspicion.
17. When children of my race are missing, I know the media will likely not pay too much, if any, attention to them.
18. I know during my lifetime, I will be taught that my race is inferior in some way, shape or form.
19. I can be pretty sure that teachers will likely and severely punish children of my race for small infractions.
20. I can be pretty sure that children of my race will be put down or judged because of their race.
21. I know that the dropout rate for male children of my race is the highest among other races.
22. The way I look contributes to the way I should talk in order to be considered black.
23. I know that making good grades and good manners are signs that I'm "acting white."
24. I can be pretty sure that I'm automatically a representative for my group in the entertainment, political, religious or social area.
25. I know that any bad manners I have is associated with my color.
26. As a male I can be sure that living beyond 30 is a blessing.
27. I know that growing up, I will see poverty, drugs, violence and/or murder at least once.
28. If I grew up middle-class or upper-class, I may be looked upon with negativity by some of my own peers. If I grew up lower-class, I may still be looked upon with negativity by some of my own peers.
29. As a female I can be sure that the standard for beauty in this society is white or light skin.
30. I have a good chance of growing up in a single parent home.
31. I have at least one family member or relative who is either in prison or has been in prison.
32. As a child there's a chance that I will likely be considered "bad" by adults who know me faster than being acknowledged of any positives.
33. If I murder a white person, I can be pretty sure that I will get the death penalty.
34. If I murder a black person, I can be pretty sure that my sentence will be lighter compared to white victims.
35. I can be sure that I will be pulled over by police because of my race.
36. I can be sure that I will either be harassed, abused or even killed by police because of my race.
37. In court, I will likely not get a fair trial.
38. I know that as a male, there's a 1 in 3 chance that I will end up in prison, and losing my right to vote.
39. As a male I must marry within my race or be considered a sellout.
40. As a male I know my number one cause of death is homicide most likely by another male who looks like me.
41. I know a new television series will have main characters that will not look like me.
42. I know that negative stereotypes about my people will continue despite a high number of those who do not fit those stereotypes. In other words I will be judged by the actions of a few.
43. I know that my experiences with racism mean little or nothing.
44. I know that I will be a scapegoat for almost anything and everything wrong with this society.
45. I know that there will be movies featuring white people saving my people.
46. I know that my history prior to slavery is hardly discussed or brought up in classrooms. We were taught that we came from slaves and nothing else.
47. I can be sure I will likely not get the job or career I want based upon my race.
48. I know that all of my people are judged for the actions of one or a few of my people.
49. I have to live with the fact that my true culture, language, history are stripped away, and the proof I have to live with is in my name.
50. I am often told that something is wrong with me and not with the society I live in.
51. As a female the shade of my skin defines beauty. If my skin is dark or hair is nappy, then there's a chance that I will be considered ugly by my peers.
52. As a female and mother I will be judged negatively by the number of children I have. If I do have children, I will be assumed that I am unmarried, that I'm on welfare, or that I'm simply an unfit mother.
53. As a child I can be sure that the newest cartoon series will not feature characters that look like me. If they do, they will likely be some form of negative stereotype.
54. As a male I will be judged by my male peers on how bad, tough or "street" I am. At school, I will likely be judged for my bad behavior and athletic abilities.
55. In religion I am taught that God is white and that whiteness is purity and cleanliness and that my skin color is the exact opposite.
56. As a female I am assumed to have a bad attitude, that I'm a golddigger or that I like to show off my body.
57. I have to live with the notion that any organiazation for blacks are considered inferior or racist by whites.
58. I am encouraged to be the best black anything in society and not simply the best.
59. I am assumed that any position I'm in is because of affirmative action and not on my own merits.
60. I have to live with the fact that I am not considered a "regular" person, that I am considered a black person
via great post
http://is.gd/dL9cc
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