Category: Uncategorized

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Senate overcomes filibuster to help aid victims of IRENE

Senate Democrats overcame a filibuster Tuesday, narrowly advancing a $7 billion disaster aid package that Republicans blocked a day earlier.

On a 61-38 vote, all 53 Democrats and eight Republicans from disaster-afflicted states agreed to move forward on legislation that would help areas of the country hit by Hurricane Irene and recent tornadoes, flooding and wildfires.

Sixty votes were needed. Republicans who cast an “aye” vote were Sens. Roy Blunt of Missouri; Scott Brown of Massachusetts; John Hoeven of North Dakota; Dean Heller of Nevada; Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania; David Vitter of Louisiana; and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both of Maine. In Monday’s failed 53-33 vote, Toomey had voted no, while Sen. Dan Coats of (R-Ind.) had voted yes.

Senate Republicans, who have objected to the bill’s price tag and the fact that it doesn’t include an equal amount of savings, have said they’ll back a separate, smaller disaster bill that the GOP-led House plans to attach to legislation needed to avert a partial government shutdown by Oct. 1.

Tuesday’s Senate vote came after Reid hammered Republicans for holding up funding that would replenish the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s nearly exhausted disaster relief fund. “To say now it’s not the time to turn to it is really not fair,” Reid said. “We need the money now.”

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Rick Perry believes in building Afghanistan’s infrastructure

At last night’s GOP presidential debate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) said we need to stay in Afghanistan in order to “continue to help them build the infrastructure that they need, whether it’s schools for young women like yourself, or otherwise.” Watch it:

   

But does Perry feel the same need to build American infrastructure?

President Obama’s jobs package contains much-needed infrastructure investments — including school improvements — yet Perry dismissed it as wasteful spending “guided by his mistaken belief that we can spend our way to prosperity.”

“Like the president’s earlier $800 billion stimulus program, this proposal offers little hope for millions of Americans who have lost jobs,” Perry said, ignoring the need for the infrastructure improvements.
(via ThinkProgress)

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Henry Rollins new photography book “Occupants”

Via The Advocate: For 25 years, Henry Rollins has been traveling the world photographing areas of conflict. And he’s often troubled by what he sees. “My main sentiment coming back from a lot of it is, I’m offended,” he says. “I’m offended at what the West does and how the West washes up on these shores and manifests itself.”

Hoping to inspire action, Rollins has unleashed the visual fruits of these efforts in his first photo book, Occupants (Chicago Review Press). Featuring jaw-dropping images from locales ranging from Afghanistan to Siberia, the book offers an unflinching look at the human condition in extreme places around the world. Accompanying the images are essays in Rollins’s unmistakably forthright and often angry voice.

I’ve always been a fan of Henry Rollins.  For all the gruff exterior of a rocker, he’s extremely well-spoken and articulate.  And his world view is very sophisticated.  I highly recommend exploring any artistic endeavor he brings to the table.

Here are just a couple of his photos with his own captioning.

Rollins: This one shot luckily captured the energy of the Mopti children
that I wanted to show.
Rollins: “During the Bush administration, I took photos of any anti-Bush sentiment
outside of America I could find.”
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THE VIEW: Dick Cheney on gay marriage

Get to the 1:30 mark. Saying he supports a federal law allowing marriage equality, Mr. Cheney basically says “I think freedom means freedom for everybody.”

And he’s correct on that subject.

Ultimately, I think this just goes to my ongoing point that society evolves, as the Cheneys have evolved on this issue.

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How the United States Postal Service is “going broke”

It was only a few years ago that the USPS was considered not only stable, but thriving. The biggest volume in pieces of mail handled by the Postal Service in its 236-year history was in 2006. The second and third busiest years were in 2005 and 2007, respectively.

Perhaps it was its booming history that first drew Congress’ attention to the Postal Service in 2006 when it passed the Postal Accountability Enhancement Act (PAEA), which mandated that the Postal Service would have to fully fund retiree health benefits for future retirees.

But it even went beyond that. Congress was mandating coverage for future human beings.

“It’s almost hard to comprehend what they’re talking about, but basically they said that the Postal Service would have to fully fund future retirees’ health benefits for the next 75 years and they would have to do it within a ten-year window,” says Chuck Zlatkin, political director of the New York Metro Area Postal Union.

The act meant that every September 30th, the USPS had to cough up $5.5 billion to the Treasury for the pre-funding of future retirees’ health benefits, meaning the Postal Service pays for employees 75 years into the future.

The USPS is funding the retirement packages of people who haven’t even been born yet.

We keep being told that email and the Internet have killed the Postal Service and it’s simply not true. Adjusting for the economic downturn, it appears the USPS is busier now than it ever has been before. E-commerce has been a huge boost as all the items people purchase online have to get to people’s homes and the cheapest way to do that is still through the Postal Service.

For those who don’t recognize why this is so important, the Postal Service is a vital cog in the American economy and is constitutionally mandated. It particularly benefits the poor.

There are still tons of people who need the USPS’s services: poorer people, people using a post office box, rural people who live outside delivery areas, eBay-type entrepreneurs, and nonprofits.

“It’s part of the class war and it’s against the poor and it’s a class war against working people,” says Zlatkin. Of the 34 post offices the USPS is considering closing in New York City, 17 are in the Bronx. The South Bronx district ranks as the poorest Congressional district in America.
(read more: crooks & liars)

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GOP/Tea Party Debate on CNN

Question: A healthy 30 year old decides ‘I’m not going to buy health insurance because I don’t need it.’ Then something terrible happens and he needs it. Who’s going to pay for his care?

Ron Paul: He should assume responsibility for himself.

Q: He needs intensive care for six months, who pays?

Ron Paul: That’s what freedom is all about – taking your own risks.

Q: Congressman, are you saying society should just let him die?

The crowd: Yes! Yes!

And there you have it kids. Christianity at it’s best….

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Honor those on Flight 93 – September 11th Heroes

I don’t ask anything of my readers very often. I seriously appreciate that you show up and read my rants, raves and random thoughts.

But this came to my attention today, and I believe it to be an extremely worthwhile project to contribute to.

In the hours and days following the events of Flight 93, the final chapter in the horrible events of 9/11, a story of incredible bravery and heroism emerged. Flight 93 was the only one of the hijacked planes that failed to reach its intended target. Flight 93 was just 20 minutes from Washington, DC, and had the passengers and crewmembers not taken decisive action, it is likely that the plane would have been used to crash into the U.S. Capitol or the White House causing unimaginable destruction.

The “ordinary” people on board Flight 93 were anything but. They were men and women, mothers, fathers, and children. Yet despite these apparent differences, they all possessed undeniable qualities of the human spirit – courage, bravery, selflessness – that enabled them to join together in an extraordinary way and achieve the first victory in the war on terrorism.

On September 24, 2002, President Bush signed into law the Flight 93 National Memorial Act. The Act created a new national park to commemorate the passengers and crew of Flight 93 who, on September 11, 2001, courageously gave their lives thereby thwarting a planned attack on our nation’s capital. The memorial is near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 crashed with the loss of its 40 passengers and crew.

$10 million is still needed to complete the memorial.

Here’s how you can help – this is not impossible:

Go to www.honorflight93.org to learn more about the memorial for these courageous private citzens. Donate to the Flight 93 National Memorial Campaign today and the National Park Foundation Board of Directors will match it dollar-for-dollar up to $2,000,000!

Click here to go directly to the donation page.

I read a lot of people writing the phrase “Never Forget” this weekend. Here’s a way to make sure future generations don’t forget.

Skip lunch or dinner out ONE TIME. Rummage through your kitchen cabinets, have a little canned soup or eat one of those frozen dinners you’ve had forever. Take the saved $10 and honor those civilians who make a sacrifice for their country.

Or don’t. Times are tough. I know that. But even if it’s just $5 – if you can type “Never Forget” on Facebook, surely you can find $5-10 in change to honor these Americans.

And just to be fair, I’m not asking anything that I haven’t done myself.

Thanks for reading.

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Congresswoman Giffords grants 1st interview to Diane Sawyer

Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will give her first TV interview since being shot in January to Diane Sawyer of ABC News.

Giffords, who was shot while meeting with constituents on Jan. 8, will be interviewed with her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly. ABC said Monday that the discussion will air as part of a prime-time special Nov. 14.

That’s the night before a book by Giffords and Kelly will be published. It’s titled “Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope.”

Giffords has slowly emerged as her recovery from the near-fatal brain injury continues. In August she appeared in Washington to vote on the debt ceiling bill.
(source: AP)