Archive for February, 2009

Jim And Tammy Faye Bakker’s Old Shows Up For Sale

Jim And Tammy Faye Bakker’s Old S

hows Up For Sale

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An Atlanta investment banker is auctioning off more than 15,000 videotaped episodes of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s iconic Christian talk show.

“The PTL Club,” which aired from 1974 to 1987, featured Jim Bakker offering upbeat sermons from a couch and Tammy Faye, wearing her trademark heavy mascara, singing about Jesus. Most episodes were taped at their empire _ which included a hotel, campground and theme park _ just south of Charlotte.

via Jim And Tammy Faye Bakker’s Old Shows Up For Sale.

Larry Graziano: Wal-Mart Employee Dies After Setting Self On Fire Outside Store

Larry Graziano: Wal-Mart Employee Dies After Setting Self On Fire Outside Store

BLOOMINGDALE, Ill. — Police in a Chicago suburb say a Wal-Mart employee has died after setting himself on fire outside the store where he worked.

Police watch commander Randy Sater says 58-year-old Larry Graziano of Carol Stream set himself ablaze late Thursday outside the store in Bloomingdale. It was not immediately clear how he caught on fire, but Sater says lighter fluid was involved.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office says Graziano was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead early Friday.

Sater says Graziano told police he “couldn’t take it anymore.”

Police say bystanders tried to help, but Graziano fought them off.

Wal-Mart spokesman Dan Fogleman says Graziano had been with the company for seven years and that he had no reported personnel issues.

via Larry Graziano: Wal-Mart Employee Dies After Setting Self On Fire Outside Store.

Jim Bunning Threatens To Resign From Senate To Hurt GOP

OPS: PLEASE……DO!

Jim Bunning Threatens To Resign From Senate To Hurt GOP

The Louisville Courier-Journal has another bombshell about Sen. Jim

Bunning, the embattled Republican who is increasingly going rogue in an effort to hold onto his seat.

In recent weeks, Senate Republican leaders have walked right up to the edge of declaring open war on Bunning. Minority Leader (and fellow Kentucky senator) Mitch McConnell and others reportedly believe Bunning is likely to lose his reelection race in 2010, and so are trying to nudge him into retirement by sending signals that the party establishment will not back him.

via Jim Bunning Threatens To Resign From Senate To Hurt GOP.

Brutal February for Blue Chips

Brutal February for Blue Chips

Dow Industrials Have Worst Month Since 1933

By PETER A. MCKAY

A late burst of selling sealed a dismal finish for the stock market, which hit a fresh 12-year low on Friday as Citigroup sold a bigger chunk of itself to the government and General Electric slashed its dividend, spooking investors who were already jittery.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 119.15 points, or 1.7%, to end at 7062.93. The blue-chip benchmark ended down 937.93 points, or 11.72% on the month — the worst percentage drop for February since 1933, when it fell 15.62%. The Dow industrials have fallen six months in a row and are now more than 50% off their record highs hit in October of 2007.

Market Data Center >

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* Video: MarketWatch Hot Stocks Report on Financials

The S&P 500 fell 17.74 points, or 2.4%, to 735.09. Its financial sector dropped 6.5% and its health-care sector sank 4% on fears that President Barack Obama’s reform plans will carve into the profits of drug makers and insurers. The S&P is off 53% from its October 2007 peak and has now seen its worst six-month drop in percentage terms — 42.7% — since 1932, when it dropped 45.44% in the six months ending in June.

via Brutal February for Blue Chips – WSJ.com.

Struggling States Look to Unorthodox Taxes

Struggling States Considering Legalizing Marijuana, Taxing Porn In Order To Raise Revenue

Struggling States Look to Unorthodox Taxes

By JESSE McKINLEY

In his 11 years in the Washington Legislature, Representative Mark Miloscia says he has supported all manner of methods to fill the state’s coffers, including increasing fees on property owners to help the homeless and taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, most of which, he said, passed “without a peep.”

And so it was last month that Mr. Miloscia, a Democrat, decided he might try to “find a new tax source” — pornography.

The response, however, was a turn-off.

“People came down on me like a ton of bricks,” said Mr. Miloscia, who proposed an 18.5 percent sales tax on items like sex toys and adult magazines. “I didn’t quite understand. Apparently porn is right up there with Mom and apple pie.”

via Struggling States Look to Unorthodox Taxes – NYTimes.com.

Rush Limbaugh At CPAC: Doubles Down On Wanting Obama To Fail (VIDEO)

Rush Limbaugh At CPAC: Doubles Down On Wanting Obama To Fail (VIDEO)

At his closing speech at the CPAC conference, conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh doubled down on his widely-controversial claim that he wanted President Barack Obama to fail, insisting that he meant what he said, and chastising those who were critical of him.

“This notion that I want the president to fail, this shows you the problem we’ve got. This is nothing more than common sense and to not be able to say it? Why in the world would I want what we just described: rampant government growth, welfare that is not being created yet is being spent? What is in this, what is possibly in this that any of us want to succeed? Did the Democrats want the war of Iraq to fail? They certainly did. And they not only wanted the war in Iraq to fail they proclaimed it a failure…. They hoped George Bush failed. So what is so strange about being honest and saying I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation?”

via Rush Limbaugh At CPAC: Doubles Down On Wanting Obama To Fail (VIDEO).

Coal-sponsored CNN rejects anti-coal ad.

Coal-sponsored CNN rejects anti-coal ad.

On Thursday, the Reality Coalition launched an ad “to demolish the notion that there’s anything clean about so-called clean coal.” Academy Award-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen created the anti-coal ad to harpoon the coal industry’s greenwashing campaign. Today, Politico’s Mike Allen reported that CNN rejected the ad, which includes the line, “The most trusted name in coal.” Watch it:

via Think Progress » Coal-sponsored CNN rejects anti-coal ad..

Michelle Malkin: I hope Obama fails.

OPS:  Apparently insanity and Treason is all the rage in the Reichwing

Michelle Malkin: I hope Obama fails.

As ThinkProgress has documented, a growing number of conservatives are rooting for the failure of Obama’s presidency. Today on C-SPAN Washington Journal, a caller asked right-wing blogger Michelle Malkin if she agrees with Rush Limbaugh’s statement that he hopes President Obama fails. Malkin explained why she does:

MALKIN: When the President proposes things like trillion dollar budgets that have earmarks that he claims do not exist, yes, I hope that fails. When he proposes the same kind of wealth re-distributionist policies that had appalled me under the Bush administration, yes, I hope they fail.

Malkin then became increasingly defensive, arguing, “It certainly doesn’t make me some kind of racist for wanting to disagree with the President.” Watch it:

via Think Progress » Michelle Malkin: I hope Obama fails..

Financiers Used “Hotline” to SEC Examiners

OPS: this is the classic definition of Fascism

Financiers Used “Hotline” to SEC Examiners

by: Matt Renner,

Former SEC Commissioner Christopher Cox stood beside former Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson as Bush delivered a speech on the economy in the White House Rose Garden, September 2008. (Photo: UPI / Yuri Gripas)

Washington, DC – In a hearing which exposed failures by the government’s financial police, Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-Massachusetts) highlighted the existence of a “hotline,” which he said could be used by Wall Street firms to call off government inspectors. The existence of a “hotline” has been confirmed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), though its purpose has been disputed.

The SEC – the federal agency tasked with policing the financial industry – has come under heavy criticism for incompetence and negligence in its role as the regulator of the giant Wall Street firms, the collapse of which has already cost taxpayers billions of dollars and continues to threaten the world economy. The most prominent example of SEC failure is the decades-long $50 billion Ponzi scheme – likely the largest financial fraud in history – orchestrated by Bernard Madoff. The fraud was identified by money manager and private investigator Harry Markopolos, the star witness at the February 4 hearing before the House Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises.

via t r u t h o u t | Financiers Used “Hotline” to SEC Examiners.

Expand student loan forgiveness to ALL teachers

OPS: A great idea and a good start

TO OBAMA: expand student loan forgiveness to ALL teachers

I read that Obama reads ten letters from the public a day, so I’ve sent a couple, like this:

President Obama,

Thank you for your emphasis on education in your recent state of the union and Saturday radio address.

There is one thing you could do that would be a tremendous encouragement to current educators and encourage others to become teachers: expand the student loan forgiveness program to all K-12 and public college instructors

via equal pay for equal work for part time faculty: TO OBAMA: expand student loan forgiveness to ALL teachers.

Berkshire reports a 96 percent drop in 4Q profit

Berkshire reports a 96 percent drop in 4Q profit

By JOSH FUNK

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reported a 96 percent drop in its fourth quarter profit because of largely unrealized losses of $3.25 billion on investments and derivative contracts.

The Omaha-based company released its results Saturday morning along with Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders.

Berkshire reported net income of $117 million, or $76 per Class A share, in the quarter ending Dec. 31. That’s down from net income of $2.95 billion, or $1,904 per share, in the same period a year ago.

The two analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected Berkshire to report fourth quarter net income of $1,486.50 per share on average. The estimates typically exclude one-time items.

via The Associated Press: Berkshire reports a 96 percent drop in 4Q profit.

CPAC 20090227 TwoMinuteActivist

CPAC 20090227 TwoMinuteActivist.

OPS: This kid was on Thom Hartman’s show last week.   His parents ? Child abuse?  Is this what the Hitler Youth program looked like?

First Person: Military Reacts to Obama’s Plan

First Person: Military Reacts to Obama’s Plan.

Olbermann: CPAC=Crazy People Are Coming

YouTube – CPAC=Crazy People Are Coming.

Obama challenges lobbyists to legislative duel

Obama challenges lobbyists to legislative duel

By CHARLES BABINGTON,

Obama says he’s ready for budget fight Play Video AP – Obama says he’s ready for budget fight

President Barack Obama’s friend, Martin Nesbitt, steps out of the President’s AP – President Barack Obama’s friend, Martin Nesbitt, steps out of the President’s SUV as they return to the …

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama challenged the nation’s vested interests to a legislative duel Saturday, saying he will fight to change health care, energy and education in dramatic ways that will upset the status quo.

“The system we have now might work for the powerful and well-connected interests that have run Washington for far too long,” Obama said in his weekly radio and video address. “But I don’t. I work for the American people.”

He said the ambitious budget plan he presented Thursday will help millions of people, but only if Congress overcomes resistance from deep-pocket lobbies.

via Obama challenges lobbyists to legislative duel.

California Declares Drought Emergency

California Declares Drought Emergency

by Peter Henderson

SAN FRANCISCO – California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday declared a state emergency due to drought and said he would consider mandatory water rationing in the face of nearly $3 billion in economic losses from below-normal rainfall this year.

[Shasta Lake appears to be running near empty earlier this month, and the low water line was clear evidence of the drought. (Frederic Larson / The Chronicle)]Shasta Lake appears to be running near empty earlier this month, and the low water line was clear evidence of the drought. (Frederic Larson / The Chronicle)

As many as 95,000 agricultural jobs will be lost, communities will be devastated and some growers in the most economically productive farm state simply are not able to plant, state officials said, calling the current drought the most expensive ever.

Schwarzenegger, eager to build controversial dams as well as more widely backed water recycling programs, called on cities to cut back water use or face the first ever mandatory state restrictions as soon as the end of the month.

“California faces its third consecutive year of drought and we must prepare for the worst — a fourth, fifth or even sixth year of drought,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement, adding that recent storms were not enough to save the state.

via California Declares Drought Emergency | CommonDreams.org.

‘We Are Trained to Kill, so Civilian Life Is Tough’

‘We Are Trained to Kill, so Civilian Life Is Tough’

In a remarkable and brave interview, Johnson Beharry reveals the daily torment he faces after fighting for his country – and explains why he is still fighting for his Army comrades

by Terri Judd

Two young men stood nose to nose on a south London street a few months ago, in a furious argument over a minor car accident so heated it had to be broken up by police.

[Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry: 'If I fall asleep, I relive all the battles. I start sweating' (Teri Pengilley)]Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry: ‘If I fall asleep, I relive all the battles. I start sweating’ (Teri Pengilley)

The scene would have been utterly common place, banal even, had one of the young men involved not been the country’s greatest living war hero – Victoria Cross recipient Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry.

“I actually wanted to kill the person. The police had to come,” explained the 29-year-old, who is one of only 10 living VC holders. “It was not about the car, it was not about the accident. I have been told that because of what happened to me [in Iraq] all my body can remember is defence. Any time something happens I go into a defence mode.”

via ‘We Are Trained to Kill, so Civilian Life Is Tough’ | CommonDreams.org.

We Need Protection From Poisonous Imports

We Need Protection From Poisonous Imports

The Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that it would suspend consideration on imports of any new drugs from an Indian plant after it was discovered that the pharmaceutical manufacturer falsified test results on dozens of drugs

Dustin Ensinger, with video by Craig Harrington -

The Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that it would suspend consideration on imports of any new drugs from an Indian plant after it was discovered that the pharmaceutical manufacturer falsified test results on dozens of drugs, according to The Detroit Free Press.

Regulators said that all 25 drugs that were not tested properly have likely made it to U.S. shores already, but they have yet to confirm any illnesses related to the drugs.

via Economyincrisis.org – America’s Economic Report – Daily.

Unlearned Lessons From History – Algiers/Iraq.

Unlearned Lessons From History

France’s occupation of Algiers was a hopeless cause, so too is America’s occupation of Iraq.

Dustin Ensinger

They say that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Perhaps the expression would be better said, “those that do not understand history are doomed to repeat it” because the Bush administration studied the history of the Algerian War and apparently learned nothing.

There are many parallels between the two conflicts. So much so that Pentagon officials held a 2003 screening of the 1966 film, The Battle of Algiers.

“How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas,” a flyer for the screening read. “Children shoot soldiers at point-blank range. Women plant bombs in cafés. Soon the entire Arab population builds to a mad fervor. Sound familiar? The French have a plan. It succeeds tactically, but fails strategically. To understand why, come to a rare showing of this film.”

via Economyincrisis.org – America’s Economic Report – Daily.

Punishing Wall Street, Boosting Main Street

Punishing Wall Street, Boosting Main Street

The villains of the current financial crisis have certainly become Wall Street bigwigs. Both Democrats and Republicans have used CEO’s of financial firms as verbal punching bags, causing public outrage regarding Wall Street excesses, as billions of taxpayer dollars are shelled out in the form of bailouts. But, beyond the rhetoric, lawmakers have done little to actually punish Wall Street for their complicity in the crisis.

Sure, they passed pay caps, but they have no teeth. The legislation would limit “senior executives” receiving “extraordinary” government help to $500,000 per year. However, neither “senior executives” nor “extraordinary help” are defined. Those companies that have already received billions of taxpayer dollars are exempt. Furthermore, the $500,000 only covers cash payments, therefore Wall Street executives that run their companies into the ground can still be rewarded with stock options, vacation homes and other perks.

via Economyincrisis.org – America’s Economic Report – Daily.

Buffett Remains Optimistic About America’s Future – NYTimes.com

OPS: ….but then he can afford to be….

Buffett Remains Optimistic About America’s Future

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett says the economic turmoil that contributed to a 62 percent profit drop last year at the holding company he controls is certain to continue in 2009, but the revered investor remains optimistic.

Buffett released his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders Saturday morning, and detailed the worst performance in his 44 years leading the Omaha-based insurance and investment company.

Buffett wrote he’s certain ”the economy will be in shambles throughout 2009 — and, for that matter, probably well beyond — but that conclusion does not tell us whether the stock market will rise or fall.”

via Buffett Remains Optimistic About America’s Future – NYTimes.com.

KirkusObscura: The Big Lie – Part VIII

The Big Lie – Part VIII

Turgidson Guillotine LLC, Made In America!

“Let them eat cake …”

- Marie Antoinette, a.k.a. Madame Deficit

So Mr. Eric Holder has brought up the issue of America being cowardly when regarding our discussion of race? A dear friend called me to let me know that they were startled by our new Attorney General’s comment. I reminded my friend that Mr. Holder is African-American and probably more qualified to make the observation. Certainly more qualified than say a successful, middle-aged white man who has never experienced prejudice based on race or lived in the American Deep South.

When did America become a place afraid to begin discussion of important issues? When did we become a nation confused by complex, critical thinking? Cowards regarding race? I would venture something far more provocative. We are a nation of lazy, one lunged mouth breathers waiting for someone, anyone willing to clean our soiled diapers, buy us a six-pack of liquid amber and make sure NASCAR is on our big screen wall mount, left turn, left turn, left turn … What have we really become? Bear with me for a moment, if you will.

via welcome to kirkus obscura – saving the world one truth at a time.

Lawsuit Cracks Open Online Anonymity

Lawsuit Cracks Open Online Anonymity

Shortcomings in the Law Allow Cyberdefamation Campaigns, Legal Expert Says

Steven Jones is an opinionated guy.

And when he reads something online that strikes a particular nerve, chances are he’ll speak up.

So, when the 54-year-old from Texarkana, Texas, came across an article about a couple in neighboring Clarksville who were charged with sexual assault, he decided to throw in his own two cents.

Using the screen name “Wounded,” Jones posted one of thousands of anonymous comments about the case. Others went further, linking the couple to perverted sex acts, drugs and other crimes.

Big mistake.

Earlier this month, Jones, a disabled truck driver, logged on to learn that the Clarksville couple, cleared of the charges, had turned around to file a lawsuit of their own — against 178 anonymous commenters, including Jones, who they claim posted defamatory comments on the Web forum Topix.com.

via Payback Time? Couple vs. Small Town Smut.

Plastic bags would be taxed under Texas bill

Plastic bags would be taxed under Texas bill

AUSTIN – Rep. Rafael Anchia thinks he has the 7-cent solution to plastic bags.

The Dallas Democrat wants Texas to join two other states pondering the problems, pollution and politics of taxing each of the ubiquitous sacks that start at groceries, hardware stores and retail shops but often end up in sewer systems, landfills, parking lots, riverbeds, up against fences and blowing down highways.

“If people know that there’s an added cost to doing plastic, they’re either going to use paper, which is biodegradable, or they’re going to bring their own bag,” Anchia said.

via Plastic bags would be taxed under Texas bill | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News.

Tenn. sheriff looks to serve 80-year-old warrant

Tenn. sheriff looks to serve 80-year-old warrant

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (AP) — The Carter County Sheriff’s Department is trying to serve an 80-year-old warrant for the arrest of a man who wrote a $30 bad check, although unsure if he is alive. The warrant, issued in August 1928, calls for the arrest of J.A. Rowland. It says he owes $30 for the bad check, $2 for the arrest fee and 50 cents each for the affidavit and warrant.

Clerks at the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office in Brunswick, Ga., recently found the warrant buried in a records storage room while cleaning and mailed it to Tennessee.

Current Carter County Sheriff Chris Mathes told The Elizabethton Star he is still under a legal obligation to find Rowland.

via 1010 WINS New York’s #1 source for local news, traffic and weather – AP News.

Schwarzenegger declares California drought emergency

Schwarzenegger declares California drought emergency

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency and warned of possible mandatory water rationing as the state struggled through its third consecutive year of drought.

Although the level of precipitation is 75 percent of the normal level this year, key state reserves are below 35 percent capacity, which has generated nearly three billion dollars in losses this year.

“Even with the recent rainfall, California faces it third consecutive year of drought and we must prepare for the worst: a fourth, fifth or even sixth year of drought,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement Friday.

“This is a crisis, just as severe as an earthquake or raging wildfire, and we must treat it with the same urgency by upgrading California’s water infrastructure to ensure a clean and reliable water supply for our growing state.”

via The Raw Story | Schwarzenegger declares California drought emergency.

Israel planning mass expansion of West Bank settlement bloc

Israel planning mass expansion of West Bank settlement bloc

By Akiva Eldar

- Haaretz -

Despite the state’s formal commitment not to expand West Bank settlements, a government agency has been promoting plans over the past two years to construct thousands of housing units east of the Green Line, Haaretz has learned.

The plans, which have not yet been approved by the government, were drawn up by the Civil Administration, the government agency responsible for nonmilitary matters in the West Bank. Details of the plans appear in the minutes of the agency’s environmental subcommittee, which were obtained by the B’Tselem organization under the Freedom of Information Act.

via Israel planning mass expansion of West Bank settlement bloc – Haaretz – Israel News.

Arizona AG: Marijuana legalization could curb Mexican drug cartel warfare

Arizona AG: Marijuana legalization could curb Mexican drug cartel warfare

David Edwards and Stephen C. Webster

Goddard: Cartel violence has killed over 1,000 in Mexico ‘this year.’

When President Bush vowed to “smoke ‘em out” in the chase for Osama bin Laden — who his administration claimed to be America’s greatest enemy — he meant it in the Wild West sense, not the California sense.

Who’d have thought that by the time his predecessor took office, otherwise conservative officials would be considering another way of smoking out a new and growing threat to Americans’ safety: Mexican drug cartels, whose profits are largely derived from the illegal smuggling and sale of marijuana.

On Friday, Democrat Terry Goddard, Arizona’s Attorney General, said that while he’s not in favor of legalizing marijuana, he thinks it should be debated as a way of curbing violence in the increasingly deadly clashes between Mexico’s gangs.

He emphasized that over 1,000 people have been killed in cartel-related violence “this year.”

via The Raw Story | Arizona AG: Marijuana legalization could curb Mexican drug cartel warfare.

Ron Paul: We killed a million Iraqis and that pleased bin Laden

Ron Paul: We killed a million Iraqis and that pleased bin Laden

David Edwards and Muriel Kane

The conservatives attending this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference are generally hawkish when it comes to foreign policy, but they applauded Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) on Friday when he told them the US has no choice but to get out of Iraq.

“Part of the reasons why we lost this last election was the foreign policy issue,” Paul insisted. “Generally speaking, the presidential candidate who argues the case for less war-mongering will win the election.”

via The Raw Story | Ron Paul: We killed a million Iraqis and that pleased bin Laden.

Chomsky: Humanity’s survival ‘by no means a sure thing’

Chomsky: Humanity’s survival ‘by no means a sure thing’

David Edwards and Stephen C. Webster

Catholics: What are you giving up for Lent?

Here’s a unique suggestion: instead of dropping chocolate, red meat, alcohol or any other frivolous comfort, why not think about how to eliminate global hegemony?

Yes, that “hegemony,” defined by Merriam-Webster as “the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group.”

via The Raw Story | Chomsky: Humanity’s survival ‘by no means a sure thing’.

U.S. troops praise Iraq withdrawal: ‘I don’t think we really had a whole lot of direction.’

U.S. troops praise Iraq withdrawal: ‘I don’t think we really had a whole lot of direction.’

Today, President Obama announced the withdrawal of most U.S. troops from Iraq by August 2010 in Camp Lejuene, NC. After Obama’s speech, the AP interviewed several soldiers at the military base. While conservatives have long insisted that service members do not want to withdraw from Iraq, the troops interviewed heaped praise on Obama’s military agenda and the withdrawal timetable:

PETTY OFFICER RYAN JUNKIN: All around pretty good feeling. It’s good that he gave some direction. … Because I don’t think we really had a whole lot of direction with what’s going on. It’s kind of defined now.

SGT. ALDWIN DEL ROSARIO: My biggest take away is that he had dates, and he plans to meet those goals and those dates.

LANCE COPL. CODELL CAMPBELL: Iraq got all our full attention for the past years. A lot of fellow Marines have died trying to make the country better. … Afghanistan is where the real fight is.

Watch it:

via Think Progress » U.S. troops praise Iraq withdrawal: ‘I don’t think we really had a whole lot of direction.’.

CPAC Organizer David Keene Claims Conservatives Were Fed Up With Bush ‘For Some Time’

CPAC Organizer David Keene Claims Conservatives Were Fed Up With Bush ‘For Some Time’

This year at the Conservative Political Action Conference, most of the speakers have spent their time bashing President Obama, while generally avoiding the subject of President Bush.Speaking this morning, Newt Gingrich tried to tie the two together, repeatedly calling Obama’s economic agenda the “Bush/Obama plan” and decried the “big spending” of both presidents. “We didn’t get real change,” Gingrich said.

Yesterday, TalkingPointsMemo spoke with David Keene, the chairman of the CPAC-organizing American Conservative Union and a former aide to Bob Dole, who suggested that conservatives have been frustrated with Bush for years. He said criticism of Bush was “consistent with the belief we’ve had for some time.” Watch it:

via Think Progress » CPAC Organizer David Keene Claims Conservatives Were Fed Up With Bush ‘For Some Time’.

Santorum At CPAC: ‘Absolutely We Hope That’ Obama Fails, ‘I Believe His Policies Will Fail’

OPS: more Treason from the Reich. This time, from ‘Man on Dog’

Santorum At CPAC: ‘Absolutely We Hope That’ Obama Fails, ‘I Believe His Policies Will Fail’

Just before President Obama was inaugurated, hate radio host Rush Limbaugh declared, “I hope he fails.” Though some Republicans have distanced themselves from Limbaugh’s sentiment, conservatives at CPAC have fully embraced it.

In an interview with ThinkProgress today, radio host Mark Levin and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) added their voices to the chorus of conservatives hoping for Obama’s failure:

TP: What do you think about what Rush said about, I mean, do you hope, should we hope that President Obama fails?

LEVIN: Yes.

TP: Yes?

SANTORUM: If…absolutely we hope that his policies fail.

“I believe his policies will fail, I don’t know, but I hope they fail,” added Santorum. Watch it:

via Think Progress » Santorum At CPAC: ‘Absolutely We Hope That’ Obama Fails, ‘I Believe His Policies Will Fail’.

Obama Is Serious About Making the Rich Pay Higher Taxes

Obama Is Serious About Making the Rich Pay Higher Taxes

Barack Obama’s first budget proposal fulfills several of the promises he made during the 2008 campaign, but the Corporate Right is poised for a fight.

By Joshua Holland, AlterNet

On Thursday, President Barack Obama released his first budget proposal. A quick-and-dirty review of its provisions prompted the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center to state the obvious: “In case you hadn’t noticed, the Bush years are definitely over.”

The New York Times summarized what’s in store if it passes:

President Obama will propose further tax increases on the affluent to help pay for his promise to make health care more accessible and affordable, calling for stricter limits on the benefits of itemized deductions taken by the wealthiest households, administration officials said Wednesday.

The tax proposal, coming after recent years in which wealth has become more concentrated at the top of the income scale, introduces a politically volatile edge to the congressional debate over Mr. Obama’s domestic priorities.

The Associated Press adds that while the proposal “lacked many details,” the “policies represent a clear ideological break from the Bush administration”:

via AlterNet: Obama Is Serious About Making the Rich Pay Higher Taxes.

Improve mental health with neurofeedback

Improve mental health with neurofeedback

How you can train your brain to help reduce stress, enhance creativity and improve mental health.

Blaine Greteman

From a materialist perspective, the key seems to be neurofeedback’s ability to help us connect memories and sense perceptions that have been laid down in disparate regions of the brain—to achieve the feeling of unified consciousness by unifying the brain’s electrical impulses. But if neurofeedback can foster and even enhance such a state, this begs the question of whether the phenomena we typically describe in terms of “spirituality” are just physical by-products of a material mind.

Wuttke turns such skepticism on its head. “The way I look at it,” he says, “we may be able to map an experience through physiology, whether it is a profound sense of peace or a religious sense, but that doesn’t mean the material brain is the source of those experiences.” Instead, he sees the brain as “a transformer, something that conducts energy between metaphysical and physical reality.” He admits neurofeedback can’t necessarily help any Joe off the street achieve the transcendence of a Tibetan yogi, but adds, “It has been my experience that everybody is enlightened; they just don’t know it.”

via Improve mental health with neurofeedback | Ode Magazine.

The Corporate Media Is Shamelessly Pretending Racism Died When Obama Got Elected

The Corporate Media Is Shamelessly Pretending Racism Died When Obama Got Elected

By Janine Jackson, FAIR

There were early indications that corporate media coverage of Barack Obama’s candidacy would be squirm-inducing, putting on display the elite (mainly white) press corps’ murky ideas about race much more than any straightforward reckoning of black Americans’ situation or what an Obama presidency might mean for their concerns.

via AlterNet: The Corporate Media Is Shamelessly Pretending Racism Died When Obama Got Elected.

Forests Pay the Price for America’s Love Affair with Really Soft Toilet Paper

Forests Pay the Price for America’s Love Affair with Really Soft Toilet Paper

By Tara Lohan, AlterNet

Americans have been long chastised for our environmental footprints (and for good reason). But the latest report from environmental groups including Greenpeace should give us major reason to pause. The Guardian could not have said it any better:

The tenderness of the delicate American buttock is causing more environmental devastation than the country’s love of gas-guzzling cars, fast food or McMansions, according to green campaigners. At fault, they say, is the US public’s insistence on extra-soft, quilted and multi-ply products when they use the bathroom.

The numbers are shocking: More than 98 percent of the toilet paper we use in the US is from virgin forests, the Guardian reports. Across the world, people are struggling to save our forests from deforestation, and instead of helping out, we’re wiping are butts with our best defense against climate change. And until the time comes when Obama gets Congress to pass a TP Act, Greenpeace has some help for consumers, with a handy guide for getting some good toilet paper that won’t harm the environment.

via AlterNet: Forests Pay the Price for America’s Love Affair with Really Soft Toilet Paper.

Blue Sky: New Ideas for the Obama Administration — Economy, Earth, Expectations

Economy, Earth, Expectations

T. N. Narasimhan

In 1976, a group of thoughtful scientists of the International Union of Geological Sciences expressed a vision of earth resources, time, and man thus:

Mankind is on the threshold of a transition from a brief interlude of exponential growth to a much longer period characterized by rates of change so slow as to be regarded essentially as a period of non-growth. Although the impending period of transition to very low growth rates poses no insuperable physical or biological difficulties, those aspects of our current economic and social thinking which are based on the premise that current rates of growth can be sustained indefinitely must be revised. Failing to respond promptly and rationally to these impending changes could lead to a global ecological crisis in which human beings will be the main victims.

In 1976, global-warming and climate-change were yet to engage the attention of scientists as threats to human habitat.

via Blue Sky: New Ideas for the Obama Administration — Economy, Earth, Expectations.

Bush a four-letter word at CPAC

Bush a four-letter word at CPAC

Andy Barr Andy Barr – Sat Feb 28, 7:01 am ET

Republicans choose first African-American party leader AFP/Getty Images – Michael S. Steele, former Lt. Gov. of Maryland, speaks after being elected Chairman during the Republican …

Conservatives aren’t sure who’s the Republican presidential frontrunner in 2012. They disagree over how sharply to attack President Barack Obama and on the question of whether a back-to-basics approach is the path back to majority.

But if there’s one thing those attending the annual Conservative Political Action Conference this week agree on, it is this: They don’t want another George W. Bush.

via Bush a four-letter word at CPAC.

How Radio Wrecks the Right -The American Conservative –

Limbaugh get slammed -  by the American Conservative!

How Radio Wrecks the Right PDF

Limbaugh and company certainly entertain. But a steady diet of ideological comfort food is no substitute for hearty intellectual fare.

By John Derbyshire

You can’t help but admire Rush Limbaugh’s talent for publicity. His radio talk show is probably—reliable figures only go back to 1991—in its third decade as the number-one rated radio show in the country. And here he is in the news again, trading verbal punches with the president of the United States.

via The American Conservative — How Radio Wrecks the Right.

“Tea Party Movement” Planned Months Ago by GOP Billionaires – FRAMESHOP:

“TEA PARTY MOVEMENT” PLANNED MONTHS AGO BY GOP BILLIONAIRES

Bloggers reveal how the latest so-called “populist” revolt against the federal government was a pre-planned PR stunt funded by right-wing billionaires with a history of trying to defeat Barack Obama.

Jeffrey Feldman, Editor-in-Chief

Frameshop, Feb 28, 2009

Populist revolt against the U.S. government is all the rage in the Republican Party, these days. As they tell the story, the public is so outraged by the recovery and reinvestment efforts of the Obama administration that Americans everywhere are turning out to overthrow the tyrannical king of the federal government by re-enacting the Boston Tea Party.

Funny thing, though: it turns out this whole “populist” movement was a planned PR stunt funded by big-money right-wing backers of the GOP who specialize in faking grassroots movements to drum up opposition to Barack Obama.

via FRAMESHOP: “Tea Party Movement” Planned Months Ago by GOP Billionaires.

Housing Predictor Poll Results 2009

Survey Shows Homeowners Will Walk

In a sweeping change of attitudes, more than 1 out of 3 homeowners’ surveyed say they’ll walk from their mortgages if housing prices continue to slide, according to a new Housing Predictor opinion poll.

The survey demonstrates major changes in the way Americans feel about the U.S. banking system and their own financial well being as a result of the credit crisis and the nation’s epidemic of foreclosures. Homeowners have historically felt responsible to fulfill contractual commitments made on mortgages, but that trend appears to be changing.

An estimated 4-million homes have been foreclosed since the start of the economic downturn, regarded as the worst financial disaster since the Great Depression sending millions out of work and record numbers to the welfare rolls.

via Housing Predictor Poll Results 2009.

How Much Of Our Debt Comes From Drug Money?

How Much Of The Federal Debt Is Financed With Drug Money?

Allen Stanford forfeited $3 million in drug money back in 1999, and it’s a sure thing that within his multi-billion empire he had many more drug dollars under his care. This is true not just of Stanford, but of the whole Caribbean offshore banking complex, as drug dealers are obviously interested in the regulation-light, few-questions-asked private banking system.

Offshore banks, meanwhile, have grown rapidly as major purchasers of US treasuries over the years. As you can see in the chart below, they really spiked in the 04-05 range, right as Japanese holdings leveled off. According this table, Caribbean banks are now the fourth biggest holders of treasuries, having surpassed Brazil and all the oil states combined in just the last year.

So again, how much drug money goes into financing our debt?

via How Much Of Our Debt Comes From Drug Money?.

Bush should have executed Gitmo detainees, says former CIA officer

Bush should have executed Gitmo detainees, says former CIA officer

David Edwards and Rachel Oswald

A former CIA officer has said its ridiculous that the Bush administration didn’t execute numerous prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, regardless of whether they have had a trial, when it had the chance.

“Many of those individuals that are there are enemy combatants and that’s based on the Geneva Conventions and should be executed,” said Gary Berntsen, who spent 20 years with the CIA, to Fox’s Gretchen Carlson on the show, Fox & Friends. “It’s ridiculous that the Bush administration, after seven years, didn’t deal with many of those that we know are enemy combatants.”

via The Raw Story | Bush should have executed Gitmo detainees, says former CIA officer.

Gregg aided former base as he invested there

Gregg aided former base as he invested there

WASHINGTON — Sen. Judd Gregg, President Barack Obama’s former nominee for commerce secretary, won taxpayer money for redevelopment of a shuttered Air Force base where he and his brother had invested in commercial property, an Associated Press investigation found.

Gregg, R-N.H., has personally invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in Cyrus Gregg’s office projects at the Pease International Tradeport, a Portsmouth business park built at the defunct Pease Air Force Base, once home to nuclear bombers. Judd Gregg has collected at least $240,017 to $651,801 from his investments there, Senate records show, while helping to arrange at least $66 million in federal aid for the former base.

via Gregg aided former base as he invested there – Politics – News & Observer.

Washington : Please Don’t lie about Unemployment

Washington : Please Don’t lie about Unemployment

February 27, 2009

If unemployment was counted the same way it was in the 1930’s we would currently have an unemployment rate of about 13.9% according to the official government documents.

The government has 6 standards of unemployment… U-1, U-2, U-3, U-4, U-5 and U-6. U-6 is roughly how they counted unemployment in the 1930’s … right now the number normally citied is U-3… huge.. massive … difference in the numbers.

The U-3 is showing only a 7.6% unemployment rate, whereas the U-6 is showing nearly at 14% unemployment rate. At the worst of the great depression, we had a 25% unemployment rate… the official documents are showing that we are 56% the way to the worst of the great depression…. the only difference is that we are not anywhere near the bottom yet.

We are urging the government to use the U-6 instead of the U-3 as the official unemployment rate. It’s the only one that is truthful to the plight of the American public.

via Washington : Please Don’t lie about Unemployment | Tribble Ad Agency : The Advertising Agency of Record.

Neb. court upholds firing of trooper for Klan link

Neb. court upholds firing of trooper for Klan link

Robert Henderson is pictured in this undated Nebraska State Patrol

file photo. AP – Robert Henderson is pictured in this undated Nebraska State Patrol file photo. Henderson, who was fired …

OMAHA, Neb. – The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday upheld the firing of a State Patrol trooper for his ties to the Ku Klux Klan.

Justice John Gerrard wrote that Robert Henderson voluntarily associated with an organization that uses violence and terror to oppose the state’s founding principles of equality and tolerance.

Henderson, a trooper for 18 years, was dismissed in 2006 after the patrol discovered he had joined a racist group. He told an investigator he joined the Knights Party — which has described itself as the most active Klan organization in the United States — in June 2004.

An arbitrator said Henderson’s firing violated his First Amendment rights, among other things, but Lancaster County District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront overturned that decision.

via Neb. court upholds firing of trooper for Klan link.

CNBC Analyst: Global Bank, Global Currency Within 15 Years

OPS – Say Hello to the New World Order

CNBC Analyst: Global Bank, Global Currency Within 15 Years

Head of market analysis for Schneider Foreign Exchange Stephen Gallo told CNBC yesterday that the financial crisis will lead to the creation of a global central bank and a global single currency within 15 years, echoing the call of top globalists who have exploited the problems they created to push for a new world financial order.

Highlighting the significance of the introduction of the Euro, Gallo said that the single currency was “where we are headed globally on a monetary basis over the course of the next 10 to 15 years.”

via CNBC Analyst: Global Bank, Global Currency Within 15 Years | Cherada.com.

Obama’s VA Budget Proposal Aims to Eliminate Benefits Claims Backlog

Obama’s VA Budget Proposal Aims to Eliminate Benefits Claims Backlog PDF Print E-mail

By Jason Leopold

President Barack Obama took bold steps this week to repair the damage his predecessor George W. Bush left at the Department of Veterans Affairs, proposing a sharp increase to the agency’s budget and introducing new initiatives to deal with a massive backlog in benefits claims.

At the same time, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced they would convene an emergency meeting to address the spike in suicides among active-duty soldiers.

Under the Bush administration, the VA suffered through massive budget shortfalls–$1 billion in 2005 alone– due, in part, to Bush’s political cronies who downplayed the agency’s financial needs and failed to take into account the costs associated with treating veterans injured in Afghanistan and Iraq. Previous GAO reports found that the VA used controversial accounting during the height of the Iraq war to justify cuts to veteran’s healthcare enacted by the Bush administration.

via Obama’s VA Budget Proposal Aims to Eliminate Benefits Claims Backlog.

Bright future as Berkeley starts solar program

Bright future as Berkeley starts solar program

Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer

(02-27) 18:21 PST BERKELEY — Two Berkeley homeowners received checks for their new solar panels on Friday, becoming the first to flip the switch on the city’s much-ballyhooed, closely watched solar financing program.

“I’m a guinea pig, but there’s no way I could have afforded solar otherwise,” said Jeanne Pimentel, an editor who has 11 solar panels on her Allston Way home. “Because of this, I can help solve our energy problem without putting any money up front.”

via Bright future as Berkeley starts solar program.

YouTube – Great Depression Cooking Ep:3 – Poorman’s Meal

YouTube – Great Depression Cooking Ep:3 – Poorman’s Meal.

91 year old cook and great grandmother, Clara, recounts her childhood during the Great Depression as she prepares meals from the era. Learn how to make simple yet delicious dishes while listening to stories from the Depression.

Obama ‘gearing up for a fight’ – Jonathan Martin – POLITICO.com

Obama ‘gearing up for a fight’

“I know that the insurance industry won’t like the idea that they’ll have to bid competitively to continue offering Medicare coverage, but that’s how we’ll help preserve and protect Medicare and lower health care costs for American families,” he said. “I know that banks and big student lenders won’t like the idea that we’re ending their huge taxpayer subsidies, but that’s how we’ll save taxpayers nearly $50 billion and make college more affordable. I know that oil and gas companies won’t like us ending nearly $30 billion in tax breaks, but that’s how we’ll help fund a renewable energy economy that will create new jobs and new industries.”

Barack Obama.

Obama is returning to the sort of rhetoric he deployed in his anti-status-quo presidential campaign.

President Barack Obama is beginning the salesmanship of his far-reaching $3.6 trillion budget with a populist blast at powerful interests he says will fight it – all but challenging his opponents to bring it on.

“I know these steps won’t sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business, and I know they’re gearing up for a fight as we speak,” Obama said in his weekly radio address Saturday.

“My message to them is this: So am I.”

It’s a return to the sort of rhetoric he deployed in his anti-status-quo presidential campaign, and it reflects the pivot Obama has made since spending his first few weeks in office reaching for bipartisan consensus.

via Obama ‘gearing up for a fight’ – Jonathan Martin – POLITICO.com.

Think Progress » McConnell: ‘Who wants to hang out with guys like Paul Krugman…when you can be with Rush Limbaugh!’

McConnell: ‘Who wants to hang out with guys like Paul Krugman…when you can be with Rush Limbaugh!’

This morning at CPAC, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell paid homage to hate radio host Rush Limbaugh, saying that he epitomized how fun Republicans are:

McCONNELL: Compare that [CPAC] to the left’s annual attempt to imitate, the so-called Take Back America conference, which last year drew about a third as many people as CPAC. What this proves, of course, is that conservatives are more fun and interesting than liberals.

I mean, let’s be honest. Who wants to hang out with guys like Paul Krugman and Robert Reich, when you can be with Rush Limbaugh!

via Think Progress » McConnell: ‘Who wants to hang out with guys like Paul Krugman…when you can be with Rush Limbaugh!’.

Tom DeLay Channels Limbaugh: I Want Obama To Fail

via Think Progress » Tom DeLay Channels Limbaugh: I Want Obama To Fail.

Think Progress » Obama: ‘By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end.’

Obama: ‘By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end.’

In a speech at Camp Lejeune, NC today, President Obama announced that the U.S. “combat mission in Iraq will end” by August 31, 2010, at which point a residual force of 35,000 to 50,000 troops will continue “training, equipping, and advising Iraqi Security Forces.” Obama reiterated his intention to honor the Status of Forces Agreement which calls for full U.S. withdrawal from Iraq “by the end of 2011.” Finally, Obama spoke directly to the Iraqi people, explaining that the U.S. seeks “no claim” to Iraqi territory or natural resources:

via Think Progress » Obama: ‘By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end.’.

Number of Washington Post op-eds by women in the past two days: 0.

Number of Washington Post op-eds by women in the past two days: 0.

In recent days, Washington Post editorial page editor Fred Hiatt has come under intense criticism for allowing columnist George Will to spout lies about global warming science. Media Matters follows up today, noting that the editorial page has been especially biased toward conservatives in recent days:

via Think Progress » Number of Washington Post op-eds by women in the past two days: 0..

Bloomberg.com: Science

Greenland, Antarctica Glaciers Speeding Faster Toward the Sea

By Alex Morales

Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) — Glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica are melting faster than predicted, accelerating their march to the sea and adding to the rising ocean levels that threaten coastal communities worldwide.

The Pine Island Glacier, the biggest in West Antarctica, has sped 40 percent faster toward the sea since the 1970s and Smith Glacier is moving 83 percent quicker than 15 years ago, said David Hik, executive director of the Canadian secretariat of the International Polar Year, an international scientific project.

“The loss of ice is pretty spectacular,” Hik, a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, said today in a telephone interview from Geneva. “The big outflow glaciers on Greenland are accelerating their discharge as well.”

The study means scientists now have a better handle on the potential contribution to sea-level rise of melting ice sheets than two years ago, when the United Nations produced its biggest report on global warming, predicting an increase in sea levels of 18 to 59 centimeters (7 to 23 inches) this century.

via Bloomberg.com: Science.

Pensito Review » Five States Whose GOP Govs May Refuse Stimulus Are Among Most Dependant on Federal Dole

Five States Whose GOP Govs May Refuse Stimulus Are Among Most Dependant on Federal Dole

Jon Ponder | Feb. 27, 2009

In the annals of political hypocrisy, it’s hard to imagine examples more egregious than the sight these days of Republicans in Congress racing to the cameras to kvetch about government spending. Now they’re for fiscal responsibility? Now?

Interestingly, the five state that pay the most in taxes while receiving the least in federal spending are more dominated by Democrats than the bottom feeders.

It’s true that Americans have famously short memories, but Republicans in Congress must be desperate if they’re acting on the premise that we’ve all forgotten how they rubber-stamped George Bush’s reckless spending and other failed economic policies that led to the current calamity.

via Pensito Review » Five States Whose GOP Govs May Refuse Stimulus Are Among Most Dependant on Federal Dole.

Tell Attorney General Holder: Karl Rove must testify.

Tell Attorney General Holder: Karl Rove must testify

Petition!

On February 23, Karl Rove was supposed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee in accordance with a Congressional subpoena. But Rove didn’t show up. Again.

Rove didn’t show up last year when he was ordered to testify, because his old friend President Bush said that Rove’s testimony was protected by executive privilege. Now that Bush is no longer in office, we may finally have an opportunity to learn the truth about his alleged misdeeds, from authorizing voter suppression tactics to orchestrating the arrest of Alabama Governor Don Siegelman.

But even though we have a new president, Karl Rove is still acting like he’s entitled to all the privileges that came with his old job. So far, the Obama administration has let him get away with it.

via Tell Attorney General Holder: Karl Rove must testify..

Footprints show human ancestor with modern stride | Science | Reuters

Footprints show human ancestor with modern stride

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Footprints found in Kenya that resemble those left in wet sand by beach goers today show that 1.5 million years ago a human ancestor walked like we do with anatomically modern feet, scientists said on Thursday.

The remains of the footprints found in sedimentary rock near Ileret in northern Kenya most likely were left by a human ancestor called Homo erectus, also known as Homo ergaster, an international team of scientists wrote in the journal Science.

The scientists found a series of footprints, including one apparently left by a child, left by individuals walking on a muddy river bank. Judging from stride length, they estimated the individuals were about 5-foot-9 in height.

“It was kind of creepy excavating these things to see all of a sudden something that looks so dramatically like something that you yourself could have made 20 minutes earlier in some kind of wet sediment just next to the site,” archaeologist David Braun of the University of Cape Town in South Africa, one of the researchers, said in a telephone interview.

“These could quite easily have been made on the beach today,” Braun added.

via Footprints show human ancestor with modern stride | Science | Reuters.

The Sea Shadow – $200 million waste of money | The Smirking Chimp

The Sea Shadow – $200 million waste of money

So there I was last night, sipping my after-dinner brandy while reading the day’s Wall Street Journal (or as a friend of mine calls it, “The Racing Form of Capitalism.”) The TV news droned on in the background. Being a sailor my attention was immediately drawn to the TV when the newsreader mentioned that someone was giving away a whole ship.

That someone, it turned out was you and I, via the US Navy. It seems they had a black elephant on their hands, a floating taxpayer funded money pit named, “Sea Shadow.” Never heard of it? Well of course not, because it invisible.. .or at least was supposed to be.

via I Can’t Even Think Up a Headline for This Post | The Smirking Chimp.

Are we doomed to go without two- or one-newspaper cities? | BuzzFlash.org

Are we doomed to go without two- or one-newspaper cities?

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

by Chad Rubel

You might miss Circuit City and Linens & Things, two casualties of the Bush Depression. Perhaps you worked there or bought your first TV set or popcorn popper there. But unless you had a personal investment in either of those places, you won’t likely miss them 5 years from now.

But you will miss the Rocky Mountain News, printing its last edition today. The Cincinnati Post is already gone. And if it happens, add the San Francisco Chronicle and the Philadelphia Daily News. That list might soon include the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Detroit News.

You might not live in those cities; maybe you’ve never even been to their Web sites. But you will miss them.

In 1978, when I was a child, the Chicago Daily News came to a close. It was sad watching a newspaper publish its last edition. But in 1978, we still had a healthy Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. Heck, the Sun-Times literally was a merger of the Chicago Sun and the Chicago Times.

via Are we doomed to go without two- or one-newspaper cities? | BuzzFlash.org.

The Existentialist Cowboy: The Obama Budget: A Return to Equality

The Obama Budget: A Return to Equality

by Doug Drenkow

Stoked by the changes going on in DC, I just had to share with you, below, a few excerpts from today’s most-e-mailed article in the New York Times online. And remember: This isn’t about “class warfare” — even though that is what you’ll continue to hear from those on the Right who, as the article reports, for some 30 years have been effectively looting the national treasury and all the other wealth created by the hard-working, anything-but-rich people of this great nation.

No, this is simply about restoring fairness and wisdom to our economic policies. Why, even the rich will ultimately be enriched if the poor and middle class have more money, since it is the “anything but ordinary” Americans (as Obama so wonderfully put it) who buy most of the goods and services sold by the companies the rich are invested in. There’s a word for that phenomenon: It’s called “progress.”

via The Existentialist Cowboy: The Obama Budget: A Return to Equality.

Why does the media keep covering up election fraud

Why does the media keep covering up election fraud?

Feb. 27, 2009

Even liberal commentators like Olberman and Maddow won’t touch it.

Just as in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006, the mainstream media in 2008 will not cover the real story of massive ongoing Election Fraud. But it does a great job in covering it up – by assuming zero fraud and forcing the Final Exit Poll to match the recorded vote by using an impossible number of returning Bush voters. Repeat it one more time. By hook or crook, the exit pollsters (i.e., and the media which sponsors them) force the Final to match the recorded vote using impossible weightings – and then still have the gonads to claim that the preliminary exit polls were “wrong”.

It is an insult to the intelligence of the American people. The media wants us to believe that in 2004 and 2006 and 2008, more Bush voters returned from the prior election to vote than were still living. Fool America once, shame on you. Fool America three times, shame on America for letting itself be fooled.

Time Magazine keeps promoting the exit pollster canard that preliminary exit polls have a Democratic bias. They say the bias is due to Democratic voters being more anxious to be exit-polled than Republicans. They fail to consider the possibility that the discrepancy is due to uncounted and miscounted votes. This specious argument was refuted by the Final 2004 National Exit poll which indicated that returning Bush voters accounted for 43% of the 2004 vote and Gore voters just 37%. And of course, they repeat the exit pollster excuse that better training, exit poll stations closer to the polling booth and older interviewers will solve the “problem”. But there is no “problem”.

Exit Pollsters Edison-Mitofsky have not yet released the unadjusted state exit poll data and preliminary national exit poll timeline. Maybe because it would show that Obama actually won a 20 million vote landslide. Now that’s a mandate. In 2004, the unadjusted exit polls showed that Kerry won by a 52-47% margin.

Have the exit pollsters become gun-shy? CNN doesn’t have the latest vote count, which has been up at USA Leip since December. Why not? On Election Day, 121.2 million votes were recorded and Obama had 52.3%. Since then, 10.2 million have been recorded; Obama has won 59.3% of these late votes. Is that a red flag?

The early exit polls were right; the finals are always adjusted to match the bogus vote count. Kerry won easily in 2004. Obama’s landslide was denied in 2008, just as the Democratic landslide in the 2006 midterms was denied.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/

CNN recorded vote:

• Obama 66,882,230
  McCain 58,343,671
  Margin: 8,538,619

Actual recorded vote:

• Obama 69,457,159
  McCain 59,935,404
  Margin 9,521,755

via Why does the media keep covering up election fraud.

Payback time looms for George Bush and his cronies | Opinion | The First Post

Payback time looms for George Bush and his gang

The former president and his henchmen Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld could soon find themselves in the dock

From dismissal only a few months ago by leading Democrats in Washington as unthinkable, it now seems possible that senior officials in the Bush administration – maybe even at least one of the top two – will be the target of public war crime hearings and even criminal prosecutions, here in the United States.

Overseas is already dangerous terrain. George W Bush’s first defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, fled Paris a couple of years ago to avoid honouring a subpoena from French investigators, replicating a similarly hasty exit from the French jurisdiction by former secretary of state Henry Kissinger.

via Payback time looms for George Bush and his cronies | Opinion | The First Post.

Guayule: Go Native With This Promising Biofuel—and Biomedical—Crop

Go Native With This Promising Biofuel—and Biomedical—Crop

Clockwise from bottom left: bagasse, liquid latex, colored latex samples, and a glove, all products from the guayule plant: Click here for photo caption.

Clockwise from bottom left: bagasse, liquid latex, colored latex samples, and a glove, all products from the guayule plant.

(D1358-1)

Perhaps the single most valuable gift the desert-dwelling guayule plant offers us is its superb natural latex. The white, rubber-rich substance, extracted and purified from this southwestern U.S. native shrub (Parthenium argentatum), is ideal for making high-quality gloves, medical devices, and other in-demand natural rubber products.

Importantly, latex from guayule (pronounced why-YOU-lee) is free of the proteins responsible for the sometimes-deadly latex allergies caused by the most widely used natural-rubber source, the rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis.

But guayule may also prove to be an economical, environmentally friendly source of yet another prized commodity: energy. That energy can be made from the ground-up stems and branches, called “bagasse,” that are left after their latex has been removed.

via Guayule: Go Native With This Promising Biofuel—and Biomedical—Crop.

Court rejects Obama bid to stop wiretapping suit – Salon.com

Court rejects Obama bid to stop wiretapping suit

Feb 27th, 2009 | WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has lost its argument that a potential threat to national security is a good enough reason to stop a lawsuit challenging the government’s warrantless wiretapping program.

A federal appeals court in San Francisco on Friday rejected the Justice Department’s request for an emergency stay. The Obama administration, like the Bush administration before it, cited the so-called state secrets privilege as its defense. The government claimed national security would be compromised if a lawsuit brought by the U.S. chapter of an Islamic charity was allowed to proceed.

The case was brought by the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, a defunct charity with a chapter in Oregon.

via Court rejects Obama bid to stop wiretapping suit – Salon.com.

Foreign Policy In Focus | Too Many Overseas Bases

Too Many Overseas Bases

In the midst of an economic crisis that’s getting scarier by the day, it’s time to ask whether the nation can really afford some 1,000 military bases overseas. For those unfamiliar with the issue, you read that number correctly. One thousand. One thousand U.S. military bases outside the 50 states and Washington, DC, representing the largest collection of bases in world history.

Officially the Pentagon counts 865 base sites, but this notoriously unreliable number omits all our bases in Iraq (likely over 100) and Afghanistan (80 and counting), among many other well-known and secretive bases. More than half a century after World War II and the Korean War, we still have 268 bases in Germany, 124 in Japan, and 87 in South Korea. Others are scattered around the globe in places like Aruba and Australia, Bulgaria and Bahrain, Colombia and Greece, Djibouti, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Romania, Singapore, and of course, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba — just to name a few. Among the installations considered critical to our national security are a ski center in the Bavarian Alps, resorts in Seoul and Tokyo, and 234 golf courses the Pentagon runs worldwide.

via Foreign Policy In Focus | Too Many Overseas Bases.

Richard Perle Downplays Neoconservative Influence on Bush Foreign Policy – WSJ.com

Richard Perle’s Apologia

Maybe next time the neocons will win.

Governing was always difficult for conservatives, but as they return to the opposition, they are rediscovering their skill at blame evasion.

After all, this is a movement that is most comfortable imagining itself as an outsider. This is a movement that whirls through the pages of recent history taking credit for everything good and feeding the grisly bits to its chosen scapegoats.

Take, for example, “Ambushed on the Potomac,” a look back at the George W. Bush administration by Richard Perle that appears in the current issue of The National Interest.

via Richard Perle Downplays Neoconservative Influence on Bush Foreign Policy – WSJ.com.

Most Iraqis Welcome Obama’s Pullout Plan

Most Iraqis Welcome Obama’s Pullout Plan

It should come as no surprise that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been quick to endorse emerging plans to hasten the departure of U.S. forces from his country. Maliki, after all, had opposed the Bush Administration’s decision to increase U.S. troop levels in the surge of 2007, and he had forced a reluctant Washington to accept a hard deadline for withdrawal in the Status of Forces Agreement adopted late last year. The growing abilities of the Iraqi security forces and the strengthening of his political position after last month’s provincial elections have added to Maliki’s confidence in managing without the Americans. “We welcome such a decision and support it,” said Tahseen al-Shekhli, a spokesman for the Iraqi government, of Obama’s intention to end the U.S. combat mission in Iraq by August 2010. “We consider this as a good-faith sign from the American Administration toward Iraq and Iraqis.”

via Most Iraqis Welcome Obama’s Pullout Plan.

t r u t h o u t | The Push to Downsize Defense

The Push to Downsize Defense

US President Barack Obama announces 2010 federal budget.

US President Barack Obama in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on February 26, 2009, announces his administration’s fiscal year 2009 federal budget. (Photo: Getty Images)

As President Obama released his budget outline for fiscal year 2010 on Thursday, recommending about $664 billion in defense funding, a determined group of progressive Congress members and activists pushed for a marked change in the way the US spends those dollars. Led by Rep. Barney Frank, the group advocates a 25 percent cut in military spending, to be accomplished by eliminating wasteful and obsolete programs, reducing active nuclear warheads and withdrawing from Iraq in an efficient and timely manner.

via t r u t h o u t | The Push to Downsize Defense.

YouTube – Afghanistan + More Troops = Catastrophe (Trailer)

YouTube – Afghanistan + More Troops = Catastrophe (Trailer).

Brave New Films

Let’s rethink Afghanistan

YouTube – Janeane Garofalo tells Keith Olbermann that Rush Limbaugh is whack… duh

YouTube – Janeane Garofalo tells Keith Olbermann that Rush Limbaugh is whack… duh.

FT.com / US economy contracts 6.2%

US economy contracts 6.2%

The US economy shrank in the fourth quarter at its fastest rate since 1982 after a massive decline in inventories held by companies, according to official figures released on Friday.

Economists said that given bleak near-term prospects for consumption and investment, the US faced its worst economic downturn since the second world war, with even the $787bn (£551.5bn) stimulus plan signed by President Barack Obama earlier this month promising little immediate relief.

via FT.com / World – US economy contracts 6.2%.

Adapting to Water Woes | CommonDreams.org

Adapting to Water Woes

The southwestern United States is moving headlong toward an environmental catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions.

[The dry, cracked Lake Mead lake-bed near Las Vegas is shown in this 2005 file photo. The severe drought since 2000 has seen the Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoirs, which hold water for human needs downstream, shrink to 50% or less of normal. (Aaron Mayes, Las Vegas Sun/AP)]The dry, cracked Lake Mead lake-bed near Las Vegas is shown in this 2005 file photo. The severe drought since 2000 has seen the Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoirs, which hold water for human needs downstream, shrink to 50% or less of normal. (Aaron Mayes, Las Vegas Sun/AP)

The already drought-prone region is almost entirely dependent on a shrinking snowpack and sparse rain in the Colorado River Basin. As the planet’s climate changes, an already overtaxed and volatile water supply is expected to get even more unstable.

“A lot of people say that in global warming there will be winners and losers. In the Southwest, we’ll be in the losers’ category,” University of Arizona climatologist Jonathan Overpeck said at a symposium on global warming’s effect on the Southwest.

Overpeck discussed the latest scientific consensus on climate change at the Feb. 19 symposium, hosted by the Urban Land Institute at the Palms.

via Adapting to Water Woes | CommonDreams.org.

The Heat Is on Washington | CommonDreams.org

The Heat Is on Washington

A boiling point over government inaction on climate change may have been reached in the United States.

More than 12,000 mainly young people are planning to gather in Washington on Monday, Mar. 2, to insist that their elected officials legislate immediate and deep cuts in U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, just as scientists revealed this week that the global climate is more sensitive to rising temperatures than expected.

And on the same Monday, at least 2,000 people led by eminent scientist James Hansen of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plan to close the coal/oil powered Capitol Power Plant that supplies heat to government buildings on Capitol Hill, breaking the law if necessary.

“For more than 30 years, scientists, environmentalists and people from all walks of life have urged our leaders to take action to stop global warming; and that action has yet to come,” said Hansen, one of the world’s leading climate scientists.

via The Heat Is on Washington | CommonDreams.org.

Chicago Man Arrested for Allegedly Targeting Obama With HIV-Infected Blood – First 100 Days of Presidency – Politics FOXNews.com

Chicago Man Arrested for Allegedly Targeting Obama With HIV-Infected Blood

It’s only the second time ever that HIV-infected blood has been sent with malicious intent through the U.S. mail system, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said.

A man from President Obama’s hometown of Chicago has been arrested for allegedly sending Obama and his staff envelopes containing HIV-infected blood, in the hopes of killing or harming them.

It’s only the second time ever that HIV-infected blood has been sent with malicious intent through the U.S. mail system, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said.

via Chicago Man Arrested for Allegedly Targeting Obama With HIV-Infected Blood – First 100 Days of Presidency – Politics FOXNews.com.

OpEdNews » Farmers Call For NAFTA Reforms

Farmers Call For NAFTA Reforms

NAFTA has produced winners, mostly multinational corporations and a long list of losers, which includes farmers. The trade agreement has been the source of much discontent and has become an easy target. NAFTA is so badly flawed, but it is only one part of our failed trade and economic strategy. It has hurt many farmers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Just as there are calls to reform energy, investment, labour and environmental provisions of NAFTA, many are also demanding changes to agricultural clauses found in the agreement.

At a recent trilateral conference held in Billings, Montana, there was a general consensus among livestock producers that NAFTA is not working for North American farmers, ranchers and consumers alike. The two day conference was hosted by the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC). The meetings addressed many challenges facing family farmers and ranchers, including the negative impact of NAFTA. Many of the promises made by proponents of the trade agreement, have not been kept and so called benefits have failed to materialize. Representatives at the conference are calling for new trade policies and market reforms, and are urging the leaders of the U.S., Canada and Mexico to renegotiate NAFTA.

via OpEdNews » Farmers Call For NAFTA Reforms.

World faces last chance to avoid fatal warming: EU | Environment | Reuters

World faces last chance to avoid fatal warming: EU

BUDAPEST (Reuters) – The world faces a final opportunity to agree an adequate global response to climate change at a U.N.-led meeting in Copenhagen in December, the European Union’s environment chief said on Friday.

World leaders from about 190 countries meet in Copenhagen in December to try to agree a global framework to replace the Kyoto Protocol on fighting global warming, which expires in 2012.

“It is now 12 years since Kyoto was created. This makes Copenhagen the world’s last chance to stop climate change before it passes the point of no return,” European Union Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told a climate conference in Budapest on Friday.

“Having an agreement in Copenhagen is not only possible, it is imperative and we are going to have it,” Dimas said.

via World faces last chance to avoid fatal warming: EU | Environment | Reuters.

TPMDC | Secret Coleman-Lawyer E-Mails Reveal Intentional Hiding Of Witness — Franken Camp Wants Double-Count Claim Thrown Out Completely

Secret Coleman-Lawyer E-Mails Reveal Intentional Hiding Of Witness -

Franken Camp Wants Double-Count Claim Thrown Out Completely

All hell just broke loose in the Minnesota courtroom, with Al Franken’s lawyers catching Team Coleman in the act of yet more concealing of evidence — and they’ve now made a motion to totally strike the Coleman camp’s claims about double-counting of ballots, which the Coleman camp has hoped to use to subtract over 100 votes from Franken’s lead.

You might remember that on Wednesday, the Coleman team was caught having withheld notes given to them in early January by Pamela Howell, a Republican election worker in Minneapolis. (Note: Minnesota precinct workers are selected by partisan identification, and then buddied up across party lines to keep it running smoothly and honestly.) The court then struck the witness’ testimony, relating to double-counting of votes — but then turned around yesterday and reversed themselves, after the Coleman team said it had been an honest oversight — that there was no bad faith involved.

via TPMDC | Talking Points Memo | Secret Coleman-Lawyer E-Mails Reveal Intentional Hiding Of Witness — Franken Camp Wants Double-Count Claim Thrown Out Completely.

YouTube – President Obama Drops The Bush Budget Gimmicks

YouTube – President Obama Drops The Bush Budget Gimmicks.

James Dobson resigns as Focus on the Family chair

James Dobson resigns as Focus on the Family chair

DENVER (AP) – The Associated Press has learned that James Dobson has resigned as chairman of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family.

Jim Daly, president and chief executive officer of the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based ministry, said Friday that Dobson will continue to host the organization’s flagship radio program and speak out on moral issues.

The departure of the 72-year-old Dobson as board chairman is part of a succession plan. He founded the group in 1977.

Dobson began relinquishing control of the group six years ago by stepping down as president and CEO.

via James Dobson resigns as Focus on the Family chair.

YouTube – President Obama Announces Iraq Troop Withdrawal

YouTube – President Obama Announces Iraq Troop Withdrawal.

TPMMuckraker | Talking Points Memo | Jindal Admits Katrina Story Was False

Jindal Admits Katrina Story Was False

Looks like the game is up.

Remember that story Bobby Jindal told in his big speech Tuesday night — about how during Katrina, he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with a local sheriff who was battling government red tape to try to rescue stranded victims?

Turns out it wasn’t actually, you know, true.

In the last few days, first Daily Kos, and then TPMmuckraker, raised serious questions about the story, based in part on the fact that no news reports we could find place Jindal in the affected area at the specific time at issue.

Jindal had described being in the office of Sheriff Harry Lee “during Katrina,” and hearing him yelling into the phone at a government bureaucrat who was refusing to let him send volunteer boats out to rescue stranded storm victims, because they didn’t have the necessary permits. Jindal said he told Lee, “that’s ridiculous,” prompting Lee to tell the bureaucrat that the rescue effort would go ahead and he or she could arrest both Lee and Jindal.

via TPMMuckraker | Talking Points Memo | Jindal Admits Katrina Story Was False.

YouTube – CPAC: Tucker Carlson Tries to Defend the New York Times, Gets Booed [RightWingWatch.org]

Looks like Tucker isn’t crazy enough for the reichwingnuts that are left in the Party

YouTube – CPAC: Tucker Carlson Tries to Defend the New York Times, Gets Booed [RightWingWatch.org].

Economyincrisis.org – The U.S. is at a Massive Comparative Disadvantage

The U.S. is at a Massive Comparative Disadvantage

It is obvious the U.S. is dependent on imports. We send hundreds of billions of dollars overseas every year on foreign purchases; money that could be used to spur growth in our own country.

The fact that the United States is dependent on imports goes without question. It is a truth that is merely taken for granted. Unfortunately most people do not understand what drives this imbalance. Many assume that American companies are not good enough; or worse yet, they assume that Americans just don’t work hard enough. The real reason is cleaner cut; our companies cannot compete with foreign pricing. We cannot price compete because our government does not protect our producers the way foreign countries do.

Our competitor countries have better tax systems and better approaches to international markets than the United States. The best comparison to the United States is Europe. We cannot price compete with China, India, Mexico, etc., because their living standards and wages are so incredibly low. Europe industrialized long before the U.S., and has comparable creature comforts, technology, wages, social structures and laws.

via Economyincrisis.org – America’s Economic Report – Daily.

Economyincrisis.org – America’s Economic Report – Daily

America is Being Systematically Targeted by Predators

The Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that it would suspend consideration on imports of any new drugs from an Indian plant after it was discovered that the pharmaceutical manufacturer falsified test results on dozens of drugs, according to The Detroit Free Press.

Regulators said that all 25 drugs that were not tested properly have likely made it to U.S. shores already, but they have yet to confirm any illnesses related to the drugs.

via Economyincrisis.org – America’s Economic Report – Daily.

We’re on the brink of disaster | Salon

We’re on the brink of disaster

Violent protests and riots are breaking out everywhere as economies collapse and governments fail. War is bound to follow.

A destroyed street market burns in the aftermath of riots over food prices in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on April 12, 2008.

Feb. 26, 2009 | The global economic meltdown has already caused bank failures, bankruptcies, plant closings and foreclosures and will, in the coming year, leave many tens of millions unemployed across the planet. But another perilous consequence of the crash of 2008 has only recently made its appearance: increased civil unrest and ethnic strife. Someday, perhaps, war may follow.

As people lose confidence in the ability of markets and governments to solve the global crisis, they are likely to erupt into violent protests or to assault others they deem responsible for their plight, including government officials, plant managers, landlords, immigrants and ethnic minorities. (The list could, in the future, prove long and unnerving.) If the present economic disaster turns into what President Obama has referred to as a “lost decade,” the result could be a global landscape filled with economically fueled upheavals.

via We’re on the brink of disaster | Salon.

ABC News: Stonewalling in Style: Bank of America Subpoenaed

Stonewalling in Style: Bank of America Subpoenaed

NY Attorney General Says Ken Lewis Refuses to Say Who Got Bonuses

In just one day, the president of Bank of America, Ken Lewis, managed to defy both President Barack Obama and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo summons Ken Lewis to answer questions on bonuses.

On Thursday, Lewis refused to provide a list of bonus payments to the New York Attorney General, after arriving in New York in his $50 million corporate jet. Earlier this week, President Obama said the days of bank executives flying corporate jets “were over.” Not for Bank of America.

Click here to watch Lewis arriving in one of Bank of America’s luxury corporate jets.

via ABC News: Stonewalling in Style: Bank of America Subpoenaed.

‘Conscience’ rule on abortions may be overturned – Los Angeles Times

Let’s hope so

Conscience’ rule on abortions may be overturned

The Obama administration wants to clarify a Bush policy that lets healthcare workers deny services because of moral beliefs.

Reporting from Washington — Taking another step into the abortion debate, the Obama administration today will move to rescind a controversial rule that allows healthcare workers to deny abortion counseling or other family planning services if doing so would violate their moral beliefs, according to administration officials.

The rollback of the so-called conscience rule comes just two months after the Bush administration announced it late last year in one of its final policy initiatives.

The new administration’s action seems certain to stoke ideological battles between supporters and opponents of abortion rights over the responsibilities of doctors, nurses and other medical workers to their patients.

via ‘Conscience’ rule on abortions may be overturned – Los Angeles Times.

The Associated Press: House calls back in vogue for some doctors

House calls back in vogue for some doctors

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Pediatrician Natalie Hodge spent seven years in a hectic doctor’s office. Some days, she’d see 40 sick kids, 10 minutes at a time. Moms calling for advice about sore throats or ear aches had to wait. Hodge could only find time to return those calls as she drove home.

Finally, she had enough.

“I kind of threw up my hands and said, ‘There’s got to be a better way to do this,’” Hodge said. “I said, ‘I’m going to get a laptop and a Treo and make house calls.’”

For much of America’s history, that was the norm. Home visits died when medical insurance replaced pay-as-you-go, and administrative costs and malpractice insurance fees forced doctors to abandon individual practices and join together in groups. By the early 1970s, fewer than 1 percent of doctors made house calls.

via The Associated Press: House calls back in vogue for some doctors.

BBC NEWS | Crisis in the US newspaper industry

Crisis in the US newspaper industry

BBC News, Washington

If the economic crisis goes on much longer, will there be any newspapers left in the US to write about it?

Copies of the San Francisco Chronicle roll off the production line (File picture)

The Chronicle’s owners are set to decide whether to shut down the paper

America’s newspaper industry has been badly hit by the downturn, and a number of titles face closure.

The latest casualty is the venerable San Francisco Chronicle, whose owners on Wednesday announced they were planning to cut a “significant” number of jobs to meet cost-cutting targets, and that if the targets are not met, then the paper would be sold or closed down.

The Chronicle, which was founded in 1865, soon after the gold-rush hit California, lost more than $50m (£35m) in 2008, and so far 2009 is looking even worse for the title.

via BBC NEWS | Americas | Crisis in the US newspaper industry.

The Raw Story | NSA aims to expand power: Eavesdropping agency looks to take over cybersecurity

NSA aims to expand power: Eavesdropping agency looks to take over cybersecurity

The spy shop that brought you the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program wants to expand its power under President Barack Obama, the nation’s top intelligence chief told Congress Wednesday, in a little-noticed intelligence grab.

While acknowledging that many distrust the agency for its role in eavesdropping, Obama Director of National Intelligence Admiral Dennis Blair said he believed the agency should expand into a permanent role in handling government cybersecurity efforts.

In essence, his agency’s move is an effort to take the responsibilities away from the Homeland Security Department. The head of Obama’s cybersecurity transition team, Paul Kurtz, said he supports giving the NSA more power in handling cybersecurity.

via The Raw Story | NSA aims to expand power: Eavesdropping agency looks to take over cybersecurity.

The Raw Story | Gregg won aid for base he had stake in

Gregg won aid for base he had stake in

AP Exclusive: Gregg, brother invested in redevelopment of base he aided as governor, senator

President Barack Obama’s former nominee to become commerce secretary, Sen. Judd Gregg, steered taxpayer money to his home state’s redevelopment of a former Air Force base even as he and his brother engaged in real estate deals there, an Associated Press investigation found.

Gregg, R-N.H., personally has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in Cyrus Gregg’s office projects at the Pease International Tradeport, a Portsmouth business park built at the defunct Pease Air Force Base, once home to nuclear bombers. Judd Gregg has collected at least $240,017 to $651,801 from his investments there, Senate records show, while helping arrange at least $66 million in federal aid for the former base.

via The Raw Story | Gregg won aid for base he had stake in.

Think Progress » Exclusive: Joe the Plumber suggests some members of Congress should be shot.

Exclusive: Joe the Plumber suggests some members of Congress should be shot.

On Wednesday, Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher said that if he were in Congress, he would “probably be in jail” because he’d be charged with “slapping some member.” He added, “And that’s not [bull] either.” ThinkProgress asked Joe at CPAC yesterday which members he would most like to slap. “Pretty much anybody that’s stood there and said anything bad about our troops, pretty much anybody who sat there and talked treasonous talk about America,” Joe said. He then implied that some members of Congress should be shot:

Back in the day, really, when people would talk about our military in a poor way, somebody would shoot ‘em. And there’d be nothing said about that, because they knew it was wrong. You don’t talk about our troops. You support our troops. Especially when our congressmen and senators sit there and say bad things in an ongoing conflict.

Watch it:

via Think Progress » Exclusive: Joe the Plumber suggests some members of Congress should be shot..

Think Progress » Right-Wing Jewish Leaders Attack Hillary Clinton For Tackling Middle East Conflict

Right-Wing Jewish Leaders Attack Hillary Clinton For Tackling Middle East Conflict

cnn.gifSecretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will make her first visit to Israel next week. “The centerpiece of the secretary of state’s tour, announced Thursday by the State Department, will be a March 2 fund-raising conference for the Palestinians in Egypt.” The United States is expected to pledge $900 million to rebuild the Gaza Strip after the recent devastation to the area caused by Israeli aerial attacks.

The Obama administration is pushing hard to convince Israel to allow more humanitarian aid trucks through the Gaza crossings. Haaretz reports, “Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has relayed messages to Israel in the past week expressing anger at obstacles Israel is placing to the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.” Senior U.S. officials told Israeli counterparts last week that “Israel is not making enough effort to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” a sentiment likely to be echoed by Middle East Envoy George Mitchell ahead of Clinton’s visit.

via Think Progress » Right-Wing Jewish Leaders Attack Hillary Clinton For Tackling Middle East Conflict.

Think Progress » Mayor who sent White House watermelon e-mail resigns.

Mayor who sent White House watermelon e-mail resigns.

watermelonpatch.jpg Los Alamitos, CA Mayor Dean Grose has announced that he will be stepping down from his position on March 2, after sending an “e-mail picture depicting the White House lawn planted with watermelons under the title ‘No Easter egg hunt this year.’” One recipient, local businesswoman and community volunteer Keyanus Price, who is also African-American, said that she was “horrified” when she received the e-mail on Sunday, and replied, “Not all black people like watermelon… you should know better than that.” Grose wrote back, “The way things are today, you gotta laugh every now and then. I wanna see the coloring contests.” Grose has since apologized, saying the picture was never meant to offend anyone “from the standpoint of the African-American race.”

via Think Progress » Mayor who sent White House watermelon e-mail resigns..

YouTube – JP Morgan Chase Continues Foreclosure Proceedings Despite Promised Freeze

YouTube -JP Morgan Chase Continues Foreclosure Proceedings Despite Promised Freeze

AlterNet: Will Legalizing Pot Save California from its Cash Crunch?

Will Legalizing Pot Save California from its Cash Crunch?

California state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) has announced the introduction of legislation to tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcoholic beverages. The bill, the first of its kind ever introduced in California, would create a regulatory structure similar to that used for beer, wine, and liquor, permitting taxed sales to adults while barring sales to or possession by those under 21.

Estimates based on federal government statistics have shown marijuana to be California’s top cash crop, valued at approximately $14 billion in 2006 — nearly twice the combined value of the state’s number two and three crops, vegetables ($5.7 billion) and grapes ($2.6 billion) — in spite of massive “eradication” efforts that wipe out an average of nearly 36,000 cultivation sites per year without making a dent in this underground industry.

via AlterNet: Will Legalizing Pot Save California from its Cash Crunch?.

AlterNet: Americans in Appalachia Are Living in a State of Terror

Americans in Appalachia Are Living in a State of Terror

Dear Mr. President,

As I write this letter, I brace myself for another round of nerve-wracking explosives being detonated above my home in the mountains of West Virginia. Outside my door, pulverized rock dust, laden with diesel fuel and ammonium nitrate explosives hovers in the air, along with the residual of heavy metals that once lay dormant underground.

The mountain above me, once a thriving forest, has been blasted into a pile of rock and mud rubble. Two years ago, it was covered with rich black topsoil and abounded with hardwood trees, rhododendrons, ferns and flowers. The understory thrived with herbs such as ginseng, black cohosh, yellow root and many other medicinal plants. Black bears, deer, wild turkey, hawks, owls and thousands of [other] birds lived here. The mountain contained sparkling streams teeming with aquatic life and fish.

via AlterNet: Americans in Appalachia Are Living in a State of Terror.