tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153758184947169572024-02-07T18:10:44.445-08:00Immersed InstinctsOne Man With Some Time On His HandsPublisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-63867795924072208452009-11-14T22:23:00.001-08:002009-11-14T22:24:30.345-08:00Amazingly Tight Dead<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sVsSKuxyaro&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sVsSKuxyaro&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-46500860172900822022009-11-04T21:26:00.000-08:002010-02-07T23:52:05.697-08:00Been A Long TimeSo caught up in campaign managing, running that blog, tweeting and facebooking, that I've had no time to post here. Soon a lengthy post on health care-Obama, torture and rendition-Obama, state secrets-Obama, and my rather deep disapointment that is NOT, sadly enough, disillusionment.<br /><br />Oh well.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-40932043667271274032009-09-21T10:45:00.000-07:002009-09-21T10:45:47.837-07:00The most expensive fence in the U.S.A Very Good Short Read:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/09/18/the-most-expensive-fence-in-the-u-s/">The most expensive fence in the U.S.</a><br /><br /><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.kpho.com/news/20969522/detail.html">"In a nutshell</a><span style="font-style: italic;">, it will cost $6.5 billion over the next 20 years to maintain the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. However, despite the fact that $2.4 billion has already been spent to build 633 miles of fence along the southwest border, there's no way to evaluate cost-wise whether the fence has helped to control the flow of illegal immigrants.</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> The GAO noted two big problems with the fence. One is that people are still getting over, under and through it. As of May 14, there have been 3,363 breaches in the fence, and each one costs around $1,300 to repair. That's $4.3 million in repairs. Another is that the new technology being installed to work on the border (sensors, radars and cameras) has either been delayed or doesn't work. (Aircraft maker Boeing has the contract for that and will be paid $1.1 billion for it). That means border agents still uses old equipment that breaks down. Until all that new technology is up and running, there's no way to know whether it works or whether it's cost effective."</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-88059771114078170712009-08-20T09:33:00.000-07:002009-08-20T09:36:41.749-07:00God Bless Barney Frank: Wingnuts Equate Bi-racial President and a Gay, Jewish Senator to Hitler<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nYlZiWK2Iy8&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nYlZiWK2Iy8&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-9001697916591890912009-08-15T23:53:00.000-07:002009-08-15T23:54:47.670-07:00Set My Soul FreeCan you even remember what we looked like?<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HKdsRWhyH30&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HKdsRWhyH30&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-89937025051751617402009-08-13T23:56:00.000-07:002009-08-14T00:06:12.335-07:00RIP Les Paul...Another Giant and Genuis GoneFirst Merce, now Les.<br /><br />I saw him in the late 80's (when he was in his late 70's) before his weekly gig moved to the Iridium. I was thinking then that I had better go see him while it was still possible. The man kept gigging regularly for 15 more years! The inventor of the electric guitar, a studio genius way ahead of his time, and by all accounts the nicest guy in the world.<br /><br />Here he is at the age of 91, unbelievable.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BXjC_9btq8Y&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BXjC_9btq8Y&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />And two more from the 50's, stuff I used to listen to with my parents.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/e0ffdwBUL78&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/e0ffdwBUL78&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/63Df09Sodpk&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/63Df09Sodpk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-76303129392399997472009-08-10T01:09:00.000-07:002009-08-10T01:10:47.636-07:00The Trouble With Tea BaggersOK this has been floating round the net for awhile, don't know who wrote it.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the U.S. Department of Energy.<br /><br />I then took a shower in the clean water provided by a municipal water utility.<br /><br />After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC-regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like, using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.<br /><br />I watched this while eating my breakfast of U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.<br /><br />At the appropriate time, as regulated by the U.S. Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank.<br /><br />On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the U.S. Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school.<br /><br />After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and Fire Marshal's inspection, and which has not been plundered of all its valuables thanks to the local police department.<br /><br />And then I log on to the internet -- which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration -- and post on Freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can't do anything right.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-6094392422082092552009-08-04T00:23:00.000-07:002009-08-04T00:26:33.222-07:00Mayda del Valle: White House Poetry JamShakin The People's House<br /><br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WCZTlXb4w3Y&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WCZTlXb4w3Y&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-37016095425212474702009-07-27T12:54:00.000-07:002009-07-28T01:51:43.241-07:00Merce Cunningham Died<a href="http://www.merce.org/about_video.html">This short video from merce.org </a>...I don't know what to say.<br /><br />Mr. Cunningham often spoke and wrote movingly about the nature of dance and would laugh about its maddening impermanence. <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">“You have to love dancing to stick to it,” he once wrote. “It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive.”</span><br /><br />I find myself more devastated then I would have expected; incredibly so. So Long.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.merce.org/about_video.html"></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-46834638568497370632009-07-09T13:19:00.000-07:002009-07-09T13:19:33.212-07:00Photo Caption ContestBerlusconi shows height of twins he is currently dating?<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/images/gallery-g8daytwo4.jpg"><img alt="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/images/gallery-g8daytwo4.jpg" src="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/images/gallery-g8daytwo4.jpg" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-59527518958844029952009-07-09T11:03:00.000-07:002009-07-09T11:03:32.028-07:00Morgan Stanley: Scamming Again<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aeTzfvEedKpQ">Morgan Stanley Plans to Turn Downgraded Loan CDO Into AAA Bonds - Bloomberg.com</a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"July 8 (Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley plans to repackage a downgraded collateralized debt obligation backed by leveraged loans into new securities with AAA ratings in the first transaction of its kind, said two people familiar with the sale.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Morgan Stanley is selling $87.1 million of securities that it expects to receive top AAA ratings and $42.9 million of notes graded Baa2, the second-lowest investment grade by Moody’s Investors Service, according to marketing documents obtained by Bloomberg News. The bonds were created from Greywolf CLO I Ltd., a CDO arranged in January 2007 by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and managed by Greywolf Capital Management LP, an investment firm based in Purchase, New York."</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-69579251238826246892009-07-06T21:02:00.000-07:002009-07-06T21:02:49.206-07:00Make That Two Steps Closer (see post below)<a href="http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/ecology/dolphin-rescues-stranded-whales/925">Dolphin Rescues Stranded Whales</a>:<br /><br /> <span style="font-style: italic;">"It was at that point, Moko, who was described by an official on the scene as “altruistic” appeared, and let the pygmy sperm whales 200 yards down the beach to an open channel. There have been many instances of dolphins assisting weak swimmers, which may be instinctual, but this appears to be the first instance of interspecies help."</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-47810559765452968812009-07-06T20:59:00.000-07:002009-07-06T20:59:53.239-07:00World Peace One Step Closer?<a href="http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/sciencetech/men-no-longer-necessary-for-sperm-production/750">Men No Longer Needed to Create Sperm</a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Scientists at the University of Newcastle have managed to create human sperm cells using a female embryonic stem cell.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The researchers, led by Prof Karim Nayernia, had previously created primitive sperm cells from male bone marrow. They’re currently working on making the cells from female bone marrow, which would be much easier and more practical than creating them from embryos."</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-91039669661862895992009-07-06T09:41:00.000-07:002009-07-06T09:41:51.526-07:00Fighting Health Care Reform at $1.4 Million/DayThe WaPo (which has been busy <a href="http://www.thehotjoints.com/2009/07/02/washington-post-announces-pay-to-play-business-model/">trying to score some of that Dirty Money for itself</a>) has an article up on the current <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/05/AR2009070502770.html?hpid=topnews">state of play for health care lobbying</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The nation's largest insurers, hospitals and medical groups have hired more than 350 former government staff members and retired members of Congress in hopes of influencing their old bosses and colleagues, according to an analysis of lobbying disclosures and other records.<br /><br />The hirings are part of a record-breaking influence campaign by the health-care industry, which is spending more than $1.4 million a day on lobbying in the current fight, according to disclosure records. </span><br /><br />If you think they are spending this kind of money in order to improve health care delivery you need to check your current policy, if you are lucky enough to have one, to see what kind of mental health care you are eligible for and then go and use it!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-19067400004596909542009-06-22T13:24:00.000-07:002009-06-27T10:20:48.372-07:00Dodd Gets On The Buss (Finally!)Old Dog Learns New Tricks<br /><br /><a href="http://dodd.senate.gov/?q=node/5040">Dodd's Op-Ed in the Meriden Record-Journal (via his campaign site)</a><br /><br /><p style="font-style: italic;">While I’ve long been for extending every benefit of marriage to same-sex couples, I have in the past drawn a distinction between a marriage-like status (“civil unions”) and full marriage rights.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">The reason was simple: I was raised to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. And as many other Americans have realized as they’ve struggled to reconcile the principle of fairness with the lessons they learned early in life, that’s not an easy thing to overcome.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">But the fact that I was raised a certain way just isn’t a good enough reason to stand in the way of fairness anymore.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">My young daughters are growing up in a different reality than I did. Our family knows many same-sex couples – our neighbors in Connecticut, members of my staff, parents of their schoolmates. Some are now married because the Connecticut Supreme Court and our state legislature have made same-sex marriage legal in our state.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">But to my daughters, these couples are married simply because they love each other and want to build a life together. That’s what we’ve taught them. The things that make those families different from their own pale in comparison to the commitments that bind those couples together.<br /></p> <p style="font-style: italic;">And, really, that’s what marriage should be. It’s about rights and responsibilities and, most of all, love.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">I believe that, when my daughters grow up, barriers to marriage equality for same-sex couples will seem as archaic, and as unfair, as the laws we once had against inter-racial marriage.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">And I want them to know that, even if he was a little late, their dad came down on the right side of history.</p>There really is a generational difference and I think perhaps older folks are learning from it. My work brings me side by side with many 20-somethings, and while the theatrical world has long been more accepting of gays then the larger outside world, the attitude really does seem to have changed.To many young folks being gay is no longer even thought of as being different, and if so that's a great thing!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-26226946017744147562009-06-03T23:55:00.000-07:002009-06-27T10:21:03.818-07:00CT's Broken Tax System: Republicans Are NOT Inclined To Fix This, Are Democrats?<a href="http://www.myleftnutmeg.com/diary/11436/a-more-progressive-income-tax-is-the-answer">My Left Nutmeg:: A more progressive income tax is the answer</a>:<br /><br /> <span style="font-style: italic;">"The solution, as advocated by Connecticut Voices for Chidren, is a more progressive income tax. Adopting higher income tax rates for married couples who earn more than $250,000 (and individuals who earn more than $132,500), as proposed by the legislature's Finance Committee, would raise an estimated $1.226 billion in additional revenue to close the budget deficit, while affecting less than 7 percent of Connecticut taxpayers.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Even under this proposal, income tax rates on Connecticut's wealthiest residents would still be lower than the rates in most neighboring states. Of the 41 states with income taxes, only seven have a lower marginal rate for the wealthy than Connecticut.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And even with this rate increase, the share of income paid in state and local taxes by Connecticut's wealthiest 5 percent would still remain smaller than what is paid by the 'bottom' 95 percent of families. That is, this change would only begin to make the state and local tax system less regressive.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">In the long term, a progressive income tax could help to reduce the state's over-reliance on regressive property taxes, creating additional revenues in more prosperous years that could be used to more fully fund education at the state level."</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-50753526804649263132009-06-03T23:22:00.000-07:002009-06-27T10:21:16.421-07:00A Serious Look At Socialism And AmericaConnor Clarke has a nice short dicussion on the Atlantic blogs with links to longer discussions worhty of reading.<br /><br /><a href="http://correspondents.theatlantic.com/conor_clarke/2009/06/what_socialism_looks_like.php">What Socialism Looks Like - Conor Clarke</a><br /><br />How close? This is what socialism looks like:<br /><br /><img src="file:///Users/kim/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/moz-screenshot.jpg" alt="" /><span class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><img alt="socialism chart.png" src="http://correspondents.theatlantic.com/conor_clarke/socialism%20chart.png" class="mt-image-center" style="margin: 0pt auto 20px; text-align: center; display: block;" height="322" width="579" /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-20535528484510202072009-06-03T21:24:00.000-07:002009-06-27T10:21:24.927-07:00And Then There Were 6: Lets make Iowa An Honorary New England State<div class="deleteBody"> <p class="postBody" style="color: rgb(119, 119, 119);"><a href="http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Same-sex%2Bmarriage%2Bbecomes%2Blaw%2Bin%2BNH&articleId=ac4816e1-7ac9-4694-b89c-b6174c8b6a87">UnionLeader.com - Same-sex marriage becomes law in NH - </a><br /><br />"Concord – Gay marriage legislation became law in New Hampshire this afternoon.<br /><br />Gov. John Lynch signed the bills just after 5:20 p.m. before dozens of enthusiastic supporters of same-sex marriage.<br /><br />New Hampshire's law takes effect Jan. 1."</p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-52989598679163539252009-05-28T01:03:00.000-07:002009-05-28T01:04:16.947-07:00Will We Finally Prosecute Those Who Enabled This Systemic Torture and Rape?<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5395830/Abu-Ghraib-abuse-photos-show-rape.html">Abu Ghraib abuse photos 'show rape' - Telegraph</a><br /><br /><p> <span style="font-style: italic;">"At least one picture shows an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner while another is said to show a male translator raping a male detainee. </span></p> <p style="font-style: italic;"> Further photographs are said to depict sexual assaults on prisoners with objects including a truncheon, wire and a phosphorescent tube. </p> <p style="font-style: italic;"> Another apparently shows a female prisoner having her clothing forcibly removed to expose her breasts. </p> <p style="font-style: italic;"> Detail of the content emerged from Major General Antonio Taguba, the former army officer who conducted an inquiry into the Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq. </p> <span style="font-style: italic;"> Allegations of rape and abuse were included in his 2004 report but the fact there were photographs was never revealed. He has now confirmed their existence in an interview with the Daily Telegraph</span>"<div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-51916524960794478442009-05-25T09:58:00.000-07:002009-05-28T01:04:05.036-07:00Thank You<img alt="http://www.tech-notes.tv/2009/Common_Pix/flags-in-memorial-day.jpg" src="http://www.tech-notes.tv/2009/Common_Pix/flags-in-memorial-day.jpg" /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-27839822856204198532009-05-22T20:43:00.000-07:002009-05-22T20:45:38.592-07:00Rell To Death Row and the Connecticut Congress<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_qEq38EspA1AjfgUluiukbOMoiceyBuYcYHNw5uWK854iciHKnrn7jHm2fRccVMAVGluFyd3YEo0SHoRy0xPCX3fOrW_RaYwCkOrZi2h_zzjZLj_YC-90mmSm3l2h1niM5g5yiBQFQya/s1600-h/RellFU.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_qEq38EspA1AjfgUluiukbOMoiceyBuYcYHNw5uWK854iciHKnrn7jHm2fRccVMAVGluFyd3YEo0SHoRy0xPCX3fOrW_RaYwCkOrZi2h_zzjZLj_YC-90mmSm3l2h1niM5g5yiBQFQya/s1600/RellFU.jpg" alt="[RellFU.jpg]" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">" Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell vowed Friday to veto a newly approved bill banning the death penalty as soon as she receives it, saying capital punishment is appropriate for certain heinous crimes.</span><p style="font-style: italic;">The measure, approved early Friday by the state Senate and last week by the House of Representatives, would replace capital punishment with life in prison without the possibility of parole."</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-19371286386971474342009-05-22T20:15:00.000-07:002009-05-22T20:46:09.814-07:00Lets Waterboard Cheney: If He Can Take 15 Seconds I Will Withdraw My Objection<a href="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/">Hat Tip to TPM</a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"MSNBC's Keith Olbermann on tonight's 'Countdown' pledged to donate $10,000 to charity after disc jockey Erich 'Mancow' Muller was waterboarded today on live radio, in an attempt to prove the technique was 'not torture.' After six seconds Muller said it was 'absolutely torture' and that were he to be interrogated by the use of waterboarding he would 'confess to anything.' Olbermann promised to donate $10,000 to the charity Veterans of Valor, founded by Sgt. Klay South, who administered the waterboarding to Muller today, and withdrew his offer to Sean Hannity to make a donation to the charity of his choice if he followed through on his offer to undergo waterboarding."<br /></span><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qUkj9pjx3H0&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qUkj9pjx3H0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-57761459345021085062009-05-14T23:26:00.000-07:002009-05-14T23:26:12.404-07:00The Revolution continues: God Bless The Northeast<a href="http://www.nhpr.org/node/24894">New Hampshire Governor to sign Same Sex marriage into law</a> with slight modifications.<br /><br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;"> <p>"The Legislature took an important step by clearly differentiating between civil and religious marriage, and protecting religious groups from having to participate in marriage ceremonies that violate their fundamental religious beliefs.</p> <p>"But the role of marriage in many faiths extends beyond the actual marriage ceremony.</p> <p>"I have examined the laws of other states, including Vermont and Connecticut, which have recently passed same-sex marriage laws. Both go further in protecting religious institutions than the current New Hampshire legislation.</p> <p>"This morning, I met with House and Senate leaders, and the sponsors of this legislation, and gave them language that will provide additional protections to religious institutions.</p> <p>"This new language will provide the strongest and clearest protections for religious institutions and associations, and for the individuals working with such institutions.</p> <p>It will make clear that they cannot be forced to act in ways that violate their deeply held religious principles.</p> <p>"If the legislature passes this language, I will sign the same-sex marriage bill into law. If the legislature doesn't pass these provisions, I will veto it."</p> </blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-15613719335784326502009-05-13T23:48:00.000-07:002009-05-13T23:51:34.645-07:00Socialism Gaining Popularity: Gee, Who Da Thunk It? (oh yeah, Karl Marx)<a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/just_53_say_capitalism_better_than_socialism">New poll data from Rasmussen.</a><br /><p style=""> <span style="font-style: italic;">Only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism. </span></p> <p style="font-style: italic;"> The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 20% disagree and say socialism is better. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are not sure which is better. </p> <p style="font-style: italic;">Adults under 30 are essentially evenly divided: 37% prefer capitalism, 33% socialism, and 30% are undecided. Thirty-somethings are a bit more supportive of the free-enterprise approach with 49% for capitalism and 26% for socialism. Adults over 40 strongly favor capitalism, and just 13% of those older Americans believe socialism is better. </p> <p style="font-style: italic;">Investors by a 5-to-1 margin choose capitalism. As for those who do not invest, 40% say capitalism is better while 25% prefer socialism. </p> <p style="font-style: italic;">There is a partisan gap as well. Republicans - by an 11-to-1 margin - favor capitalism. Democrats are much more closely divided: Just 39% say capitalism is better while 30% prefer socialism. As for those not affiliated with either major political party, 48% say capitalism is best, and 21% opt for socialism. </p> <p style=""><span style="font-style: italic;"> The question posed by Rasmussen Reports did not define either capitalism or socialism.</span></p><p style="">Meanwhile <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22445.html">Republicans have a new idea</a>.</p><p><span style="font-style: italic;">A member of the Republican National Committee told me Tuesday that when the RNC meets in an extraordinary special session next week, it will approve a resolution rebranding Democrats as the “Democrat Socialist Party.” </span><br /></p><p>Seriously? I mean ...... <span style="font-weight: bold;">Seriously</span>?<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415375818494716957.post-21188043917977782432009-05-11T11:29:00.000-07:002009-05-11T11:30:37.759-07:00Very Good News: Roxana Saberi FreedOne suspects much quiet diplomacy was involved in this. You remember quiet diplomacy; a tool that was out of favor from 2000-2008?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iCJY4lE5kHBHPnISEZo0LopbpHPgD9842F300">The Associated Press: Lawyer: US reporter leaves jail in Iran</a>: "A lawyer for a U.S. journalist jailed in Iran says she has been freed from prison after an appeals court suspended her eight-year jail sentence. Abdolsamad Khorramshahi says Roxana Saberi is 'now out of jail.'"<div class="blogger-post-footer">Does the Post Feed Footer Work?</div>Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12716760646037814620noreply@blogger.com0