If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.--James Madison, Federalist #51,

This Week with George Stephanopoulos, as told to The Bobblespeak Translations: "STEPHANOPOULOS: thanks for coming Paul Ryan: enjoy your last July Fourth outside of barbed wire losers"

Occupy. Occupy Philly activist on #NatGat: "I think this could be a turning point for the movement. Refocusing the movement, prioritizing things. [It won't be about] a list of demands, but starting to work together on a national scale." "Occupy Our Food Supply is bringing together the Occupy, sustainable farming, food justice, buy local, slow food, and environmental movements for a global day of action on February 27, 2012."

AL. Weather: "We were down most of Saturday because of a power outage at the Amazon Cloud data center where Left in Alabama is actually hosted. This e-storm, which also took down Netflix, Pinterest, Instagram and others, in addition to the entire Soapblox network, was caused by an honest to gosh hurricane-like storm in VA."

CO. Fracking: "The U.S. Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) plan to allow drilling on the Roan Plateau in Colorado .... has been stopped by U.S. District Court Judge Marcia Krieger for failing to adequately address environmental impacts." Extractive economy: "The water sale [to Anadarko Petroleum Corp] comes just a few months after Aurora agreed to sell potable water to Niagara Bottling Co., and amidst growing concerns among residents about the potential environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing."

Xanthorrhoea

Grass tree, kangaroo tail

Look closely and you'll see that these are not cattails, which is what I thought they were at first. These Australian natives are very happy here in Zone 10, but they should also do well in 9 and 11, too. Grass trees are easy to grow and extremely drought tolerant, but they do not like to be moved.

President Obama, Bored With the Foreclosure Crisis. That Explains A Lot, Actually.

it tells you everything you need to know about Romney that Obama still has a slight lead with the worst economic record of my lifetime.

James Haslam of the Vermont Workers’ Center

It is hard to tell a legislator that he or she is failing — particularly a hard-working member of one of the appropriations committees. But let’s face it: when it comes to human needs — food, housing, education, employment, social security and, of course, health care — things have not been getting better for the people of Vermont, and those who have been suffering the most have been slipping behind the fastest.

Men Without Hats - Head Above Water

Yes! The “Safety Dance” guys! They’re still around! And this song is actually really good.*

Alternate Sunday Morning Music, as well as penance for posting Rae Rae a couple weeks ago: Jason Eady - AM Country Heaven (download). Couldn’t find a stream for it though, and I don’t like posting You Tube videos unless it’s absolutely necessary.

*NOTE:

...well, probably not. But this certainly caught my eye.

The Republican National Committee hosted a conference call on Friday morning, with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) criticizing the Supreme Court's decision and vowing to continue to oppose Obamacare.

While arguing why President Barack Obama needs to be thrown out of office in November, Jindal slipped while talking about health care reform, saying "Obamney" before quickly correcting himself:

There's only one candidate -- Gov. Romney -- who's committed that he will repeal the Obamney -- the Obamacare tax increase. He will repeal Obamacare as soon as he's elected. So to me, the choice going forward is very clear.

Everyone's attributing it to T-Paw, but I'd like to think that Lambert pushed this meme his way. After all, stranger bedfellows have... uh... bunked, or something.

#NATGAT.

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster. --Elizabeth Bishop, "One Art"

Readers, again a little narrower than usual as I recover from National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius.

CA. "The Committee to Recall Mayor Jean Quan Now has a Monday deadline to submit petitions carrying 19,800 valid signatures. [C]ommittee member said they had only collected about 17,000 signatures and had all but given up."

It's been a dramatic past few days, as thousands & thousands have been raised to support Dr. Stein in just a few days.

http://www.jillstein.org/funding

There are currently 19 states that have qualified for funds, but at least one more (CT, AZ, or DC) is needed for victory. Chances are the FEC may disqualify some donors' funds for not having the correct address, bounced checks, etc., so it's critical that there is a buffer for the unforeseen.

That's why it's important for anyone who has the ability contribute up to the $250 limit, even if your state has qualified. If your state hasn't qualified, your funds will still be gov't matched!

On June 17th the Catholic social justice lobbying group NETWORK launched a 15 day Nuns on the Bus tour. (As befits their budding rock star status, they are selling a tour shirt as well.) They are speaking out against the House Republican budget because, as they write: “When the federal government cuts funding to programs that serve people in poverty, we see the effects in our daily work. Simply put, real people suffer. That is immoral.”

Maya MacGuineas urges America to debate the debt. She even wants the presidential candidates to devote a whole presidential debate to it. But she’s not interested in debating the private sector’s debt and how we might reduce that, which is very, very strange, especially since middle class Americans have lost 40% of their net worth since 2007, and the private sector debt burden has been a key factor in depressing consumption and preventing the economy from fully recovering and creating full employment.

I live in a basement apartment with a SERIOUS water bug infestation. I also own a dog, so have to be careful how I fight this.

Any suggestions?

"If you know what life is worth you will look for yours on earth.-- Bob Marley

Readers: I have cut most other sections short this evening to cover the Supreme Court's decision on the ACA. Click below the fold for tons of linky goodness. But first, the states:

CA. Voting: "[A]n African-American voter, Elise Brown, of Victorville, California, filed a federal lawsuit, charging that top-two, as applied, violates the Voting Rights Act and also violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments."

CO. "Government is vitally necessary to combat the flame and will be vitally necessary to deal with the aftermath. It should be interesting to see how Colorado Springs -- a hotbed of anti-government sentiment -- copes with that reality. My guess is by grabbing federal money and resources with both hands." And a slideshow (JL).

DC. "I was afraid that my kids would be taken from me just because I can't afford to live in D.C." (DCB)

LA. Climate cleansing: "Southeast Louisiana bucked national trends and became less poor than it was a decade ago, largely because of new investment due to rebuilding efforts and because of the post-Hurricane Katrina diaspora, which forced many of the city's poor families to find housing outside the region."

NM. Tinpot Tyrant watch: "Lori Teel was arrested and handcuffed at her Portales, NM home in front of her five small children. She had borrowed $36 worth of library materials not returned since 2010."

Yesterday was a momentous day for the campaign, as thousands of dollars were raised in a single day by word of mouth and grassroots activists. Dr. Stein's campaign is on the verge of history becoming the first Green to qualify for matching funds.

Even if your state has qualified, your donations will still qualify for the match; even if your state has not qualified, your donations will still qualify for the match once the threshold is met. It's a win-win for everyone.

These are the remaining target states:

Bromus diandrus

Foxtail, or ripgut brome

What, you were expecting a cute puppy picture? Next week! Today, is icky weeds for pets day, featuring the notorious foxtail, aka ripgut brome. Has there ever been a more appropriate name than "ripgut"? I don't think so.

The Supreme Court case on Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is entitled National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius. Chief Justice Roberts wrote the decision and the majority was comprised of Roberts, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan. I want to underline this because the opinion is very much a victory for the corporations and illustrates the corporatist nature of the so-called liberal wing of the Court.

With a Roberts' opinion, I expect it to be well written with solid documentation, and legal thinking that looks superficially good but on further consideration is trite and reflective of his political biases.

OH DEAR!

Ms. Cat just brought in a baby sparrow! I think it's what is called a fledgling, but not sure. Baby seems okay, so far, but what to do now? I found a dropper and have been giving it water.

Course it would be obvious to look on the internet, but time is short!

Ending Universal Suffrage

Where does Jeffrey Immelt find these poeple?

‘Heart-wrenching’ Catch-22: Homeless families who turn to city for help find no rooms, risk child welfare inquiry

When Shakieta Smith, a homeless mother of two, called the District’s shelter hotline in March, she was told the city’s shelters were full — and then the intake worker added a chilling warning:

If she and her kids had nowhere safe to sleep, she’d be reported to the city’s Child and Family Services Agency for a possible investigation into abuse and neglect.

Family homelessness in the District has risen 74 percent since the downturn.

[Incidentally, I think FaceBook just banned me for saying Fuck. Carry on, FaceBook!]

Hasty post, as I must fly. Three bits from ScotusBlog that I would like to expand on briefly.

First, here's the reasoning:

Essentially, a majority of the Court has accepted the Administration's backup argument that, as Roberts put it, "the mandate can be regarded as establishing a condition -- not owning health insurance -- that triggers a tax -- the required payment to IRS." Actually, this was the Administration's second backup argument: first argument was Commerce Clause, second was Necessary and Proper Clause, and third was as a tax. The third argument won.

Second, here are the implications for the role of the State as we have understood it from the New Deal onward; what Phillip Bobbitt would call a change a Constitutional Order:

The rejection of the Commerce Clause and Nec. and Proper Clause should be understood as a major blow to Congress's authority to pass social welfare laws.

All eyez on John Roberts, is the guess, which is a pretty horrible thought. Have at it!

UPDATE

RT @Reuters: U.S. SUPREME COURT SAYS UPHOLDS HEALTH CARE MANDATE

2012-06-28 via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@AntDeRosa

Anthony De Rosa

CNN said mandate struck down, but is apparently wrong. [Pasted in wrong tweet!]

Reuters live blog.

RT @ReutersLegal: ROBERTS, JOINED BY TWO JUSTICES, SAYS MEDICAID EXPANSION VIOLATES CONSTITUTION

2012-06-28 via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@AntDeRosa

Anthony De Rosa

(But see below on Medicaid expansion)

5/4.

"The elite and lofty crowd who hold exalted office

are disgusted at the life of grief and bother that they suffer.

But when they consider the ones who, unlike them, are not the prisoners of high ambition--

the amazing thing is that they do not even reckon them as human." --Omar Khayyam

For Pride Weekend Occupy San Francisco invited me to do Occupy Listening (asking people their thoughts and taking notes) at their booth. I took them up on their offer. Here are the results:

Person 1) Like Occupy but don't care for violence, prefer the MLK approach. I care most about people losing homes and economic issues. I don't see how Pride fits in with Occupy. Telling people to take money out of banks and supporting prisoners is good.

Person 2) Saw a lot of people from Occupy on the news when I was in prison. Like the movement and wouldn't mind getting involved. Drugs need to be decriminalized. There needs to be a victim for there to be a crime. Instead of sending me to prison, you should be helping me if I am only hurting myself. We should have a march on Market Street against police terrorism in the black community and persecution of the homeless. We can't even feed the homeless and we are sending troops to fight all these wars. I am still struggling with addiction and not getting enough help. When I get clean I want to help children not to make the same mistakes I did. There should be field trips to the Tenderloin to show kids what drugs do. Read "Behold a Pale Horse". We need to make a push against the Illuminati. I have a lot of ideas on what we could do. The economy is based on BS. It is a form of control to keep the masses tamed.

Person 3 ) Really glad for Occupy movement. It is like an awakening with people getting power to change things. Would like to see every person feel good about themselves and feel empowered. Change starts at that level. By the time of High School, each individual has a story to tell. People need to feel that what they have to offer, other people need. I was very moved in Berlin when a local responded to my praise of the city with " Berlin is good, but how much better it would be if we hadn't gotten rid of our gays and Jews." I've seen situations of division and antogonism much worse than what we are facing get solved when no one thought it was possible. If we think of Occupy as being against banks etc. it is missing the point. We need to draw on people trained in banking and finance.

Echeveria Etna

One of my favorite succulents, the wrinkled, warty Echeveria Etna. You think that photo is ugly, check out this one or this -- the same plants but with many more caruncles.