Whats the difference between a "radicalized" Muslim and Evangelical Christian? Are they not the same religious fanatics that use their religion as a weapon to attack those they oppose?
How do radical Muslims and Christians differ?
What comes to mind is;
* Muslims are dark-skinned and come from the Mideast, while
* Evangelicals are white and come from the Midwest.
Other than that they both believe they are "true" believers and adhere to a rigid radical religious doctrine that promises them a better Hereafter which they both crave for and justify their behavior towards that end (God made me do it).
The both blow things up (Timothy McVeigh) An Accurate Look at Timothy McVeigh's Beliefs
and shoot (kill) people indiscriminately (Robert Dear) For Robert Dear, Religion and Rage Before Planned Parenthood Attack in service of their cause.
Donald Trump; the Republican front runner for president proposes to solve half the problem by banning "All" Muslims from the US; radicalized or not, but stays mute about the other half of the problem; "radicalized" Christians (mostly Evangelicals).
Trump and most of his counterparts completely ignore the fact that the majority of mass shootings and bombings in the US are perpetrated by Christians; mainstream white Americans, NOT Muslims hailing from some far off Middle-eastern country we can't pronounce the name of or find on a map.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
THE PEOPLE (ERR) CORPORATIONS THAT OWN THE US
Even
though these are just business entities, SCOTUS' Citizens United
decision has deemed them to be people and, as such, the influence and
power they wield has transformed this country into a Plutocracy.
A number of America’s largest private companies are big enough in terms of revenue that had they been public they would have placed in the upper ranks of the Fortune 500. As a matter of fact, the largest private company, Cargill, has revenue that could put it in the top 10.
Click here to see America’s 100 largest private companies.
Once again, Industrials & Chemicals conglomerates Cargill and Koch Industries topped the list and were far and away the leaders with a difference in revenue of over $50 Billion above third place State Farm. The top 15 had a more balanced distribution of industries, although Insurance giants certainly staked their claim near the top, with four companies in the top 15: State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, and New York Life. The service industry as a whole was well represented, holding 7 of the top 15 spots. Other industries represented in the list were consulting, accounting, real estate, technology, consumer goods and healthcare.
The very largest private and public companies share another characteristic. They are so large that a top few dominate their field in terms of revenue, with other companies often dwarfed in comparison.
The most glaring revelation about the top of the pack is the portion of revenue these companies control. 3% of companies account for 18% of total revenues in the PrivCo 100. Additionally, 15% of companies account for half of total revenue generated. The top 50 companies reported revenues above $11.4 Billion or greater this year. This represents an increase of almost 23% in total revenue over the top 50 from last year.
The largest Fortune 500 company, Walmart, reported sales of $486 billion last year. Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), the second largest, posted sales of $382 billion, already a $100 billion difference. The size of public companies in terms of sales drops off quickly. Verizon (NYSE: VZ), the 15th largest company on the Fortune 500, reported revenue of $127 billion last year, only a third of Exxon’s.
The following is a list of the top 100 power brokers in America;
A number of America’s largest private companies are big enough in terms of revenue that had they been public they would have placed in the upper ranks of the Fortune 500. As a matter of fact, the largest private company, Cargill, has revenue that could put it in the top 10.
Click here to see America’s 100 largest private companies.
Once again, Industrials & Chemicals conglomerates Cargill and Koch Industries topped the list and were far and away the leaders with a difference in revenue of over $50 Billion above third place State Farm. The top 15 had a more balanced distribution of industries, although Insurance giants certainly staked their claim near the top, with four companies in the top 15: State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, and New York Life. The service industry as a whole was well represented, holding 7 of the top 15 spots. Other industries represented in the list were consulting, accounting, real estate, technology, consumer goods and healthcare.
The very largest private and public companies share another characteristic. They are so large that a top few dominate their field in terms of revenue, with other companies often dwarfed in comparison.
The most glaring revelation about the top of the pack is the portion of revenue these companies control. 3% of companies account for 18% of total revenues in the PrivCo 100. Additionally, 15% of companies account for half of total revenue generated. The top 50 companies reported revenues above $11.4 Billion or greater this year. This represents an increase of almost 23% in total revenue over the top 50 from last year.
The largest Fortune 500 company, Walmart, reported sales of $486 billion last year. Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), the second largest, posted sales of $382 billion, already a $100 billion difference. The size of public companies in terms of sales drops off quickly. Verizon (NYSE: VZ), the 15th largest company on the Fortune 500, reported revenue of $127 billion last year, only a third of Exxon’s.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
LAND OF THE FREE; HOME OF THE POOR
Acknowledging the city’s growing homeless population, the Los Angeles City Council voted 14 to 0 Tuesday to declare a shelter crisis, paving the way for providing temporary housing to homeless men and women in public buildings.
The move would also create the legal framework for allowing Angelenos who live in cars and recreational vehicles to park overnight in lots owned by the city and nonprofit organizations. In a separate vote, council members agreed to revise a controversial ordinance that regulated the seizure of property belonging to homeless men and women.
“While we’re building the infrastructure, we’re finding ways to address homelessness. We have a long way to go,” said Councilman Jose Huizar, co-chair of the Homelessness and Poverty Committee. “It’s going to be a long road ahead of us.”
A fuller discussion on the issue of homelessness is expected to take place in January when the City Council is presented with the Homelessness Strategic Plan.
The move would also create the legal framework for allowing Angelenos who live in cars and recreational vehicles to park overnight in lots owned by the city and nonprofit organizations. In a separate vote, council members agreed to revise a controversial ordinance that regulated the seizure of property belonging to homeless men and women.
“While we’re building the infrastructure, we’re finding ways to address homelessness. We have a long way to go,” said Councilman Jose Huizar, co-chair of the Homelessness and Poverty Committee. “It’s going to be a long road ahead of us.”
A fuller discussion on the issue of homelessness is expected to take place in January when the City Council is presented with the Homelessness Strategic Plan.
Monday, November 16, 2015
WHY DOES THE U.S. WAGE WARS IT CAN'T WIN?
The United States is a warrior nation. There's hardly a time when the US is not either waging war(s) or promoting them somewhere on the planet.
Some would say it's all about self defense. If so, who exactly are we defending ourselves against that requires the use of the largest - most expensive military on the planet? The only folks we've been fighting are rag-tag insurgents in far off countries who are armed with a fleet of Toyota pick up trucks and suicide vests and who we take on using a few squadrons of fighter jets and a small fleet of drones.
Some say it's to champion democracy; free the masses from oppressive dictators and tyrants. If so, exactly which country have we liberated and more so, democratized? One look at the history books would tell you that the last war the United States won was WWII and that was with the help of most of the free world (as we called). Since then it's been nothing but a long bloody trail of stalemates or retreats unless you count Reagan's Grenada Campaign.
Worse still, the United States allies itself with some of the most notorious despots, dictators, and tyrants as long as the "price" is right.
Which brings me to my point. The United States makes war to make money. It's no longer about winning or losing but about lingering as long as possible so that every dollar possible can be squeezed
out of these senseless conflicts and with little or no regard for the so-called collateral damage; e.g. the flag draped body bags of US soldiers the Bush Administration would not allow to be photographed.
And by simply instilling fear in the American people (taxpayers) a handful of neo-cons who manage the Military Industrial Complex continue to make lots of money at everyone else's expense.
The answer can be found here;
Global military spending totaled $1.78 trillion in 2014, down slightly from the year before. Military expenditures in North America, Western and European countries continued to slowly decline, while spending rose in Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. The United States still accounted for more than one-third of military spending worldwide.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) measures annual military spending for most of the world’s armed countries. According to SIPRI, the United States spent $610 billion on its military last year, several times the $216.4 billion budget of second place China. Based on nominal military expenditure figures, these are the countries with the largest military budgets.
Click here to see the countries spending the most on war.
According to Dr. Sam Perlo-Freeman, head of the SIPRI military expenditure project, the top 10 countries for military spending are either very large, very rich, or both. “Apart from that, there is really very little they have in common,” Perlo-Freeman said. Four of the 10 countries are among the most populous nations in the world. The economies of these countries were among the world’s largest. GDP per capita in six of the 10 countries were among the 25 largest in the world.
The United States stands out — far and away — as the world’s most dominant global superpower. While U.S. military spending has declined from its 2010 peak, spending remains at historically high levels. The expenditure is still far higher than it was during the Cold War, according to Perlo-Freeman, and still higher than in 2001 — just before 9/11.
Perlo-Freeman suggested that the exceptionally high spending in the U.S. reflects a perception that there are “potentially military threats everywhere.” Other top countries for military expenditure have immediate conflicts on their borders. South Korea, Japan, India, and Saudi Arabia are all involved in relatively isolated regional disputes. Russia’s foray into Ukraine and subsequent annexation of Crimea had larger, international ramifications. These conflicts largely account for the high military spending in these countries.
To identify the countries spending the most on their military, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed total military expenditures in 2014 in more than 170 countries from SIPRI. We looked at expenditure data from each year since 2005. For the purpose of comparison, historical data are in inflation-adjusted 2011 dollars. We reviewed SIPRI data on military exports, imports, and military expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product, as well as a percentage of government spending. We also looked at GDP and GDP growth figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In addition, we reviewed 2013 military personnel figures from the World Bank.
Some would say it's all about self defense. If so, who exactly are we defending ourselves against that requires the use of the largest - most expensive military on the planet? The only folks we've been fighting are rag-tag insurgents in far off countries who are armed with a fleet of Toyota pick up trucks and suicide vests and who we take on using a few squadrons of fighter jets and a small fleet of drones.
Some say it's to champion democracy; free the masses from oppressive dictators and tyrants. If so, exactly which country have we liberated and more so, democratized? One look at the history books would tell you that the last war the United States won was WWII and that was with the help of most of the free world (as we called). Since then it's been nothing but a long bloody trail of stalemates or retreats unless you count Reagan's Grenada Campaign.
Worse still, the United States allies itself with some of the most notorious despots, dictators, and tyrants as long as the "price" is right.
Which brings me to my point. The United States makes war to make money. It's no longer about winning or losing but about lingering as long as possible so that every dollar possible can be squeezed
out of these senseless conflicts and with little or no regard for the so-called collateral damage; e.g. the flag draped body bags of US soldiers the Bush Administration would not allow to be photographed.
And by simply instilling fear in the American people (taxpayers) a handful of neo-cons who manage the Military Industrial Complex continue to make lots of money at everyone else's expense.
The answer can be found here;
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) measures annual military spending for most of the world’s armed countries. According to SIPRI, the United States spent $610 billion on its military last year, several times the $216.4 billion budget of second place China. Based on nominal military expenditure figures, these are the countries with the largest military budgets.
Click here to see the countries spending the most on war.
According to Dr. Sam Perlo-Freeman, head of the SIPRI military expenditure project, the top 10 countries for military spending are either very large, very rich, or both. “Apart from that, there is really very little they have in common,” Perlo-Freeman said. Four of the 10 countries are among the most populous nations in the world. The economies of these countries were among the world’s largest. GDP per capita in six of the 10 countries were among the 25 largest in the world.
The United States stands out — far and away — as the world’s most dominant global superpower. While U.S. military spending has declined from its 2010 peak, spending remains at historically high levels. The expenditure is still far higher than it was during the Cold War, according to Perlo-Freeman, and still higher than in 2001 — just before 9/11.
Perlo-Freeman suggested that the exceptionally high spending in the U.S. reflects a perception that there are “potentially military threats everywhere.” Other top countries for military expenditure have immediate conflicts on their borders. South Korea, Japan, India, and Saudi Arabia are all involved in relatively isolated regional disputes. Russia’s foray into Ukraine and subsequent annexation of Crimea had larger, international ramifications. These conflicts largely account for the high military spending in these countries.
To identify the countries spending the most on their military, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed total military expenditures in 2014 in more than 170 countries from SIPRI. We looked at expenditure data from each year since 2005. For the purpose of comparison, historical data are in inflation-adjusted 2011 dollars. We reviewed SIPRI data on military exports, imports, and military expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product, as well as a percentage of government spending. We also looked at GDP and GDP growth figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In addition, we reviewed 2013 military personnel figures from the World Bank.
1. United States
> Military expenditure: $609.9 billion
> Pct. change military expenditure, 2005-2014: -0.4%
> Expenditure as pct. of GDP: 3.5%
> Military expenditure per capita: $1,891
> Military expenditure: $609.9 billion
> Pct. change military expenditure, 2005-2014: -0.4%
> Expenditure as pct. of GDP: 3.5%
> Military expenditure per capita: $1,891
While U.S.’ military expenditure in 2014 was relatively flat from 2005, it is still by far the largest military spending in the world and several times greater than second-place China. U.S. military spending has fluctuated over the years, but the country has outspent every other nation in the world since at least 2005. Last year, military spending equalled 3.5% of U.S. GDP, the 22nd highest share among countries reviewed. Dr. Perlo-Freeman suggested that the nation’s exceptionally high spending reflects its role as the dominant global superpower and the perception that there are “potentially military threats everywhere.” The U.S. has an estimated 7,100 nuclear warheads, trailing only Russia. The country is also home to several top arms companies, including United Technologies, Raytheon, and Boeing. Still, largely as a result of fiscal austerity and the scaling back of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, U.S. military spending as a percent of total government spending fell from 10.4% in 2013 to 9.5% in 2014.
Sunday, November 15, 2015
MAHER AND TRUMP AGREE; AMERICANS ARE STUPID!
It's amazing that 2 individuals who represent both the extreme left and right wing factions of the political spectrum actually agree on something;
Political comedian Bill Maher thinks Americans are too stupid to vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders, a socialist,even though he is the best candidate.
“Of all the candidates in the race, Sanders makes the most sense,” Maher said in a radio interview. “Of course that’s why the American public won’t vote for him. Bernie wants to scale back the Military Industrial Complex, end mass incarceration and introduce universal health care. But who wants that?”
Maher added Americans were terrified of the word socialism, even though we have many aspects of socialism, such as Medicare, the VA, social security and free K-12 education.
“Americans love all those things, because they don’t consider them to be socialism, even though they are,” Maher said.
Maher has frequently ranted about the lack of intelligence of the average American on his HBO show “Real Time.”
“You want an example of how stupid Americans are?” he said. “If you talk to the people who support Donald Trump, they’ll say, ‘Because he’s one of us.’ Oh yeah, Trump’s a billionaire, who flies around in a private jet and is married to a European model, but he understands working people.”
‘‘How stupid are the people of Iowa?’’ declared Trump during a rally at Iowa Central Community College. ‘‘How stupid are the people of the country to believe this crap?’’ For more than an hour and a half Thursday night, the billionaire real estate mogul harshly criticized not only Carson, but many of his other competitors in the race for the GOP presidential nomination.
An investigation by The New York Times found that a mere 158 families, (and the companies they own/control), contributed a whopping $176 million in the first phase of the 2016 presidential campaign.
Political comedian Bill Maher thinks Americans are too stupid to vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders, a socialist,even though he is the best candidate.
“Of all the candidates in the race, Sanders makes the most sense,” Maher said in a radio interview. “Of course that’s why the American public won’t vote for him. Bernie wants to scale back the Military Industrial Complex, end mass incarceration and introduce universal health care. But who wants that?”
Maher added Americans were terrified of the word socialism, even though we have many aspects of socialism, such as Medicare, the VA, social security and free K-12 education.
“Americans love all those things, because they don’t consider them to be socialism, even though they are,” Maher said.
Maher has frequently ranted about the lack of intelligence of the average American on his HBO show “Real Time.”
“You want an example of how stupid Americans are?” he said. “If you talk to the people who support Donald Trump, they’ll say, ‘Because he’s one of us.’ Oh yeah, Trump’s a billionaire, who flies around in a private jet and is married to a European model, but he understands working people.”
‘‘How stupid are the people of Iowa?’’ declared Trump during a rally at Iowa Central Community College. ‘‘How stupid are the people of the country to believe this crap?’’ For more than an hour and a half Thursday night, the billionaire real estate mogul harshly criticized not only Carson, but many of his other competitors in the race for the GOP presidential nomination.
Are Americans stupid when it comes to voting? The answer is YES! Only in America does the minnow swallow the whale While most Americans preoccupy themselves with texting and selfies or any-nite football a handful of very smart Americans are skilfully taking control of what was once a democracy; now being morphed into a plutocracy.
1. 1% Elections
2. The Privatization of the State (or the U.S. as a Prospective Third-World Nation)
3. The De-legitimization of Congress and the Presidency
An investigation by The New York Times found that a mere 158 families, (and the companies they own/control), contributed a whopping $176 million in the first phase of the 2016 presidential campaign.
Not since before Watergate have so few people and businesses provided so much early money in a campaign, most of it through channels legalized by the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision five years ago.
(Thank you for that, Supreme Court.)
Take a wild guess who these people are and who they represent.
They are overwhelmingly white, rich, older and male… and in an economy that has minted billionaires in a dizzying array of industries, most made their fortunes in just two: finance and energy.
People like the Koch brothers, for example, are spending $889 MILLION dollars during this one election.
Meanwhile, the big six megabanks and Wall Street are putting all their money behind Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush. Only three percent of Bush's donations actually come from small donors. Goldman Sachs is Hillary's largest financial supporter by employer. Hillary's top contributors also include Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Lehman Brothers among others.
A lot of these people have put money down on both sides of the aisle because they know that, when it comes to Jeb vs. Hillary (the only real choice America will really have), the outcome will be the same either way in the White House: more bankster bailouts, more wars, more corruption and tyranny.
Again, even if the average American's vote remotely counted (and studies like the one represented in the video below clearly show it doesn't for multiple reasons, the least of which is voter fraud or vote machine tampering), the average citizen's contributions are far and away overshadowed by billionaires and corporations.
(Thank you for that, Supreme Court.)
Take a wild guess who these people are and who they represent.
They are overwhelmingly white, rich, older and male… and in an economy that has minted billionaires in a dizzying array of industries, most made their fortunes in just two: finance and energy.
People like the Koch brothers, for example, are spending $889 MILLION dollars during this one election.
Meanwhile, the big six megabanks and Wall Street are putting all their money behind Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush. Only three percent of Bush's donations actually come from small donors. Goldman Sachs is Hillary's largest financial supporter by employer. Hillary's top contributors also include Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Lehman Brothers among others.
A lot of these people have put money down on both sides of the aisle because they know that, when it comes to Jeb vs. Hillary (the only real choice America will really have), the outcome will be the same either way in the White House: more bankster bailouts, more wars, more corruption and tyranny.
Again, even if the average American's vote remotely counted (and studies like the one represented in the video below clearly show it doesn't for multiple reasons, the least of which is voter fraud or vote machine tampering), the average citizen's contributions are far and away overshadowed by billionaires and corporations.
Monday, November 9, 2015
BILL MAHER FINDS RELIGION IN CHEEBA!
I like Bill Maher. He's cute, witty, knows how to throw zingers with precision and, for the most part entertains people.
When it comes to religion, however, Bill has a serious problem and is obsessive (almost manic) about disavowing anything that even smells of religion as nothing more than "magical" thinking that intoxicates people and results in nothing but bad outcomes. Much like a modern day version of the Marxist adage; religion is the opium of the masses.
I'm guessing that Bill's problem with religion stems from his childhood experiences with Catholicism (that I can easily relate to) that traumatized him so bad he suffers from some form of PTSD spiced with a tinge of denial.
What Bill doesn't seem to get is that he is no different than the "masses" when it comes to magical thinking but rather than getting there thru God he found salvation in "delta-9-tetrahydro-cannabinol"
In plain English Bill is a full blown "pot head." Bill doesn't realize (or won't admit) that Weed - Pot - Bud - Herb - Grass - Refer - Ganja - Green - Mary Jane - Cheeba is an;
Hallucinogens
Hallucinogens are natural and synthetic (synthesized) substances that, when ingested (taken into the body), significantly alter one's state of consciousness. Hallucinogenic compounds often cause people to see (or think they see) random colors, patterns, events, and objects that do not exist. People sometimes have a a different perception of time and space, hold imaginary conversations, believe they hear music and experience smells, tastes, and other sensations that are not real.
As such every toke transforms (alters) his consciousness and sends him off into a "magical" realm of his own psychic world where he can freely hallucinate about whatever is fired off by those "altered" neurons in his head.
Marijuana and hashish, two substances derived from the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa), are considered natural hallucinogens, although their potency (power) is very low when compared to others. Marijuana (also called grass, pot, tea, weed, or reefer), a green herb from the flower of the hemp plant, is considered a mild hallucinogen. Hashish is marijuana in a more potent, concentrated form. Both drugs are usually smoked. Their effects include a feeling of relaxation, faster heart rate, the sensation that time is passing more slowly, and a greater sense of hearing, taste, touch, and smell.
Given Bill's religious conditioning, like it or not, he is religious. The connections to mystical - magical beings or events is "implanted" in Bill and nothing short of a brain transplant will change that. So, I'm guessing Bill spends a lot of his pot induced states in some sort of religious (spiritual) fantasy world where many before him have visited under the guise of some form of religion;
Some users of hallucinogens have reported feeling mystical and insightful, while others are fearful, paranoid (excessively suspicious or mistrustful of others), and hysterical (exhibiting overwhelming or unmanageable fear or emotional excitability). Medicine men, shamans, and other spiritual leaders have used natural hallucinogens found in plants and mushrooms since ancient times, believing in their power to help contact the spiritual world or mystical beings for guidance in serving their people.
Pollen from flowers and other plants-—most with medicinal properties-—was found in the grave of a Neanderthal man in Shanidar, Iraq. Scientists believe that since these prehistoric people very likely knew how to use plants for medicine, they probably used hallucinogenic plants in rituals. Archaeological evidence also shows that psychoactive drugs (drugs that affect the mind or behavior) were used in ancient Egypt, Greece, Europe, and many other cultures.
Bill is nothing less than a religious zealot when it comes to preaching the legalization of pot. The Cannabist.
Much like John the Baptist, Bill devotes an inordinate amount of time praising pot and advocating it's legalization to "free" the pot heads of America from the chains of legal oppression. Not much different that those who flip and flop on the church floor or wrap snakes around their necks spreading the word.
My advice to Bill is, hey dude! Lighten up! There's plenty of room on the planet for religious nuts and pot heads. Chill man! You do your thing and let others do theirs. Whatever get's you where yo want to go bro!
After all, it's ALL just about magic.
When it comes to religion, however, Bill has a serious problem and is obsessive (almost manic) about disavowing anything that even smells of religion as nothing more than "magical" thinking that intoxicates people and results in nothing but bad outcomes. Much like a modern day version of the Marxist adage; religion is the opium of the masses.
I'm guessing that Bill's problem with religion stems from his childhood experiences with Catholicism (that I can easily relate to) that traumatized him so bad he suffers from some form of PTSD spiced with a tinge of denial.
What Bill doesn't seem to get is that he is no different than the "masses" when it comes to magical thinking but rather than getting there thru God he found salvation in "delta-9-tetrahydro-cannabinol"
In plain English Bill is a full blown "pot head." Bill doesn't realize (or won't admit) that Weed - Pot - Bud - Herb - Grass - Refer - Ganja - Green - Mary Jane - Cheeba is an;
Hallucinogens
Hallucinogens are natural and synthetic (synthesized) substances that, when ingested (taken into the body), significantly alter one's state of consciousness. Hallucinogenic compounds often cause people to see (or think they see) random colors, patterns, events, and objects that do not exist. People sometimes have a a different perception of time and space, hold imaginary conversations, believe they hear music and experience smells, tastes, and other sensations that are not real.
As such every toke transforms (alters) his consciousness and sends him off into a "magical" realm of his own psychic world where he can freely hallucinate about whatever is fired off by those "altered" neurons in his head.
Marijuana and hashish, two substances derived from the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa), are considered natural hallucinogens, although their potency (power) is very low when compared to others. Marijuana (also called grass, pot, tea, weed, or reefer), a green herb from the flower of the hemp plant, is considered a mild hallucinogen. Hashish is marijuana in a more potent, concentrated form. Both drugs are usually smoked. Their effects include a feeling of relaxation, faster heart rate, the sensation that time is passing more slowly, and a greater sense of hearing, taste, touch, and smell.
Given Bill's religious conditioning, like it or not, he is religious. The connections to mystical - magical beings or events is "implanted" in Bill and nothing short of a brain transplant will change that. So, I'm guessing Bill spends a lot of his pot induced states in some sort of religious (spiritual) fantasy world where many before him have visited under the guise of some form of religion;
Some users of hallucinogens have reported feeling mystical and insightful, while others are fearful, paranoid (excessively suspicious or mistrustful of others), and hysterical (exhibiting overwhelming or unmanageable fear or emotional excitability). Medicine men, shamans, and other spiritual leaders have used natural hallucinogens found in plants and mushrooms since ancient times, believing in their power to help contact the spiritual world or mystical beings for guidance in serving their people.
Pollen from flowers and other plants-—most with medicinal properties-—was found in the grave of a Neanderthal man in Shanidar, Iraq. Scientists believe that since these prehistoric people very likely knew how to use plants for medicine, they probably used hallucinogenic plants in rituals. Archaeological evidence also shows that psychoactive drugs (drugs that affect the mind or behavior) were used in ancient Egypt, Greece, Europe, and many other cultures.
Bill is nothing less than a religious zealot when it comes to preaching the legalization of pot. The Cannabist.
Much like John the Baptist, Bill devotes an inordinate amount of time praising pot and advocating it's legalization to "free" the pot heads of America from the chains of legal oppression. Not much different that those who flip and flop on the church floor or wrap snakes around their necks spreading the word.
My advice to Bill is, hey dude! Lighten up! There's plenty of room on the planet for religious nuts and pot heads. Chill man! You do your thing and let others do theirs. Whatever get's you where yo want to go bro!
After all, it's ALL just about magic.
Saturday, November 7, 2015
WHY VOTE FOR TRUMP?
Being a fairly well educated left of the left who takes being called a socialist liberal as a compliment I surprised my self when I had to admit to my "self" that I liked Trump! Why, I asked my self?
Simply put. What you see is what you get (well, except maybe for the hair).
Trump epitomizes what America is really all about;
Racist
Greedy
Violent (bullish)
Competitive
Self aggrandizing
and, most of all
DUMB!
What's admirable about Trump is that he doesn't hide any of those traits and that's why so many Americans like him! He tells them what they want to hear and really means it!
And, for those very same reasons, it's no surprise that a loony tune (Ben) is running a close second.
That's also why there's no real competition out there to match Trump. All the other clowns on the train are wanna-be Trumps that are completely out of their element. Scripted talking points is their on weapon(s) and very poorly drafted at that.
The debates are non-starters when compared to SNL. And Trump wins that one hands down.
“SNL’s” inexplicable Trump fiasco: Why the Donald’s unprecedented hosting gig deserves all the criticism
Trump is the first top-flight presidential candidate to host “SNL” during the middle of an active campaign. Political cameos on the show are a time-honored staple—hello, Val!—and politicians have hosted before, but they’ve all been in between races, with the exception of barely-a-candidate Al Sharpton in early 2003. This time, “SNL” is giving Trump an extended platform it’s not giving to any of the other candidates in either the Republican or Democratic race. This isn’t illegal—the equal time rules for candidates are byzantine and stacked in favor of not actually giving people equal time—but it’s a notable and rather strange intervention by “SNL” nonetheless. Trump may be, in many ways, a joke, but his presidential campaign long since crossed the line from entertainment into serious reality. The haste with which NBC yanked a promo in which Trump called Ben Carson a “total loser” shows the risky waters the network is wading in.
Simply put. What you see is what you get (well, except maybe for the hair).
Trump epitomizes what America is really all about;
Racist
Greedy
Violent (bullish)
Competitive
Self aggrandizing
and, most of all
DUMB!
What's admirable about Trump is that he doesn't hide any of those traits and that's why so many Americans like him! He tells them what they want to hear and really means it!
And, for those very same reasons, it's no surprise that a loony tune (Ben) is running a close second.
That's also why there's no real competition out there to match Trump. All the other clowns on the train are wanna-be Trumps that are completely out of their element. Scripted talking points is their on weapon(s) and very poorly drafted at that.
The debates are non-starters when compared to SNL. And Trump wins that one hands down.
“SNL’s” inexplicable Trump fiasco: Why the Donald’s unprecedented hosting gig deserves all the criticism
Trump is the first top-flight presidential candidate to host “SNL” during the middle of an active campaign. Political cameos on the show are a time-honored staple—hello, Val!—and politicians have hosted before, but they’ve all been in between races, with the exception of barely-a-candidate Al Sharpton in early 2003. This time, “SNL” is giving Trump an extended platform it’s not giving to any of the other candidates in either the Republican or Democratic race. This isn’t illegal—the equal time rules for candidates are byzantine and stacked in favor of not actually giving people equal time—but it’s a notable and rather strange intervention by “SNL” nonetheless. Trump may be, in many ways, a joke, but his presidential campaign long since crossed the line from entertainment into serious reality. The haste with which NBC yanked a promo in which Trump called Ben Carson a “total loser” shows the risky waters the network is wading in.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
US PAYS SPORTS TEAMS TO BE PATRIOTIC?
Taxpayer-financed salutes to U.S. troops at
sporting events would be banned under legislation setting U.S. defense
policy for the next 12 months.
The National Defense Authorization Act, as agreed to by congressional negotiators, would ban such activities as the "hometown heroes" promotion at New York Jets' home games featuring members of the New Jersey Army National Guard.
Overall, the Defense Department paid 14 NFL teams $5.4 million from 2011 to 2014 for such promotions, dubbed as "pay for patriotism."
The bill also seeks a study of all existing sports sponsorships and advertising deals.
EARLIER: Jets' salutes honor N.J. National Guard but cost taxpayers
Thanking our troops ought to be something more than a marketing
gimmick, so I'm glad that Congress has agreed to put an end to these
taxpayer-funded salutes," said U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who first called attention to the practice by citing the Jets.
The report accompanying the legislation also urges the National
Football League, other professional sports leagues and any organizations
that received taxpayer money for these salutes to consider donating "an
equivalent amount of funding" to a charity that supports active-duty
troops, veterans and their families.
"In the thick of football season, I applaud my colleagues for
recognizing and agreeing that demonstrating appreciation and standing in
patriotic solidarity with our military should not come with a
price-tag," said U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2nd Dist.), a member of the
House Armed Services Committee. "It is my absolute belief that those
sports teams and organizations who accepted taxpayer dollars for
'paid-for patriotism' now donate an equal sum to charitable groups that
truly support our men and women in uniform."
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the provision "paints a completely
distorted picture of the relationship" between the U.S. Armed Forces and
professional football.
"The NFL has had a long and charitable relationship with our military
that we are excited to continue with this year's Salute to Service
campaign this fall," McCarthy said. "We agree that no one should be paid
to honor our troops, and the league and its 32 clubs are fully
committed to that. Military spending on recruiting efforts should not be
confused with community programs."
The Senate had approved such a ban in
its version of the defense policy bill, and the provision remained in
the final version, which now goes to the House and Senate for approval.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
KILLING OUR KIDS WITH FOOTBALLS AND GUNS
One of the hallmarks of good parenting is protecting your children and keeping them out of harms way. Americans miserable fail on this count.
They throw their kids out on football fileds knowing full well that this "violent contact" game is dangerous. Kids are dying.
This year, 381 people died this way, according to the data. These shootings occurred at night clubs and children’s birthday parties, when long-time friends watched college football on TV and when churchgoers gathered for a weekly Bible study. These incidents have happened in 45 states and the District of Columbia, and happened at a rate of more than one shooting per day.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
CHINESE LABEL GOLF AS ONE OF THE 7 DEADLY SINS
The Chinese believe that this silly game
played by people which are assumed to have at least average intelligence
not only wastes a tremendous amount of real estate and water but is
also a breeding ground for corruption.
Members of China’s Communist Party banned from golf and excessive eating, while “improper” sexual relations also targeted under new rules . Golf and gluttony have been banned for China’s 88 million Communist Party members, as Beijing steps up a high-profile war on corruption.
President Xi Jinping has launched a wide-ranging crackdown on graft which has seen scores of officials being investigated and jailed since he took power in 2012.
It remains popular among ordinary Chinese who are angered by high-living officials in a country which has sharp divisions of wealth.
“The new discipline regulation explicitly lists extravagant eating and drinking and playing golf as violations, which were not included previously,” Xinhua state news agency said.
“Improper sexual relationship with others” would also lead to being sacked from a party position, said the People’s Daily newspaper, which is the official mouthpiece of the party.
Extravagant drinking and sex outside marriage also prohibited as ruling party announces moral ethical code for members.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
ROAD RAGE AND GUNS; A DEADLY COMBINATION
Road rage is a common phenomenon in a violence prone society like the US. Add guns to the mix and tragic disasters are a forgone conclusion.
Police in New Mexico are trying to identify the person responsible for a road rage shooting that claimed the life of a 4-year-old girl Tuesday.
"This is a complete disrespect of human life," Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden told KRQE News.
Speaking directly to the shooter, Eden said, "The best thing for you to do is to turn yourself in."
Authorities said the child was shot while she was riding in a vehicle with her father in the westbound lane of Interstate 40 on Tuesday afternoon.
"From what we understand, the cars were both moving," Officer Simon Drobik told KOAT News. "One car pulled up next to the other car and started firing rounds into that vehicle."
The father pulled his vehicle to the side of the road and shortly thereafter authorities arrived on the scene.
Police in New Mexico are trying to identify the person responsible for a road rage shooting that claimed the life of a 4-year-old girl Tuesday.
"This is a complete disrespect of human life," Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden told KRQE News.
Speaking directly to the shooter, Eden said, "The best thing for you to do is to turn yourself in."
Authorities said the child was shot while she was riding in a vehicle with her father in the westbound lane of Interstate 40 on Tuesday afternoon.
"From what we understand, the cars were both moving," Officer Simon Drobik told KOAT News. "One car pulled up next to the other car and started firing rounds into that vehicle."
The father pulled his vehicle to the side of the road and shortly thereafter authorities arrived on the scene.
Friday, October 16, 2015
TRUMP DUMPS 9/11 ON GWB! OMG! WTF! BSC!
No one other than a billionaire who's not pandering to donors would dare to speak the truth about taboo topics like who's to blame for 9/11.
Donald Trump slammed former President George W. Bush for the 9/11 attacks happening "during his reign" in an interview aired Friday, prompting a strong rebuke from a certain GOP presidential rival.
Asked by Bloomberg's Stephanie Ruhle if he could reassure the American people in times of crisis, as when Bush stood before the nation in the aftermath of the deadliest terror attack in its history or when President Barack Obama mourned the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, Trump was adamant.
“I think I have a bigger heart than all of them," Trump responded. "I think I’m much more competent then all of them. I mean, say what you want, the World Trade Center came down during his time.”
Ruhle interjected: “Hold on, you can’t blame George Bush for that."
“He was president, OK? Don’t blame him or don’t blame him, but he was president," Trump continued. "The World Trade Center came down during his reign.
Donald Trump slammed former President George W. Bush for the 9/11 attacks happening "during his reign" in an interview aired Friday, prompting a strong rebuke from a certain GOP presidential rival.
Asked by Bloomberg's Stephanie Ruhle if he could reassure the American people in times of crisis, as when Bush stood before the nation in the aftermath of the deadliest terror attack in its history or when President Barack Obama mourned the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, Trump was adamant.
“I think I have a bigger heart than all of them," Trump responded. "I think I’m much more competent then all of them. I mean, say what you want, the World Trade Center came down during his time.”
Ruhle interjected: “Hold on, you can’t blame George Bush for that."
“He was president, OK? Don’t blame him or don’t blame him, but he was president," Trump continued. "The World Trade Center came down during his reign.
WHEN MONEY TALKS JUSTICE WALKS
It's a simple process; kill people, claim you were too spoiled to control your behavior, pay off the surviving victims and have the trial in Texas.
The Texas teen who used "affluenza" as his defense in a fatal drunk driving charge often lived alone in a 4,000-square-foot house with a pool and wet bar and did drugs including Valium, Hydrocodone, marijuana, cocaine, Xanex and ecstasy, according to newly released deposition tapes.
The deposition tapes, which were obtained by ABC News, reveal the reckless and privileged upbringing of Ethan Couch, who at age 16 plowed into a group of people helping a stranded motorist, killing four of them.
During the deposition, Couch was asked if there was alcohol most of the time at the Burleson house where he often lived alone. "Yes, most of the time," he responded.
When asked if there were drugs there, he responded, "Yes" and proceeded to rattle off a list of drugs he had ingested.
"I've taken Valium, Hydrocodone, marijuana, cocaine, Xanax and I think I tried ecstasy once," he testified.
Couch testified that on the night of the June 15, 2013 crash, he didn't remember pulling out of the driveway.
When asked what the next thing he remembered was, Couch answered, "Waking up handcuffed to the hospital bed."
In the deposition, Couch's parents Tonya and Fred Couch acknowledged leaving their son home alone at their Burleson house and permitting their son to drive at the age of 13. Both parents denied any knowledge of their sons drinking problems.
"Ethan seemed pretty responsible," Fred Couch testified.
When asked if she could remember the last time she disciplined her son, Tonya answered, "I don't remember."
Couch, whose blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit that fateful night, pleaded guilty to four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault.
At his sentencing, a psychologist called by the defense testified that Couch was a product of "affluenza," who didn't understand the consequences of his actions because his wealthy parents never set limits for the teen.
In a court ruling that stunned victims' family members and prosecutors who asked for a maximum of 20 years behind bars, Couch was given no jail time and ordered to go to a residential treatment facility. He was sentenced to just 10 years of probation.
After the criminal proceedings ended, six families filed lawsuits against Couch, his parents, and their company, Cleburne Sheet Metal. The Couch's settled the lawsuits out of court.
However, before the family of Lucas McConnell settled, they got videotaped depositions from Couch, his parents and psychologist Dick Miller, who testified about the "affluenza" defense.
Video: Hear From Teen Who Used 'Affluenza' as a Drunken-Driving Defense
The Texas teen who used "affluenza" as his defense in a fatal drunk driving charge often lived alone in a 4,000-square-foot house with a pool and wet bar and did drugs including Valium, Hydrocodone, marijuana, cocaine, Xanex and ecstasy, according to newly released deposition tapes.
The deposition tapes, which were obtained by ABC News, reveal the reckless and privileged upbringing of Ethan Couch, who at age 16 plowed into a group of people helping a stranded motorist, killing four of them.
During the deposition, Couch was asked if there was alcohol most of the time at the Burleson house where he often lived alone. "Yes, most of the time," he responded.
When asked if there were drugs there, he responded, "Yes" and proceeded to rattle off a list of drugs he had ingested.
"I've taken Valium, Hydrocodone, marijuana, cocaine, Xanax and I think I tried ecstasy once," he testified.
Couch testified that on the night of the June 15, 2013 crash, he didn't remember pulling out of the driveway.
When asked what the next thing he remembered was, Couch answered, "Waking up handcuffed to the hospital bed."
In the deposition, Couch's parents Tonya and Fred Couch acknowledged leaving their son home alone at their Burleson house and permitting their son to drive at the age of 13. Both parents denied any knowledge of their sons drinking problems.
"Ethan seemed pretty responsible," Fred Couch testified.
When asked if she could remember the last time she disciplined her son, Tonya answered, "I don't remember."
Couch, whose blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit that fateful night, pleaded guilty to four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault.
At his sentencing, a psychologist called by the defense testified that Couch was a product of "affluenza," who didn't understand the consequences of his actions because his wealthy parents never set limits for the teen.
In a court ruling that stunned victims' family members and prosecutors who asked for a maximum of 20 years behind bars, Couch was given no jail time and ordered to go to a residential treatment facility. He was sentenced to just 10 years of probation.
After the criminal proceedings ended, six families filed lawsuits against Couch, his parents, and their company, Cleburne Sheet Metal. The Couch's settled the lawsuits out of court.
However, before the family of Lucas McConnell settled, they got videotaped depositions from Couch, his parents and psychologist Dick Miller, who testified about the "affluenza" defense.
Video: Hear From Teen Who Used 'Affluenza' as a Drunken-Driving Defense
Monday, October 12, 2015
PALMER THE COWARDLY LION KILLER WILL GO DOWN IN INFAMY
He may not be charged with a crime but his name will go down in
infamy. As will the names of those who persist on killing (murdering)
or maiming living creatures for pleasure. Tropy Hunting is NOT a sport
but a barbaric ritual practiced by disturbed individuals who have no
respect for life.
The
controversy surrounding the killing was spurred by both the target of
the hunt—Cecil was a black-maned lion well known by tourists and safari
goers who visited the country’s Hwange National Park—and the hunting style Palmer used to kill Cecil.
Hunting
guides hired by Palmer reportedly tied a dead animal to the hood of a
car and lured Cecil outside the park’s protected boundaries. The
seasoned hunter shot the lion with a bow, wounding the animal before
tracking it down and killing it hours later. Professional hunter Theo
Bronkhorst — whom Palmer hired — and a game park owner who allowed the
hunt to take place on his land are being charged with breaching hunting
rules that led to Cecil’s death.
Friday, October 9, 2015
DO WE NEED ANOTHER HERO?
This song would play well at this next eulogy;
Out of the ruins, out from the wreckage
Can't make the same mistake this time
We are the children, the last generation
We are the ones they left behind
And I wonder when we are ever gonna change it
Living under the fear till nothing else remains
We don't need another hero
We don't need to know the way home
All we want is life beyond the thunderdome
Looking for something we can rely on
There's got to be something better out there
Love and compassion, their day is coming
All else are castles built in the air
And I wonder when we are ever gonna change it
Living under the fear till nothing else remains
All the children say, "We don't need another hero
Steven
Jones, 18, reportedly pulled out a handgun and started shooting in a
parking lot fight between students. As one victim died in a friend's
arms, he fired again.One student was killed and three others were
wounded during a shooting near the Delta Chi fraternity at Northern
Arizona University early Friday morning. Early reports indicate that the
incident was a fight between students on the Flagstaff campus. Police
Chief G.T. Fowler said there was a confrontation between frat members.
Out of the ruins, out from the wreckage
Can't make the same mistake this time
We are the children, the last generation
We are the ones they left behind
And I wonder when we are ever gonna change it
Living under the fear till nothing else remains
We don't need another hero
We don't need to know the way home
All we want is life beyond the thunderdome
Looking for something we can rely on
There's got to be something better out there
Love and compassion, their day is coming
All else are castles built in the air
And I wonder when we are ever gonna change it
Living under the fear till nothing else remains
All the children say, "We don't need another hero
Saturday, October 3, 2015
AMERICA'S WINLESS WAR(S)
The latest disaster involving the US war
machine in a foreign country is one more of a string of examples of why
becoming involved in a countries internal conflicts; be they political
or religious, is foolhardy and doomed to fail. The previous generation
learned that lesson in Vietnam but unfortunately t didn't carry over to
this generation.
Blowing up hospitals with Afghans in them doesn't win heart and minds regardless of what side the Afghans are on.Doctors Without Borders says U.S. airstrike hit hospital in Afghanistan; at least 19 dead
For
the last 16 years the US has been bogged down in nothing more than
"civil wars" both in Iraq and Afghanistan. These internal conflicts
between opposing factions of the countries population have been going
on for centuries and for reasons not much different than the Civil War
between the North and South in the US.
Outside
intervention is hopeless and futile unless these countries are occupied
or colonized; and then the future is still bleak given the history.
Plain and simple, these are "win-less" wars.
Friday, October 2, 2015
LIVING IN A SHOOTING GALLERY
No matter how you define a mass shooting, one thing is clear: data suggests this brand of violence has grown worse in the United States.
In 2015 alone, there have been 294 shootings that killed or injured 1,464 people, according to Mass Shooting Tracker data, which counts at least four people wounded by gunfire as a mass shooting.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
PRYING GUNS FROM COLDS DEAD HANDS IS ROUTINE
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein.
There's no question that this definition describes what is obviously becoming a "routine" series of mass shootings/killings in which someone with a gun is involved.
It is also obvious that Americans have been completely duped by the "gun industry" into believing that more guns are the solution to this madness.
Once again president Obama has stood at a podium to once again extend condolences to those who have been slaughtered in a hail of bullets.
President Barack Obama called on the American people to make "common sense gun safety laws" a priority and urged lawmakers on every level to take action following the latest mass shooting -- this one at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg on Thursday.
Obama's speech was roughly 13 minutes long. Here's the full transcript:
There's been another mass shooting in America. This time in a community college in Oregon.
That means there are more American families, moms, dads, children, whose lives have been changed forever. That means there's another community stunned with grief, and communities across the country forced to relieve their own anguish and parents across the country who are scared because they know it might have been their families, or their children.
I've been to Roseburg, Oregon. There are really good people there.
I want to thank all the first responders whose bravery likely saved some lives today.
Federal law enforcement has been on the scene in a supporting role, and we've offered to stay and help as much as Roseburg needs for as long as they need.
In the coming days we'll learn about the victims. Young men and women who were studying and learning and working hard with their eyes set on the future, their dreams on what they could make of their lives. And America will wrap everyone who is grieving with our prayers and our love.
But as I said just a few months ago, and I said a few months before that, and I said each time we see one of these mass shootings, our thoughts and prayers are not enough. It's not enough.
It does not capture the heartache and grief and anger that we should feel, and it does nothing to prevent this carnage from being inflicted someplace else in America. Next week, or a couple of months from now.
We don't yet know why this individual did what he did. And it's fair to say that anybody who does this has a sickness in their minds. Regardless of what they think their motivations may be. But we are not the only country on earth that has people with mental illnesses who want to do harm to other people.
We are the only advanced country on earth that sees these kinds of mass shootings every few months.
You know earlier this year, I answered a question in an interview by saying, "The United States of America is the only advanced nation on earth in which we do not have sufficient common sense gun safety laws even in the face of repeated mass killings." And later that day, there was a mass shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana.
That day.
Somehow this has become routine. The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine. The conversation in the aftermath of it. We've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine, and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charleston.
It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun.
And what's become routine, of course, is the response of those who oppose any kind of common sense gun legislation.
Right now, I can imagine the press release is being cranked out. "We need more guns," they'll argue. "Fewer gun safety laws."
Does anybody really believe that? There are scores of responsible gun owners in this country, they know that's not true.
We know because of the polling that says the majority of Americans understand we should be changing these laws, including the majority of responsible, law abiding gun owners.
There is a gun for roughly every man woman and child in America. So how can you with a straight face make the argument that more guns will make us safer?
We know that states with the most gun laws tend to have the fewest gun deaths.
So the notion that gun laws don't work, or just will make it harder for law-abiding citizens and criminals will still get their guns, is not borne out by the evidence.
We know that other countries, in response to one mass shooting, have been able to craft laws that almost eliminate mass shootings. Friends of ours, allies of ours. Great Britain. Australia. Countries like ours.
So we know there are ways to prevent it. And of course what's also routine is that somebody somewhere will comment and say, "Obama politicized this issue." Well, this is something we should politicize. It is relevant to our common life together. To the body politic.
I would ask news organizations, because I won't put these facts forward — have news organizations tally up the number of Americans who've been killed through terrorist attacks in the last decade, and the number of Americans who've been killed by gun violence, and post those side by side on your news reports.
This won't be information coming from me, it will be coming from you.
We spent over a $1 trillion and passed countless laws and devote entire agencies to preventing terrorist attacks on our soil, and rightfully so. And yet, we have a Congress that explicitly blocks us from even collecting data on how we could potentially reduce gun deaths. How can that be?
This is a political choice that we make, to allow this to happen every few months in America. We, collectively, are answerable to those families who lose their loved ones because of our inaction.
When Americans are killed in mine disasters, we worked to make mines safer. When Americans are killed in floods and hurricanes we make communities safer. When roads are unsafe, we fix them, to reduce auto fatalities. We have seat belt laws because we know it saves lives
So the notion that gun violence is somehow difference, that our freedom and our constitution prohibits any modest regulation of how we use a deadly weapon, when there are law abiding gun owners all across the country who could hunt and protect their families and everything do everything that they do under such regulations, doesn't make sense.
So tonight as those of us who are lucky enough to hug our kids a little closer are thinking about the families who aren't so fortunate, I'd ask the American people to think about how they can get our government to change these laws, and to save lives, and to let young people grow up. And that will require a change of politics on this issue.
And it will require that the American people, individually, whether you are a Democrat, or a Republican, and an Independent, when you decide to vote for somebody, are making a determination as to whether this cause of continuing death for innocent people should be a relevant factor in your decision.
If you think this is a problem then you should expect your elected officials to reflect your views. And I would particularly ask America's gun owners who are using those guns -- properly, safely, to hunt, for sport, for protecting their families — to think about whether your views are being properly represented by the organization that suggests its speaking for you.
And each time this happens I'm going to bring this up. Each time this happens I'm going to say we can actually do something about it, but we're going to have to change our laws. And this is not something I can do by myself. I've got to have a Congress, and I've got to have state legislatures, and governors, who are willing to work with me on this.
I hope and pray that I don't have to come out, again, during my tenure as president to offer my condolences to families in these circumstances. But based on my experience as president, I can't guarantee that, and that is terrible to say.
And it can change.
It is also obvious that Americans have been completely duped by the "gun industry" into believing that more guns are the solution to this madness.
Once again president Obama has stood at a podium to once again extend condolences to those who have been slaughtered in a hail of bullets.
President Barack Obama called on the American people to make "common sense gun safety laws" a priority and urged lawmakers on every level to take action following the latest mass shooting -- this one at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg on Thursday.
Obama's speech was roughly 13 minutes long. Here's the full transcript:
There's been another mass shooting in America. This time in a community college in Oregon.
That means there are more American families, moms, dads, children, whose lives have been changed forever. That means there's another community stunned with grief, and communities across the country forced to relieve their own anguish and parents across the country who are scared because they know it might have been their families, or their children.
I've been to Roseburg, Oregon. There are really good people there.
I want to thank all the first responders whose bravery likely saved some lives today.
Federal law enforcement has been on the scene in a supporting role, and we've offered to stay and help as much as Roseburg needs for as long as they need.
In the coming days we'll learn about the victims. Young men and women who were studying and learning and working hard with their eyes set on the future, their dreams on what they could make of their lives. And America will wrap everyone who is grieving with our prayers and our love.
But as I said just a few months ago, and I said a few months before that, and I said each time we see one of these mass shootings, our thoughts and prayers are not enough. It's not enough.
It does not capture the heartache and grief and anger that we should feel, and it does nothing to prevent this carnage from being inflicted someplace else in America. Next week, or a couple of months from now.
We don't yet know why this individual did what he did. And it's fair to say that anybody who does this has a sickness in their minds. Regardless of what they think their motivations may be. But we are not the only country on earth that has people with mental illnesses who want to do harm to other people.
We are the only advanced country on earth that sees these kinds of mass shootings every few months.
You know earlier this year, I answered a question in an interview by saying, "The United States of America is the only advanced nation on earth in which we do not have sufficient common sense gun safety laws even in the face of repeated mass killings." And later that day, there was a mass shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana.
That day.
Somehow this has become routine. The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine. The conversation in the aftermath of it. We've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine, and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charleston.
It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun.
And what's become routine, of course, is the response of those who oppose any kind of common sense gun legislation.
Right now, I can imagine the press release is being cranked out. "We need more guns," they'll argue. "Fewer gun safety laws."
Does anybody really believe that? There are scores of responsible gun owners in this country, they know that's not true.
We know because of the polling that says the majority of Americans understand we should be changing these laws, including the majority of responsible, law abiding gun owners.
There is a gun for roughly every man woman and child in America. So how can you with a straight face make the argument that more guns will make us safer?
We know that states with the most gun laws tend to have the fewest gun deaths.
So the notion that gun laws don't work, or just will make it harder for law-abiding citizens and criminals will still get their guns, is not borne out by the evidence.
We know that other countries, in response to one mass shooting, have been able to craft laws that almost eliminate mass shootings. Friends of ours, allies of ours. Great Britain. Australia. Countries like ours.
So we know there are ways to prevent it. And of course what's also routine is that somebody somewhere will comment and say, "Obama politicized this issue." Well, this is something we should politicize. It is relevant to our common life together. To the body politic.
I would ask news organizations, because I won't put these facts forward — have news organizations tally up the number of Americans who've been killed through terrorist attacks in the last decade, and the number of Americans who've been killed by gun violence, and post those side by side on your news reports.
This won't be information coming from me, it will be coming from you.
We spent over a $1 trillion and passed countless laws and devote entire agencies to preventing terrorist attacks on our soil, and rightfully so. And yet, we have a Congress that explicitly blocks us from even collecting data on how we could potentially reduce gun deaths. How can that be?
This is a political choice that we make, to allow this to happen every few months in America. We, collectively, are answerable to those families who lose their loved ones because of our inaction.
When Americans are killed in mine disasters, we worked to make mines safer. When Americans are killed in floods and hurricanes we make communities safer. When roads are unsafe, we fix them, to reduce auto fatalities. We have seat belt laws because we know it saves lives
So the notion that gun violence is somehow difference, that our freedom and our constitution prohibits any modest regulation of how we use a deadly weapon, when there are law abiding gun owners all across the country who could hunt and protect their families and everything do everything that they do under such regulations, doesn't make sense.
So tonight as those of us who are lucky enough to hug our kids a little closer are thinking about the families who aren't so fortunate, I'd ask the American people to think about how they can get our government to change these laws, and to save lives, and to let young people grow up. And that will require a change of politics on this issue.
And it will require that the American people, individually, whether you are a Democrat, or a Republican, and an Independent, when you decide to vote for somebody, are making a determination as to whether this cause of continuing death for innocent people should be a relevant factor in your decision.
If you think this is a problem then you should expect your elected officials to reflect your views. And I would particularly ask America's gun owners who are using those guns -- properly, safely, to hunt, for sport, for protecting their families — to think about whether your views are being properly represented by the organization that suggests its speaking for you.
And each time this happens I'm going to bring this up. Each time this happens I'm going to say we can actually do something about it, but we're going to have to change our laws. And this is not something I can do by myself. I've got to have a Congress, and I've got to have state legislatures, and governors, who are willing to work with me on this.
I hope and pray that I don't have to come out, again, during my tenure as president to offer my condolences to families in these circumstances. But based on my experience as president, I can't guarantee that, and that is terrible to say.
And it can change.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
POLITICIANS MAKE DRUG DEALS
The Mexican and Columbian Cartels are small time drug dealers compared to Big Pharma which is where the big bucks are made.
Large pharmaceutical firms are some of the most profitable companies in the world, so what do they spend all their money on, besides advertising and hefty salaries forrich kid CEOs? Sure, some profits are reinvested to fund research and clinical trials, but hundreds of millions of dollars are also spent on political operations every year, and federal law requires that drug companies disclose this political spending to the public.
The government has long singled out the pharmaceutical industry for premium patent protections while leaving drug pricing up to the whims of the market, and consumers in the United States now pay some of the highest prices in the world for many life-saving drugs. Recent reports show that critical cancer medicines, for example, cost as much as 600 times more in the United States than other countries. The industry has a clear interest in maintaining the political status quo.
Big Pharma Spends Millions on Political Contributions
Pharmaceutical and health product companies injected $51 million into the 2012 federal elections and nearly $32 million into the 2014 elections, according to theCenter for Responsive Politics (CRP). The industry has already spent nearly $10 million on the 2016 elections and is expected to spend more, especially now that Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have made drug prices a campaign issue with separate proposals to rein them in with new regulations.
Big Pharma tends to spend more on Republicans than Democrats, and the GOP benefited from 58 percent of the industry's federal contributions in 2012 and 2014 while Democrats received 42 percent, according to the CRP.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's a group of 18 House Democrats, not Republicans, who are demanding that the CEO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Michael Pearson, join Shkreli in front of the House Oversight Committee during the first week of October to answer questions about recent price hikes on two drugs produced by his company.
For every $1 the industry spent on contributions during the last election cycle, $7 were spent on lobbying in 2014.
By the time this article was published, the committee's chair, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), had not responded to a letter from the Democrats requesting that Valeant be subpoenaed to provide Congress with documents related to the drastic price hikes. The pharmaceutical industry has contributed $198,000 to Chaffetz's campaign war chest during the course of his career, more than any other special interest group, although none of the contributions came directly from Valeant, which has focused its political resources on lobbying instead of direct contributions.
Industry giant Pfizer was the top spender among drug companies during the 2014 elections with $1.5 million in federal campaign contributions, followed closely by Amgen with $1.3 million and McKesson Corp with $1.1 million. All three companies spent more on Republicans than Democrats that year.
One million dollars plus is a lot of money, but it pales in comparison to the annual salaries of the CEOs at some of these companies. Pfizer CEO Ian Read, for example, raked in more than $23 million in 2014, and Amgen CEO Robert Bradway made a cool $14 million, according to the industry publication FiercePharma.
It turns out that the pharmaceutical industry did not become one for the most powerful interests on Capitol Hill with campaign contributions alone. For every $1 the industry spent on contributions during the last election cycle, $7 were spent on lobbying in 2014.
The pharmaceutical industry's lobbying expenditures steadily increased from 1998 to 2009, when spending hit a $273 million peak as Congress debated the Affordable Care Act, according to CRP. In 2014, drug companies and their lobbying groups spent $229 million influencing lawmakers, legislation and politicians.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the industry's lead lobbying group, has spent nearly $150 million on lobbying since 2008, and ranks sixth among the nation's top lobbying spenders, outspending powerful interests like defense contractors and the oil and gas industry, according to records retrieved from the MapLight lobbying database. The group has spent more than $10 million on lobbying so far this year. In contrast, PhRMA made $491,000 in political contributions during the 2014 election cycle.
Pfizer ranks among the top 25 lobbying spenders in the nation, with $94 million spent since 2008 and $8.5 million spent in 2014 alone.
Political contributions, which are typically made by individuals and political action committees within a corporation, can curry favors from candidates in the future, but lobbying allows Big Pharma to take advantage of Washington's revolving door and directly influence legislation.
Large pharmaceutical firms are some of the most profitable companies in the world, so what do they spend all their money on, besides advertising and hefty salaries forrich kid CEOs? Sure, some profits are reinvested to fund research and clinical trials, but hundreds of millions of dollars are also spent on political operations every year, and federal law requires that drug companies disclose this political spending to the public.
The government has long singled out the pharmaceutical industry for premium patent protections while leaving drug pricing up to the whims of the market, and consumers in the United States now pay some of the highest prices in the world for many life-saving drugs. Recent reports show that critical cancer medicines, for example, cost as much as 600 times more in the United States than other countries. The industry has a clear interest in maintaining the political status quo.
Big Pharma Spends Millions on Political Contributions
Pharmaceutical and health product companies injected $51 million into the 2012 federal elections and nearly $32 million into the 2014 elections, according to theCenter for Responsive Politics (CRP). The industry has already spent nearly $10 million on the 2016 elections and is expected to spend more, especially now that Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have made drug prices a campaign issue with separate proposals to rein them in with new regulations.
Big Pharma tends to spend more on Republicans than Democrats, and the GOP benefited from 58 percent of the industry's federal contributions in 2012 and 2014 while Democrats received 42 percent, according to the CRP.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's a group of 18 House Democrats, not Republicans, who are demanding that the CEO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Michael Pearson, join Shkreli in front of the House Oversight Committee during the first week of October to answer questions about recent price hikes on two drugs produced by his company.
For every $1 the industry spent on contributions during the last election cycle, $7 were spent on lobbying in 2014.
By the time this article was published, the committee's chair, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), had not responded to a letter from the Democrats requesting that Valeant be subpoenaed to provide Congress with documents related to the drastic price hikes. The pharmaceutical industry has contributed $198,000 to Chaffetz's campaign war chest during the course of his career, more than any other special interest group, although none of the contributions came directly from Valeant, which has focused its political resources on lobbying instead of direct contributions.
Industry giant Pfizer was the top spender among drug companies during the 2014 elections with $1.5 million in federal campaign contributions, followed closely by Amgen with $1.3 million and McKesson Corp with $1.1 million. All three companies spent more on Republicans than Democrats that year.
One million dollars plus is a lot of money, but it pales in comparison to the annual salaries of the CEOs at some of these companies. Pfizer CEO Ian Read, for example, raked in more than $23 million in 2014, and Amgen CEO Robert Bradway made a cool $14 million, according to the industry publication FiercePharma.
It turns out that the pharmaceutical industry did not become one for the most powerful interests on Capitol Hill with campaign contributions alone. For every $1 the industry spent on contributions during the last election cycle, $7 were spent on lobbying in 2014.
The pharmaceutical industry's lobbying expenditures steadily increased from 1998 to 2009, when spending hit a $273 million peak as Congress debated the Affordable Care Act, according to CRP. In 2014, drug companies and their lobbying groups spent $229 million influencing lawmakers, legislation and politicians.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the industry's lead lobbying group, has spent nearly $150 million on lobbying since 2008, and ranks sixth among the nation's top lobbying spenders, outspending powerful interests like defense contractors and the oil and gas industry, according to records retrieved from the MapLight lobbying database. The group has spent more than $10 million on lobbying so far this year. In contrast, PhRMA made $491,000 in political contributions during the 2014 election cycle.
Pfizer ranks among the top 25 lobbying spenders in the nation, with $94 million spent since 2008 and $8.5 million spent in 2014 alone.
Political contributions, which are typically made by individuals and political action committees within a corporation, can curry favors from candidates in the future, but lobbying allows Big Pharma to take advantage of Washington's revolving door and directly influence legislation.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
WHO'S HOARDING OUR GLOBAL WEALTH?
The world's collective wealth is
around $241 Trillion and, if evenly distributed, everyone on the planet
would hold around $51,600 (in gold it would be about the size of a golf
ball).
is, let’s bring out some of the world’s richest billionaires.3
Another year, another set of records broken by the planet’s wealthiest. Despite some global economic turmoil — plummeting oil prices, weakened Euros, ruinous rubles — it was still a pretty good year for billionaires overall.
Exactly how much are the world’s billionaires worth? $7.05 trillion, according to FORBES’ latest ranking — besting last year’s record-breaking $6.4 trillion sum by a hefty $650 billion. The jump is driven in part by 290 newcomers, our biggest freshman class, which helps push the total number of billionaires in the world to 1,826, the highest number we’ve ever recorded.
While anyone with enough loot to make our count is well within the top 1% worldwide, income inequality is present even among this group: the richest 500 individuals collectively hold $4.7 trillion of that $7.05 trillion total. That translates to just over a quarter of billionaires accounting for two thirds of the wealth on our list.
Monday, September 28, 2015
DAVID CAMERON SEXUALLY ABUSES PIG
Let's see David try it with a live pig.
A soon-to-be-published biography claims British Prime Minister David Cameron placed a “private part of his anatomy” into the mouth of a dead pig as part of an initiation ritual when he was a student at Oxford.
The sordid allegation was made in the unauthorized biography “Call Me Dave,” co-written by Parliament member Michael Ashcroft and journalist Isabel Oakeshott, excerpted by London’s Daily Mail.
The book claims the pig’s head was resting in the lap of a Piers Gaveston society member when Cameron placed his own member into its maw during a party.
Cameron got blazed at recurring pot parties and entertained a slew of beautiful women in his dorm room, the book claims.
While no precise information is available as to the origin of the pig’s head, the book mentions that a contemporary of Cameron’s often threw dinner parties featuring pig heads.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
BOEHNER; BEWARE OF REPUBLICAN FALSE PROPHETS
Boehner obviously saw the light that Pope Francis was shining on the power hungry, money worshipers and, to his credit, is speaking out against them.
Outgoing Speaker of the House John Boehner on Sunday didn’t deny that he was referring to Senator Ted Cruz when he warned of false prophets “out there spreading noise about how much [the government] can get done,” even pointing to comments he made at a fundraiser where he called the Senator a “jackass.”
When questioned if Ted Cruz was a false prophet in an interview Sunday on “Face the Nation,” Boehner didn’t deny the suggestion, citing past comments he made at a fundraiser in August. (RELATED: John Boehner Calls Ted Cruz A ‘Jackass’ At Fundraiser)
“Are they unrealistic about what can be done in government?” CBS News host John Dickerson asked Boehner.
“Absolutely they’re unrealistic!” Boehner bellowed in response. “But, you know, the Bible says beware of false prophets. There are people out there, you know, spreading noise about how much can get done.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2015/09/27/boehner-warns-of-false-prophet-refers-to-jackass-ted-cruz/#ixzz3mzSoNlbD
Outgoing Speaker of the House John Boehner on Sunday didn’t deny that he was referring to Senator Ted Cruz when he warned of false prophets “out there spreading noise about how much [the government] can get done,” even pointing to comments he made at a fundraiser where he called the Senator a “jackass.”
When questioned if Ted Cruz was a false prophet in an interview Sunday on “Face the Nation,” Boehner didn’t deny the suggestion, citing past comments he made at a fundraiser in August. (RELATED: John Boehner Calls Ted Cruz A ‘Jackass’ At Fundraiser)
“Are they unrealistic about what can be done in government?” CBS News host John Dickerson asked Boehner.
“Absolutely they’re unrealistic!” Boehner bellowed in response. “But, you know, the Bible says beware of false prophets. There are people out there, you know, spreading noise about how much can get done.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2015/09/27/boehner-warns-of-false-prophet-refers-to-jackass-ted-cruz/#ixzz3mzSoNlbD
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
ANOTHER ARGUMENT FOR BIG GOVERNMENT AND REGULATIONS
And, in this case "CAPS" on profits for medications (rx) so that
predators can't take undue advantage of the sick and most vulnerable who
are desperately trying to prolong their lives. If profits are capped
then the gouging will either stop or the excess can be taxed 100% and go
back into the healthcare system.
Martin
Shkreli, the controversial pharmaceutical CEO and former hedge fund
manager, announced that he would reduce the price of the drug Daraprim
to “a point that is more affordable.”
Shkreli has been the subject of unrelenting criticism since he
implemented a 5000% increase in the price of the drug — from $13.50 per
pill to $750 — which is used to treat severe infections in AIDS patients
and infants.
Shkreli, who talked to ABC News, declined to name the new price for the medicine, which has been on the market for 60 years. ABC described Shkreli as “the most hated man in America.”
Shkreli, who talked to ABC News, declined to name the new price for the medicine, which has been on the market for 60 years. ABC described Shkreli as “the most hated man in America.”
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
AN ARGUMENT FOR BIG GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS
Those that advocate that "big government" is bad need to look at what happens when government is weak and regulations flimsy.
Volkswagen is being engulfed by a growing crisis over its attempt to make millions of diesel cars appear cleaner than they are.
The scandal broke Friday, when U.S. regulators said the German company had programmed some 500,000 vehicles to emit lower levels of harmful emissions in official tests than on the roads.
Volkswagen stunned investors Tuesday by admitting that the problem was much bigger than that: internal investigations had found significant discrepancies in 11 million vehicles worldwide.
"Millions of people all over the world trust our brands, our cars and our technology. I am deeply sorry we have broken this trust," said CEO Martin Winterkorn. "I would like to make a formal apology to our customers, to the authorities, and to the general public for this misconduct."
The company set aside 6.5 billion euros ($7.3 billion) to cover the cost of recalls and other efforts to limit the damage, trashing its profit forecast for the year in the process.
Shares in Volkswagen (VLKAY) plunged 17% Tuesday, after suffering a similar crash Monday. About a third of the value of the group has been wiped out in two days, causing big losses for major shareholders such as Qatar.
A global problem
"Now it looks like it's becoming a very global issue. It really will be bad for the reputation of the company for a couple of years, it will take time to rebuild the trust of the customers," said Klaus Breitenbach, automotive analyst at Baader Bank. "It's really worrying for the company and also for the whole industry."
It's hard to overstate the significance of the crisis in Germany, where making quality cars is central to the country's reputation as a manufacturing and export powerhouse. The auto industry accounts for about 20% of exports, and employs 775,000 people directly.
Volkswagen, which also owns the Audi and Porsche brands, overtook Toyota (TM) earlier this year to become the world's biggest automaker by vehicle sales.
Volkswagen is being engulfed by a growing crisis over its attempt to make millions of diesel cars appear cleaner than they are.
The scandal broke Friday, when U.S. regulators said the German company had programmed some 500,000 vehicles to emit lower levels of harmful emissions in official tests than on the roads.
Volkswagen stunned investors Tuesday by admitting that the problem was much bigger than that: internal investigations had found significant discrepancies in 11 million vehicles worldwide.
"Millions of people all over the world trust our brands, our cars and our technology. I am deeply sorry we have broken this trust," said CEO Martin Winterkorn. "I would like to make a formal apology to our customers, to the authorities, and to the general public for this misconduct."
The company set aside 6.5 billion euros ($7.3 billion) to cover the cost of recalls and other efforts to limit the damage, trashing its profit forecast for the year in the process.
Shares in Volkswagen (VLKAY) plunged 17% Tuesday, after suffering a similar crash Monday. About a third of the value of the group has been wiped out in two days, causing big losses for major shareholders such as Qatar.
A global problem
"Now it looks like it's becoming a very global issue. It really will be bad for the reputation of the company for a couple of years, it will take time to rebuild the trust of the customers," said Klaus Breitenbach, automotive analyst at Baader Bank. "It's really worrying for the company and also for the whole industry."
It's hard to overstate the significance of the crisis in Germany, where making quality cars is central to the country's reputation as a manufacturing and export powerhouse. The auto industry accounts for about 20% of exports, and employs 775,000 people directly.
Volkswagen, which also owns the Audi and Porsche brands, overtook Toyota (TM) earlier this year to become the world's biggest automaker by vehicle sales.
Friday, September 18, 2015
AMERICA'S FAVORITE SPORT; SCRAMBLED BRAINS
AMERICA'S FAVORITE SPORT; SCRAMBLED BRAINS
A total of 87 out of 91 former NFL players have tested positive for
the brain disease at the center of the debate over concussions in
football, according to new figures from the nation’s largest brain bank
focused on the study of traumatic head injury.
Researchers with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University have now identified the degenerative disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in
96 percent of NFL players that they’ve examined and in 79 percent of
all football players. The disease is widely believed to stem from
repetitive trauma to the head, and can lead to conditions such as memory
loss, depression and dementia.
In total, the lab has found CTE in the brain tissue in 131 out of 165
individuals who, before their deaths, played football either
professionally, semi-professionally, in college or in high school.
Forty percent of those who tested positive were the offensive and
defensive linemen who come into contact with one another on every play
of a game, according to numbers shared by the brain bank with FRONTLINE.
That finding supports past research suggesting that it’s the repeat,
more minor head trauma that occurs regularly in football that may pose
the greatest risk to players, as opposed to just the sometimes violent
collisions that cause concussions.
But the figures come with several important caveats, as testing for
the disease can be an imperfect process. Brain scans have been used to
identify signs of CTE in living players,
but the disease can only be definitively identified posthumously. As
such, many of the players who have donated their brains for testing
suspected that they had the disease while still alive, leaving
researchers with a skewed population to work with.
Even with those caveats, the latest numbers are “remarkably consistent” with past research from the center suggesting a link between football and long-term brain disease, said Dr. Ann McKee, the facility’s director and chief of neuropathology at the VA Boston Healthcare System.
“People think that we’re blowing this out of proportion, that this is
a very rare disease and that we’re sensationalizing it,” said McKee,
who runs the lab as part of a collaboration between the VA and BU. “My
response is that where I sit, this is a very real disease. We have had
no problem identifying it in hundreds of players.”
In a statement, a spokesman for the NFL said, “We are dedicated to
making football safer and continue to take steps to protect players,
including rule changes, advanced sideline technology, and expanded
medical resources. We continue to make significant investments in
independent research through our gifts to Boston University, the
[National Institutes of Health] and other efforts to accelerate the
science and understanding of these issues.”
The latest update from the brain bank, which in 2010 received a $1
million research grant from the NFL, comes at a time when the league is
able to boast measurable progress in reducing head injuries. In its 2015 Health & Safety Report,
the NFL said that concussions in regular season games fell 35 percent
over the past two seasons, from 173 in 2012 to 112 last season. A separate analysis by FRONTLINE that factors in concussions reported by teams during the preseason and the playoffs shows a smaller decrease of 28 percent.
Off the field, the league has revised safety rules to minimize
head-to-head hits, and invested millions into research. In April, it
also won final approval for a potential $1 billion settlement with roughly 5,000 former players who have sued it over past head injuries.
Still, at the start of a new season of play, the NFL once again finds
itself grappling to turn the page on the central argument in the
class-action lawsuit: that for years it sought to conceal a link between
football and long-term brain disease.
The latest challenge to that effort came two weeks ago with the trailer
for a forthcoming Hollywood film about the neuropathologist who first
discovered CTE. When the trailer was released, it quickly went viral, leaving the NFL bracing for a new round of scrutiny over past efforts to deny any such connection.
The film, Concussion, starring Will Smith, traces the story of Bennet Omalu, who in 2005 shocked the football establishment with an article in the journal Neurosurgery detailing his discovery of CTE in the brain of former Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster. At the VA lab and elsewhere, CTE has since been found in players such as Hall of Famer Junior Seau, former NFL Man of the Year Dave Duerson, and Indianapolis Colts tight end John Mackey, a past head of the player’s union.
While the story is not a new one, for the NFL, it represents a
high-profile and potentially embarrassing cinematic interpretation of a
period in which the league sought to refute research suggesting football
may contribute to brain disease.
From 2003 to 2009, for example, the NFL’s now disbanded Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee concluded in a series of scientific papers
that “no NFL player” had experienced chronic brain damage from repeat
concussions, and that “Professional football players do not sustain
frequent repetitive blows to the brain on a regular basis.”
In the case of Omalu, league doctors publicly assailed his research,
and in a rare move, demanded a retraction of his study. When Omalu spoke
to FRONTLINE about the incident for the 2013 documentary, League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis, he said, “You can’t go against the NFL. They’ll squash you.”
In a conversation with FRONTLINE, McKee said that her biggest
challenge remains “convincing people this is an actual disease.”
Whatever pockets of resistance still exist, she said, have primarily
come from those with a “vested interest” in football.
Monday, August 31, 2015
UNLOADING ON COPS
It should come as no surprise that an angry black man with a gun would empty his gun into a white policeman.
Given the long history of police shootings in which suspects were not just shot, but literally mowed down in a hail of bullets, it's obvious that someone seeking retribution might act in the same way.
Maybe it's time to rethink the way suspects are apprehended by police rather than vilifying an obviously mentally damaged lone wolf.
Ambushed Texas Sheriff’s Deputy Was Shot 15 TIMES In Gas Station Execution
Authorities in Harris County, Texas say 30-year-old Shannon Miles ambushed sheriff’s deputy Darren Goforth and shot him 15 times at a Houston-area gas station Friday.
Miles was arraigned Monday and is being held without bond on capital murder charges.
“They found Deputy Darren Goforth face down in a pool of his own blood,” Harris County district attorney Devon Anderson told a judge during Monday’s court proceedings, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Miles allegedly approached 47-year-old Goforth from behind and shot him in the back of the head. Miles continued shooting the 10-year veteran, who was in full uniform and still on duty, even after he fell to the ground.
The 15 shell casings found at the scene matched a .40-caliber handgun found at Miles home, according to Anderson.
“He unloaded the entire weapon into Deputy Goforth,” she said in court.
Given the long history of police shootings in which suspects were not just shot, but literally mowed down in a hail of bullets, it's obvious that someone seeking retribution might act in the same way.
Maybe it's time to rethink the way suspects are apprehended by police rather than vilifying an obviously mentally damaged lone wolf.
Ambushed Texas Sheriff’s Deputy Was Shot 15 TIMES In Gas Station Execution
Authorities in Harris County, Texas say 30-year-old Shannon Miles ambushed sheriff’s deputy Darren Goforth and shot him 15 times at a Houston-area gas station Friday.
Miles was arraigned Monday and is being held without bond on capital murder charges.
“They found Deputy Darren Goforth face down in a pool of his own blood,” Harris County district attorney Devon Anderson told a judge during Monday’s court proceedings, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Miles allegedly approached 47-year-old Goforth from behind and shot him in the back of the head. Miles continued shooting the 10-year veteran, who was in full uniform and still on duty, even after he fell to the ground.
The 15 shell casings found at the scene matched a .40-caliber handgun found at Miles home, according to Anderson.
“He unloaded the entire weapon into Deputy Goforth,” she said in court.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
TRUMP TRAMPLES MEDIA POLITICS
What happened to objective journalism? Reporting the news rather
than making it? The claim that journalists have the right to ask
obviously personal and biased questions promoting political agendas is
preposterous. First Kelly, now Jorge' come into Trump's cross hairs and
suffer the consequences.
At an Iowa event on Tuesday, Donald Trump threw Univision anchor Jorge Ramos out after the journalist pressed the Republican presidential frontrunner on immigration.
"Excuse me, sit down. You weren't called, sit down. Sit down. Sit down," Trump said. He then proceeded to call on another journalist who raised his hand.
Ramos continued his questioning and said, "I have the right to ask a question." Trump replied, "No you don't. You haven't been called. Go back to Univision."
The Univision anchor then said to the GOP candidate, "You cannot deport 11 million people."
At an Iowa event on Tuesday, Donald Trump threw Univision anchor Jorge Ramos out after the journalist pressed the Republican presidential frontrunner on immigration.
"Excuse me, sit down. You weren't called, sit down. Sit down. Sit down," Trump said. He then proceeded to call on another journalist who raised his hand.
Ramos continued his questioning and said, "I have the right to ask a question." Trump replied, "No you don't. You haven't been called. Go back to Univision."
The Univision anchor then said to the GOP candidate, "You cannot deport 11 million people."
Friday, August 21, 2015
ASHLEY MADISON CHEATS
Just when you think that people are not as dumb as you think they are another example of how wrong you are pops up.
Paying to find someone to cheat with? Really? Especially on a site where 90 to 95% of the membership is male and looking for the same thing you are. D_U_M_B_!
Back on July 15, tech blogger Brian Krebs revealed that a hacking collective calling itself Impact Team had “completely compromised” adultery websiteAshleyMadison.com’s user databases, financial records, and more. According to Impact Team, one of the reasons they targeted Ashley Madison is because of its “full delete” feature—where, for the price of $20, the site said it would completely wipe all of the user’s data. The hackers claimed that this function, which allegedly netted Ashley Madison’s parent company ALM $1.7 million in revenue in 2014, was “a complete lie,” and that user data remained on their database.
Well, it looks like the hackers have been proven correct. On Tuesday evening, Impact Team released all of the hacked Ashley Madison data online, along with a message:
“Avid Life Media has failed to take down Ashley Madison and Established Men. We have explained the fraud, deceit, and stupidity of ALM and their members. Now everyone gets to see their data. Find someone you know in here? Keep in mind the site is a scam with thousands of fake female profiles. See ashley madison fake profile lawsuit; 90-95% of actual users are male. Chances are your man signed up on the world's biggest affair site, but never had one.
Stolen data from the Ashley Madison infidelity dating site includes approximately 10,000 email addresses belonging to government officials or workers with .gov addresses. The Daily Beast reviewed the files and found accounts linked to the email addresses of members of the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), as well as numerous officials from the Australian and British governments. The Daily Beast, however, cannot verify the authenticity of all the accounts yet.
The data dump included 36 million email addresses for 33 million accounts, along with user names, first and last names, the last four digits of credit cards, personal IP addresses, street addresses, and phone numbers for a large number of them. In total, the hackers released 10GB of compressed data—a staggeringly large amount.
Paying to find someone to cheat with? Really? Especially on a site where 90 to 95% of the membership is male and looking for the same thing you are. D_U_M_B_!
Back on July 15, tech blogger Brian Krebs revealed that a hacking collective calling itself Impact Team had “completely compromised” adultery websiteAshleyMadison.com’s user databases, financial records, and more. According to Impact Team, one of the reasons they targeted Ashley Madison is because of its “full delete” feature—where, for the price of $20, the site said it would completely wipe all of the user’s data. The hackers claimed that this function, which allegedly netted Ashley Madison’s parent company ALM $1.7 million in revenue in 2014, was “a complete lie,” and that user data remained on their database.
Well, it looks like the hackers have been proven correct. On Tuesday evening, Impact Team released all of the hacked Ashley Madison data online, along with a message:
“Avid Life Media has failed to take down Ashley Madison and Established Men. We have explained the fraud, deceit, and stupidity of ALM and their members. Now everyone gets to see their data. Find someone you know in here? Keep in mind the site is a scam with thousands of fake female profiles. See ashley madison fake profile lawsuit; 90-95% of actual users are male. Chances are your man signed up on the world's biggest affair site, but never had one.
Stolen data from the Ashley Madison infidelity dating site includes approximately 10,000 email addresses belonging to government officials or workers with .gov addresses. The Daily Beast reviewed the files and found accounts linked to the email addresses of members of the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), as well as numerous officials from the Australian and British governments. The Daily Beast, however, cannot verify the authenticity of all the accounts yet.
The data dump included 36 million email addresses for 33 million accounts, along with user names, first and last names, the last four digits of credit cards, personal IP addresses, street addresses, and phone numbers for a large number of them. In total, the hackers released 10GB of compressed data—a staggeringly large amount.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
THOSE LEFT BEHIND
If this were the "end of days" and the Rapture had begun, it looks like Donald Trump, and Bernie Sanders were chosen while the rest of the political herd will be among the "fallen" and those left behind,and it's got the Establishment in a tizzy.
Donald Trump is on top in Iowa, Ben Carson is hot on his heels, and Bernie Sanders has flown past Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire.
That’s the snapshot polls captured this week. It’s a far cry from the Bush-Clinton horse race that many had predicted going into the 2016 campaign season — and it belies conventional wisdom that predicted Trump’s demise after he attacked Fox News host Megyn Kelly after last week’s GOP presidential debate. The results have skeptics asking: Are these numbers the real deal? Story Continued - Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/are-the-polls-skewed-121346.html#ixzz3ikPcLJBi
Donald Trump is on top in Iowa, Ben Carson is hot on his heels, and Bernie Sanders has flown past Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire.
That’s the snapshot polls captured this week. It’s a far cry from the Bush-Clinton horse race that many had predicted going into the 2016 campaign season — and it belies conventional wisdom that predicted Trump’s demise after he attacked Fox News host Megyn Kelly after last week’s GOP presidential debate. The results have skeptics asking: Are these numbers the real deal? Story Continued - Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/are-the-polls-skewed-121346.html#ixzz3ikPcLJBi
Sunday, August 9, 2015
BERNIE'S HIT LIST
Using the Sara Palin "cross hairs" approach Bernie Sanders is taking aim at the super wealthy tax dodgers that continue to live high on the hog at the tax-payers expense.
This is welfare at it's worst and continues to drain this nations resources at the expense of the middle and lower classes who continue to carry the weight of the seemingly untouchable upper class.
Bernie's hit list consists of some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in America; primarily old white males who buy politicians who then write the laws that allow them to exploit the system and eat the hand that feeds them; the American taxpayer. This is only the tip of the iceberg. There are thousands more like these welfare kings who hide in the shadows and spend inordinate amount of money to stay below the radar and out of Bernie's cross hairs.
Remaining true to his promise to serve the people as a politician, Sanders responded to the lecture from the American CEO’s by releasing a report detailing how 18 of them have helped blow up the deficit and wreck the economy outsourcing jobs and evading US taxes.
The list of 18 CEO’s follows:
1) Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $1.9 billion tax refund.
Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department? Over $1.3 trillion.
Amount of federal income taxes Bank of America would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $2.6 billion.
2) Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2008? Zero. $278 million tax refund.
Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department? $824 billion.
Amount of federal income taxes Goldman Sachs would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $2.7 billion
3) JP Morgan Chase CEO James Dimon
Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department? $416 billion.
Amount of federal income taxes JP Morgan Chase would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $4.9 billion.
4) General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $3.3 billion tax refund.
Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve? $16 billion.
Jobs Shipped Overseas? At least 25,000 since 2001.
5) Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $705 million tax refund.
American Jobs Cut in 2010? In 2010, Verizon announced 13,000 job cuts, the third highest corporate layoff total that year.
6) Boeing CEO James McNerney, Jr.
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? None. $124 million tax refund.
American Jobs Shipped overseas? Over 57,000.
Amount of Corporate Welfare? At least $58 billion.
7) Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
Amount of federal income taxes Microsoft would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $19.4 billion.
8) Honeywell International CEO David Cote
Amount of federal income taxes paid from 2008-2010? Zero. $34 million tax refund.
9) Corning CEO Wendell Weeks
Amount of federal income taxes paid from 2008-2010? Zero. $4 million tax refund.
10) Time Warner CEO Glenn Britt
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2008? Zero. $74 million tax refund.
11). Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2009? Zero. $55 million tax refund.
12) Deere & Company CEO Samuel Allen
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2009? Zero. $1 million tax refund.
13) Marsh & McLennan Companies CEO Brian Duperreault
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $90 million refund.
14) Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs
Amount of federal income taxes Qualcomm would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $4.7 billion.
15) Tenneco CEO Gregg Sherill
Amount of federal income taxes Tenneco would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $269 million.
16) Express Scripts CEO George Paz
Amount of federal income taxes Express Scripts would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $20 million.
17) Caesars Entertainment CEO Gary Loveman
Amount of federal income taxes Caesars Entertainment would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $9 million.
18). R.R. Donnelly & Sons CEO Thomas Quinlan III
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2008? Zero. $49 million tax refund.
As PoliticusUSA discloses, eighteen of the 80 CEOs who signed the call for deficit action are actually some of the biggest outsourcers and tax cheats in America. Not only did they crash the economy in 2008, they followed that incident by taking billions in taxpayer bailout dollars.
Then, they outsourced jobs and evaded taxes. It’s pretty unbelievable, then, that they are now calling for action on a deficit that they helped create over the past four years.
Thankfully, Senator Sanders is not standing for the corruption and has done a great deed by bringing the disgraceful actions of these CEOs to attention.
This is welfare at it's worst and continues to drain this nations resources at the expense of the middle and lower classes who continue to carry the weight of the seemingly untouchable upper class.
Bernie's hit list consists of some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in America; primarily old white males who buy politicians who then write the laws that allow them to exploit the system and eat the hand that feeds them; the American taxpayer. This is only the tip of the iceberg. There are thousands more like these welfare kings who hide in the shadows and spend inordinate amount of money to stay below the radar and out of Bernie's cross hairs.
Remaining true to his promise to serve the people as a politician, Sanders responded to the lecture from the American CEO’s by releasing a report detailing how 18 of them have helped blow up the deficit and wreck the economy outsourcing jobs and evading US taxes.
The list of 18 CEO’s follows:
1) Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $1.9 billion tax refund.
Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department? Over $1.3 trillion.
Amount of federal income taxes Bank of America would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $2.6 billion.
2) Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2008? Zero. $278 million tax refund.
Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department? $824 billion.
Amount of federal income taxes Goldman Sachs would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $2.7 billion
3) JP Morgan Chase CEO James Dimon
Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department? $416 billion.
Amount of federal income taxes JP Morgan Chase would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $4.9 billion.
4) General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $3.3 billion tax refund.
Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve? $16 billion.
Jobs Shipped Overseas? At least 25,000 since 2001.
5) Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $705 million tax refund.
American Jobs Cut in 2010? In 2010, Verizon announced 13,000 job cuts, the third highest corporate layoff total that year.
6) Boeing CEO James McNerney, Jr.
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? None. $124 million tax refund.
American Jobs Shipped overseas? Over 57,000.
Amount of Corporate Welfare? At least $58 billion.
7) Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
Amount of federal income taxes Microsoft would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $19.4 billion.
8) Honeywell International CEO David Cote
Amount of federal income taxes paid from 2008-2010? Zero. $34 million tax refund.
9) Corning CEO Wendell Weeks
Amount of federal income taxes paid from 2008-2010? Zero. $4 million tax refund.
10) Time Warner CEO Glenn Britt
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2008? Zero. $74 million tax refund.
11). Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2009? Zero. $55 million tax refund.
12) Deere & Company CEO Samuel Allen
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2009? Zero. $1 million tax refund.
13) Marsh & McLennan Companies CEO Brian Duperreault
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $90 million refund.
14) Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs
Amount of federal income taxes Qualcomm would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $4.7 billion.
15) Tenneco CEO Gregg Sherill
Amount of federal income taxes Tenneco would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $269 million.
16) Express Scripts CEO George Paz
Amount of federal income taxes Express Scripts would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $20 million.
17) Caesars Entertainment CEO Gary Loveman
Amount of federal income taxes Caesars Entertainment would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $9 million.
18). R.R. Donnelly & Sons CEO Thomas Quinlan III
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2008? Zero. $49 million tax refund.
As PoliticusUSA discloses, eighteen of the 80 CEOs who signed the call for deficit action are actually some of the biggest outsourcers and tax cheats in America. Not only did they crash the economy in 2008, they followed that incident by taking billions in taxpayer bailout dollars.
Then, they outsourced jobs and evaded taxes. It’s pretty unbelievable, then, that they are now calling for action on a deficit that they helped create over the past four years.
Thankfully, Senator Sanders is not standing for the corruption and has done a great deed by bringing the disgraceful actions of these CEOs to attention.
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