Tuesday Open Thread

Brick is a former American band that created a successful merger of funk and jazz in the 1970s. Their most popular single was “Dazz”, (#3 U.S. Pop, #1 U.S. R&B, #36 UK Singles Chart[1]) which was released in 1976.

Brick was formed in Atlanta, Georgia in 1972 from members of two bands – one disco and the other jazz. They coined their own term for disco-jazz, “dazz”. They released their first single “Music Matic” on Main Street Records in 1976, before signing to the independently distributed Bang Records. Their next single, “Dazz”, (#3 Pop, #1 R&B) was released in 1976. The band continued to record for Bang records until 1982. Other hits followed: “That’s What It’s All About” (R&B #48) and “Dusic” (#18 Pop, #2 R&B) in 1977, and “Ain’t Gonna Hurt Nobody” (#92 Pop, #7 R&B) in 1978. Their last Top Ten R&B hit was “Sweat (Til You Get Wet)” in 1981.

About SouthernGirl2

A Native Texan who adores baby kittens, loves horses, rodeos, pomegranates, & collect Eagles. Enjoys politics, games shows, & dancing to all types of music. Loves discussing and learning about different cultures. A Phi Theta Kappa lifetime member with a passion for Social & Civil Justice.
This entry was posted in Current Events, Music, Open Thread, Politics and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

77 Responses to Tuesday Open Thread

  1. Ametia says:

    So Chris Matthews declares Louisana’s Katrina nothing compared to Japan’s quake…

    WTF? Who needs to compare a huricane & earthquake; lives were lost, you IDIOT!

  2. Sweat Til’ You Get Wet

  3. Ametia says:

    I see he media refuses to give any REAL COVERAGE to the GOP WISCONSIN SHENANIGANS. It’s all about Japan and nuclear energy/power plants now, as if they give a shit.

    What happened in Japan is heartbreaking, but these fools going on and on about reactors and radiation appears phoney to me.

    What if the DEMOCRATS in Wisconsin were the ones stripping union/worker’s RIGHTS? There would be 24/7 wall-wall coverage. But it’s the Republicans who are destroying DEMOCRACY, and the media is turning its back and allowing them to go unchallenged.

  4. Chris Matthews Slams Mike Huckabee’s Obama-Kenya Comment: ‘It’s Racist!’

    http://www.mediaite.com/tv/chris-matthews-slams-mike-huckabees-obama-kenya-comment-its-racist/

    Chris Matthews appeared on The Tonight Show last night with Jay Leno and predictably revealed his admiration/adulation for President Barack Obama, particularly for the White House response to the disaster unfolding in Japan. He also brazenly shared his opinions on many other news items of the day, but was most vocal in his critique of Governor Mike Huckabee’s recent comment that Obama grew up in Kenya learning about the Mau-Mau Revolution. Matthews did not demur in his critique, simply saying “it’s racist!”

    Matthews made clear that he expects next year’s presidential election to be a close one, but added that the American public won’t remove Obama from office unless the economy is in the tank. Regarding the GOP slate, Matthews exasperated “this is the weakest list of candidates that I’ve ever seen,” continuing, “Mitt Romney is the reason that the list gets longer…everybody looks at him and says ‘by God, I can beat him!’” He also mocked Michele Bachmann’s recent gaffe regarding the location of the “shot heard ’round the word” saying of the Minnesota Congresswoman “you gotta at least know High School history to run for President.”

    But it was his critique of the birther movement vis-à-vis Huckabee’s comments that drew Matthew’s greatest ire, explaining what he feels to be the absurdity of that argument and flatly calling it racist.

  5. Survivor walks hours to find girlfriend

    http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2011/03/15/exp.am.intv.branham.cnn?iref=allsearch

    He survived the Japan quake but didn’t know if his girlfriend did. American Zack Branham walked 20 hours to find her.

  6. House Passes Government Spending Bill To Avoid Shutdown

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/15/government-spending-bill-_n_835854.html#comments

    (AP) – The House has passed a measure blending $6 billion in budget cuts with enough money to keep the government running for an additional three weeks.

    The measure buys additional time for talks between Capitol Hill Republicans and the Obama administration on a bill to fund the day-to-day operations of the government through the end of September.

    Those negotiations haven’t gotten very far yet and House GOP leaders haven’t shown much flexibility.

    The measure passed despite opposition from some tea party-backed conservatives who said it merely kicks the can down the road instead of imposing steep and immediate spending cuts. The $6 billion cut by the measure includes many items that the Obama administration and Democrats agree can be axed.

  7. A Human Touch Pulled the Curtain on Peter King’s Anti-Muslim Theater

    http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/03/a_human_touch_pulled_the_curtain_on_peter_kings_anti-muslim_theater.html

    Last week’s congressional hearings on the Muslim community didn’t go quite the way Rep. Peter King hoped and expected. Their content turned out to be more of a referendum on whether such hearings themselves were a good idea, interrupting the fear mongering political theater that King had set up. There’s more racial scapegoating to come from some congressional quarters though, and those of us who love the ideals of religious freedom and racial justice will have to keep honing our fightback tools.

    King seemed in good shape as early polls showed 50 percent or more support for the hearings among Americans. But he got himself in trouble early last week when reporters revealed his long-term support of the Irish Republican Army in the 1980s. He lamely responded that the IRA was different because it never tried to attack Americans.

    During the hearing itself, King was forced to defend his decision to have it, as most of the testifiers warned against the slide into McCarthyism. Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim to be elected to Congress, stole the show by crying as he told the story of 23-year-old paramedic Mohammed Salman Hamdani, who became the subject of speculation that he’d collaborated with the hijackers after he disappeared on 9/11. It turned out that he was actually among the first responders who died in the towers. Hamdani’s mother, Talat, went to D.C. several weeks ago with other family members of 9/11 victims for a scheduled meeting with Peter King, but he stood them up.

    From A Colorlines commenter:

    I, too, am an angry white man. Angry that Rep. King is toying with our national security for the sake of political theater. Tired of the right giving weight to this Muslim stereotype when Rep. King need only look as far as his own colleague, Rep. Ellison, to see what is beautiful about America. Furious that Rep. King ignored a bomb scare up here in the Pacific NW – allegedly planted by a white supremacist, because it didn’t fit into his narrative. And few things burn me up more than blaming babies for our problems (economy, jobs, broken immigration system) and proposing to strip American children born in America of their Constitutional rights to citizenship.

    All of this

  8. rikyrah says:

    you know, these punk azzes just CANNOT take the heat when dished to them. they think someone is supposed to shrug and go ‘ OK’, when they fuck people over.

    …………………………………….

    Wis. GOPer Whose Home Was Picketed To Propose Bill Outlawing Pickets At Homes
    Eric Kleefeld

    Wisconsin state Senator Van Wanggard, one of the Republican legislators whose home has been picketed in the political battle over Gov. Scott Walker’s newly-passed law curtailing public employee unions, told the Racine Journal Times that he will be writing a new bill — to outlaw picketing at private homes.

    “When they come to my house it’s intimidating and threatening,” said Wanggard, a freshman who defeated a Democratic incumbent in the 2010 Republican wave.

    He told the paper that some municipalities already have ordinances against such demonstrations at private residences, but he would like to see a statewide statute, and is in the early stages of writing a proposal.

    http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/wis-goper-whose-home-was-picketed-to-propose-bill-outlawing-pickets-at-homes.php

    • Ametia says:

      Turn up the HEAT on them, Wisconsinites! These COWARDS are trying to OUTLAW DEMOCRACY. They can dish out, but they cannot take it.

  9. rikyrah says:

    Ohioans Having Incredible Buyers Remorse Over Gov. Kasich
    Just a few months into his first term, Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) appears to be immensely unpopular with his constituents, a clear majority of whom disapprove of his job performance, according to a PPP poll of registered voters. What’s more, if a do-over election were held today Kasich would lose — by a resounding 15-point margin.

    Kasich barely defeated incumbent Gov. Ted Strickland (D) last November, winning by a slim 49% to 47%. But if they could do it all over again, 55% of voters now say they would vote for Strickland, while only 40% say they’d go with Kasich.

    Kasich’s short tenure has been marked by several mini-scandals, including an incident last month when he called a police officer who issued him a ticket an idiot — three times, on camera. Then came the contentious budget debate, when he forcefully pushed for a bill to strip state employees of their collective bargaining rights. That bill goes even further than the one recently passed in Wisconsin, which prompted weeks of enormous protests and has sparked a recall petition for the state’s republican senators.

    Kasich’s approval rating now appears to be deeply underwater. In the poll, only 35% of respondents said they approve of his job performance, while 54% sad they disapprove. In a University of Cincinnati poll released Monday, 30% approved of Kasich’s job performance, compared to 52% who disapproved.

    If there was any doubt that Kasich’s showdown with unions irked his constituents, the PPP poll also addressed that issue, finding that voters overwhelmingly sided with the unions.

    Nearly six in ten said they supported the unions in the budget battle, while 37% said they backed Kasich. And specifically, 54% said they would support repealing S.B. 5 — the union-busting budget bill — if it comes up for a vote next fall.

    http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/ohioans-have-incredible-buyers-remorse-over-electing-union-busting-gov-kasich.php

  10. Ametia says:

    Chris Matthews Slams Mike Huckabee’s Obama-Kenya Comment: ‘It’s Racist!’
    by Colby Hall | 9:59 am, March 15th, 2011

    Of course only Chris gets to share with the tee vee audience that Mike Hucabee’s comments about President Obama are RACIST!

    Chris Matthews appeared on The Tonight Show last night with Jay Leno and predictably revealed his admiration/adulation for President Barack Obama, particularly for the White House response to the disaster unfolding in Japan. He also brazenly shared his opinions on many other news items of the day, but was most vocal in his critique of Governor Mike Huckabee’s recent comment that Obama grew up in Kenya learning about the Mau-Mau Revolution. Matthews did not demur in his critique, simply saying “it’s racist!”

    Matthews made clear that he expects next year’s presidential election to be a close one, but added that the American public won’t remove Obama from office unless the economy is in the tank. Regarding the GOP slate, Matthews exasperated “this is the weakest list of candidates that I’ve ever seen,” continuing, “Mitt Romney is the reason that the list gets longer…everybody looks at him and says ‘by God, I can beat him!’” He also mocked Michele Bachmann’s recent gaffe regarding the location of the “shot heard ’round the word” saying of the Minnesota Congresswoman “you gotta at least know High School history to run for President.”

    But it was his critique of the birther movement vis-à-vis Huckabee’s comments that drew Matthew’s greatest ire, explaining what he feels to be the absurdity of that argument and flatly calling it racist. Watch the clip below courtesy of NBC:

    Watch parts 1 & 2 here: http://www.mediaite.com/tv/chris-matthews-slams-mike-huckabees-obama-kenya-comment-its-racist/

  11. rikyrah says:

    Huckabee Rises
    15 Mar 2011 11:55 am

    The intensity of support for him only grows. Both he and Bachmann are ahead of Palin on what Gallup calls a “positive intensity” axis. That’s the number of highly favorables minus the highly unfavorables. But when you look at simple enthusiasm – i.e. the highly favorables alone – Huckabee, Bachmann and Palin are all within a 4 percent band with a margin of error of 3 percent.

    Romney, by the way, follows Santorum’s frothy wake.

    http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2011/03/huckabee-rises.html

    • Ametia says:

      Let them all run in 2012. Let the CaCs vote for them, that’s if they have a pot to piss in after the GOP finishes demolishing what’s left of America’s democracy.

  12. rikyrah says:

    The Bed She’s Made
    15 Mar 2011 12:05 pm

    A reader writes:

    I’ve been noticing the increasingly shrill tone of Sarah Palin’s tweets on energy policy over the last few days. She seems desperate to get some attention for her one so-called area of expertise, but can’t seem to manage it. Granted, the earthquake and tsunami stole some of the thunder she was expecting when she began belittling Obama’s latest speech on energy initiatives before he even gave it. Even so, the woman can’t seem to get any real press whatsoever for her righteous indignation about Obama’s energy policy. Even Haley Barbour is getting more coverage on this now.

    The latest news about Sarah is, as usual, abundant, but it’s all about the ever-growing chorus of conservative thinkers who are coming out against her, and a rift with Roger Ailes, not her take on decreasing dependence on foreign oil.

    I’d imagine this really frustrates Palin. I can see why it would. But I think we are witnessing exactly what happens when a politician chooses reality TV stardom over familiarizing herself with policy and answering questions that are not pre-scripted. No one cares what she says on policy anymore. There was a time recently that people were paying attention to anything and everything she said (even her shallow policy proclamations). This is now changing.

    Thing is, this is the bed she’s made.

    http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2011/03/palins-policy-irrelevance.html

  13. rikyrah says:

    Schumer: House GOP Freshman, Conservatives Are ‘Scott Walker Republicans’
    The political consequences for Republicans in Wisconsin are paying dividends for Democrats in DC.

    Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is now pressuring House Speaker John Boehner to make a choice: negotiate with us, or side with the conservatives in your party, whom he described on a conference call with reporters Tuesday as “Scott Walker Republicans… using the budget to try and shoot the moon on [right wing] policy measures.”

    This is of a piece with Schumer’s heads-you-lose, tails-you-lose offer to Boehner Monday, to dismiss the tea party constituency in his caucus and reach a bipartisan spending agreement with Democrats. Now he’s citing Republican defectors as evidence that the real goal in this spending fight is to impose a conservative agenda via the budget process, just like in Wisconsin.

    “In the recent battle in Wisconsin, where Governor Scott Walker went to war on his public sector unions…unions agreed to reduce their benefits,” Schumer said. “[Walker] went further and insisted on ending collective bargaining entirely…it’s not really about budget cuts.”

    http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/schumer-house-gop-freshman-are-scott-walker-republicans.php

    • Ametia says:

      Keep the Pressure on Boehner. He’ll hit the D.C. Taverns and punk out soon!

      • dannie22 says:

        Boner is someplace crying and drinking. Crying and drinking.,,

      • Ametia says:

        Lookie here Dannie!

        Ohioans have buyer’s remorse
        Tuesday, March 15, 2011
        Brutal numbers for Kasich, SB 5
        Ohio Senate Bill 5 may not be in effect for very long…54% of voters in the state say they’d repeal it in an election later this year while just 31% say they’d vote to let the bill stand.

        The support for repealing SB 5 is reflective of a high level of support for unions and workers in Ohio, more so than we saw in Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago. 63% of voters in the state supportive collective bargaining for public employees to only 29% who oppose it. 52% of voters think public employees should have the right to strike, to 42% who think they should not. And 65% think public employees should have the same rights they do now- or more- while only 32% believe they should have fewer rights.

        http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2011/03/brutal-numbers-for-kasich-sb-5.html

      • dannie22 says:

        Hey Ametie. Yea I read that poll but I’m over it. These cac’s did this to themselves. And maybe they can and will repeal sb5 and maybe even recall that clown kkkkasich, that still won’t help the folks that r suffering now. These ignant cac now have buyers remorse cause kkkkasich is now hurting THEIR wallets and they mad. I’m so sick of it. How can u go through life, so mad at a race, that u would continue to vote against yr own self interests time after time after time? Too bad white folks! Quit crying and get to work! I will not b helping you. You got yourself in this mess get yourself out. So what a few Negroes have acheived. You brought us here. Get over yr tribalism. Just. Get. Over. It.

      • Ametia says:

        I hear you on the cacs in Ohio, Dannie.

  14. rikyrah says:

    see, this person understands and sees through the right-wing bullshyt.

    ……………………………..

    The View From Rush Limbaugh’s Recession, Ctd
    15 Mar 2011 07:55 am

    A reader writes:

    As a disabled American, I have read with particular interest your commentary on Limbaugh’s latest attack on the most vulnerable members of our society. Without citing any evidence, Limbaugh does not hesitate to assert that many, if not most, people receiving Social Security disability benefits are frauds who are freeloading on the taxpayers. You correctly point out, however, that Limbaugh has difficulty defending his position when confronted by a real human being living with a serious disability. Here’s my story.

    I was raised in the Bronx in a secure and loving family living in very modest economic conditions. Blessed with academic abilities and strongly influenced by my parents teaching me the value of hard work, I became the first member of my family to earn a college degree and then went on to earn a law degree. I did well enough in law school to be selected for the Law Review. I received an appointment as a law clerk at a federal circuit court of appeals, which led to my being hired by a major international law firm.

    Before I reached my thirtieth birthday, I was earning a six-figure income. I worked very hard for my success. Seventy hour weeks under stressful conditions were the norm. Perhaps most importantly, I genuinely loved my chosen career at a firm that gave me the opportunity to work on challenging legal matters for both major corporations and indigent prison inmates. In my early thirties, my career was flourishing. My wife and I were approaching the closing of the purchase of our first home and eagerly anticipating the birth of our first child.

    Then I began to notice that I was having difficulties with my body’s coordination. I had been an above average athlete all my life, but now I was becoming clumsy with the simplest of tasks.

    My doctor sent me to a specialist, who ordered a series of increasingly invasive tests. After a month of testing, my wife and I sat in the specialist’s office. We held hands as we listened to the words no one ever wants to hear from a doctor, “I am very sorry to have to tell you that . . . .” What I learned was that I had a disease that was causing the neurons in my central nervous system to die slowly. There was no cure or even effective treatment. The disease would cause increasing disabilities and eventually death. Blessed with an incredibly brave wife, and supportive family members and friends, I knew I would not have to face the future alone.

    I continued to work full time for almost two years, making the adjustments required by my failing health. When I could no longer work full time at my office, I continued to work as best I could from my home. Eventually, despite my best efforts, I came to the difficult realization that the state of my health would no longer allow me to meet my clients’ needs. My application for Social Security disability benefits (and the vitally important Medicare coverage that goes with them) was approved.

    I will not live long enough to collect Social Security retirement benefits. My disability benefits and Medicare coverage have allowed me to remain in my home without bankrupting my family.

    While there may be cases of people fraudulently obtaining Social Security disability benefits, it is hard for me to believe that they are more than a very small percentage of the total claims. I am grateful that I live in a country that still believes in providing a system of social insurance for all its citizens. I paid my premiums into that system for more than a decade, and I do not believe I am a “freeloader” now that I have been forced to claim the benefits of that social insurance.

    P.S. For those of us who are mainly confined to our homes, the internet is a tremendous gift of maintaining contact with the world. Thanks for all you do.

    http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2011/03/the-view-from-rush-limbaughs-recession-ctd-2.html

  15. rikyrah says:

    since Maxine Waters said…BRING IT, and they said ‘ um um um um’…..

    they haven’t known what to do.

    punk.ass.bitches.

    ……………………………..

    Watchdogs: Ethics Committee In Turmoil Over Partisan Staff
    Government watchdogs are condemning a decision to allow a Republican office to become a safe haven for supposedly nonpartisan Ethics Committee staff, saying it’s one of the leading reasons why the panel is so dysfunctional.

    The House Ethics Committee, led by Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL), has virtually shut down amid partisan recriminations and staff sniping over last year’s handling of the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA). Last week TPM reported that at least one of the panel’s attorneys who had been suspended for allegedly mishandling the case had soft-landed on the GOP side of the House Natural Resources Committee, run by Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA).

    TPM also discovered that for the last several years, Hastings and the Natural Resources Committee has employed Todd Ungerecht as either a personal staffer for Hastings or a Natural Resources committee aide at the same time Ungerecht was serving as a ranking member’s counsel to the Ethics Committee.

    Even more troublingly, Ungerecht last year served as a senior GOP counsel on the Natural Resources panel while investigating the case against Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), who the House censured for a string of misdeeds late last year.

    “The notion that the ethics committee, which is supposed to be the one committee that is nonpartisan, would allow one of its employees to split his time with another partisan committee? I’m stunned,” said Meredith McGehee of the Campaign Legal Center.

    “I think this is crossing a line that is wholly unacceptable,” she added. “There’s no way that an ethics committee should be serving on a partisan committee…you’re setting the whole situation up to have reasonable claims of partisan motivation. The notion here that you can serve two masters is just wrong.”

    The ongoing tensions and partisan jabs were on public display last night when a private letter in which Bonner accuses his Democratic predecessor, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA), of breaking House rules by trying to fire the two attorneys who worked on the Waters case was leaked to the Washington Post.

    In the letter, according to the Post, Bonner said that Lofgren’s decision was unilateral and taken “without cause, in my view,” and that the two staffers – counsels Morgan Kim and Stacey Sovereign – had “acted appropriately and consistent with the highest ethical standards.”

    The Post story was one of a series of leaks aimed at attacking Lofgren’s decision to suspend the attorneys, and watchdogs say the leaks constitute a grave violation of the committee’s confidentiality rules and professed non-partisan agenda but reveal just how dysfunctional the committee has become.

    The Ethics Committee is the only panel in which most staffers are considered non-partisan. In fact, its rules regarding staff specifically call for “professional, nonpartisan staff,” according to a copy of the latest committee rules.

    “The staff as a whole and each individual member of the staff shall perform all official duties in a nonpartisan manner,” the rules state.

    The rules specifically allow the chair and ranking minority member to appoint one individual as a shared staff member “from the respective personal staff of the Chair or Ranking Minority Member to perform service for the Committee,” but the rules do not provide for shared staff with other panels.

    http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/watchdogs-ethics-committee-in-turmoil-over-partisan-staff.php?ref=dcblt

  16. rikyrah says:

    Three WI Republicans Trail In Recall Election Against Generic Dems
    Three of the eight Wisconsin Senate Republicans eligible for recall, who just last week voted to strip state employees of most of their collective bargaining rights, trail generic Democratic challengers in hypothetical recall matchups, according to a PPP poll of registered voters commissioned by Daily Kos.

    Democratic activists in Wisconsin have been circulating petitions to gather the requisite number of signatures to trigger a recall election for each of the GOP Senators legally eligible to be recalled this year, with a goal of overturning the current Republican majority. Democrats would need to flip three seats in order to reclaim the majority.

    In the poll, Sen. Dan Kapanke trailed a generic Democrat 55% to 41%, while Sen. Randy Hopper trailed 49% to 44% in his theoretical contest. Sen. Luther Olsen also lagged behind an unnamed Democrat, but by a slimmer 49% to 47%.

    In two other contests, the Republican incumbents, Sen. Rob Cowles and Sen. Sheila Harsdorf, led by two-point and four-point margins respectively, indicating that those races could also be competitive.

    To force recall, petitioners must gather signatures totaling 25% of the number of people who voted in a given district in the previous election. On Monday, activists announced that they were nearly halfway there.

    The big question going forward is whether Demorats can sustain the energy behind the recall effort through a special election. And of course, in a special election, those Republicans would be pitted against real people, not unnamed challengers.

    And even if Democrats regain a majority, they would have little power to immediately undo the impetus behind the recall: Gov. Scott Walker’s union-busting bill. With only a slim majority, they would be unable to override a veto.

    http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/three-wi-republicans-trail-in-recall-election-against-generic-dems.php

  17. rikyrah says:

    Citizens Call For Boycott Of Walker Contributors
    Topics: Business, News, Politics 0 0SharePrintE-mail..The fallout from Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill has shifted to the private sector as upset citizens begin boycotts of business owners who contributed money to the governor.

    The idea for boycotts has begun to spread via social media, with some state residents seeking out who gave money to Walker’s campaign.

    Some businesses are responding, saying that employee contributions to political campaigns don’t tell the whole story.

    Shopping continues at Metcalfe’s Sentry as threats of a boycott begin to loom over its owner.

    As many companies state, Metcalfe’s itself doesn’t make political contributions. I personally have. I donated in the primaries, but I didn’t donate to any gubernatorial candidate in the general election,” said Tim Metcalfe, owner of Metcalfe’s Sentry.

    Metcalfe contributed $500 to Walker’s campaign in 2009 after a visit by Walker to his grocery store during the primary.

    But in the general election, Metcalfe sent money to Democrats and has donated to both parties in the past.

    “I think everybody has the right to make donations. The ones I made were personal and, like I said, I donate to both sides — always have. And I’ve never been political in terms of making statements,” Metcalfe said.

    But that’s not stopping people from boycotting businesses all over the state.

    M&I Bank is being targeted because of donations by its top executives.

    Sam Hokin started a Facebook page listing a number of businesses to boycott.

    “I just grabbed the top contributors off of wisdc.org and put them up on a Facebook page,” Hokin said. “We’ve had companies say, ‘We give to both sides. It’s not fair for you to boycott us.’ It’s not an issue of fair. If I don’t want to buy your products, I’ll choose not to buy your products.”

    Boycotters said they want the companies to take a position on Walker’s bill, which takes away most collective bargaining rights for most state employees.

    M&I Bank said in a statement that it hasn’t taken a position on the bill and won’t. Metcalfe said he won’t take a position either.

    “I’m hopeful that a political stance by a business isn’t necessarily the only reason you would make a buying decision. I think we connect with the community in other ways, and I hope that that’ll stand for itself,” Metcalfe said.

    But that doesn’t mean the boycotts won’t have an effect.

    When Metcalfe was asked if this will affect how he deals with political contributions in the future, he replied, “I don’t know. This has been a wildfire in Madison, and I don’t know if I ever saw this coming. So I don’t know. It definitely makes me pause.”

    Hokin has tried to dial back any boycott against Metcalfe, saying he has tried to make an honest effort to explain his actions and is not a major donor to Walker.

    Metcalfe said that Brat Fest could be affected this year, not only for his business but also because Johnsonville employees have been large contributors to Walker.

    Metcalfe’s said it has a partnership agreement with Johnsonville donating 150,000 brats to the cause. Already another Facebook page has popped up calling for people to “Boycott Bratfest.”

    In a statement Monday, M&I Bank said its employees contributed to both candidates in the last election, but that isn’t enough for some customers.

    Prominent local pilot Jeff Skiles, who was co-pilot of the “Miracle on the Hudson” plane, told WISC-TV that he will close his accounts, which total more than $400,000, at M&I Bank on Tuesday. Others have contacted WISC-TV in the past week to say they were also closing their accounts at the bank.

    http://madisonnearwest.channel3000.com/news/business/citizens-call-boycott-walker-contributors/47789

    MESS with MY money…I’ll mess with YOURS.

    and it’s time to PISS OR GET OFF THE POT.

    none of that mealy mouthed, middle of the road bullshyt.

  18. Ametia says:

    Sen. Durbin Takes On James O’Keefe
    Benjy Sarlin | March 15, 2011, 10:09AM

    NPR may be in a defensive crouch, but at least one Democratic lawmaker is publicly pushing back against James O’Keefe’s war on public broadcasting: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL).

    Durbin took to the Senate floor on Monday to mount a defense of NPR and PBS and attack O’Keefe’s credibility. Noting that previous O’Keefe tapes have been found to be misleadingly edited, including his footage of ACORN in which he posed as a pimp, Durbin said that the same tactics were being used to go after NPR. He cited a widely circulated analysis by Glenn Beck’s website, The Blaze, as evidence.

    “Mr. O’Keefe appears to be engaged in creative editing again, and this time his target is National Public Radio,” he said. “That’s not just my opinion. The website of none other than Fox News’ own Glenn Beck — that’s right, Glenn Beck — compares the edited and unedited versions of Mr. O’Keefe’s latest video and concludes that the edited version appears to be deceptively edited in order to portray statements by one of the secretely recorded NPR execs out of context.”

    Durbin called out O’Keefe for his previous antics as well, reminding lawmakers that he had been arrested and convicted on misdemeanor charges in an attempted prank on Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) office.

    “Mr. O’Keefe is obviously not worried about breaking a law if he thinks he is going to come up with a sensational video,” Durbin said.

    Funding for NPR and PBS are under attack from congressional Republicans, many of whom claim that their reporting is biased and that they can survive on private donations. Durbin defended their news programming as balanced.

    http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/sen-durbin-takes-on-james-okeefe.php?ref=fpb

  19. Ametia says:

    ROFLMAO

  20. Brick – Ain’t Gonna Hurt Nobody

  21. Ametia says:

    Three-year-old is UK’s ‘youngest ever alcoholic’
    (AFP) – 1 day ago

    LONDON — A three-year-old child who was treated in hospital for addiction to alcohol is thought to be Britain’s youngest ever alcoholic, health officials said Monday.

    The youngster was one of 13 people under the age of 12 who were diagnosed as alcoholics by the state-run National Health Service (NHS) in central England between 2008 and 2010.

    Health officials declined to give details of the three-year-old’s condition or disclose the toddler’s identity due to patient confidentiality rules.

    An NHS spokeswoman said: “We treat alcohol abuse very seriously, and have specialist teams and experts on hand who are there to treat young patients with alcohol-related problems.”

    The news, revealed by the NHS after a request under Freedom of Information laws, highlights Britain’s uphill struggle to curb its heavy-drinking culture.

    It came on the same day that leading health groups blasted a government initiative on alcohol which involves asking drinks firms to sign up to pledges to cut binge and underage drinking.

    The groups, including the British Medical Association and the charity Alcohol Concern, accused the health ministry of letting the drinks industry dictate policy and condemned the pledges as neither specific nor measurable.

    http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i4Y1fs-bbdo-5Z9cc9UgyxDkL81g?docId=CNG.eec782652f590060d2b0c356a1aae693.571

  22. Ametia says:

    N.R.A. Declines to Meet With Obama on Gun PolicyBy JACKIE CALMES
    Published: March 14, 2011
    WASHINGTON — More than two months after the Tucson shootings, the administration is calling together both the gun lobby and gun safety groups to find common ground. But President Obama has no plans to take the lead in proposing further gun control legislation, aides say, and the nation’s major gun rights group is snubbing the invitation.

    On Tuesday, officials at the Justice Department will meet with gun control advocates in the first of what will be a series of meetings over the next two weeks with people on different sides of the issue, including law enforcement, retailers and manufacturers, to seek agreement on possible legislative or administrative actions.

    The effort follows Mr. Obama’s call, in a column on Sunday in a Tucson newspaper, to put aside “stale policy debates” and begin “a new discussion” on ways to better enforce and strengthen existing laws to keep mentally unstable, violent and criminal people from getting guns.

    But the National Rifle Association, for decades the most formidable force against proposals to limit gun sales or ownership, is refusing to join the discussion — possibly dooming it from the start, given the lobby’s clout with both parties in Congress. Administration officials had indicated they expected that the group would be represented at a meeting, perhaps on Friday.

    “Why should I or the N.R.A. go sit down with a group of people that have spent a lifetime trying to destroy the Second Amendment in the United States?” said Wayne LaPierre, the longtime chief executive of the National Rifle Association.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/us/politics/15guns.html?_r=2&om_rid=DRaeQf&om_mid=_BNf1niB8Zr1W3r

  23. Ametia says:

    Battle for control rages in Libya

    Gaddafi forces inch towards opposition stronghold of Benghazi while wrangle over UN decision on no-fly zone crawls.

    Last Modified: 15 Mar 2011 06:13 GMT

    Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader’s forces and rebels are fighting for control of the oil town of Brega as the battle for eastern Libya edged closer to Benghazi, the so-called “rebel capital” in the east.

    Al Jazeera’s Tony Birtley reported from Benghazi that “there is no immediate threat to Benghazi, and the rebels have a new commander, an experienced commander, who has defected from Gaddafi forces.

    “This is good news for the rebel forces as he is reported to have some 8,000 men with him and heavy weapons too.

    “Militarily, it is difficult for Gaddafi to come all the way to Benghazi, street fighting will make Gaddafi lose men and their morale may go down.”

    Separately, rebels say they are fortifying the town of Ajdabiya, against a possible assault by advancing forces loyal to Gaddafi, according to the Associated Press news agency.

    Ahmed al-Zwei, a rebel spokesman, said on Tuesday, “intermittent” fighting between the two sides was taking place on an 80-kilometre stretch of road between Ajdabiya and Brega.

    On Monday, Libyan jets flew behind rebel lines to bomb Ajdabiyah, the only sizeable town before Benghazi.

    Rebels said there had been no casualties.

    Colonel Milad Hussein, Libyan army spokesman, said that government forces were “marching to cleanse the country” of insurgents, whom he called “rats and terrorists” and vowed to take on Benghazi.

    The lightly armed rebels have been pushed back some 200 kilometres by Gaddafi’s better equipped and better trained forces in the past week.

    http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/03/201131542757285681.html?om_rid=DRaeQf&om_mid=_BNf1niB8Zr1W3r

  24. Student Humiliated by Mock Slave Auction at Ohio School

    http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/03/student_humiliated_by_mock_slave_auction_at_ohio_school.html#comment-165982974

    According to The Root, 10-year old student Nikko Burton was humiliated by his teacher during a mock “slave auction” at Chapelfield Elementary in Ohio. Burton, one of two black students in the class, was chosen to be a “slave,” while other students role-played as “masters” who inspected the “slaves” to see if they were fit for work.

    “The masters got to touch people and do all sorts of stuff,” Nikko said, “They got to look in your mouth and feel your legs and stuff and see if you’re strong and stuff.”

    Clutch Magazine reported recently that Burton was disciplined after he refused to participate, which involved “pocking prodding, and public humiliation.”

    Although the lesson was the history teacher’s intention to explain slavery to students, Nikko’s mother, Aneka Burton, found the auction inappropriate, racist and degrading. A school district representative has apologized to the family over the phone, but the young student has not yet received an apology from his teacher.

  25. UCLA Student’s Viral Video Rant: “Hordes” of Asians Annoy Me in Library

    http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/03/ucla_student_uploads_racist_rant_youtube_video_against_asian_students_in_library.html#comment-165980930

    Update @ 6:00pm EST: UCLA Chancellor Gene Block has sent an email to students condemning Wallace’s YouTube video: “I am appalled by the thoughtless and hurtful comments of a UCLA student posted on YouTube. Like many of you, I recoil when someone invokes the right of free expression to demean other individuals or groups.”

    A UCLA student who claims only Asians talk on their cell phones in the library has caused a stir by uploading a mocking video to YouTube. In her 2:52 video the young woman, who KoreAm has identified as Alexandra Wallace, complains about the “hordes of Asian people that UCLA accepts into our schools every single year” that don’t know any “American manners.”

    Perhaps Wallace should make a video about the “hordes” of white folk on campus, too, because according UCLA’s Office of Analysis and Information Management there really are hordes of white students on campus: 1,227 more of them than Asian students.

    In any case, here’s a rough transcript of part of her rant:

    Hi, in America we don’t talk on our cell phones in the library. Every 5 minutes, ok, say… like, 15 minutes. I’ll be like deep into my studies in political science theories, arguments and all that stuff, getting it all done and typing furiously, blah blah blah. And right when I’m about to reach like an epiphany, over here somewhere, “oooooooooh ching chong ling tin tong ooooooh.” Are you freaking kidding me? On finals week?

    Ignorant bimbo trash!

  26. Lawmaker Suggests Hunters In Helicopters To Control Immigration

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/15/kansas-legislator-hunters-helicopters-illegal-immigrants_n_835770.html#comments

    TOPEKA — A legislator said Monday it might be a good idea to control illegal immigration the way the feral hog population has been controlled — with hunters shooting from helicopters.

    Ain’t this some sh*t? Why the hell is this person a legislator? Recall the sob! He has no business being near where laws are made.

  27. dannie22 says:

    Good morning all!!

  28. Ametia says:

    Moaning, Everybody! :-((

Leave a Reply to SouthernGirl2Cancel reply