Last Minute Items......

* You may have heard about a controversial Facebook page. According to 10TV.com, the Secret Service is investigating. Thank goodness.


* Things are getting stranger in Arizona. TalkLeft:

The Arizona Department of Education recently began telling school districts that teachers whose spoken English it deems to be heavily accented or ungrammatical must be removed from classes for students still learning English.

Let's leave the merited pejoratives aside. This is simply illegal. Someone in Arizona may want to review Title VII. And Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Laws....

What is going on in Arizona? Have they lost all common sense?

Telling It Like It Would Be

By now, every Ohio voter has heard that Republican candidate for Ohio governor, John Kasich, wants to eliminate the state income tax. Kasich has refused to go into deal as to which agencies, programs, departments, and other current government offices, would be cut. There has been some number crunching and people have come up with some numbers.

At a news conference in Richland County, Chris Redfern, Chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, outlined the cuts that would happen if Kasich has his way.

NorthCentralOhio.com:

...Redfern said Richland County would lose $2.67 million in the county's general fund. He said the police department and fire department would lose $1.89 million and the library system would lose $26 million.

He said the Mansfield City School District would lose $9.3 million and Ontario Schools would lose $732,000....

...Redfern said Kasich also has not disclosed his employment at the investment firm Lehman Brothers. He said Kasich worked at the firm for 10 years. The collapse of the firm led to $480 million in losses across five state pension funds.

What is Kasich hiding? Did he profit while the state pension funds lost money? Ohio voters want to know.

Kasich's Votes in Congress

Do you know about John Kasich's voting record in Congress?
Here are a few noteworthy votes.

Project Vote Smart: HR 1 Family and Medical Leave Bill (2/3/1993) Kasich voted NO

Project Vote Smart: Kasich voted NO on
- raising the minimum raise HR 3846 on 3/9/2000,
- minimum wage raise (two year raise) H Amendment 594 on 3/9/2000,
- to raise the minimum wage, H Amendment 1084, on 5/23/96

Worth a Read

If you want to support companies that support Democrats, check out the second edition of The Blue Pages, by Angie Crouse and the Center for Responsive Politics. As listed on the cover, it is "..a directory of companies rated by their politics and practices." I plan to use it to guide my future purchases.

- On the Rachel Maddow Show, she mentioned that people are talking about boycotting products that are made in Arizona because of their new immigration law. Rachel noted that those cans of Arizona Ice Tea are made in New York. Here is a link to a list of corporations headquartered in Arizona- PadresUnidos.


- Voters in Ohio's 12th congressional district are asking themselves the following question:
What has Republican Rep. Pat Tiberi done for me lately? Tiberi has been very disappointing to
his constituents. He rarely takes on any leadership role and appears to follow John Boehner's
every order. Many of his constituents feel that he really hasn't helped them. He voted against the
stimulus, but then begged for stimulus money for his district.


- Republican Rep. Mike Turner (OH-3rd) has an opponent in the GOP primary. Rene Oberer, a Tea Party activist, is running against Turner. The Dayton Daily News has a few bits of information that tell a lot about Oberer:

....She wants Social Security privatized and she does not support Medicare....

....She opposes most government regulations, saying the Civil Rights Act passed in the 1960s was unnecessary because the pre-Civil War Constitution already protected equal rights. She also believes businesses should be allowed to hire or serve whoever they want, even if that means excluding blacks.

“I think racism is the other way now. I think white males, especially, are being discriminated against,” Oberer said....

OMG. I guess we can see that racism is alive in Ohio 3rd district and it seems to be coming out of the mouth of Rene Oberer.

OMG!

Raw Story:

An Ohio sheriff known for taking extreme steps to crack down on undocumented immigrants and a Republican state representative are urging the state to pass an immigration law similar to the controversial one in Arizona.

Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones and state House Rep. Courtney Combs have sent a letter to Ohio Governor Ted Strickland asking him to pass a law that "mirrors" the one in Arizona, reports WLWT channel 5 in Cincinnati.....

.....For Sheriff Jones, the push to allow police greater powers to combat illegal immigration may be partly personal. Last week, his office paid $100,000 to settle a lawsuit brought against Jones by a man who said he was unconstitutionally detained by deputies during a 2007 illegal immigrant raid on a construction site....

By the way, the charges were later dropped.

Have these people lost their minds? Go after the scummy employers who are breaking laws by hiring undocumented workers!!!!

Arizona Has It Wrong

The new immigration law in Arizona is a complete mistake. As an American, I am offended by this bill. Even though a majority of Americans are outraged by the tone and substance of the law, it does have supporters. The people who support this law are those right wing, white, old, Republicans who are afraid of people who are not white like them. They fear change. They fear losing power and influence.

Why do the right wing Republicans in Arizona feel the need to go after these poor people when they should be targeting the employers and business owners who are employing people without verifying their right to work there? If the Arizona legislators want to penalize someone, go after the employers who hire undocumented workers, pay them under the table, and then make more money by exploiting them. But no! The right wing Republicans in Arizona would never, ever go after the business people! Shame on Arizona's lawmakers and anyone who believes this law is a good thing.

To add insult to injury, John Boehner, Republican leader said this:

(First Read MSNBC)

House Republican Leader John Boehner told reporters today that he "respected" Arizona's newly-passed immigration law. At a brief press conference following the weekly House Republican leadership meeting, Boehner carefully avoided saying whether or not he agreed with the law, but said, "We respect the people of Arizona and their right to write their own laws."


He respects their law? I don't. Previously, I have visited Arizona three times, but they won't get a penny of my money now. No one wants to visit a place where people are oppressed and discriminated against.

This law is just like an updated version of the old Jim Crow laws because it restricts the rights of human beings. Where in America have people been ever asked to "show their papers" and birth certificate to a law enforcement person when they were simply walking down the street? If Boehner and the Republicans continue to support this inhumane law, they will certainly pay a price in future elections. It is no wonder that minorities and women are running away from the Republican Party.

Here It Is!

* President Obama has announced the Vote 2010 (YouTube):




**** Is it over between the 912 Project and Republican Steve Stivers?

Central Ohio 912 Project:

Steve Stivers is mailing out a flyer with a picture from the Tea Party event at the statehouse with a
vote Stivers sign badly photoshopped in. Tea Party Columbus is filing a fraud complaint with the
state elections commission over this attempt to fraudulently claim Tea Party support for his campaign....

Stivers had actively been courting the 912 and Tea Party voters. If these groups are refusing to back Stivers, he is in trouble ------ big trouble!

The NRSC Won't Get a Penny From US!

Even though my husband and I are Democrats, we keep getting these Republican surveys, requests for donations, and other junk mail. We recently received the Republican Senate Leadership Survey and I thought I'd share some of the questions with all of you.


1. In general, are you pleased with the direction of the country?


10. Are you in favor of raising the age of eligibility for Social Security?

Get a load of this question---

17. Are you in favor of unionizing positions with the Department of Homeland Security such as airport screeners who could endanger our national security or bring commerce and travel in out country to a standstill?

24. Are you in favor of creation of a new federal government bureaucracy to oversee and administer healthcare insurance, set prices for health services and act as the "single payer" of all healthcare expenses?

29. Do you support a Constitutional Amendment to protect traditional marriage between a man and a woman?

Here is another question that is unacceptable---

32. Do you support the Democrats' efforts to wipe-out all state laws regulating or restricting abortion?

33. Do you believe that voters have turned away from the principles and ideals of the "Reagan Revolution" -lower taxes, smaller government and a strong, proud America?

(Did you notice that they didn't mention the deficit left by Reagan?)


Of course, at the end of this "survey" (which the Republicans will never read), they ask for money!!!! Here is the part of the "survey" that shows that the Republicans have no mercy in getting their donations-------

No. I do not wish to participate in this survey, nor do I wish to make a donation....... I am returning my Survey Document along with a contribution of $11 to help cover the cost of tabulating and redistributing my Survey.


Note: I didn't ask for the survey and I do not need to send these Republican bozos money. Somehow the soliciting of money for something you did not ask for seems inappropriate and unethical. Then again, we are talking about Republicans!!!!

My advice---- If you get one of the scam surveys from the NRSC (National Republican Senatorial Committee), do not send it back and do not give them any money.

The NRSC is the organization that gave you Senators Ensign, Vitter, Santorum, McConnell, and McCain. I don't need to say anything else.

Why does Glenn Beck hate college educated teachers?

Yesterday on his MSNBC-TV program, Ed Schultz played part of the Glenn Beck radio program from the afternoon. As the tape revealed, Beck was on a tirade against college educated teachers, Progressives, public schools, and other things.

Media Matters has the details.

Glenn Beck supports homeschooling because his family is able to do it on his huge salary and because his religious beliefs support it. However, not everyone can or should homeschool their children. Beck goes on and accuses public school teachers who are "...from an accredited university to teach your children..."

It is obvious to me that Glenn Beck doesn't have a high regard for those who are college educated. It might be because he does not have a college education or perhaps he just plain despises educated individuals. When he goes after college educated teachers "..from an accredited university..", then he just goes off completely.

Beck doesn't understand what a college education does for a person since he has never experienced it. He doesn't get that people expand their minds, read classic literature, and learn about people/events/theories, that they were never exposed to in high school. The fact that he insults college educated teachers demonstrates his ignorance about what kind of preparation it takes to be a teacher. As a former teacher myself, I know that my college degrees and certifications have provided me with the knowledge it takes to understand, teach, problem solve, and guide students.

There might be another reason behind Beck's lack of respect for college educated teachers and all educated people---- he wants people to stay uneducated so that they will believe all the garbage that comes out of his mouth. Beck loves the sheeple that hang on his every word and follow his directions. He doesn't want people to question his instructions.

Mid-Afternoon

*** The Republican National Committee is having some financial problems, according to Politico. This is not a surprise. When you have fundraisers at bondage bars and spend money on a meeting in Hawaii, something has got to give.

** Every single time I see Rep. Darrell Issa on TV (he is on MSNBC), I remember his past. It is just difficult to believe anything he says.

* It doesn't take a political analyst to figure out that Republican Jon Husted, candidate for Ohio Secretary of State, is in deep trouble for his primary. Husted, who represents Kettering but lives in Upper Arlington, has claimed to have "Tea Party" values. However, Tea Party members have very vehemently denied any association with Husted. Husted is running TV ads, sometimes twice per hour, in central Ohio. IF he makes it through the primary, he might not have any campaign funds available for the general election. That would be a good day.

Bring a Chicken to Your Doctor?

A Republican candidate for U.S. Senate for Nevada, Sue Lowden, has suggested that you bring a chicken to your doctor to pay for your office visit. Seriously. Care2.com has the details.

Progress Now Nevada has this YouTube video:



Where does Lowden suggest we keep our chickens to pay for medical care? How many chickens would be needed to cover a $5000 chemotherapy treatment? Does Lowden grow chickens? What other wacky ideas does she have??????

Has Lowden ever been in a hospital as a patient? She seems really out of touch with reality.

45 to 1? Are you kidding?

It is a sad, sad day in Cleveland Schools. With the possibility of huge teacher layoffs, classrooms will be difficult to manage and learning will suffer.

WKYC.com:

...In the third through twelfth grade, it would be forty-five to one. In kindergarten through third grade, it would be forty to one.

The administration says teacher cuts would make up $20 million, of the $52 million of next year's projected deficit.....

That is outrageous! Not only will very little learning take place, the classroom can become a dangerous place. How do I know that? My own teaching experience allows me to provide some information. In one of my teaching assignments, I taught six classes/day with 30 students in each class. There is a point when a teacher no longer teaches, but maintains order. Then of course, there are problems with not enough supplies/books, little or no individual help being provided for students, behavior problems, learning problems, etc., etc., etc. It will be an impossible task.

Now there are some people out there that will say that teachers do nothing in the classroom and that anyone can be a teacher. Those people are wrong. Some people, no matter how smart they think they are, would be unable to deal with a classroom of 45 seventh graders.

If the Cleveland school board truly wants to be in the business of educating children, they cannot allow these student-teacher ratios to get to these excessive numbers. They've got to find another way to fix the schools without laying off teachers, even if it means they have to eliminate unnecessary administrators.

Stopping Recovery

The party of "No!" has slowed down the process of government. According to the Hill.com, Republicans Senators have put super secret holds on 80 of President Obama's nominations:

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) is trying to flush out Senate Republicans who have placed secret holds on nearly 80 of President Barack Obama’s nominees.... ...McCaskill said that under Senate procedural rules passed in 2007, Republicans who have placed anonymous holds on nominees would have to reveal themselves within six days.... ....McCaskill said a total of about 80 nominees have passed through various committees without objection but have been held up on the Senate floor by various GOP senators who are trying to use them as bargaining chips....

The Republicans are not helping our country progress toward an economic recovery. They are just obstructing the everyday working of our country. With no new ideas or solutions, the Republicans just want everyone to stop the government.

**** Republican Bush family friend and former member of the Bush administration, Rob Portman is calling on all his buddies for help in his campaign for U.S. Senate. Do you think he'll ask former President George W. Bush or former Vice President Cheney to campaign for him?
(Pic below from Life.com)




(Pic at right from Enquirer.com >>>>>>>>)

Republicans Support Greedy Bankers

Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republican leader and bank fan, has decided that he'd rather protect greedy bankers.

Chicagonow.com has a few things to say about all this love that the Republicans have for bankers:

(Even the writer's title gets right to the point.)

Who will look out for the bankers who robbed us? Republicans of course!

...McConnell of course hates this bill also - because it regulates his rich friends on Wall Street and was created by someone other than Republicans. McConnell, who receives more campaign donations from the financial industry than any other senator, said this without laughing - he isn't for Wall Street, he's for community banks in Kentucky. But none of those banks were represented in a closed-door meeting McConnel was involved in, that included two-dozen Wall Street bankers. A meeting which, after leaving, he become focused on watering-down or killing the bill....

...Bush, Cheney and the rest of them took a massive surplus, worked it into a massive deficit and enter wars in two countries. Meanwhile, the Republican-run houses approved every spending measure and deregulation possible....

We've lived through a terrible recession, but it seems that the Republicans would rather live through it again than protect people from backroom shenanigans from bankers.

Republicans and Greedy Bankers vs. the People

It is hard to believe that after all we've seen with the banking crisis in the U.S., Republicans still want to defend the bankers.


President Barack Obama wants to protect the people and stop the problems we've seen in the banking industry. Here are some excerpts from President Obama's weekly radio address.

WhiteHouse.gov:

....Here’s what this plan would do. First, it would enact the strongest consumer financial protections ever. It would put consumers back in the driver’s seat by forcing big banks and credit card companies to provide clear, understandable information so that Americans can make financial decisions that work best for them.

Next, these reforms would bring new transparency to financial dealings. Part of what led to this crisis was firms like AIG and others making huge and risky bets – using things like derivatives – without accountability. Warren Buffett himself once described derivatives bought and sold with little oversight as “financial weapons of mass destruction.” That’s why through reform we’d help ensure that these kinds of complicated financial transactions take place on an open market. Because, ultimately, it is a marketplace that is open, free, and fair that will allow our economy to flourish.

We would also close loopholes to stop the kind of recklessness and irresponsibility we’ve seen. It’s these loopholes that allowed executives to take risks that not only endangered their companies, but also our entire economy. And we’re going to put in place new rules so that big banks and financial institutions will pay for the bad decisions they make – not taxpayers. Simply put, this means no more taxpayer bailouts. Never again will taxpayers be on the hook because a financial company is deemed “too big to fail.”...

This sounds like very important legislation. Unfortunately, Sen. Mitch McConnell and the Republican elected officials he controls, are against this bill. Why? Republicans must have gotten accustomed to the huge financial contributions coming from banks, bankers, bank PACs, and the financial industry. This is the reason that the Republicans have abandoned the idea of protecting citizens from greedy bankers. Republicans now want to work with the greedy bankers against the people.

Let the Republicans in the Senate hear from you. Let them know that you want and need their support on this legislation. Here is the contact list for the U.S. Senate.

Saturday, April 17th, Independent Record Store Day

As USA Today noted, Saturday is "Independent Record Store Day." There are still some independent record stores in business here in central Ohio. One I can highly recommend is Ace in the Hole Music Exchange, 1153 Kenny Center, Columbus (south of Old Henderson Rd.). They will be having a celebration tomorrow with live music from 11am - 5pm. Stop in and support them!

Tea Partiers Are Republicans

The latest New York Times/CBS News Poll has taken a national poll of the Tea Partiers.
These Tea Partiers appear to be angry, white, Republican men.

NYTimes:

(p. 35)

94. Think about past elections in which you have voted, including
national and statewide elections. Would you say you always vote
Republican, usually vote Republican, vote about equally for both
parties, usually vote Democratic, or always vote Democratic?

Tea Partiers

Always Republican......18%....
Usually Republican.....48%....

(Note: 66% always or usually vote Republican)

95. Which one of the following television networks do you
watch most for information about politics and current events
— ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, or don't
you watch television news?

Tea Partiers

...Fox News Channel....63%...


Clearly, these Tea Partiers are the sheeple of Fox News. 
How embarrassing!

Tax Day!

* Tea Partiers should not pay attention to the man behind the curtain. It looks like the "Tea Party" movement has been planned and orchestrated by people to fund a Republican PAC!!!

RawStory:

The Tea Party has been billed as an organic grassroots operation, but a newly uncovered document obtained by Politico suggests the movement has been successfully co-opted as a Republican fundraising ploy.

GOP political consultant Joe Wierzbicki floated the proposal a year ago today to create the Tea Party Express, a nationwide bus tour to "give a boost to our PAC and position us as a growing force/leading force as the 2010 elections come into focus." His idea eventually became one of the best known brands in the Tea Party movement.....

...But the primary goal was fundraising for the founding firm's PAC. Despite quadrupling their take in March they told Politico, "We're hardly making any money at all."

Looks like Joe Wierzbicki has been operating the Tea Party to fill his firm's own PAC.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

******* President Obama actually saved you taxes this year.

CBS News:

...One third of the Recovery Act was made up of tax credits, the White House emphasizes...

....The credits included:

• An increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit
• An expansion of the Child Tax Credit
• For those who work, the Making Work Pay tax credit offered $400 per individual and $800 per couple
• For those who lost their job, there was a 65 percent tax credit to help cover the cost of health care. The first $2,400 in unemployment benefits went tax-free
• Up to $2,500 under the American Opportunity Credit for students and parents paying for college tuition
• $8,000 for first-time home buyers
• A deduction of state and local taxes paid on a new car
• Up to $1,500 for home improvements to increase energy efficiency

Even conservative advocacy group Americans for Tax Reform, which advocates for a single, national flat tax rate, found some praise for the Recovery Act -- specifically for provisions allowing small businesses to write off a wider range of business expenses.....

President Obama has not raised your taxes. If you don't want to pay taxes, move to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where city services, including police, fire, bus service, parks, and street lights, have been cut (see WSJonline). That is what John Kasich wants to do to Ohio!

Help Needed for Project for Troops

* Mark your calendars for June 26th, in Worthington! The Buckeye Blue Star Mothers are looking for volunteers to help assemble 750 care packages for our troops. They need some specific items and some of your time to put together the boxes. If you are able to help the mothers of our service members with this project, need more information, or would like to donate money for the project, visit Buckeye Blue Star Mothers, for details.

The Banned Books List Grows

* They are at it again. The people who challenge the "appropriateness" of books for students have started to attack more books.

According to Yahoonews, Stephanie Meyer's 'Twilight' books are targets for some groups who wish to ban some books:

Stephenie Meyer, the hottest author for young people since J.K. Rowling, has a new link to the creator of "Harry Potter": a place high on the list of books most complained about by parents and educators.....

....Topping the 2009 chart was Lauren Myracle's "IM" series, novels told through instant messages that have been criticized for nudity, language and drug references. Last year's No. 1 book, "And Tango Makes Three," by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, is now No. 2, cited again for its story about two male penguins adopting a baby. Third was Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," for which the many reasons include drugs, suicide, homosexuality and being antifamily.

Also cited were such perennials as J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" (sexual content, language), Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" (language, racism), Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" (sexual content, language) and Robert Cormier's "The Chocolate War" (nudity, language, sexual content)....

Obviously, these books get kids reading and that is more important than anything else.

For more information, see the AmericanLibraryAssociation website.

Pro-Confederacy Celebrations?????

* Haley Barbour, pompous Republican Gov. of Mississippi, weighed in on the celebration of the Confederacy celebrations that some Republican governors are promoting:

TheAtlanticWire:

Last week, we covered the outrage over Virginia governor Bob McDonnell's failure to mention slavery in a speech commemorating "Confederate History Month." McDonnell quickly apologized for the oversight, and the story began to slide out of the news cycle. Days later, as it was beginning to be forgotten, Mississippi governor Haley Barbour brought it back, defending McDonnell's original statement on CNN's State of the Union. Considered a possible presidential candidate in 2012, Barbour didn't see what all the fuss was about.

I don’t know what you would say about slavery, but anyone who thinks that you have to explain to people that slavery's a bad thing--I think it goes without saying. [...] To me it's a sort of feeling that it's just a nit. That it's not significant. It's trying to make a big deal out of something that doesn't matter for diddly.

> My open letter to Gov. Barbour-------

Dear Governor Haley Numbskull:

Slavery was not that significant??????? It "...doesn't matter for diddly"???? Are you crazy???

The confederacy depended upon the work and sweat of slaves. Human beings were owned, beaten, raped, and denied human rights in the slavery-dominated southern states. The confederacy was a horrible time in American history. Why in the world would anyone want to celebrate a time in history in which human beings were subjected to beatings by wealthy, white landowners? Why do you think it is important to rejoice in a time in your state's past when human beings were denied civil rights?

Are you out of your freaking mind?

Sincerely,

An American


It is no secret that Gov. McDonnell of Virginia and Barbour of Mississippi are trying to court the far right extreme of their Republican Party. In pandering to the far right, they've turned off the 85% of the American people who are not accepting of these pro-confederacy, pro-slavery, anti-civil rights statements which seem to be on Barbour's and McDonnell's agenda. The more Barbour and McDonnell persist in this agenda, the more they move the Republican Party to a regional southern party.

When McDonnell and Barbour diminish the family history of millions of Americans whose ancestors were slaves, they deny their suffering, their heritage, and the historical implications of slavery. McDonnell and Barbour demonstrate once again that the Republican Party is open to whites - only.


* Real Clear Politics has some numbers about Ohio politics:

Ohio Senate: Research 2000 and the Daily Kos polled the Ohio Senate race, and found Lee Fisher leading Republican Rob Portman 43%-39%. The other Democrat in the race, Jennifer Brunner (for information on the Democratic primary and their candidates, see below) leads Portman by a point, 41%-40%....

Ohio Governor: R2k shows Ted Strickland leading former Congressman John Kasich by five points, 45%-40%, which was essentially what they found the last time they polled the race last July. Strickland has hammered Kasich over his ties to Lehman Brothers, and most recent polling has shown a dip in Kasich's numbers. We'll see if this can get Strickland through to November. The Governor leads by 1 in the RCP average....

I'll keep my eye on these.

There is no doubt...

Abraham Lincoln said, "Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt." (From WisdomQuotes)

Fortunately, Sarah Palin has spoken, and there is no doubt.

Here is an excerpt from RawStory:

Up yours, scientists.

That's essentially the message sent by former politician Sarah Palin during a recent speech to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, where she disparaged the work of thousands of the world's top minds to the delight of a large crowd that laughed, clapped and cheered her on the whole way....

....In the midst of describing what she thinks America really needs, Palin belted out a truly amazing run-on sentence: "We should create a competitive climate for investment and for renewables and alternatives that are economical and doable and none of this snake oil science stuff that is based on this global warming, Gore-gate stuff that came down where there was revelation that the scientists, some of these scientists were playing political games."

* From Slate, we have an October 2008 article by Christopher Hitchens about the anti-science stance of then GOP ticket, McCain-Palin:

In an election that has been fought on an astoundingly low cultural and intellectual level, with both candidates pretending that tax cuts can go like peaches and cream with the staggering new levels of federal deficit, and paltry charges being traded in petty ways, and with Joe the Plumber becoming the emblematic stupidity of the campaign, it didn't seem possible that things could go any lower or get any dumber. But they did last Friday, when, at a speech in Pittsburgh, Gov. Sarah Palin denounced wasteful expenditure on fruit-fly research, adding for good xenophobic and anti-elitist measure that some of this research took place "in Paris, France" and winding up with a folksy "I kid you not."

...In this case, it could be argued, Palin was not just being a fool in her own right but was following a demagogic lead set by the man who appointed her as his running mate. Sen. John McCain has made repeated use of an anti-waste and anti-pork ad (several times repeated and elaborated in his increasingly witless speeches) in which the expenditure of $3 million to study the DNA of grizzly bears in Montana was derided as "unbelievable." As an excellent article in the Feb. 8, 2008, Scientific American pointed out, there is no way to enforce the Endangered Species Act without getting some sort of estimate of numbers, and the best way of tracking and tracing the elusive grizzly is by setting up barbed-wire hair-snagging stations that painlessly take samples from the bears as they lumber by and then running the DNA samples through a laboratory....

....This is what the Republican Party has done to us this year: It has placed within reach of the Oval Office a woman who is a religious fanatic and a proud, boastful ignoramus. Those who despise science and learning are not anti-elitist. They are morally and intellectually slothful people who are secretly envious of the educated and the cultured....

Only Hitchens could call someone "...a proud, boastful ignoramus..." and get away with it.

I don't agree with Hitchens on a lot of stuff. I do agree with him when he says that ".....They are morally and intellectually slothful people who are secretly envious of the educated and the cultured...."

Why do Republicans, Sarah Palin, and many conservatives hate science? Do they fear science?
Is it because they don't understand it? Whatever their reasons, they certainly look stupid.

Justice Stevens to Retire

ABC News: Lawyers for President Obama had prepared a short list of potential replacements for Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens long before he officially announced his retirement today....

I am not a lawyer. If President Obama asked for my advice, I'd tell him ---

a. We need someone liberal.
b. We need someone with little/no paper trail.
c. We need a qualified person who is as young as possible.

In The News

* If you missed the Rachel Maddow Show's running of the unedited tape from James O'Keefe, you must still believe what Fox News told you!

Raw Story has the tape and the complete story behind the O'Keefe lies.

....But as Maddow pointed out, in the previously unreleased portion of the video, the employee continues asking very detailed questions about O'Keefe's phone number and the exact time and location of the girls' arrival. "What's this ACORN guy going to do with all that information?" Maddow wondered. "Oh, he calls the police and reports what they've told him is going to be a crime."

According to Jerry Brown's report (pdf), "Immediately after the couple left, Vera telephoned his cousin, Detective Alejandro Hernandez, at the National City Police Department... [and said] that a self-admitted prostitute had been to the office and was discussing human smuggling."

...the unedited tape reveals that the encouraging words came after O'Keefe had told the employee that he and his prostitute girlfriend were having trouble finding a house because she is "in a unique line of work." Her "never give up" meant to keep trying different banks until one said yes...

What a surprise!!!!! Jame O'Keefe edited the tape to smear Acorn!

The headline from Bradblog says it all---

Giles Admits O'Keefe, Breitbart ACORN 'Pimp' Story Was A Lie: 'That Was B-Roll, Purely B-Roll'

** Which political party's candidates get the most contributions from Don Blankenship of Massey Energy (Blankenship is the owner of the mine that recently killed mine workers in West Virginia.)?

Republicans! Why? Republicans tend to overlook little things like violations, worker safety, because they are pro-business (even if pro-business means anti-worker).

An Ohio Republican has received a donation from Blankenship, according to OpenSecrets.org:

BLANKENSHIP, DON WILLIAMSON,WV 25661

MASSEY ENERGY/CEO

6/18/09

$1,000

Portman, Rob (R)

** According to Follow the Money, Jon Husted, over the years, has received quite a lot of campaign money from banks employees, bank PACs, and Bank lobbyists. They must like how he votes.

Spelling Lessons for Tea Party Members

Why are there so many spelling errors on signs at Tea Party rallies???? (I have my own theories.)

DailyKos has a picture from a Teabagger rally that has a sign with the word "Amercia" printed on it.

You have to wonder if these "Amercia" people can prove that they made it through 3rd grade spelling. I am a citizen of the United States of America --- NOT the United States of "Amercia"!!!!!!

The Most Recent Mine Tragedy

It is sad that so many miners continue to lose their lives in coal mines. Apparently, the Massey Energy Co. and Don Blankenship own that mine and it has had a large number of safety violations.

Washington Post

....Massey has frequently been cited for safety violations, including about 50 citations at the Upper Big Branch mine in March alone. Many of those 50 citations were for poor ventilation of dust and methane, failure to maintain proper escape ways, and the accumulation of combustible materials.

The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration cited the mine for 1,342 safety violations from 2005 through Monday for a total of $1.89 million in proposed fines, according to federal records. The company has contested 422 of those violations, totaling $742,830 in proposed penalties, according to federal officials.....

...Blankenship is also a longtime foe of unions, earning the enmity of union leaders. The mine where the accident took place Monday is a nonunion mine....

The union mines have safety requirements that are followed every minute of every single day. Labor unions protect workers and provide them with a safe working area and a livable wage. Perhaps having a union mine would have also saved these lives.

Ohio Voters Are Paying Attention

* The Republican U.S. Senator responsible for not extending unemployment benefits is Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma (see CNN story). You may contact Sen. Coburn at this link.


*** Sounds to me like John Kasich thinks that Ohio voters can't walk and chew gum at the same time. Here is what Kasich had to say when asked about his proposal to end the state income tax.

Cleveland.com:

...Kasich described his style by saying, "I'm not a technocrat. I'm a change agent. And I'm a big change agent. I think about doing things differently."

Asked how a "change agent" would cut government, Kasich demurred. Kasich said he's been working on a plan for a couple of years and has "run a couple of simulations. So we know we can get this done."

But he will not share details now, because Ohioans, he cracked, are distracted by other things. "I will be more specific with you all when we get to the fall and people are not watching the WWF and might want to pay attention," he said....

Does Kasich think that people aren't paying attention to what he does and says? We all know how much Kasich made at Lehman Brothers and how he got that huge $432,200 bonus, as reported by Ohio.com. Sounds to me like Kasich has a very low opinion of the Ohio voter.



Note to Kasich: "WWF" is the World Wildlife Federation. "WWE" is the World Wrestling Entertainment (the name changed in 2002). While you were at Lehman Brothers, the World Wrestling Federation became World Wrestling Entertainment.

If Kasich would be elected and would be able to eliminate the state income tax, all kinds of cuts would have to happen.
From http://www.kasichcuts.com/

For residents of zip code 43214, the Reckless Kasich Cuts in Franklin County would include:

$32,487,086 cut from local police and fire departments, parks, public health and other local services.

$15,619,976 cut from local libraries.

$172,234,247 cuts from local school districts.

$73,348,908 cut Columbus City School District

Ohio voters ARE paying attention and we are aware of how dangerous Kasich's proposals would be for our state and our families.

2012 Speculation?????

Although I've suggested John Kasich presidential ambitions previously, it is interesting to see someone else's perspective on Kasich's possible presidential run.

TIME:


....Romney and Pawlenty have their eyes squarely on the 2012 nomination, with active travel and media schedules and plans to campaign as Republican candidates in the midterms, they are well behind past early starters in establishing presidential operations. John Edwards, for example, launched his aggressive run shortly after Bush won re-election in 2004, heading immediately to first-in-the-nation voting states, planting stakes in Iowa, seeking key endorsements and carving out policy areas like his pet theme of poverty. There has been no comparable activity this cycle, suggesting a certain ambivalence within the potential Republican field. Romney made his first visit to Iowa in March, as part of his book tour, and Pawlenty has barely touched ground in the early battlegrounds.

Meanwhile, the other most talked-about Republican names — Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich — are cannily leaving the door open for a run, but are spending far more time on personal profitmaking enterprises than presidential campaign foundation building. And Republican élites are just as ambivalent about this trio. Palin, Huckabee and Gingrich may boast charisma and obvious appeal, but each are saddled with their own mess of flaws and failings that render them for now decidedly questionable challengers to Obama.

The quiet, intense search for a stronger alternative extends far and wide, and includes four subjects of a recent column — former Florida governor Jeb Bush, incumbent governors Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Mitch Daniels of Indiana, and John Kasich, who is in the midst of his 2010 bid for governor of Ohio. All have thought about running for the White House during their careers, but none have committed to make the 2012 race — yet....

What if Kasich were elected Ohio Governor and yet decides to campaign for President again? How many other people are pushing Kasich to run in 2012. Is Kasich just using his run for governor to further a national campaign?

>>>>>> Kasich must have really been a high rolling Wall Streeter. According to Ohio.com, the former Lehman Brothers director, "....Kasich was paid $614,892, which included a base salary of $182,692 and more than twice that amount in a bonus, $432,200....."

Since I've only held teaching jobs and some hourly pay jobs, I've never had the luxury of getting a bonus. Besides, who gets a bonus of $432,200? That is really over the top?

Right Wing World

We have some information on those letters that were sent out to the 50 governors.

CSMonitor.com:

The man at the center of the Guardians of the free Republics is Texas talk-show host Sam Kennedy – and he's already gotten a Texas radio station in hot water as law enforcement reacted rapidly to what has been construed as a direct threat to all 50 US governors.

Mr. Kennedy "is the focal point of this, these guardians. He was in the mix in setting this whole thing up, and he's up to his eyeballs in this Restore America project," says John Stadtmiller, who runs Republic Broadcasting Network based in Round Rock, Texas, which broadcasts Kennedy's weekly "Take No Prisoners" show. Restore America project, as articulated on the Guardians of the free Republics website, is part screed, part call to action to depose an illegitimate government in favor of restoring the people's "common law."

....The FBI interviewed Kennedy for two hours Friday but did not arrest him, Stadtmiller says. The interview focused on two shows Kennedy did two months ago about the Restore America project, in which Kennedy set a March 31 deadline as the day we "begin to reclaim the continent." The letters mailed to the governors were part of that plan, confirms Stadtmiller....

Where the heck do these people get these crazy ideas?

***Republican millionaire and candidate for Ohio governor, John Kasich, has revealed some information about his income. Business First:

....Kasich’s 2008 tax return showed he had taxable income of $1,145,156 that year. The biggest source was $587,175 from Lehman Brothers where he was managing director of the Columbus office until the New York financial company’s collapse in September 2008. That sum included $182,692 in salary for 2008 and $432,200 in bonuses earned for 2007 but paid on Jan. 31, 2008.

....His other sources of income included $165,719 from speaking engagements, $121,922 in investment income, $77,273 for serving as a director at Invacare Corp. (NYSE:IVC) and Worthington Industries Inc. (NYSE:WOR), $61,538 as a business adviser to Schottenstein Property Group, $45,426 as a presidential fellow at Ohio State University and $28,028 from Barclays Plc, which acquired some of Lehman Brothers’ business lines in 2008.

The tax return showed Kasich paid $463,288 in taxes in 2008, including $365,564 to the federal government. He donated $27,326 to charity....

Kasich had a taxable income of $1,145,156 and gave a paltry $27,326 to charity? I had always heard Kasich was a tightwad, but now there is proof. He gave just over 2% to charity. Wow.

>>>> Those Republicans certainly know how to spend their campaign contributions--- limousines, xxx clubs, and the fancy life. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.