Yes Virginia, Torture Does Work

Torture has been used effectively for centuries so why do liberals claim it doesn’t work?  Well typical of liberals they are a bit picky; specifically meaning that torture doesn’t work to obtain meaningful intelligence.  But of course, we all know that, even the blackest-hearted conservative knows.  So why is torture so popular with despots?  Let’s look at the different reasons for torturing humans:

1. Cheney and The Torturers (on their off hours they play at the Triple Door in Seattle) quickly rounded up over a hundred suspects in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and commenced torturing them. They weren’t too picky who got included in the round up because one purpose of the round up was to show the public that they were actively pursuing those responsible for the attack.  And the torture can be effective in weeding out suspects, or at least getting some confessions, giving the impression of success.

2.  As the Torture Report clearly shows, Cheney had people tortured, not to gain worthwhile intelligence, but to get information that could be used to justify their vision of invading Iraq.  The Torturers were ordered to continue with the torture until they got information that connected al Qaeda to Saddam Hussein.  They actually never succeeded in getting that information. 

3.  Torture is used to terrorize the enemy attempting to scare the enemy into capitulating.  Actually it’s really not that effective, seems it usually bolsters an enemies resolve.

4.  Torture is used by people in power because they can.  Some have psychopathic tendencies while others just get off on the power.  I would say this probably applies to Cheney and some of his guys.

5.  But the most effective use for torture is for leaders to control their own populations.  Arbitrarily torturing members of the public is very effective for getting cooperation and capitulation and has been used for centuries. 

I hope this clears up some questions.  Just don’t ask who Virginia is? 

Damn the Release of the Torture Report

Now we, as a nation, have to look at it square in the eyes.  No more denial, we tortured some folks.  Sorry Mr. President but we brutally tortured many people, many innocent people and for what?  

Now we must decide who we are as a nation.  Now we must admit we are not the world’s “Good Guys”.  We, all of us, are responsible for this horrendous blight on our national soul.  We all stood by as a cabal took control of our government.  They manipulated our election process and had it authorized by a corrupted Supreme Court.  This coup was accomplished without any noticeable resistance from our elected representatives.  Many representatives approved and most of the rest acquiesced.  Few spoke out.  

The public isn’t without blame but having been treated as lemmings for decades they/we went right off the cliff like good little authoritarians.  

The “News” Media, or more like the propaganda arm of the new Reich, instead of fulfilling their democratic function of keeping our government honest, put on a parade for the new Reich, willing shills for the new Corporatism, or dare I use the “F” word, Fascism?  Now I know you’re saying to yourself, no, no not in my America.  I vote therefore I am free.  But “Fascism is like a fog that comes in the night, which you will not see until the mourning(sic) light, …” *   “Fascism is capitalism in decay” Vladimir Lenin and our capitalism is definitely in decay.

If you still are hiding in your denial bubble, I suggest you read:  They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45, by Milton Mayer, if you haven’t already.

So what will we do about it?  We will growl and shake our heads and then scoot off to catch that sale on imported backscratchers at Walmart.  We are a country of authoritarians that blindly support our leaders and rationalize away clear violations of our Constitution.  And there are far too many of us that, not only accept the yoke of corporate slavery, but outwardly are antagonistic toward those that are fighting the creeping fog of fascism.

*I don’t have a source this quote.  

Are You Upset Because the Torture Report Was Released Just Before Christmas?

Whoopi Goldberg is.  On The View she expressed her disappointment that this nasty (my word) report was brought out at this time.  And I’m betting she isn’t the only one.  How dare we let reality ruin our Christmas.  This is the attitude that is crushing our democracy.   

Shame on those that are disappointed at the timing, but actually, the question of why at this time is a great question.  Whoopi and others won’t look deep enough to find the answer.   

It appears to me that the timing was aimed at getting the report released when the American public was most distracted.  A Friday night news dump wasn’t good enough.  This is a Christmas news dump. 

So what is Whoopi so upset about?  The facts that reveal that we, the supposedly “Good Guys” used techniques that we associate with the evil fascists?  Or because the information might bring us down at this happy time of year? 

We let this happen.  Are we going to let it be normalized?  The question is rhetorical, of course we are.

Senator Sanders Unveils a 12 Point Economic Plan

Sanders detailed a 12-point economic program to break the Oligarch’s strangle hold on our economy and the neck of the middle class.   

From:    http://www.politicususa.com/2014/12/02/bernie-sanders-unveils-12-point-economic-plan-break-koch-oligarchs.html

- Invest in our crumbling infrastructure with a major program to create jobs by rebuilding roads, bridges, water systems, waste water plants, airports, railroads and schools.

– Transform energy systems away from fossil fuels to create jobs while beginning to reverse global warming and make the planet habitable for future generations.

– Develop new economic models to support workers in the United States instead of giving tax breaks to corporations which ship jobs to low-wage countries overseas.

– Make it easier for workers to join unions and bargain for higher wages and benefits.

– Raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour so no one who works 40 hours a week will live in poverty.

– Provide equal pay for women workers who now make 78 percent of what male counterparts make.

– Reform trade policies that have shuttered more than 60,000 factories and cost more than 4.9 million decent-paying manufacturing jobs.

– Make college affordable and provide affordable child care to restore America’s competitive edge compared to other nations.

– Break up big banks. The six largest banks now have assets equivalent to 61 percent of our gross domestic product, over $9.8 trillion. They underwrite more than half the mortgages in the country and issue more than two-thirds of all credit cards.

– Join the rest of the industrialized world with a Medicare-for-all health care system that provides better care at less cost.

– Expand Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and nutrition programs.

– Reform the tax code based on wage earners’ ability to pay and eliminate loopholes that let profitable corporations stash profits overseas and pay no U.S. federal income taxes.

My comment – The Republicans counter with their plan that hinges on cutting taxes on the wealthy and services to the lower 99%.

Lack of Voter Turnout Isn’t the Problem

Lack of votes in and of itself is not our problem.

In 2000 when the Republicans and SCOTUS stole the election, lack of votes wasn’t the problem.

In gerrymandered districts, more votes won’t change the outcomes. For example, if a district is 90% Democrats and the Democrats always win; more votes won’t change a thing. In a district that is split 60% Republican and 40% Democrats, and the Republicans win 60 – 40, more votes would not change the results.

The problem is the lack of Progressive Votes.

Our voting system is set up to disenfranchise and discourage Progressive Democrats from voting and/or render Democratic votes meaningless.

A bad analogy would be to assume our voting system is one big giant DieBold voting machine. No matter who you want to win, the results are what the Oligarchs want. Shoving more votes into the machine won’t change what comes out the other side.

So what are the real problems?

The basic problem is that we get too few Progressive votes.

And one big reason is that our voting system is corrupted. Until that’s fixed, getting more people to vote won’t solve our problem.

Also, the voters are mislead by the Corp-Media. We must figure out how to counter that. If we don’t fix this, the “more votes” we get may be for Conservatives.

Another reason we don’t get more Progressive votes is that we have too few Progressive candidates at the national level and the candidates we have won’t speak out against Conservatism loud enough to convince the public that there is a different between the parties.

If you want to get more Progressive Democrats to vote, work on solving the above problems. Simply complaining about lack of turnout is counter productive.

GOP Want to Reduce Corporate Taxes - Can You Say Quid Pro Quo?

The following is from Robert Reich's facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/RBReich?fref=nf

Corporate tax "reform" is high on the Republican agenda because the GOP's corporate patrons are demanding payoff from their investments in the 2014 election. Watch your wallets. Here are the four biggest right-wing whoppers about corporate taxes:

1. The U.S. corporate tax rate of 35% is one of the highest among advanced countries. True but misleading. The effective corporate income-tax rate – what corporations actually pay after all deductions, credits, and loopholes – is 27.7%, close to the average of all rich countries (27.2%).

2. Today's corporate tax rate is high by historic standards. Baloney. In the 1950s it was over 50%.

3. The corporate tax reduces corporate profits, which makes it harder for corporations to hire. Wrong. Corporate profits today are the highest they've been since World War II as a percentage of the economy.

4. Lowering the corporate income-tax would spur economic growth. Baloney. There's no relation between corporate tax rates and growth. In the 1950s and 60s, when the corporate tax was over 50%, the economy grew faster (at an annual average rate of 3.9%) than it has since the rate was reduced.

Don't let the right get away with their whoppers about corporate taxes. Spread the truth. 

When corporations paid their fair share, the national economy thrived and we built the greatest middle class the world has ever known.  Reducing taxes on corporations has turned our nation into an oligarchy and killing the middle class. 

Once Again President Obama Chooses a Fox to Guard the Henhouse.

President Obama’s pick to be Treasury Under Secretary for Domestic Finance is Antonio Weiss. His new job would be to oversee the domestic financial system—including the implementation of the Dodd-Frank financial-reform act, and consumer protection.  He is currently the global head of investment banking at Lazard Ltd, a firm that has put together several major inversion deals.  Why is this significant? 

“Since 2003, more than thirty-five American companies have dodged taxes through similar deals, which are known as “corporate inversions.””

A number of progressive Senators, lead by Sen Warren have reservations.   "Warren has a number of problems with Weiss. The first is the fact that his career has been focused on international transactions. “Neither his background nor his professional experience makes him qualified to oversee consumer protection and domestic regulatory functions at the Treasury,” she wrote. The second is that he’s tied up in the corporate-inversion trend, which, as she notes, the Obama administration has criticized and tried to stop."

Sen Warren further stated, “It’s time for the Obama administration to loosen the hold that Wall Street banks have over economic policy making.”

Sen Warren’s third concern is “about the fox guarding the henhouse. She ticked off a long list of people with close ties to the financial industry who now serve in high-level economic-policy positions in the Obama administration, including Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and US Trade Representative Michael Froman. Letting former Wall Streeters roost in top government perches “tells people that one—and only one—point of view will dominate economic policymaking. It tells people that whatever goes wrong in this economy, the Wall Street banks will be protected first,” she wrote.”

Read more at The Nation Magazine - http://www.thenation.com/blog/191289/next-big-fight-between-progressives-and-wall-street-dems

Obama Continues the Bush Policies of Secrecy

Some of us naively thought during the terrible Bush decade that if we could replace the heavy handed Security State of the Republican administration by electing a Democratic president and that we could reestablish our tattered democracy.  In hindsight how foolish we were.  We thought that Obama, who campaigned on government transparency and rolling back the Patriot Act would end the dominating control of the most powerful NSA/CIA Security State made strong by 8 years of zero oversight and an unlimited budget.  We were wrong.  How could we think that those in power would relinquish that power just because a new president was inaugurated?   Sadly, some here in DU think that’s exactly what happened in spite of the evidence otherwise.

In “The Nation” magazine of Oct 27, there is a good article, “The Government’s War on Whistleblowers.”  
http://www.thenation.com/article/173521/obamas-crackdown-whistleblowers

“To date, the Obama administration has charged nine people with violating the …… Espionage Act – far more that all other administrations combined.”

As bad as that sounds, that is the tip of the iceberg.  Many others have undergone Espionage Act “investigations” that didn’t result in prosecutions, but most likely destroyed careers.  Some see this as heavy-handed intimidation.  

“In its 2011 Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide, the FBI formally authorized the use of national-security letters to obtain the call records of journalists who are witnesses to a crime. (NSLs are secret orders that the FBI can issue with no judicial review. Recipients are prohibited from telling anyone they’ve received such an order.)”

The article goes on to detail how Obama’s DOJ used subpoenas to gather records of 100 journalists exposing their sources whether or not the sources were relevant to the justification for the subpoenas.

It is apparent that our powerful NSA/CIA Security State, via the DOJ, has declared war on whisleblowers and investigative journalists.

When Obama became president he inherited a very powerful Security State from the Bush/Cheney administration that operated with an unlimited budget, carte blache authority and zero oversight.  It appears that Security State has grown even more powerful under President Obama.  This threat to our democracy should be obvious to all but those living in a state of denial.  And those that applaud the president for the gains we’ve made must realize that without democracy those gains can disappear quickly.  

Majority Say Brennan Violated Checks and Balances, and Must Go

Posted by Dan Froomkin Oct. 1, 2014 on “The Intercept”

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/10/01/majority-say-brennan-violated-checks-balances-must-go/

“According to a new poll, a sizeable majority of American voters believe CIA officials violated the constitutional system of checks and balances when they hacked into computers being used by Senate staffers investigating torture.”

“And by a two-to-one margin (54 percent to 25 percent, with 22 percent not sure) they believe that CIA Director John Brennan should resign on account of the misleading statements he made about the incident.”

“The poll found overwhelming public support for release of a long-completed report by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The report is said to disclose abuse that was more brutal, systematic and widespread than generally recognized, and to expose a pattern of deceit in the Bush administration’s descriptions of the program to Congress and the public.”

“Calls for Brennan’s ouster emerged quickly after Feinstein’s floor speech in March, describing a blatant violation of the principle that Congress conducts oversight over the executive branch, not vice versa. Brennan quickly issued an angry denial whose qualifications were widely overlooked. A CIA Inspector General’s report, whose conclusions were made public in July, confirmed Feinstein’s allegations.”

Some might believe that Brennan has a higher pay grade than the President. Just sayin'.

In One Of The World’s Richest Countries, 17.5 Million Families Struggled To Afford Food Last Year

A recent study revealed that in 2013 17.5 million households in the USofA were food insecure.  This meant that they had difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all the household members.  Of that number 6.8 million households had very low food security. 

These numbers continue to grow every year.  We need a little "Hope and Change".

Read more at:  http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/09/03/3478328/food-insecurity-report/

See the study at this link:  http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/1565415/err173.pdf

Obamacare helps slash hospital charity costs in state (Washington)

"Washington hospitals provided nearly $154 million less in charity care in the first half of this year than in the first half of 2013, in many cases boosting the hospitals’ bottom lines."

"Hospitals attributed the plunge in charity care — about 30 percent — to the Affordable Care Act’s focus on reducing the number of uninsured patients."

"This year, for the first time, low-income and uninsured patients whose care was previously covered under hospitals’ charity-care programs were able under the ACA to qualify for Medicaid coverage or subsidized private insurance."

"Together, hospitals reported a 66 percent gain in total margin — the figure nonprofit hospitals report instead of profit — over the first half of 2013. For the first half of 2014, the aggregate margin for all hospitals reporting was nearly $720 million, compared with $435 million for the same period in 2013."

Read the article here:  http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2024542340_acacharitydropxml.html

Do You Believe In The FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER?

HE BOILED FOR YOUR SINS

(his balls are bigger than your god"s)

Will the result of the DoJ investigation in Ferguson be just a band-aid?

The Real News interviewed Glen Ford th Executive Editor of the Black Agenda Report.
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=12335
Mr. Ford points out that we need to look at the bigger picture. The problem isn't just Ferguson and fixing Ferguson, even if it's "fixed" won't touch the bigger problem. The problem is a system that is working fine and, "is accomplishing the mission of criminalizing a whole race of people, black folks,"

"The New York Times has a very interesting article out this week in which it notes that the state of Florida, which is not the worst, not the best, pretty indicative of Southern justice, certainly, the state of Florida has not even charged, much less tried, a single police officer in 20 years for using deadly force against a civilian. Not once in 20 years. And Florida doesn't really stand out too far from other states."

Mr. Ford says we shouldn't look at the problem as a "broken system":

"But my position is that the system works just fine. It does exactly what it was designed to do. It acts with uniformity all across the United States and delivers, like clockwork, millions of black bodies to be incarcerated in the biggest gulag in the world. It does it quite efficiently. It cost a lot of money, but the money that's spent is made by somebody. And it's the uniformity, again, the system that shows that it is a well-oiled machine that has been working at the highest possible speed for the last 45 years. That's not a broken system. If we look at it as a broken system, we're just going to tinker with it. If we understand that it is a system that is accomplishing the mission of criminalizing a whole race of people, black folks, then we have to look in a much more systemic, societal-wide way at what we do about a criminal justice system that is itself a criminal enterprise."

IMO Mr. Ford is pointing out that what we see in Ferguson is just an example of a culture that has developed over decades that criminalizes the Black Community and justifies that criminalization to the White Community. Why, one might ask? It is very profitable to those invested in the for-profit prison system. It also provides a good excuse for the militarization of the local police departments, which is very comforting to the paranoid American Aristocracy. And IMO the most important reason, it keeps the masses fighting among themselves instead of fighting the tyranny of the American Aristocracy. That is, when the Black Community stands up against the overbearing authoritarian dominance of the American Aristocracy will the White Community give support or look the other way. I bet the armed TeaBaggers will side with the American Aristocracy. I also believe that the Left will support the Black Community, but what will the Centrists do? Those that are so comfortable in their "status-quo"? Will they turn on the Black Community like they did OWS? Or will the simply hunker down and hope the Aristocracy won't see them and won't punish them? It's just like in the school yard: some side with the bully, some fight the bully, and some hide from the bully.

Who Rules America?

Who rules America?

    By Allan J. Lichtman, contributor

     http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/civil-rights/214857-who-rules-america

“A shattering new study by two political science professors has found that ordinary Americans have virtually no impact whatsoever on the making of national policy in our country. The analysts found that rich individuals and business-controlled interest groups largely shape policy outcomes in the United States.”

“The new study, with the jaw-clenching title of "Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens," is forthcoming in the fall 2014 edition of Perspectives on Politics.”

“Rich individuals and business interests have the capacity to hire the lobbyists that shadow legislators in Washington and to fill the campaign coffers of political candidates. Ordinary citizens are themselves partly to blame, however, because they do not choose to vote.

America's turnout rate places us near the bottom of industrialized democracies. More than 90 million eligible Americans did not vote in the presidential election of 2012 and more than 120 million did not vote in the midterm elections of 2010.”

[Bold emphasis mine]

How Much Wealth Is Enough?

American Capitalism embraces the concept of wealth.  Wealth is defined as the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions.  Having an abundance means you have more than others.

At every level of wealth in our capitalistic society, while you may be wealthier than others, there are those that are wealthier than you.  The desire for more wealth is like crack. You can never get "enough".  While some work hard to gain wealth, some have found it easier to steal to gain a higher rung on the wealth ladder.  Those in power have legalized their thievery and call it investment banking or managing hedge funds. 

It seems to me that in American Capitalism, no one is happy with their rung on the wealth ladder.

Internet Wars!

It's no secret that the internet has become a vital part of our lives.  Many people keep up to date on the latest on critical issues.  Social movements have been started and important stories have been released ahead of the corp-media. 

Some of us think keeping the internet free from control of the major corporations is essential for our very freedom and liberty, but there is a war on for control of the internet.

On one side are the Internet service providers (ISPs) — like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon.  They see it as a means of greatly increasing their profits at the expense of free access for users, and are willing to spend large sums of money to lobby to get the needed control.

On the other side of the war is everyone else.

The ISPs want to be permitted to slow down traffic from companies that don’t pay special fees.  They could pick and choose what kind of service each user got.  They also want the freedom to favor their own offerings over those of their competitors.  Comcast could make it very difficult for Netflix to compete with the Comcast alternative.

The big question is: Whose side is Tom Wheeler, FCC Chairperson on? At this point it doesn't look good.

“The FCC's latest draft rules proposes banning ISPs from blocking users' access to websites or applications but allowing some "commercially reasonable" deals between content providers and ISPs to prioritize delivery of some web traffic.”

Over a million people have provided their reactions to the proposed rules including President Obama.  He took issue to the rules stating that he is in favor of “an open and fair Internet."

More at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/06/obama-net-neutrality_n_5655862.html

http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/the-power-of-story/can-we-keep-the-internet-free

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/18/us-usa-internet-neutrality-idUSKBN0FN23720140718

Release of Heavily Redacted CIA Torture Report Delayed

The Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) has investigated the Bush Administration’s use of torture and is trying to get the executive summary released from the White House where it is being screened for classification purposes.  The report itself is 6,300 pages and has taken 5 years to prepare. Sen Feinstein, the chairperson of the SIC has returned the summary to the WH indicating that the heavy redaction has significantly effected the results of the document.

Making things more complicated is that a report was recently released by General David Buckley, CIA Inspector General that indicated CIA employees improperly accessed the database used by the SIC staff while they were working on the investigative report.  The Director of the CIA, Brennan denies that any snooping took place.  However, Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) on Thursday said, in a statement, "The CIA unconstitutionally spied on Congress by hacking into Senate Intelligence Committee computers. This grave misconduct not only is illegal, but it violates the U.S. Constitution’s requirement of separation of powers.”

This puts President Obama between a rock, the SIC and a hard place, the very powerful CIA/NSA organization.  Last week he had a press conference where he attempted to explain what is going on.  Some are saying that he stumbled badly as he said:

"In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, we did some things that were wrong.  We did a whole lot of things that were right, but we tortured some folks. We did some things that were contrary to our values.”

He also said,

“And there was enormous pressure on our law enforcement and our national security teams to try to deal with this, and it’s important for us not to feel too sanctimonious in retrospect about the tough job that those folks had and a lot of those folks were working hard under enormous pressure and are real patriots.” 

These statements appear to be attempts to rationalize and minimize the horrible torture that occurred under the Bush Admin.  Some "folks" have held out hope for the last six years of silence from the President, that he would eventually either prosecute the offenders or at least issue a very strong statement condemning the torture. The weak wording of this speech dashed those hopes. It's very doubtful that he will strongly condemn the actions of Bush/Cheney regarding torture in the future. 

It should be noted that two very powerful people, General Clapper, Director of National Intelligence lies to Congress and John Brennan spies on Congress don't get fired.  Either President Obama doesn't want to fire them or he hasn't enough power to fire them.  Either way is not good for our country.

Sources for the above and good further reading:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/31/cia-john-brennan-mark-udall_n_5638585.html

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20140801-obama-concedes-cia-torture-stands-by-embattled-director.ece

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/06/opinion/stop-the-cia-spin-on-the-senate-torture-report.html

The Robot/Computer Singularity is Predicted for 2040 – 2045, But Will The Human Race Kill Itself Off Before Then?

Most humans that don’t have their heads in the sand or other places where the sun doesn’t shine, understand that the robot singularity is when robots/computers become smart enough that they will no longer have to rely on humans.  Humans will most likely be expendable.  

The prediction for when this will happen, at the current rate of development, is 2040 – 2045.*  

But I see a problem with that figure.  With climate change coming at a significantly faster pace than a glacier, will the human species even exist in 2040?   

Wouldn’t it be ironic if humans kill themselves off a few years before the robots can take over?  

Who would be getting the last laugh?

* http://www.businessinsider.com/louis-del-monte-interview-on-the-singularity-2014-7

See the movie “Her” if you haven’t already.  

The Republican Conspiracy to Bring American Government To It’s Knees

On inauguration day in 2009, while America was rejoicing with the election of Barrack Obama, top Republicans were conspiring to bring the government to a standstill. 

Robert Draper discusses the meeting held by top Republicans in his book, “Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the US House of Representatives.”   The plan was to make the government so ineffective that the American people would return the presidency to the Republicans in 2012.  Although Barrack Obama was reelected in 2012 the damage done by the Republican Party seriously hurt America. 

While eliminating free school lunches for children and cutting off unemployment benefits because of budget concerns, the Republicans were spending tens of millions of dollars on more than 50 attempts to derail the ACA (Obamacare).  They also used the threat of government shutdown to cripple the government and unnecessary and expensive investigations like the failed attempt to use the Benghazi tragedy to bring disgrace to the President. The list is long and obvious unless you were asleep for the last six years. 

Now the hapless Republicans are trying to make the President’s use of executive orders an issue.  They want us to ignore the fact that President Obama has averaged 37 executive orders per year while the average for the last 20 presidents is 44. 

The current Republican dominated House of Representatives has passed only 58 bills in their first year as compared to the previous “worst Congress ever” of 1948 which passed 395. 

The Republicans in the Senate have done their part to severely damage American government.  By abusing the filibuster, they have hamstrung the various departments of government by not allowing the President to make appointments to fill vacancies.  This same tactic has been used to keep the President from appointing judges and passing vital legislation. 

Possibly the worse part of all this is the American media’s complicity in not reporting about the damage being done to the American government and people.

Read more from Ewen MacAskill in the Guardian UK   http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/26/democrats-gop-plot-obstruct-obama and recently covered in Vanity Fair:  "The Conspiracy to Commit Legislative Constipation" by James Wolcott  http://www.vanityfair.com/online/wolcott/2012/03/The-Conspiracy-to-Commit-Legislative-Constipation

The Bowe Bergdahl Timeline

The following dates are from the Rachel Maddow Show on 6/5/14. (See it on the YouTubes)

Between Dec. 2011 and Feb. 2012 information was leaked and covered by CNN and the Washington Post that the US government was negotiating a prisoner exchange for five specific Taliban prisoners being held in Guantanamo prison in Cuba. Those in Congress that are now claiming that they were unaware of this exchange apparently don’t follow the news.

May 2012 – The Bergdahl family, apparently disappointed with the lack of progress went public and identified their son, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl as the American included in the prisoner exchange discussions for the five Taliban prisoners. The New York Times corroborated this information stating they were aware Sgt. Bergdahl was part of the exchange deal but didn’t disclose it until the information was released by the Bergdahl family.

As of May 2012, everyone in the world had access to the knowledge of who was included in this prisoner exchange being discussed. In fact, many on the Right were posting and tweeting that Pres Obama should carry thru with the exchange and disparaging him for not.

Feb. 2014 – Senator John McCain, in an aired interview, stated that he approved of the prisoner exchange. Later he will claim he wasn’t aware of who the Taliban prisoners were that were part of the exchange when he made that statement although it was public knowledge and he, thru his committees, had access to that knowledge.

June 2014 – The White House successfully carries out the prisoner exchange and brings home the last POW of the Afghanistan War. The initial outcry from the Right, including a number of Congress-people was of happiness for the Sergeant and his family.

In apparent orchestration, 3 – 4 days after the release of Sgt. Bergdahl, the Right Wing flip-flopped their reactions from joy to hate. Taking down their positive tweets and posts and posting negative ones. Hate, not only for the Sergeant but also towards his family.

This week on CNN, Sen McCain said that he doesn’t like the exchange because he wasn’t aware that it included the five designated Taliban prisoners. The same five Taliban prisoners that were discussed in public as far back as Dec. 2011. Senator McCain, can you spell hypocrite?

The following is General Martin Dempsey, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff statement.
(https://finance.yahoo.com/news/americas-top-military-official-gave-143649501.html)

"In response to those of you interested in my personal judgments about the recovery of SGT Bowe Bergdahl, the questions about this particular soldier’s conduct are separate from our effort to recover ANY U.S. service member in enemy captivity. This was likely the last, best opportunity to free him. As for the circumstances of his capture, when he is able to provide them, we'll learn the facts. Like any American, he is innocent until proven guilty. Our Army's leaders will not look away from misconduct if it occurred. In the meantime, we will continue to care for him and his family. Finally, I want to thank those who for almost five years worked to find him, prepared to rescue him, and ultimately put themselves at risk to recover him."

I hope that Democratic candidates will not be afraid to make this fiasco of the Right a campaign issue.

Snowden on NBC

Snowden was recently interviewed by Brian Williams of NBC.  The interview lasted about three hours and NBC aired an edited hour of it.  They did make the complete interview available.  In part of the interview that NBC didn’t air, Snowden pointed out that the large amount of data the NSA had available prior to 9/11/01, wasn’t used to prevent this disaster.  It seems they had enough data but didnt "put it together".  Subsequently the NSA wants to use their failure as a reason to gather even more data.  Snowden, and others have expressed the idea that the answer isn’t to gather more data but to improve the methods of handling the data they have.  

Some want to excuse the NSA for the failure, claiming it was Pres Bush’s fault.  For that to be possible, the NSA/CIA would have had to present Bush with the data indicating the attack was going to happen and the President then chose to ignore it.  Now that is a Conspiracy Theory.  We have seen no evidence indicating that the NSA was aware of the impending attacks.  

I find the attacks on the person of Snowden very interesting.  Snowden basically told the American public that there were things about the NSA/CIA that we needed to look closer at and he isnt alone making that statement.  It doesnt matter what his character is like to recognize that there are things about the NSA/CIA that we need to know better.  They work for us.  Ok, so why the personal attacks on Snowden himself?  He only pointed at the NSA.  Do those that are personally attacking him want us to forget what he said and pretend it never happened?  Why?  What would it hurt to investigate the allegations and see if there is anything we need to know about the NSA/CIA.  

I can only think of two reasons people would try to divert attention away from the NSA/CIA and their possible Constitution violations.  One, they want to live in ignorant bliss, or two, they worship the authoritarian power of the NSA/CIA. 

Authoritarianism - And How to Live and Love the NSA

The NSA/CIA Group is the AUTHORITY and the authoritarians demand we allow them carte blanche to lead us, protect us, and control us.   And if you are looking for the easy way, that's it. Well, you may have some mandatory cool aid drinking and allow cams to be installed in your home, but hey. 

Authoritarians hate being identified as such, but if you worship authority, you are an authoritarian by definition.  Authoritarians of course would hate whistle-blowers, investigative journalists, protestors and all that dare question those in authority.

Some of us are taught from childhood to never, ever question authority. Not parents, not teachers, not priests, not Boy Scout leaders, and not even creepy uncle Jerald.  The reason for this is that it is sooo much easier for the authoritarians to control.  If you encourage people to think for themselves, you are opening a can of worms.

What I find crazy is that some of these authoritarians call themselves liberals.  Yes they may believe in same sex marriage and legal marijuana, but blind allegiance to anyone is not in the definition of "liberal", at least IMO.

Can We Save Net Neutrality?

From an article written by John Nichols for The Nation Magazine (May 14, 2014) writes:

“Cable and telecommunications companies stand to reap billions if the Internet’s guarantee of equal protection for all communications is scrapped. Without net neutrality protections, they would be freed to create a pay-to-play Internet where they could charge corporations and special-interest groups to provide high-speed service, while consigning websites without benefactors to a digital dirt road.”

In the article he quotes the ACLU:

“The Internet has become so much a part of the lives of most Americans that it is easy to imagine that it will always remain the free and open medium it is now. We'd like to believe it will remain a place where you can always access any lawful content you want, and where the folks delivering that content can't play favorites because they disagree with the message being delivered or want to charge more money for faster delivery.”

Nichols continues:

“FCC chair Tom Wheeler, a former industry lobbyist appointed last fall to a Democratic seat by President Obama, created a firestorm when he proposed to establish an Internet fast lane that would favor free-spending corporations and special-interest groups, while discriminating against those who cannot pay to play. Wheeler’s assault on net neutrality, has been met with determined opposition from Americans who want to maintain honest competition and a democratic discourse in the digital era.”

There is a call to action to all Americans that want the internet to remain free from the control of the Corptocracy.  Go to FCC.gov and let the FCC know that they are supposed to represent We The People and not big corps.

The ACLU answers some key questions here:  https://www.aclu.org/net-neutrality

Eric Shinseki fired for failures at VA. Gen Hayden not fired for failures at NSA.

In case you forgot Gen Michael Hayden was the director of the NSA on September 11, 2001.  The failure of the NSA to prevent this disaster resulted in countless lives lost and ruined.  Some believe it was the turning point in the American Empire.  In any event the man responsible, Gen Hayden, was not fired, as Shinseki was, but was put in charge of expanding the security/surveillance state.  Then he was appointed to head the CIA and is now security contractor working for the Chertoff Group. 

Condoleezza Rice, Security Director, was not fired but promoted to Secretary of State.

The director of the CIA, George Tenet was not fired.  Served four more years and was award the Medal of Freedom.

WTF is wrong with this picture?

Information re. Gen Hayden from:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hayden_%28general%29

"Instead of Austerity and Slogans, Vets Need a Fully Funding and Accountable VA" (The Nation)

From "The Nation" John Nichols 
http://www.thenation.com/blog/180007/instead-austerity-and-slogans-va-needs-full-funding-and-accountability#

The Republicans want their cake and eat it too.  They want to slash funding for our vets and criticize the Democrats for the vets not getting good care.

(I)ndependent Senator Sanders summed it up to the Republicans, “If you think it’s too expensive (to fund veterans programs), then don’t send them off to war.”

“When we look deeper into this issue of extended wait times for veterans to receive an appointment, we have to recognize that understaffing is a major culprit,” explains AFGE president J. David Cox Sr. “All around the country, medical facilities are understaffed, with numerous frontline care positions going unfilled. How can the VA expect to keep up with the growing needs of our nation’s heroes if it doesn’t properly staff its facilities?”
Republicans get blamed for advancing the austerity agenda, but it is important to remember that more than a few Democrats have compromised with it. And the difference between those who promote austerity and those who make the compromises that allow for austerity means very little to Americans who are stuck on the waiting lists that are created by budgeting that owes more to Ayn Rand tomes than accounting textbooks.

Senate Veteran Affairs Committee chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, tried to get ahead of a host of issues concerning veterans in February, when he proposed comprehensive legislation to improve VA healthcare, education and job-training. Though it was strongly backed by the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and other organizations representing vets, the measure was blocked when most Senate Republicans opposed it. To Republicans who suggested the measure was too expensive, Sanders said, “If you think it’s too expensive (to fund veterans programs), then don’t send them off to war.”

Some might figure that the Republican's reluctance to help vets is due to the fact they want to damage the Democratic Administration as much as possible.  While that is obviously true, research will prove that the Republicans were voting down funding for veterans even during the Bush decade, even during the Republican War.

The bottom line is that Republican Party and Blue Dog Democrats have no respect for our veterans.

Germany Reached Nearly 75% Renewable Power Use

En route to its 2050 Energiewende goal of 80% of the nation’s power being supplied by renewables, especially spurred on by the phaseout of nuclear reactors, Germany broke another renewable energy record on Sunday, May 11, 2014. Europe’s biggest clean-energy market reached almost 75% renewable power market share noon on that day.

 What’s holding the USofA back?  The powerful oil lobbies. Duh!
 
Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2014/05/15/germany-reaches-nearly-75-renewable-power-use-sunday/#wrmrPFboBQfXDKkb.99

The Battle for Net Neutrality Isn't Over

“FCC chairman Tom Wheeler is still moving ahead with a proposal that puts the entire future of the Internet in danger,” wrote Evan Greer, campaign manager at the group Fight for the Future, in an email to YES.

Why are we not surprised?

The proposal the FCC just approved includes stronger protections than the FCC’s original plan, which would have allowed telecom companies to place their own subsidiaries’ content into the fast lane.

Earlier this month, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler revised the proposal to forbid that practice. Wheeler's revisions did not satisfy net neutrality proponents, but they took place only because of the significant public outcry that greeted the original plan. That suggests that continued activism can produce even greater results.
 
So Tom Wheeler was forced by activists and a strong public outcry to reduce the power of the telecom companies but he didn’t go far enough.

More at:  http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/four-signs-net-neutrality-isn-t-dead-yet?utm_source=YTW&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=20140516

James Trimarco wrote this article for YES! Magazine, a national, nonprofit media organization that fuses powerful ideas with practical actions. James is web editor at YES! and you can follow him @JamesTrimarco.

Please support YES! Magazine.

"Turns Out Obamacare Premiums Aren't More Expensive After All"

A quick update re. the ACA from http://finance.yahoo.com/news/turns-obamacare-premiums-arent-more-153900650.html?soc_src=mediacontentsharebuttons

"When the cost of an employer-provided health insurance plan is compared to the cost of an Affordable Care Act plan bought on a state health insurance exchange, the ACA plan will be more affordable on average, a new analysis from PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute finds."

The Right-Wingers predicted the rate would be substantially higher.  Another myth busted. More at the Yahoo News article. 

Thanks Supremes - Down the Slippery Slope To a National Religion

The Supreme Court rules that government meetings can have an opening prayer.  How can that not violate the Constitutional right of separation of Church and State? 

Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, said the prayers are ceremonial and in keeping with the nation's traditions. "The inclusion of a brief, ceremonial prayer as part of a larger exercise in civic recognition suggests that its purpose and effect are to acknowledge religious leaders and the institutions they represent, rather than to exclude or coerce nonbelievers,"

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/supreme-court-upholds-prayer-public-meetings-n97221

Let’s get this straight; Justice Kennedy says that the prayers are only “ceremonial”? I wonder what God thinks about that.  And they should be allowed because they are “traditional”?  Wasn’t that an argument to support slavery?  Oops, shouldn't say that too loudly, next the Court might strike down the 13th Amendment. 

I counter the “ceremonial” and “tradition” argument with the slippery slope argument.  Next thing you know the theists will be including God on our money and in the Pledge of Allegiance.   Seriously, if you allow non-proselytizing prayers, you will start to get more proselytizing prayers. 

As I see it, praying out loud with head bowed and maybe hands together is proselytizing.  In my opinion the words, "and thank Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior" or something similar, is Christian proselytizing and has no business at government meetings.  And it certainly is aimed at impressing someone other than God.  I haven’t seen any evidence that God cares how you pray so why does it have to be demonstrative?   If you want your particular god to bless the meeting, discuss it with him or her in the parking lot before you go into the meeting.

The bad thing about this is that it pressures others to conform to the majority.  Who wants to be the only one in the room that isn’t praying?  And what about other religions?  Do they get to say their own prayers? 

The Constitution is crystal clear in it’s meaning of, “ no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”  Having Christian prayers at the beginning of a government meeting qualifies as a test.  You might as well ask public officials to raise their hand if they are not Christian.

The religious Right-Wing has won another battle for "one nation under Christ".

Supreme Court Refuses to Clarify the NDAA Indefinite Detention Controversy

     The NDAA law was passed even though many on the left thought it was to ambiguous relating to the President’s power to arrest and detain those that were deemed supportive of terrorists.

     The law was challenged by some well known liberals arguing that the threat of detention interfered with their Free Speech and Freedom of the press and that the law was not clear in this aspect.

     A judge agree with the ambiguity and issued an injunction against use of the questionable sections of the law.

     An appeal was filed on behalf of the President stating that the injunction interfered with the President’s power to deal with the threat of terror.

     A high court ruled in favor of the President and against the plaintiffs removing the injunction.

     The Supremes ruled that the plaintiffs didn’t have standing to challenge the law which does not mean that they believe that the law precludes arrest and detention of American citizens, it means that they believe the law is so ambiguous that the plaintiffs couldn’t prove there’s a threat.  Or basically saying the  law couldn’t be challenged until someone was arrested and detained. 

     Some claim that the NDAA doesn’t change existing law which isn’t much comfort because under existing law American citizen Jose Padilla was arrested, detained, and by some definitions tortured, with out habeas corpus rights.

     Some on the Right don’t like this President to have such a powerful tool, but Senators McCain and Graham support the law's ambiguity and recognize that this power may some day be in the hands of the Right. 


     After signing the NDAA the President promised that his administration wouldn’t detain American citizens without trial.  I wonder if this promise is reassuring to Mr. Hedges and others on the left fighting to save our Constitutional rights.  And what will Jeb Bush do should he be elected president? 

There is a great article at Wikipedia including great sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedges_v._Obama 

A Hike In The Minimum Wage Could Be A Huge Boon To Small Businesses

More information indicating that raising the minimum wage wont end life as we know it.

Studies found that an increase in the minimum wage didn't generally lead to mass terminations of employees

One major result of a hike in the minimum wage is that it has a similar impact as a stimulus package, a study from the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank found. Essentially, households impacted by a $1.00 increase in the minimum wage use that additional revenue to make purchases of large durable goods, often home appliances and especially cars. This net effect has a positive impact on the economy in the quarters following a minimum wage increase.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/raising-minimum-wage-small-businesses-retail-2013-2#ixzz2zwQEuw1h

See post below for additional info.