tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-238699692024-03-05T23:10:10.793-06:00We Must Educate OurselvesA nation under a well regulated government, should permit none to remain uninstructed. It is monarchical and aristocratical government only that requires ignorance for its support. --Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1792Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-69633197085577836052016-11-05T09:43:00.002-05:002016-11-05T10:03:42.408-05:00Why Aragorn Is GreenTogeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-35998177589750206402016-11-05T09:43:00.001-05:002016-11-05T10:03:26.060-05:00Why Aragorn is voting Green.<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>** START OF VIGGO MORTENSEN LETTER **<br /><br />Why I am voting for Jill Stein</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
I’ve been scolded by friends and strangers, sometimes mildly and sometimes with disdain, for supporting Jill Stein in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://jillstein.nationbuilder.com/video_donation_page_2?e%3Da302874140880843c7881cc4cbbfa26b%26utm_source%3Djillstein%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Dviggo_b%26n%3D2&source=gmail&ust=1478444314866000&usg=AFQjCNEdkB2zaFRq9JHo-0eWDHkhXYr9bg" href="https://jillstein.nationbuilder.com/video_donation_page_2?e=a302874140880843c7881cc4cbbfa26b&utm_source=jillstein&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=viggo_b&n=2" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><img alt="viggo2a.jpg" class="CToWUd" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgAuHWRf9WnpEjU6wq97_FZ2Hgjowa8PtZZO6oID6J4FlmEa_0rKffuRwkDA2nWVv9-2uwp4nnNkW6Fw_DBk6Z66F5VaLcA7YD6aMvDTYo3HAWEspFcqWZpw_DS0HY40TGV2YWEzGBzqSPfXzpukBWfXNYirWXSzAiCA8ZX1hGpABtAQhhT7ofPL8mrCf_j6ufsuE8Cnz5UfIb2zGdbHmA4cdXm=s0-d-e1-ft" style="float: right; margin: 5px;" title="viggo2a.jpg" width="500" /></a>Some of the attacks I've received publicly and privately have been surprisingly angry and patronizing. I’ve been told that I’m a patsy for Donald Trump, that I’m naïve, misinformed, elitist, ignorant, and worse.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
This has been an unusually carnivalesque election so far, from the primary season through to the “main event”, with a premium on vitriol and mendacity, dominated by a frequently disheartening lack of profundity and objectivity from the mainstream media.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
This is the poorest two-candidate race for the presidency that I have ever witnessed the corporate media/political Establishment attempt to ram down the throats of the U.S. electorate.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>So, why am I voting for Jill Stein?</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
I previously supported Bernie Sanders because he was, on many levels, a welcome voice speaking truth to power, drawing attention to rampant institutional economic inequality, racism, corruption in the electoral system, and the urgent need to address climate change. Like a lot of people, I was disappointed when Sanders lost the Democratic Primary race to Hillary Clinton.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
I hoped at that point that he might join forces with Jill Stein and the Green Party, but he declined that unique opportunity.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
Bernie never spoke to the all-important issues of U.S. economic and military imperialism the way that Jill Stein has consistently done, but he was a credible voice for change in many other areas. He made his choice to get on the Hillary Clinton Democratic Party bandwagon because he appeared to feel that it would be the best way to prevent a Trump presidency.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
I understand and respect his stance, shared by many other well-intentioned and thoughtful people, but I believe it is short-sighted. It is not enough to simply say “I tried, I voted for Bernie in the Democratic Primary, but now I have to get in line behind Hillary.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
The powerful few who control national politics and the mainstream media by virtue of their overwhelming economic advantages are counting on supporters of Bernie Sanders and other political alternatives to now support the two Establishment candidates.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
They are counting on no real change happening in the way this country is run and how average citizens are represented. At some point the system has to be overhauled, and the weeds have to be pulled out by the root. I do not want to reach the end of my life and have to accept that I did not vote my conscience as a citizen when it mattered most.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
Democracy is not a fixed thing; it is an ongoing process that must be nurtured, pruned, and actively encouraged to grow or it will gradually cease to yield meaningful progress.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
Times are changing and people all over this land - especially younger voters, who are the future of our republic's continuing democratic experiment - are awake and paying attention. They did not go to sleep when Bernie Sanders largely gave up the fight for significant change in our political-economic system.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>Like many that supported Bernie, I trust Hillary Clinton about as far as I can throw Donald Trump.</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://jill2016.com/video_donation_page_2&source=gmail&ust=1478444314866000&usg=AFQjCNEjKsRyml84NIzehWMlkpFLwVRdQA" href="http://jill2016.com/video_donation_page_2" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><img alt="Jill_and_Viggo.jpg" class="CToWUd" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjpj4VOtjeJI5Ld17aXFTpXWgv7evaieCWe6D0AT5DfhJ18P-0MOQ5r0EWMOZWd_xWOA4BUE2TUN11PS4yVe3tgUB6mGb7cYxpLoKPR_05QYZ0lVMXgk-pMQ25iBTVsgp6QTlyrclKCNN1l6znlCfj4F2jVw7GI92gy5pBEc_1N8pHHqG-MCf4NsXxNgktUEge_2PHwCMKZ8t4o16Ldqc-JvONhD-SBljXvnQ=s0-d-e1-ft" style="float: right; margin: 5px;" title="Jill_and_Viggo.jpg" width="500" /></a>Jill Stein is the only candidate with a serious plan to halt climate change and switch to 100% renewable energy by 2030.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
She’s the only candidate, now that Sanders is out of the race, with a plan to release students from impossible levels of debt.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
She’s also the only candidate who is talking seriously about Black Lives Matter, institutional racism, and police brutality—and she has realistic and workable plans to address these social problems.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
She is also taking a stand against unexamined military overspending and the irresponsible and often criminal misuse of those who volunteer to serve in our country’s armed forces.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
She eloquently draws attention to the patriots who are forced to fight in illegal, immoral, unnecessary, and unwinnable wars. As she has unflinchingly pointed out, "<em>This results in a multitude of deaths, injuries (both mental and physical) and presents a crisis of conscience situation for many in combat.</em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
<em>Following discharge, veterans are much more likely to commit suicide, become homeless, become dependent on drugs or alcohol, and have significantly higher rates of divorce, spousal and child abuse.</em>”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
Jill Stein knows that these are problems that have not been honestly addressed, and that it is extremely unfair that those willing to give the ultimate sacrifice for their country are not properly supported or taken care of. Unlike Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, she will never deploy troops into unnecessary or illegal combat.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
She cares deeply about our country being truly exemplary - in action and not just in high-sounding words uttered by our political leaders - as a member of the family of nations. For these and other positions that Jill Stein and her running mate Ajamu Baraka hold, <strong>I strongly recommend that voters take the time to have a look at the website <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://jill2016.com&source=gmail&ust=1478444314866000&usg=AFQjCNGqnsOKx2aFrYEKcDWAoQZwkMUQGQ" href="http://jill2016.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">jill2016.com</a> and follow Jill Stein and the Green Party on social media.</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
You may agree or disagree with Jill on some points, but I sincerely believe that you are doing your conscience a disservice if you ignore her well-considered and constructive proposals.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
If you feel, as I do, that the issues that only Jill Stein has the courage and decency to fully address need urgently to be part of the national political discourse during this election and beyond, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://jill2016.com/video_donation_page_2&source=gmail&ust=1478444314866000&usg=AFQjCNEjKsRyml84NIzehWMlkpFLwVRdQA" href="http://jill2016.com/video_donation_page_2" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><strong>please donate now to Jill’s campaign</strong></a> for President.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
Jill's campaign has been hit hard by the Clinton campaign’s fear-mongering, which has seriously driven down donations. You can help push back against these unprincipled attacks by <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://jill2016.com/video_donation_page_2&source=gmail&ust=1478444314867000&usg=AFQjCNEQsaNBIsjTU8XNpoL055C_GZg56Q" href="http://jill2016.com/video_donation_page_2" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><strong>making your defiant contribution today.</strong></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>So, why am I voting for Jill Stein?</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
Because I have done my best to inform myself about the many important issues that face our country, because I am following my conscience as an engaged citizen and a passionate supporter of the democratic process.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
Because now is the time, not later, because <strong>I will not be intimidated</strong> by those who operate out of fear of significant change, because I will not be dissuaded by those who are understandably nervous about thinking long-term, about standing firm in the eternal battle for socio-economic justice and true political freedom in this country.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
Because I am proud to be part of an ongoing, centuries-old democratic experiment that ought to always stand for fairness, compassion, and strength based on common sense and human decency at home and abroad.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>Because there is always hope.</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
Because all we need to do to help it thrive is to embrace it and cultivate it to the best of our abilities in a conscious effort to eliminate the real obstacles to liberty and justice for all.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>Viggo Mortensen</strong><br />
<strong><br /></strong>
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>** END OF VIGGO MORTENSEN LETTER **</strong></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
LeRoy, <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://jill2016.com/video_donation_page_2&source=gmail&ust=1478444314867000&usg=AFQjCNEQsaNBIsjTU8XNpoL055C_GZg56Q" href="http://jill2016.com/video_donation_page_2" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><strong><strong>will you help Jill and donate today</strong><strong>?</strong></strong></a></span></strong> <strong>W</strong><strong>ith only a few days left in the campaign, we urgently need your help to keep getting our message out!</strong></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
As Jill and Ajamu often say, <em>"We can create a new world. </em><em>These goals - these imperatives - are not in our hearts, they're not in our dreams. They’re in our hands.”</em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #223333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
Gloria Mattera<br />
Campaign Chair</div>
Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-9934019243360592002012-09-19T10:54:00.001-05:002012-09-19T10:54:47.234-05:00Michael Lux's The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in America Came to Be -- Thom Hartmann's Independent Thinker Review<div><br />
</div><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/6597-michael-luxs-the-progressive-revolution-how-the-best-in-america-came-to-be--thom-hartmanns-independent-thinker-review">Michael Lux's The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in America Came to Be -- Thom Hartmann's Independent Thinker Review</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Thomas_Paine_rev1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Thomas_Paine_rev1.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">Thom Hartmann's "Independent Thinker" Book of the Month Review</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">It would not be an exaggeration to say that without Thomas Paine there may not have been an American Revolution. At the very least, it may well have been of a substantially different nature and character, and our government may be far more plutocratic than it was designed to be.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">Yet Paine is often absent from broad-brush overviews of the American Revolution, or simply relegated to the title of "pamphleteer."</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">Part of the reason for this is that he wrote "The Age Of Reason," which was a finely-tuned attack on organized religion. After "Common Sense" and "The Rights of Man," two books that were massive best-sellers, "Reason" caused many Americans - then in the midst of a religious revival - to turn against Paine. Thus he died in relative obscurity in New York City, and today even the whereabouts of his body is unknown (an interesting story that Harvey J. Kaye tells well).</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">His critics notwithstanding, Thomas Paine was in many ways the father of modern liberalism, and thus one of the most important of the founders of what both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson referred to as that "liberal" experiment, the United States of America.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">Liberals, after all, founded our nation. They were skeptical of the power of any institution - be it corporate (the Boston Tea Party was an anti-globalization protest against the world's largest transnational corporation, the East India Company), religious (Ben Franklin left Massachusetts for Philadelphia during his childhood in part because they were still hanging witches in the outlying regions), or governmental (the "kingly oppressions" such as the power of a king to make war, referred to by Madison and later quoted by Lincoln). It wasn't FDR who first seriously promoted the progressive income tax in the USA: it was Thomas Paine. It wasn't LBJ who invented anti-poverty programs by introducing Medicare, housing assistance, and food-stamp programs: Thomas Paine proposed versions of all of these. It wasn't Jack Kennedy who first talked seriously about international disarmament: it was Thomas Paine. And Teddy Roosevelt wasn't the first American to talk about the "living wage," or ways that corporate "maximum wage" wink-and-nod agreements could be broken up: it was Thomas Paine. Even Woodrow Wilson's inheritance tax, designed to prevent family empires from taking over our nation, was the idea of Thomas Paine, as was the suggestion for old-age pensions as part of a social safety net known today as Social Security.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">Paine thought that the best way to build a strong democracy was to tax the wealthy to give the poor bootstraps by which they could pull themselves up. He proposed helping out young families with the expense of raising children (a forerunner to our income tax exemptions for children), a fund to provide housing and food for the poor (a forerunner to housing vouchers and food stamps), and a reliable and predictable pension for all workers in their old age (a forerunner to Social Security). He also suggested that all nations should reduce their armaments by 90 percent, to ensure world peace. Summarizing, Paine noted:</div><blockquote style="background-color: white; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 5px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;"><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.5px;">"When it shall be said in any country in the world, my poor are happy; neither ignorance nor distress is to be found among them; my jails are empty of prisoners, my streets of beggars; the aged are not in want, the taxes are not oppressive; the rational world is my friend, because I am the friend of its happiness: when these things can be said, then may that country boast its constitution and its government."</div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">In his marvelous biography of Thomas Paine, Harvey J. Kaye explores all these issues and much, much more. In truth, it's difficult to review this book as if it were merely a biography - it's really one of the very best histories of the Revolutionary Era in print, using Thomas Paine as the pivot point for telling stories that range from well before the Revolutionary War all the way up to the present day.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">Kaye shows how Paine was a powerful influence not only at a national level, but also on the states. He writes about how Thomas Paine helped promote an early draft of the Pennsylvania constitution, wherein "they provided for a one-house legislature, annual elections, voting an office-holding rights for all taxpaying men, and term limits. (The drafters even entertained setting limits to the accumulation of property!)"</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">Later in the book, Kaye notes:</div><blockquote style="background-color: white; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 5px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;"><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.5px;">Observing that Monarchy and aristocracy entail "excess and inequality of taxation" and threw the "great mass of the community ... into poverty and discontent," Paine added the question of class to the brief. "When, in countries that are called civilized, we see age going to the work-house and youth the gallows, something," Paine declared, "must be wrong in the system of government." And he bluntly asked, "Why is that scarcely any are executed but the poor?"</div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">It is positively refreshing to read history from somebody who understands the time and the era. By contrast, Thomas Jefferson's most recent biographer describes him as a hypocrite and implies he was an utopianist fool, and John Adams' biographer reinvents our second president - who tried his best to destroy American democracy with the Alien and Sedition Acts - as a modern and noble pseudo-Republican.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/tjefferson.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/tjefferson.gif" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">But Kaye lays it all bare. Noting that Jefferson well understood the importance of Paine's contribution to Jefferson's anti-Federalist "Republican" movement (now known as The Democratic Party), Kaye notes:</span><br />
<div class="itemFullText"><div class="article_content"><blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 5px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;"><div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.5px;">In the spring of 1791 Jefferson had hailed the first part of <em>Rights of Man</em>. Then serving as secretary of state, he saw in it an antidote to the rise of antirepublican sentiments expressed in writings like <em>Discourses on Davila</em>, a series of newspaper essays penned anonymously by Vice President John Adams warning against the dangers of democratic politics and praising aristocratic governments.</div></blockquote><div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">In the next chapter, Kaye adds:</div><blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 5px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;"><div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.5px;">Outfitted with Paine's arguments, Republican newspaperman attacked the Fderalists for their "monarchical and aristocratic" ambitions and pretensions.</div></blockquote><div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">When Paine was attacked by British conservatives not as a liberal or a democrat, but as a staymaker (it was actually his father who helped make women's undergarments and dresses), Kaye points out that the <em>Aurora</em> - one of the more prominent of the pro-Jefferson anti-Federalist newspapers of the day - published a commentary in December 1792 that said:</div><blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 5px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;"><div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.5px;">It is well enough in England to run down the rights of man [speaking of Paine's book], because the author of those inimitable pamphlets was a staymaker; but in the United States all such proscriptions of certain classes of citizens, or occupations, should be avoided; for liberty will never be safe or durable in a republic till every citizen thinks it as much his duty to take care of the state, as to take care of his family, and until an indifference to any public question shall be considered a public offence.</div></blockquote><div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">After treating the pre-revolutionary, revolutionary, and post-revolutionary eras with extraordinary insight and detail, Kaye shows how Paine's influence continued in America. He chronicles the rise of the "workingmen's movement" through the latter part of the 1700s and early 1800s, leading to the creation in the mid-1830s of the National Trades' Union. "However, the Panic of 1837 devastated the economy and, with it, workers' capacities to organize," Kaye writes. "Still, the worker's ideals and aspirations did not die but persisted in the initiatives of a generation of democratic intellectuals who would continue to draw upon Paine's arguments."</div><div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">By the 1840s, the battles between progressive Democrats citing Paine and conservative Whigs were heating up all over again. A group inspired in part by Paine, the Young Americans, were split in 1845 by debates over Manifest Destiny, but, Kaye notes, "The group's original Painite vision lived on, however, in the labors of the nation's greatest democratic writers, Melville and Whiteman. ...to both, Paine was democracy's first champion."</div><div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">From here, Kaye carries us through the whole arc of the 1800s, up to and through the Wilson administration, Eugene Debs, through the Great Depression, the presidency of FDR, through WWII, and into the Vietnam conflict. At each step along the way, he finds the inspiration of Thomas Paine in the forward progress of Americans who believe in the deepest and most profound principles of democracy and liberty.</div><div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">For example, from the Vietnam era:</div><blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 5px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;"><div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.5px;">SDS members of the early 1960s proudly conceived of themselves as renewing America's revolutionary heritage, with Paine standing at the heart of it. [Todd] Gitlin [SDS President] would recount of a November 1965 antiwar rally: "Carl Oglesby [then president of SDS] stole the show ... by treating the war as the product of an imperial history ... But Oglesby, the son of an Akron Rubber worker, also self-consciously invoked 'our dead revolutionaries' Jefferson and Paine against Lyndon Johnson and [national security adviser] McGeorge Bundy. He romantically sumoned up a once-democratic America against the 'colossus of ... our American corporate system.'"</div><div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.5px;">Even many years later, SDS veterans would have recourse to Paine when recollecting their early activist days and what they were about. In his own memoir, Tom Hayden would write, "The goal of the sixties was, in a sense, the completion of the vision of the early revolutionaries and the abolitionists, for Tom Paine and Frederick Douglass wanted even more than the Bill of Rights or Emancipation Proclamation. True Democrats, they wanted the fulfillment of the American promise."</div></blockquote><div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">Bringing us to the present moment, Kaye points out that modern conservatives are undertaking a massive and well-funded effort to re-write history, characterizing anti-democratic men from the Revolutionary Era as Adams and Hamilton as true champions of democracy, and trying to recast the firebrand revolutionary and liberal Thomas Paine as a conservative. As noted early in the book, they even are stealing lines from Paine, such as Reagan's quoting a Paine line from Common Sense that: "We have it in our power to begin the world over again."</div><div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;">But Kaye won't let them get away with it:</div><blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 5px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;"><div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.5px;">For all their citations of Paine and his lines, conservatives do not - and truly cannot - embrace him and his arguments. Bolstered by capital, firmly in command of the Republican Party, and politically ascendant for a generation, they have initiated and instituted policies and programs that fundamentally contradict Paine's own vision and commitments. They have subordinated the Republic - the res publica, the commonwealth, the public good - to the marketplace and private advantage. They have furthered the interests of corporations and the rich over those of working people, their families, unions, and communities and overseen a concentration of wealth and power that, recalling the Gilded Age, has corrupted and enervated American democratic life and politics. And they have carried on culture wars that have divided the nation and undermined the wall separating church and state. Moreover, they have pursued domestic and foreign policies that have made the nation both less free and less secure politically, economically, environmentally, and militarily. Even as they have spoken of advancing freedom and empowering citizens, they have sought to discharge or at least constrain America's democratic impulse and aspiration. In fact, while poaching lines from Paine, they and their favorite intellectuals have disclosed their real ambitions and affections by once again declaring the "end of history" and promoting the lives of Founders like John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, who n decided contrast to Paine scorned democracy and feared "the people."</div></blockquote><div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 9px;"><em>Thomas Paine and the Promise of America</em> is not only one of the finest biographies of this great Founder ever written, it is also one of the best histories of the United States of America in print.</div></div></div><div class="clr" style="border: none; clear: both; float: none; height: 0px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><div class="itemContentFooter" style="border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; color: #999999; margin: 16px 0px 4px; padding: 4px; text-align: right;"><span class="itemHits" style="background-color: white; float: left; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Read <b>65</b> times</span><div><br />
</div><span class="itemDateModified" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span></div>Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-89068567677650466962012-09-03T16:32:00.001-05:002012-09-03T16:46:03.637-05:00Fact Check: Paul Ryan Exaggerates Marathon Claim : The Two-Way : NPR<br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/09/01/160433290/fact-check-paul-ryan-exaggerates-marathon-claim">Fact Check: Paul Ryan Exaggerates Marathon Claim : The Two-Way : NPR</a>:</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntydt8MhiKtYm8y7AlsuK1JjI1BfEstvpwjRUuWK-wnmZW9ccPiG0HzH-RONSbHMPXLU2dx69EFp08mLjonP4jfDzu_MtwBjMX1QxffpNNxLWez_rRy6zHPesMWoPd-OAih0f/s1600/marathon+ryan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntydt8MhiKtYm8y7AlsuK1JjI1BfEstvpwjRUuWK-wnmZW9ccPiG0HzH-RONSbHMPXLU2dx69EFp08mLjonP4jfDzu_MtwBjMX1QxffpNNxLWez_rRy6zHPesMWoPd-OAih0f/s640/marathon+ryan.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="storylocation linkLocation" id="storytext" style="clear: both; height: 1516px; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden;">
<div style="font-family: georgia, sans-serif; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white; line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, sans-serif; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">Last week, Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan claimed he'd accomplished an athletic feat: He had run a marathon in under three hours. The claim came during an interview on radio host</span><span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </span><a href="http://www.hughhewitt.com/transcripts.aspx?id=58471bcc-8ee5-4740-bcbd-07eaf7c16202" style="line-height: 1.3em; text-decoration: none;">Hugh Hewitt's program</a><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">.</span></span></div>
<blockquote class="edTag" style="border-left-color: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 3px; display: table; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px 35px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white;">"H[ugh] H[ewitt]: Are you still running?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white;">P[aul] R[yan]: Yeah, I hurt a disc in my back, so I don't run marathons anymore. I just run ten miles or yes.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white;">HH: But you did run marathons at some point?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white;">PR: Yeah, but I can't do it anymore, because my back is just not that great.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white;">HH: I've just gotta ask, what's your personal best?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white;">PR: Under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white;">HH: Holy smokes. All right, now you go down to Miami University ...</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white;">PR: I was fast when I was younger, yeah."</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="font-family: georgia, sans-serif; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white;">A "sub-3:00" marathon? <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/08/21/159518903/ryan-takes-his-workout-on-the-road" style="text-decoration: none;">The congressman is known for his athletic prowess</a>, but that's still a blistering pace. According to <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/trainingcalculator/0,7169,s6-238-277-279-0,00.html?totalDist=26.2&totalDist_1=&totalDiscUnits=miles&hrs=02&mins=59&secs=00&displayUnits=miles&x=&y=" style="text-decoration: none;">a nifty calculator</a> on the <em>Runner's World</em> website, in order to complete a marathon in, say, 2:59, the calculator suggests Ryan ran a mile in 5 minutes, 37 seconds on average. Then he'd have to sustain that pace for 26.2 miles.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, sans-serif; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white;">The speed is so fast that <em>Runner's World</em> <a href="http://news.runnersworld.com/2012/08/31/paul-ryan-says-hes-run-sub-300-marathon/" style="text-decoration: none;">checked his claim</a> — and couldn't find it. It did locate one marathon he participated in: "Grandma's Marathon" in Duluth, Minn., on June 23, 1990.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, sans-serif; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white;">He finished in 4 hours, 1 minute and 25 seconds.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, sans-serif; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white;">Friday, a spokesman for Ryan told the magazine the Republican vice presidential candidate has indeed run just one marathon. And, Ryan issued this statement:</span></div>
<blockquote class="edTag" style="border-left-color: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 3px; display: table; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px 35px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white;">"The race was more than 20 years ago, but my brother Tobin — who ran Boston last year — reminds me that he is the owner of the fastest marathon in the family and has never himself ran a sub-three. If I were to do any rounding, it would certainly be to four hours, not three. He gave me a good ribbing over this at dinner tonight."</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="font-family: georgia, sans-serif; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white;">Runners posting on the <em>Runner's World</em> website are outraged: Many are listing their own PR (personal records) with date and marathon name.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, sans-serif; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="color: white;">Incidentally, Ryan's marathon time is a little bit slower than former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the previous GOP vice presidential candidate. <a href="http://www.marathonguide.com/results/browse.cfm?MIDD=1369050821&Gen=B&Begin=63&End=162&Max=203" style="text-decoration: none;">Her marathon personal record is 3:59:36</a>.</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="sub_title" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="color: white;">Runner's World Fact Checks Paul Ryan's Marathon - Turns Out He's Not Faster Than An Endurance Horse, After All</span></div>
<div class="author" style="font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 8px;">
<span style="color: white;">By <a href="http://my.auburnjournal.com/user_profile.html?user_id=4163" style="text-decoration: none;">CanyonRat</a></span></div>
<table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="img_table_story" style="font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 12px 8px 0px; text-align: start; width: 1px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="multi_image_main_container" style="background-color: #efefef; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); height: 247px; width: 382px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 247px; width: 380px;"><td align="center" id="multi_image_main" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; height: 247px; width: 380px;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" id="fullres_img" src="http://my.auburnjournal.com/uploads/inline/1346624796_5785.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: margin 0.1s, box-shadow, z-index;" /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 382px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;"><div id="fullres_credit" style="float: right; font-size: 9px; margin-top: 5px;">
</div>
<div style="clear: both;">
</div>
<div id="fullres_caption" style="font-size: 11px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="color: white;">Not impressed. How fast did you claim you ran that marathon, again ? Paul Ryan caught fibbing by Runner's World.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;"><table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" id="multi_image_list"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center" style="font-size: 12px;"><div class="thumb_img_container">
<br /></div>
</td><td align="center" style="font-size: 12px;"><div class="thumb_img_container">
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center" style="margin: 7px 0px;">
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="story_content" style="font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="color: white;">Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan made the startling claim in a radio interview with Hugh Hewitt that he had run a sub 3 hour marathon. About a 2:50 "something." Works out to 6 minute and 48 seconds per mile.</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;">Not only would this have put him in the elite class of human runners, it would have made him faster than a lot of Tevis endurance race horses, which average about 7 to 8 minutes per mile, for the winning times, and at the slower rate of about 4.5 mph if they want to complete the race for the buckle.</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;">Runner's World magazine took it upon themselves to fact check Paul Ryan's time claim for the marathon he supposedly competed in, searched 11 years of records, and found that there was exactly one recorded instance of a Paul D. Ryan finishing the 1990 Grandma's Marathon of Duluth, Minnesota, in 1990, with a time of ....</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;">• 4 hours, 1 minute, and 25 seconds.</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;">That means that the runner is traveling at the much more pedestrian rate of ... 9 minutes per mile.</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;">By comparison, this year's Olympic marathon winner, Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda, ran the race in 2 hours, 8 minutes, and 1 second, which rounds off to one mile ticked off every....</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">... 4.88 minutes</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;">At first, in response to Runner's World, a spokesperson for the Romney- Ryan campaign said "His comments on the show were to the best of his recollection."</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;">Many of the comments at Runner's World were along the lines of this: "How could anyone NOT remember the details of their personal best like that ?" and "If you are a runner, the fastest way to lose your credibility among other runners, is to lie about your times."</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;">Ryan finally issued a correction for himself, after the media outcry.</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;">This follows the series of fact checks that were done following Ryan's now notorious RNC Convention speech in Tampa, where Ryan made claims that were not true about many things, such as:</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;">1. The closure of the General Motors plant in Janesville, implying it happened under this administration. (Shut down in 2008, when Bush was President.)</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;">2. Medicare. (Ryan's own budget called for drastic Medicare cuts).</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;">3. Deficit. (Bush era tax cuts, Bush era foreign wars, and Bush era not putting the war funding IN the budgets, instead doing it on a contingency appropriations basis as a gimmick, to hide the fact that the wars were done on credit.) Ryan voted for those tax cuts and those wars.</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;">4. Safety Net - Ryan quote - "The truest measure of any society is how it treats those who cannot defend or care for themselves...." (Ryan budget performs 62% of its cuts to programs that benefit the people with the lowest incomes, such the working poor, and elderly poor nursing home patients who are on Medicaid. )</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;">5. The world Credit Rating Downgrade, dished out by Standard & Poor. The Republican party threatened to shut down the Federal government on this issue of raising the debt ceiling, which also would have caused a default. You can't complain about debt, while voting to decrease government revenues (refusing to restore tax rates from Clinton era which did balance the budget) at the same time. If you perform a draconian cut to domestic programs, as was proposed by Ryan's Roadmap, you perform a draconian cut to consumer demand that is supposed to raise the GDP.</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;">Ryan, to the best of the nation's recollection, can't remember what he's been doing in Congress for the past dozen years, if that is the same Paul Ryan who was giving the speech in Tampa. It's so bad, even the athletic and health worlds are noticing.</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><span style="color: white;">With 65 days to go before Tues, November 6th, if Paul Ryan told a lie every 2 hours and 50 minutes during the working day, that would be 208 lies, or "loss of recollections" before the election. Followed by the need to clarify the record 208 times, or issue another denial, and dig in further. Talk about a marathon... He's buff, he's tough, he's off the cuff, puffed and guffed. The Romney campaign will somehow have to reduce this to a more acceptable rate, (and forbid anyone from lighting a match anywhere nearby) while at the same time proposing more tax cuts.... good luck with that split !</span></div>
</div>
</div>
Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-64494026748334355402012-07-18T13:39:00.001-05:002012-07-18T13:42:05.993-05:00Romney continues to purposefully misquote Obama - Green Bay liberal | Examiner.com<a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/romney-continues-to-purposefully-misquote-obama">Romney continues to purposefully misquote Obama - Green Bay liberal | Examiner.com</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The Actual Quote:<br /><i>If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. <strong>Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own.</strong> Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.<br />The point is, is that when we succeed, <strong>we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together."</strong></i></blockquote>Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-62693016183487972402012-06-09T08:27:00.002-05:002012-06-09T08:32:43.204-05:00George Washington's Farewell Speech: A Warning About the Two Party System<div class="module question_answer_detail answer" style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; word-wrap: break-word;">
<div class="frame" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">
<div class="contents" id="answerContainer" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">
<div class="answer_text" id="editorText" style="margin: 0px; padding: 22px 0px 0px 1px; word-wrap: break-word;">
<div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; padding: 1em 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: large;">Source: The Independent Chronicle, September 26, 1796 </span></div>
<div style="padding: 1em 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 15px;"><img src="http://www.traditioninaction.org/History/HistImages/B_007_LayCornerstone1.jpg" /> 19</span><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15px;"> Towards the preservation of your government, and the permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles, however specious the pretexts. One method of assault may be to effect, in the forms of the constitution, alterations, which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments, as of other human institutions; that experience is the surest standard, by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution of a country; that facility in changes, upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion; and remember, especially, that, for the efficient management of our common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty is indispensable. Liberty itself will find in such a government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name, where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine each member of the society within the limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and property. </span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15px;">20 I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discrimination's. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally. </span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15px;">21 This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy. </span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15px;">22 The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty. </span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15px;">23 Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind, (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight,) the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. </span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15px;">24 It serves always to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration. It agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which find a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another. </span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15px;">25 There is an opinion, that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the Government, and serve to keep alive the spirit of Liberty. This within certain limits is probably true; and in Governments of a Monarchical cast, Patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of the popular character, in Governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutary purpose. And, there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be, by force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume.</span><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-82021582551106124702012-05-28T10:01:00.001-05:002012-05-28T10:01:14.809-05:00Bill Maher Takes a Shot at the Birthers With Parody on Romney's 'Wiferism' Scandal<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab" height="336" id="+id+" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://embed.crooksandliars.com/v/MjQ1MTgtNTc5NDM?color=c93033" />
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
</param>
<param name="quality" value="high" />
<param name="wmode" value="transparent" />
<param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" />
<embed src="http://embed.crooksandliars.com/v/MjQ1MTgtNTc5NDM?color=c93033" quality="high" wmode="transparent" width="400" height="336" allowfullscreen="true" name="clembedMjQ1MTgtNTc5NDM" align="middle" quality="high" allowScriptAccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></object><br />
Bill Maher did his best with this parody on Mitt Romney's Mormon church and their history of polygamy to take a shot at the crazy Republican birthers who were still out there this week pretending they are not fully aware that President Obama is a citizen of the United States.Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-5771715243187990262012-02-09T12:37:00.000-06:002012-02-09T13:43:26.100-06:00<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<table class="contentpaneopen" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px;" valign="top"><div class="lyftenbloggie" id="lyftenbloggie" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<div class="blogcontent entry" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<div class="section" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(231, 231, 231); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; clear: both; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 10px;">
<h1 class="entry-title contentheading" style="color: #658fa7; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
The Dog That Cornered Osama Bin Laden</h1>
<div class="entry-subtitle" style="line-height: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Posted by <a href="http://www.ocpetcompanions.com/community-connections/blog/authors/63.html" style="color: #658fa7; text-decoration: none;">Ruth Ann</a> <span class="sep">/</span> <a href="http://www.ocpetcompanions.com/community-connections/blog/2011/08/15/4-the-dog-that-cornered-osama-bin-laden.html?task=trackback" rel="trackback" style="color: #658fa7; text-decoration: none;">Trackback</a> <span class="sep">/</span> August 15, 2011 <span class="sep">/</span> in <span class="catpost"><a href="http://www.ocpetcompanions.com/community-connections/blog/bloggies.html" rel="category" style="color: #658fa7; line-height: normal; padding-bottom: 2px; text-decoration: none;" title="View all posts in Bloggies">Bloggies</a></span></div>
<div class="right" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 15px;">
<a href="http://www.blinklist.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #658fa7; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Blinklist!"><img alt="Blinklist!" src="http://www.ocpetcompanions.com/components/com_lyftenbloggie/addons/themes/system/images/bookmarks/blinklist.png" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-property: margin, box-shadow, z-index; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 6px;" title="Blinklist!" /></a><a href="http://blogmarks.net/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #658fa7; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Blogmarks!"><img alt="Blogmarks!" src="http://www.ocpetcompanions.com/components/com_lyftenbloggie/addons/themes/system/images/bookmarks/blogmarks.png" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-property: margin, box-shadow, z-index; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 6px;" title="Blogmarks!" /></a><a href="http://www.blinkbits.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #658fa7; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="BlinkBits!"><img alt="BlinkBits!" src="http://www.ocpetcompanions.com/components/com_lyftenbloggie/addons/themes/system/images/bookmarks/blinkbits.png" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-property: margin, box-shadow, z-index; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 6px;" title="BlinkBits!" /></a><a href="http://faves.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #658fa7; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Ask!"><img alt="Ask!" src="http://www.ocpetcompanions.com/components/com_lyftenbloggie/addons/themes/system/images/bookmarks/ask.png" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-property: margin, box-shadow, z-index; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 6px;" title="Ask!" /></a></div>
<ul class="entry-options" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-size: 11px; height: 26px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li class="entry-options-comments" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://www.ocpetcompanions.com/components/com_lyftenbloggie/addons/themes/default/images/icon-comments.png); background-origin: initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: initial; display: block; float: left; height: 16px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 4px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 22px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong>0</strong> Comments</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="post-content" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Dog That Cornered Osama Bin Laden</span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<strong>When U.S. President Barack Obama went to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, last week for a highly publicized, but very private meeting with the commando team that killed Osama bin Laden, only one of the 81 members of the super-secret SEAL DevGru unit was identified by name: Cairo, the war dog.</strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>Cairo, like most canine members of the elite U.S. Navy SEALs, is a Belgian Malinois. The Malinois breed is similar to German shepherds but smaller and more compact, with an adult male weighing in the 30-kilo range.</strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<strong><img alt="1st_dog" height="357" src="http://ocpetcompanions.com/images/stories/k9_military_dog/1st_dog.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-property: margin, box-shadow, z-index; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="500" /></strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>(German shepherds are still used as war dogs by the American military but the lighter, stubbier Malinois is considered better for the tandem parachute jumping and rappelling operations often undertaken by SEAL teams. Labrador retrievers are also favoured by various military organizations around the world.)</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong><img alt="2nd_dog" height="500" src="http://ocpetcompanions.com/images/stories/k9_military_dog/2nd_dog.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-property: margin, box-shadow, z-index; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="325" /></strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong><img alt="3rd_dog" height="416" src="http://ocpetcompanions.com/images/stories/k9_military_dog/3rd_dog.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-property: margin, box-shadow, z-index; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="500" /></strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>Like their human counterparts, the dog SEALs are highly trained, highly skilled, highly motivated special ops experts, able to perform extraordinary military missions by SEa, Air and Land (thus the acronym).</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>The dogs carry out a wide range of specialized duties for the military teams to which they are attached: With a sense of smell 40 times greater than a human’s, the dogs are trained to detect and identify both explosive material and hostile or hiding humans.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>The dogs are twice as fast as a fit human, so anyone trying to escape is not likely to outrun Cairoor his buddies.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<img alt="4th_dog" height="345" src="http://ocpetcompanions.com/images/stories/k9_military_dog/4th_dog.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-property: margin, box-shadow, z-index; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="500" /></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>The dogs, equipped with video cameras, also enter certain danger zones first, allowing their handlers to see what’s ahead before humans follow.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>As I mentioned before, SEAL dogs are even trained parachutists, jumping either in tandem with their handlers or solo, if the jump is into water.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>Last year canine parachute instructor Mike Forsythe and his dog Cara set the world record for highest man-dog parachute deployment, jumping from more than 30,100 feet up — the altitude transoceanic passenger jets fly at. Both Forsythe and Cara were wearing oxygen masks and skin protectors for the jump.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>Here’s a photo from that jump, taken by Andy Anderson for K9 Storm Inc. (more about those folks shortly).</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong><img alt="5th_dog" height="355" src="http://ocpetcompanions.com/images/stories/k9_military_dog/5th_dog.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-property: margin, box-shadow, z-index; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="500" /></strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>As well, the dogs are faithful, fearless and ferocious — incredibly frightening and efficient attackers.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>I have seen it reported repeatedly that the teeth of SEAL war dogs are replaced with titanium implants that are stronger, sharper and scare-your-pants-off intimidating, but a U.S. Military spokesman has denied that charge, so I really don’t know (never having seen a canine SEAL face-to-face). I do know that I’ve never seen a photo of a war dog with anything even vaguely resembling a set of shiny metal chompers.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>When the SEAL DevGru team (usually known by its old designation, Team 6) hit bin Laden’sPakistan compound on May 2, Cairo’s feet would have been four of the first on the ground.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>And like the human SEALs, Cairo was wearing super-strong, flexible body Armour and outfitted with high-tech equipment that included “doggles” — specially designed and fitted dog googles with night-vision and infrared capability that would even allow Cairo to see human heat forms through concrete walls.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>Now where on earth would anyone get that kind of incredibly niche hi-tech doggie gear?</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>From Winnipeg, of all places.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>Jim and Glori Slater’s Manitoba hi-tech mom-and-pop business, K9 Storm Inc., has a deserved worldwide reputation for designing and manufacturing probably the best body Armour available for police and military dogs. Working dogs in 15 countries around the world are currently protected by their K9 Storm body Armour.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<img alt="6th_dog" height="354" src="http://ocpetcompanions.com/images/stories/k9_military_dog/6th_dog.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-property: margin, box-shadow, z-index; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="500" /></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>Jim Slater was a canine handler on the Winnipeg Police Force when he crafted a Kevlar protective jacket for his own dog, Olaf, in the mid-1990s. Soon Slater was making body Armour for other cop dogs, then the Canadian military and soon the world.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>The standard K9 Storm vest also has a load-bearing harness system that makes it ideal for tandem rappelling and parachuting.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<img alt="7th_dog" height="500" src="http://ocpetcompanions.com/images/stories/k9_military_dog/7th_dog.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-property: margin, box-shadow, z-index; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="351" /></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>And then there are the special hi-tech add-ons that made the K9 Storm especially appealing to the U.S. Navy SEALs, who bought four of K9 Storm Inc.’s top-end Intruder “canine tactical assault suits” last year for $86,000. You can be sure Cairo was wearing one of those four suits when he jumped into bin Laden’s lair.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>Here’s an explanation of all the K9 Storm Intruder special features:</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<img alt="8th_dog" height="485" src="http://ocpetcompanions.com/images/stories/k9_military_dog/8th_dog.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-property: margin, box-shadow, z-index; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="500" /></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>Just as the Navy SEALS and other elite special forces are the sharp point of the American military machine, so too are their dogs at the top of a canine military heirarchy.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>In all, the U.S. military currently has about 2,800 active-duty dogs deployed around the world, with roughly 600 now in Afghanistan and Iraq.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>Here’s the </strong><a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/05/04/war_dog?page=0,0" style="color: #658fa7; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/05/04/war_dog?page=0,0"><strong>link to a dandy photo essay about U.S. war dogs</strong></a><strong> that just appeared in the journal Foreign Policy.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>Several of the photos I have included here are from Foreign Policy, as you will see. Other photos are from K9 Storm Inc.</strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong><img alt="10th_dog" height="334" src="http://ocpetcompanions.com/images/stories/k9_military_dog/10th_dog.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-property: margin, box-shadow, z-index; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="500" /></strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong><img alt="11th_dog" height="334" src="http://ocpetcompanions.com/images/stories/k9_military_dog/11th_dog.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-property: margin, box-shadow, z-index; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="500" /></strong></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<a href="http://storage.canoe.ca/v1/blogs-prod-photos/b/4/3/8/e/b438e32816ea6f6178dbcad936a9ff78.jpg?stmp=1305237541" style="color: #658fa7; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="http://storage.canoe.ca/v1/blogs-prod-photos/b/4/3/8/e/b438e32816ea6f6178dbcad936a9ff78.jpg?stmp=1305237541"></a></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong>As for the ethics of sending dogs to war, that’s pretty much a moot point, don’t you think? If it’s ethical to send humans into combat, then why not dogs?</strong></div>
<strong>At least the U.S. now treats its war dogs as full members of the military. At the end of the Vietnam War, the U.S. combat dogs there were designated as “surplus military equipment” and left behind when American forces pulled out.</strong></div>
</div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-45001621857097839592011-10-04T17:36:00.000-05:002011-10-04T17:36:51.061-05:00Texas...a failed conservative experiment - Baltimore Nonpartisan | Examiner.com<a href="http://www.examiner.com/nonpartisan-in-baltimore/texas-a-failed-conservative-experiment">Texas...a failed conservative experiment - Baltimore Nonpartisan | Examiner.com</a>: <br><br><a style="font-size:13px" href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk">'via Blog this'</a><br />Average Teacher Salary as a % of Avg Annual Pay = 49th<br /><br />Current Expenditures Per Student = 44th<br /><br />State Aid Per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance = 47th<br /><br />% of Elementary/Secondary…Funding from State Revenue = 47th<br /><br />% of Population 25 and Older With a [HS] Diploma = 50th<br /><br />High School Graduation Rate = 41st<br /><br />Enrollment Rates in Higher Education = 39th<br /><br />Per Capita State Spending on State Arts Agencies = 47th<br /><br />Percentage of Uninsured Children = 1st<br /><br />Percentage of Children Living in Poverty = 7th<br /><br />Percentage of Children Fully Immunized = 36th<br /><br />Percentage of Children Overweight = 5th<br /><br />Teenage Birth Rate = 1st<br /><br />Percentage of Non-Elderly Women with Health Insurance = 50th<br /><br />Rate of Women Aged 40+ Who Receive Mammograms = 42nd<br /><br />Rate of Women Aged 18+ Who Receive Pap Smears = 46th<br /><br />Cervical Cancer Rate = 6th<br /><br />Family Planning = 45th<br /><br />Women’s Voter Turnout = 49th<br /><br />Percent of Mortgage Loans that are Sub prime = 8th<br /><br />Percent of Households with Interest-Bearing Accounts = 41st<br /><br />Private Loans to Small Businesses = 43rd<br /><br />Level of Asset Poverty = 43rd<br /><br />Amount of Money that Banks Located in the State Collect through Deposits in Relation to the Amount of Money the Banks Re-channel Back into Communities Through Loans = 45th<br /><br />Average Credit Score = 50th<br /><br />Percentage of Women Living in Poverty = 3rd<br />Air Pollution Emissions = 1st<br /><br />Amount of [VOC's] Released into Air = 1st<br /><br />Amount of Toxic Chemicals Released into Water = 1st<br /><br />Amount of Recognized Cancer-Causing Carcinogens Released into Air = 1st<br /><br />Amount of Hazardous Waste Generated = 2nd<br /><br />Amount of Carbon Dioxide Emissions = 1st<br /><br />Richest 20% of families have avg incomes 7.9 larger than poorest 20% and 2.8 times larer than middle 20%<br /><br />From the late 1980s to the mid-2000s, the avg income of the poorest 20% has increased $2,657…the middle 20% has increased $4,528.<br /><br />…the average income of the richest 20% increased $32,813 [in that 20 year span]<br />A 2002 report found that 86% of nursing homes in Texas did not meet federal standards governing quality of care, 94% of nursing homes did not meet minimum staffing levels, and 39% of facilities had a violation that caused actual harm to nursing home residents or placed them at risk for death or serious injury.<br /><br />The average nursing home in Texas provided just 21 minutes of daily care by registered nurses for each resident, or less than half of the minimum required by federal standards.<br />Percentage of Population Uninsured = 1st<br /><br />Percentage of Non-Elderly Uninsured = 1st<br /><br />Percentage of Low Income Covered by Medicaid = 42nd<br /><br />Percentage…with employer Based Health Insurance = 46th<br /><br />Total State Government Health Expenditures as Percent of the GSP = 33rd<br /><br />Per Capita State Spending on Mental Health = 48th<br /><br />Percentage of Population Physically Active = 41st<br /><br />Physicians – 43rd<br /><br />Dentists = 42nd<br /><br />Registered Nurses = 43rd<br /><br />2005, the birth rate for ages 15-19 was 61.6 per 1000, compared to 40.5 in the U.S.<br /><br />2001 statewide survey of Texas high school students, almost half had engaged in sexual intercourse at least once. (37.4% of 9th graders)<br /><br />Among currently sexually active students, only about half reported that they or their partner had used a condom…Only 10% reported that they or their partner used birth control pills.<br /><br />22.6% of sexually active students had used drugs or alcohol at the time of their last sexual intercourse.<br /><br />http://www.examiner.com/nonpartisan-in-baltimore/texas-a-failed-conservative-experimentTogeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-87156217994025771932011-09-24T13:39:00.001-05:002011-09-24T13:39:58.243-05:00A Friend On the Liberal Gun Club Board Inspired me to Find this.<img src="http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/8361/gadsdenteabagflag.png" />Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-5273425279285053992011-09-19T14:56:00.000-05:002011-09-19T14:56:11.305-05:00Rick Perry’s newbie mistake on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - The Fact Checker - The Washington Post<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/rick-perrys-newbie-mistake-on-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict/2011/09/16/gIQAvIHKYK_blog.html">Rick Perry’s newbie mistake on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - The Fact Checker - The Washington Post</a>:<br /><div><img src="http://images.picturesdepot.com/photo/h/homer_simpson_doh-11214.jpg" />"As part of the 1993 Oslo accords, in an exchange of letters between then Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the Palestine Liberation Organization met all of these conditions nearly 20 years ago. The letters are posted on the Web site of the Israeli Foreign Ministry."<br /><br /><a style="font-size:13px" href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk">'via Blog this'</a></div>Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-37689309464434207682011-09-18T23:45:00.000-05:002011-09-18T23:48:50.754-05:00Andrew Breitbart Incites Violence Against Liberals, Says Military Will Back The Tea Party Up | Addicting Info<a href="http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/09/18/andrew-breitbart-incites-violence-against-liberals-says-military-will-back-the-tea-party-up/">Andrew Breitbart Incites Violence Against Liberals, Says Military Will Back The Tea Party Up | Addicting Info</a><br />
<br />
<div>
Dullbart doesn't realize that Progressive follow Teddy Roosevelt's advice: "Speak softly and carry a Big Stick."<br />
Tea Party favorite Andrew Breitbartz told a conservative audience in Massachusetts that conservatives outnumber liberals and have most of the guns. He also claimed that the military is ready to take action against liberals if violence ever erupted between liberals and conservatives.</div>
<div>
<div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LHslkhZWzUQ" width="420"></iframe><br />
"If this isn’t proof that conservatives want a civil war, I don’t know what is. This is a call for violence, pure and simple, and an investigation should be opened immediately. If Breitbart is telling the truth about military officials backing up the Tea Party, they should be investigated and tried for treason. And Breitbart should be questioned by federal authorities as well. This is a serious threat that Breitbart is making and it should concern all liberals. The right wing wants to kill liberals. They want a civil war. Look for this kind of threat to increase as the 2012 Election nears. The Party that cheers for executions and the deaths of the uninsured are fantasizing, and probably are planning, to kill the opposition to grab absolute power." --Stephen D. Foster Jr.</div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-35806322720809012022011-09-11T20:22:00.001-05:002011-09-11T20:37:41.310-05:00Thoughts in the Presence of Fear | Wendell Berry | Orion Magazine<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: cyan; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/214">Thoughts in the Presence of Fear | Wendell Berry | Orion Magazine</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<br />
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
I. The time will soon come when we will not be able to remember the horrors of September 11 without remembering also the unquestioning technological and economic optimism that ended on that day.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
II. This optimism rested on the proposition that we were living in a “new world order” and a “new economy” that would “grow” on and on, bringing a prosperity of which every new increment would be “unprecedented”.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
III. The dominant politicians, corporate officers, and investors who believed this proposition did not acknowledge that the prosperity was limited to a tiny percent of the world’s people, and to an ever smaller number of people even in the United States; that it was founded upon the oppressive labor of poor people all over the world; and that its ecological costs increasingly threatened all life, including the lives of the supposedly prosperous.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
IV. The “developed” nations had given to the “free market” the status of a god, and were sacrificing to it their farmers, farmlands, and communities, their forests, wetlands, and prairies, their ecosystems and watersheds. They had accepted universal pollution and global warming as normal costs of doing business.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
V. There was, as a consequence, a growing worldwide effort on behalf of economic decentralization, economic justice, and ecological responsibility. We must recognize that the events of September 11 make this effort more necessary than ever. We citizens of the industrial countries must continue the labor of self-criticism and self-correction. We must recognize our mistakes.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
VI. The paramount doctrine of the economic and technological euphoria of recent decades has been that everything depends on innovation. It was understood as desirable, and even necessary, that we should go on and on from one technological innovation to the next, which would cause the economy to “grow” and make everything better and better. This of course implied at every point a hatred of the past, of all things inherited and free. All things superseded in our progress of innovations, whatever their value might have been, were discounted as of no value at all.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
VII. We did not anticipate anything like what has now happened. We did not foresee that all our sequence of innovations might be at once overridden by a greater one: the invention of a new kind of war that would turn our previous innovations against us, discovering and exploiting the debits and the dangers that we had ignored. We never considered the possibility that we might be trapped in the webwork of communication and transport that was supposed to make us free.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
VIII. Nor did we foresee that the weaponry and the war science that we marketed and taught to the world would become available, not just to recognized national governments, which possess so uncannily the power to legitimate large-scale violence, but also to “rogue nations”, dissident or fanatical groups and individuals - whose violence, though never worse than that of nations, is judged by the nations to be illegitimate.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
IX. We had accepted uncritically the belief that technology is only good; that it cannot serve evil as well as good; that it cannot serve our enemies as well as ourselves; that it cannot be used to destroy what is good, including our homelands and our lives.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
X. We had accepted too the corollary belief that an economy (either as a money economy or as a life-support system) that is global in extent, technologically complex, and centralized is invulnerable to terrorism, sabotage, or war, and that it is protectable by “national defense”</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XI. We now have a clear, inescapable choice that we must make. We can continue to promote a global economic system of unlimited “free trade” among corporations, held together by long and highly vulnerable lines of communication and supply, but now recognizing that such a system will have to be protected by a hugely expensive police force that will be worldwide, whether maintained by one nation or several or all, and that such a police force will be effective precisely to the extent that it oversways the freedom and privacy of the citizens of every nation.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XII. Or we can promote a decentralized world economy which would have the aim of assuring to every nation and region a local self-sufficiency in life-supporting goods. This would not eliminate international trade, but it would tend toward a trade in surpluses after local needs had been met.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XIII. One of the gravest dangers to us now, second only to further terrorist attacks against our people, is that we will attempt to go on as before with the corporate program of global “free trade”, whatever the cost in freedom and civil rights, without self-questioning or self-criticism or public debate.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XIV. This is why the substitution of rhetoric for thought, always a temptation in a national crisis, must be resisted by officials and citizens alike. It is hard for ordinary citizens to know what is actually happening in Washington in a time of such great trouble; for all we know, serious and difficult thought may be taking place there. But the talk that we are hearing from politicians, bureaucrats, and commentators has so far tended to reduce the complex problems now facing us to issues of unity, security, normality, and retaliation.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XV. National self-righteousness, like personal self-righteousness, is a mistake. It is misleading. It is a sign of weakness. Any war that we may make now against terrorism will come as a new installment in a history of war in which we have fully participated. We are not innocent of making war against civilian populations. The modern doctrine of such warfare was set forth and enacted by General William Tecumseh Sherman, who held that a civilian population could be declared guilty and rightly subjected to military punishment. We have never repudiated that doctrine.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XVI. It is a mistake also - as events since September 11 have shown - to suppose that a government can promote and participate in a global economy and at the same time act exclusively in its own interest by abrogating its international treaties and standing apart from international cooperation on moral issues.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XVII. And surely, in our country, under our Constitution, it is a fundamental error to suppose that any crisis or emergency can justify any form of political oppression. Since September 11, far too many public voices have presumed to “speak for us” in saying that Americans will gladly accept a reduction of freedom in exchange for greater “security”. Some would, maybe. But some others would accept a reduction in security (and in global trade) far more willingly than they would accept any abridgement of our Constitutional rights.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XVIII. In a time such as this, when we have been seriously and most cruelly hurt by those who hate us, and when we must consider ourselves to be gravely threatened by those same people, it is hard to speak of the ways of peace and to remember that Christ enjoined us to love our enemies, but this is no less necessary for being difficult.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XIX. Even now we dare not forget that since the attack of Pearl Harbor - to which the present attack has been often and not usefully compared - we humans have suffered an almost uninterrupted sequence of wars, none of which has brought peace or made us more peaceable.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XX. The aim and result of war necessarily is not peace but victory, and any victory won by violence necessarily justifies the violence that won it and leads to further violence. If we are serious about innovation, must we not conclude that we need something new to replace our perpetual “war to end war?”</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XXI. What leads to peace is not violence but peaceableness, which is not passivity, but an alert, informed, practiced, and active state of being. We should recognize that while we have extravagantly subsidized the means of war, we have almost totally neglected the ways of peaceableness. We have, for example, several national military academies, but not one peace academy. We have ignored the teachings and the examples of Christ, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and other peaceable leaders. And here we have an inescapable duty to notice also that war is profitable, whereas the means of peaceableness, being cheap or free, make no money.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XXII. The key to peaceableness is continuous practice. It is wrong to suppose that we can exploit and impoverish the poorer countries, while arming them and instructing them in the newest means of war, and then reasonably expect them to be peaceable.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XXIII. We must not again allow public emotion or the public media to caricature our enemies. If our enemies are now to be some nations of Islam, then we should undertake to know those enemies. Our schools should begin to teach the histories, cultures, arts, and language of the Islamic nations. And our leaders should have the humility and the wisdom to ask the reasons some of those people have for hating us.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XXIV. Starting with the economies of food and farming, we should promote at home, and encourage abroad, the ideal of local self-sufficiency. We should recognize that this is the surest, the safest, and the cheapest way for the world to live. We should not countenance the loss or destruction of any local capacity to produce necessary goods</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XXV. We should reconsider and renew and extend our efforts to protect the natural foundations of the human economy: soil, water, and air. We should protect every intact ecosystem and watershed that we have left, and begin restoration of those that have been damaged.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XXVI. The complexity of our present trouble suggests as never before that we need to change our present concept of education. Education is not properly an industry, and its proper use is not to serve industries, either by job-training or by industry-subsidized research. It’s proper use is to enable citizens to live lives that are economically, politically, socially, and culturally responsible. This cannot be done by gathering or “accessing” what we now call “information” - which is to say facts without context and therefore without priority. A proper education enables young people to put their lives in order, which means knowing what things are more important than other things; it means putting first things first.</h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></h1>
<h1 style="font: normal normal normal 1.8em/normal 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
XXVII. The first thing we must begin to teach our children (and learn ourselves) is that we cannot spend and consume endlessly. We have got to learn to save and conserve. We do need a “new economy”, but one that is founded on thrift and care, on saving and conserving, not on excess and waste. An economy based on waste is inherently and hopelessly violent, and war is its inevitable by-product. We need a peaceable economy.</h1>
</span></h1>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-transform: uppercase;">
</span></span>Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-43093427437341230472011-09-09T09:16:00.000-05:002011-09-09T09:16:12.043-05:00We Must Stop Eating The Seed Corn!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-OpvbMZOAZ5xN59PNX6mECTFXnIhOvplKHXUAORWvGa-0M5yl9WYPsAUJimorJ36FfEYeCPiD79EOZojeTkAzlD2Hjsa9s1zJ7Y05yo5UcXU0oO92QqHdvCNAp8SRUyPP9IHFrA/s1600/thomas_paine1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-OpvbMZOAZ5xN59PNX6mECTFXnIhOvplKHXUAORWvGa-0M5yl9WYPsAUJimorJ36FfEYeCPiD79EOZojeTkAzlD2Hjsa9s1zJ7Y05yo5UcXU0oO92QqHdvCNAp8SRUyPP9IHFrA/s320/thomas_paine1.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">
"As parents, we can have no joy, knowing that this government is not sufficiently lasting to ensure any thing which we may bequeath to posterity: And by a plain method of argument, as we are running the next generation into debt, we ought to do the work of it, otherwise we use them meanly and pitifully. In order to discover the line of our duty rightly, we should take our children in our hand, and fix our station a few years farther into life; that eminence will present a prospect, which a few present fears and prejudices conceal from our sight." --Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776</div>
Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-75877723155590930372011-03-02T17:49:00.001-06:002011-03-02T17:57:39.904-06:00A Fierce Debate on the Budget<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 28px;"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif;"><strong>Don't Surrender on Budget Priorities</strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<img alt="" height="193" src="http://sanders.enews.senate.gov//images/user_images/b30211.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px;" width="400" /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Congress is in the midst of a fierce debate on the budget. In a Senate floor speech today, Bernie said it is absurd to provide tax breaks for millionaires while balancing the budget on the backs of working families. He attacked a House Republican proposal to cut more than $60 billion for the rest of this year. The bill would:</span></span><br />
<ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Cut $1.1 billion from Head Start depriving services for 218,000 children.</span></span></li>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Cut $1.3 billion from Social Security delaying benefits for 500,000 Americans.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Slash $1.3 billion from community health centers taking primary health care from 11 million patients.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Reduce or eliminate Pell Grants for 9.4 million low-income college students.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Cut $405 million from Community Services Block Grants affecting 20 million seniors, families with children and the disabled.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">End job training and other employment services for 8 million Americans.</span></li>
</span></ul>Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-82447265823833721842010-02-02T17:17:00.002-06:002010-02-02T17:24:21.165-06:00What is a Real Conservative?<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="450"><tbody><tr> <td valign="top" width="331"><p><strong>Traditional Conservatives Believe</strong></p></td> <td valign="top" width="306"><p><strong>What the GOP today Believes</strong></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="331"><p>Individuals choose their own lifestyles in pursuit of happiness</p></td> <td valign="top" width="306"><p>Government controls lifestyles based on moral values of select religious views</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="331"><p>Government should not be allowed to spend more money than it has</p></td> <td valign="top" width="306"><p>Government can borrow and spend all it wants as long as it is cutting taxes for major corporations</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="331"><p>Individual freedoms are more important than government efforts to engineer society</p></td> <td valign="top" width="306"><p>A strong central government should limit freedoms based on a perceived model of an ideal society</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="331"><p>We shouldn’t care about liberals or other political idealists – accept any good ideas they may have and just focus on what is good for America</p></td> <td valign="top" width="306"><p>We must minimize and do battle with liberals and anyone else who disagrees with us in any way</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="331"><p>Individual and political ethics form a cornerstone of good government and a safe and free society</p></td> <td valign="top" width="306"><p>Ethics are flexible when attacking liberals and other enemies</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="331"><p>The founders of the Constitution were religious men correct in keeping the church out of government and government out of the church as set forth in the Constitution</p></td> <td valign="top" width="306"><p>The founders of the Constitution were religious men who intended that the governing of America (interpretation of the Constitution) follow Christian biblical interpretations</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="331"><p>All the powers not specifically given to the federal government are powers of the states</p></td> <td valign="top" width="306"><p>The federal government should override the powers of the states on issues where the states do not follow the Republican platform</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="331"><p>If it sounds stupid, it is probably stupid, or let’s call it what it is</p></td> <td valign="top" width="306"><p>We must do or accept anything or anybody who supports our position, period</p></td></tr></tbody></table>Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-34031826648705525712009-09-16T17:04:00.000-05:002009-09-16T17:05:02.046-05:00Health And The First World. (repost)<table id="sortable_table_id_0" class="wikitable sortable"><tbody><tr><th>Country <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_health_care#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓"></span></a></th> <th><small><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy" title="Life expectancy">Life expectancy</a></small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_health_care#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓"></span></a></th> <th><small><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_mortality" title="Infant mortality">Infant mortality</a> rate</small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_health_care#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓"></span></a></th> <th><small><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physician" title="Physician">Physicians</a> per 1000 people</small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_health_care#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓"></span></a></th> <th><small><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurses" title="Nurses" class="mw-redirect">Nurses</a> per 1000 people</small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_health_care#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓"></span></a></th> <th><small>Per capita expenditure on health (USD)</small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_health_care#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓"></span></a></th> <th><small>Healthcare costs as a percent of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product" title="Gross domestic product">GDP</a></small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_health_care#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓"></span></a></th> <th><small>% of government revenue spent on health</small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_health_care#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓"></span></a></th> <th><small>% of health costs paid by government</small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_health_care#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓"></span></a></th> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Australia" title="Health care in Australia">Australia</a></td> <td>81.4</td> <td>4.2</td> <td>2.8</td> <td>9.7</td> <td>3,137</td> <td>8.7</td> <td>17.7</td> <td>67.7</td> </tr> <tr> <td><b>Canada</b></td> <td><b>80.7</b></td> <td><b>5.0</b></td> <td><b>2.2</b></td> <td><b>9.0</b></td> <td><b>3,895</b></td> <td><b>10.1</b></td> <td><b>16.7</b></td> <td><b>69.8</b></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_France" title="Health care in France" class="mw-redirect">France</a></td> <td>81.0</td> <td>4.0</td> <td>3.4</td> <td>7.7</td> <td>3,601</td> <td>11.0</td> <td>14.2</td> <td>79.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Germany" title="Health care in Germany" class="mw-redirect">Germany</a></td> <td>79.8</td> <td>3.8</td> <td>3.5</td> <td>9.9</td> <td>3,588</td> <td>10.4</td> <td>17.6</td> <td>76.9</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Japan" title="Health care in Japan">Japan</a></td> <td>82.6</td> <td>2.6</td> <td>2.1</td> <td>9.4</td> <td>2,581</td> <td>8.1</td> <td>16.8</td> <td>81.3</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Sweden" title="Health care in Sweden" class="mw-redirect">Sweden</a></td> <td>81.0</td> <td>2.5</td> <td>3.6</td> <td>10.8</td> <td>3,323</td> <td>9.1</td> <td>13.6</td> <td>81.7</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Health care in the United Kingdom" class="mw-redirect">UK</a></td> <td>79.1</td> <td>4.8</td> <td>2.5</td> <td>10.0</td> <td>2,992</td> <td>8.4</td> <td>15.8</td> <td>81.7</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_the_United_States" title="Health care in the United States">US</a></td> <td>78.1</td> <td>6.7</td> <td>2.4</td> <td>10.6</td> <td>7,290</td> <td>16.0</td> <td>18.5</td> <td>45.4</td></tr></tbody></table> Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-19077168413836154462009-09-14T13:12:00.001-05:002009-09-14T13:12:15.617-05:00Serious Fun: TrueMajorityACTION.orgBe of Ben and Jerry's icecream illustrates the ludicrous nature of our atomic stockpiles.<br /><a href="http://truemajority.org/bensbbs/">Serious Fun: TrueMajorityACTION.org</a><br /><br />Shared via <a href="http://addthis.com">AddThis</a><br />Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-4608901770048129002009-08-29T17:35:00.002-05:002009-08-29T17:35:31.422-05:00Synopsis of H.R. 3200SUMMARY<br />The bill provides quality affordable health care for all Americans and controls health care cost growth. Key provisions of the bill being released this week include:<br /><br />COVERAGE AND CHOICE<br /><br />AFFORDABILITY<br /><br />SHARED RESPONSIBILITY<br /><br />CONTROLLING COSTS<br /><br />PREVENTION AND WELLNESS<br /><br />WORKFORCE INVESTMENTS<br />I. COVERAGE AND CHOICE The bill builds on what works in today’s health care system and fixes the parts that are broken. It protects current coverage – allowing individuals to keep the insurance they have if they like it – and preserves choice of doctors, hospitals, and health plans. It achieves these reforms through:<br /><br />A Health Insurance Exchange. The new Health Insurance Exchange creates a transparent and functional marketplace for individuals and small employers to comparison shop among private and public insurers. It works with state insurance departments to set and enforce insurance reforms and consumer protections, facilitates enrollment, and administers affordability credits to help low‐ and middle‐income individuals and families purchase insurance. Over time, the Exchange will be opened to additional employers as another choice for covering their employees. States may opt to operate the Exchange in lieu of the national Exchange provided they follow the federal rules.<br /><br />A public health insurance option. One of the many choices of health insurance within the health insurance Exchange is a public health insurance option. It will be a new choice in many areas of our country dominated by just one or two private insurers today. The public option will operate on a level playing field. It will be subject to the same market reforms and consumer protections as other private plans in the Exchange and it will be self‐sustaining – financed only by its premiums.<br /><br />Guaranteed coverage and insurance market reforms. Insurance companies will no longer be able to engage in discriminatory practices that enable them to refuse to sell or renew policies today due to an individual’s health status. In addition, they can no longer exclude coverage of treatments for pre‐existing health conditions. The bill also protects consumers by prohibiting lifetime and annual limits on benefits. It also limits the ability of insurance companies to charge higher rates due to health status, gender, or other factors. Under the proposal, premiums can vary based only on age (no more than 2:1), geography and family size.<br /><br />Essential benefits. A new independent Advisory Committee with practicing providers and other health care experts, chaired by the Surgeon General, will recommend a benefit package based on standards set in the law. This new essential benefit package will serve as the basic benefit package<br />for coverage in the Exchange and over time will become the minimum quality standard for employer plans. The basic package will include preventive services with no cost‐sharing, mental health services, oral health and vision for children, and caps the amount of money a person or family spends on covered services in a year.<br />II. AFFORDABILITY To ensure that all Americans have affordable health coverage the bill:<br /><br />Provides sliding scale affordability credits. The affordability credits will be available to low‐ and moderate‐ income individuals and families. The credits are most generous for those who are just above the proposed new Medicaid eligibility levels; the credits decline with income (and so premium and cost‐sharing support is more limited as your income increases) and are completely phased out when income reaches 400 percent of the federal poverty level ($43,000 for an individual or $88,000 for a family of four). The affordability credits will not only make insurance premiums affordable, they will also reduce cost‐sharing to levels that ensure access to care. The Exchange administers the affordability credits with other federal and state entities, such as local Social Security offices and state Medicaid agencies.<br /><br />Caps annual out‐of‐pocket spending. All new policies will cap annual out‐of‐pocket spending to prevent bankruptcies from medical expenses.<br /><br />Increased competition: The creation of the Health Insurance Exchange and the inclusion of a public health insurance option will make health insurance more affordable by opening many market areas in our country to new competition, spurring efficiency and transparency.<br /><br />Expands Medicaid. Individuals and families with incomes at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level will be eligible for an expanded and improved Medicaid program. Recognizing the budget challenges in many states, this expansion will be fully federally financed. To improve provider participation in this vital safety net – particularly for low‐income children, individuals with disabilities and people with mental illnesses – reimbursement rates for primary care services will be increased with new federal funding.<br /><br />Improves Medicare. Senior citizens and people with disabilities will benefit from provisions that fill the donut hole over time in the Part D drug program, eliminate cost‐sharing for preventive services, improve the low‐income subsidy programs in Medicare, fix physician payments, and make other program improvements. The bill will also address future fiscal challenges by improving payment accuracy, encouraging delivery system reforms and extending solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund.<br />III. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY The bill creates shared responsibility among individuals, employers and government to ensure that all Americans have affordable coverage of essential health benefits.<br /><br />Individual responsibility. Except in cases of hardship, once market reforms and affordability credits are in effect, individuals will be responsible for obtaining and maintaining health insurance coverage. Those who choose to not obtain coverage will pay a penalty of 2.5 percent of modified adjusted gross income above a specified level.<br /><br />Employer responsibility. The proposal builds on the employer‐sponsored coverage that exists today. Employers will have the option of providing health insurance coverage for their workers or contributing funds on their behalf. Employers that choose to contribute will pay an amount based on eight percent of their payroll. Employers that choose to offer coverage must meet minimum benefit and contribution requirements specified in the proposal.<br /><br />Assistance for small employers. Recognizing the special needs of small businesses, the smallest businesses (payroll that does not exceed $250,000) are exempt from the employer responsibility requirement. The payroll penalty would then phase in starting at 2% for firms with annual payrolls over $250,000 rising to the full 8 percent penalty for firms with annual payrolls above $400,000. In addition, a new small business tax credit will be available for those firms who want to provide health coverage to their workers. In addition to the targeted assistance, the Exchange and market reforms provide a long‐sought opportunity for small businesses to benefit from a more organized, efficient marketplace in which to purchase coverage.<br /><br />Government responsibility. The government is responsible for ensuring that every American can afford quality health insurance, through the new affordability credits, insurance reforms, consumer protections, and improvements to Medicare and Medicaid.<br />IV. PREVENTION AND WELLNESS Prevention and wellness measures of the bill include:<br /><br />Expansion of Community Health Centers;<br /><br />Prohibition of cost‐sharing for preventive services;<br /><br />Creation of community‐based programs to deliver prevention and wellness services;<br /><br />A focus on community‐based programs and new data collection efforts to better identify and address racial, ethnic, regional and other health disparities;<br /><br />Funds to strengthen state, local, tribal and territorial public health departments and programs.<br />V. WORKFORCE INVESTMENTS The bill expands the health care workforce through:<br /><br />Increased funding for the National Health Service Corp;<br /><br />More training of primary care doctors and an expansion of the pipeline of individuals going into health professions, including primary care, nursing and public health;<br /><br />Greater support for workforce diversity;<br /><br />Expansion of scholarships and loans for individuals in needed professions and shortage areas;<br /><br />Encouragement of training of primary care physicians by taking steps to increase physician training outside the hospital, where most primary care is delivered, and redistributes unfilled graduate medical education residency slots for purposes of training more primary care physicians. The proposal also improves accountability for graduate medical education funding to ensure that physicians are trained with the skills needed to practice health care in the 21st century.<br />VI. CONTROLLING COSTS The bill will reduce the growth in health care spending in a numerous ways. Investing in health care through stronger prevention and wellness measures, increasing access to primary care, health care delivery system reform, the Health Insurance Exchange and the public health insurance option, improvements in payment accuracy and reforms to Medicare and Medicaid will all help slow the growth of health care costs over time. These savings will accrue to families, employers, and taxpayers.<br /><br />Modernization and improvement of Medicare. The bill implements major delivery system reform in Medicare to reward efficient provision of health care, rolling out innovative concepts such as accountable care organizations, medical homes, and bundling of acute and post‐acute provider payments. New payment incentives aim to decrease preventable hospital readmissions, expanding this policy over time to recognize that physicians and post‐acute providers also play an important role in avoiding readmissions. The bill improves the Medicare Part D program by creating new consumer protections for Medicare Advantage Plans, eliminating the “donut hole” and improving<br />low‐income subsidy programs, so that Medicare is affordable for all seniors and other eligible individuals. A centerpiece of the proposal is a complete reform of the flawed physician payment mechanism in Medicare (the so‐called sustainable growth rate or “SGR” formula), with an update that wipes away accumulated deficits, provides for a fresh start, and rewards primary care services, care coordination and efficiency.<br /><br />Innovation and delivery reform through the public health insurance option. The public health insurance option will be empowered to implement innovative delivery reform initiatives so that it is a nimble purchaser of health care and gets more value for each health care dollar. It will expand upon the experiments put forth in Medicare and be provided the flexibility to implement value‐based purchasing, accountable care organizations, medical homes, and bundled payments. These features will ensure the public option is a leader in efficient delivery of quality care, spurring competition with private plans.<br /><br />Improving payment accuracy and eliminating overpayments. The bill eliminates overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans and improves payment accuracy for numerous other providers, following recommendations by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and the President. These steps will extend Medicare Trust Fund solvency, and put Medicare on stronger financial footing for the future.<br /><br />Preventing waste, fraud and abuse. New tools will be provided to combat waste, fraud and abuse within the entire health care system. Within Medicare, new authorities allow for pre‐enrollment screening of providers and suppliers, permit designation of certain areas as being at elevated risk of fraud to implement enhanced oversight, and require compliance programs of providers and suppliers. The new public health insurance option and Health Insurance Exchange will build upon the safeguards and best practices gleaned from experience in other areas.<br /><br />Administrative simplification. The bill will simplify the paperwork burden that adds tremendous costs and hassles for patients, providers, and businesses today.<br />PREPARED BY THE HOUSE COMMITTEES ON WAYS AND MEANS, ENERGY AND COMMERCE, AND EDUCATION AND LABOR JULY 14, 2009Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-19694708725762385202009-08-27T00:32:00.001-05:002009-08-27T00:32:57.981-05:00AAHCA-BILLSUMMARY-071409.pdf (application/pdf Object)Folks. The wingnuts only know what they are told about what is in the Health Care Reform legislation. They are afraid someone is going to get something free. Actually, most of the legislation is about helping people who already have health insurance. Please read Teddy Kennedy's Affordable Choices Health Care Act.<br /><br /><a href="http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BILLSUMMARY-071409.pdf">AAHCA-BILLSUMMARY-071409.pdf (application/pdf Object)</a><br /><br />Shared via <a href="http://addthis.com">AddThis</a><br />Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-8469892650440363602009-08-27T00:19:00.001-05:002009-08-27T00:19:52.397-05:00kennedy-and-dodd-dear-colleague.pdf (application/pdf Object)<a href="http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/kennedy-and-dodd-dear-colleague.pdf">kennedy-and-dodd-dear-colleague.pdf (application/pdf Object)</a><br /><br />Shared via <a href="http://addthis.com">AddThis</a><br />Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-56590456956332579882009-08-11T16:09:00.001-05:002009-08-11T19:57:14.338-05:00Comparision of Health Care Systems and Health<table id="sortable_table_id_0" class="wikitable sortable"><tbody><tr><th>Country <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓" /></span></a></th> <th><small><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy" title="Life expectancy">Life expectancy</a></small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓" /></span></a></th> <th><small><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_mortality" title="Infant mortality">Infant mortality</a> rate</small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓" /></span></a></th> <th><small><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physician" title="Physician">Physicians</a> per 1000 people</small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓" /></span></a></th> <th><small><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurses" title="Nurses" class="mw-redirect">Nurses</a> per 1000 people</small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓" /></span></a></th> <th><small>Per capita expenditure on health (USD)</small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓" /></span></a></th> <th><small>Healthcare costs as a percent of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product" title="Gross domestic product">GDP</a></small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓" /></span></a></th> <th><small>% of government revenue spent on health</small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓" /></span></a></th> <th><small>% of health costs paid by government</small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada#" class="sortheader" onclick="ts_resortTable(this);return false;"><span class="sortarrow"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif" alt="↓" /></span></a></th> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia" title="Australia">Australia</a></td> <td>81.1</td> <td>4.7</td> <td>2.8</td> <td>9.7</td> <td>2,999</td> <td>8.8</td> <td>17.7</td> <td>67.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td><b>Canada</b></td> <td><b>80.4</b></td> <td><b>5.4</b></td> <td><b>2.1</b></td> <td><b>8.8</b></td> <td><b>3,678</b></td> <td><b>10.1</b></td> <td><b>16.7</b></td> <td><b>70.0</b></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France" title="France">France</a></td> <td>80.9</td> <td>4.0</td> <td>3.4</td> <td>7.6</td> <td>3,449</td> <td>11.1</td> <td>14.2</td> <td>79.7</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">Germany</a></td> <td>79.8</td> <td>3.8</td> <td>3.5</td> <td>9.8</td> <td>3,371</td> <td>10.6</td> <td>17.6</td> <td>77.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan" title="Japan">Japan</a></td> <td>82.4</td> <td>2.8</td> <td>2.1</td> <td>9.3</td> <td>2,474</td> <td>8.2</td> <td>16.8</td> <td>82.7</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden" title="Sweden">Sweden</a></td> <td>80.8</td> <td>2.8</td> <td>3.5</td> <td>10.7</td> <td>3,202</td> <td>9.2</td> <td>13.6</td> <td>81.7</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">UK</a></td> <td>79.1</td> <td>5.0</td> <td>2.5</td> <td>11.9</td> <td>2,760</td> <td>8.4</td> <td>15.8</td> <td>87.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US" title="US" class="mw-redirect">US</a></td> <td>77.8</td> <td>6.9</td> <td>2.4</td> <td>10.5</td> <td>6,714</td> <td>16.0</td> <td>18.5</td> <td>46.0</td></tr></tbody></table>Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-60954478621849645322009-08-05T16:24:00.001-05:002009-08-05T16:25:32.348-05:00Fake Protests Funded By the GOP and Corporations.<div><iframe height="339" width="425" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/32292235#32292235" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 425px;">Visit msnbc.com for <a style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com">Breaking News</a>, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032507" style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;">World News</a>, and <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072" style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;">News about the Economy</a></p></div>Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-14958299157305953432009-06-08T15:50:00.002-05:002009-06-08T15:52:40.412-05:00The CorporateFacist Are Up To Their DIrty Tricks Still.<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">I heard about this nutjob Neocon letter on the Thom Hartmann Show.</span> It is full of slander and lies. Don't buy his soap. Boycott Procter and Gamble. Shining light on lies is the best disenfectant. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.tcunation.com/profiles/blogs/an-open-letter-to-president">AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA - The Conservative Underground</a>: "AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA<br /><br />AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA<br /><br />Dear President Obama:<br /><br />You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me. Change Management<br /><br />You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.<br /><br />You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support.<br /><br />You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.<br /><br />You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.<br /><br />You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don't understand it at its core..<br /><br />You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.<br /><br />You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail.<br /><br />You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America ' crowd and deliver this message abroad.<br /><br />You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.<br /><br />You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one.<br /><br />You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.<br /><br />You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world.<br /><br />You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against certain banks and corporations.<br /><br />You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.<br /><br />You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people.<br /><br />You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient.<br /><br />You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do.<br /><br />You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Relllys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view.<br /><br />You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.<br /><br />Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years."<br /><br />Lou Pritchett is one of corporate America 's acclaimed Right Wing authors. Pritchett started as a soap salesman and became Vice-President, Sales and Customer Development for Procter and Gamble.Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23869969.post-62065884770442226232009-05-28T21:54:00.003-05:002009-05-28T22:02:22.253-05:00Ventura Wants Obama To Prosecute the Torturers.<div><iframe height="339" width="425" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/30990951#30990951" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 425px;">Visit msnbc.com for <a style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com">Breaking News</a>, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032507" style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;">World News</a>, and <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072" style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;">News about the Economy</a></p></div>Togeikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03718418401458480928noreply@blogger.com0