A Visit to "Some Assembly Required"

We have a friend coming in from out of town  --  as a result, I might just have to live my life, instead of mulling over what to post on this blog thingy.  So  --  for the weekend, here's some stuff from "Some Assembly Required"  --  please follow link to original
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Semper Fi: Turns out PFC Bradley Manning Sergeant Lawrence Hutchins, who has served 6 years for his role in the murder of an Iraqi civilian, had his civil rights violated when he was held in solitary confinement for seven days... The Iraqi's death was upheld by the court.

Explicate: How can a "secret body of law" be the law in a democracy? When did “Because I said so" become a legal justification for immorality?

Urgency: One of the reasons the Let's-Kill-Social-Security-and-Medicare movement continues to press their agenda even though the vast majority of voters don't want these programs cut and even though the deficit projections have dropped dramatically is that today one in six voters directly benefits from these programs, in 2030 – when Doom is usually predicted – one in four will. And trying to kill the program then, even if the unlikely disaster they are predicting shows up, will not be possible.

Profits/People: India's low-cost generic pharmaceuticals have significantly lowered drug costs in developing countries around the globe. Its generics also cut into Pfizer's profits. So you can understand why the US is working to pressure India into letting the poor of the world die.

Secrecy is but another word for fear. Jeremy Bentham. 

Rant: When the truth is vilified, hunted, gagged and jailed, then the State has chosen to go to war with the nation. We are at war.

Dumb & Dumber: North Carolina, pulling ahead of Texas in the stupidity games, has disqualified the state from receiving federal funding for the long-term unemployed, lowered the maximum weekly benefit from $535 to $350 and cut legibility from 6 months to as little as three. About 170,000 North Carolinians will lose a total of $700 million in federal funds, while protecting the ideological purity of their politicians. 

To Market, To Market: Republicans want to cut food stamps from the Farm Bill so that does what it should, funnel money to big farms and corporate agriculture. Food stamps then can be trashed separately. Don't worry about agribusiness – it makes its money from growing ethanol and feeding animals, not from delivering veggies to the poor.
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There's a lot more  --  please go there.