You Won't Believe These Suez Canal Conspiracies
3 years ago
Monday, April 30, 2012
Social Security funding problem is easily solved
Social Security funding problem is easily solved
click link
part
Posted: Friday, April 27, 2012 5:57 pm | (1) comments.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-to-the-editor/social-security-funding-problem-is-easily-solved/article_90702b6c-90bc-11e1-9eca-001a4bcf6878.html#ixzz1tX6yVugR
click link
part
Posted: Friday, April 27, 2012 5:57 pm | (1) comments.
The annual report of the trustees of the Social Security Trust Fund reported that the retirement portion of the fund is solvent until 2035, and the disability portion of the fund is solvent until 2016. (SLPD, April 23, 2012) An increase in the maximum wages from which funding is paid by workers' wages and employers' contributions is the simple solution to solve the long-term funding issue.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-to-the-editor/social-security-funding-problem-is-easily-solved/article_90702b6c-90bc-11e1-9eca-001a4bcf6878.html#ixzz1tX6yVugR
Saturday, April 28, 2012
single payer update for Missouri
I
just got some spectacular news late last night, and we need to jump
right in. If you are able to, please try to block out your day on this
Wednesday May 2 so a bunch of us go to Jefferson City and testify in
favor of active legislation to establish a state-wide single payer plan
in Missouri.
MO
HB1405 is very similar to the national HR676 that we’ve been talking
about, except on a state basis. MO HB1405 would establish the MO
Universal Health Assurance Program, a publicly financed privately
delivered statewide program comprehensively providing all necessary
medical, preventive, dental, and mental health programs for MO
residents.
Delivery of
healthcare services would remain privatized and reimbursed based upon
Medicare guidelines. As in HR676, other insurers may not duplicate the
services offered by the program. It’s financed through the state income
tax structure.
This is very much like the set of assumptions built into the analysis done by the Missouri Foundation for Health in 2003 (http://www.mffh.org/mm/files/ShowMe3a.pdf),
which estimated that the state would save well over $1 billion per year
with such a strategy. The bill isn’t perfect, none are, but it would be
a great step forward.
Here's a link to the legislation and its summary:
The
bill will have a public hearing in the House Committee on Health Care
Policy on Wednesday May 2 at noon in Jeff City. It’s been several years
since it reach a committee hearing, and kudos to Missourians for Single
Payer, and Mimi Signor, for keeping the legislation active. MOSP has
asked PNHP to come to Jeff City and speak in support. The more of us,
frankly, the better.
Will
it pass in 2012? Extremely unlikely. But as you remember, Canada got
their national health care program only after several states started
their own first.
We
need to make a significant show of physician support for the bill. I
understand many of you have clinical commitments right then and simply
cannot juggle this much this quickly, but if there is any way you can,
please do so.
Let
me know if you’re interested and able to juggle your life like this at
the last minute; I’ll set up a carpool. Also, if you’re interested, let
me know and we can get together this Monday night April 30 at 6:30 at my
house in Olivette and just talk through more about the state
legislation and what testifying in a committee is like. Bottom line –
it’s really fun.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Alternate views on St. Louis riverfront camps for homeless
Alternate views on St. Louis riverfront camps for homeless
click link
from article
• As deadlines loom for the dismantling of several riverfront homeless camps, the Rev. Larry Rice jumped into the fray again, saying the closures will only lead to more camps.
"Even if the city comes and places these people (in housing) tomorrow night, there is going to be more," Rice said Wednesday at a press conference held at his New Life Evangelistic Center on Locust Street.
Rice, a longtime and outspoken advocate for the homeless, has also scheduled a Friday march on City Hall to renew his demand for the city to designate a piece of land where homeless people can live outdoors.
click link
from article
• As deadlines loom for the dismantling of several riverfront homeless camps, the Rev. Larry Rice jumped into the fray again, saying the closures will only lead to more camps.
"Even if the city comes and places these people (in housing) tomorrow night, there is going to be more," Rice said Wednesday at a press conference held at his New Life Evangelistic Center on Locust Street.
Rice, a longtime and outspoken advocate for the homeless, has also scheduled a Friday march on City Hall to renew his demand for the city to designate a piece of land where homeless people can live outdoors.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Rick Santorum Aborts Presidential Campaign
Rick Santorum Aborts Presidential Campaign
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels talks taxes in Illinois speech as unions protest | The Republic
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels talks taxes in Illinois speech as unions protest | The Republic:
click link
snip
"CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels spoke to Illinois Republicans about lower taxes on Thursday evening, hours after thousands of labor union members protested his appearance.
"When you take money away from people, you leave them a little less free," Daniels told about 450 people at the Champaign County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner, The News-Gazette in Champaign (http://bit.ly/JlkQyH ) reports.
Meanwhile, outside thousands of union members held a rally at University of Illinois' Assembly Hall before peacefully marching to the site of Daniels' speech. Indiana has a new right-to-work law that allows workers to not pay union dues even if a union bargains on their behalf
Daniels did address the labor issue."
'via Blog this'
------
I was there with Soar from Granite City. good crowd, good turn-out for short notice, good speakers.
click link
snip
"CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels spoke to Illinois Republicans about lower taxes on Thursday evening, hours after thousands of labor union members protested his appearance.
"When you take money away from people, you leave them a little less free," Daniels told about 450 people at the Champaign County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner, The News-Gazette in Champaign (http://bit.ly/JlkQyH ) reports.
Meanwhile, outside thousands of union members held a rally at University of Illinois' Assembly Hall before peacefully marching to the site of Daniels' speech. Indiana has a new right-to-work law that allows workers to not pay union dues even if a union bargains on their behalf
Daniels did address the labor issue."
'via Blog this'
------
I was there with Soar from Granite City. good crowd, good turn-out for short notice, good speakers.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
The Hidden Influences Behind ALEC
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Obama pushes to rein in oil speculators
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Americans Favor “Buffett Rule” by 60% to 37%
Americans Favor “Buffett Rule” by 60% to 37%
click link above
Implications
Republican politicians oppose the Buffett Rule, and there is little possibility that it will become law this year. President Obama's intense focus on the policy and his emphasis on bringing it to a vote in Congress is thus mostly a symbolic gesture -- underscoring his general presidential campaign themes this year. An emphasis on millionaires paying higher taxes also helps position the Obama presidential campaign against his very rich GOP opponent, Mitt Romney.
Perhaps more importantly than the fate of this one policy proposal, the expiration of the Bush tax cuts at the end of this year means that unless something is done, taxes will go up for many American taxpayers. Obama is on record as saying he would let the tax cuts expire for those households making $250,000 a year and up, but would keep them in place for all others.
click link above
Implications
Republican politicians oppose the Buffett Rule, and there is little possibility that it will become law this year. President Obama's intense focus on the policy and his emphasis on bringing it to a vote in Congress is thus mostly a symbolic gesture -- underscoring his general presidential campaign themes this year. An emphasis on millionaires paying higher taxes also helps position the Obama presidential campaign against his very rich GOP opponent, Mitt Romney.
Perhaps more importantly than the fate of this one policy proposal, the expiration of the Bush tax cuts at the end of this year means that unless something is done, taxes will go up for many American taxpayers. Obama is on record as saying he would let the tax cuts expire for those households making $250,000 a year and up, but would keep them in place for all others.
Missouri call to action ara Tax day activities on April 17th, 2012
Dear Missouri Activists,
TODAY!! TAX WEALTH; NOT WORK
CALL Senator Roy Blunt and tell him to vote YES for the Buffet Rule!
Our families work hard—and we’re proud of the work we do.
We know our tax dollars help America succeed.
CALL NOW! 202-224-3121 or 202-224-5721
Then Join The Missouri Alliance for Retired Americans on April 17 to demand Corporations pay their fair share.
St. Louis: Meet at Kiener Plaza on Tuesday, April 17 at 3:30 p.m.
500 Pine St
St Louis, MO 63101
Kansas City: Meet at Barney Allis Plaza on Tuesday 3:30 p.m.
W 12th St
Kansas City, MO 64105
TODAY!! TAX WEALTH; NOT WORK
CALL Senator Roy Blunt and tell him to vote YES for the Buffet Rule!
Our families work hard—and we’re proud of the work we do.
We know our tax dollars help America succeed.
CALL NOW! 202-224-3121 or 202-224-5721
Then Join The Missouri Alliance for Retired Americans on April 17 to demand Corporations pay their fair share.
St. Louis: Meet at Kiener Plaza on Tuesday, April 17 at 3:30 p.m.
500 Pine St
St Louis, MO 63101
Kansas City: Meet at Barney Allis Plaza on Tuesday 3:30 p.m.
W 12th St
Kansas City, MO 64105
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Ford and Taylor in the 1920s - beginnings of time study
this is where "time study" folks get a big hand up.
alas, Taylorism, would be the norm that is used in everything---production, government, education and more. seriously flawed
Missouri's Senate race a key in national battle between the parties
Missouri's Senate race a key in national battle between the parties
CLICK LINK
snip from article
Missouri's Senate contest, in which three Republicans are vying to take on McCaskill, is one of a handful that ultimately could determine which party controls the Senate next year.
Polls since last month show that Missouri is one of at least eight states with opposing Senate candidates or presumed candidates separated by no more than 5 percentage points. The surveys point to an intense battle for Senate control and an election with the potential for surprises.
"With a huge number of Senate races this tight, the Senate picture might be the most interesting thing on election night," said Tom Jensen, a pollster with Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-aligned firm.
Democrats began with a structural disadvantage, defending 23 of the 33 Senate seats on November ballots. Democrats hold Senate control by a margin of 53-47, which includes Joseph Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.
Republicans need four seats to take over — or three, if the GOP captures the White House, in which case the vice president would cast deciding votes on legislation and leadership in a deadlocked Senate.
Of the races where the incumbent is the Democrat, McCaskill's "is the toughes
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/missouri-s-senate-race-a-key-in-national-battle-between/article_34b10d75-d5cd-5b47-b96c-9bb9b6ed365f.html#ixzz1s7hum1rL
CLICK LINK
snip from article
Missouri's Senate contest, in which three Republicans are vying to take on McCaskill, is one of a handful that ultimately could determine which party controls the Senate next year.
Polls since last month show that Missouri is one of at least eight states with opposing Senate candidates or presumed candidates separated by no more than 5 percentage points. The surveys point to an intense battle for Senate control and an election with the potential for surprises.
"With a huge number of Senate races this tight, the Senate picture might be the most interesting thing on election night," said Tom Jensen, a pollster with Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-aligned firm.
Democrats began with a structural disadvantage, defending 23 of the 33 Senate seats on November ballots. Democrats hold Senate control by a margin of 53-47, which includes Joseph Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.
Republicans need four seats to take over — or three, if the GOP captures the White House, in which case the vice president would cast deciding votes on legislation and leadership in a deadlocked Senate.
Of the races where the incumbent is the Democrat, McCaskill's "is the toughes
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/missouri-s-senate-race-a-key-in-national-battle-between/article_34b10d75-d5cd-5b47-b96c-9bb9b6ed365f.html#ixzz1s7hum1rL
Saturday, April 14, 2012
NRA convention: Wisconsin governor asks for help in recall election
NRA convention: Wisconsin governor asks for help in recall election
click link above for full
from article
ST. LOUIS • Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker touted his support for hunting and gun rights Friday and asked for help in a June recall election, saying "I have become a target."
Walker spoke during the first full day of the National Rifle Association’s annual convention, being held in downtown St. Louis. The conservative organization is a friendly assembly for Walker, who faces energetic nationwide opposition by labor and liberal groups in the Wisconsin recall election on June 5.
"The advocates of big government view me as a threat. They want to take me out," Walker said. "Our opponents are targeting me because I stand in their way of getting their hands on money and power."
Walker said the recall has national significance and warned, "if I fail in June, it sets us back at least a decade if not a generation."
Walker, a Republican who was elected governor of Wisconsin in November 2010, quickly became a national figure by championing a new state law that sharply curbs union rights for most public employees. After conducting sit-ins and demonstrations at the state capitol, labor groups and Democratic organizations circulated petitions to force a recall.
In March, the state election authority certified there were enough valid signatures and ordered the unusual special election.
Under Wisconsin law, both parties will choose nominees on May 8. Walker has no serious opposition in the GOP primary. The leading Democratic candidates are Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and the former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk.
Walker never mentioned his
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/political-fix/nra-convention-wisconsin-governor-asks-for-help-in-recall-election/article_7c9718d2-85b1-11e1-83d3-0019bb30f31a.html#ixzz1s1HfBVZY
click link above for full
from article
ST. LOUIS • Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker touted his support for hunting and gun rights Friday and asked for help in a June recall election, saying "I have become a target."
Walker spoke during the first full day of the National Rifle Association’s annual convention, being held in downtown St. Louis. The conservative organization is a friendly assembly for Walker, who faces energetic nationwide opposition by labor and liberal groups in the Wisconsin recall election on June 5.
"The advocates of big government view me as a threat. They want to take me out," Walker said. "Our opponents are targeting me because I stand in their way of getting their hands on money and power."
Walker said the recall has national significance and warned, "if I fail in June, it sets us back at least a decade if not a generation."
Walker, a Republican who was elected governor of Wisconsin in November 2010, quickly became a national figure by championing a new state law that sharply curbs union rights for most public employees. After conducting sit-ins and demonstrations at the state capitol, labor groups and Democratic organizations circulated petitions to force a recall.
In March, the state election authority certified there were enough valid signatures and ordered the unusual special election.
Under Wisconsin law, both parties will choose nominees on May 8. Walker has no serious opposition in the GOP primary. The leading Democratic candidates are Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and the former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk.
Walker never mentioned his
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/political-fix/nra-convention-wisconsin-governor-asks-for-help-in-recall-election/article_7c9718d2-85b1-11e1-83d3-0019bb30f31a.html#ixzz1s1HfBVZY
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Dutch tulip mania documentary---economic bubble
======
one of the first economic bubble disasters===certainly not the last
ObamaCare Is the Embodiment of Fiscal Disaster - Forbes
ObamaCare Is the Embodiment of Fiscal Disaster - Forbes
click link for story
snip
By Grace-Marie Turner
The American people figured out very early in the health reform debate that you can’t create a new entitlement that finances health insurance for 30 million people and still claim the scheme will magically reduce the federal budget deficit.
But the White House and Democratic leaders in Congress kept insisting we were wrong – that, like the subjects in “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” we were just hopelessly stupid if we didn’t see that the health law’s new garments were indeed dazzling to behold.
Now we have an independent study that exposes the naked truth about ObamaCare.
The law is a fiscal disaster.
----------
horsepucky to this article. either nationalize healthcare or enact single payer system like Hr676 if money is the problem
click link for story
snip
By Grace-Marie Turner
The American people figured out very early in the health reform debate that you can’t create a new entitlement that finances health insurance for 30 million people and still claim the scheme will magically reduce the federal budget deficit.
But the White House and Democratic leaders in Congress kept insisting we were wrong – that, like the subjects in “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” we were just hopelessly stupid if we didn’t see that the health law’s new garments were indeed dazzling to behold.
Now we have an independent study that exposes the naked truth about ObamaCare.
The law is a fiscal disaster.
----------
horsepucky to this article. either nationalize healthcare or enact single payer system like Hr676 if money is the problem
Gingrich Unloads on FOX News in Private Meeting--moment of truth telling
Gingrich Unloads on FOX News in Private Meeting
click link for full story
snip
DOVER, Del. -- During a meeting with 18 Delaware Tea Party leaders here on Wednesday, Newt Gingrich lambasted FOX News Channel, accusing the cable network of having been in the tank for Mitt Romney from the beginning of the Republican presidential fight. An employee himself of the news outlet as recently as last year, he also cited former colleagues for attacking him out of what he characterized as personal jealousy.
“I think FOX has been for Romney all the way through,” Gingrich said during the private meeting -- to which RealClearPolitics was granted access -- at Wesley College. “In our experience, Callista and I both believe CNN is less biased than FOX this year. We are more likely to get neutral coverage out of CNN than we are of FOX, and we’re more likely to get distortion out of FOX. That’s just a fact.”
------------------
of course fox is for Romney
of course Newt, you are dollar short and day late with this news
click link for full story
snip
DOVER, Del. -- During a meeting with 18 Delaware Tea Party leaders here on Wednesday, Newt Gingrich lambasted FOX News Channel, accusing the cable network of having been in the tank for Mitt Romney from the beginning of the Republican presidential fight. An employee himself of the news outlet as recently as last year, he also cited former colleagues for attacking him out of what he characterized as personal jealousy.
“I think FOX has been for Romney all the way through,” Gingrich said during the private meeting -- to which RealClearPolitics was granted access -- at Wesley College. “In our experience, Callista and I both believe CNN is less biased than FOX this year. We are more likely to get neutral coverage out of CNN than we are of FOX, and we’re more likely to get distortion out of FOX. That’s just a fact.”
------------------
of course fox is for Romney
of course Newt, you are dollar short and day late with this news
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Who Owns Adam Smith? | Common Dreams
Who Owns Adam Smith? | Common Dreams
click link above
old one, but interesting Adam Smith did believe in many items modern liberals believe
snip
First, while he celebrated truly competitive capitalism, he didn't trust capitalists very much. Consider these quotes:
· "All for ourselves, and nothing for other people, seems, in every age of the world, to have been the vile maxim of the masters of mankind."
· "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices."
Second, he believed that workers deserve a living wage:
· "It is but equity ... that they who feed, clothe and lodge the whole body of the people, should have such a share of the produce of their own labor as to be themselves tolerable well fed, clothed and lodged."
Third - and here's a real shocker - he believed that the wealthy should pay more in taxes:
"The subjects of every state ought to contribute toward the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state."
Fourth, he believed in the necessity of public investments in infrastructure and public goods. He spoke of the duty of government to support "public institutions and those public works, which, though they may be in the highest degree advantageous to a great society, are, however, of such a nature that the profit could never repay the expense to any individual or small number of individuals, and which it therefore cannot be expected that any individual or small number of individuals should erect or maintain.
click link above
old one, but interesting Adam Smith did believe in many items modern liberals believe
snip
First, while he celebrated truly competitive capitalism, he didn't trust capitalists very much. Consider these quotes:
· "All for ourselves, and nothing for other people, seems, in every age of the world, to have been the vile maxim of the masters of mankind."
· "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices."
Second, he believed that workers deserve a living wage:
· "It is but equity ... that they who feed, clothe and lodge the whole body of the people, should have such a share of the produce of their own labor as to be themselves tolerable well fed, clothed and lodged."
Third - and here's a real shocker - he believed that the wealthy should pay more in taxes:
"The subjects of every state ought to contribute toward the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state."
Fourth, he believed in the necessity of public investments in infrastructure and public goods. He spoke of the duty of government to support "public institutions and those public works, which, though they may be in the highest degree advantageous to a great society, are, however, of such a nature that the profit could never repay the expense to any individual or small number of individuals, and which it therefore cannot be expected that any individual or small number of individuals should erect or maintain.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
ed show big bucks in election Karl R superpac
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Paul Krugman: The gullible center
Paul Krugman: The gullible center
click link
So, can we talk about the Paul Ryan phenomenon?
And yes, I mean the phenomenon, not the man. Mr. Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee and the principal author of the last two congressional Republican budget proposals, isn't especially interesting. He's a garden-variety modern GOP extremist, an Ayn Rand devotee who believes that the answer to all problems is to cut taxes on the rich and slash benefits for the poor and middle class.
No, what's interesting is the cult that has grown up around Mr. Ryan — and in particular the way self-proclaimed centrists elevated him into an icon of fiscal responsibility, and even now can't seem to let go of their fantasy.
click link
So, can we talk about the Paul Ryan phenomenon?
And yes, I mean the phenomenon, not the man. Mr. Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee and the principal author of the last two congressional Republican budget proposals, isn't especially interesting. He's a garden-variety modern GOP extremist, an Ayn Rand devotee who believes that the answer to all problems is to cut taxes on the rich and slash benefits for the poor and middle class.
No, what's interesting is the cult that has grown up around Mr. Ryan — and in particular the way self-proclaimed centrists elevated him into an icon of fiscal responsibility, and even now can't seem to let go of their fantasy.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
NRA convention to bring gear, guns ... and candidates to St. Louis
NRA convention to bring gear, guns ... and candidates to St. Louis
click link
As the weekend event kicks off on April 13, convention-goers are scheduled to hear from a who's who — and, perhaps, a who was — in the GOP nominating contest.
Set to speak are Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, as well as three governor's accustomed to the national spotlight: Texas' Rick Perry, Louisiana's Bobby Jindal and Wisconsin's Scott Walker.
Also scheduled to speak are House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt.
The event could be an interesting stretch of the campaign trail for Romney, who may have the race sewn up by then, but, in the past, hasn't connected with gun owners the way, say, the coyote-shootin' Gov. Perry has.
click link
As the weekend event kicks off on April 13, convention-goers are scheduled to hear from a who's who — and, perhaps, a who was — in the GOP nominating contest.
Set to speak are Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, as well as three governor's accustomed to the national spotlight: Texas' Rick Perry, Louisiana's Bobby Jindal and Wisconsin's Scott Walker.
Also scheduled to speak are House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt.
The event could be an interesting stretch of the campaign trail for Romney, who may have the race sewn up by then, but, in the past, hasn't connected with gun owners the way, say, the coyote-shootin' Gov. Perry has.
Current TV rips Olbermann as arrogant, immature
Current TV rips Olbermann as arrogant, immature
click link
LOS ANGELES • Al Gore's Current TV is blasting back at fired host Keith Olbermann.
In a court filing Friday, the network attacked the liberal opinion-maker as "arrogant" and "immature" and said that he had failed to show up for nearly half of his recent workdays. The papers were a response to Olbermann's $70 million breach-of-contract lawsuit filed Thursday against Current, which hired him as its star last year but dismissed him in late March after months of turmoil.
Current said it doesn't have to "pay a dime" to Olbermann, "who, having already been paid handsomely for showing up sporadically and utterly failing to keep his end of the bargain, now seeks to be paid tens of millions more for not working at all." The papers also point out that Olbermann told David Letterman, during a TV appearance this week, that "I screwed up" at Current.
click link
LOS ANGELES • Al Gore's Current TV is blasting back at fired host Keith Olbermann.
In a court filing Friday, the network attacked the liberal opinion-maker as "arrogant" and "immature" and said that he had failed to show up for nearly half of his recent workdays. The papers were a response to Olbermann's $70 million breach-of-contract lawsuit filed Thursday against Current, which hired him as its star last year but dismissed him in late March after months of turmoil.
Current said it doesn't have to "pay a dime" to Olbermann, "who, having already been paid handsomely for showing up sporadically and utterly failing to keep his end of the bargain, now seeks to be paid tens of millions more for not working at all." The papers also point out that Olbermann told David Letterman, during a TV appearance this week, that "I screwed up" at Current.
Editorial: Spence credibility buried in avalanche of TARP explanations
Editorial: Spence credibility buried in avalanche of TARP explanations
click link for full
It's rare that a boneheaded decision gets a politician into trouble. It's usually the cockamamie explanation that does it.
As Republican gubernatorial candidate Dave Spence tries to escape a nimbus cloud of contradictions over his actions as a board member of Reliance Bancshares Inc., he should take that lesson to heart. Otherwise he'll struggle to get out of the GOP primary against Kansas City lawyer Bill Randles, let alone have a chance against Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, in the November election.
Mr. Spence, a wealthy St. Louis businessman, should have learned that lesson before he ever entered the race. After all, he pushed aside his friend, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, when Mr. Kinder stumbled over contradictory explanations for spending taxpayer dollars on personal stays in St. Louis luxury hotels and his relationship with a former stripper.
click link for full
It's rare that a boneheaded decision gets a politician into trouble. It's usually the cockamamie explanation that does it.
As Republican gubernatorial candidate Dave Spence tries to escape a nimbus cloud of contradictions over his actions as a board member of Reliance Bancshares Inc., he should take that lesson to heart. Otherwise he'll struggle to get out of the GOP primary against Kansas City lawyer Bill Randles, let alone have a chance against Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, in the November election.
Mr. Spence, a wealthy St. Louis businessman, should have learned that lesson before he ever entered the race. After all, he pushed aside his friend, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, when Mr. Kinder stumbled over contradictory explanations for spending taxpayer dollars on personal stays in St. Louis luxury hotels and his relationship with a former stripper.
Jaco report 4-1-12 education
KTVI) On the Jaco Report, Elliot Weiler fills in for Charles Jaco and takes a look at the American education system. Too many American students are still being left behind, not only among their classmates here at home but also among students from around the world. So, where do American students stack up and how can we improve everything from early education to high school and college?
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
The corporate job creator myth
The corporate job creator myth
click link for full
snip
For the last four decades, U.S. corporations have been sinking our economy through the off-shoring of jobs, the squeezing of wages, and a magician’s hat full of bluffs and tricks designed to extort subsidies and sweetheart deals from local and state governments that often result in mass layoffs and empty treasuries.
click link for full
snip
For the last four decades, U.S. corporations have been sinking our economy through the off-shoring of jobs, the squeezing of wages, and a magician’s hat full of bluffs and tricks designed to extort subsidies and sweetheart deals from local and state governments that often result in mass layoffs and empty treasuries.
Divided Wis. unions could spell win for Scott Walker
Divided Wis. unions could spell win for Scott Walker
click link for full
Unions in Wisconsin made history by mobilizing the recall against Gov. Scott Walker, but it’s too soon to say whether the state will follow through and kick him to the curb. One thing that could work in his favor: The inability of some of the state’s powerful unions to consolidate behind a Democratic candidate to oppose him. Having come this far, some labor activists now question whether the best way to flex their muscle is to sit out the election altogether.
This is the drama unfolding at the Teaching Assistants Association, which represents graduate students and project assistants from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. No union is more identified with the anti-Walker mobilization. Days after he introduced his bill to gut collective bargaining, TAA members showed up at the state capitol, sleeping bags in hand, and kicked off what became a 16-day occupation. That emboldened Democratic senators to flee the state to deny Walker a quorum – bringing national media attention to the controversy.
click link for full
Unions in Wisconsin made history by mobilizing the recall against Gov. Scott Walker, but it’s too soon to say whether the state will follow through and kick him to the curb. One thing that could work in his favor: The inability of some of the state’s powerful unions to consolidate behind a Democratic candidate to oppose him. Having come this far, some labor activists now question whether the best way to flex their muscle is to sit out the election altogether.
This is the drama unfolding at the Teaching Assistants Association, which represents graduate students and project assistants from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. No union is more identified with the anti-Walker mobilization. Days after he introduced his bill to gut collective bargaining, TAA members showed up at the state capitol, sleeping bags in hand, and kicked off what became a 16-day occupation. That emboldened Democratic senators to flee the state to deny Walker a quorum – bringing national media attention to the controversy.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Republican strategist: We're heading for a society where 90% of the publ...
sorry for ad
Ryan folks full of it
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
GOP pessimism drives Democratic voters
political fact: who wins is whom gets out the votes. no matter what opinion poll, feelings and more; winners are those who get out votes.
that is the lesson of 2010, stay home and the other folks might win.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Game Change We Can Believe In
liked the hbo version better and I believe that far more believable than sarapac
Guest commentary: We can't drill our way to lower gas prices
Guest commentary: We can't drill our way to lower gas prices
click link for full
snip
The drill babies are back, touting Exxon-Mobil's wish list under the guise of cutting the price of gas. But the truth is we're already on the way to reducing what we spend on it.
In this political season, we're hearing the broken-record answers to $4 gas: Drill, baby, drill, build the Keystone XL pipeline and raid emergency reserves.
None will solve the price problem today or in years to come. Each feeds the United States' oil addiction. Each risks damaging the environment or draining strategic supplies. Most important, this noisy debate over supply misses the point: Nothing will cut gas prices right now. But by reducing how much gas we use — by reducing demand — we are already on the road to cutting fuel bills.
With 98 percent of the world's oil reserves in the hands of other countries and an international cartel exerting a powerful hand on prices, the United States cannot control what we pay each day at the pump. Under President Barack Obama, drilling already is up 12 percent. Nonetheless, prices have risen. Even new drilling every place that has the oil industry panting would not provide enough to reduce prices significantly.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that new drilling on the outer continental shelf would not affect prices over the next decade and would cut them by only three cents a gallon in 2030.
click link for full
snip
The drill babies are back, touting Exxon-Mobil's wish list under the guise of cutting the price of gas. But the truth is we're already on the way to reducing what we spend on it.
In this political season, we're hearing the broken-record answers to $4 gas: Drill, baby, drill, build the Keystone XL pipeline and raid emergency reserves.
None will solve the price problem today or in years to come. Each feeds the United States' oil addiction. Each risks damaging the environment or draining strategic supplies. Most important, this noisy debate over supply misses the point: Nothing will cut gas prices right now. But by reducing how much gas we use — by reducing demand — we are already on the road to cutting fuel bills.
With 98 percent of the world's oil reserves in the hands of other countries and an international cartel exerting a powerful hand on prices, the United States cannot control what we pay each day at the pump. Under President Barack Obama, drilling already is up 12 percent. Nonetheless, prices have risen. Even new drilling every place that has the oil industry panting would not provide enough to reduce prices significantly.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that new drilling on the outer continental shelf would not affect prices over the next decade and would cut them by only three cents a gallon in 2030.
Homeless Woman Dies In Police Custody (Anna Brown)
this sort of thing happens often across the nation
if not in jail, on the streets
Editorial: It's pitch perfect that Voter ID measure tossed as a fraud
Editorial: It's pitch perfect that Voter ID measure tossed as a fraud
click link
snip
a perverted, poetic justice kind of way, it's pitch perfect that in their alleged attempt to stop voter fraud, Missouri Republicans committed, well, fraud.
So concluded Cole County Circuit Court Judge Patricia Joyce, who last week ruled unconstitutional a joint resolution passed by the Missouri Legislature last year that would have placed on the November 2012 ballot an amendment to weaken Missourians' fundamental right to vote.
Judge Joyce, in no uncertain terms, accused the Republicans who wrote the summary language for the inaccurately titled "Voter Protection Act" of trying to pull a fast one on voters.
Most likely, Judge Joyce merely slowed down the steamroller that is the Republican Party's national campaign to suppress the votes of young people, minorities, poor people, elderly people and disabled
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-it-s-pitch-perfect-that-voter-id-measure-tossed/article_44afed8c-d617-5f65-a205-e8e037a610c0.html#ixzz1qz9j7ZLa
click link
snip
a perverted, poetic justice kind of way, it's pitch perfect that in their alleged attempt to stop voter fraud, Missouri Republicans committed, well, fraud.
So concluded Cole County Circuit Court Judge Patricia Joyce, who last week ruled unconstitutional a joint resolution passed by the Missouri Legislature last year that would have placed on the November 2012 ballot an amendment to weaken Missourians' fundamental right to vote.
Judge Joyce, in no uncertain terms, accused the Republicans who wrote the summary language for the inaccurately titled "Voter Protection Act" of trying to pull a fast one on voters.
Most likely, Judge Joyce merely slowed down the steamroller that is the Republican Party's national campaign to suppress the votes of young people, minorities, poor people, elderly people and disabled
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-it-s-pitch-perfect-that-voter-id-measure-tossed/article_44afed8c-d617-5f65-a205-e8e037a610c0.html#ixzz1qz9j7ZLa
Monday, April 2, 2012
The Star’s editorial | Birthing more nonsense in Topeka and Jefferson City - KansasCity.com
The Star’s editorial | Birthing more nonsense in Topeka and Jefferson City - KansasCity.com
click link for full
snip
Right to refuse
Rest assured, legislators in Kansas and Missouri have your conscience in mind — as long as it jibes with their thinking.
In Topeka, the House approved a bill that basically allows people to ignore local anti-discrimination ordinances under the guise of following one’s religion. If a property owner wanted to claim religious beliefs in refusing to rent to a same-sex couple, for instance, that would trump a local ordinance, such as one in Lawrence which forbids housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation
Lance Kinzer, an Olathe Republican who sponsored the bill, named it the “Kansas Preservation of Religious Freedom Act.” The “Freedom to Discriminate Act” would be more accurate. The Senate should put a halt to this attempt to treat gay and lesbian Kansans as less-than-equal citizens.
Meanwhile, the Missouri House passed a bill that would allow health care workers to refuse to participate in procedures that violate their “conscience or principles.” That would include abortion, contraception procedures, sterilization and certain forms of stem cell research.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/30/3525865/the-stars-editorial-birthing-more.html#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy
click link for full
snip
Right to refuse
Rest assured, legislators in Kansas and Missouri have your conscience in mind — as long as it jibes with their thinking.
In Topeka, the House approved a bill that basically allows people to ignore local anti-discrimination ordinances under the guise of following one’s religion. If a property owner wanted to claim religious beliefs in refusing to rent to a same-sex couple, for instance, that would trump a local ordinance, such as one in Lawrence which forbids housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation
Lance Kinzer, an Olathe Republican who sponsored the bill, named it the “Kansas Preservation of Religious Freedom Act.” The “Freedom to Discriminate Act” would be more accurate. The Senate should put a halt to this attempt to treat gay and lesbian Kansans as less-than-equal citizens.
Meanwhile, the Missouri House passed a bill that would allow health care workers to refuse to participate in procedures that violate their “conscience or principles.” That would include abortion, contraception procedures, sterilization and certain forms of stem cell research.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/30/3525865/the-stars-editorial-birthing-more.html#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Editorial: Why is Missouri lagging behind economically? Education
Editorial: Why is Missouri lagging behind economically? Education
click link for full
snip
Imagine if St. Louis didn't rank 76th out of the nation's 100 largest cities in percentage of job growth since the Great Recession in 2007 to the end of last year.
Imagine if Missouri's growth in total income last year wasn't 48th in the nation.
Imagine if Missouri's college degree attainment rate was better than 34th in the nation.
Missouri has to dream. The future of our state depends on it.
The nation slowly is recovering from the recession. And while there are nuggets of good news in some statistics — Missouri's unemployment rate is declining — our recovery is slower than much of the rest of the country.
click link for full
snip
Imagine if St. Louis didn't rank 76th out of the nation's 100 largest cities in percentage of job growth since the Great Recession in 2007 to the end of last year.
Imagine if Missouri's growth in total income last year wasn't 48th in the nation.
Imagine if Missouri's college degree attainment rate was better than 34th in the nation.
Missouri has to dream. The future of our state depends on it.
The nation slowly is recovering from the recession. And while there are nuggets of good news in some statistics — Missouri's unemployment rate is declining — our recovery is slower than much of the rest of the country.
Editorial: Not feeling the recovery? Here's why
Editorial: Not feeling the recovery? Here's why
click link for full article
snip
Matson: April 1, 2012
R.J. Matson/Post-Dispatch, April 1, 2012
If you've read about the economic recovery but you're just not feeling it, this could explain why:
In 2010, the first full year of the recovery, 93 percent of all the $288 billion in new income created nationwide went to the top 1 percent of taxpayers. Figures for 2011 won't be available until next year.
Ninety. Three. Percent. To the 1 percent of taxpayers who make $352,000 and up. Way up in some cases.
Thirty-seven percent — $106.5 billion — of the $288 billion in additional income created in 2010 accrued to the richest 0.01 percent of taxpayers, the top one-hundredth of 1 percent of American households, the 15,600 individuals or households with average incomes of $23.8 million.
Say your household is right in the middle. Half of American households earn more, half earn less. Between June 2009 and June 2011, the median household income fell 6.7 percent in inflation-related terms, to $49,909.
These data were derived from a study of American tax returns by University of California-Berkeley economist Emmanuel Saez, updating work he did previously with Thomas Picketty of the Paris School of Economics.
Reuters tax columnist David Cay Johnston has added some historical perspective. Between 1933 and 1934, as President Franklin Roosvelt's administration began responding to the Great Depression, the average income for the bottom 90 percent of wage earners increased by 8.8 percent. The average income for the super-rich, the top 0.01 percent, actually fell 3.4 percent.
But since the Reagan Revolution, under Democratic presidents and Congresses as well as Republican, government tax and financial policies have been geared to the wealthy. Mr. Saez's figures show that the top 1 percent reaped 45 percent of the economic growth in the Clinton era and 65 percent during the George W. Bush presidency. The first two years of the Obama administration, when Democrats also controlled both houses of Congress, only accelerated the trend.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-not-feeling-the-recovery-here-s-why/article_9bbb750f-887c-5b1e-96c0-ea7ae33acb55.html#ixzz1qnt7h9Sa
click link for full article
snip
Matson: April 1, 2012
R.J. Matson/Post-Dispatch, April 1, 2012
If you've read about the economic recovery but you're just not feeling it, this could explain why:
In 2010, the first full year of the recovery, 93 percent of all the $288 billion in new income created nationwide went to the top 1 percent of taxpayers. Figures for 2011 won't be available until next year.
Ninety. Three. Percent. To the 1 percent of taxpayers who make $352,000 and up. Way up in some cases.
Thirty-seven percent — $106.5 billion — of the $288 billion in additional income created in 2010 accrued to the richest 0.01 percent of taxpayers, the top one-hundredth of 1 percent of American households, the 15,600 individuals or households with average incomes of $23.8 million.
Say your household is right in the middle. Half of American households earn more, half earn less. Between June 2009 and June 2011, the median household income fell 6.7 percent in inflation-related terms, to $49,909.
These data were derived from a study of American tax returns by University of California-Berkeley economist Emmanuel Saez, updating work he did previously with Thomas Picketty of the Paris School of Economics.
Reuters tax columnist David Cay Johnston has added some historical perspective. Between 1933 and 1934, as President Franklin Roosvelt's administration began responding to the Great Depression, the average income for the bottom 90 percent of wage earners increased by 8.8 percent. The average income for the super-rich, the top 0.01 percent, actually fell 3.4 percent.
But since the Reagan Revolution, under Democratic presidents and Congresses as well as Republican, government tax and financial policies have been geared to the wealthy. Mr. Saez's figures show that the top 1 percent reaped 45 percent of the economic growth in the Clinton era and 65 percent during the George W. Bush presidency. The first two years of the Obama administration, when Democrats also controlled both houses of Congress, only accelerated the trend.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-not-feeling-the-recovery-here-s-why/article_9bbb750f-887c-5b1e-96c0-ea7ae33acb55.html#ixzz1qnt7h9Sa
Obama James Bond Attack Ad By American Crossroads
I can remember watching the first Bond movie at the Gravois show. I wanted to become a double naught agent.
alas, I went to work for American can
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