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Your Sunday LOLcats (dial-up warning) Stinkly Member Edition 33 recs : By SalmonChantedEvening
Actual Wall Street Journal graphic on how much people will suffer in tax hikes (truly bizarre) 20 recs : By Adenoid_Hynkel
Wages have fallen to a record low as a share of America’s gross domestic product. 8 recs : By grahamhgreen
The effect of internet trolls on public understanding of science 4 recs : By HiPointDem
F-35 Marine Model Stress Testing Halted Over Cracks 4 recs : By xchrom
Greatest Threads
Krugman: Recession ‘gratuitous’ because if Congress created jobs program it ‘would all be over’ 258 recs : By Playinghardball
Nestle Group -"Access to Water Is Not Your Right" 181 recs : By Oilwellian
PLEASE rec the following post to DU's front page: 131 recs : By MannyGoldstein
White Dude Gets Slap on the Wrist for Threatening to Kill People; Brown Dudes, Like, WTF!? 87 recs : By kpete
'I'm convinced a second gunman was involved in killing my uncle': Robert Kennedy 74 recs : By elehhhhna
The Left Column
Dad visits kid’s school, doesn’t hear ‘liberty’ in Pledge of Allegiance, threatens to "spill blood"
(Daily Herald) He said Wednesday was the first time he was there to hear the kindergartners say the Pledge of Allegiance. He thought he heard the word "liberty" removed. But more importantly, he said, was that the pledge was immediately followed by students' recitation of the school creed. In it, students are asked to treat others with respect, follow school and classroom rules and "to try their best." He said he was upset they pledged this while still holding their hands over their hearts and facing the U.S. flag.
There should be a break between the pledges, he said, and students should not be facing the flag. He called it "conditioning a child" to blindly obey authority without knowing what is in the rules they are promising to obey. "In the beginning of the Hitler Youth movement, people made similar promises," McGroarty said.
Anti-gay female lawyer found guilty of producing porn with underage daughter
(Examiner) Lisa Biron, 43, formerly a lawyer for the vehemently anti-gay Alliance Defending Freedom, has been found guilty in a court of law of for a variety of child pornography offenses. She is facing a minimum of 25 years in prison.
It took a jury of Lisa Biron's peers less than one hour to convict of her of all charges. The evidence, according to Salon.com, against Biron was damning. It included video she took herself of her 14-year-old daughter having sex with adult men, and a video of Biron forcing herself sexually onto her daughter.
It's the Tenth Annual Rocktivity/DU "You Call This NEWS?" Awards!
Thank you and welcome -- has it REALLY been TEN years since I first snarked, "You call this NEWS?" This is also our second pre-Democratic inaugural awards ceremony. Last year, I advocated being optimistic but not complacent: it turned out to be an understatement.
It helped, of course, that Mitt "R-Money" Romney's campaign platform consisted of only one plank: He wasn't black. And while he did have an edge with independent voters who felt that Obama hadn't changed enough, Romney threw them away by refusing to release more of his income tax returns (a tradition begun by his own father -- ironic much?). However, Obama's performance at the first 2012 debate breathed new life into mainstream media coverage of the race...
Sweeping new gun laws proposed by influential liberal think tank
(Washington Post) The Center for American Progress is recommending 13 new gun policies to the White House — some of them executive actions that would not require the approval of Congress — in what amounts to the progressive community’s wish list.
Krugman: Recession ‘gratuitous’ because if Congress created jobs program it ‘would all be over’
(Raw Story) When Moyers asked what the Treasury should do to help the economy, he said, “Campaign against this austerity obsession. We’re not going to get a big new stimulus package, much as I would like to see it. No, we’re not going to get it this year, anyway. But I’d like to see him saying when somebody says, ‘Well, we need to slash here, we need to slash there.’ And he would say ‘Why would we want to be doing that now? That’s actually going to hurt the economy.’”
WH Hilarious Official Response To Petition To Build Death Star
(Whitehouse.gov) The Administration shares your desire for job creation and a strong national defense, but a Death Star isn't on the horizon. Here are a few reasons:
The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We're working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.
The Administration does not support blowing up planets.
Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?
Psssssssssssssst Public Threat Yeager can no longer legally carry a a handgun
(WBIR) A West Tennessee man can no longer legally carry a a handgun, after he made threatening posts on the internet site YouTube. The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security announced Friday that they had suspended James Yeager's handgun carry permit.
Yeager, 42, of Camden, posted videos claiming he would "start killing people" if the Obama administration took executive action to pass gun control measures.
Senate Dem leaders privately inform Obama they fully support unilateral exec action on debt limit
(Washington Post) In a move that will significantly ratchet up the brinksmanship around the debt ceiling, the four members of the Senate Democratic leadership are privately telling the White House that they will give Obama full support if he opts for a unilateral solution to the debt ceiling crisis, a senior Senate Democratic leadership aide tells me.
The four Democratic leaders — Senators Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin and Patty Murray — have privately reached agreement that continued GOP intransigence on the debt ceiling means the White House needs the space to pursue options for raising it that don’t involve Congress, and that the White House needs to know that Dems will support whatever it decides to do.
Bachmann still hasn’t paid presidential campaign staffers
(Salon) Over a year after she dropped out, Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann has refused to pay five staffers from her failed presidential bid, according to a former top campaign official. Peter Waldron, her controversial former national field coordinator, told Salon the dispute started when former Iowa straw poll staffers refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement that would bar them from discussing any “unethical, immoral, or criminal activity” they witnessed on the campaign with police or reporters.
Waldron said the staffers are owed a mere $5,000, and that Bachmann has more than $2 million in her campaign account, but has refused to pay unless the staffers sign the agreement. Negotiations over payment with Bachmann Finance Chairman James Pollack eventually broke down and Waldron decided to go public with the news, posting a press release on Christian Newswire this evening.
Cool
Your Sunday LOLcats (dial-up warning) Stinkly Member Edition The DU Lounge : By SalmonChantedEvening
Hey guys, check out this iBird camera Macintosh Users : By NV Whino
Galaxy crash sparks large spiral Science : By dipsydoodle
chicago's hidden farms Gardening : By mopinko
More ice sculptures Photography : By Blue_In_AK
Around DU
Good Reads
- How the NRA evolved into a powerful lobbying organization
- Bill Moyers: The Shady Inside Deals That Are Protecting Goldman Sachs at Your Expense
- Now no one can deny that the world is getting warmer
- The Real Reason America Used Nukes Against Japan
- Mother Crusader, NJ parent blogger, has righteous rant about ed reformers. Good read.
- It's the Tenth Annual Rocktivity/DU "You Call This NEWS?" Awards!
- Conservatives Are Always Triumphant and Also an Oppressed Minority, According to Notably Stupid New
- A Voice in the Wilderness: Liberation Priest Calls for the U.S. to Stop the Repression
- Key witness in Bradley Manning WikiLeaks trial defends Reddit webchat
- What People Who Live to 100 Have in Common. Yahoo News:
Politics 2012
- Actual Wall Street Journal graphic on how much people will suffer in tax hikes (truly bizarre)
- Do you think Bloggers, Twitter links & TMZ are replacing Journalists?
- House GOP Plans To Pass 11th Hour Debt Ceiling Increase...
- White House: No More Hostages
- So, best guess, what will President Obama do?
- Mark Sanford may run for his old U.S. House seat...against his ex wife
- Does anyone go over to Real Clear Politics? - use to go there alot during campaign for polls, etc
- Obama facing landslide loss
- LIVE NOW:Coffee Party Radio: Politics Done Right w/Egberto Willies–The Triumph Of Bad Ideas
- Hold On to Your Birth Control! ACLU Forecasts Big Year Ahead for Reproductive Rights
General Discussion
- I'm curious has anyone seen a tax increase in there latest paycheck
- One of the many benefits of unrestrained capitalism in China
- Australia: Scorching heat stops outback trains
- Toon: Clinton and dubya
- A possible explanation for gun nuttery..... The Mind’s Compartments Create Conflicting Beliefs
- Proud to be a Garfield Bulldog
- Where is that lovely thread about books for a teenager
- Latest in private Libor cases: California city, counties file suit
- China sends fighter jets to shadow F-15s
- Wages have fallen to a record low as a share of America’s gross domestic product.
Topics
- Israel/Palestine: When the boys return
- Environment & Energy: Scientists Engineer Bacteria to Make Fuel from CO2
- Health: An Immune Treatment Finds New Uses For Mental Health (Alzheimer's and OCD)
- Music Appreciation: Botswana Music - Ronnie on Mahlathini
- Mental Health Support: I'm on a hunting trip, forgive me.
- Socialist Progressives: Alternate history: Wallace (FDR VP) & the destruction of the CP
- Education: Josh Edelman ID'd in test cheating cover-up
- Gaming: Just got 3DS Ocarina of Time
- Football: My prediction: Falcons/Texans Superbowl
- Baseball: No one will be inducted in to the Baseball Hall of Fame this time around
Places
- Latin America: Argentina’s leader populist, but no longer popular
- United Kingdom: Immigration is British society's biggest problem, shows survey of public
- Texas: Texas poised to become national model for higher ed reform
- Alaska: Well, there goes the neighborhood.
- Iowa: X-Post: Sioux City Journal's clueless editorial defends Michelle Rhee's "F" for Iowa schools.
- Louisiana: Is Bobby Jindal a douche-nozzle or not? It’s your call.
- Wisconsin: Does Fitzgerald's lobbyist gig mean toll roads for Wisconsin?
- California: FYI - Freeze Warning / Watch for coastal valleys, SLO County to LA County. Sun AM, Mon AM
- Illinois: I wouldn't want this guy within a mile of any elementary school.
- North Carolina: Panel examines forcing landowners to allow gas drilling
Latest Breaking News
Pentagon report cites "lack of maturity" of Lockheed F-35 jet
3 hrs ago - WASHINGTON - Lockheed Martin Corp's's new F-35 fighter jet has completed over a third of its planned flight tests, but it Still faces problems with the helmet needed to fly the plane, software development and weapons integration, according to a re ... (Reuters)
Egypt court grants Mubarak appeal, orders retrial
4 hrs ago - CAIRO (AP) -- An Egyptian court has granted Hosni Mubarak's appeal of his life sentence, ordering a retrial of the ousted president. Mubarak was convicted and sentenced to life in June for failing to prevent the killing of some 900 protesters during ... (Associated Press)
Six Arrested in New India Bus Gang-Rape Case: Police
5 hrs ago - 19 min 42 sec ago - int Six arrested in new India bus gang-rape case: police Six men have been held over the rape of a passenger on a coach in northern India, police said on Sunday, just weeks after the gang-rape and murder of a student on a bus in ... (AFP)
Pollution "Worst on Record" in Beijing: Greenpeace
6 hrs ago - Pollution "worst on record" in Beijing: Greenpeace Sat Jan 12, 2013 10:25pm EST BEIJING (Reuters) - Air quality in Beijing was the "worst on record" on Saturday and Sunday, according to environmentalists, as the city's pollution ... (Reuters)
Developer pitches $1B commonwealth for Belle Isle (Detroit's special PUBLIC park island)
6 hrs ago - January 12, 2013 at 3:15 pm Developer pitches $1B commonwealth for Belle Isle By Louis Aguilar This futuristic rendering of Belle Isle is one where it is a commonwealth separate from the U.S. with a unique governing tax system. (Artist's rendering) ... (Detroit News)
Brooklyn resident wins Miss America crown
8 hrs ago - By HANNAH DREIER LAS VEGAS (AP) - A 23-year-old contestant from Brooklyn, N.Y., won the title of Miss America in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Mallory Hagan won the beauty pageant after tap dancing to James Brown's "Get Up Off of That Thing&qu; ... (AP-Excite)
Qatar revives proposal to send an Arab force to Syria
8 hrs ago - CAIRO - Qatar has made a fresh call for an Arab force to end bloodshed in Syria if current diplomatic efforts by international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi fail, according to the Doha-based al Jazeera television. Brahimi is trying to build on an agre ... (Reuters)
Anti-gay female lawyer found guilty of producing porn with underage daughter
10 hrs ago - Lisa Biron, 43, formerly a lawyer for the vehemently anti-gay Alliance Defending Freedom, has been found guilty in a court of law of for a variety of child pornography offenses. She is facing a minimum of 25 years in prison. It took a jury of Lisa B ... (Examiner)
Illinois GOP Calls For Ouster Of Their Gay Marriage-Supporting Party Leader
10 hrs ago - For refusing to toe the party line over same-sex marriage in Illinois, state GOP Chairman Pat Brady is now facing an intra-party backlash with some Republican officials calling for his resignation. In the waning days of the state Senate's lame-duck ... (Huffington Post)
Hobby Lobby finds way around $1.3-million-a-day Obamacare hit - for now
10 hrs ago - Washington (CNN) - By Friday, Hobby Lobby would have racked up $14.3 million in fines from the Internal Revenue Service for bucking Obamacare. But in keeping with the great American tax tradition, they may have found a loophole. Peter M. Dobelbower, ... (www.cnn.com)
Section 8 housing voucher distribution canceled after thousands waiting in line get out of control
12 hrs ago - TAYLOR, Mich. (WXYZ) - A chaotic scene erupted at the Taylor Human Services Center when the crowd waiting for a Section 8 housing voucher distribution got out of control. ~ snip ~ Police say thousands of people from all over the area were at the ... (WXYZ Detroit)
(Metro San Diego) Officers shoot suspect in movie theater
12 hrs ago - Police shot a man who was possibly armed with a gun in a Carmel Mountain movie theater Saturday. The shooting occurred during a screening of “Les Miserables” at Reading Cinemas Carmel Mountain 12 on Carmel Mountain Road about 3:50 p.m. The suspect ... (U-T San Diego)
Britain to send aircraft to Mali to assist French fight against rebels
12 hrs ago - Warnings of increased likelihood of terrorist reprisals in Europe after French air strikes on extremists kill more than 100 French troops in Chad prepare to be airlifted into Mali yesterday. Britain announced on Saturday night that it was deplo ... (The Gaurdian)
Belfast riots lead to questioning of police tactics over flag dispute
12 hrs ago - Police tactics came under scrutiny on Saturday night after their decision to route loyalist demonstrators past a nationalist area in east Belfast erupted in riots. The police casualty list reached 16 overnight as officers were injured trying to quel ... (The Guardian)
US scientists in fresh alert over effects of global warming
13 hrs ago - Global warming is already having a major impact on life in America, a report by US government scientists has warned. The draft version of the US National Climate Assessment reveals that increasing storm surges, floods, melting glaciers and permafrost ... (The Guardian UK)
Meg Whitman's payday for first year at HP: $15M
14 hrs ago - "Meg Whitman could get more than $15 million for her first year as CEO of Hewlett-Packard, according to company filings. It's a big payday even by the lofty standards of big-time CEOs. The chief executives of major public companies made a media ... (The Daily Breeze)
Turkey wants France to explain contacts with Kurd leader
14 hrs ago - (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan demanded on Saturday that French President Francois Hollande explain why he had met one of three Kurdish militants shot dead in Paris this week. Kurdish activists blamed the execution-style killings ... (Reuters)
Judge keeps Planned Parenthood out of Texas program
14 hrs ago - Texas now excludes abortion providers and affiliates from the program and Planned Parenthood has been fighting to become a provider again. State District Judge Stephen Yelenosky, who issued a temporary ruling in favor of Planned Parenthood in Novemb ... (www.reuters.com)
Famous San Francisco twin Vivian Brown dies
14 hrs ago - SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco residents are mourning the passing of Vivian Brown, who along with her twin sister, became a local celebrity by walking through the city's streets in matching high-end outfits, identical hairdos and cheerful smiles. ... (Seattlepi)
Actor Jackie Chan calls U.S. ‘most corrupt’ country in the world
15 hrs ago - Hong Kong action hero Jackie Chan has once again provoked criticism, this time from an American blogger, after suggesting on Chinese television that the US is the “most corrupt” country in the world. “When you talk about corruption — the whole world ... (The Raw Story)
Sweeping new gun laws proposed by influential liberal think tank
15 hrs ago - With President Obama readying an overhaul of the nation’s gun laws, a liberal think tank with singular influence throughout his administration is pushing for a sweeping agenda of strict new restrictions on and federal oversight of gun and ammunition ... (Washington Post)
Treasury: We won’t mint a platinum coin to sidestep the debt ceiling
16 hrs ago - The Treasury Department will not mint a trillion-dollar platinum coin to get around the debt ceiling. If they did, the Federal Reserve would not accept it. That’s the bottom line of the statement that Anthony Coley, a spokesman for the Treasury Depa ... (The Washington Post)
Foxconn 'faces another strike' in China
16 hrs ago - 12 January 2013 - 13H02 AFP - Over 1,000 workers went on strike over working conditions at a plant linked to Foxconn, a rights group said on Saturday, in the latest controversy to hit the Taiwanese technology giant. Hong Kong-based Students and S ... (France 24 International)
Beijing air pollution soars to hazard level
18 hrs ago - Air pollution in the Chinese capital Beijing has reached levels judged as hazardous to human health. Readings from both official and unofficial monitoring stations suggested that Saturday's pollution has soared past danger levels outlined by the Wor ... (BBC)
Unions Back Revisions of Labor Law in France
18 hrs ago - French labor unions and business leaders struck a deal on Friday to overhaul swaths of France’s notoriously rigid labor market, moving to tame some of the most confounding rules in the 3,200-page labor code as the country tries to increase its compet ... (NYT)
Hollande steps up France security over Mali and Somalia
18 hrs ago - French President Francois Hollande has ordered an increase in domestic security in the aftermath of military operations in Africa. He was responding to the risk of Islamist attack after French forces intervened against militants in Mali. A pilot wa ... (BBC News)
Judge won't block New York City circumcision law
18 hrs ago - Judge won't block New York City circumcision law Fri Jan 11 04:03:48 UTC 2013 By Jonathan Stempel snip NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Manhattan federal judge refused to block a New York City regulation requiring people who perform circumcisions and use th ... (Reuters)
LePage’s proposed budget eliminates tax revenue shared with towns and cities
19 hrs ago - AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage’s administration proposed a complete suspension of municipal revenue sharing for the next two years as part of its plan to balance the current state budget and pay for state services without new taxes. Stopping reve ... (Bangor (Maine) Daily News)
Russia rejects Assad exit as precondition for Syria deal
20 hrs ago - (Reuters) - Russia voiced support on Saturday for international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi but insisted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's exit cannot be a precondition for a deal to end the country's conflict. Some 60,000 Syrians have been killed ... (Reuters)
White House Responds To Secession Petitions: ‘Our States Remain United’
20 hrs ago - “Our states remain united,” writes Jon Carson, director of the Office of Public Engagement. “Free and open debate is what makes this country work, and many people around the world risk their lives every day for the liberties we often take for grante ... (www.mediaite.com)
Video
Pat Robertson Blames Bad Marriages On ‘Awful-Looking’ Women
Mike Malloy: Evangelicals are NO LONGER WELCOME in the public square! (Re Louie Giglio)
Chomsky: The responsibility of privilege
School? You don't need no stinkin' education! Back to work, kid!
WH - West Wing Week: 01/11/13 or "The Interests of Our Country"
The World According to Monsanto - full documentary - MUST watch
Pete Seeger - God's Counting On Me, God's Counting On You (feat. Lorre Wyatt & friends)
Steubenville Football & Rape Culture
Weekly Address: Ending the War in Afghanistan and Rebuilding America
Tactical Retreat: Tactical Response CEO Posts a Third "Pack Your Bags" Video
Thom Hartmann vs Sheriff Joe Arpaio: Do We Really Want Fire Fights in Our Schools?
America's Real Criminal Element: Lead
The History Of The United States: Chapter 6 - JFK: To The Brink
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