Today's edition of quick hits:
* Another mass shooting, this time in Minnesota, where a gunman killed four people before turning the gun on himself.
* The bad news is, Spain's crumbling banks need $76.38 billion. The good news, that's below the limit Spain negotiated with the Eurozone over the summer.
* Republican voter-registration scandal: "What first appeared to be an isolated problem in one Florida county has now spread statewide, with election officials in at least seven counties informing prosecutors or state election officials about questionable voter registration forms filled out on behalf of the Republican Party of Florida."
* Wisconsin: "The state Supreme Court on Thursday declined - for now - to take up lower court orders blocking Wisconsin's voter ID law, the latest sign the law likely will not be in place for the Nov. 6 presidential election."
* I bet that was an interesting chat: "President Barack Obama spoke Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Iran's nuclear program and the two reiterated their stance that Iran shouldn't have a nuclear weapon, the White House said."
* China: "The Obama administration announced Friday that it would block an attempt by a Chinese-owned company to acquire four wind farm companies in the United States."
* And then there 300: "A Louisiana death-row inmate convicted of the rape and murder of his 14-year-old step-cousin in 1996 on Friday became the 300th person exonerated on the basis of DNA evidence in the United States -- and the 18th death-row inmate saved from execution by DNA."
* If you haven't seen Harold Pollack's powerful video on Medicaid, it's well worth your two minutes.
* Imagine that: "The arms race in CEO pay doesn't help performance or retention, according to a new study."
* And I've found exactly one person disappointed that real NFL refs will be back on the field: Fox News' Eric Bolling. And why is he "booing the whole referee thing"? Because he sees it as "more union thuggery." I think he was serious.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
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$76.38 billion. The good news, that's below the limit Spain negotiated with the Eurozone over the summer.
The $76.38 is the interest payment , or mostly interest . It is amazing after all the evidence right before European eyes , aside from any sensible application of practical thought , of the consequences of removing assetts from a depressed economy .
Leave it to the Fl.GOP to legislatively try to block Democrats' votes and hire a company to fraudulently register the dead as active Republicans. Hypocrisy thy name is GOP.
The most stringent voter ID laws would NOT have prevented this kind of fraud! These GOTP crooks may have been deliberately steering everyone in the wrong direction, so they could commit voter fraud while saying they did everything they could to stop it.
A FB friend said they might double down on this (as they've done on other blunders) and say their fraud was justified, since POTUS was from Chicago, and must therefore be a crook. I laughed for a second or two, the time it took to make her joke sound plausible, given what they've been doing recently. Sigh..................
Gets tiresome don't it?
Florida voter registration scandal? IOKIYAR Everyone knows that.
Guess we need voter IDs. :)
Republicans need something that by extension America needs . I suppose it would be a lot less attention paid to Republican nonsense . Nonsense that has provoked low information murders , or borderline personalities to adopt the messianic messages and what they then believe is "their" mission .
Mitt Romney's job creation claims: We've seen ads about companies that were negatively affected by Bain. It would be interesting to see how many jobs Mitt's business model created over seas for foreigners at the expense of hard working Americans! If a number can be put on that, it would be a good campaign commercial for the Dems. Mitt Romney creates job! Overseas!
This just in; Willard declared legally brain dead, and he is leaving the republicant party to form the 'zombie' party!
There was a study done at UCLA that seems to show that subjects were able to guess from photos of congresswomen, which one's were from the GOP. The study says that it "appears" the subjects guessed based on appearance...specifically on the femininity feature factor!
You can read about the study and the suggested reasoning behind the results at:
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/the-gap-has-a-feminine-face-finds-238867.aspx
If the above link does not work, please search Google, "UCLA study GOP feminine face".
This research results just came out one day ago.
Mitt Romney claims that he is a job creator. But we’ve seen the ads about the negative
impact the Bain Capital business model had on hard working Americans. It would be interesting to see, if it can be
quantified, how many jobs Mitt Romney created for foreigners overseas at the
expense of those hard working Americans while he was harvesting those companies.
A couple days ago this political hack phoney Blog Author ran a story which appeared to depict an "offended Cherokee Chief" spokesperson as authentically offended by Scott Brown's team for the Whooping Tomahawk chants directed at Liarwatha Warren the woman running for the Mass Senate. That's Liarwatha who also practiced law without a license in Mass.
Here's the Blog Author's story piece:
Cherokee Nation was not amused by the racist antics and expects the Republican senator to apologize.
The Cherokee Nation chief added that the campaign "must be called to task for their actions," and called upon Brown "to apologize for the offensive actions of his staff and their uneducated, unenlightened and racist portrayal of native peoples."
Brown has said he doesn't "condone" the actions of his own staff, but thus far, he's refused to apologize.
Now here's the TRUTH about WHO Bill John Baker REALLY is!
U.S. Sen. Scott Brown delivered his “one and only warning” to staffers about their behavior after a video captured tomahawk-chopping supporters, but while a top Cherokee official demanded Brown apologize, other Native Americans said they’re still waiting for Elizabeth Warren to admit she’s no Cherokee.
“For the most part, I saw it as stupid behavior,” Twila Barnes said of the clip featuring Brown supporters doing war whoops and toma-hawk chops. “But Elizabeth Warren has stolen our entire identity. If she had been a real Cherokee, they wouldn’t have behaved like that. They were doing it because she’s fake.”
Barnes, a Cherokee genealogist who has tried to prove Warren’s native heritage claims, said the supporters should say they’re sorry, not Brown.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker demanded Brown apologize for the “uneducated, unenlightened and racist portrayal” of Native Americans in the video.
Baker is a Democratic activist and donor who was a delegate at the Democratic National Convention and cast Oklahoma’s electoral votes for President Obama.
Kiowa Tribe member Cole DeLaune, a member of Natives United Against Elizabeth Warren, said he saw the video as satire and thought Baker was going after the wrong target.
“His statement was rather misguided and disappointing,” he said. “I don’t exactly see how Sen. Brown is responsible for the actions of other individuals, yet Elizabeth Warren is not being held accountable for the actions she herself undertook.”
That's right Chief Bill John Baker is a Democrat Delegate! This Blog Author and Maddow are every bit the frauds that Liarwatha is, no wonder they support her.
Blog Author EXPOSED as a CHEAP political HACK!
I also wondered what the status of Warrens Native American heritage is. Didn't she benefit in college from her claim of being a Native American? If she truly is not Native American and she received $$ for college claiming so, that is fraud.
Have you entertained the good womans answers to these questions ? I only ask as I see no indication that what Elizabeth Warren has had to say being addressed by your post . In fact the professor has related to precisely these sorts of matters as directly as one can . I suppose despite her having specifically answered these and other points in these affairs is unhelpful for senator Scott Brown and his supporters . Still it is bothersome . It is exactly for this reason which I believe the motivation is found for senator Scott Brown and his supporters . For no other reason , I have mentioned him , and his supporters more than Ms Warren and the thrust of her campaign .
Elizabeth Warren is for introducing the uncommon idea , in the media , that the capitalistic economic forces centralise into undemocratic powers . Without the will of the people emphasizing rigorous oversight through regulation can the direction of the centralizing assetts be tamed and civilised . Most of us live our lives cooperating and sharing , without having to be lectured about why that is , or isn't mooching , in sharing burdens . Ignoring these things is what makes it attractive to see our climate changing and deny the obvious disruption of climate . The convenience of not upsetting the way we have energy needs structured , and the few hope to continue to monopolize the planets "wealth" . I suppose the capitalists feel like monarchs were known to have felt , the divine right from god to them to do as they wish . What I know of human nature makes that a frightening idea . That extractive convenience is convenient only for the folks whose great wealth from continuing to produce energy that releases carbon dioxide seems sort of ridiculous . That is what this election is about not what Elizabeth Warren was told by her family about her nativity as a child , and now as a woman .
The disadvantage of power is that even as it is destructive the focus of those exercising it have little interest in the consequences of that destruction , their interest is in maintaining the ability to wield power .
I give you senator Brown .
To Senator Brown, I say that I have worked in a Tribal Enterprise with a variety of different tribal members, and while Professor Warren has a pale complexion, her facial structure is very much like the Native Americans'. One of my co-workers' on the other hand, is a full tribal member by birth, and a dead ringer for President Obama. Go figure.
From what I have seen on line, the question of whether or not Elizabeth Warren qualified as a Native American preference was brought up by Havard at, or after her hiring. They got the benefit of hiring a woman as an instructor, but it seems to me that the school jumped on her tale of Native roots as a way of earning extra diversity points, for the school. As I see it, only Havard has tried to benefit from her grandparents telling her that she has Native American roots.
Secondly, with the success of the Cherokee Nation's casino operations, the Tribe has gone to extremes to purge the tribal membership rolls. At one time the tribe followed US federal policy and gave membership to their own freed slaves, and to the descendants of escaped negros who had lived with the Cherokees, and inter-married. Of late the grandchildren of these people have been ejected from the tribe, even if their parents could claim membership thru other ancestors. Twenty years ago, the Cherokees might have forged documennts to support Warren, to have a friend in the Senate; today the Dividend check has made tribal leadership want to deny the geneology of anyone they can.
"A Louisiana death-row inmate convicted of the rape and murder of his 14-year-old step-cousin in 1996 on Friday became the 300th person exonerated on the basis of DNA evidence in the United States -- and the 18th death-row inmate saved from execution by DNA."
And conservatives, who believe government never gets it right, believe that juries never get it wrong in death penalty cases. I have asked a few how they square those two beliefs, and they never can answer.
re: 300
The most interesting thing about these cases is not how wonderful DNA technology is, but the fact that these convictions came out of trials. How many of these convictions were based on allegedly voluntary confessions that turned out to have been manufactured and false? How many on eye witness identifications, where witnesses said they would never forget the face, but were scientifically proven wrong? How many were convicted, perhaps sentenced to die, because of incompetent lawyers? This is scary!
part of this comes from the attitude, expressed to me by some leo's, that if you can convict a bad guy of something, even if it's not his crime, it's a good thing.
this, of course, leaves a real criminal on the street. it's hard to convict a second person of a crime that you have already gotten a conviction for.
get them for what they did, not just to get them off the street.
How stubborn people , governments , become once they have a decision , right or wrong . I recall a situation where I understand a state disallows DNA evidence once a trial had been concluded . The reasoning being of the sort that relied on the decision to form any further insight into the matter . Particularly difficult to get past that point .
FL voter registration. Boy, were you and staff right on. Now with the revelation that a Republican hired firm is being investigated explains why the new registrations for FL Republicans was so far ahead of the democrats. The privateers were destroying Democratic registrations, while inflating republicans. I hope a few people including the company CEO etc.. go to jail for this one. WALL STREET Ceos escaped, but this time the CEO should take responsibility.
not "take responsibility" he should have it thrust upon him.
This is what happens when you pay workers to register people. They don't get the registrations, they don't get $$.
I see we won't be hiring you for Human Resources . You can , as a matter of fact , hire people to do precisely what you want them to do . People like doing a job well .
If the only thing you offer is cheese don't be surprised by the company of rats .
According to the article, “Inquirer Editorial: Don't need ultrasound law”, published March 7, 2012, in the Philadelphia Enquirer, ultrasounds are generally routine to confirm that a pregnancy is within the limits allowed for an abortion, and to determine the appropriate method.
Would producers and reporters from the Maddow Show find out if this is true?
Ultra sound is routinely used to confirm pregnancy, and development. Ultrasound is normally a NON-evasive procedure; some KY on the skin and the probe can 'see' thru the body to whatever the doctor wishes to view. These Ultrasound laws refer to GOP attempts to block abortions by requiring an unusual vaginal insertion of the probe. As applied to the question of first vs second trimester external Ultrasound is over 98% accurate and 100% safe; the internal probe has risks for the woman is just under 99% accurate.
So Frank, when you hit that age where your doctor wants to do a prostate exam on you, would you prefer the microphone on the outside, rectal, or worse ? (Don't ask where the urologist wants to put the TV camera)
How many more times? Still no new gun laws.
The tea party and other conservative groups have electrified the political process!
Being enthusiastic and engaged with a purpose is good. Being whipped into a froth by preachers preaching hatred and intolerance is bad. Actually taking voting seriously is great. Trying to make your vote outweigh others through voter suppression and outright fraud is un-American and just plain evil. Backing your chosen candidate is good. Backing the candidate your chosen gurus tell you to is idiotic.
Again it seems to me Rupert Murdoch has tried and succeeded in polarizing the country and turning politics into a side show like Great Britain's Parliament and its free for all debates.
We are allowing a few twisted people turn us from a United nation into a mixed bag of nuts. Why? Are we so bored that taking sides has become a way of turning on? Well having watched Wal-Mart zombies as they trance like run to the store to buy junk more as a diversion than a chore I think we as a nation are in a world of trouble. We no longer seek pleasure in activities that require only a little energy and togetherness like pick up games of soft ball or football or simply walking through the park. No we now turn to the joy of shopping or ranting away on the "net".
Dang there I go telling on myself again.
On a side note-thanks to all who post here. I enjoy reading how you feel on the issues and learn a good deal about the issues from this forum. Heck even the trolls teach me about how they "think" and contribute much to my understanding of Jethro Tull's line-"and your wise men don't know how it feels..to be thick as a brick"