Monday, May 30, 2011

VIDEO: More hypocrisy from the right: Ayn Rand or Jesus? You can't have both


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Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged was recently made into a movie and is being promoted vigorously on the Fox News Channel.  GOP leaders are flocking to this and are somehow trying to tie Rand's values with the Christian religion.

Rand, whose books inoculate its readers with anti-Christian morals, is the last person Christians should be listening too.  I am not trying to tell anyone what to believe, that is your own choice, but Christian's must ask themselves, "Is the GOP really the party of Christian fundamentals?"

Happy Memorial Day

SGT Steve Checo
KIA Shkin, Afghanistan 21 DEC 2002
Delta Co. 2/504 Parachute Infantry Regiment

Please remember all who have given their lives in service to this great country.  Please remember the KIA's, POW's, and MIA's.  

Have a safe and wonderful holiday.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Finland third in education worldwide as United States continues to fall, puts premium on teaching certificates


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While we are busy cutting education, countries around the world are investing every dime they can find into their most important resource, the brain.  Why hasn’t America realized this seemingly simple and obvious concept?  It seems to me that they are too concerned with other resources, like oil.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

The Pitt News


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I will be writing for The Pitt News.  The Pitt News is a daily publication that has been around for over 100 years.  Please check us out at www.pittnews.com and follow us on Twitter @ThePittNews.


More proof that the Affordable Care Act is working

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Surprise, surprise; the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is actually working.  Now that we have some concrete results, maybe we can start squashing the fear and doubts of conservatives who cry "socialism,"  forgetting that the nonpartisan CBO already informed us that this would happen.

So what have we learned and what new proof do we have?

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Eric Cantor holds Joplin, MO hostage for cuts


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What a complete joke!  Seriously..this guy..how does someone like this get elected?  He even looks like jerk.    Eric Cantor (R-VA) stated that the Republican congress would not vote for relief for the victims of the monstrous Joplin tornado unless cuts are made elsewhere.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

VIDEO: The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell -- Rewrite: We are all Socialists now


Great "Rewrite" tonight from Larry.


HOCHUL WINS N.Y. 26!


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Congratulations to Kathy Hochul (D-NY) who won the New York 26 special election!  How is that Ryan budget plan working out for Republicans now?


Chrysler pays government back for bailout loans early


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Looks like some of those evil "socialist" ideas are actually working.  Who would have thought?

Chrysler plans to pay the U.S. and Canadian governments $7.5 billion today.  In addition, Chrysler has reported a $116 million profit in the first quarter...its first since the bailout in 2009.  Chrysler will save millions in interest by repaying its loans.

VIDEO: Minnesota House signs off on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage


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The heavily Republican Minnesota House voted to approve a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

The Examiner:

"State law already prohibits gay marriage, but supporters of the proposed amendment said it was necessary to prevent judges or future lawmakers from making gay marriage legal in Minnesota. Critics said the plan is divisive and such an amendment would put discrimination into the constitution."

Monday, May 23, 2011

Maddow: Federal government: No defunding Planned Parenthood


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New York Times:

"Federal law prohibits federal Medicaid dollars from being spent on abortion services. Medicaid does not allow states to stop beneficiaries from getting care they need — like cancer screenings and preventive care — because their provider offers certain other services. We are reviewing this particular situation and situations in other states."

Um...I'm pretty sure liberals have been telling conservatives this for a LONG time.  It's a shame it had to come down to the federal government getting involved.

VIDEO: TP -- GOP congressman says don’t raise the debt ceiling unless we abolish Department of Energy and education


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ThinkProgress 

 BROUN: I want to make this clear. I will not vote to raise the debt ceiling unless we have major cuts in the size and scope of the federal government. 

MULTIPLE CONSTITUENTS: Can you define major? 

BROUN: I propose getting rid of the Department of Education. I’d like to get rid of the Department of Energy as well.

Screw world calamity; we need to cut the evil, evil education spending.  How dare we try to educate our future so we can keep up with the rest of the world.  We need that money to subsidize big oil.  This is the same town hall where he defended big oil subsidies.  

When are we going to wake up and realize who these guys are working for?  Just look at big oil spending.


VIDEO: ThinkProgress -- Lecturing Americans to ‘reread’ Constitution, Herman Cain confuses it with Declaration of Independence


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Lecturing Americans to 'reread' Constitution, Herman Cain confuses it with Declaration of Independence

This is why we shouldn't have corporate executives in the White House...let alone politics.


Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Who writes our laws? – ALEC: America’s little known ghost organization


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As The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell puts it, democracy is for sale.  In 1973, a little known organization called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) was formed.  This organization is comprised of extreme right-winged politicians and multinational corporations.  These corporations write hundreds of model bills every year that factor their interests.
 
People for the American Way (PFAW) informs us that “in 2009, of the 826 ‘model bills’ that were introduced in state legislatures, 115 of those bills were enacted into law.”  In some cases, these laws were written almost word for word as the legislation proposed by ALEC.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Sunday, May 15, 2011

VIDEO: Senate Finance Committee holds hearings on Big Oil subsidies Thursday


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According to a press release from the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, the top five oil company executives in the country will have an opportunity Thursday to testify why they should continue receiving tax subsidies.  Oil receives at least $4 billion a year in tax breaks.  The meeting, announced by committee chairman Max Baucus, is to be titled “Oil and Gas Tax Incentives and Rising Energy Prices” and will feature executives from Exxon Mobil, Shell, ConocoPhillips, BP America, and Chevron.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

GRAPH: Average CEO earns 200 times the salary of a Navy SEAL



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In honor of the SEAL's elimination of Osama bin Laden, I thought I would illustrate the lack of wealth parity in this country using ThinkProgress.org's graph showing how much more a CEO makes than a Navy SEAL.



I think my job is done.

According to the 2011 Executive Pay Watch, CEO's made an average of $11,358,445 in 2010.  That is up 20% from the previous year.  Contrast that with the $0.58 a week raise the average worker saw.  According to The Rachel Maddow Show, average worker pay is down $10,000 a year from ten years ago.
Think Progress:
"It’s important to note that the gap between executive compensation and average worker compensation has exploded over the past few decades. CEOs at America’s largest companies now earn 343 times more than the typical worker. In 1970, the average CEO earned 28 times as much as the typical worker."

So why is production and CEO pay up and worker pay down?  I guess that $10,000 decrease in pay is a prime example of how great those Bush tax cuts have been treating us.  It might even be a better example than the lack of job growth those cuts produced.



Tuesday, May 3, 2011

OSAMA BIN LADEN DEAD!


[EDIT:  This post is not intended to exploit the SEAL's in any way, shape, or form.  As a veteran of two foreign wars, I completely understand the concept of volunteer service.  This post was used merely  as a tool to illustrate the obscene lack of wealth parity in this country.]

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On April 29, 2011, President Obama gave the order for U.S. Navy SEAL's to invade Abbottabad, Pakistan and killed Osama Bin Laden.  Congratulations to everyone who played such a vital role in eliminating this villain from our planet.  Thank you to the SEAL's, all of the troops, intelligence agencies, 9/11 First Responders, and the many others that contributed.

Unfortunately, the capture was followed by many unsettleing questions.  Why didn't Pakistan inform us that he was there?  They had to have known where he was.  Bin Laden was found in a compound just north of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.  What is even more unsettleing is that this structure was located just 3,000 feet from Pakistan's equivilalent to our West Point Academy.  His compound, which cost over $1,000,000 to construct, has security walls exceeding 16 feet, barbed concertina wire along its perimeter, and is eight times larger than any surrounding structure.  There is no way that Pakistan did not know that he was there. 

And all this after they got upset that we wanted them to disclose how they were spending the billions of dollars we have given them.  The U.S. gives Pakistan over two billion dollars a year on average and is slated to give them almost $3B in 2012. 

 This should get interesting...