Wednesday Open Thread | Sharecroppers’ History

Posted on October 7, 2015 by rikyrah

Happy Hump day! We continue with SharecropperS’ history.

sharecropping-take1

Missouri Sharecroppers Strike of 1939

This entry was posted in Black Codes, Black History, Black Voter Suppression, discrimination, Heritage, Human Rights, Institutional Racism, Jim Crow laws, Justice, Media, News, Open Thread, Politics and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

109 Responses to Wednesday Open Thread | Sharecroppers’ History

  2. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 10:06 pm

    Cubs win the Wild Card….yeah!!

    Reply
  4. SouthernGirl2 says:
    October 7, 2015 at 8:47 pm

    LIZA

    Feeling sad and listening to sad songs. Crying and blowing nose

    Reply
  5. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 8:26 pm

    WHY WOULD NY MAG HIRE A WHITE WRITER TO WRITE ON THE PRESIDENT’S RELATIONSHIP WITH BLACK PEOPLE?
    Jozen Cummings, 10/7/15

    Before I read the first sentence of a new story published by New York Magazine entitled “The Paradox of the First Black President,” I ran a Google search of the author’s name, Jennifer Senior. I’ve seen her byline before, as I am a regular reader of the publication, so I didn’t doubt her credentials, and I wasn’t interested in her resume. No way a piece of this length (it’s over 5,000 words), would be given to some cub reporter. I was more interested in finding out what Senior looked like. Lo and behold, this is what came up in my search, her personal website, with a headshot of her, a White woman, on the bio page.

    I shrugged my shoulders, shook my head, let out a sigh and then continued to read the piece. From top to bottom, it is a good piece that I encourage everyone to read. Without spoiling anything, there is even a paragraph, three-fourths of the way through, in which Senior breaks away from the third-person and inserts herself into the story. She doesn’t do this as a White woman but rather a journalist who once interviewed Obama before, back in 2006. It’s a small moment but serviceable, a slight way of reminding the reader not only is this not her first rodeo of writing about Obama.

    This isn’t the first time I Googled the name of a writer whose byline was attached to a piece about Black issues or Black people. I have been doing this for as long as Google has been around because as a Black writer who writes a lot about Black people, both famous and not-famous, the race of other writers who do the same is a pertinent issue for me. This is especially true whenever I see a piece about Black issues pop up in a mainstream publication like New York Magazine. It’s my own little personal diagnostic test to see which one of us, if any, made it to the so-called big leagues of publishing.

    http://verysmartbrothas.com/why-would-ny-mag-hire-a-white-writer-to-write-on-the-presidents-relationship-with-black-people/

    Reply
  6. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 7:44 pm

    Harvard’s prestigious debate team loses to New York prison inmates
    Prisoners participating in Bard College initiative to provide them a liberal arts education beat Ivy League students who won national title only months ago

    http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/oct/07/harvards-prestigious-debate-team-loses-to-new-york-prison-inmates

    Reply
  7. eliihass says:
    October 7, 2015 at 7:25 pm

    Hillary is ‘reserved’…?! Really..? Is that what they call it these days…?

    I know she pleaded ‘reserved’ for not being able to comfortably relate to folks without being scripted, and failing at that gawd-awful dance routine on Ellen and the unfunny SNL bit…And taking a dig at others who relate better than her and are always at ease and comfortable in their own skin – whether they’re dancing or whatever…you know those other fully fleshed-out and well-rounded human beings who can dance when they want to and still be fiercely brainy, focused and serious when it’s called for…

    ‘Reserved’ isn’t calculating with a fake act complete with all things superficial – and choreographed affectation, speech, walk everything that is automatically supposed to suggest ‘presidential’ and propel her to the presidency..

    Nah..

    Reply
  8. eliihass says:
    October 7, 2015 at 7:11 pm

    Riiiighhtttt…

    David Brock has absolutely no idea about and has nothing to do with the hit pieces and negative narratives being put out there about V.P Biden…

    LOL…

    And my momma is a virgin…

    Reply
  9. Ametia says:
    October 7, 2015 at 6:56 pm

    BAG-ROCKS-DUMB

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      October 7, 2015 at 6:40 pm

      Speaking of McCarthy, have ya’ll heard this turd speak? He sounds like Palin with a dick. ALSO TOO.

      Reply
      • eliihass says:
        October 7, 2015 at 6:58 pm

        You sometimes wonder how these dumb as rocks folk made it this far…? What’s even more amusing is how lowlifes like him have the nerve to try to denigrate and turn up their noses at super accomplished, double-Ivy League educated black people like the Obamas…

        Kevin is from Bakersfield, California – And not just from Bakersfield – but born, raised, went to school and never left Bakersfield – until elective office – Bakersfield — Ask anyone about Bakersfield California..

        That’s pretty much all one needs to ever know…

        Reply
  24. Ametia says:
    October 7, 2015 at 6:26 pm

    ALSO TOO, We see the bogus ‘FOCUS GROUP’ THAT IS SPEWING ANTI-BIDEN TOMFOOLERY.

    Look who is conducting the group. Mark “DICK” Halperin

    Bloomberg Politics Focus Groups: Iowa, New Hampshire Democrats Skeptical of Biden
    Participants also tell Bloomberg Politics’ Mark Halperin and John Heilemann what they like about Bernie Sanders—and why they’re worried about Hillary Clinton.

    http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-10-07/bloomberg-focus-groups-iowa-new-hampshire-democrats-not-sold-on-hillary-clinton-or-joe-biden

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      October 7, 2015 at 6:29 pm

      Wonder how long it took the actors to learn their lines. ROLLS EYES.

      Reply
      • eliihass says:
        October 7, 2015 at 6:39 pm

        LOL..

        Did you hear that one talk about worrying about Joe Biden’s ‘temperament’…
        Joe Biden…? Temperament…?

        That’s when you realize the people have no idea what they are talking about…

        The younger sharp-tongued guy in the Iowa focus group, works for the Clinton campaign…

        Reply
      • Ametia says:
        October 7, 2015 at 6:52 pm

        BWA HA HA HA Porbably can’t even spell th word ‘TEMPERAMENT.’

        And the Negro lady. SMH Just parroting & agreeing with th others. In one breath saying Biden didn’t have the excitement/energy, while she sits there with the flatest of affect in tone and body language. Talk about pot-kettle=BLACK!

        Reply
    • eliihass says:
      October 7, 2015 at 6:34 pm

      Mark Halperin and John Heilemann…shit-starters extraordinaire..
      Always looking for a storyline…hopefully for a book and to be turned into a movie… It’s all about money and for the extraordinarily sadistic and cunning Halperin, it’s about control and staying and yanking people’s chains..

      Reply
  25. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 6:24 pm

    Jim Acosta ‏@Acosta 2h2 hours agoWashington, DC

    !!! Biden jokes at WH summit moments ago: “If I don’t move I’ll be demoted to Secretary of State or something.”

    Reply
  26. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 6:23 pm

    Allan Brauer ‏@allanbrauer 12m12 minutes ago

    Adorable watching the Beltway evaluating Clinton’s flip-flop from perspective of Obama voters they’ve NEVER understood.

    Reply
  27. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 6:23 pm

    Heet Heer ‏@HeerJeet 1h1 hour agoToronto, Ontario

    I did not have political relations with that trade agreement — TPP.

    Reply
  28. Ametia says:
    October 7, 2015 at 5:54 pm

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jeh-14A8Rbc

    Hillary Clinton Comes Out Against Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Deal
    Presidential hopeful says ‘I am not in favor’ of accord

    “I don’t believe it’s going to meet the high bar I have set,” Mrs. Clinton said.

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/hillary-clinton-comes-out-against-trans-pacific-partnership-trade-deal-1444249761

    Reply
  29. eliihass says:
    October 7, 2015 at 5:16 pm

    Hillary now no on TPP…

    Watch the video if you can find it..

    Gosh, the woman is a 5-prong tongued snake…No honor, no integrity, no principles…Calculating. Anyone who wants this presidency so badly she’ll say and do anything, is one we can’t afford..

    Flip-flopping, Grandstanding, Disclaimers, Denials, stealing credit, more Disclaimers..

    How can anyone with half a brain fall for this crap..?

    When we eventually do elect a woman, I want one who is principled, and represents integrity, honor. I want one who doesn’t so blatantly and self-servingly blow with the wind – and one who says what they mean and means what they say…

    I want a woman who not only stands for something, but one you can tell without even asking, exactly what that something is – one who isn’t afraid to let you know what that something is either and without constant ‘pivots’ and disclaimers …I want a woman who has one consistent tongue and when that tongue speaks, you know even she believes what she says – and means it too – integrity…

    This is NOT that woman…and heaven knows that we don’t want *this* woman as our first…

    The first should always be the high bar – this one certainly is not…

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      October 7, 2015 at 6:11 pm

      Speak! President Obama & First Lady Michelle Obama have SET THE BAR in Washington, the White House, and on the world stage.

      The Clintons, DCCC, DNC, expect us to fall in line and go back to the old ways , the old days. HELL NO!

      The Democratic Party wants us to accept the status quo, the MEDIOCRITY, that is Hillary Clinton.

      APPLAUSE-LTCSA-EqRJH

      APPLAUSE-LTCSA-EqRJH

      APPLAUSE-LTCSA-EqRJH

      Reply
      • eliihass says:
        October 7, 2015 at 6:36 pm

        LOL…Ametia and the GIF of the praying sister caught up with the spirit…

        Reply
      • eliihass says:
        October 7, 2015 at 7:09 pm

        LOL…They are the standard the whole world is copying and trying to model after…When you become the standard the world measures others against, you are IT…

        From Reuters:
        Canada wives join electoral fray but lack Michelle Obama’s star power
        Tue Oct 6, 2015 5:26pm EDT

        Political wives have popped up on the Canadian campaign trail, adding a personal dimension to a tight race, but none come close to the visibility or influence of spouses like Michelle Obama.

        http://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idCAKCN0S02SF20151006

        Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      October 7, 2015 at 6:22 pm

      RECEIPTS ON HILLARY AND TPP:

      FROM HER OWN BOOK

      https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQvZYlgWUAQJsHX.png

      Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      October 7, 2015 at 6:27 pm

      Because of her White Privilege, she just doesn’t get it.

      The FIRST of anything has to be ABOVE REPROACH.

      I respect President Obama and the First Lady because they completely understand it.

      In her arrogance, she doesn’t think she has to be.

      which is why she is the WRONG woman to become the First Woman President.

      Reply
  30. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 1:54 pm

    This is what you get with SMALL GOVERNMENT

    …………………

    Floods, rain expose SC’s flawed dam safety program
    October 7, 2015

    COLUMBIA, SC – Recent heavy rains and floods across South Carolina that broke multiple dams and destroyed hundreds — if not thousands — of homes have turned a spotlight on the state’s dam safety program.

    South Carolina has for years had one of the nation’s weakest dam safety programs, consistently ranking near the bottom of rankings in federal and state government reports.

    In 2013, the state spent less than $200,000 on its dam safety program, employing a handful of people devoted specifically to inspecting and regulating the structures. That’s roughly the same amount the state spent on the program in 2010, when a national report rated South Carolina 45th nationally in financial resources committed to dam safety.

    Lori Spragens, executive director of the national Association of State Dam Safety Officials, said resources for inspecting the state’s dams remain low in South Carolina. All told, South Carolina has 2,300 dams, most of them privately owned and made of earth.

    http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article38056332.html

    Reply
  31. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 1:49 pm

    House’s Planned Parenthood fight is problem for GOP senators

    10/07/15 06:00 AM EDT

    A politically charged budget package moving in the House this week is creating a headache for Senate Republicans.

    The package, which under budget reconciliation rules cannot be filibustered, will block money for Planned Parenthood and gut ObamaCare.
    The problem: It’s unclear whether Senate Republicans can gather the 51 votes needed to approve it.

    Three Senate Republicans are on record as opposing an end to federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

    Sen. Mark Kirk (Ill.), one of the most vulnerable Republicans in next year’s elections, twice voted against procedural motions on legislation to block the healthcare group’s funding.

    Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) has spoken on the Senate floor against defunding the group, though she did back a procedural motion in August that could have led to an up-or-down vote on defunding. She said she only did so on assurances from leadership that it would lead to another measure to maintain funding for Planned Parenthood’s other healthcare services.

    Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) has also backed funding for Planned Parenthood, though she made the same vote in August as Collins based on the same argument.

    http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/256148-houses-planned-parenthood-fight-creates-headache-for-gop-senators

    Reply
  32. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 1:48 pm

    PRIVATELY OWNED DAMNS?
    W-T-F?

    Many earthen dams on private property are behind on repairs
    By Jill Riepenhoff & Jennifer Smith Richards
    The Columbus Dispatch • Monday June 1, 2015 5:30 AM

    Right now, the embankment of the dam at a private lakeside resort in Hocking County is slipping down toward the water.

    In nearby Pine Lake Estates, the dam isn’t tall enough to handle a major flood, and the owners aren’t rich enough to fix it.

    At the Wilds animal preserve in Muskingum County, a dam has been neglected for years. State inspectors ordered fixes that have been lost in a shuffle of employees who apparently don’t understand the preserve’s obligation as a dam owner.

    People who live downstream from troubled private dams are in danger, though they might not know that. Almost 43 percent of the high-hazard earthen dams in Ohio are on private land — about 200 in all. They’ve been designated as such because if the dams fail, people who live in the water’s path likely will die.

    http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/06/01/private-dangers.html

    Reply
  33. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 1:43 pm

    aleth
    The bottomline truth. It was also you that predicted nearly 5 years ago that the 2016 election will be about getting the whitest person they can get.

    It is about running against Obama though he is not running

    Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      October 7, 2015 at 1:45 pm

      and a response from Town at POU:

      Town

      And Obama will still be on their minds 24-7 after he leaves the White House. They will whine about his Presidential Library. They will whine about his speaking engagements. They will whine about Mrs. Obama’s speaking engagements. They will whine about the colleges Malia & Sasha attend. They will whine about the books they all write. They will whine about the clothes Michelle wears after the White House. They will whine about her hanging out with Beyonce & ’em. They will whine about the jobs Malia & Sasha get.

      Everyone thinks once the Obama leave in January 2017, it will be the end. No, no…it’s only the BEGINING of the Obama Whining.

      Reply
  35. SouthernGirl2 says:
    October 7, 2015 at 1:41 pm

    Folks sure are worried about Biden who hasn’t even declared he’s going to run. Worry about people IN the race. Their fear is showing.

    Reply
    • eliihass says:
      October 7, 2015 at 4:35 pm

      Oh please hush David..

      Reply
    • eliihass says:
      October 7, 2015 at 5:29 pm

      I like David Axelrod most of the time SG…He’s actually one of the few I think really was in with the Obamas with good intentions and – believed – and not only because it payed well and promised a good life it it all came together as it did..

      I know I sometimes make some of our family here uncomfortable with how hard I am with some of the people who work for and have worked for President Obama – campaigns and administration – but it is for very good reason..

      If you pay very close attention, some of what one observes and comes away with, can be really, really disturbing and bothersome..

      When the enemy is the opposition and is clearly working against you, one already expects that and knows to thwart it, but when so-called ‘trusty’ ‘insiders’ are the Judas’, it’s a different matter altogether – and they deserve our scorn..

      This is why unlike a lot of supporters, I’ve never automatically transferred my respect, admiration, loyalty or affection for the Obamas, to the people running and hanging around the Obamas…

      Most, including the youngest ones among them are political opportunists always on the look out for the next great opportunity – entirely for themselves and their own advancement and relevance…In the end it’s all simply a gig for them..The gig and association with the historic first black – and world-renowned – President, being an extremely lucrative one –

      Look at the bios, including those who were as young as 22 when they got on the Obama team…They were all either working for some politician within or outside D.C – some were out of work, their last politician having just lost their spot – before they leapt… It’s simply a case of musical chairs for ruthlessly ambitious wannabes – no matter how some will spin it now to exploit their connections to the world-popular President…Tell me, when was the last time you had so many mid and low level – or even senior-level staff writing memoirs ever – but especially while the President was still in office..?! We didn’t even know and still don’t know some of those who held the same positions in previous administrations…The thirst is real, and the premature showboating and self-promotion with many of this lot is beyond crass – Everyone’s looking to cash in, including the guy who toted the bags and hand sanitizers, and the one assigned to work on speeches..

      It’s always been about hitching their wagon to something bigger – and that’s not for ideological or moral purposes – and squeezing that association for all it’s worth…And for them, it’s certainly not been about buying into the wholesome and wonderful grand vision of the principal, or doing some great good long-term – as evidenced by the professional route most of them who’ve left the administration have since taken…

      I get that they’ve got to feed their families where those exist, but come on, there are great and moral ways consistent with the principles espoused by the candidate and President and campaign they worked for – and they all touted as they sought to distinguish themselves from the pack… This is precisely why so many get turned off politics..it’s the sense that fickle ‘insiders’ by their own glib admission – will say anything while working on a campaign/administration – stuff they soon contradict in every way once they board the money and relevance train..

      I’ve always been a tad tickled by folks who started working for then Senator Obama several years ago, and now suddenly claim to know him best, with most recounting their ‘journey’ with him as if the man had neither wife nor family nor sense of anything – long before these folks leeched onto him for political advancement…

      The ‘loyalties’ of these hangers-on start and end with how *they* specifically fare in the long run… It isn’t about anything else…and they – every last one of them – will turn on the President in a heartbeat if and once the access or relevance they sought via him looks like it’s not to be…

      Think about this for starters: for people who worked for the first black President, there’s absolutely no caring or connection to the dignity and rights of black people – not even the now magnified issue of black lives matter – specifically or in general…The only civil rights issue a few will occasionally chime in on, is LGBT rights…

      In the end these are mostly unfeeling opportunists with their own selfish agenda – none of which honestly is grounded in integrity or a real or deep understanding or caring about the least of us – or a greater good – beyond of course all of the rhetoric..

      Reply
  41. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 10:45 am

    In a bid for progressives, Clinton starts to distance herself from Obama
    By Anne Gearan October 6 at 9:12 PM

    DAVENPORT, Iowa — In the run-up to the first Democratic presidential debate, embattled front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton is attempting to set herself apart by criticizing one Democrat in particular: President Obama.

    With direct comparisons and implicit criticism, Clinton is increasingly using the Obama White House — and the popular occupant who isn’t running — to say what she would do differently in a Clinton White House.

    Much of her new criticism of Obama on issues such as immigration and the Keystone XL pipeline is a way to appeal to progressive voters
    disappointed by some administration positions. The critiques also allow her to draw distinctions with Vice President Biden, a potential late-entering challenger for the Democratic nomination.

    The positioning marks a notable shift for Clinton, who has spent much of her campaign embracing Obama’s broader agenda in hopes of harnessing the coalition of young and minority voters who helped propel him to two terms in the White House.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-a-bid-for-progressives-clinton-starts-to-distance-herself-from-obama/2015/10/06/4531c014-6c66-11e5-b31c-d80d62b53e28_story.html?postshare=1101444225722568

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      October 7, 2015 at 11:35 am

      No the DCCC & DNC are doing everything they can to PUSH Hillary on us.

      NOPE, DON’T WANT HER, NOT VOTING FOR HILLARY CLINTON!

      Reply
      • eliihass says:
        October 7, 2015 at 4:47 pm

        Debbie has to go…The DNC needs new and effective leadership that also one that reflects us a party…We are transparent and open – a party where everyone and all opinions count and are taken into consideration – and we do not try to control or bend the process – that is the only way we got the historic results we got in 2008…

        The party poobahs would have tried to force their will on us otherwise if we hadn’t pushed back hard in 2008 – now Debbie wants to make up for not getting their way then..

        I haven’t seen such a closely-guarded and almost secretive process as Debbie has put in place for the primaries…There’s something quite despotic about the whole thing – You’d expect this from republicans, but certainly not from the Democratic party..

        Reply
  44. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 10:40 am

    FUCK OUTTA HERE!!!
    Its is not sexist to not want to vote for THIS woman.
    I would happily vote for OTHER women.

    https://twitter.com/theprospect/status/651766638770057216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      October 7, 2015 at 10:41 am

      from POU:

      Kennymack1971

      Like I said yesterday, Camp Clinton knows deep down that if the Obama coalition has a legit viable alternative that’s where their passion and support will go. Hillary doesn’t really want to have to work to earn our support. She wants to glide through the primary to the nomination and then be like “I’m the nominee so what you gonna do? Let a Republican in the WH?” Ride or Die Joe is legit threat to that strategy… He has to be because there’s no other explanation why you would do a complete coordinated smear job unless you are scared

      Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      October 7, 2015 at 10:43 am

      another POU comment:

      woody45

      “How else to explain the yearning in some quarters for Vice President Joe Biden to enter the race?”

      How about he’s been joined at the hip with the most successful Presidency in generations?

      How about you want him to run so he can continue the work of said successful President and use that to build his own legacy?

      How about he’s Vice President and Vice Presidents that are not under indictment have this tendency to run for President. Go figure.

      How about running for office in the past and losing does not disqualify you from running in the future. See Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney.

      How about we stop playing the sexism card?

      Reply
  49. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 8:48 am

    from POU:

    Mario Yoshi

    Thank you!

    The mere fact that her supporters continue give her passes no matter what, kinda proves their own ignorance.

    This woman wants a war with Syria, Schumer as the next Senate Dem leader, & wants to disrupt the healthcare bill—-how in the blue fuck does she still have supporters at this point?! Disgusting!

    I’m still waiting on the shoe to drop on the Clinton’s involvement in this Trump farce. They can’t fool me. If folks believe Team Clinton is behind these attacks on Biden, [in which they are] then you gotta take in consideration my theory of the Clintons being behind this Trump publicity stunt.

    I really hope Karma reveals these mofos once & for all.

    Reply
    • eliihass says:
      October 7, 2015 at 4:54 pm

      They might identify with us as ‘liberals, but they are not necessarily with us…The stereotypes will always apply to the best of us in their heads – and sometimes – wittingly or unwittingly – it’ll ‘accidentally’ trickle onto their headlines, social media, or conversations…

      Reply
  54. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 8:25 am

    KSK(africa) @lawalazu

    Dear presidential candidates. You are not running against President Obama. Don’t knock him to elevate yourself. No good can come of it.

    Reply
  55. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 8:25 am

    PragmaticObotsUnite @PragObots

    When white female Hillary supporters feel her candidacy threatened, they use “But he’s against womenz!” talking pt. https://twitter.com/slate/status/651546978267099136 …

    Reply
  56. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 8:22 am

    Republican who shut down gun research now has ‘regrets’
    10/06/15 11:10 AM—UPDATED 10/06/15 12:10 PM
    By Steve Benen
    When President Obama delivered public remarks last week in response to the mass-shooting in Oregon, he touched on an under-appreciated angle to the debate over gun violence.

    “We spent over a trillion dollars and passed countless laws and devote entire agencies to preventing terrorist attacks on our soil, and rightfully so,” he said. “And yet we have a Congress who explicitly blocks us from even collecting data on how we could potentially reduce gun deaths. How can that be?”

    This wasn’t entirely a rhetorical question – concerns about the availability of public research on domestic gun violence have been ongoing for two decades.

    As we discussed last year, it’s common knowledge that the NRA and its allies have fought to kill any kind of restrictions on firearm ownership. What was less recognized was the fact that the gun lobby also helped block basic data collection, to the point that there’s “no current scientific consensus about guns and violence,” in large part because the NRA “has been able to neutralize empirical cases for control.”

    There is no mystery as to how this happened. In the 1990s, the Clinton administration’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began expanding its research into gun-related deaths as a public health issue, so conservatives in Congress added language to the appropriations bill that finances the CDC: “None of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control.”

    Nearly 20 years later, the principal author of that language, Arkansas Republican Jay Dickey, conceded to the Huffington Post that he has “regrets” over the policy that came to be known as the Dickey Amendment.
    When [Dickey] helped pass a restriction of federal funding for gun violence research in 1996, the goal wasn’t to be so suffocating, he insisted. But the measure was just that, dampening federal research for years and discouraging researchers from entering the field.

    Now, as mass shootings pile up, including last week’s killing of nine at a community college in Oregon, Dickey admitted to carrying a sense of responsibility for progress not made.
    The Arkansas Republican now believes the policy that bears his name should be fixed, if not scrapped.

    http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/republican-who-shut-down-gun-research-now-has-regrets

    Reply
  57. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 8:20 am

    Latest PPP Polling

    1. Donald Trump: 27% (down two points from late August)
    2. Ben Carson: 17% (up two points)
    3. Marco Rubio: 13% (up six points)
    4. Jeb Bush: 10% (up one point)
    5. Ted Cruz: 7% (up one point)
    6. Carly Fiorina: 6% (down two points)
    7. Mike Huckabee: 4% (down one point)
    7. John Kasich: 4% (down two points)

    Reply
  58. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 8:15 am

    yes, please do listen to Cruz.

    ……………

    Cruz huddles with House Republicans on eve of Speaker vote
    10/07/15 08:40 AM
    By Steve Benen
    By any fair measure, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is not popular among his Senate Republican colleagues. Indeed, once in a while, they seem to actively dislike him, as was the case last week.

    But the far-right senator is not without Capitol Hill allies. What’s unusual is that Cruz has found his compatriots on the other side of the building. The Washington Examiner reported yesterday afternoon:
    Sen. Ted Cruz will meet with a group of House Republicans one day before they’re scheduled to vote for a new senior leadership team.

    Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, has invited the Texas Republican, leading presidential contender, to address his Conservative Opportunity Society at a Wednesday breakfast meeting. The agenda, according to the invitation, is “conservative strategy for the remainder of the year.” Cruz has meddled in House affairs on several occasions, advising supportive insurgent Republicans in the chamber on key legislation and strategic matters.
    The Texas Republican’s office confirmed that Cruz planned to meet with House conservatives today – just one day before House GOP members meet in private to nominate their choice for Speaker of the House.

    Whether, and to what degree, Cruz intends to intervene in House affairs is not clear, but when the Washington Examiner said the senator has “meddled” in the lower chamber “on several occasions,” that’s no exaggeration.

    In September 2013, just eight months into his congressional career, Cruz strategized with House Republicans privately. GOP lawmakers shut down the government a few days later.

    http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/cruz-huddles-house-republicans-eve-speaker-vote

    Reply
  59. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 8:00 am

    Check the headline for this….
    Uh huh
    Uh huh

    Obama’s tantrums won’t end gun violence

    The Washington Post
    Michael Gerson

    Following the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College, a “smoldering” (as one commentator put it) President Obama gave a revealing speech — a clarification, a culmination, of much that had come before. “[W]hat’s become routine,” he said, “of course, is the response of those who oppose any kind of common-sense gun legislation. Right now, I can imagine the press releases being cranked out: ‘We need more guns,’ they’ll argue. . . . Does anybody really believe that?” “This is a political choice we make,” he claimed, “to allow this to happen every few months in America.”

    The president’s frustration, after delivering a sad series of similar speeches, is understandable. But his argument is still indefensible.

    Even if you support “common-sense gun legislation” (as I do), there was nothing in Obama’s speech that effectively argued for it. No policy proposals or serious justifications. No one listening to the speech would be persuaded to take a position he or she did not already hold. Obama was saying, in essence, that it is obvious what we should do about mass gun violence, that evil people are blocking it, and that they have innocent blood on their hands.

    This is apparently what some liberals think when anger releases them from civility and rationality. Obama speaks as if the gun laws he wants passed would put an end to these killings — a position for which there is no evidence. I believe that more thorough background checks and further restrictions on the type and firepower of weapons, along with improved health services for the severely mentally ill, would be good for our society, apart from mass killings. I hope that, in the long term, this system might, just might, intervene before a prospective mass killer strikes (though such causality would be very hard to demonstrate). But I have no basis for the calumny that people who disagree with me are choosing to allow mass murder.

    This is the politics of moral posturing, not an argument rooted in social science. With his last election behind him, Obama is free to be Obama. And it appears that he is, deep down, a liberal commentator of the MSNBC variety — perhaps providing a preview of his post-presidency. The only apparent purpose of his gun speech was to incite the faithful by expressing a seething arrogance.

    http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/obama%e2%80%99s-tantrums-won%e2%80%99t-end-gun-violence/ar-AAf8Szn?li=AAa0dzB&ocid=HPCDHP

    Reply
    • eliihass says:
      October 7, 2015 at 4:58 pm

      Well, the nobel winning scientist Tamar Braxton claims that Hillary is the only one who’s ever cared and who has great plans in place and will finally tackle this issue once and for all…which is why she’s effusively supporting Hillary…

      Lol…

      Reply
  60. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 7:59 am

    I think this is outrageous

    Large pension fund files plan to cut retiree benefits under new law

    Nearly 300,000 former truckers and their families would suffer significant losses under a proposal that uses a controversial new law to cut once sacrosanct pension benefits.

    The huge Central States Pension Fund, which administers retirement benefits for some former and current Teamster truckers, said the reductions are the only way to save the plan from insolvency.

    “A realistic rescue plan is needed now,” said Thomas C. Nyhan, executive director of the Central States Pension Fund. “The longer we wait to act, the larger the benefit reductions will have to be.”

    Under the proposal, pensions for Central States’ 407,000 participants would be cut by an average of nearly 23 percent. But the pain would be distributed unevenly. Some participants, including the disabled, would not be subject to reductions. Older retirees would generally receive smaller cuts, while those who worked for defunct companies that did not keep pace with their pension funding obligations would face steeper reductions.

    http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/retirement/large-pension-fund-files-plan-to-cut-retiree-benefits-under-new-law/ar-AAfbeQN?li=AAa0dzB&ocid=HPCDHP

    Reply
  61. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 7:57 am

    ICYMI

    Misty Copeland Performs With Yo-Yo Ma

    https://youtu.be/5a4NPZamnZU

    Reply
  62. rikyrah says:
    October 7, 2015 at 7:53 am

    Good Morning, Everyone :)

    Reply
  63. Ametia says:
    October 7, 2015 at 7:50 am

    Happy HUMP day, Everyone! :))

    Reply

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