i tell you once more before i get off the floor

In the interest of encouraging writers here to do some "Quick Hits", here's my first of the day.

Eamon Javers of Politico, on MSNBC today, repeating the Right-wing Zombie lie that Roosevelt didn't end the depression, that job loss in '37 was as bad as in '30. The MSNBC talking bouffant, of course, agreed.

Idiots. Too stupid to live, too dumb to die.

Krugman explains:

Lose one sponsor, gain another

How can people be so heartless, How can people be so cruel?

Does this sound reasonable to you?

Israel Defends Gazan Deaths
Military says shelling that killed 3 daughters and niece of Palestinian doctor was `reasonable'

The Israeli military has defended the actions of its troops in an incident last month that resulted in the deaths of three daughters of a Palestinian doctor in Gaza.

A niece of Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish was also killed.

The tragedy unfolded on Israeli television Jan. 16 as the doctor was being interviewed via cellphone by an Israeli reporter. The 55-year-old physician related the deaths of the children moments after his house was bombed.

Abu al-Aish's story deeply touched the Israeli audience: even Prime Minister Ehud Olmert acknowledged crying as he heard the doctor speak.
[...]
The Israeli military said its personnel contacted the doctor by phone "several times" in the days before the incident, urging him to evacuate his home because of fighting in the area, as many of his neighbours had done. But Abu al-Aish insisted on remaining.
[...]
"I am telling you 100 per cent no," said Abu al-Aish. "There is no need for them to falsify."

He said the Israeli military action was unprovoked.

The Israeli military said its forces in the area on Jan. 16 came under mortar and sniper fire from Hamas gunmen located in a building "adjacent" to the one occupied by the Abu al-Aish family.

"During the counter-fire opened by the IDF forces, suspicious figures were identified in the upper level of (Abu al-Aish's) house and were thought to be spotters who directed the Hamas sniper and mortar fire," the Israeli military said.

The military said its field commander assessed the situation under the pressure of combat and gave the order to open fire on the suspicious figures. Shortly afterward, two tank shells slammed into a bedroom occupied by four of the physician's daughters and a niece.

It seems to me that Israeli troops deliberately targeted the bedroom of the doctors house, and I suspect their targeting optics could identify exactly who the 'suspicious figures' were. This was pure and simple retaliation on the doctor's family. Approved by Israel's government and carried out by their military.

If you think I'm engaging in paranoia or hyperbole, read the following:

Not guilty. The Israeli captain who emptied his rifle into a Palestinain schoolgirl

An Israeli army officer who fired the entire magazine of his automatic rifle into a 13-year-old Palestinian girl and then said he would have done the same even if she had been three years old was acquitted on all charges by a military court yesterday.

The soldier, who has only been identified as "Captain R", was charged with relatively minor offences for the killing of Iman al-Hams who was shot 17 times as she ventured near an Israeli army post near Rafah refugee camp in Gaza a year ago.
[...]
The military court cleared the soldier of illegal use of his weapon, conduct unbecoming an officer and perverting the course of justice by asking soldiers under his command to alter their accounts of the incident.
[...]
A recording of radio exchanges between Capt R and his troops obtained by Israeli television revealed that from the beginning soldiers identified Iman as a child.

In the recording, a soldier in a watchtower radioed a colleague in the army post's operations room and describes Iman as "a little girl" who was "scared to death". After soldiers first opened fire, she dropped her schoolbag which was then hit by several bullets establishing that it did not contain explosive. At that point she was no longer carrying the bag and, the tape revealed, was heading away from the army post when she was shot.
[...]
On the tape, Capt R then "clarifies" to the soldiers under his command why he killed Iman: "This is commander. Anything that's mobile, that moves in the [security] zone, even if it's a three-year-old, needs to be killed."
[...]
Capt R claimed that he had not fired the shots at the girl but near her. However, Dr Mohammed al-Hams, who inspected the child's body at Rafah hospital, counted numerous wounds. "She has at least 17 bullets in several parts of the body, all along the chest, hands, arms, legs," he told the Guardian shortly afterwards. "The bullets were large and shot from a close distance.

When I read this today it made me sick. I mean that literally, I scan the news on my lunch hour and after I read that I left the lab and walked around outside trying not to vomit. When I came back in, pale with frozen tears on my face, my boss asked me if I needed to go home for the day. She thought I had the flu until I showed her the article.



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

Joe And Sarahlent Knob Dislike Macs

I hate you and everything you do

(Slayer-I Hate You)

The press conference that should have been:

As part of the reforms we are announcing today, top executives at firms receiving extraordinary help from U.S. taxpayers will have their compensation capped at $500,000 - a fraction of the salaries that have been reported recently. And if these executives receive any additional compensation, it will come in the form of stock that can't be paid up until taxpayers are paid back for their assistance.

Now, I know one Wall St. Executive Compensation guru has stated that $500,000 is not a lot of money, particularly if there is no bonus. He said also that Wall St. and banks will have a hard time finding qualified executives if they only pay that much. To him I would respond: blow it out your ass.

These motherfuckers have been getting rich while wasting investors' money on worthless real estate loans and other complex financial instruments that not one of them is smart enough to understand. They should be driven down Wall St. like cattle on their knees, and whipped until their blood stains the pavement.

These guys are the best and brightest we have in this country? Man, have I got a bridge to sell you. Look, I'm tired of these guys whining that they can't live on $500,000 per year. Do you have any idea how many Walmart jobs that money could support? Do you know how much Social Security pays?

So to the investment tycoons who suddenly believe in socialism when it saves their asses, I say, fuck you very much. You guys screwed the pooch. You're now out of jobs. Using the Federal Asset Forfeiture laws, we have taken you bank accounts, your savings and stock holdings, and your homes, cars, and private jets. You are now broke, which is better than you deserve.

That's change you can believe in, assholes.

Thanks you, and God bless America.

Indeed.

How very Appealing

Justice William W. Bedsworth is my best friend, OK he's a pen pal, uh ... would you believe we've exchanged emails a couple of times!? Anyhoo, he's an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal. He writes a blawg called A Criminal Waste of Space. His latest offering contains:

Ms. Doe(4) closed the book on Chopin and Haydn one day and fired up the computer for a round of monster-battling, only to receive the disconcerting news that her virtual spouse had divorced her avatar. Divorced! Without warning!

No lipstick on the collar, no long unexplained business trips, no emotional withdrawal, no couples counseling, nothing! The sonofagun just said, “I divorce you,”(5) and moved on. Without explanation. Just left her there to fight the monsters alone.

She was, of course, distraught. Divorce is always difficult. And this one was greatly complicated by the whole monster thing.(6) Apparently unable to retain a virtual Gloria Allred, Ms. Doe released her own statement: “I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry.”(7)

But as commonplace as her public statement might have been, Ms. Doe’s revenge was a tour de force of imagination befitting someone with a background in monster eradication. Using login information she obtained when their characters were happily married – virtually – Ms. Doe logged in with her virtual husband’s password and caused his avatar to walk in front of a truck.

Yep. Flattened him. Dead before the virtual paramedics arrived.

Read the whole thing, the Beds Notes alone are worth the price of admission.

And speaking of The California Court of Appeal, (notice the lack of an 's' on Appeal, man that's a tough system!), Beds' colleague is the Presiding Justice David G. Sills who recently saw red, but couldn't see the cameras, or maybe it was en camera. Well, it might as well have been en camera because the city didn't bother to send an attorney:

California Appeals Court Rejects Attempt to Unpublish Red Light Camera Decision
Decision overturning California red light camera ticket remains final and could affect cities throughout the state.

[...]
The district attorney was properly served with all briefs and notices required during the course of the court's proceedings, but Fletcher insisted that the city attorney's office had sole jurisdiction over the matter. Neither party showed up for proceedings before the appellate division. In a pair of letters to defendant Thomas Fischetti prior to his trial, the city attorney's office denied that it had jurisdiction over his case.

"The district attorney's office is charged with prosecution of California Vehicle Code violations," Deputy City Attorney Laura A. Rossini wrote on March 13, 2008.

"As we discussed on the telephone, the Santa Ana City Attorney's Office is not the prosecuting agency for this citation and therefore does not have authority to dismiss it," Rossini wrote in a second letter dated March 27.

Now INAL, but even I know that if you don't show up for your court date there are bound to be consequences! The DA & the CA were AWOL!? I'm LOL!

You say you got a real solution Well, you know We'd all love to see the plan

(Revolution-The Beatles)

I went to a meet-up today with a guy running for Congress. He came highly recommended, but still, I was a little unsure.

When he started talking, though, I was mesmerized. This guy is smart, his ideas are solid and progressive, and I hope he kicks ass and wins the seat in the Illinois-05 district recently vacated by Rahm Emmanuel.

Ladies, gentlemen, wake the neighbors, call the kids, I introduce you to Tom Geoghegan (pronounced Gay-gun):

In my life as a lawyer I have lived out a commitment to one cause above all – to bring economic security to working Americans, in our District, in our country. That’s the same commitment I will bring to Congress. We’re deep in an economic crisis unlike any other we’ve known. It may last years. We need new and creative ways to protect working Americans, especially our older working people who have no real pensions to live on.

For years we’ve heard the doomsayers: “We can’t afford Social Security.” “We can’t afford ‘single payer’ national health.” One thing we all learned from the $700 billion bailout: We’ve got the money to do all of this and more. At the moment, the Federal Reserve is literally printing money, to give not billions but trillions to banks and financial firms. To the people of this District, the banks and others have gotten their money. Now it’s your turn. Here’s the bailout I will go to Congress to get:

First, I want to expand Social Security, our public pension system, to replace, not overnight but in stages, the private pension system which has collapsed. Social Security now pays about 38 to 39 percent of your working income. In other developed countries, it averages 65 percent. That’s where our fiscal stimulus should be: a commitment to reach this goal, a public pension that ordinary working people can live on.

Second, we have to move to single payer health care program, at least in phases: we might begin with extending Medicare to children, but the government should ultimately be the single payer for all. That’s not because single payer is the only ethical and efficient way to protect us all. No, it’s also because it is crucial to making us competitive globally. Through single payer and expanded Social Security, the goal is to pick up the “non-wage” labor costs that employers now have to pay. That’s already how other countries out-compete us: they have the government and not the private employer pick up these non-wage health and pension costs.

Here's Tom in his own words:



The event today, at the offices of Brave New Films, was videotaped. When the editing is done, I'll post it.

This is a deeply serious guy, with complex, nuanced positions and proposals. While he is totally capable of throwing out the pithy slogan, his answers to questions posed today clearly indicate that's he's been thinking about this for a while. Not a political naif, but a well-prepared candidate.

Makes me wish I could vote in Illinois. Tom will make a great addition to a Democratically controlled congress.

Now, you knew damn well I was a snake, Before you brought me in

The Snake by Al Wilson

U.S. Congressman Frank A. LoBiondo [R-NJ] voted against the House version of the economic stimulus package.

LoBiondo signaled out the following examples of provisions within the House bill that do not meet the explicit requirements of immediately stimulating the economy:

* $1.9 billion for high-level physics research;

* $1.5 billion for universities to improve their biomedical research programs;

* $600 million for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to purchase new satellites to improve weather forecasts;

* $600 million to buy new cars for federal government workers, adding to the existing inventory of 640,000 vehicles; and,

* $335 million for education and prevention programs regarding sexually transmitted diseases.

Now reporters get a lot of things wrong. But since this is from The Honorable's own office I guess it's straight from the horse's ass.

And, while I don't know his voting record, and his office had a disclaimer before what I quoted, I say he's wrong to vote against this bill. But he's a republican and they vote in lockstep just to be obstructionists. They want President Obama to fail.

For one thing, all the provisions he can find to complain about only amount to 5 billion out of 800 billion. (1/160th of the bill.)

Now let's toss some more numbers around. 1.9 billion for 'High level physics research.' I don't know what programs he's talking about, but I do know that if this bill passes physics labs don't have to lose scientists, grad students, lab workers, janitors &c, &c, &c.

The same with biomedical research programs.

$600 million to build, buy and staff and launch weather satellites. Well gosh, the ones we have are failing and now more than ever we need to predict the weather better so our farmers, fishermen, neighbors &c, &c, &c can prepare and survive extreme weather. And an ounce of prevention IS CHEAPER than a pound of cure. And the folks in those fields get to keep their jobs and this will add new ones. It's sure nice to know that if you can graduate college you can get a job in a highly technical field that you love and the world needs.

$600 million to buy federal workers cars that are cheaper and more fuel efficient from our Big 3 auto companies.

Yep, no new jobs there! Just the autoworkers, designers, managers, parts makers, truck drivers, waiters & cooks and maintenance and sanitation workers, and their mangers &c, &c, &c.

$335 million to keep our children safer thru education and treatment that replace the failed abstinence programs that Bush & republicans insisted on. (BTW, nice job Gov Palin for keeping your daughter from getting pregnant out of wedlock ... and how is that shotgun marriage coming?)

Gee, all those are immediate jobs and infrastructure spending and pay off in the long run. And did I mention they were only 160th of the spending bill? And the only parts republicans are using for talking points?

Pardon me if I sound cynical, but republicans, all the way from their spokes model drug addict Rush Limbaugh, down to and including their rank & file members of congress, don't care about America or Americans.

Don't listen to what they say, watch how they act. 68% of the country has caught on. The only folks left are the rich, the pundits (also rich), and folks who can't afford teeth or health care for them or their kids and are too stupid to figure out that they've been lied to.

President Obama, We don't need bi-partisanship, we need solutions and fast. By catering to these copperheads all you are doing is slowing down the rest of the country's desperate needs and it won't help you get us what we need to survive.

Now you knew damn well they were snakes, Before you brought them in.



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

Money for nothing

Firms That Got Bailout Money Keep Lobbying

[...]
[Citigroup] While trying to keep a low profile, the company is still fielding an army of Washington lobbyists working on a host of issues, including the bailout. In the fourth quarter, it spent $1.77 million on lobbying fees, according to its lobbyists’ filings.
[...]
During the last three months of 2008, at least seven other firms receiving bailout funds — American Express, Capital One, Goldman Sachs, KeyCorp, Morgan Stanley, PNC and Bank of New York Mellon — all lobbied the government about the bailout, according to a review of their most recent disclosure reports.

Does anyone else see a problem with that?

Or how about this, Wall Streetwalkers (OK, maybe they take a limo but that doesn't mean they aren't whores) are trying to justify the 18.4 BILLION DOLLARS they gave/got in bonuses of our tax money for failing. And not just a small fail, a fail that is epic beyond belief. Greed works my ass! I'm with Senator McCaskill:

Senator wants pay cap for Wall Street 'idiots'

"We have a bunch of idiots on Wall Street that are kicking sand in the face of the American taxpayer," an enraged McCaskill said on the floor of the Senate. "They don't get it. These people are idiots. You can't use taxpayer money to pay out $18 billion in bonuses."

I agree with the Senator on most counts, but I'm thinking she isn't allowed to call them greedy bastards from the Senate floor.

And then there's the justification from the greedy bastards (faithfully scribed by AP mediawhores):

Bonuses no luxury for some Wall Street workers

[...]
While Wall Street investment banks and other financial firms make headlines for the millions paid out to certain executives, more modest bonuses go to workers from human resources representatives to secretaries as well as employees who actually made money for their companies last year.

Jason Weisberg, vice president of the Wall Street brokerage Seaport Securities, said bank employees count on performance bonuses like salesmen count on commissions.

"What are you supposed to pay them?" Weisberg asked. "Or are you not supposed to pay them? And if you don't pay them, how do you expect that employee to stay employed at that company?"

One, salespeople work on commissions, managers & secretaries don't.
Two, 'little people' in your Wall Street office aren't your waiters or waitresses, they make a salary, not rely on tips.
Three, If you want to retain those workers, DON'T LAY THEM OFF! I'm pretty sure they'd be just happy to have a job right now. Or maybe they should unionize and force you to pay them what they're worth.

I know the HR people and secretaries where I work, along with me and every employee that I know of, work for our wages. One employee each year gets a $500 bonus. And that employee is voted that bonus by their fellow employees. And I still think $500 is a lot of money.

And I work in a nice place with wonderful people who are going to make a positive difference in peoples lives, not like these greedy bastards who have done nothing for this country or the world except cause misery while they insist on profiting thru their skill & heartlessness at clever manipulations of other people's money. And now they're bitchin' that they might lose money too!

That's not a skill to be proud of, that's a parasite that bleeds & bleeds the host until the host dies. The host has died and now they want more. Parasites always want more.

p.s I apologize to the whores and bastards I've known and worked with over the years. They've mainly been good people, and I've really got to come up with some new terms for this level of evil and incompetence.



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

You would never break the chain

My good friends skippy, Jon Swift, and Blue Gal, have organized Blogroll Amnesty Day:

there is a long and dark history behind the perverse bitterness motivations that bring us to celebrate this day, which involves the severing of links that had been supporting certain people since blogtopia consisted entirely of glenn reynolds, silfay hraka, and megan mcardle working under another name.

we shall not delve into that morass of exclusion here (and markos and duncan shall remain nameless). suffice to say, if you really want to know the skinny behind why we believe liberals should be liberal in linking policy, please read the origins issue over @ jon swift.

tho the original blogroll amnesty day was first bludgeoned upon bloggers on feb. 3, we are taking this entire weekend thru next tuesday to celebrate, connect, rejoice, and generally extoll everyone to link to each other.

the basic rule for blogroll amnesty day weekend is simply this: take a moment to write a post linking to (and pointing out to your readers) 5 blogs w/traffic smaller than yours. this inclusive and magnanimous yet easy-to-do gesture will not only expose your readers to new voices and those voices to new readers, it will foster a sense of community, support and all-around kumbaya amongst the progressive infrastructure.

In fact, Blue Gal has put together this wonderful video explaining everything:



So here are my contributions to helping elevate some blogs to higher readership. These are really great folks, who offer original writing and viewpoints, and you really should check them out:

Dr. Sardonicus: Good politics, features some really great music insights, too.

Busted Knuckles: Cranky poet, scatological observer of the world.

Teh Kitteh: It's really teh kitteh's world, we just live in it.

The Impolitic: Libby is always worth reading.

Night Bird's Fountain: Good group blog, always worth reading.

So there you have it. Patronize your local businesses, support like-minded bloggers, and We Shall Overcome.

Or something.


(Fleetwood Mac-The Chain)