Wikipedia: Jack Leroy “Jackie” Wilson, Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer and performer. Known as “Mr. Excitement“, Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history.[1][2] Gaining fame in his early years as a member of the R&B vocal group Billy Ward and His Dominoes, he went solo in 1957 and recorded over 50 hit singles that spanned R&B, pop, soul, doo-wop and easy listening. During a 1975 benefit concert, he collapsed on-stage from a heart attack and subsequently fell into a coma that persisted for nearly nine years until his death in 1984. By this time, he had become one of the most influential artists of his generation.
A two-time Grammy Hall of Fame Inductee,Jackie Wilson was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.[3] In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Jackie Wilson #68 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[4]
Here’s a lil treat for you; complinents of 3 Chics!
What do Boehner, Cantor, McConnell and Kyl all have in common?
Nov 2004: Congress approves an $800 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $8.1 trillion. All four approve.
Mar 2006: Congress approves a $781 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $8.965 trillion. All four approve.
Sept 2007: Congress approves an $850 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $9.815 trillion. All four approve.
Got a link or video, SG2? These folks don’t care about pesky facts and evidence.
I got it off Keith Olberman’s facebook page. I also read it was raised a total of 19 times under Bush.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Keith-Olbermann-Fan-Page/153964677960664
He we go folks….The teabaggers want to rewrite History!
Tea Party Wants Slavery Removed From Student Textbooks
http://www.bvblackspin.com/2011/01/14/tea-party-wants-slavery-removed-from-student-textbooks?icid=sphere_newsone
When politically correct pundits and journalists defended the censorship of Mark Twain’s novel ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,’ I watched in disappointed disbelief. At that moment, I predicted propaganda to entirely whitewash this country’s history.
I didn’t realize it would be only a matter of days.
After GOP members felt inspired to read the clean version of the Constitution on the House floor last week, conveniently ignoring such seismic events as slavery and prohibition, the theatrical buffoonery gave their tea-drinking stepchildren in Tennessee a brilliant idea:
Why not erase any and all mention of slavery and genocide from United States textbooks all together?
Envision it, America!
Textbooks scrubbed free of slaves’ blood and government-sanctioned murder, ensuring that history books are palatable for generations of bright-eyed schoolchildren for generations to come.
After a news conference on Wednesday, about two dozen members of the Tea Party of Tennessee presented lawmakers with a list of “priorities and “demands” for the 2011 legislative session. According to the Party, it would “besmirch the image of the Founding Fathers” to be honest about this nation’s history.
In material distributed to the legislators, they demanded that state laws governing textbook criteria ensure that “no portrayal of minority experience in the history which actually occurred shall obscure the experience or contributions of the Founding Fathers, or the majority of citizens, including those who reached positions of leadership.”
Party spokesman and Fayette County attorney Hal Rounds said the group wants to address “an awful lot of made-up criticism” about, for instance, the founders intruding on the Indians or having slaves or being hypocrites in one way or another.
“The thing we need to focus on about the founders is that, given the social structure of their time, they were revolutionaries who brought liberty into a world where it hadn’t existed, to everybody — not all equally instantly — and it was their progress that we need to look at.”
It was their progress we need to look at?
Theirs.
When Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona, the “mecca of racism and bigotry,” signed into law a bill that prohibits ethnic studies from being taught in public schools because it teaches “ethnic chauvinism” and leads minority students to believe they had been “oppressed,” I didn’t think the ignorance would be contagious, but I was wrong.
As it stands, African Americans rarely get mentioned in any historical context at all if not that of the slave or loyal sidekick. Only the most passive of us managed to escape unscathed into the history books and now this bastion of bigotry from “the Volunteer State” wants to exclude even that so we don’t “besmirch” our founding fathers’ legacy?
I can’t respond… Counting backwards 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1….
I can…WTF?!!
Nowhere to run, nowhere to HIDE, crackas.
BLACK PEOPLE are the FOUNDING FATHERS. They’re in our blood. Massa made sure of it, when he sneaked into the slave quarters.
We’re everywhere! BWA HA HA HA
LOL!
The thing is, the very folks who are trying to scour slave history are probably full of slave blood, but their whiteness hides it. Yep, never know if that wife or husband, grandma, or grampy got that BLACK BLOOD all up in those veins, going back for generations…..
Be proud my crackas, claim your true heritage as a Black person. Maybe those dance skills will come to you , and the tans won’t be necessary any more! LOL
OK PEOPLE…
LISTEN UP TO REV. AL’S REBROADCAST TONIGHT on WWRL
http://www.wwrl1600.com/
8 pm EST.
Melissa Harris-Perry ‘goes there’ on Cornell West..
let’s just say…
God don’t like Ugly; Ain’t too fond of pretty.
Thanks for the link. *sigh* I’m getting mighty tired of West and his foolishness. He needs to be put on full blast, just like Trump.
Melissa Harris-Perry brought it up on Rev. Al Sharpton’s show today ‘Keeping it Real’ is the fact that Cornel has a bi-racial daughter living in Bonn Germany far away from the African-American communities.
GASP!
***faints***
Ummm hmmmm…what was one of the statements his pal, Smiley, was so glibly tweeting in response to people who objected to West’s nasty diatribe against the POTUS?
Let me think…oh yeah, “Dr. West has always expressed his individuality with #integrity. It’s just that sometimes what we need to know, we don’t really want to hear.”
LOL! Right you are, my brotha’…right you are. I’m sure this is something West really didn’t want heard by the general public. And it raises some rather interesting questions about West’s issues/statements, especially that part about “integrity.” Don’t you think so?
Boo Boo- are you okay? Get up off that damn floor and stop clowning! LOL!
I imagine right about now West has that deer caught in the headlights look. Hello…it’s called karmic justice.
KARMA, IT’S WHAT’S FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER!
Only a matter of time before West got his come uppence.
Smiley, take NOTE. We know you’ve got some of these too:
http://dancingwithfools.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/skeletons-in-closet.png
Breaking News Alert: AP: Former IMF leader indicted in sex abuse case
May 19, 2011 3:07:12 PM
—————————————-
A prosecutor in New York says a grand jury has indicted former IMF leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn in connection with an alleged attack on a hotel maid.
The assistant district attorney did not specify the charge.
http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/PSLW3N/YH0PR1/NNP78H/8PUJO3/Q5ZWH/6C/h
Thank you, CR!
One World
ونحن نحترم.……ندرج……..ونحن جميعا الفو
我们尊重……….我们尊重…………大家都赢
que repsect…….incluimos…….todos ganamos
Wir respektieren…….wir zählen…….wir alle gewinnen
nous respectons..nous incluons..nous sommes tous gagnants
kita menghargai….kita termasuk….kita semua menang
мы уважаем….мы уважаем….мы все победить
우리가 존중…우리가 포함…우리 모두가 승리
אנו מכבדים … אנו כוללים … כולנו לנצח
Respect…Include…Win☮
“All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear, when the holy land of the three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be, when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed — peace be upon them — joined in prayer.”
Barack Obama- June 4, 2009
http://propresobama.org/2011/05/18/we-respect-we-include-we-all-win-%E2%98%AE/
AWESOME! THANK YOU
Professor Cornell West And President Obama
http://oliviaemisar.blogspot.com/2011/05/professor-cornell-west-has-made-some.html
Professor Cornell West has made some comments about President Obama that have struck a nerve with many people for a variety of reasons. Some people believe that President Obama can do no wrong, others see him as a centrist and are disappointed he is not the liberal progressive they dreamed he was.
Others can’t wait to tear him down because he is not white enough or black enough.
Others can’t give him credit for anything he has accomplished, while others keep putting as many hurdles as they can in front of him so he will fail. It is personal, it is political and it is a game that has more losers than winners, but it is what it is and it will continue to evolve because that is the nature of the beast.
Cornell West has made me jump out of the sidelines and stand and protect, not President Obama, but an entire segment of the population that has remained silent for far too long.
~excerpt~
Has a fear of free-black men: This is what white people were afraid of when slavery was abolished. The fear that free-black men would take to arms and slaughter white people. Their fears are only more heighten now that a “person of color” has attained the highest office in the land. This type of rhetoric is fuel to a fire that must be extinguished, not flamed.
Free-black men is code
Why would President Obama be “afraid of free-black men”? this is code for he is not black-enough and leans towards the white heritage that is so rightly his. It is code for selling out to white people’s vision of society. Please do not call him you “dear brother” when you don’t see him as one of your brothers even though he lived as a community organizer helping people you would call your brothers and sisters without question.
Brilliant African Father: Yes, he was brilliant. So was his mother. No mention of her here, except to insinuate that his white upbringing and white mother makes him less of a black person and he must fear both whites and blacks because he is a “white man with black skin”.
“He has a certain rootlessness, a deracination. It is understandable.” : Right, he does have a certain rootlessness because black and white people have an issue they never talk about in public, let alone admit to.
Those of us with multi-cultural roots have been subjected to not being ‘enough’ of this or ‘enough’ of the other by all sides while both sides wanting us to reflect them in words and deeds and rejecting us because we do not resemble either one. It is a love-hate relationship that puts children of mixed heritage in “no-man’s land”.
By rejecting us you all made us free. Freer than you’ll ever be. Through rejection and questioning we disassociate from both and become US. We become Cosmopolitan and world citizens in a quest to understand where we fit in. As a result, we appreciate and move freely within cultures because we have taken the time to understand and listen. To appreciate and embrace. To not judge, but to accept. In short, we are the United Nations and proud of it.
Our president is not unique in his racial background, as a matter of fact, his “mixed-blood” only goes back one generation. Some of us, go back to days of Haitian revolution and Conquistadors, to Muslims who married Jews and southern whites who fought hard to free slaves because they too, understood the meaning of humanity.
“He feels most comfortable with upper middle-class white and Jewish men who consider themselves very smart, very savvy and very effective in getting what they want,” he says. “He’s got two homes. He has got his family and whatever challenges go on there, and this other home. Larry Summers blows his mind because he’s so smart. He’s got Establishment connections. He’s embracing me. It is this smartness, this truncated brilliance, that titillates and stimulates brother Barack and makes him feel at home. That is very sad for me.
“He’s got two homes”: He could have twenty, but you are not referring to real estate, you are referring to him not being black enough and your perception that he is more white than black. You are in fact, calling him “Other”.
“This was maybe America’s last chance to fight back against the greed of the Wall Street oligarchs and corporate plutocrats, to generate some serious discussion about public interest and common good that sustains any democratic experiment,” West laments. “We are squeezing out all of the democratic juices we have. The escalation of the class war against the poor and the working class is intense. More and more working people are beaten down. They are world-weary. They are into self-medication. They are turning on each other. They are scapegoating the most vulnerable rather than confronting the most powerful. It is a profoundly human response to panic and catastrophe. I thought Barack Obama could have provided some way out. But he lacks backbone.”
“He lacks backbone”: The man who hunted down Osama Bin Laden and took on Somali pirates has no backbone? The man who fought to reform Health care and give people with pre-existing conditions a better quality of life has no backbone?
“More and more working people are beaten down. They are world-weary. They are into self-medication. They are turning on each other.”: Yes, we are world-weary and turning against each other because ideologues have driven a wedge into the American psyche that fosters fear and hatred, but that has nothing to do with our president’s actions, but the corporatist running every branch of government.
Dr. West, did you think for a minute that ONE person could clean up the government with one hand and send lobbyist and bankers scurrying out of D.C. in the first couple of months?. Did you think they would not put up a fight to destroy every aspect of government that protects the working poor and middle class?.
You too are weary Dr. West, but not from the previous administration but from generations of watching the poor being forgotten and “people of color” being imprisoned and disenfranchised in society since the beginning. You too are tired of the crumbs and you are not alone. We just have to understand that change would have only happened over night if we were all willing to make it happen.
“Can you imagine if Barack Obama had taken office and deliberately educated and taught the American people about the nature of the financial catastrophe and what greed was really taking place?” West asks. “If he had told us what kind of mechanisms of accountability needed to be in place, if he had focused on homeowners rather than investment banks for bailouts and engaged in massive job creation he could have nipped in the bud the right-wing populism of the tea party folk. The tea party folk are right when they say the government is corrupt. It is corrupt. Big business and banks have taken over government and corrupted it in deep ways.”
Dr. West, can you imagine if one man alone could do all that? This type of hero or savior only exist in Hollywood movies. President Obama stated clearly throughout his campaign: “I can’t do it alone” and that was meant for us.
We were supposed to elect people he could govern with, we were meant to help him govern and we failed him. We gave up and blamed him for an economy that was created long before President Obama came into office. We allowed the fringes of society to put in place ideologues with no real moral compass or a clue of what it is to be a minority of any stripe. The tea party folks are right about government corruption, but unable or unwilling to see they are the tools of those they want to oust. These folks will continue to work for them and vote against their own best interests.
“We have got to attempt to tell the truth, and that truth is painful,” he says. “It is a truth that is against the thick lies of the mainstream. In telling that truth we become so maladjusted to the prevailing injustice that the Democratic Party, more and more, is not just milquetoast and spineless, as it was before, but thoroughly complicitous with some of the worst things in the American empire. I don’t think in good conscience I could tell anybody to vote for Obama. If it turns out in the end that we have a crypto-fascist movement and the only thing standing between us and fascism is Barack Obama, then we have to put our foot on the brake. But we’ve got to think seriously of third-party candidates, third formations, third parties.”
“We have got to attempt to tell the truth, and that truth is painful,” : Yes, it is. Racism and fear are not the domain of white people and that is the painful truth. It has been used by both sides to demean and humiliate children of mixed ethnic backgrounds and never, not once, have I ever heard anyone defending their right to occupy their space or to ask “what is it like NOT to be like me, us, people of only ONE affiliation?” “How can you be so comfortable in your own skin? – – it frightens me, you too, are ‘Other’.”
“I don’t think in good conscience I could tell anybody to vote for Obama.” Is it conscience or resentment that causes you to utter these words?. It is obvious from the entire interview that political ideology, racial identity and a personal relationship gone bad have influenced much of the content and context of this barrage.
Frankly, Dr. West I could careless if you and President Obama are no longer friends. We have only heard one side of the story and it has nothing to do with the rest of us. What I have a problem with is that sick knot in my stomach that is only too familiar to those of mixed parentage, cultures and ethnic backgrounds.
We are not black enough, white enough, Hispanic enough, Asian enough, Christian enough, Catholic enough, Democratic enough or American enough.
When you question whether we are enough or not, we are confused in our youth and offended in our old age. We respect people of other cultures that defied conventions and risked their lives to love who they loved and raise a family that was strong and questioned authority and social mores. We come from people with an undeniably strong backbone and broad shoulders.
YES, WE ARE ENOUGH. We are more than enough because we are FREE and no one will ever makes us wonder where we fit in anymore, and just like President Obama, we are very comfortable in our own skin because our skin was born out of love.
In my humble opinion, this makes us more free than you ever dreamed of or you can imagine based on personal experience. While I can’t speak for everyone, I am convinced that my words will resonate clearly and loudly with my brothers and sisters who have been marginalized throughout history.
While I agree with Dr. West about the state of our political system and see how the middle class, the poor and the unions are being decimated by greed and power grabs, I can’t sit idly by and allow another person to hurl racial slurs against those of us who don’t feel the need to choose one side over another, because good, bad, or indifferent, we have accepted all sides as our own.
Yes, WE ARE ENOUGH and have had ENOUGH. Some of us have ties to several cultures and our heritage expands across continents. We come from people who bucked convention and had the backbone to tell the rest of the world to shove it because it was their life and they were not invited to pass judgment. That, Dr. West, is what free-people looks like.
Our ancestors did not ask for permission, nor did they ask for forgiveness. They were white men and women who married “people of color” and created the life they wanted for themselves in spite of what free-blacks or free-whites thought. President Obama’s white mother and African father were such people and they owe no one an explanation, neither does their son.
Girl, print the rest of the article. It needs to be read! (:
Really bring ALL of the Truth, SG2, while we listen! :-)
OK, give me a sec. Olivia ripped it but good!
Thank you, SG2, for putting it all out there!
Will we will allow ourselves to really “HEAR” what’s being said?
Or will we dismiss it?
Thank you, Manuel at Latino Politico. The Tea Party is working hard to take this country backwards…
“When Pearce took the reins, he declared that Arizona would have the country’s first Tea Party Senate.”
“A blog from Pearce picked up by the Sonoran Alliance website is signed “Russell Pearce…Tea Party Senate President-Elect.” He said in the blog, ‘I consider this to be the Tea Party Senate and we intend to take back America one state at a time.’ AZCentral.com
“That threat – and it is a threat – is becoming reality. Yesterday, the state’s Senate Appropriations Committee became the first in the nation to advance a repeal of birthright citizenship for a full vote.”
“After a rocky start, the birthright legislation finally received committee approval on Feb. 22, overcoming the initial hurdle before the full Senate can debate and vote on the measure that is stirring so much raw emotion and is solidifying Arizona’s reputation as ground zero in the struggle to confront illegal immigration.”
“By an 8-to-5 vote that hewed nearly along party lines, the Senate Appropriations Committee gave the green light to a two-bill proposal whose ultimate aim is to get the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit the issue of American citizenship, though critics question whether the judiciary would actually answer this exact issue and not dismiss the legislation on some other grounds.” – AZ Capitol Times
http://maneegee.blogspot.com/
The death of Brisenia, who was nine years old, didn’t receive much media coverage. So, I’m not sure if many people heard about what happened to this young girl and her family. The excerpt doesn’t go into all the details, but it should be easy to find on the Internet….
“In 2009, nine year old Brisenia Flores begged for her life before being murdered in cold blood under orders from a founding member of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corp. Today, justice has been served: A Pima County jury convicted Shawna Forde today of two counts of first-degree murder in the May 30, 2009 deaths of Arivaca residents Raul Junior Flores and his 9-year-old daughter, Brisenia.”
“The jury also convicted Forde of attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of Flores’ wife, Gina Gonzalez, as well as related aggravated assault and robbery counts.”
“Gonzlez started crying as soon as the first guilty verdict, the killing of her daughter, was read just before noon in a packed courtroom at Pima County Superior Court. The jury deliberated for seven hours over two days. Jurors will now be asked if the death penalty ought to be considered.”
– AZStarnet.com
http://maneegee.blogspot.com/2011/02/justice-for-brisenia.html
“The national debate over health care can be summed up in a bill being debated in Sacramento. Supporters of Senate Bill 810 say the legislation would be the only way to provide medical coverage for every Californian. Opponents deride the measure as socialized medicine.”
“The California Universal Healthcare Act was introduced by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco. The bill would initiate single-payer universal health care for the state of California, Leno said. ‘What that means in short is Medicare for all,’ he said.”
“Supporter Keith Ensminger, a Merced resident and owner of Kramer Translations, said the largest benefit of the legislation probably would be that it would include everyone. ‘Everybody would have insurance, regardless of their income and regardless of their position in life,’ he said. ‘One of the bigger benefits for us is that nobody in the Central Valley would be required to remain poor for Medi-Cal. They would still have their insurance paid.'”
“A high percentage of Central Valley residents are on Medi-Cal. There would be other positive effects from the bill, said Ensminger, who’s a member of Health Care for All, a statewide organization that helped developed the bill. It would lower the cost of insurance for most people, everybody in the state would have a health insurance plan and it would aid people in having medical conditions treated early rather than waiting. In addition, it would prevent medical bankruptcies, he said.”
http://truthout.org/single-payer-california/1305811363
“Newt Gingrich has been extremely contrite lately, reaching out to conservative commentators, bloggers, and lawmakers in recent days to personally apologize for slamming the GOP budget as “right wing social engineering.” Perhaps lost in the overwhelming appearance of a full walk back is that Gingrich hasn’t really walked back anything.”
“If I were re-wording it, I would have said it slightly different,” he told Wisconsin TV station WXOW on Wednesday. “The intent was the same, but I’m happy to continue to evolve.”
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/apologetic-newt-hasnt-actually-changed-his-position.php
NEWT to GOP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4C47crSet8&feature=related
You’re all over it, Ametia!
****dancing****
“In economics the definition of a third world country is a nation that exports more raw materials, and imports more finished goods. Now we know that this country has an exporting problem, in fact the only major exports we have are financial instruments and finished war materials and raw materials.”
“The American government has allowed corporations to turn their backs on the American workers since era of Ronald Reagan. In 1979 Reagan campaigned on open borders, free markets and free trade. His vice president George H.W. Bush signed NAFTA, and Bill Clinton signed that treaty into American law. Since the American government cannot impose tariffs on goods to equalize labor costs, corporations are free to leave this country in order to escape the high American standard of living.”
Now after 30 years of free markets and free trade, our manufacturing base has been gutted. A country that doesn’t manufacture anything does not create or add wealth to the economy. A service economy, which is essentially what we have today, just moves money around without adding value to a product.
“As I pointed out in a previous article, China is now beginning to feel the pressure of outsourcing as factories close and move to even lower wage countries like Philippines and Vietnam. America used to be the manufacturing capital of the world. Now according to a report by the Port of L.A. our top five imports are,
Furniture- 401,967 TEUs
Footwear- 164,889 TEUs
Toys- 156,227 TEUs
Auto parts- 140,969 TEUs
Apparel- 136,188 TEUs
FYI -TEUs The twenty-foot equivalent unit is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals.
Top five Exports are,
astepaper- 269,335 TEUs
Cotton- 102,658 TEUs
Grains Product- 98,437 TEUs
Animal Feed- 97,321 TEUs
“The conservative ideals have driven the United States from a world manufacturer to a third world country in 30 years. Sure you will hear the regressive conservatives blame our taxes, but they would have to explain China and the outsourcing happening there also. China is where the United States was 30+ years ago, the top manufacturer, until the working class began demanding higher wages and the corporations and the shareholders demanded higher profits, guess who won? It wasn’t the American worker, that’s for sure.”
http://www.politicususa.com/en/america-third-world
Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and other 2012 contenders don’t think Obama was born in Kenya—they’re just saying he’s not one of us.
“Mitt Romney has tried to be the adult in the 2012 GOP race. He hasn’t echoed the extreme rhetoric of other Republican presidential wannabes or that of his party’s tea party base. In mid-April—before President Barack Obama eviscerated the birther movement by releasing his longform birth certificate (and ordering the raid that killed Osama bin Laden)—Romney declared he would have none of that birther nonsense: “I think the citizenship test has been passed. I believe the president was born in the United States.” Yet the former Massachusetts governor is still playing footsie with a popular conservative meme: Obama’s not really one of us.”
“His most recent effort to cast Obama as an outsider didn’t draw much media notice. It occurred last week, during Romney’s much-watched speech on health care. The political class focused on his refusal to apologize for the health care plan (with mandates!) that he enacted in Massachusetts and for his attempt to bash Obama’s health care overhaul, which was similar to Romney’s Mass-Care. Overall, the reviews weren’t positive. Romney didn’t satisfy his right-wing critics. Nor did he put the issue to rest. He will have to explain again—and again and again.”
//
“….That’s a rather grand criticism. Romney didn’t truly define the “American Experiment.” But to many it might seem that the biracial son of a Kenyan and a Kansan, who rose to become the first African American president of the United States, would presumably appreciate such a thing. Yet here was Romney saying that the president doesn’t understand the country he governs….”
//
“Romney was engaging in what can be called otherism, a big cousin to birtherism. Otherism can be more virulent than birtherism (Obama is a secret Muslim socialist!) or more subtle (Hey, this Obama guy just doesn’t get America), but the main contention is that somehow he’s not a true American. It’s not a matter of his birth records, but of his attitude.”
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/05/birtherism-otherism-romney-gingrich-2012
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Thought for Today….
BWA HA HA HA It’s called K A R M A!
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
“In the week ending May 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 409,000, a decrease of 29,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 438,000. The 4-week moving average was 439,000, an increase of 1,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 437,750.”
“The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.0 percent for the week ending May 7, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.0 percent.”
“The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 7 was 3,711,000, a decrease of 81,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,792,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,728,250, an increase of 750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,727,500.”
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102×4856018
Good News!
“Employers say a talent shortage has saddled their efforts to fill jobs, according to a survey by ManpowerGroup. More than 50% of U.S. employers reported having difficulty filling “mission-critical” positions within their companies, up from 14% in 2010. Among the hardest positions to fill included jobs in skilled trades, sales and engineering.”
“Employers attributed their difficulties to candidates’ lack of experience and technical skills, and to applicants’ looking for too much money, the report says. An aging workforce and a shortage of young people replacing their positions have added to the challenge.”
“During the recession, employers learned to do more with less, placing pressure on employees to perform outside of their duties and making employers more selective in their hiring. As employers struggle to fill jobs, unhappy employees are looking to bail. About 84% of employees surveyed by Manpower reported looking for another job.”
“The economy is getting better so there are more jobs,” said Melanie Holmes, vice president at Manpower. “People are gaining confidence and they are willing to take the risk.”
Manpower is recommending that companies abandon the status quo and focus on hiring people who are a “teachable fit,” meaning those with the right soft skills who can later be taught the technical skills needed to perform a job. “You can’t hire someone to fix wind turbines who is afraid of heights,” Holmes explained. “But you can teach someone who isn’t to hold a screwdriver and fix the wind turbine.”
“Additional recommendations for employers include raising salaries, increasing benefits, offering a starting bonus, and providing training and development.”
http://www.jsonline.com/business/122201984.html
Yes it is, but this isn’t….
(Thank you, Cory McCray at the Pragmatic Progressive!)
“Many people would argue that Democratic states such as Maryland would never be a battle ground for defending Collective Bargaining rights for states like Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa. That myth is far from true, it’s the total opposite. Collective Bargaining Rights are being challenged in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, and Montgomery County. The aforementioned places are municipalities throughout Maryland where union members are holding protest and fighting for their right to collectively bargain.”
“Collective Bargaining is the heart of the relationship between the employer and employee. It is considered the legal binding contract between the employer and employee. While many city, state, and federal officials continue efforts to void or violate the collective bargaining agreement which weakens the power of the employees, we have to consider their agenda. Just think we have contracts for the most important parts of our lives such as our mortgage, car payment, life insurance, and etc.”
“Even the people that are trying to ruin collective bargaining have contracts with the position that they hold that dictates their wages, healthcare, and pensions. These people I am referring to are our legislators; they all have a contract with the people that they represent. So why won’t they figure out ways to give up or violate their contract before they begin to violate or void the contract with the working men and women in America.”
//
“In Baltimore City, the firefighters and police officers have filed a 57 page federal lawsuit against the City of Baltimore. The City of Baltimore has been accused of purposely underfunding the pension system and violating the contractual agreement in the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement)….”
http://thepragmaticprogressive.org/wp/2011/05/19/collective-bargaining-rights-being-destroyed-in-maryland-sparks-protest/
Don’t mess with my home state! Thank you for posting this.
Ametia, I’m loving Jackie Wilson!
…..Your love lifted me higher than I’ve ever been lifted before
****dances****
…so keep it up, quench my desire; and I’ll be at your side forever more…
Wow! Steer clear of Tennessee…
“Tennessee Police fight with each other over money seized from motorists…”
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385×584792
Here’s the Youtube link:
Ain’t that some shit, but this unfortunately has been going on for years. And to think Indiana is passing laws for the PoPo to enter citizens homes without a warrant.
Damn! POTUS just got of TN on Monday.
May 19, 2011 8:00 AM
What Palin considers ‘racist’
By Steve Benen
Late last week, disgraced former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R), now on the presidential campaign trail, delivered quite a provocative speech. Gingrich compared the 2012 election to the 1860 race, called President Obama “the most successful food stamp president in modern American history,” and raised the specter of bringing back poll tests that were common under Jim Crow.
More than a few observers heard a not-so-subtle dog whistle, and to his credit, “Meet the Press” host David Gregory pressed Gingrich on the point over the weekend. Gregory said “a lot of people” heard the remarks as having “coded racially-tinged language.” Gingrich dismissed this and the interview moved on.
Last night, former half-term Gov. Sarah Palin (R) talked to Sean Hannity about the exchange, and accused Gregory of being racist.
“Well, talk about racism, that was a racist tinged question from David Gregory. He made it sound like if you’re black, you are on food stamps. And the president is referring to you as being on food stamps. I think that’s racist. Then, you know, enough is enough of this calling out, this racism, this false charges. Obviously, it is done just to end the conversation.
Just to distract, divert attention from what the real substance is, and stop the conversation. “Here again, enough is enough. Why do we let the press, the media personalities get away with such? Let’s call him out on them.”
My favorite part of that? When Palin refers to Gregory as a “media personality.”
She went on to urge conservatives to “ignore” reporters who might ask tough questions. “Instead,” Palin said, “candidates need to get their message out via the news social media, be a fair and balanced reporters who will just allow the facts to get out there.
Don’t even participate in that goofy game that has been played now for too many years with the leftist mainstream media trying to twist the candidates’ words and intent and content of their statements.”
I guess Palin won’t be making the rounds on the Sunday shows anytime soon.
Hannity asked, by the way, about Palin’s own possible presidential ambitions, and she responded with the kind of trademark word salad that’s come to define her unique communications skills: “Still assessing the field because I know it is still going to change the line-up. People are going to come and go before that legal deadline is imposed on us to have to make the decision. So, I’m still not ready to make an announcement. Still seriously considering it, and praying about it. And talking about it with family. Because of course it is a monumental leap for a family to put themselves out there again in the limelight and be ready for the scrutiny that ensues in a campaign. So, still talking about it, and assessing yes.
The field, looking for others who are ready to go rogue and fight against the machine on both sides of the aisle in order to get the economy back on the right track and do the things that the private sector needs done to implement some solutions to all the problems that America is facing right now. I want to make sure that we have a candidate out there with Tea Party principles, understanding that we are taxed enough already. Our job creators cannot afford to be taxed anymore. And we’ll do the right things that so many Tea Party patriots have already been articulating and cheering on and looking for candidates to embrace.”
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_05/what_palin_considers_racist029681.php
What IS she babbling about?!!
This excerpt is from p m carpenter’s commentary:
“Earlier today I wrote: Jon Huntsman has potential, but so far, unlike Pawlenty, he’s shown a resistance to degrading his former respectable self.”
“Check that. From Politico, just minutes ago: Jon Huntsman will meet with former New Hampshire Senate candidate Ovide Lamontagne this weekend, a sign the former ambassador will try to court the state’s conservative grassroots and tea party voters.”
http://pmcarpenter.blogs.com/p_m_carpenters_commentary/2011/05/emergency-correction.html
It will be interesting to see how Huntsman plays out his hand with the teabagger racists. Good luck with this, buddy!
Hmmm….here’s another perspective about this individual which gives me pause. (But I still think she’s dumber than a rock!)
//
“Imagine there are no boundaries and no rules. Imagine if you really believed that you were Esther here to save the USA. Imagine if you were a narcissist surrounded by ego-supporters who told you every day that the country depended upon you to save it from the fires of hell. Imagine if you thought that the President were the anti-christ and you the savior. That’s not just rhetoric for Sarah Palin; she actually believes this stuff, which explains why she is so shocked when Americans don’t receive things like her blood libel video well.”
//
“Due to the weak GOP field and as a result of their desperate pandering to the far right, a Palin run is not a far-fetched possibility. And sooner than you can make your next Sarah Palin joke, the conservatives will begin to rally around their only “star”. Those same people who were dissing Palin just weeks ago will suddenly find her latest tweet on foreign policy to be brilliant and the rebranding will commence at warp speed. It will probably include some kind of heart-warning narrative about how Palin has finally seen the light, and is busy “studying” up, getting “serious” and buying pink elephant gravitas from the local Wal-Mart.”
“If played right, it could be the “come-back” story Americans so love to buy. Of course, this is Sarah Palin we’re talking about, and Palin isn’t known for taking suggestions well, so the odds of her messing up her own “come-back” are high. She has a self-serving, self-pitying demeanor only a far right, social conservative could love, after all.”
“The irony here is that Palin may be sunk by the image that she’s stupid, when in reality, she’s not stupid at all (she is willfully ignorant and too arrogant to think she needs to learn anything), which just goes to prove that image is everything in American politics. The short term memories of Americans could come into play here, though. One false sympathy move and the game changes.”
“Some people play the precarious game of pushing for Palin just because Obama would trounce her easily. They have no idea the kind of dangerous fire they are playing with. If we love this country, if we want a more peaceful union, if we want diplomacy, integrity and ethics to matter and a return to dialogue over meaningful issues, we would not wish for a Palin run. No sane person who knows the Real Sarah wants her to run, no matter how sure the outcome of her loss. She’s too toxic.”
“When you laugh at the idea of Sarah Palin running for office, remember that this is the Republican Party you are placing so much faith in– the same party that sold Wisconsin on Scott Walker, the party that promotes Paul Ryan’s budget plan, the party that gave us two terms of George W Bush. This is the party that continually gets Americans to vote against their own economic interest and liberty. Is there anything the Republican Party can’t sell to their own base?”
http://www.politicususa.com/en/sarah-palin-2012-waters
Dang it, creolechild; after reading that drivel, I believe you just insulted a ROCK.
My apologies to all the rocks out there!(:
May 19, 2011
No longer ‘unthinkable’
EJ Dionne has more confidence in the Beverly Hillbillies-Corleone Party than I:
Republicans holding the debt-ceiling increase hostage to their efforts to eviscerate programs know perfectly well that Congress will not risk a financial crisis.
Dionne retains the “That’s unthinkable” position since refusing to raise the debt ceiling is — to anyone familiar with the economic laws of cause and effect — unthinkable. Dionne believes that eleventh-hour swerving is still everyone’s tactic of choice in potentially fire-balling games of chicken. And Dionne knows that no national politician is so disagreeably reckless as to temper-tantrum us right over the cliff and into the Great Depression II.
All these beliefs reflect a sustained faith in the fundamental decency of the GOP. It may be that Dionne’s confidence is justified, that “risk[ing] a financial crisis” is only a spike in Republicans’ political amusement and base-pandering, that the party’s lunatics are yet in total control of their asylum. Doubtless, that’s the historical view: the present deadlock is just the latest in a long, political litany of brinkmanship, virtually always predictable in its whimpering demise (excluding that little dustup in 1860-61).
Doubtless as well is that the amassing doubters of this long and once reasonable view hope that Dionne is correct. But I’m sorry, EJ — my faith has checked out. The “unthinkable” has become the GOP’s standard negotiating position, and one of these days whatever nuclear option they’re pushing is going to go boom. We’re no longer contemplating mere political laws of compromise and obstinance; instead, our immutable threat is the mathematical law of averages.
Two days ago there appeared a piece in Politico, by Carrie Budoff Brown, that read more like a Gothic horror story than political journalism:
[T]he negotiating position of a growing number of Republicans appears to be this: If they need to hold out for a better deficit-cutting deal and blow the August deadline, so be it.
[S]aid Arizona Rep. David Schweikert: “It’s absolutely silly. We have plenty of cash flow to pay debt, which means I’m trying to figure out how credibly the administration can keep using that language.”
Sen. Pat Toomey: “[I]t’s not a financial crisis. It’s not a default on our debt. It’s not a catastrophe. It’s a disruption
Today, Politico’s Jonathan Allen and Jake Sherman add to the horror:
What is increasingly clear — even to leading Republican lawmakers — is that Republicans are further than ever from approving a debt-limit increase.
[T]here are indications that rank-and-file Republicans are rejecting warnings from the administration, many economists and even some GOP leaders that default would result in an abrupt international economic collapse.
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.): “By defaulting on the debt, in the short and long term, it could benefit us to go through a period of crisis that forces politicians to make decisions.”
Unthinkable. All of it, unthinkable — to the stubbornly reasonable — yet each passing day only swells the hayseed-gangster head of the modern GOP. It may be that the last thing they want is to avert a crisis of Great Depression II proportions. Indeed, it may be that a government-gutting economic depression is the singular object of their debt-ceiling exercise, a gutting which they of course can never achieve through earnest negotiations.
http://pmcarpenter.blogs.com/p_m_carpenters_commentary/2011/05/no-longer-unthinkable.html
Grassley: Daniels Could ‘Show That People Who Don’t Have Charisma Could Be Elected President’
With friends like these…
As the Des Moines Register reports, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has some nice things to say about possible Republican presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels:
“Sometimes I hear Mitch Daniels and I thought, maybe I oughta back him because it would be an opportunity to show that people who don’t have charisma could be elected president,” Grassley joked in a conference call with reporters today.
Grassley, who was asked about the importance of personal magnetism as opposed to policy in a presidential race, later made a point of saying his comments were “tongue in cheek.”
Grassley also added to his “tongue in cheek” comment, with some praise for Daniels. “He seems to be a very, very good governor, has a good record. He had a good record as OMB director,” Grassley said. “He is a person of substance and substance matters … particularly at a time of 9 percent unemployment.”
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/grassley-daniels-could-show-that-people-who-dont-have-charisma-could-be-elected-president.php?ref=dcblt
Got this from my facebook friend this morning…
THOUGHT I’D GIVE YOU A SMILE THIS MORNING -> Charlie Weaver, friend and former chief of staff to Tim Pawlenty, tells Time Magazine, simply: “Bachmann’s going to be a pain in the ass in Iowa.
:)
Strauss-Kahn Resigns
Jailed IMF chief steps down with immediate effect
Dominique Strauss-Kahn has stepped down as director of the International Monetary Fund. Strauss-Kahn, who is being held in New York’s Rikers Island prison on sexual assault charges, denied the charges against him but said he wanted to protect his family and the IMF, reports the New York Times. The Frenchman, once seen as the likeliest candidate to oust President Nicolas Sarkozy, has a bail hearing Thursday
“It is with infinite sadness that I feel compelled today to present to the Executive Board my resignation from my post of Managing Director of the IMF,” Strauss-Kahn said in a statement issued late Wednesday night. “I think at this time first of my wife—whom I love more than anything—of my children, of my family, of my friends.” Pressure had been building on the IMF to replace Strauss-Kahn even before his resignation.
http://www.newser.com/story/118912/dominique-strauss-kahn-resigns-as-imf-head.html
if he ever gets confirmed, one day he’ll be the first Asian on the Supreme Court, and the GOP knows it, which is why they want him out of the pipeline.
……………………………………….
Republicans Poised To Filibuster Liu Nomination
Susan Crabtree | May 18, 2011, 3:05PM
Republicans in the Senate are poised to block one of the youngest and most promising liberal legal minds from ascending to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit more than a year after President Obama appointed him.
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) Tuesday night filed a motion to limit debate on Liu’s nomination. The motion requires 60 votes to pass, but Republicans are signaling strong opposition and may have enough votes to sink the motion and effectively filibuster the nomination when it comes to the floor Thursday.
Sens. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL), the current and former ranking members of the Judiciary Committee, released a strongly worded “alert” Wednesday arguing against the confirmation.
If confirmed by the Senate, Liu “would advance his progressive philosophy for years to come, doing incalculable damage to the constitutional system of limited government and federalism envisioned by our founding fathers,” the senators said in the statement.
The 9th Circuit, which covers the West Coast of the U.S. as well as Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Idaho, Nevada and Arizona, is considered one of the most liberal circuit courts in the nation.
Supporters say Liu, a U.C. Berkeley law professor, is an exceptionally qualified candidate who follows legal precedent and mainstream judicial American jurisprudence. He is the son of Taiwanese immigrants, graduated from Yale law school, was a Rhodes Scholar and is now a well-respected constitutional law scholar, they say.
The real reason Republicans are opposing him is his age and career prospects, they argue. If given the perch of the Ninth Circuit, at 40, Liu could start building up a record on the bench and eventually become the first Asian-American nominee to the Supreme Court.
Asian-American advocates, and prominent legal scholars, including former Whitewater counsel Kenneth Starr, a Republican have championed Liu since he was first nominated in early 2010. But Republicans have blocked him at every turn, arguing that he has not been forthcoming to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the content of his speeches and writings. Some Republicans also are still seething over his written testimony against Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito in 2006.
“Judge Alito’s record envisions an America where police may shoot and kill an unarmed boy to stop him from running away with a stolen purse … where a black man may be sentenced to death by an all-white jury for killing a white man,” Liu wrote. “I humbly submit that this is not the America we know. Nor is it the America we aspire to be.”
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/republicans-poised-to-filibuster-liu-nomination.php
This seems to be the trend all across the country and is going to have a huge impact on the upcoming 2012 elections. If people don’t get photo IDs well in advance, we’re going to lose *millions* of eligible voters, making it possible for the Republicans to end up back in the White House and/or overtaking the Senate.
You might not care now, but hopefully you will before it’s too late. What they’re attempting to do now is “child’s play” compared to what will jump off when they’re back in power. It’s something to think about…
“Madison – Republican leaders in the state Senate imposed a one-hour limit Thursday on debate on a bill to require voters to show photo ID at the polls, prompting outrage from Democrats.”
“The Senate debated the bill for nine hours Tuesday into Wednesday, but Democrats prevented a final vote on the bill early Wednesday. Debate is to resume shortly, and a vote will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday under a measure adopted by the Senate Committee on Organization.”
“It was more than enough time given on the day we tackled the bill,” Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) told the committee.
“Democrats called the move unfair. ‘I think it’s bad precedent to limit debate on a bill of this significance,’ said Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller (R-Monona).”
“The bill is expected to pass and be forwarded to Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who has long championed the idea.”
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/122231394.html
Yes, a disturbing trend. The senate passed a bill in MN.
They’re passing bills like this left and right. I think the most recent count has it at 33 – 38 states…something like that.
Jill Scott sporting new trim figureSinger-actress Jill Scott is flaunting a new slimline figure after shedding more than 50 pounds.
The star says she is “in a good place” after adopting a new healthy diet and exercise regimen to lose weight, and she’s showing off the results of her hard work with a sexy fashion shoot for Essence magazine.
Scott credits her personal trainer for keeping her workouts exciting and helping her achieve her dream body, telling Essence, “(We do) anything that makes me feel like I’m not working out. We go outside and throw footballs, go for walks.”
http://wonderwall.msn.com/music/jill-scott-sporting-new-trim-figure-1619488.story?gt1=28135
Loving Jill’s new look, and I hope she’s feeling good too.
Oh Oh! Here come the YELLOW people! The GOP are fighting tooth & nail to deny PEOPLES OF COLOR EXISTS in AMERICA and are AMERICANS!
President Obama will deliver a speech on the Middle East at 11:30 am EST/10:30 CT
You can watch it live on CNN.
Obama faces pressure from allies on eve of speech Thursday on Middle East policy
By Scott Wilson, Published: May 18
President Obama is facing pressure from key allies to act more decisively on several volatile issues in the Middle East and North Africa, including the armed rebellion in Libya, the uprising in Syria, and the moribund peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.
On Wednesday, the administration sought to address what some allies have perceived as a drift in Obama’s policy in the rapidly changing region, after weeks when Osama bin Laden’s killing and a domestic debate over the national debt took center stage.
On the eve of a major speech meant to define U.S. interests in the Middle East, Obama announced new financial sanctions against seven senior Syrian officials for human rights abuses, naming President Bashar al-Assad among them for the first time.
Obama’s counterterrorism adviser, John O. Brennan, also phoned Yemen’s embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to urge him to accept an Arab-brokered agreement that would usher him from office within a month.
And, in a preview of Obama’s Thursday address, senior administration officials outlined a number of economic initiatives that the president will announce to encourage democratic changes in the region, including a total of $2 billion in debt relief and loan guarantees for Egypt’s fledgling government.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-faces-pressure-from-allies-on-eve-of-speech-thursday-on-middle-east-policy/2011/05/18/AFjKTn6G_story.html?wpisrc=nl_politics
Good morning all!
Good Morning, Dannie & Everyone! :-)
Good Morning, Everyone :)
Good morning, Ametia, SouthernGirl2, rikyrah, and Dannie!
“Executives from Silicon Valley’s most valuable tech firms will once again face a grilling Thursday from a pack of senators who are intent on passing landmark privacy legislation as Valley companies cash in on the boom in mobile devices and social media.”
“Increasingly, the hottest tech companies focus on social media and exploit information about their users to make their services useful.”
“The senators, however, are concerned that the existing laws protecting consumers and their kids’ privacy are unclear and outdated.”
http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/executives-from-silicon-valleys-hottest.php?ref=fpb
Both Apple and Google’s lobbyists will testify in front of Senate Commerce’s Subcommittee on Consumer Protection. A new face on the scene will be Bret Taylor, Facebook’s chief technology officer, former CEO and Co-Founder of FriendFeed, and co-creator of Google Maps and related technology.
rikyrah, my apologies, I don’t know how our icons got mixed up like that!
Inspiration for today…
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Luke 6:38