What's wrong with our priorities?

Obama unveils budget blueprint

Defense: $75.5 billion in spending on Iraq and Afghanistan for the remainder of 2009, $130 billion in spending on Iraq and Afghanistan for fiscal year 2010 and $533.7 billion for Department of Defense.

Education: $46.7 billion in spending for fiscal year 2010.

Energy: $26.3 billion in projected spending for the Energy Department in fiscal year 2010.

Let's do some math... since a good percentage of our students in the future probably won't be able to considering the rate at which we fund education in this country. Knowledge economy my ass. Get a job making things that kill people, or you're sh*t out of luck.

2010 DoD budget / 2010 Education budget = $533.7 billion / $46.7 billion = 11.4282655

That's right folks, we spend over 11 times as much on defense as we do on education. Kind of hard to understand how anyone can be optimistic about the future prospects for America. We're a country that has basically no realistic threat of homeland attack/invasion (outside of terrorist ones), yet our defense budget is insanely large. I guess it's needed to maintain an imperialistic and interventionist foreign policy and the military-industrial complex that lays the foundation for it.

I think it is about time that we look at ourselves, as Americans, and decided what our true priorities are. Maybe it's time to rely on education and an intelligent foreign policy, rather than a mammoth defense budget, in order to secure our future. There's no way the model we've created for our nation so far is sustainable.

Notice how this hasn't made national headlines?

BART shooting captured on video

What is being called a near "execution style" killing of an unarmed man by a cop in Oakland (watch the video for yourself). I wonder why it isn't that big of news?

Can you guess?

Another proponent of nationalization...

Dr. Doom: Nationalizing Banks is 'Market Friendly'

Nouriel Roubini, economics professor at NYU and chairman of RGE Monitor, and one of the earliest people to predict the current crisis we find outselves in, believes nationalization is the only option, and a market friendly one at that.

Have a read...

Krugman: The case for nationalization

Banking on the Brink

I couldn't agree with Krugman more. The reason why a lot of the so-called "free-marketeers" in this country are so against nationalization is because it would mean the stock holders of banks like Citi and B of A would lose most of their money. It just so happens that a lot of these "free-marketeers' also happen to be stock holders who stand to lose said money. They made a bad investment, why should they be bailed out by the taxpayers? That's socialism at it's best right there.

The reality is these banks have ran themselves into the ground, and since no private investors can save them, the government is the only option left. Now as a 'shareholder' in the government (through the taxes I pay each year), I don't want them to prop up these banks until they start profiting again while we will take their losses as they occur. This is a huge slight to the taxpayer, and a huge gain for the stock holders in these companies. If we save these banks, just like in the free market, I would expect that we (the taxpayer and govt) should benefit from our investment. To expect the government and taxpayer to invest tons of money in the banks and see no return on it goes against everything the free market stands for.

In addition, and before "free marketeers" get their panties in a bunch, I also believe we should return the banks to private hands as soon as we can after they are cleaned up and rid of their bad assets. However, the reality is that until we nationalize these banks, their artificially inflated values and bad assets will keep them from making the correction needed to become viable again and attractive to private investors.

Bottom line: It's the stock market, and people who invested in these banks can him and haw at the management for running them into the ground, but in sticking with free market principles, they deserve to lose their money. The taxpayer should not be expected to take all the losses and downside while not being able to share in the profit and upside.

"Private" Prisons

Pennsylvania rocked by 'jailing kids for cash' scandal

This case highlights one of the problems with having "private" prisons in our society. The lack of accountability, regulation and oversight often leads to corruption and injustice. Like any other private corporation, the motivation for a private prison is profit, nothing more, nothing less. Whenever you have a case where profit has the potential to be put before the lives and freedom of American citizens, clearly there is a problem. Contrary to the popular belief among certain political parties and corporate America, not everything should be privatized. Whether or not private prisons are more efficient than those that are government run, what's at stake is too important to take a chance.

The height of absurdity

I find it pretty hilarious that they don't have a reason to impeach him yet, but they went for it for the hell of it. I like the upkeep of the "socialist" and "launched his campaign in the living room of a terrorist" line of reasoning. BONUS: We get more comparison of the name Obama with Osama! HOORAY! You almost have to wonder why young open minded people aren't lining up to join the conservative movement with quips like that.









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I don't feel good about this

Disappeared in the Name of National Security

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Farag_Ahmad_Bashmilah

Notice how little we hear about this in the American news...

I find it reprehensible what was done to this man, in the name of our "safety". What if this was your dad, brother, or husband? How would you feel?

We need to quit pretending that these people who have been criminally mistreated in our "war on terrorism" are somehow different from us. These are people with families and lives. To allow people in our government to treat people this way, in our name, is a travesty. I want no part of this, and I hope the current administration makes it a priority to absolve for past misdeeds by finding those responsible and also making sure this never happens again. Actions such as this do nothing to make us "safe", they merely sour our image to rest of the world. I don't want America to be viewed as a country that's willing to talk about "freedom", "democracy" and "rule of law" in some abstract way at every chance while doing whatever the hell we please when we please.

More Republican gimmicks

RNC chair plans 'off the hook' campaign, tells critics to ‘stuff it’

“We want to convey that the modern-day GOP looks like the conservative party that stands on principles. But we want to apply them to urban-surburban hip-hop settings.”

Really? Who the hell wrote that line for him? What the flip is an "urban-surburban hip-hop setting"? He sounds like someones parents in Iowa having a conversation that includes statements like "there's those kids hiphopping on some slamjam Soldierman with the high five pop and lock".

He added, jokingly, that “we need to uptick our image with everyone, including one-armed midgets.”

Who does he think he is... the black Don Rickles?

Steele described the new multi-platform PR offensive as “avant-garde, technically. It will come to [the] table with things that will surprise everyone — off the hook.” Asked whether that meant cutting-edge tactics, Steele demurred. “I don't do 'cutting-edge,’” he said. “That's what Democrats are doing. We're going beyond cutting-edge.”

IS THIS GUY SERIOUS? He sounds like a clown. What exactly is beyond cutting-edge? Is beyond cutting edge where you wrap back around to where you keep pushing ideas that are outdated and unpopular in mainstream America?

The Republicans kill me...

First we had Palin come on to the scene in a ploy to pull Hillary Clinton supporters, and now we have Michael Steele who the Republicans are playing up as some conservative neo-Obama. Holy crap... who comes up with these ideas??????

Let me just let the Republicans in on a few things.
1. The overwhelming majority of people didn't vote for Hillary Clinton solely because she was a woman.
2. The overwhelming majority of people didn't vote for Barack Obama solely because he was black.

See what I am getting at here?

You can't just put someone at the forefront of the party who isn't a white male and pretend that your whole platform has somehow changed and you have refreshing ideas that might fix the country for once instead of destroying it. Maybe instead of trying to copy the Democrats solely by emulating the race and gender of their leaders, you might try getting rid of the racists and people with shitty, outdated ideas that seem to be so prevalent near the top of your party. Tax cuts aren't the end all to every problem in the world like you would love to have us all believe. Better luck next time in making your party relevant.

Finally someone willing to speak the truth...

Holder: US a nation of cowards on racial matters

I couldn't agree with Atty General Holder more. People (namely those of the lighter shades) are afraid of constructive discussion on racial matters in this country. Everyone wants to pretend that we can just forget about the past injustices and just move on (especially in the age of Obama). Too bad that doesn't work in any aspect of life. Do you remember a time when someone has wronged you as bad as certain races (such as Native Americans and Blacks) have been wronged in this country, and you chose to just let it go because, "hey, it's in the past, no need to confront it". I hate to break it to people, but the scars of our past will not go away if we ignore them. Racism and prejudice still exist in this country, sometimes in forms less obvious than the blatant slur. Obama took a pretty passive stance on the race issue (only confronting it when forced to), which is almost understandable in a country where so many white voters would have ran from him like the plague had he truly tackled the topic before the election. I really hope he speaks out in the future and leads the country into a constructive discussion on an issue that still boils beneath the fairy tale image that is America as a melting pot.

One too many bong hits...

Eight arrested in Michael Phelps case

I think entirely too much is being made out of this case, but I guess it's no surprise considering who's involved.

What really gets me though, is the fact that the moron who owned the bong tried to sell in for $100,000 on eBay. What kind of moron tries to sell used drug paraphernalia on eBay??? Maybe marijuana really does kill brain cells.

One last jab...

Surprise surprise....

Bush Faithful Rewarded With Jobs

I hope that mother-stuffer ends up in jail one day. He's basically ran roughshod on our country for 8 years and couldn't resist one last chance to stick it to us.

Stuff you George W. Bush. Stuff you very much.

Please join the call for truth and justice...

This sounds mighty suspect to me. It seems mind boggling that someone would be able to shoot themselves in the head with a shotgun while sitting in a car. The pathologist seems to agree.

All anyone is asking for is a fair and unbiased investigation. Please join in to pressure the DA to push for a full investigation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
From colorofchange.org:

Dear Friends,

On December 8th, 17-year-old Billey Joe Johnson died from a gunshot wound to the head. Police say he killed himself with a shotgun after being stopped for a simple traffic violation in Lucedale, Mississippi.^[1] Several things seem to cast doubt on the official story, including an independent investigation that concluded it would have been impossible for the shot that killed Johnson to have been self-inflicted.

Many on the ground smell a murder and a cover-up. We don't have all the answers, but it's clear that in the racially divided town of Lucedale, all the ingredients exist for a miscarriage of justice.

I've joined ColorOfChange.org in demanding answers and justice for Billey Joe's family. Together, we can help ensure that the District Attorney feels the presence of a national spotlight, and let him know that anything short of a thorough investigation will result in massive attention and a call for outside intervention.

Please join me. It takes only a moment:

http://www.colorofchange.org/billeyjoe/?id=1949-411545

From the beginning, the District Attorney has treated the investigation of Billey Joe's death as a suicide or the result of an accidental self-inflicted injury. Based on his public statements and interactions with Billey Joe's family, it appears that the District Attorney hasn't looked into whether Billey Joe was killed by an officer or someone else. Again, we don't have all the answers, but here's what we do know:

- Billey Joe was at his former girlfriend's house minutes before the killing.^[2] He never entered the house, but police were called to respond to an attempted burglary there.^[3] This fact was not a part of the original story given by the police.

- Billey Joe's family say that his ex-girlfriend had been staying at her father's house because her mother threw her out for dating Billey Joe (she is White and Billey Joe was Black). They said Billey Joe knew to only go to the house when the girl's father was not present, that the two of them were on good terms even after he had broken up with her, and that the breakup was largely because of pressure from her father. The family also claims that there is a relationship between the officer present at the scene of Billey Joe's death and the girl's father.

- A witness heard two shots, not one, at the scene where Billey Joe died, according to an independent investigation launched by the Mississippi NAACP. The pathologist in that investigation has indicated that it would be impossible for a bullet from a a self-inflicted shot to enter in the manner that it did. He also said that given the length of Billey Joe's arms and the length of the shotgun, it would have been impossible for him to hold the weapon and fire it at himself.

- Billey Joe was a star athlete with scholarship offers from more than half a dozen schools. No one--including family, friends, and coaches--could think of a reason that Billey Joe would want to end his life.^[4,5,6]

A true investigation would sort out fact from rumor. But we can't be sure that Johnson's family will get the investigation it deserves. In the case of the Jena 6 we saw a District Attorney and a judge incapable of carrying out justice in a racially charged environment. In the recent case of the murder of Oscar Grant by police (and many like it), we see how unlikely it is for District Attorneys to do their job when the suspect is an officer of the law. But in both these cases, public pressure has made all the difference by shining a spotlight on local authorities.

In the case of Billey Joe Johnson, we're looking for the truth and for justice. A minute of your time can help ensure his family gets both:

http://www.colorofchange.org/billeyjoe/?id=1949-411545

Thanks.

References:

1. http://tinyurl.com/aul9hd
2. http://www.sunherald.com/local/story/1050689.html
3. http://www.wkrg.com/news/flash_paper/12_19_08_billy_joe_johnson/
4. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0812/17/cnr.07.html
5. http://tinyurl.com/cs7cjm
6. http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_11280331