"It Was Good For You Too" - Marian Call

The Sound Of One Hand Crapping: Buddhist Violence?

This from "Atheist Oasis".  Once again  --  at least some folks are beginning to wake up to the scam that is "The Wisdom Of The East" (trade mark applied for).  Religion is religion, and it all supports violence against the "other".

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http://atheistoasis.wordpress.com/

If you meet the Buddha in the road, kill the Buddha.” – Old Zen saying.
Mostly, atheists rail against the Western religions because we are far more familiarized with their patriarchal nonsense, and we grew up around those specific religions. As a rule (myself among the guilty), we tend to romanticize the Eastern religions due to lack of familiarity and/or hesitance because we not quite rubbing shoulders with them. Buddhists for instance, don’t knock on our doors and pass out tracts. They tend as a rule (or appear to be) less aggressive, and actually somewhat more peaceful.
But whenever you get large crowds of any ideology, there are always exceptions.
For instance:

Video shows Burmese police standing by as Buddhists attack Muslims

Video footage has emerged showing Burmese police standing by as Buddhist mobs wielding sticks and swords attack Muslims in Meikhtila – where last month more than 40 people were killed and 12,000 displaced – on the same day that the EU is expected to permanently lift all sanctions against the country.
The footage, apparently shot by police officers, shows Buddhist crowds looting and ransacking a Muslim jewelry shop, cheering when Muslims are attacked, and setting fire to mosques and houses. Later, a man who has been set alight and is believed to be Muslim can be seen lying in the road, surrounded by a crowd of people. “Pour water on him,” a man in the crowd commands. “Let him die,” shouts another. “No water for him.”
Both Buddhist monks and police can be seen through much of the footage – the monks often taking part in the violence, the police watching immobile as it progresses.

Much as I detest the religion of Islam, this is simply unacceptable. Blind mob fury is not a solution for anyone – in such instances, innocents are inevitably targeted and harmed.
How did this come about?
Meet the Burmese ‘Bin Laden’:

Buddhist monk uses racism and rumours to spread hatred in Burma

His name is Wirathu, he calls himself the “Burmese Bin Laden” and he is a Buddhist monk who is stoking religious hatred across Burma.
The saffron-robed 45-year-old regularly shares his hate-filled rants through DVD and social media, in which he warns against Muslims who “target innocent young Burmese girls and rape them”, and “indulge in cronyism”.
To ears untrained in the Burmese language, his sermons seem steady and calm – almost trance-like – with Wirathu rocking back and forth, eyes downcast. Translate his softly spoken words, however, and it becomes clear how his paranoia and fear, muddled with racist stereotypes and unfounded rumours, have helped to incite violence and spread misinformation in a nation still stumbling towards democracy.
“We are being raped in every town, being sexually harassed in every town, being ganged up on and bullied in every town,” Wirathu recently told the Guardian, speaking from the Masoeyein monastery in Mandalay where he is based.
“In every town, there is a crude and savage Muslim majority.”
It would be easy to disregard Wirathu as a misinformed monk with militant views, were it not for his popularity. Presiding over some 2,500 monks at this respected monastery, Wirathu has thousands of followers on Facebook and his YouTube videos have been watched tens of thousands of times.
The increasing openness of Burma, which was once tightly controlled under a military junta, has seen a wave of anti-Muslim sentiment spread across the 60 million-strong Buddhist majority – and Wirathu is behind much of it.

It’s difficult to get at the root of this – on one hand, there has been at least one instance where one woman was raped and killed by 3 Muslim men, but on the other hand, how many times has this occurred? We all know Islam is a rape culture (how they treat their women strongly indicates this), but saying all Muslim men are rapists is unfair unless there is sufficient evidence to say otherwise. It sounds as if it has been going on for some time, but Myanmar is not likely to be indulging those details anytime soon.
There is also the troubling fact that there is a long history of anti-Muslim violence in Burma.
Much as I detest the religion of Islam, I am a big proponent of fairness and justice to all. Ideological bigotry and bullying shouldn’t be inflicted on anyone, in my book. Beliefs are subject to annihilation, but not lives.
Till the next post, then.

West, Texas

That's a picture of an apartment complex in West, Texas that was "affected" by the fertilizer plant explosion.

Got it from "The Rude Pundit"  --  go to that blog and just read what he has to say.  In other words  --  WAKE UP AMERICA!

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http://www.rudepundit.blogspot.com/

This is from Paul Krugman's blog.  Follow link to original.  At least he's still willing to tell the truth.  My local newspaper, The Dallas Morning News has gone through multiple contortions in its attempt to "prove" GWB is a "good man".  A "leader" who LIES us into war is NEVER a "good man".

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http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/27/the-great-degrader/

The Great Degrader

I’ve been focused on economic policy lately, so I sort of missed the big push to rehabilitate Bush’s image; also, as a premature anti-Bushist who pointed out how terrible a president he was back when everyone else was praising him as a Great Leader, I’m kind of worn out on the subject.
But it does need to be said: he was a terrible president, arguably the worst ever, and not just for the reasons many others are pointing out.
From what I’ve read, most of the pushback against revisionism focuses on just how bad Bush’s policies were, from the disaster in Iraq to the way he destroyed FEMA, from the way he squandered a budget surplus to the way he drove up Medicare’s costs. And all of that is fair.
But I think there was something even bigger, in some ways, than his policy failures: Bush brought an unprecedented level of systematic dishonesty to American political life, and we may never recover.
Think about his two main “achievements”, if you want to call them that: the tax cuts and the Iraq war, both of which continue to cast long shadows over our nation’s destiny. The key thing to remember is that both were sold with lies.
I suppose one could make an argument for the kind of tax cuts Bush rammed through — tax cuts that strongly favored the wealthy and significantly increased inequality. But we shouldn’t forget that Bush never admitted that his tax cuts did, in fact, favor the wealthy. Instead, his administration canceled the practice of making assessments of the distributional effects of tax changes, and in their selling of the cuts offered what amounted to an expert class in how to lie with statistics. Basically, every time the Bushies came out with a report, you knew that it was going to involve some kind of fraud, and the only question was which kind and where.
And no, this wasn’t standard practice before. Politics ain’t beanbag and all that, but the president as con man was a new character in American life.
Even more important, Bush lied us into war. Let’s repeat that: he lied us into war. I know, the apologists will say that “everyone” believed Saddam had WMD, but the truth is that even the category “WMD” was a con game, lumping together chemical weapons with nukes in an illegitimate way. And any appearance of an intelligence consensus before the invasion was manufactured: dissenting voices were suppressed, as anyone who was reading Knight-Ridder (now McClatchy) knew at the time.
Why did the Bush administration want war? There probably wasn’t a single reason, but can we really doubt at this point that it was in part about wagging the dog? And right there you have something that should block Bush from redemption of any kind, ever: he misled us into a war that probably killed hundreds of thousands of people, and he did it in part for political reasons.
There was a time when Americans expected their leaders to be more or less truthful. Nobody expected them to be saints, but we thought we could trust them not to lie about fundamental matters. That time is now behind us — and it was Bush who did it.

Papantonio: Anti-Intellectualism Is Destroying Democracy In America

#10

Hamilton State Bank, Hoschton, Georgia, Assumes All of the Deposits of Douglas County Bank, Douglasville, Georgia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 26, 2013

Media Contact: LaJuan Williams-Young Office: 202-898-3876 Email: lwilliams-young@fdic.gov

Douglas County Bank, Douglasville, Georgia, was closed today by the Georgia Department of Banking & Finance, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Hamilton State Bank, Hoschton, Georgia, to assume all of the deposits of Douglas County Bank.
The four former branches of Douglas County Bank will reopen as branches of Hamilton State Bank during their normal business hours. Depositors of Douglas County Bank will automatically become depositors of Hamilton State Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage up to applicable limits. Customers of Douglas County Bank should continue to use their current branch until they receive notice from Hamilton State Bank that systems conversions have been completed to allow full-service banking at all branches of Hamilton State Bank.
This evening and over the weekend, depositors of Douglas County Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.
As of December 31, 2012, Douglas County Bank had approximately $316.5 million in total assets and $314.3 million in total deposits. Hamilton State Bank will pay the FDIC a premium of 0.5 percent to assume all of the deposits of Douglas County Bank. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, Hamilton State Bank agreed to purchase approximately $260.9 million of the failed bank's assets. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition.
The FDIC and Hamilton State Bank entered into a loss-share transaction on $159.2 million of Douglas County Bank's assets. Hamilton State Bank will share in the losses on the asset pools covered under the loss-share agreement. The loss-share transaction is projected to maximize returns on the assets covered by keeping them in the private sector. The transaction also is expected to minimize disruptions for loan customers. For more information on loss share, please visit: http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/lossshare/index.html.
Customers with questions about today's transaction should call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-405-1498. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time (EDT); on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., EDT; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., EDT; on Monday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., EDT; and thereafter from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EDT. Interested parties also can visit the FDIC's Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/douglascb.html.
The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $86.4 million. Compared to other alternatives, Hamilton State Bank's acquisition was the least costly resolution for the FDIC's DIF. Douglas County Bank is the 10th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the second in Georgia. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Frontier Bank, LaGrange, on March 8, 2013.

#9

CertusBank, National Association, Easley, South Carolina, Assumes All of the Deposits of Parkway Bank, Lenoir, North Carolina

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 26, 2013

Media Contact: LaJuan Williams-Young Office: 202-898-3876 Email: lwilliams-young@fdic.gov

Parkway Bank, Lenoir, North Carolina, was closed today by the North Carolina Office of the Commissioner of Banks, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with CertusBank, N.A., Easley, South Carolina, to assume all of the deposits of Parkway Bank.
The three former branches of Parkway Bank will reopen as branches of CertusBank, N.A. during their normal business hours. Depositors of Parkway Bank will automatically become depositors of CertusBank, N.A. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage up to applicable limits. Customers of Parkway Bank should continue to use their current branch until they receive notice from CertusBank, N.A. that systems conversions have been completed to allow full-service banking at all branches of CertusBank, N.A.
This evening and over the weekend, depositors of Parkway Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.
As of December 31, 2012, Parkway Bank had approximately $108.6 million in total assets and $103.7 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, CertusBank, N.A. agreed to purchase approximately $99.2 million of the failed bank's assets. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition.
Customers with questions about today's transaction should call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-405-1439. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time (EDT); on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., EDT; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., EDT; on Monday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., EDT; and thereafter from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EDT. Interested parties also can visit the FDIC's Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/parkway.html.
The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $18.1 million. Compared to other alternatives, CertusBank, N.A.'s acquisition was the least costly resolution for the FDIC's DIF. Parkway Bank is the ninth FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the first in North Carolina. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Waccamaw Bank, Whiteville, on June 8, 2012.

#8

First Federal Bank of Florida, Lake City, Florida, Assumes All of the Deposits of Chipola Community Bank, Marianna, Florida

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 19, 2013

Media Contact: Greg Hernandez (202) 898-6984 Cell: (202) 340-4922 Email: ghernandez@fdic.gov

Chipola Community Bank, Marianna, Florida, was closed today by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with First Federal Bank of Florida, Lake City, Florida, to assume all of the deposits of Chipola Community Bank.
The sole branch of Chipola Community Bank will reopen on Monday as a branch of First Federal Bank of Florida. Depositors of Chipola Community Bank will automatically become depositors of First Federal Bank of Florida. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage up to applicable limits. Customers of Chipola Community Bank should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from First Federal Bank of Florida that it has completed systems changes to allow other First Federal Bank of Florida branches to process their accounts as well.
This evening and over the weekend, depositors of Chipola Community Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.
As of December 31, 2012, Chipola Community Bank had approximately $39.2 million in total assets and $37.6 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, First Federal Bank of Florida agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.
Customers with questions about today's transaction should call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-331-6306. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m., Central Daylight Time (CDT); on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., CDT; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., CDT; on Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., CDT; and thereafter from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., CDT. Interested parties also can visit the FDIC's Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/chipola.html.
The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $10.3 million. Compared to other alternatives, First Federal Bank of Florida's acquisition was the least costly resolution for the FDIC's DIF. Chipola Community Bank is the eighth FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the second in Florida. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Heritage Bank of North Florida, Orange Park, earlier today.

#7

FirstAtlantic Bank, Jacksonville, Florida, Assumes All of the Deposits of Heritage Bank of North Florida, Orange Park, Florida

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 19, 2013

Media Contact: Greg Hernandez (202) 898-6984 Cell: (202) 340-4922 Email: ghernandez@fdic.gov

Heritage Bank of North Florida, Orange Park, Florida, was closed today by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with FirstAtlantic Bank, Jacksonville, Florida, to assume all of the deposits of Heritage Bank of North Florida.
The two branches of Heritage Bank of North Florida will reopen on Monday as branches of FirstAtlantic Bank. Depositors of Heritage Bank of North Florida will automatically become depositors of FirstAtlantic Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage up to applicable limits. Customers of Heritage Bank of North Florida should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from FirstAtlantic Bank that it has completed systems changes to allow other FirstAtlantic Bank branches to process their accounts as well.
This evening and over the weekend, depositors of Heritage Bank of North Florida can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.
As of December 31, 2012, Heritage Bank of North Florida had approximately $110.9 million in total assets and $108.5 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, FirstAtlantic Bank agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.
Customers with questions about today's transaction should call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-357-7599. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time (EDT); on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., EDT; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., EDT; on Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., EDT; and thereafter from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EDT. Interested parties also can visit the FDIC's Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/heritagebank-fl.html.
The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $30.2 million. Compared to other alternatives, FirstAtlantic Bank's acquisition was the least costly resolution for the FDIC's DIF. Heritage Bank of North Florida is the seventh FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the first in Florida. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Heritage Bank of Florida, Lutz, on November 2, 2012.

#6

Your Community Bank, New Albany, Indiana, Assumes All of the Deposits of First Federal Bank, Lexington, Kentucky

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 19, 2013

Media Contact: Greg Hernandez (202) 898-6984 Cell: (202) 340-4922 Email: ghernandez@fdic.gov

First Federal Bank, Lexington, Kentucky, was closed today by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Your Community Bank, New Albany, Indiana, to assume all of the deposits of First Federal Bank.
The five branches of First Federal Bank will reopen during their normal business hours beginning Saturday as branches of Your Community Bank. Depositors of First Federal Bank will automatically become depositors of Your Community Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage up to applicable limits. Customers of First Federal Bank should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from Your Community Bank that it has completed systems changes to allow other Your Community Bank branches to process their accounts as well.
This evening and over the weekend, depositors of First Federal Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.
As of December 31, 2012, First Federal Bank had approximately $100.1 million in total assets and $93.9 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, Your Community Bank agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.
Customers with questions about today's transaction should call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-355-0650. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time (EDT); on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., EDT; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., EDT; on Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., EDT; and thereafter from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EDT. Interested parties also can visit the FDIC's Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/firstfederal-ky.html.
The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $9.7 million. Compared to other alternatives, Your Community Bank's acquisition was the least costly resolution for the FDIC's DIF. First Federal Bank is the sixth FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the first in Kentucky. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Irwin Union Bank, FSB, Louisville, on September 18, 2009.

#5

First Scottsdale Bank, National Association, Scottsdale, Arizona, Assumes All of the Deposits of Gold Canyon Bank, Gold Canyon, Arizona

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 5, 2013

Media Contact: Greg Hernandez (202) 898-6984 Cell: (202) 340-4922 Email: ghernandez@fdic.gov

Gold Canyon Bank, Gold Canyon, Arizona, was closed today by the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with First Scottsdale Bank, National Association, Scottsdale, Arizona, to assume all of the deposits of Gold Canyon Bank.
The two branches of Gold Canyon Bank will reopen on Monday as branches of First Scottsdale Bank, National Association, which will continue to operate them under the name Gold Canyon Bank. Depositors of the failed bank will automatically become depositors of First Scottsdale Bank, National Association. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage up to applicable limits. Customers of Gold Canyon Bank should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from First Scottsdale Bank, National Association that it has completed systems changes to allow other First Scottsdale Bank, National Association branches to process their accounts as well.
This evening and over the weekend, depositors of Gold Canyon Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.
As of December 31, 2012, Gold Canyon Bank had approximately $45.2 million in total assets and $44.2 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, First Scottsdale Bank, National Association agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.
Customers with questions about today's transaction should call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-234-9027. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m., Mountain Standard Time (MST); on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., MST; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., MST; on Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., MST; and thereafter from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., MST. Interested parties also can visit the FDIC's Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/goldcanyon.html.
The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $11.2 million. Compared to other alternatives, First Scottsdale Bank, National Association's acquisition was the least costly resolution for the FDIC's DIF. Gold Canyon Bank is the fifth FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the first in Arizona. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Western National Bank, Phoenix, on December 16, 2011.

Matt Taibbi

Yesterday I wrote a post titled "Just too Much", where I stated (again) how I was unable to write much of anything, how both my outrage and hypocrisy buttons had been pushed too many times.

In the past I spoke about "weapons of mass distraction", where the supposed "culture wars" are being used to keep folks from looking at what has happened to their country.

In addition to using these "weapons of mass distraction", our "leaders" have set it up so folks are no longer actually educated.  We teach folks how to be good little operatives.  We teach to the task of supporting our "Masters Of The Universe"  --  most of whom are not really educated either.  Heck, back in the old USA, when I was in school, business majors were seen as folks in training.  They were never considered educated people, nor were they seen as capable of handling a rigorous liberal arts curriculum.

Since those folks made most of the money, and since they have captured the government, it's no wonder education has been destroyed, downgraded, eliminated.  Now, most folks are taught a bastardized form of "history", with anything that does not fit their prejudices eliminated and/or downplayed.

Last night I was looking at the latest issue of Rolling Stone when I came across an article by Matt Taibbi.  It is titled, "Everything Is Rigged  --  The Illuminati were amateurs.  the second huge financial scandal of the year reveals the real international conspiracy.  There's no price the big banks can't fix."   This validated my feelings.  It describes how we are "going to hell in a hand-basket".  Our "banksters" (and everyone else s) run the world for themselves TODAY.  They neither give a damn about you nor tomorrow.  Short-sighted porkers who gorge themselves, with no concern for anyone or anything else.

Go read it.  Buy the magazine.  Begin to understand where YOU stand in this world.  Then go out there and read some history.  Try Vernon L. Parringtons, "Main Currents In American Thought".  Read some of the various "People's History" ("A People's History Of The Civil War" by David Williams for example) books.  Go from there to actually learn stuff about the USA, and its promise.

That's most important  --  the PROMISE of the USA, how we actually changed the world, and how we now FAIL.

Your future and that of your children and grandchildren depends on it.

Oh yeah, don't get caught by all the "deficit hawks" crap.  Just remember, a NATION is NOT a family.  Do a little reading about that.

Better to be an autodidact than an uneducated, but well trained, functionary of the current version of The USA.

Just Too Much

I'm just not up to posting much of anything.  Bombings, explosions, lack of oversight, more outrage over a bombing in Boston while the damage from improper storage of materials that were not supposed to be there is merely a regional matter. 

At the same time Gov. Goodhair Perry BRAGS about our lack of regulation, and how it helps business.

Also, the very same assholes legislators who refused to send aid to victims of Sandy are DEMANDING IMMEDIATE ACTION from the Federal government regarding aid to the victims of West, Texas.

The very same Governor who wished to secede from the Union not that long ago wants IMMEDIATE ACTION from FEMA!!

I guess both my outrage and hypocrisy buttons have been pushed too damn many times.

We still can't do anything about Global Warming.  We can't do anything about unemployment.  We can cut Social Security  --  even though it has nothing to do with the deficit.  We can refuse to honor the promise made to us while we were working our ass off all our lives.  We can tell all of us who lost a major part of our retirement in 2008 to "stay calm and carry on", even though we can no longer work and have no way to recoup our losses.

Still, if you're not a solid member of the 1%, and you happen to lose almost everything, no one gives a damn  --  you're not rich enough to benefit from American Socialism For The Rich.

Too many "liberals", not enough real progressives.  Not enough real journalists anymore  --  they have been co-opted.  Too many folks who are so worried of losing anything that they want to deny everything to everybody.  It's just the old "divide and conquer" crap.

It's a rigged game  --  and we do not own the casino. 

Richie Havens died today.  He was 72 and one of the voices of the 1960's.  I suspect a lot of people today have no idea who he was.  Why would they?  Hell, they have no clue what the 60's were about, no idea how all our rights were realized by the supposed "excesses" of the 1960's (Obama's words during the 2008 Presidential Campaign - the same man who praised Reagan, one of the WORST Presidents of all time).

RIP>

Jessica Williams - Just The Way You Look Tonight

Jessica Williams - Miles to Go

Have been a touch under the weather today.  See you all tomorrow

Gun Control

So, the gun control bill failed to pass.  Now many "liberals" are crying "doom, doom I tell ya"  --  forgetting that most folks actually want to keep both their guns and The Bill Of Rights intact (that is, as intact as they can keep it after so many other rights have been shredded in the name of "security").

I have come to believe that folks who are secure and "comfortable", who think they still have some choice and personal power, are most apt to support stricter gun control measures.

Others who have been buffeted by our winds of change, who see themselves as increasingly powerless, staunchly oppose the efforts of all those smug, self-satisfied, folks to ultimately take away their guns.

In addition, as many cities cut back on "Public Safety"budgets and cut back on police, response times have grown.  In many places the police no longer even bother to respond to some crimes.  People are being left more and more to their own devices.  Do you expect them to give up their guns, or support magazine capacity limits?

It also seems clear that since 60% of the gun deaths are suicide, perhaps much of the hysteria is a distraction.

On the right "gay marriage" and "abortion" are the "weapons of mass distraction", while on the left it's "gun violence".

Isn't it possible that these "issues" are really a way to distract us from what is actually ailing our country?

All this media driven crap will end up destroying our country  --  it won't be "teh gays", nor will it be 17 round magazines, it will be the short sighted attitudes of our "pundits", "VSP's", "leaders", and "lawmakers"  --  those on both our "left" and our "right".

It's just a bunch of circuses  --  our rich tend to forget about the bread.

A Visit To "Some Assembly Required"

A visit to "Some Assembly Required" - follow link to original
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http://ckm3.blogspot.com/

Partial Credit: New Hampshire's Peter Hansen (Reptile) seems to think it is cute to refer to women as 'vaginas' and defended this by pointing out that women do, in fact, have vaginas, the prick.

Oops: In 2010, economists Reinhart and Rogoff published a paper proving that whenever a country's public-debt-to-GDP ratio exceeded 90%, the country's economic output plummeted. This formed the most frequently cited justification for the austerity inflicted on the Greeks, Portuguese, Spanish and Cypriots. And Americans. Too bad the study was seriously flawed and the data, when corrected, shows no such decline – in fact the GDP growth rate when the ratio is over 90 averages 2.2%. Unless austerity is imposed; then things go to hell in a handbasket. Note: R&R acknowledge that the data was corrupted, but maintain that they arrived at the right conclusions anyway. Forward, men.

Silent Auction: Philadelphia is having a closed door meeting with “investors” to discuss “building the city's future” by auctioning off the Liberty Bell, the city's gas works, the international airport and other assets. Some are complaining that the school system isn't on the auction block. Yet.

P. Gamble Wimpy: P&G says it will gladly lend you money so you can scrape by until they get around to paying their bills. They are nearly doubling the time they will take to pay suppliers, but are willing to set you up with their loan sharks. It is expected to 'free up' $2 billion for P&G at the expense of small companies who have no option but to suck it up.

For Whom The Gun Calls: Over 60% of US gun deaths are suicides; less than 1% are mass shootings. Which problem should get the attention?

 Two Market, Two Market: Retailers are learning to survive in our divided economy by marketing ever more expensive items to the rich and progressively cheapened stuff to the rest of us. The shrinking of the middle class has forced companies to seek ways of pandering to the rich while plundering the poor.
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How a student took on eminent economists on debt issue - and won

Well, well, some of the "talking points" used by our "Very Serious People" (VSP's) when it comes to decrying the deficit are based on a paper by Rogoff and Reinhart.  This is PROOF, PROOF I TELL YOU!!! that we are DOOMED, DOOMED I TELL YOU!!!, unless we eliminate the safety net, destroy the middle class, institute IMMEDIATE AUSTERITY, and    ------    all for your own good, I tell you!!!

Anyway, this oft quoted paper has "glaring errors", found by a grad student while he was using the information to write a paper.

Of course the VSP's say the fact of this glaring error means NOTHING!!

So, as is often the case, the VSP's and their media toadies are FULL OF SHIT!
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http://news.yahoo.com/student-took-eminent-economists-debt-issue-won-095347790--business.html

NEW YORK (Reuters) - When Thomas Herndon, a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst's doctoral program in economics, spotted possible errors made by two eminent Harvard economists in an influential research paper, he called his girlfriend over for a second look.

As they poured over the spreadsheets Herndon had requested from Harvard's Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, which formed the basis for a widely quoted 2010 study, they spotted what they believed were glaring errors.

"I almost didn't believe my eyes when I saw just the basic spreadsheet error," said Herndon, 28. "I was like, am I just looking at this wrong? There has to be some other explanation. So I asked my girlfriend, 'Am I seeing this wrong?'"
His girlfriend, Kyla Walters, replied: "I don't think so Thomas."
In the world of economic luminaries, it doesn't get much bigger than Reinhart and Rogoff, whose work has had enormous influence in one of the biggest economic policy debates of the age.
Both have served at the International Monetary Fund. Reinhart was a chief economist at investment bank Bear Stearns in the 1980s, while Rogoff worked at the Federal Reserve, passing through Yale and MIT before landing at Harvard.
Their study, which found economic growth slows dramatically when a government's debt exceeds 90 percent of a country's annual economic output, has been cited by policymakers around the world as justification for slashing spending.
Former U.S. vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, a Republican congressman from Wisconsin, is one influential politician who has cited the report to justify a budget slashing agenda.
Using the two professors' data, Herndon found that instead of a dramatic fall in growth, the decline was much milder, slowing to about 2.2 percent, instead of the slump to minus 0.1 percent that Reinhart and Rogoff predicted.
Things tend to move at a glacial pace in the world of academic research papers, but within 24 hours Herndon and his two teachers, who co-authored the report, Michael Ash and Robert Pollin, found themselves swept up in a global debate.
Herndon's paper began life as a replication exercise for a term paper in a graduate econometrics class. He expected to replicate Reinhart and Rogoff's results, then challenge the idea that high public debt caused growth to slow.
But he never got that far. Repeated failures to replicate the results roused his interest. Pollin and Ash encouraged him to pursue it after he convinced them he was onto something.
"At first, I didn't believe him. I thought, 'OK he's a student, he's got to be wrong. These are eminent economists and he's a graduate student,'" Pollin said. "So we pushed him and pushed him and pushed him, and after about a month of pushing him I said, 'Goddamn it, he's right.'"
Herndon approached Reinhart and Rogoff earlier this year for the spreadsheets they used in their paper. The two professors provided them at the start of April, unlocking the mysteries of the data that had stumped Herndon.
Herndon said only 15 of the 20 countries in the report had been used in the average. He also said Reinhart and Rogoff used only one year of data for New Zealand, 1951, when growth was minus 7.6 percent, significantly skewing the results.
Reinhart and Rogoff have admitted to a "coding error" in the spreadsheet that meant some countries were omitted from their calculations. But the economists denied they selectively omitted data or that they used a questionable methodology.
For Ash, the findings mean the claim that high public debt causes growth to stall no longer holds water.
"Their central thesis has been substantially weakened," he said.
Reinhart and Rogoff, however, say their conclusion that there is a correlation between high debt and slow growth still holds.
"It is sobering that such an error slipped into one of our papers despite our best efforts to be consistently careful," they said in a joint statement. "We do not, however, believe this regrettable slip affects in any significant way the central message of the paper or that in our subsequent work."
Now that Herndon has ably crossed swords with some of the most eminent figures in his field, he is thinking about expanding his work into a Ph.D. thesis.

Judy Collins

Wednesday we went to see Judy Collins in concert.  She was great.  I do not say that lightly.  For whatever reason I was brought to tears about 3 times.  Her still clear bell like tones brought me back to many days gone by.  Both good and bad memories.  I thought of people I had not thought of for many years. 

We go to quite a few concerts.  Over the years we have seen many good, even great, performers.  Others have wowed me.  Many have moved me.  Not one had the effect Judy Collins did. 

If you like her at all  --  and believe me, she was never my favorite  --  go see her.

King: "How Animals Grieve"

Barbara King, Chancellor Professor of Anthropology at William & Mary, discusses her new book "How Animals Grieve."



So, I guess it's not just "silly sentimentality" when we say our dogs and cats have feelings.

Arrests Made In The Rape Of Another Teenaged Girl Who Committed Suicide

From "Think Progress" - more evidence of our RAPE CULTURE.  Will we ever get to the point where men no longer think they have to be THUGS to be "real men" (what ever that is)?

As far as the failure of "law enforcement" to make prompt arrests of the RAPISTS, there seem to be two things working.  One, most police appear to work for the rich, protecting their PROPERTY, and RAPE only counts if it's their daughter, mother, wife  --  and then only sometimes.  The truth is, MEN DO NOT LIKE WOMEN!

Please follow link to original
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http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/04/12/1858591/arrests-suicide-rape/

Earlier this week the country was introduced to Retaeh Parsons, the 17 year old Canadian teenager who hanged herself in her bathroom late last week, 17 months after photos of her alleged gang rape by four of her classmates surfaced and spread throughout her school.
For the Pott family in Santa Clara, California, Retaeh’s story must have sounded painfully familiar. Their 15-year-old daughter Audrey ended her life last fall after she was allegedly gang raped by three 16-year-olds, who then shared photos of their crime with friends.
On Thursday, officials from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s office announced that they had arrested three area high school boys in connection with Audrey’s rape:

Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Lt. Jose Cardoza said it arrested two of the teens at Saratoga High School and the third at Christopher High School in Gilroy.
The victim’s family attorney Robert Allard said students shared photos of the attack on cellphones. Pott posted on Facebook that her life was “ruined” and that she was going through her “worst day ever” shortly before she commit suicide, Allard said.
“The family has been trying to understand why their loving daughter would have taken her life at such a young age and to make sure that those responsible would be held accountable,” Allard said.
“After an extensive investigation that we have conducted on behalf of the family, there is no doubt in our minds that the victim, then only 15 years old, was savagely assaulted by her fellow high school students while she lay on a bed completely unconscious.”

Recent cases of sexual assault in Steubenville, Ohio and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where the victims of sexual assault found themselves on the receiving end of criticism and prosecutorial questioning, serve as grim evidence of the kind of rape culture that exists in which perpetrators feel unburdened while committing horrifying sexual crimes and documenting them with photos, videos and text messages to friends. Audrey Pott and Retaeh Parsons are just the latest tragic reminders.

The Hijacking of Human Rights

This by Chris Hedges from "Truthdig" - please follow link to original.  This is merely an excerpt  --  go to original for the rest.
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http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_hijacking_of_human_rights_20130407/

The appointment of Suzanne Nossel, a former State Department official and longtime government apparatchik, as executive director of PEN American Center is part of a campaign to turn U.S. human rights organizations into propagandists for pre-emptive war and apologists for empire. Nossel’s appointment led me to resign from PEN as well as withdraw from speaking at the PEN World Voices Festival in May. But Nossel is only symptomatic of the widespread hijacking of human rights organizations to demonize those—especially Muslims—branded by the state as the enemy, in order to cloak pre-emptive war and empire with a fictional virtue and to effectively divert attention from our own mounting human rights abuses, including torture, warrantless wiretapping and monitoring, the denial of due process and extrajudicial assassinations.

Nossel, who was deputy assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs under Hillary Clinton in a State Department that was little more than a subsidiary of the Pentagon, is part of the new wave of “humanitarian interventionists,” such as Samantha Power, Michael Ignatieff and Susan Rice, who naively see in the U.S. military a vehicle to create a better world. They know little of the reality of war or the actual inner workings of empire. They harbor a childish belief in the innate goodness and ultimate beneficence of American power. The deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocents, the horrendous suffering and violent terror inflicted in the name of their utopian goals in Iraq and Afghanistan, barely register on their moral calculus. This makes them at once oblivious and dangerous. “Innocence is a kind of insanity,” Graham Greene wrote in his novel “The Quiet American,” and those who destroy to build are “impregnably armored by … good intentions and … ignorance.”

There are no good wars. There are no just wars. As Erasmus wrote, “there is nothing more wicked, more disastrous, more widely destructive, more deeply tenacious, more loathsome” than war. “Whoever heard of a hundred thousand animals rushing together to butcher each other, as men do everywhere?” Erasmus asked. But war, he knew, was very useful to the power elite. War permitted the powerful, in the name of national security and by fostering a culture of fear, to effortlessly strip the citizen of his or her rights. A declaration of war ensures that “all the affairs of the State are at the mercy of the appetites of a few,” Erasmus wrote.

There are cases, and Bosnia in the 1990s was one, when force should be employed to halt an active campaign of genocide. This is the lesson of the Holocaust: When you have the capacity to stop genocide and you do not, you are culpable. For this reason, we are culpable in the genocides in Cambodia and Rwanda. But the “humanitarian interventionists” have twisted this moral imperative to intercede against genocide to justify the calls for pre-emptive war and imperial expansion. Saddam Hussein did carry out campaigns of genocide against the Kurds and the Shiites, but the dirty fact is that while these campaigns were under way we provided support to Baghdad or looked the other way. It was only when Washington wanted war, and the bodies of tens of thousands of Kurds and Shiites had long decomposed in mass graves, that we suddenly began to speak in the exalted language of human rights.

These “humanitarian interventionists” studiously ignore our own acts of genocide, first unleashed against Native Americans and then exported to the Philippines and, later, nations such as Vietnam. They do not acknowledge, even in light of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, our own capacity for evil. They do not discuss in their books and articles the genocides we backed in Guatemala and East Timor or the crime of pre-emptive war. They minimize the horror and suffering we have delivered to Iraqis and Afghans and exaggerate or fabricate the benefits. The long string of atrocities carried out in our name mocks the idea of the United States as a force for good with a right to impose its values on others. The ugly truth shatters their deification of U.S. power. 

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Nossel, in the contentious year she headed Amnesty International USA before leaving in January, oversaw a public campaign by the organization to support NATO’s war in Afghanistan. She was running Amnesty International USA when the organization posted billboards at bus stops that read, “Human Rights for Women and Girls in Afghanistan—NATO: Keep the Progress Going.” Madeleine Albright, along with senior State Department officials and politicians, were invited to speak at Amnesty International’s women’s forum during Nossel’s tenure. Nossel has urged Democrats to stay the course in Iraq, warning that a failure in Iraq could unleash “a kind of post-Vietnam, post-Mogadishu hangover” that would lamentably “herald an era of deep reservations among the U.S. public regarding the use of force.” She worked as a State Department official to discredit the Goldstone Report, which charged Israel with war crimes against the Palestinians. As a representative on the U.N. Human Rights Council she said that “the top of our list is our defense of Israel, and Israel’s right to fair treatment at the Human Rights Council.” Not a word about the Palestinians. She has advocated for expanded armed intervention in countries such as Syria and Libya. She has called for a military strike against Iran if it does not halt its nuclear enrichment program. In an article in The Washington Quarterly titled “Battle Hymn of the Democrats,” she wrote: “Democrats must be seen to be every bit as tough-minded as their opponents. Democratic reinvention as a ‘peace party’ is a political dead end.” “In a milieu of war or near-war, the public will look for leadership that is bold and strident—more forceful, resolute, and pugnacious than would otherwise be tolerated,” she went on. In a 2004 Foreign Affairs article, “Smart Power: Reclaiming Liberal Internationalism,” she wrote: “We need to deploy our power in ways that make us stronger, not weaker,” not a stunning thought but one that should be an anathema to human rights campaigners. She added, “U.S. interests are furthered by enlisting others on behalf of U.S. goals,” which, of course, is what she promptly did at Amnesty International. Her “smart power” theory calls on the U.S. to exert its will around the globe by employing a variety of means and tactics, using the United Nations and human rights groups, for example, to promote the nation’s agenda as well as the more naked and raw coercion of military force. This is not a new or original idea, but when held up to George W. Bush’s idiocy I guess it looked thoughtful. The plight of our own dissidents—including Bradley Manning—is of no concern to Nossel and apparently of no concern now to PEN.   .................................
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Follow link for the rest.

Maddow features PCCC activism

America's poor kids

Here is some counterpoint to the narrative our "leaders" feed us.

From the BBC.  No further economic or political commentary necessary.  We have lost our way as a country.  We have turned our back on being "American".  We are now a shadow of the country we once were.
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Peggy Lee - New York City Blues

Ernestine Anderson - What a Diffrence a Day Made(1981)

Dinah Washington - You Don't Know What Love Is (1955)

Social Security - Democrats

For many years my father refused to vote.  He would say it was all fixed.  He would say it made no difference.  He was very cynical about our political process.  I never thought of him as very ideological, never saw him as a firm believer in left or right wing causes.  He was an immigrant who had worked hard, been lucky, and was successful beyond his dreams.  He did not dislike America.

I think he saw it for what it was  --  an oligarchy.  As I age, I am beginning to agree with his assessment.  The fact our DEMOCRATIC administration is going to CUT even more of the safety net that keeps a lot of folks alive borders on the CRIMINAL.  Yesterday, I wrote a letter to The White House asking if President Obama wants to go down in history as "the cat food President"?  I suspect he doesn't give a damn.

As the rich get ever richer and our middle class disappears, our representatives, our leaders, care less and less about us.  There is no talk about helping our economy by INCREASING Social Security payments, no talk about expanding the safety net, no talk about making Social Security viable by increasing the limit, making folks pay payroll taxes on more than the current limit.  Everything else has gone up.  The cutoff point on payroll taxes has not.

Now, the poor are being asked to bear the brunt of the "secret austerity" program.

If this comes to pass  --  this "yellow dog Democrat", this straight ticket voter will NEVER vote for ANYONE again.

I now think my father was right.  It's even worse.  Years ago our oligarchs were still living in the shadow of The Great Depression.  They were afraid of waking the beast  --  now, after years of propaganda, they think they've killed it, so they no longer give a damn.

When will we wake up?  HOW will we ever wake up?  We don't even know WHAT the promise of America was.  We no longer have a clue.   

From "Truthout"  --  Titled "Human Rights".

From Three Times Married Alveda King

It is truly amazing how totally hypocritical some folks can be.  Also, how being able to earn some money by using a family name can "cause" you to take positions totally opposite to the lessons life tried to teach you.

This from Joe.My.God.  --  please follow link to original.
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http://joemygod.blogspot.com/

"We are told by abortion advocates that it is 'unjust' that some women cannot afford to abort their babies, so tax dollars must be used to finance the killing of those children. We are told by same-sex 'marriage' advocates that it is 'unjust' that men cannot marry other men and women cannot marry other women, so 2,000 years of wisdom must be abandoned. And yet, the Bible tells us that human life is sacred. We are thereby to choose life over abortion. The Bible teaches us that natural marriage between one man and one woman is part of the procreative process. We are thereby compelled to choose holy and procreative matrimony. In forgetting our heritage, in distancing ourselves from God's moral rules, we are doing Uncle M. L. a disservice, and we are in danger of coming face to face with disaster. So, in remembering Uncle M. L. today, I urge America and the world to remember that he was a servant of God who, though imperfect, tried to point people to the truth." - Three times married and three times divorced Alveda King, who had also had two abortions and tried to get a third but didn't have the money.

Licensed gun owner says he killed 1-year-old Chihuahua for threatening him

I do not think there really is such a thing as a "man card".  Doesn't matter, this doofus should have both his gun and his "man card" taken away. Someone should shove the gun up his ass (but NOT fire it).  I wonder how he's going to live this down with any friends he might actually have.

He will forever be known as THE guy who had to shoot and kill a Chihuahua with his licensed handgun because this 14 year old girl's 1 year old, tiny pet, "threatened" him.

The asshole most likely killed it in a fit of pique  --  to use the words of all those "macho men", "how girly"!

Please follow link to original on "Raw Story".
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 http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/04/licensed-gun-owner-says-he-killed-1-year-old-chihuahua-for-threatening-him/

A 14-year-old Detroit girl says that a neighbor shot and killed JoJo, her 1-year-old Chihuahua, because he wasn’t on a leash and was making too much noise.
The licensed gun owner, however, told police that he gunned down the tiny dog because it was threatening him.
The girl, who WJBK declined to identify, said that she had gone inside for a few minutes while JoJo ran free in the yard. When she came back outside, the neighbor warned her to take the dog back in the house.
“When he saw my dog running out of the bushes, [he said], ‘I’m going to handle him myself,’ and then I guess my dog had run back up on him again, and he just shot him,” the teen recalled as she cradled the dead dog in a blanket.
“His life couldn’t have felt threatened at all by this little Chihuahua,” she explained.
Detroit Police determined that the neighbor was a licensed gun owner.
“This is a harsh reminder of responsibility,” Detroit Dog Rescue’s Dante Dasaro told WJBK. “If the dog was just simply on a leash and simply was on a leash to go outside, you know, the owner would have better control. No matter how this played out it was an unfortunately situation, and it really shouldn’t have happened.”
Grown Chihuahuas typically weigh between 2 and 6 pounds.
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I'm a gun owner.  I fully support the right to self defense  --  but, this moron MUST have his right to own and/or carry a firearm rescinded.  His lack of judgement is potentially dangerous. 

Ella Fitzgerald: Stardust (Carmichael/Parish, 1927-29)

Now, one not by Cole Porter.

Ella Fitzgerald & Glenn Miller - Begin the Beguine play in Broadway Melody of 1940

From a comment on YouTube  --  "Cole Porter composer, Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell dancers, Glenn Miller music and Ella Fitzgerald singer - it doesn't get any better than this. I absolutely love this!"  --  I'm in total agreement

You're the Top - Ella Fitzgerald sings Cole Porter

Ella Fitzgerald You Do Something To Me

Love For Sale - Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald sings So in Love by Cole Porter

GET OUT OF TOWN -- ELLA FITZGERALD

Ella Fitzgerald - Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye

ELLA FITZGERALD -- NIGHT AND DAY- ( Cole Porter )

Pratt: 'Angry Liberals Should Not Have Guns'

Anyone who has managed to stay with this blog over the years knows I strongly favor gun ownership for Progressives, Liberals, and LGBT folks.  Yesterday, on "April Fools Day" The Rude Pundit put up a post titled "Guns For Gays" where he suggested ALL LGBT folks legally buy and learn how to use guns.  He also suggested we all go all "Teaparty" with them, with LEGAL public displays, etc. 

Even though I suspect he was joking, he asked LGBT folks to go all "Black Panther", carrying AK47's and AR15's into public meetings, etc., etc., etc.

I'm sure it would not work because now the leader of "Gun Owners Of America" says "angry Liberals should not have guns"  --  gee whiz, what could he possibly be afraid of?

Please follow link to original
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http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/pratt-angry-liberals-should-not-have-guns

Larry Pratt, the extremist and conspiratorial leader of Gun Owners of America, last week gave a speech to We the People Tea Party of Northwest Louisiana where he mused that liberals should not be allowed to own guns.
After saying that President Obama held a shotgun “girly like” while skeet shooting, the Shreveport Times reports that Pratt told the group that Democrats like Obama “almost got me convinced to modify my purist Second Amendment position: there are people that shouldn’t have guns, angry liberals should not have guns.”

US, French tourists kidnapped, 1 raped in Rio

Now we see another horrific case of "sexual abuse" (RAPE) -- this time against an American woman.  If there is an uproar, it might just be because AMERICANS reserve the right to rape, abuse, kill, denigrate, subjugate, AMERICAN women.  To make matters worse, she had a FRENCH (not a "red blooded AMERICAN") boyfriend.  He was merely beaten and shackled.

Please follow link to original
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http://news.yahoo.com/us-french-tourists-kidnapped-1-raped-rio-153518185.html

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — An American woman was gang raped and beaten aboard a public transport van while her French boyfriend was shackled, hit with a crowbar and forced to watch the attacks after the pair boarded the vehicle in Rio de Janeiro's showcase Copacabana beach neighborhood, police said.

A third man, aged 21, was arrested for the attacks, which took place over six hours starting shortly after midnight on Saturday, police said in a Tuesday statement. Two men aged 20 and 22 had already been taken into custody for the attacks, police said. and a young Brazilian woman has come forward to say that she, too, was raped by the same men in the van on March 23.
"The victims described everything in great detail, mostly the sexual violence," police officer Rodrigo Brant told the Globo TV network. "Just how they described the facts was shocking — the violence and brutality. It surprised even us, who work in security and are used to hearing such things. Their report shocked us."
The incidents raise new questions about security in Rio, which has cracked down on once-endemic drug violence in preparation for hosting next year's football World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic games. The city will also be playing host to World Youth Day, a Roman Catholic pilgrimage that will be attended by Pope Francis and is expected to draw some 2 million people in late July.
Officials from the local Olympic and World Cup organizing committees didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
The attack also drew comparisons with the fatal December beating and gang rape of a young woman on a New Delhi bus. Six men beset a 23-year-old university student and male friend after they boarded a private bus, touching off a wave of protests across India demanding stronger protection for women. Officials there say tourism has dropped in the country following the attacks.
In the Brazil case, a police statement said the suspects forced other passengers to get out of the van and then raped the female tourist inside the vehicle, which was one of a fleet of vans that serve bus routes and seat about a dozen people.
Such van services are often linked to organized crime in Rio, particularly the militias largely comprised of former police and firemen that control large swaths of the city's slums and run clandestine services such as transportation and sell cooking fuel and illegal cable TV hookups. In general, tourists avoid the vans and opt for regular buses or taxis.
Sexual assaults on tourists are not common in Rio, with muggings and petty crime reported more frequently.
During the assault, the two foreigners were driven to the poor neighborhood of Sao Goncalo, where the two suspects were apprehended, a police statement said.
Reports said the two foreigners had been studying Portuguese in Rio for about a month and both left Brazil following the attack.
The police statement said that one victim's cellphone was found in the suspects' possession. The suspects had also used a debit card belonging to one of the victims at two gas stations, it said.
The Globo television network broadcast surveillance camera images of two men filling up the white van and showed police images of a crowbar the suspects used to beat and intimidate the victims. The victims positively identified the two suspects.
In an interview with Globo television, commanding officer Alexandre Braga, who heads the Rio police unit specializing in crimes against tourists, said the suspects had gone on a sex crime spree.
"The characteristics of both crimes, both the Brazilian case and the one with the foreigners, lead us to believe that they (the suspects) wanted to have a 'party of evil,' in quotes," Braga said. "The principal motive appears to have been the satisfaction of their lust."
He added that the robbery and other crimes appear to have been "secondary."
Multiple calls to police seeking further details on Tuesday were not immediately returned.
In Brazil, more than 5,300 cases of sexual assault were reported between January and June 2012, according to the country's Health Ministry.

Opening Day

Rangers opened up the Baseball Season by losing to The Houston Astros - now of the American League.  The Yankees opened up today by losing to The Boston Red Sox.

In honor of opening day here is a true classic

April Fools Comment

Yesterday was Easter Sunday, today is April Fools Day.  I will make no comments about either.

I will neither post nor gather up posts today.  April Fools is perhaps the very worst day to blog  --  especially now that what was once an April Fools prank is now considered hard news.  Every day is APRIL FOOLS!! here in the USA  --  especially if you listen to what Fox "News" or Southern Republican "leaders" say.

Peace and love.

By the way, news stories say tourism in India has fallen 25% since the reality of its dangerous anti-woman society has finally come to light.

Please, tell me more about "the wisdom of the East"  --  from the insane society of India to air you can see, taste, and touch in China.