Michele Bachmann is increasingly serious about running for president

Let's pray she does. Read the rest of this post...

Video: Terribly cool dust devil thingy

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Salon charts # wives per GOP presidential candidate

From Salon's War Room:

The number of wives per candidate keeps growing. So much for family values and traditional marriage. Traditionally, men didn't have 3 wives (Newt) and cheat on one, if not several, of them (Newt). Read the rest of this post...

Joe Barton: Exxon needs tax credits in order to save capitalism

The Apologizer is at it once again. He certainly knows where his bread is buttered. Read the rest of this post...

Republican attacks against unions moves to Florida

This is getting ridiculous. Florida is hardly a strong union state, but that's not stopping the overreach by Republicans there either.

Only days into this year’s session, House and Senate lawmakers have taken up three bills that would weaken the teacher’s labor organization, restrict the political clout of all public unions, and reduce the benefits of all state workers.

On Thursday, a House committee voted 12-6 along party lines for a bill that prevents public unions from using payroll deductions to collect union dues. The Senate passed a teacher pay bill that, among other things, eliminates tenure for teachers hired after July 1 and ties their pay to student performance. And both chambers are moving bills that restrict the collective bargaining clout of unions.

Union representatives say the bevy of bills shows that the Republican-controlled Legislature is capitalizing on a national anti-union sentiment.

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Al Jazeera: Saudi police fire gun shots during 'day of rage'

If the reports are accurate, fortunately nobody was shot today during the protests. Al Jazeera also reported that some of the protesters fired shots. (Whether they were actual protesters or undercover police would be interesting to know.) The police there will certainly use force so if the protests happen to expand from the current small numbers, this could be ugly.

At least three people have been injured after police in Saudi Arabia fired in the air to disperse protesters in the eastern oil-rich city of Qatif.

The injuries came on the eve of a so-called "Day of Rage" planned in the country for Friday.

Mansur al-Turki, a spokesman for the Saudi interior ministry, said shots were fired on Thursday over the heads of the protesters after they attacked a police officer who was documenting the protest.

Around 600-800 protesters, all Shia and including women, took to the streets of Qatif to demand the release of nine Shia prisoners, said a witness, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisal.

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PA GOP governor to chop funding for education

What is the deal with Republicans and their assault on education? As with other Republicans, Governor Corbett doesn't want to tax business but he's more than willing to dismantle the state education system. The middle class has already been kicked around by the rich during this recession and now they're going to be asked to pay even more. Why is business always exempt from the pain?

The Democrats haven't been great with sharing the pain, but the GOP is downright brutal. As I keep saying, why are others being made to pay the price for what we know was a Wall Street recession? The middle class is not an endless well of money. Is this what voters really wanted?

In the $27.3 billion budget he presented to lawmakers, Corbett proposed slashing spending on higher education by $644 million, including a more than 50 percent reduction for the 18 state-supported universities and colleges, which include Penn State, Pittsburgh and Temple. He also proposed a $1 billion cut for Pennsylvania's public schools.

"Despite state subsidies over the past decades, tuition has continued to increase," the governor said. "If the intent was to keep tuition rates down, it failed. We need to find a new model."

Students, faculty members and administrators are mobilizing to convince lawmakers, many of whom are on their side, that the cuts are unreasonable.

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Tsunami hitting Hawaii NOW. Japan devastated by 8.9 quake, tsunami. US West Coast under warning, SF, Oregon.

UPDATE 1:14PM Tsunami arrives in CA, not too much damage, though the boats in Santa Cruz harbor are wrecked.

UPDATE @ 11:08 AM: There's not much news about the tsunami on the website of the San Francisco Chronicle, although the warning is still in effect. But, there is the news that surfers are anticipating the potential tsunami:

Surfers in Southern California took advantage of decent waves ahead of the high water expected from a tsunami trekking across the Pacific Ocean.

UPDATE @ 9:58 AM: Here's the latest report from the Mercury News about the warnings and expectations for California:

A tsunami could hit the Northern California coast this morning and send waves as high as 5 feet crashing onto the regions's coastlines.

The National Weather Service has issued a tsunami warning for much of California's coast following the massive 8.9 earthquake that struck off Japan's northeastern coast earlier today, killing between 200 to 300 people.

In Northern California, waves could reach as high as 5.3 feet, according to the weather service. The latest forecast projects waves of 5.3 feet to hit the coastline at Rio Del Mar, 4.2 feet in Pacifica and 3.3 feet in Santa Cruz.

The first waves are expected to hit the Crescent City area at 7:23 a.m., according to the weather service. Once the first waves arrive, the warning may remain in effect for hours.

UPDATE:

RT @heathermg: Oh man, Hawaii newscasters "Oh my god, Diamondhead reef has been completely sucked dry. Two minutes ago it was underwater."

RT @SkyNewsBreak: Japanese News Agency: 200-300 bodies found along coast of northeastern Japan following earthquake

Chris wrote about the massive earthquake in Japan and the tsunami that hit the country. Japan has been devastated. The tsunami has been heading across the Pacific Ocean towards Hawaii and the West Coast of the U.S.

In fact, CNN is reporting that the tsunami is hitting Hawaii now. Watch live coverage from Hawaii here. More from the Hawaii Civil Defense Web site.

Video of the tsunami hitting Japan here and below. This first video is simply stunning:









Google person finder has launched to help find missing loved ones in Japan.



From the Star-Advertiser:

A 6.5-foot tsunami is expected to reach Kauai at 3:07 a.m. today after it passed Midway Island at a height of 8.2 feet, according to the National Weather Service.

The tsunami that was generated from an 8.9-magnitude quake in Japan is expected to strike Oahu at 3:14 a.m.

The weather service reminded people that there will be a series of waves and the first wave may not be the biggest.

People on Oahu will be barred from entering tsunami inundation zones after 2 a.m. this morning, Mayor Peter Carlisle said.

This is the warning for the San Francisco area:

...TSUNAMI WARNING IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST INCLUDING SAN FRANCISCO AND MONTEREY BAY...

A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED AND IS EXPECTED TO CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST. PERSONS AT THE COAST SHOULD BE ALERT TO INSTRUCTIONS FROM LOCAL EMERGENCY OFFICIALS.

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Livestream of Obama's press conference

JOIN THE LIVE CHAT

VISIT WHITEHOUSE.GOV

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The payoff money flows to Wisconsin Republicans

From Evan McMorris-Santoro at TPM (my emphasis):

On the heels of their 18-1, Democratic Senator-free vote to roll back collective bargaining rights for thousands of state workers, Republican leaders of the Wisconsin state Senate will head to a high-price fundraiser in their honor in DC.

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel key players in the Wisconsin GOP will gather at the downtown DC headquarters of lobbying firm BGR Group March 16 for an event that donors "are asked to give at least $1,000 to the state Republican Party's federal account" to attend.

It takes $1,000 to get you in the door, but "sponsors" are asked to pony up $2,500 and "hosts" 5,000.

From the Journal Sentinel article:

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau; Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald of Horicon; Rep. Scott Suder of Abbotsford; Sen. Glenn Grothman of West Bend; and Joint Finance Committee co-chairmen, Sen. Alberta Darling of River Hills and Rep. Robin Vos of Burlington. ... All five Republican congressmen and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson are listed as invited guests.

Adds TPM about the BGR host lobbying group:

Wisconsin connections to BGR run deep. The president of government affairs for the firm is Bob Wood, who the paper reports was a "former chief of staff and campaign manager" for former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson. On the national level, BGR couldn't be more connected to the national establishment. The firm's original name? Barbour (as in Haley) Griffith Rogers.

Straight from Thank You Street; would you like that in large bills or small?

Our Contribute to the Wisconsin Recall link is above. Thank you.

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Shamed former exec of RBS used courts to block being called a 'banker'

Calling him "Fred the Shred" is apparently still OK but don't call him a banker! To be fair to Fred Goodwin, there are few names as insulting as being called a banker. Some people say that cattle rapers even hate it when prison inmates call them bankers. If you thought the US courts were a poor excuse for justice, the British courts are looking pretty bad with this story. If you have enough money, the courts will even protect your image with a superinjunction that blocks the press from calling you a banker. And once again remember, the bad guys hate us in the west because of our freedoms. Hooray for democracy!

The existence of the measure – which bans the press from reporting that an injunction has been obtained – can be revealed after a backbench Liberal Democrat, John Hemming, raised the issue in the Commons.

"In a secret hearing this week Fred Goodwin has obtained a superinjunction preventing him being identified as a banker," said Hemming, the MP for Birmingham Yardley.

Hemming, who used parliamentary privilege to avoid the legal ban on reporting the use of superinjunctions, asked: "Will the government have a debate or a statement on freedom of speech and whether there's one rule for the rich like Fred Goodwin and one rule for the poor?"

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Massive earthquake followed by tsunamis hit Japan

The only good news is that the earthquake was relatively far from the large population in Tokyo. So far there is no news about any deaths. This is not the largest ever in Japan or the world, but 8.8 is extremely strong. Initial reports are saying this is the worst earthquake in 140 years in Japan.

A series of powerful earthquakes have struck north-east Japan on Friday afternoon, triggering warnings of tsunami as high as 10 metres and shaking buildings in Tokyo.

The first earthquake struck at 2:46 pm local time and measured magnitude 8.8, according to the US geological survey. Within 30 minutes the same region was rocked by two more big quakes of slightly lower intensity, Japanese news reports said.

The first quake, Japan's biggest for seven years, struck at a depth of six miles (9km) about 80 miles of the eastern coast, according to Japan's meteorological agency.

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London grocery store adds food garden on rooftop

What a very cool idea. It might not be possible to do this everywhere, but who wouldn't want to buy this kind of local?

The project, called Food from the Sky, is an unusual exercise in the principles of permaculture and sustainable gardening, and is the brainchild of former silversmith and art consultant Azul-Valerie Thome. It opened last May, when a crane lifted 10 tonnes of compost and 300 green recycling boxes donated by Haringey Council on to the roof. Now the garden is producing enough vegetables to sell in the aisles downstairs every Friday, and has just won a community prize at the Co-operative's annual People and Environment Achievement Awards.

On a quick tour of the garden, Thome and several volunteers show me an impressive array of vegetables – from peas and potatoes to kale and purple sprouting broccoli – alongside flowers, tiny strawberry and raspberry plants, and a composting area. Here, fruit and vegetables left unsold each day in Budgens are mulched, along with woody branches and soil, by the 20 local people who volunteer in the garden.

Volunteer Peter Budge tells me the conditions are perfect for the plants: the warmth from the supermarket's heating and lighting systems comes up through the roof, sparing the seeds the worst of the frosts – and there are no slugs or snails, while marauding pigeons are deterred by CDs hanging from the perimeter fence. "It might seem mad that we're growing things up here," Budge says, "and it is. But it really works."

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