Today's edition of quick hits:
* A deadly day in Afghanistan: "Seven American troops were killed Thursday when the Black Hawk helicopter they were traveling in crashed in southern Afghanistan, possibly shot down by enemy forces, U.S. officials told NBC News."
* Syria: "The United Nations Security Council decided on Thursday to terminate its observer mission in Syria, where the increasingly violent rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad's government has left diplomatic peacemaking efforts paralyzed."
* Assange's fate: "Ecuador's foreign minister announced on Thursday that the country would grant asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, defying threats by the British government to storm the Ecuadorean Embassy and extradite Assange to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning in cases of alleged rape and sexual molestation."
* Suicides among active-duty soldiers in July "more than doubled from June, accelerating a trend throughout the military this year that has prompted Pentagon leaders to redouble efforts to solve a puzzling problem."
* Given the news, maybe the Fed can put its foot on the gas? "The news on inflation: There isn't any."
* After strange pestering from Fox News, the White House was forced to explain today that President Obama isn't going to drop Vice President Biden from the ticket. Good to know.
* "Dishonorable Disclosures" makes an effort to keep the Swiftboat Liars' legacy alive.
* About once a year or so, I actually find myself agreeing with Grover Norquist. I know, I find it hard to believe, too.
* And no matter what you heard from "Fox & Friends," First Lady Michelle Obama did not say voting Republican will give you cancer.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
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But if she did say it it would definitely be the truth. After all which party is best at poisoning our planet? The Republican Party. Which party will go to any length to make the cut backs to allow people in need to pass on? The Republican Party. Who really wants an Empire equal to that of the ancient Romans? The Republican Party. For them money and power is the competitive sport as their wealth has put them in a state of uncaring. And who wants to have their militias run through the streets with AK47s to clean up what they think is trash? The Republican Party. And finally for myself who wants a woman who was raped or a woman who is about to have a deformed child fulfill that birth? The Neoclowns in the Republican Party. As they say about Roswell... why was there a cover up? Because if it where to get out there that there are real aliens from other planets our system of belief in God would be thrown out and Science would then become deserving of our worship. No more fear or propaganda to threaten us with to get us to do what they want to get fatter in the wallet and become larger cannons. Nuff said.
About personhood... when did sense stop being common?
What is it with people that keep trying to alter nature for political gain for cripe sake?
Turns out that Paul Ryan wants personhood to become federal law. It's bad enough that he doesn't care it's been on ballots in some states already, and was soundly stomped on... he still wants to push it. He ignores the lesson of"History 101"... those ignorant of it are bound to repeat it. He should also have paid closer attention to "Government 101... the Fourteenth Amendment in particular.
The FIRST THREE WORDS of the Fourteenth Amendment should end all of the nonsense about creation of a ‘person’ or ‘personhood’ in the womb. It very clearly states:
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside... “
All "persons born"... not all "embryos conceived"... not zygotes, not haploids... not sperm.
BEING BORN BEGINS WHEN BEING BORNE ENDS.
A fetus, or baby, until out of the womb, has not been born. Only after being born can it be considered a person, or citizen. Even dictionaries define ‘personhood’ as ‘the quality or condition of being an individual person.’ And it should be remembered that this is a democracy, not a theocracy.
Inside the womb it is not and shoulld not be, subject to any laws pertaining to ‘personhood’ made by any legislature, including laws that are as intrusive as the ones being proposed.
The rest of the Amendment refers to States, not persons, so anyone trying to twist it using the “nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” is a feeble attempt. It simply refers to a ‘person’, which again, a fetus or anything else in the womb is not.
First Lady Michelle Obama did not say voting Republican will give you cancer.
Of course, the truth is that it will.
“Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño said Thursday there is credible fear that if Assange is sent to Sweden, he could subsequently be extradited to the United States, where he could be charged with espionage and treason.
In the United States, there are no guarantees that Assange would receive a fair trial or that he wouldn’t be subject to a military or secret tribunal, Patiño added.”
Thank you Presidents Bush and Obama! Twelve years ago this would have been laughed at as an absurdity if brought up at all. Now, who can say it isn’t true?
" Suicides among active-duty soldiers in July "more than doubled from June, accelerating a trend throughout the military this year that has prompted Pentagon leaders to redouble efforts to solve a puzzling problem."
Bring them home and not only from Afghanistan. We have at least 662 bases outside the US with the real number probably being closer to Ron Paul's estimate of 900 or so. There are more than 200 bases in Germany alone!
I saw an ad in the middle of the night (last weekend). It was that La Pierre guy from the NRA and the ad said Obama was working with the United Nations on "world disarmament" and together they where going to make it so we all (everyone in the world, I guess) had to register our guns with the U.N. I woke my son up laughing out loud in the middle of the night. Has anyone else seen it, or was I just dreaming??!
Re: #6
It might be referencing the Arm Trade Treaty
Fox News had this article:
UN arms treaty takes shape, raising alarm among gun rights advocates
The arms trade treaty being hammered out by the United Nations is nearing completion, and the current draft shows it could lead to perpetual attacks on the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment and American foreign policy, critics say.
From wikipedia
The Arms Trade Treaty is the name of a controversial potential multilateral treaty that would regulate the international trade in conventional weapons. The treaty is being negotiated at a global conference under the auspices of the United Nations from July 2–27, 2012 in New York.[1] The U.N. treaty to regulate the multi-billion dollar global arms trade did not materialise as the member states failed to reach an agreement. The Executive Director of Amnesty International US blamed Obama Administration for the turnabout and scuttling of the progress made at the conference.[2]
U.S. overturns former position
On October 14, 2009, the Obama administration announced in a statement released by Hillary Clinton and the State Department that it was overturning the position of former President George W. Bush's administration, which had opposed a proposed Arms Trade treaty on the grounds that national controls were better.[12] The shift in position by the U.S., the world's biggest arms exporter with a $55-billion-a-year trade in conventional firearms[13] (40 percent of the global total), led to the launching of formal negotiations at the United Nations in order to begin drafting the Arms Trade Treaty. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement the U.S. would support the negotiations on condition they are “under the rule of consensus decision-making needed to ensure that all countries can be held to standards that will actually improve the global situation.” Clinton said the consensus, in which every nation has an effective veto on agreements, was needed “to avoid loopholes in the treaty that can be directly exploited by those wishing to export arms irresponsibly.”[13]
Opposition in the United States
The Institute for Legislative Action, which is the lobbying arm of the National Rife Association, voiced opposition to the treaty, writing that:
...{see article for more information}
As of September 14, 2011, 58 US Senators (45 Republicans and 13 Democrats) have expressed their opposition to an ATT that would limit the Second Amendment rights of US citizens.[19] As this group comprises far more than 1/3 of the Senate, it is sufficient to block ratification of the treaty by the United States if the treaty addresses civilian ownership of firearms. However, the strength of the opposition remains unclear because the treaty will not likely address the Second Amendment issue.
"Given the news, maybe the Fed can put its foot on the gas? "The news on inflation: There isn't any."
What does this mean?
It means that the fed should do something more to stimulate the economy. Though I don't know exactly what that would be, they've already
Perhaps they should focus on efforts to increase employment, which they have generally ignored up to this point.
Re: #7
Simple answer:
Inflation is 0.0%
The FED can do stuff to stimulate the economy, but doing so can risk raising inflation. When inflation is 0% there doesn't seem to be any risk.
Deflation is BAD.
The fallacy of the inflation rate is it excludes food and fuel costs. Check your last shopping bill.
Yes, core inflation is essentially flat. Meanwhile, the things we all have to pay for every day, generally can't do without, and are NOT included in core inflation continue to increase in price.
Food cost have increased steadily, rising at an average annual rate of 2.91% per month for the last 24 months. Though they have flattened in recent months (june and july rates are .2% and .1% respectively), given the drought affecting corn, I expect that the rate to go back up. (Note: data from bls.gov CPI)
Gas prices fluctuate daily, but year over year, the price of gas is 28% higher this year (August 2012) than last year (August 2011).
#8
US Regular All Formulations Gas Price (GASREGW), Dollars per Gallon, Weekly, Not Seasonally Adjusted
8/15/2011 $3.604
8/13/2012 $3.721
Difference is +3.25%
Prices dipped down to around $3.300 in December 2011
.
With the news out of afghanistan today, its unbelievable to me that no one in the media is talking about the fact that Romney and Ryan have no foreign policy experience whatsoever. Ryan is indeed a bold choice, totally unprepared to be president. Yes the economy is number 1 in voters' minds but stuff still happens around the world, were still in a war, we are still the leader of the free world.
and obama had what experience?
re Romney's asking us to trust him regarding his tax return--wasn't it St. Ronald who said "Trust by verify"?
Let's get back to the basics. The Commander-In -Chief has always been responsible for all military deaths that occur under his presidency. Obama is racking up a huge total of American lives that he is responsible for as he continues the Democratic Party's chosen policies in Afghanistan.