Report Faults Mine Owner for Explosion That Killed 29

The first comprehensive state report on the 2010 Massey Energy’s “Big Branch Coal Mine” disaster in West Virginia by an independent team of investigators, has put the blame squarely on the owner of the mine owners, “Massey Energy,” concluding that it had “made life difficult” for miners who tried to address safety and built “a culture in which wrongdoing became acceptable.”

Just as the preliminary findings by federal officials that the blast could have been prevented if Massey had observed minimal safety standards, but Massey was more interested in production and profits than the value of the 29 men’s lives that died that day, on April 5, 2010.

It was Massey’s pattern of negligence that ultimately led to the deaths of 29 miners in the worst American mining disaster in 40 years. For people in the mining industry, the report was surprisingly direct.

The report stated that it was poor ventilation negligence of the mine’s jury-rigged ventilation system was cited for 64 violations just in 2009 alone, equipment whose safety mechanisms were not functioning, lack of water spray designed to eliminate sparks caused by digging the coal, the track duster was often clogged where miners were reduced to carrying rock dust, the diluting substance, out of the mine by hand, and no lime was put down which would have made the coal dust less combustible.

I have heard my own Grand Father, who was a West Virginia Union Coal Miner, tell me that the “combustible coal dust would behave like gunpowder carrying the blast in multiple directions.” The official report stated that explosive coal dust, which had been allowed to accumulate, carried the blast through the mine, killing miners who were far from the original explosion.

The lack of air in the nearly three miles of tunnels, combined with coal dust and fumes, tormented the miners, the report said. One miner, Dean Jones, would come home so exhausted that, the report quoted his wife as saying, “I’d look over at the dinner table and he would be asleep.” “It literally felt like you were melting,” said Michael Ellison, a roof bolter who called in sick the day of the accident. Shortly into the shift, he said, “all of us looked like we had been standing out in a rainstorm, just soaking wet.”

Due to the lack of a union, the workers voice in such matters, miners who tried to remedy the situation were punished. When Dean Jones shut down his section for lack of air, a company boss, Chris Blanchard, “called the dispatcher and told him to tell Dean if he didn’t get the section running in so many minutes he’d be fired,” the report said. Mr. Jones, afraid for his job, complied.

As the largest coal producer in Appalachia, Massey used its leverage “to control West Virginia’s political system,” and through it, oversight agencies. Inspectors, whose job it was to protect miner safety, were cast as “ENEMIES,” the report said, with the company challenging their very legitimacy.

Politicians were afraid of the company, the report said, because the chief executive at the time, Don Blankenship, “was willing to spend vast amounts of money to influence elections.” (I want to interject that the Supreme Court has recently ruled that Corporations have the same rights as individual citizens)

Massey is in the process of being acquired by another company, Alpha Natural Resources, which has said it plans on retraining Massey employees after taking over in June. It has also hired Christopher Adkins, a chief operating officer for Massey, whose role in the disaster was strongly criticized in the report.

So concluded, one of Rush Limbaugh’s daily radio program at this time was spouting off how the “Miner’s Union” did not protect the miners of the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia. “Yes Unions are worthless!!!” The problem with Rush’s comment was the “Upper Big Branch Mine” was a NON-UNION MINE and the miners had no recourse to have all of the “Mine Safety Sightings And Infractions” addressed by the company; the miners had no voice to protect themselves and 29 good men lost their lives when the mine exploded. RUSH LIES!!!!

So the next time you hear someone bad mouth UNIONS, you can tell them that this ATTITUDE is exactly what killed 29 good family men.

President Obama Has His Day With "The Donald" Trump

President Obama didn’t have to wait long to set out a big helping of “Bitch Slapping” for Donald Trump at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

The real estate mogul, Republican Presidential Candidate Contender, and Birther Nutjob, who attended as a guest of The Washington Post, was treated to some zingers by the commander in chief.

President Obama had his moment with comments like: “I know that he’s taken some flak lately, but no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than “The Donald.” And that’s because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?”

“Just recently, in an episode of “Celebrity Apprentice” at the steakhouse, the men’s cooking team did not impress the judges from Omaha Steaks. And there was a lot of blame to go around. But you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership. And so ultimately, you didn’t blame Lil Jon or Meatloaf. You fired Gary Busey. These are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well handled, sir. Well handled.”

Then comedian Seth Meyers, the evening’s featured entertainer, tore into “The Donald.”

Meyers started off with, “Donald Trump has been saying that he will run for president as a Republican, which is surprising, since I just assumed he was running as a joke. Trump owns the Miss USA Pageant, which is great for Republicans because it will streamline the search for a vice president. Trump has said he's got a great relationship with "The Blacks"...Well unless "The Blacks" are a family of white people, I bet he's mistaken. Donald Trump often appears on Fox, which is ironic, because a FOX often appears on Donald Trump’s HEAD. If you’re at The Washington Post table with Trump and you can’t finish your entrée, don’t worry, the FOX will eat it."

Obama himself had a good laugh over the whole birth certificate thing. He began his remarks by announcing that he was prepared to go a step further, in case there were any lingering doubts about his American citizenship.

“Tonight, for the first time, I am releasing my official birth video,” he declared. On the video screens around the room, up popped the birth scene from “The Lion King.” The President then targeted the bias Fox Programming Group with the comment, “I want to make clear to the “Fox News” table: That was a joke,”…….“That was not my real birth video. That was a children’s cartoon. Call Disney if you don't believe me. They have the original long form version.”

I am of the opinion that the President and staff advisors released his long form Birth Certificate last week just to give the President plenty of material for the correspondents’ dinner.

I have posted a video clip for your enjoyment and a personal word to the President and Staff. Well Done!!!

Who Was Going To Destroy Your Health Care?

Remember during the last election you saw the Teabaggers screaming red faces at town halls how with the health care bill, “Obama better not mess with their Medicare!!” They were going around sounding the warning of Death Panels and how the Democrats were going to destroy Medicare.

Well as we can now well see, it is the Ultra Radical Teabaggers demanding removing Medicare and just give the retired population, “Insurance Vouchers” and sending them off to find private health insurance. Well reality is this older demographic population is not the customers Private Health Insurance wants as at this age they will get sick and the “Insurance Vouchers” is grossly under funding the elderly population’s needs.

Do these Dumb Ass Teabagger’s even remember what they were shouting during the election only to see those they claim to have elected wanting to take away their health safety net!!

Yes, once again the Extremely Conservative Republicans are throwing the Average Working Stiff under the “Insurance Bus” and now the Teabagger Lemmings are sing their praises.

Governor Scott Walker Admits Union-Busting Provision “Doesn’t Save Any Money For the State Of Wisconsin.”

Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform called Govs. Scott Walker (R-WI) and Peter Shumlin (D-VT) to testify in a hearing titled “State and Municipal Debt: Tough Choices Ahead.” Much of the hearing was spent probing Wisconsin’s spate of anti-union restrictions it recently passed.

At one point, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) confronted Walker about his crackdown on public employee unions. The congressman referenced a provision Walker signed into law that would require union members to vote every year to continue their membership. Kucinich asked the governor how much money the state would save from the provision. Walker repeatedly dodged the question and eventually admitted that it actually wouldn’t save anything at all.
Kucinich then asked Walker how much money would be saved by barring union dues from being drawn from employee paychecks, another provision of Walker’s legislation. Walker claimed that it would save workers money, but was unable to explain how it would save the state any money. Kucinich then produced a document from the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the state’s equivalent of the Congressional Budget Office, that concluded that Walker’s measures were “nonfiscal” — meaning they had no impact on the state’s finances. Kucinich asked that the letter be included in the public record, but Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) refused:

KUCINICH: Let me ask you about some of the specific provisions in your proposals to strip collective bargaining rights. First, your proposal would require unions to hold annual votes to continue representing their own members. Can you please explain to me and members of this committee how much money this provision saves for your state budget?

WALKER: That and a number of other provisions we put in because if you’re going to ask, if you’re going to put in place a change like that, we wanted to make sure we protected the workers of our state, so they got value out of that. [...]

KUCINICH: Would you answer the question? How much money does it save, Governor?

WALKER: It doesn’t save any. [...]

KUCINICH: I want to ask about another one of your proposals. Under your plan you would prohibit paying union member dues from their paychecks. How much money would this provision save your state budget?

WALKER: It would save employees a thousand dollars a year they could use to pay for their pensions and health care contributions.

KUCINICH: Governor, it wouldn’t save the State of Wisconsin anything.



Walker’s admission is crucial because he had long claimed that his anti-union “budget repair bill” was designed to save the state money, not bust unions. But his words today echo those of Wisconsin state senate leader Scott Fitzgerald (R), who last month effectively admitted that the union fights are not about budgetary issues, but rather about winning the next election by depleting the ranks of organized labor.

Now why is this not the "Head Line News" on every broadcast across the Nation…...? “Wisconsin Governor Admits He Lied About Union-Busting!!!” Why is there not an out roar to impeach this lying asshole? What Has Happened To Our Country that we tolerate this kind of crap from our elected officials? Have we as a nation lost our moral compass?

Did The Conservative Voice Standard Bearer, “Rupert Murdoch,” Sanction Illegal Activities?

The head of "News International," the British news division of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, has been officially asked to disclose details of alleged payments made by the company’s newspapers to British police officers.

The request, by Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, came after John Yates, acting deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police (better known as Scotland Yard) testified that his officers have begun researching a statement made in 2003 by Rebekah Brooks, then the editor of The Sun and now CEO of "News International," in which she acknowledged that such payments had been made.

In his letter to Brooks, Vaz requested that she provide him by April 4th, 2011, with the following information:
1. The number of police paid by The Sun newspaper whilst you were editor?
2. How much these police officers were paid?
3. When the practice ceased?

The latest development comes as Vaz’s committee looks deeper into complaints that Scotland Yard, in an effort to court favor with reporters for another Rupert Murdoch newspaper, the "News of the World" failed to investigate apparent evidence that some reporters for the paper had routinely hacked into the voicemails of politicians and celebrities. In reporting on the new developments, Ian Dunt, editor of politics.co.uk, commented, “Ms. Brooks is considered one of the most influential figures in the Murdoch Empire and her involvement in the ongoing row will be treated as a sign that the contagion of phone-hacking at "News of the World" is starting to spread to the entire business.”

On Tuesday, April 5th 2011, British police arrested two journalists linked with the country's top selling tabloid as part of an investigation into phone hacking of celebrities, politicians and royals. Metropolitan Police said two men aged 50 and 42 were taken into custody in London on suspicion of unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages. They declined to name the men, who were later released on bail, but a lawyer for the tabloid's former news editor, Ian Edmondson, identified his client as one of the two.

The second man in custody is the “News of The World's” chief reporter, Neville Thurlbeck, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, confirmed that Thurlbeck was still employed by the tabloid.

Many are saying that Rupert Murdoch’s media interest were being protected as no Conservative Politician can get elected into public office without his support and backing. This mind thought is because this is not the first time for Rupert Murdoch’s possible illegal sanctioned activities. One of Rupert Murdoch's best-performing papers, “The News of The World,” was thrust into the center of the phone hacking scandal after a reporter and a private investigator in its employment were caught illegally eavesdropping on the phones of the British royal family's entourage. The pair was convicted in 2007, but “News of the World” executives have long insisted that they were the only ones responsible for the tapping operation, a claim dismissed as implausible by the paper's critics.

This latest incident has brought to light that once again British journalists working for Rupert Murdoch’s papers have been on a crime spree, hiring private eyes to illegally hack into the voicemail and data of thousands of people, including " tax records, social security files, bank statements and itemized phone bills"; Rupert Murdoch has paid out over £1M so far to hush it up.
Here is an interesting aspect that all American Citizens should take note on.
1. The head of the Conservative party's communications is a former Murdoch executive who from the time that much of this crime was committed by his staffers.
2. Senior editors are among those implicated. This activity occurred before the mobile phone hacking, at a time when Coulson was deputy and the editor was Rebekah Wade, now due to become chief executive of News International.

The extent of their personal knowledge is not clear: the "News of the World" has always insisted that it would not break the law and would use subterfuge only if essential in the public interest.

But faced with this new evidence, “News International,” has changed their position and started offering huge cash payments to settle the case out of court. To date they have paid out £700,000 in legal costs and damages on the condition that Taylor signed a gagging clause to prevent him speaking about the case. The payment is believed to have included more than £400,000 in damages. News Group then persuaded the court to seal the file on Taylor's case to prevent all public access, even though it contained prima facie evidence of criminal activity.

So the concluding statement to this posting is, “How Much Illegal Activities Are Going On A Fox Programming And Other Rupert Murdoch’s Interest Here In The United States? Are our own Conservative Republican Party members running “Legal Interference” evidence suppression? Are the Ultra Conservative Republican Congressmen and Senators protecting illegal activities against others that is being sanctioned by Rupert Murdoch’s media interests here in the United States?

Boycott Rush Limbaugh’s Sponsors

It was the loss of sponsors is what forced Fox Programming to Fire Glenn Beck. His over the top Conservative Extremeism was just too much for Sponsors to take a chance of having their products Brand Labeled to this Nut Job.

Well I am proposing that by boycotting those who sponsor Rush Limbaugh could be just as effective. Please take note and not purchase any of the sponsor’s products and services.

ProFlowers
Sales or Service: 1-800-580-2913
Phone: 800.580.2913

Sleep Train (Mattress Center)
4350 Warehouse Ct., Ste 100
North Highlands, CA 95660
Phone: (800) 919-2337
Fax: (866) 293-5719

eharmony
300 N. Lake Ave., Suite 1111
Pasadena, CA 91101
media@eharmony.com
626.795.4814
FAX 626.585.4040

CARBONITE, Inc.
617-587-1100
177 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
david.friend@carbonite.com
Direct Dial Office: 617-587-1100 EXT:1115

Sleep Number Bed
Select Comfort Corporation
6105 Trenton Lane N
Minneapolis, MN 55442
Phone: 763-551-7000
Fax: 763-551-7826
800-438-2233
investorrelations@selectcomfort.com
Oreck Upright Vacuum Cleaners
Oreck Corporation
100 Plantation Road
New Orleans, Louisiana 70123
800-289-5888

Mid-West Life Insurance Company of Tennessee
9151 Grapevine Hwy.
North Richland Hills, TX 76180
Phone (800) 733-1110
(web banner ads on rushlimbaugh.com)

AutoZone Inc.
901-495-7185; Fax: 901-495-8374
P.O. Box 2198, Memphis, TN 38101
investor.relations@autozone.com

Blue-Emu
Jennifer Golleher

1-800-432-9334
http://www.blue-emu.com/

LegalZoom
800-773-0888; Fax: 323-962-8300
Site has a Web Form

Citrix Online (GoToMyPC)
6500 Hollister Avenue, Goleta, CA 93117
Phone: 805-690-6400; Fax: 805-690-6471
info@citrixonline.com

American Forces Network
Contact Us: @MyAFN.net

Mission Pharmacal Company
10999 IH-10 West Suite 1000
P.O. Box 786099
San Antonio, TX 78278-6099
Telephone: (800) 531-3333
Bennett Kennedy - Citracal Product Manager

Life Quotes, Inc.
32045 Castle Court
Evergreen, CO 80439
1-800-670-5433
info@lifequotes.com.au

Lending Tree
(704) 541-5351
Online Contact page

With any luck, by cutting off the finicial gains of those who sponsor this ASS WIPE that is Rush Limbaugh, they will soon drop him like the plague and possible any future sponsors.

Glenn Beck To End His Fox TV Show!!!

With tomorrow being my 29th anniversary of turning 29 years old, I could not have had a better birthday gift than this news I noted when I booted up my computer tonight.

Glenn Beck is going to end his daily TV program!!! This really comes as “NO SURPRISE” since advertisers were shunning Beck's show of late for what it considers to be his "EXTREME VIEWS."

Yes his brand of “Ultra Extreme Right Wing Nutjobism” that is Glenn Beck’s TV Show is not playing well with sponsors as they do not want to be “BRAND ASSOCIATED” with this less than mentally stable “Fox Personality.”

So, pray tell what is going to happen to the mental state of all those who Follow, Quote, and Believe this “Messiah of Misleading and Misinformation” when they don’t get their daily programmed message on how to Think, Act, and Talk?

God Forbid!!! They may have to start to think for themselves or find a new "Ass Wipe" to transition their "HATE ADDICTIONS" to.

The Fanatical, Radical, Republicans Of Wisconsin Disregard the Judge’s Orders

Once again showing disregard for the law when it does not coincide with their desires, the Fanatical, Radical, Republicans of Wisconsin, who illegally passed the now famous Anti-Union Law that sparked weeks of protests in Wisconsin, are going ahead against the Judge’s orders and put the law into effect today, Saturday, March 26, 2011.

The law was published online by the state office, “EVEN THOUGH A COURT ORDER BARS” the law from being published while the legal challenges get worked out.

A judge said Friday the publication dispute would have to wait until a previously scheduled hearing on Tuesday….well after the illegal posting fact.

Senator Scott Brown Maybe A Moderate Republican I Can Support

Well another Right Wing Tea Party / Ultra Religious Conservative proposed House Bill dies a GRAND DEATH in the Senate today!

It is reported today that Senator Scott Brown has said he will oppose efforts to defund Planned Parenthood and other family-planning centers is a positive first step, and we look forward to seeing his name appear in the (NO) column when this vote comes to the Senate floor. It is stated that we also call on Senator Brown to stand up for women’s health and oppose other far-reaching and intrusive anti-choice policies as they move from the House to the Senate.”

Brown, a Massachusetts Republican, issued a statement this morning in support of family planning services, and said that an effort by House Republicans to eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood “Goes Too Far!” Brown voted for the House budget plan earlier this month, though he said at the time he did not support all of the proposed cuts. With his latest “NO” vote, the plan failed to pass the Senate.

The Latest News From Wisconsin

Police say the largest crowd yet descended on Wisconsin's Capitol to protest cuts to public worker collective bargaining rights yesterday. Protests have rocked the Capitol almost every day since Governor Scott Walker unveiled his proposal. But Madison police estimate the crowd of 85,000 to 100,000 by late afternoon as the largest.

More and more people in Wisconsin are waking up and realizing the BIG MISTAKE they made by voting in the Republican Governor Scott Walker.

Maybe this is a good thing as people are realizing that the GOP feeds lies and bullshit during a campaign then robs the wealth from the citizens after they get in office.



Here is a thought for all you Green Bay Packer fans in Wisconsin or any team fan across the country. Why is it you will hear complaints from the Ultra Conservatives against the Teacher’s Union but not a word from the NFL Player’s Union in talks with the Team Owners which is threatening a strike for next season? Is it NFL Player’s Union GOOD and Teacher’s Unions BAD?

Looking In

I was speaking with my good friend Microdot and during our conversation I had the image of the Savoy Brown’s album cover, “Looking In,” which led to the thoughts of this posting.

As a young man in my early 20’s I took to traveling the world as the first part of my “Life’s Experience” education. I traveled most of the coastal countries in South America and Southern Europe over a two year time period.

One of the aspects I noticed many years ago during my travels, and I told many friends and peers when I got back into the U.S., of the culture shock enlightenment and the value of being outside of the U.S. and looking back in from the prospective of those in another country. It is quite different than what many here think, being based on limited exposure, what the world is about or what we think should be. This was an eye opening lesson from the “School Of Real Life” that I learned at a young age.

What comes to mind is the title of Rush Limbaugh’s early book titled, “The Way Things Should Be.” Those who bought this book thinking it is a good guideline for their facts and viewpoints, should also read, “The Way Things Aren't: Rush Limbaugh's Reign of Error” which points out over 100 Outrageously False and Foolish Statements!! Another good counter point book is, “Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot” by Al Franken, which takes point by point, fact by fact of Rush Limbaugh’s book and disproves every misleading, misinformation, aspect of Rush’s statements.

This being said, there are still too many that will quote Rush as being fact on subjects as Climate Change, Environment, Social Issues, etc., from a person that from his own admission, flunked out of college before getting into radio as a top forty music “Shock Jock.” Rush is still doing the same act today the only difference is it is now a “Political Shock Jock” platform. What has changed is Rush's progression from Marijuana to OxyContin for his epific visions. He should NOT be quoted or given any more credibility than Howard Stern when giving political advice. Both are entertaining to many but not credible politically in any stretch of the word.

There needs to be more critical thinking, questioning, and not just accepting what is being told as the “End All To Be All,” facts!

We now have proof of “Big Corporate Money” dominating the communication media in this country and the information being disseminated is skewed drastically. This "Big Money" also is having an undue influence with our political leaders today. Much like George Orwell’s book, “Nineteen Eighty Four,” we are seeing the science fiction predictions coming true today.

So in conclusion one could say, we need to wakeup and understand that, “The world is not the U.S.’s oyster,” or maybe Samuel Clemmons said it better, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

Bill O’Rielly’s Pinheads and Patriots

I saw this book at Barns & Nobles yesterday and the title jumped out at me, “Pinheads and Patriots.” I am sure that O’Rielly is trying to project that if you do not agree with his viewpoints, you are a Pinhead; and if you do agree, you must be a Patriot. What ever.

Of course my mind instantly jumped to that in many cases, the name Pinhead was much more applicable to those claiming the current “Patriot” mantle. Non-critical thinking, non-questioning, merely repeating mindlessly what they are programmed to drivel on and spout back simply because this is what they want reality to be.

So in this spirit of mindset, my book review for this book that I did not read, I have concluded that it is just pure crap and not worth the $20 (plus or minus ether way). I really have no idea how much they were asking for this book.

House Republicans Voted To Kill Big Bird

Yes the Republican led House of Representatives had the numbers as a block, by a vote of 235-189, to eliminate the funding for public broadcasting threatening millions of citizens throughout America with the loss of services that they rely on, especially parents and children.

“PBS and independently owned and operated public television stations is America’s largest classroom, available to all of America’s children including those who can’t attend preschool,” said PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger. “PBS' educational programming, as well as our training resources and tools for teachers prepare children for success in school and opens up the world to them in an age appropriate way and builds critical skills in young students. Costing about one dollar per person per year, public broadcasting is an effective, efficient use of leveraged tax dollars a public private partnership that delivers far reaching services that Americans trust and value.”

But in retrospect, just a few weeks ago we handed out tax deferment rewards to corporations by renewing the G. W. Bush’s 2000 tax cuts. This was money the country and tax payers did not have and it was this same tax cuts of 2000 that contributed greatly under funding the operations of the government and left us with the large deficits we are experiencing today.

It is not only the children missing out on educational and learning programs during their earlier years but are we to omit adult education and exposure to facts? Yes these Rush Limbaugh fawning Republican’s future hope of keeping political control is to make sure that the Adult U. S. Population is not exposed to programs like Frontline, BBC News, PBS News Hour (the only TRUE fair and balance U.S. News program), Nightly Business Report, Independent Lens, American Experience, Nova, Nova Science Now, Science Frontiers, Need To Know, well I could go on and on but you get the idea.

An example comes to mind of the Ken Burns documentary, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.” If voting-age-adults were not educated and reminded of the uniqueness of our National Parks passing on the fact that each and every citizen is an owner of these Parks, the Republicans could sell them off to their cronies to be developed for their own financial benefit.

Would anyone really think that private financed programs expose their own corruption or even ask embarrassing or probing questions? No!! It will be exactly like an Orwellian prediction of steady streaming the “Corporate Company’s Line.” Are we to become a, “Company Nation,” much like what was described in the poem written by Carl Sandburg titled, “Company Towns” written at the turn of the century? You know, back in the Good O’l Days!!

Company Towns
By Carl Sandburg

You live in a company house
You go to a company school
You work for this company,
according to the company rules.

You all drink company water
and all use company lights,
The company preacher teaches us
What the company thinks is right.

This poem written over a hundred years ago still speaks true today. With the consolidation of the dying newspaper industry by the one voice of Rupert Murdock, and talk radio under the guise of religious, conservative programming; one has to ask themselves, who is purchasing the advertising keeping these program and papers going. Is it the trade unions, the voice of the working class, the masses who pay the bulk of the tax base burden, or is it the same corporations that have recently participated in more and more labor abuses and environmental crimes that are now evermore going unpunished even though the laws are still on the books. Should one of these media venues report negative facts about one of these companies, they will quickly pull the advertisement funding, economically shutting down the programming and reporting from the source. Even in the late 15th century, Niccolo Machiavelli noted that, “Absolute power corrupts, absolutely.”

Are we to produce a whole generation that only repeats these corporate “Rush Limbaugh” sound bites without giving any thoughts behind them?

Here’s a better thought, “Let’s Repeal Those Corporate Tax Cuts And Let’s Vote To Keep U.S. Citizens Well Educated!!”

The 12 Most Asinine Things Rush Limbaugh Has Said About Food

In the past the Man Who Smoked Enough Dope To The Point That He Could Not Even Pass A Ballroom Dancing College Class And Dropped Out, but now has the nerve to passes himself off as a "Climate Expert" debating made up counter "Global Warming / Climate Change" arguments to those who have Doctorates Degrees in the subject; Now "Fat Ass Gush Limblob" is now presenting himself as a "Nutritionist and Dietary Expert!"

As you probably know by now, on Monday's edition of "The Rush Limbaugh Show," Dumb Ass Gush Limblob took Michelle Obama to task for "feasting on ribs," even while she has the audacity to tell us that we should eat vegetables. The nerve of that woman!

Of course, he also casually mentioned that "our first lady does not project the image of women that you might see on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue," so who is she to tell people to eat healthy food? (Plus, we know all the swimsuit models go to Shake Shack.)

We're 99 percent sure this rant, like everything Limbaugh says, was just designed to get publicity (it worked!) even Limbaugh can't be obtuse enough to actually believe this drivel, and yet, it's still seriously foolish.

But is it the most foolish thing he's ever said about food? Of course not! Get your ire up and take a look at all the other senselessness, stupid crap Gush has feed his dumb downed listeners.

12. "I think bread's gonna go to $50 a loaf. Now is the time to get it, freeze it in large quantities. And butter, too; you can't have bread without butter. How does that sound?" November 15, 2010

11. "As the economy performs worse than expected, the deficit for the 2010 budget year beginning in October will worsen by $87 billion to $1.3 trillion. The deterioration reflects lower tax revenues and higher costs for bank failures, unemployment benefits, and food stamps.' But in the Oval Office of the White House, none of this is a problem. This is the objective! The objective is unemployment. The objective is more food stamp benefits." May 11, 2009

10. "The number of Americans fighting off hunger stayed level last year — have you seen that out there? Have you seen people fighting off hunger? I see it all the time. I drive around and — I do drive, I do drive myself — and sometimes I look out the window and a lot of people are waving at me as I go by. Have you seen people fighting off hunger? I mean you can actually see it. You go inside Publix or any grocery store, you can see 'em walking down the aisles, they're reaching for something and then they don't. It's an amazing thing to watch, people fighting off hunger." November 16, 2010

9. CALLER: Yeah. Well, you can't walk into the grocery store and blindly think everything in there is good for you, though. You've gotta read; you gotta do your own research. RUSH: Well, "good for you" is relative. CALLER: I know. RUSH: Give me an example. You're going through the grocery store and you see that's not good for you and you won't buy it, what is it? CALLER: Cheez Whiz. RUSH: Cheez Whiz. CALLER: Yeah, and I'm from Philly. RUSH: [Laughing.] Why is Cheez Whiz bad for you? CALLER: It's totally processed; there's so many chemicals in it. You can't tell me Cheez Whiz in a can versus a package of Cheddar cheese — RUSH: How many people have died from it? CALLER: Well, I can't give you a number on that one. RUSH: I don't think I've ever seen it on a death certificate. January 24, 2011

8. "During the campaign when Obama's out there ripping Wal-Mart to shreds, his wife shows up there the other day and has somehow bullied or pressured Wal-Mart, which already sells things for low prices, into selling healthy food at lower prices during the winter. Michelle Obama shows up and she and her husband are now partners with Wal-Mart ... “January 21, 2011

7. "You know, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, this wacko bunch of leftist kooks, statists, nannies, these are the people that banned coconut oil from your popcorn in movie theaters, have gotten rid of MSG, the flavoring in Chinese food, they wanted to ban Chinese food." July 9, 2010

6. "I'm sure you're aware that nutritionist-at-large Michelle Obama is urging, demanding, advocating, requiring what everybody can and can't eat. She's demanding that everybody basically eat cardboard and tofu, no calories, no fat, no nothing, gotta stop obesity. Except as in the case of all leftists, that's true for you but not for them. Michelle (My Belle) minus the husband took the kids out to Vail on a ski vacation and they were spotted eating. And they were feasting on ribs, ribs that were 1,575 calories per serving with 141 grams of fat per serving. Now, I'm sure some of you members of the New Castrati, 'This is typical of what you do, Mr. Limbaugh, you take an isolated once-in-a-lifetime experience and try to say that she's a hypocrite.' She is a hypocrite. Leaders are supposed to be leaders. If we're supposed to go out and eat nothing, if we're supposed to eat roots and berries and tree bark and so forth, show us how." February 21, 2011

5. "Now the venerable Sports Illustrated is quoting a bunch of wacko leftist food Nazis. If they don't like what's being served at the ballpark, don't go. If they don't like what's being served at the ballpark, don't buy it. But it is none of their business. Oy vey. I'm telling you, the sports media is no different than the rest of the media. There is no media. It's just the ruling class. It's just a bunch of leftist drivel no matter where you go. And, of course, food at the ballpark, that's really caused a lot of premature death, right? We've been serving hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries, crackerjack, peanuts, cotton candy, this is the ruling class saying, 'Don't let 'em eat cake.' I guess so, grilled asparagus, arugula with watercress vinaigrette, salad, and so forth. This is no different than the People for Science in the Public Interest, nutritionists. Obesity is a major problem in American ballparks. Right." July 20, 2010

4. "Now the venerable Sports Illustrated is quoting a bunch of wacko leftist food Nazis. If they don't like what's being served at the ballpark, don't go. If they don't like what's being served at the ballpark, don't buy it. But it is none of their business. Oy vey. I'm telling you, the sports media is no different than the rest of the media. There is no media. It's just the ruling class. It's just a bunch of leftist drivel no matter where you go. And, of course, food at the ballpark, that's really caused a lot of premature death, right? We've been serving hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries, crackerjack, peanuts, cotton candy, this is the ruling class saying, 'Don't let 'em eat cake.' I guess so, grilled asparagus, arugula with watercress vinaigrette, salad, and so forth. This is no different than the People for Science in the Public Interest, nutritionists. Obesity is a major problem in American ballparks. Right." July 20, 2010

3. "Anything better than diet, Qurans, prayer rugs, I mean where else can Muslims go in the world to find everything they need? There's no better place than Gitmo. Club G'itmo, the Muslim resort. The infidels have Club Med, why don't the believers get their own Club G'itmo? It sounds like we've put one together for them. It's a one-of-a-kind resort on the west coast of Cuba overlooking the bay. Every visitor, every check-in at no charge gets a new Quran, a new prayer rug, Muslim chefs, Muslim dietary laws ... " June 14, 2005

2. "Now that school is out, where to find food. We can have a daily feature on this. And this will take us all the way through the summer. Where to find food. And, of course, the first will be: 'Try your house.' It's a thing called the refrigerator. You probably already know about it. Try looking there. There are also things in what's called the kitchen of your house called cupboards ... If that doesn't work, try a Happy Meal at McDonald's. You know where McDonald's is. There's the Dollar Menu at McDonald's and if they don't have Chicken McNuggets, dial 911 and ask for Obama ... There's another place if none of these options work to find food; there's always the neighborhood Dumpster. Now, you might find competition with homeless people there, but there are videos that have been produced to show you how to healthfully dine and how to dumpster dive and survive until school kicks back up in August." June 16, 2010

And the #1 Asinine Thing That Rush Limbaugh Has Said About Food…..

"What have I told you about diet and exercise? Exercise is irrelevant. What matters in losing weight is what you eat, pure and simple, and how much, nothing more than that. And everybody tries to tell me I'm wrong, that I don't know what I'm talking about." November 8, 2010

Prank Call Proves Billionaire David Koch Owns Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker And The GOP

A prank caller pretending to be billionaire conservative businessman David Koch was able to have a lengthy conversation with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker about his strategy to cripple public employee unions, the governor's office confirmed Wednesday.

On the call, Walker joked about bringing a baseball bat to a meeting with Democratic leaders, said it would "be outstanding" to be flown out to California by Koch for a good time after the battle is over, and said he expected the anti-union movement to spread across the country.

Audio was posted on the Buffalo Beast, a left-leaning website based in New York, and quickly spread across the Internet.

Democrats ripped Walker's comments on the call on the Assembly floor Wednesday morning, saying they had nothing to do with his assertion that legislation stripping public employees' collective bargaining rights is needed to help solve a looming budget deficit.
"That's why we must fight it! That is why people must come to the Capitol and fight this!" Rep. Jon Richards of Milwaukee yelled as thousands of protesters inside the rotunda roared in approval. "This isn't about balancing the budget, this is about a political war."

Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie confirmed Walker took the call, which will only heighten widespread suspicions that brothers David and Charles Koch are pulling strings in Wisconsin's battle as part of a conservative agenda to limit the unions' power.
The governor's plan would take away the ability of state and local public employees to collectively bargain for working conditions, benefits, or any other than their base salaries. Unions could not collect mandatory dues and would face a vote of its members every year to stay in existence.

The plan has set off more than a week of demonstrations at the Capitol, and prompted Wisconsin Senate Democrats to flee the state to block its passage. Similar ideas are being pushed in some other states with Republican governors.
The man pretending to be Koch said, "You're the first domino."

Of course trying to stop the selling of his state to Kock is just too late. Gov. Scott Walker says he won't be distracted by a prank phone call made by a blogger posing as one of his campaign donors, and he'll push forward with a bill to limit the power of public employee unions.....because that is what he was paid to do!!!

It’s Déjà vu All Over Again

This is a famous saying credited to Yogi Berra and few memories haunt Republicans more deeply than the 1995-96 partial shutdown of the federal government, which helped President Bill Clinton reverse his falling fortunes and recast the House Republicans as stubborn partisans, and not savvy insurgents. The comments at that time from the population were, “Newt Gingrich thinks HE’S the President!”

Now, as Congress careens toward a budget impasse, one can only wonder if another shutdown is imminent and whether the Current Extreme Right Wing Republicans will once again suffer the blame.

Reaping The Return On Their Investments

This latest Republican controlled House just a few weeks ago handed out tax deferment rewards to corporations by renewing the G. W. Bush’s 2000 tax cuts. This was money the country and tax payers did not have and it was this same tax cuts of 2000 that contributed greatly under funding the operations of the government and left us with the large deficits we are experiencing today.

NOW this same Republican controlled House wants to purge all funding for Planned Parenthood, Environmental Protection Agency, and repeal the Health Care Bill because there is no money for these programs.

Let’s just call it like it is. This has been the social engineering aspects that the Republican Party has been trying to push for years.

1. Shutting down Planned Parenthood because they provide women’s health care that may require an abortion. The procedure much like Congresswoman Jackie Speier described and admitted having to have done to her publicly on the House floor.

2. Gutting the Environmental Protection Agency because they have the power to admonish corporations for blatantly dumping their industrial process pollution into the water and air. We have seen the destroying of the water aquifers caused by strip mining in West Virginia by the coal mining companies being protected under the G. W. Bush’s administration. We have also seen the protection interference for the oil industries use of petrochemicals to drill at oil sites and citizens living in the area can now ignite their tap water. Many of my readers will remember the Cuyahoga River catching fire in Cleveland. Is this now the current Republicans view that we are to return back to the “Good O’l Days?” Is this now the Republican Party’s idea of progress? It was the Republican President Richard Nixon’s passage of the “Clean Air Act,” that gave the enforcement ability of the EPA. This was once what the Republican Party’s legacy standard and platform was about.

3. Of course the National Health Care Bill that the insurance industry funded the resistance of its passage and now for its repeal. This Health Care Bill that protects people who have lost their jobs and are at risk after paying their health care premiums only to have their coverage deigned because 10 years ago they had a condition that needed to be treated.

4. Now we are seeing the last bastion of Union Busting going on right now in the current event today. Without this last aspect of workers voice and rights, we are seeing the removal of “Checks and Balances” of corporations.

Surely any person with just a smidgen of intelligence can see the “Return On Their Investments Dividends” being awarded to those who funded this current Republican House.

Where my curiosity comes from is why so many think that having protection of their personal health care destroyed, their quality of air and water being poisoned by industrial chemicals with no over site from the agencies that are to protect you. Instead now, all corporations will get is a knowing wink and nod with a smile from the EPA. How much is a person’s wealth in their homes worth when you can light their tap water to heat their homes? It can be said that this current Republican House motto is, “Take From The Poor (or even the middle working class making them the new poor) And Give To The Rich.”

A Trader To His Class

There is a best selling book titled, “Trader To His Class,” written by H. W. Bands. It is a biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was born into the privileged life of wealth but is seen for a radical Presidency that transformed American government during the "Great Depression" with his "New Deal" legislation. The examples of developing the social safety net of Social Security and enacting and signing legislation passing rules and regulations that curbed Wall Street’s and Banking's finical abuse during the 1920’s. These laws served the U.S. Citizens’ well until they were started to be disassembled in the 1980’s during the Ronald Reagan’s administration.

With this thought, it came to light that maybe this book's title applied more to Ronald Reagan whom many are celibrating his 100th birthday today.

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in an apartment on the second floor of a commercial building in Tampico, Illinois on February 6, 1911, to John Edward Reagan and Nelle Reagan. Reagan's father was of poor Irish Catholic ancestry, and his mother of Scottish English ancestors.

In his youth, Ronny had a particularly strong faith in the goodness of people, which stemmed from the optimistic faith of his mother, Nelle, and the Disciples of Christ faith, which he was baptized into in 1922. For the time, Reagan was unusual in his opposition to racial discrimination, and recalled a time in the little town of Dixon when the local inn would not allow black people to stay there. Reagan brought them back to his house, where his mother invited them to stay the night and have breakfast the next morning.

Following the closure of the Pitney Store in late 1920, the Reagans moved to Dixon. He attended Dixon High School where he developed interests in acting, sports, and storytelling. His first job was as a lifeguard at the Rock River in Lowell Park, near Dixon, in 1926.

Reagan attended Eureka College, where he became a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and majored in economics and sociology. He developed a reputation as a jack of all trades, excelling in campus politics, sports and theater. He was a member of the football team, captain of the swim team and was elected student body president. As student president, Reagan notably led a student revolt against the college president after he tried to cut back the faculty.

After graduating from Eureka in 1932, Reagan drove himself to Iowa, where he auditioned for jobs at many small town radio stations.

Reagan did make his way to California where he took a screen test in 1937 that led to a seven year contract with Warner Brothers studios. He spent the first few years of his Hollywood career in the “B” film unit, where, as Reagan said himself, “the producers didn't want them good, they wanted them Thursday".

Reagan was first elected to the Board of Directors of the Screen Actors Guild in 1941, serving as an alternate. Following World War II, he resumed service and became 3rd Vice president in 1946. The adoption of conflict of interest bylaws in 1947 led the SAG president and six board members to resign; Reagan was nominated in a special election for the position of president and subsequently elected. He would subsequently be chosen by the membership to seven additional one-terms, from 1947 to 1952 and in 1959. Reagan led SAG through eventful years that were marked by labor-management disputes, the Taft-Hartley Act.

Ronald Reagan Trader To His Class:

His betrayal to the working class started during the House Committee on Un-American activities (HUAC) hearings and the Hollywood Blacklist Era. Amid the “Red Scare” in the late 1940s, Reagan turned on his co-workers and provided the FBI with names of actors whom “HE BELIVED” (no proof provided to support his claims) to be communist sympathizers within the motion picture industry. Yes the “Union President Ronald Reagan” testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee on the subject as well throwing his Union Party Members and Co-workers to the “Hysterical Wolfs” of the McCarthy Era.

Reagan began his political career as a Liberal Democrat and admirer of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and active supporter of New Deal policies, but in the early 1950s he shifted to the right and, while remaining a Democrat, endorsed the presidential candidacies of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956 as well as Richard Nixon in the 1960 Nixon / Kennedy Presidential campaigns.

Reagan who once as a young man, "who was unusual in his opposition to racial discrimination, and brought back black people to his own home to stay because the local inn would not allow them to stay there;" was now opposed "Civil Rights" legislation in the 1960’s, saying "If an individual wants to discriminate against Negroes or others in selling or renting his house, it is his right to do so".

When legislation that would become Medicare (You now here the mindless Conservative Teabaggers shout that Obama better not touch their Medicare) was introduced in 1961, Reagan created a recording for the American Medical Association warning that such legislation would mean the end of freedom in America. Reagan said that if his listeners did not write letters to prevent it, "we will awake to find that we have socialism. And if you don't do this, and if I don't do it, one of these days, you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children, and our children's children, what it once was like in America when men were free." (Boy Does This Sound Familiar Today!?!?)

Only a short time into his 1980 Presidential Administration, Federal Air Traffic Controllers went on strike. Declaring the situation an emergency as described in the 1947 Taft Hartley Act, this once Union President Reagan stated that if the air traffic controllers "do not report for work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated." Despite fear from some members of his cabinet over a potential political backlash, on August 5, Reagan fired 11,345 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored his order to return to work. This act started a national trend of union busting and the attacking for the next decades the downgrading quality of life for the “Working Middle Class” across the whole United States.

Quoting Charles Craver, a labor law professor at George Washington University Law School, the move gave Americans a new view of Reagan, who "sent a message to the private employer community that it would be all right to go up against the unions".

This position was in stark contrast to Reagan's past as a labor union president of the Screen Actor's Guild, as well as his support for the Polish labor union “Solidarity” in its fight against Soviet domination.

Ronald Reagan was now at this point not even practicing for his own country what he was preaching for others.

TRADER TO HIS OWN CLASS!!

Teabaggers Display Their Ignorance Yet Once Again

I pointed out on another blog that the Bush / Cheney inherited a Budget Surplus and before them this country was paying down the National Deficit.

I was then accused by a Teabagger who barely has a 6th grade education that I was engaging in revisionism history. This Teabagger, with only a 6th grade education, went onto say that he did not recall one dime of the Annual Budget Surplus that Bush and Cheney inherited was being used to pay down the national debt before they took over.

Well below are data charts from the Public Debt, United States Department of the Treasury and the Budget Data from the Congressional Budget Office.



As we all know from the viewpoints of the Teabaggers, facts have an obvious liberal slant.

So in conclusion, if you want to know the viewpoint of someone with just a 6th grade education, go visit your local Elementary School Yard. At least you will find more TRUTH there than with the Tea Party Members.

Sarah Palin's Weird WTF “Sputnik” Story

On Wednesday night, Sarah Palin attacked the “Sputnik Moment” line from President Obama's second State of the Union address.

Sarah went on to say, “That was another one of those WTF Moments, when he so often repeated this Sputnik moment that he would aspire Americans to celebrate. And he needs to remember that what happened back then with the former communist USSR and their victory in that race to space, yes, they won, but they also incurred so much debt at the time that it resulted in the inevitable collapse of the Soviet Union.”
!?!?!

Sarah Palin in her Tea Party’s counter point rant, wildly misconstrued the president's argument, which was not about emulating the Soviets in the 1950's but instead about the Americans who responded to early Soviet success in space exploration by educating themselves and out-innovating the Soviets. I am seriously doubtful that Sarah could comprehend or more to the fact that did she even listen to the speech?

But let's pretend that wasn't Obama's point. The Soviets didn't have an empire-draining debt problem until some 30 years after Sputnik passed over America. And when they did, it was in large part a result of massive overinvestment in heavy industry, which supported Soviet military pretensions (Much like Bush and Cheney did). None of this is to argue that the Soviet economy is anything we should emulate. But let's at least get the basic facts right when we criticize it.

It's a fair guess that Palin thought she was borrowing her "insight" from the mythology of Ronald Reagan, who massively increased America's spending (Which took the U.S. from being the largest Creditor Nation to the largest Debtor Nation running up the largest record U.S. debt at that time. A fact the many self proclaiming Conservatives conveniently forget.) to spur the sort of competitive expenditure that contributed to the ballooning of Soviet debt in the 1980's. According to many conservatives, this was a crucial factor that catalyzed the Soviet collapse.

But in claiming that the Soviets incurred their consequential debts long before Reagan was president, Palin ends up arguing that the Gipper wasn't nearly that responsible for the USSR spending itself to death. If a reverence for Reagan's anti-Soviet spending inspired her narrative in the first place, then this is incoherent. If she's just making this all up, then she's really also claiming that the “Reagan Brought Down The USSR” narrative is overstated.

Palin appears to be lazily checking a lot of Fox News boxes. She wants to criticize Obama's State of the Union address, so she grabs hold of the Sputnik line. She wants to make a point about debt, so she invents a history in which the USSR had a debt crisis decades before this inference could have made much sense. Even better -- her argument sounds like an implicit vindication of Reagan, but that really just makes it either self-contradictory or hostile to Reagan's legacy.

Even worse, it seems that Palin planned her rhetorical disaster; as she goes on to discuss the "Spudnut Shop," a bakery in Washington State that's succeeding without government support.

Sarah Palin’s latest demonstration of her personal lacking qualities are yet more evidence that her judgment in both what she says and who she has vetted, is pathetic. It's not even cleverly manipulative. It is just sad and speaks volumes of those Tea Party members who follow her!!