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TPA Roundup – December 26, 2011

Posted by nytexan

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The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes everyone is enjoying their holiday as it brings you the last roundup of 2011.

Last week’s House Republican cave-in on the payroll tax cut extension is intertwined with the Keystone XL pipeline: both have to be decided upon again in 60 days.  PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has some discussion about the implications.

Bay Area Houston thinks Maybe Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg should resign.

Neil at Texas Liberal posted the Occupy Houston response to felony charges for some Occupy protestors who took part in civil disobedience at the Port of Houston. This is matter that should be of concern to all progressives, political advocacy groups, and civil libertarians.

Federal court judge Sam Sparks gave an early Christmas present to Texas microbreweries and their customers last week. Off the Kuff explains.

At TexasKaos, Lightseeker reports on the end of the year signs that the war on public education is reaching a critical juncture. Read his report : Public Education in the Crosshairs – Is This the End?

Texas Republicans disallow a crony capitalist tax break letting public schools keep money. CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme can tell it’s election season. You know Republicans love their cronies and hate public education.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson says it’s time for the people to be the focus of our politics and government, and we must start doing What’s good for the people of this state.

BossKitty at TruthHuggeris very pleased with Congressman Lloyd Doggett. The Texas Republicans are still trying to mess with Lloyd’s District. Bosskitty shares an example of how Lloyd responded to an email concerning the HR 10 vote. UPDATE: Response to HR 10 Consequences

TPA Roundup – December 19, 2011

Posted by nytexan

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The Texas Progressive Alliance is all about the wassailing as it brings you this week’s blog roundup.

Off the Kuff has a look at candidate filings in Harris County as of what was once the deadline date.

BossKitty at TruthHugger - sees the grim side of a corporate ruled America, is that Climate Change Controversy May Be A Conspiracy and we are the targets.

BlueBloggin – Special interests are really not very special when they represent mindless, dangerous attitudes of corporate extremists, who don’t want to be accountable for their actions. Let Me Sell you A Lie – EPA Consequences of The REINS Act – H.R. 10 shows that corporations really do own America’s lawmakers.

Bay Area Houston says Rick Perry is one rotten bastard.

Death sentences and the use of the death penalty are hitting record lows. Mostly because of the corruption and injustice in our criminal justice system. It’s led WCNews at Eye On Williamson to wonder, Is the death penalty dying?

Third-party presidential candidates may make some noise and perhaps even some news in 2012, writes PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

At TexasKaos, Libby Shaw gives us the headsup on the latest episode of Rick Perry, fraud and hypocrite. Check out: Double Dipping Rick the Hypocrite.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes Greg Abbott called the US Supreme court to poop on Texas’ politicians and voters. That’s a republican for you.

Neil at Texas Liberal wrote a post considering the life of the real St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas was a foe of the death penalty who was said to have brought back to life children who had been cut up and were going to be pickled.

McBlogger takes on PolitiFact’s pathetic attempt to beat up Congressman Lloyd Doggett.

Refinish69 from Doing My Part For The Left wonders Do They Know It’s Christmas in Washington or anywhere else in the world.

Let Me Sell you A Lie – EPA Consequences of The REINS Act – H.R. 10

Posted by bosskitty

This is a follow up to my warning on the day it passed the US House of Representatives, “The REINS Act – H.R. 10 Threatens Checks and Balances”.  Contact your Senator and insist that HR10 must not become a law that Undermines Crucial Safeguards for American Families!  Corporations can sell lies about their product or manufacturing process to government agencies, already.  This is status quo, because the packed US Supreme Court decided that corporations are people and can buy their politicians.  Follow the money has become even more sinister than before. It has been happening because corporations and their lobbyists purchase lawmakers. And those same lawmakers are only accountable to the corporations, they are even given scripts to schmooze their constituents and place blame on the evil regulatory system, which is all but non-effective anyway. 

Since 2003 consumers have been fed corn that has been genetically manipulated with pesticides.  Monsanto bought the EPA.  Monsanto was responsible to monitor the product.  Monsanto continues to deny the problem in the face of growing complaints by growers. For 8 years, farmers and growers concerns and complaints fell on deaf ears at the EPA.  EPA regulators BERJAYA

We have seen the power of big business morph this country into their greedy playground.  Corporate America has bought every idea we are exposed to.  They want to control our behavior.  They want to control our pocket books.  They want to control the ethnicity and religion of this country to serve their greedy ambitions.  The corporate media complies with the corporate mission to disseminate half truths and shape the emotions of each and every one of us.
However, with a little research, this may create new jobs because:
  1. When toxic consequences are finally revealed, more jobs are created for the clean up.
  2. The American taxpayer has to foot the bill, because …
  3. The perpetrator gets off Scott Free with a slap on the wrist, usually with a fine that is only a small percentage of the cost of remediation and cleanup.
  4. The American taxpayer has to live with the toxic consequences for years before any margin of safety is achieved.
  5. Even more jobs are created to manufacture and sell protective products and pharmaceuticals to the victims of toxic exposure.

Genetically Modified Corn — Safe or Toxic?EPA Rule Shows Regulations That Kill Jobs Can Create New Ones
The EPA, which some Koch Brothers Republicans want to eliminate altogether, tries in vain to enforce responsible behavior and accountability to local and  state governments as well as corporations.  Everyone complains.  Albuquerque is but one example.  Water runoff from storms have picked up debris and toxic waste, and deposits into the Rio Grande waterway … sending this stuff down river to all the BERJAYAcommunities along the way.  These corporations will create spin-off companies to address the toxic consequences, at a profit, of course.

EPA cites Albuquerque with Clean Water Act violations; advocacy group calls for city action

Federal environmental officials close to decision on $205M clean-up proposal of

Bridgewater’s Cyanamid propertyEPA to Staunch Flood of Storm Water Runoff Polluting U.S. Waterways

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is gearing up to tighten old storm water rulesRising Air Pollution Worsens Drought, Flooding, New Study Finds
So, the GOP thinks that regulations imposed by government agencies responsible for protecting the health of Americans and their environmental living conditions restrict their business.  Agencies with the expertise to recognize hazards and potential hazards to humans and their environment are responsible for investigating, analyzing and drafting regulations to protect everyone.  Congress can only claim the expertise given them by corporate lobbyists.

In this case, EPA relies on sound science to safeguard both human health and the environment. The Agency conducts research on ways to prevent pollution, protect human health, and reduce risk. Every day, we come into contact with industrial and commercial chemicals in products we use in our homes and workplaces. Several laws, including the Toxic Substances Control Act; Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; and Food Quality Protection Act, mandate EPA’s oversight and regulatory responsibilities to reduce risks from chemicals used on food and the use of pesticides. EPA’s research program strives prevent and reduce pesticide and industrial chemical risks to humans, communities and ecosystems.  AND, the USDA supports the safe and appropriate use of science and technology, including biotechnology, to help meet agricultural challenges and consumer needs of the 21st century. USDA plays a key role in assuring that products produced using biotechnology are safe to be grown and used in the United States. Once these products enter commerce, USDA supports bringing these and other products to the worldwide marketplace.

WIKI: Lobbyists use time spent with legislators and executive branch officials to explain the goals of the organizations they represent, and to present those organizations’ points of view. Another important function of lobbyists is to serve as a conduit for information flowing the other way, from officials to the people employing the lobbyists; they can serve as legislative tacticians, determining the best way for an organization to fulfill its goals.

Ask your Congressman and your Senator who they will answer to when it comes time to apply regulations to corporations. Ask them who will determine how they vote, the community or state that they represent or the fundraising corporate lobbyists that write and pay for their commercials.

TPA – 12/12/2011

Posted by bosskitty

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The Texas Progressive Alliance is too busy with last minute Christmas shopping to come up with a clever intro as it brings you this week’s roundup.

SCOTUS has issued a stay and scrambled the 2012 elections again. Off the Kuff tries to make sense of it.

BossKitty at TruthHugger - it’s business as usual for Texas politicians want to tilt the voter tables in their favor by gerrymandering - US Supreme Court May Like New Texas Gerrymandering.

Occupy went to Washington and comes to Houston on Monday, December 12. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs follows along.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson points out that there’s a corporate hand up the back of many GOP legislators in Texas, Texas GOP legislators are corporate puppets.

At TexasKaos Libby Shaw explans how the GOP is killing the U.S. economy and the American Dream.

Neil at Texas Liberal made one post, and then another detailing the trip of recent Green Houston City Council candidate Amy Price to Washington with Occupy Houston.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme calls out the US Supreme Court for the corrupt hijacking of the Texas elections.

US Supreme Court May Like New Texas Gerrymandering

Posted by bosskitty

BERJAYAEnough of this crooked “business as usual behavior” by Texas Politicians.   Enough free passes by the US Supreme Court. The Texas Constitution MUST be changed to prevent disenfranchising the citizens of this once great state. All these years of crooked Texas politics has flushed the credibility of being a Texan, down the toilet.   I tell strangers that I am from Oklahoma or Arkansas … I am ashamed to have Rick Perry defining Texans.  Not all of us are comical idiots, together.  We are either comical OR idiots.  Not both.

WIKI:  gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan, incumbent-protected districts. The resulting district is known as a gerrymander however, that word can also refer to the process.

The two aims of gerrymandering are to maximize the effect of supporters’ votes and to minimize the effect of opponents’ votes.

Gerrymandering may be used to achieve desired electoral results for a particular party, or may be used to help or hinder a particular demographic, such as a political, racial, linguistic, religious or class group.

WIKI: The 2003 Texas redistricting refers to a controversial mid-decade congressional redistricting plan appealed to the United States Supreme Court in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry. On June 28, 2006, the Supreme Court upheld the statewide redistricting as Constitutional, but struck down Congressional District 23 as racial gerrymandering in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

Redistricting in Texas was traditionally done once every ten years, soon after the National Census.

But this time, Texas Republicans want to stack the deck right before the 2012 Presidential Primary.

2005, the Washington Post reported, “Justice Department lawyers concluded that the landmark Texas congressional redistricting plan spearheaded by Rep. Tom DeLay violated the Voting Rights Act, according to a previously undisclosed memo” uncovered by the newspaper.[10] The document, endorsed by six Justice Department attorneys, said “the redistricting plan illegally diluted black and Hispanic voting power in two congressional districts.”

… Justice Department lawyers “found that Republican lawmakers and state officials who helped craft the proposal were aware it posed a high risk of being ruled discriminatory compared with other options.” Nonetheless, Texas legislators proceeded with the new plan “because it would maximize the number of Republican federal lawmakers in the state,” the Post said about the document.
Texas Republicans Get Emergency Supreme Court Hearing on Election Maps
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear an emergency challenge by TexasRepublicans to maps that would govern next year’s state and federal elections, accepting a case that tests the power of judges to redraw voting-district lines.  Temporarily blocking a lower court order that put the maps in place, the court said last night it will hear the case on an expedited basis, with arguments on Jan. 9.

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Supreme Court blocks Texas’ use of court-drawn redistricting maps
FORT WORTH, TEXAS - The nation’s highest court late Friday temporarily blocked the interim court-drawn boundaries that form Texas’ legislative and congressional districts for next year’s election.
Texas Primary Likely Delayed as Supreme Court Halts New Texas Electoral Maps
HOUSTON –  Texas’ March primary will likely be delayed after the Supreme Court on Friday blocked the use of state legislative and congressional district maps that were drawn by federal judges. The court issued a briehe Mexican-American Legislative Caucus, which participated in the San Antonio lawsuit, said it was “deeply concerned” about the potential disruption of the 2012 election schedule.

Gerrymandered confusion

In the meantime and suspecting that the maps will be declared illegal by the Justice Department panel, a panel of federal judges in San Antonio recently proposed a new, fairer set of maps for use in the now-underway election cycle.
Being fed up with the blatant corruption of politicians in general, is just a way of life, especially in Texas.  But, in Texas, wheeler dealers are the laughing stock of the world.  They can con businesses around the world all day long, just read your history.  But Texans are sick and tired of being conned and disenfranchised by the people they elect.  Texans are living the ugly consequences, while the politicians sing a beautiful fairy tale song.  Perry can sell his unemployment numbers to anyone but a Texan.  He can sell his education and medical care myths to anyone but a Texan.  He can sell the Trans-Texas Corridor to anyone else, but Texans really don’t want their land condemned for a project that makes Perry and his Spanish Corporate buddies rich.  
Just read the history books … you will never find these sordid facts there.   Ooops, in Texas, and several other ultra conservative states, only sanitized history is what the political party wants you to know.  Whole generations are educated with half truths and omissions.  Our founding fathers would have cringed to see the level of scholarship today’s student demonstrates.  Today’s student is not aware of half the workings of this country, and could care less why it is that way.  So, why should I give a shit about today’s student education?  They are tomorrow’s voters.  Today’s voters only have a choice to vote for whoever their parents, colleagues or social group chooses.  No one has the time to dig for the lies and insist on accountability and honesty.  That’s because main stream media only wants to show the bickering and glitz of politicians … to improve their ratings and please their corporate sponsors.  If I had to rely exclusively  on network coverage for my information, I would just vote with my herd. I would vote for whoever my boss told me to vote for.  I would vote for the sexiest, loudest, most recognizable face on TV.  OR, like too many voting aged people, not vote at all.  Not voting is the most despicable act, no excuses other than being hospitalized in a coma, is acceptable.  We have two-faced, lying sons-a-bitches ruining the American Dream and ruining Texas pride, just because voters are not serious or just don’t care.
Crossposted from TruthHugger.com

Why the Tea Party is like a Crop Circle

Posted by bosskitty

I love a mystery, a puzzle, an enigma.  Crop Circles are a mysterious enigma, and so is the Tea Party.  Neither are what they seem.

FIRST: This movement started out as simply the Tea Party,  referencing a populist protest by colonists who objected to a British tax on tea in 1773, and called it the Boston Tea Party. Ron Paul and his Libertarian ideas were the foundation causes they took. Today’s Tea Party fractured into multiple components, each more radical than the next.  Like Crop Circles, the Tea Party became more illusive and controversial, the more we found out.  We found out that Crop Circles were man-made, as revealed in 1991 by self-professed pranksters, but that did not change the entire mystery.  It only explained modern era circles.  We also found out that the Koch Brothers and their industries are financing, promoting, lobbying and manipulating the Tea Party movement, molded it into a Libertarian and John Birch Society tool of conspiracy  theory and Cold War paranoia.  That changed everything for me.

The Tea Party, like Crop Circles, have intrigued me for a long time.  While the Tea Party started out as a simple concept to protest the extravagant use of tax money.  A lot of good people and good ideas were hijacked.  All they appeared to want was accountability and responsibility for spending public funds without additional taxation.

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Their initial ideas attracted me, because they seemed logical, straight forward and reasonable. Then they said more, and revealed what they are really all about.  The words that pave their ideology is a written script designed by the Koch Brother’s.  The Koch Brothers and their various industries have a completely sinister agenda.  The Koch family are original John Birch Society members.

WIKI: One of the founding members of the John Birch Society was Fred Koch, founder of Koch Industries, one of the largest private corporations in America.  JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY = JBS.

WIKI: 2009–present the JBS has been active in supporting the auditing of, and aims to eventually dismantle, the Federal Reserve System. The JBS believes that the U.S. Constitution gave only Congress the ability to coin money, and did not intend for it to delegate this power to a banking monopoly, or to transform it into a fiat currency not backed by gold or silver.

The JBS was a co-sponsor of the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference, ending its decades-long exile from the mainstream conservative movement.

WIKI HISTORY:  The initial tax protesters did not like the bailouts of banks by the Bush and Obama administrations. This triggered the Tea Party’s rise.  The anniversary of the original Boston Tea Party, commemorated on December 16, 2007, by Republican Congressman Ron Paul supporters, held a fund raising event for the 2008 presidential primaries advocating an end to fiat money and  the Federal Reserve System,   disengaging from foreign entanglements in Iraq and Afghanistan, and upholding States’ rights. (States Rights was the euphemism in the 1960s for segregation, separate but equal treatment of non-white citizens).

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Then the original tax protest morphed into, The Tea Party Movement and Tea Party Patriots and Tea Party Guardians.  The radical ideas supported by these spin offs would devastate a large portion of the ethnic, LGBT, immigrant and anyone but their brand of Christianity, in this country.

The emphasis on racial, religious and socio-economic bias is already seriously dividing this country.  It becomes a dangerous numbers game.  The Kock Brothers have convinced and encouraged the radical Tea Party spin offs, that the solution to all their social and economic problems is to eliminate all support to the “other half” and they will go away.  The undercurrent of sanctioned violence is carefully administered so accountability will be deniable.  

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The nasty word for Koch Industries is accountability.  They do not want regulations to impair their ability to make profit.  That is why they convince the radicals that Federal Regulations loose jobs and taxes loose jobs and social support wastes public money. Their money buys loyalty and spokespersons from the hate groups and bigots that have been a minority for a couple of decades. They see  collectivism as the main threat to Western Civilization, and liberals as “secret communist traitors” who provide cover for the gradual process of collectivism, with the ultimate goal of replacing the nations of western civilization with a one-world socialist government. 

Please learn about these guys and what they are encouraging this movement to do.  Understand that as long as their rhetoric is generalities, the true implications are never realized. As long as no one associates them as children of the John Birch Society era, they will buy their way into the White House.  They have already laid the foundation for another American Civil War.

WIKI: … billionaire brothers David H. Koch and Charles G. Koch and Koch Industries are providing financial and organizational support to the Tea Party movement through Americans for Prosperity, which David

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founded.  The AFP’s “Hot Air Tour” was organized to fight against taxes on carbon use and the activation of a cap and trade program.  In 1984, David Koch also founded Citizens for a Sound Economy, part of which became FreedomWorks in a 2004 split  another group that organized and supports the movement.  Koch Industries issued a press release stating that the Kochs have “no ties to and have never given money to FreedomWorks”.  Former ambassador Christopher Meyer writes in the Daily Mail that the Tea Party movement is a mix of “grassroots populism, professional conservative politics, and big money”, the last supplied in part by Charles and David Koch.  Jane Mayer says that the Koch brothers’ political involvement with the Tea Party has been so secretive that she labels it “covert”

WIKI:  Koch Industries, Inc., the second largest privately held company in the United States (after Cargill) with an annual revenue of about $98 billion. Charles Koch has stated that the company will publicly offer shares “literally over my dead body”. This company From 1999 to 2003, Koch Industries was assessed “more than $400 million in fines, penalties and judgments” for Pipeline accidents, Pollution and resource fines. Koch Industries has spent more than $50 million to lobby in Washington since 2006, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The company has opposed the regulation of financial derivatives and limits on greenhouse gases. It sponsors free market foundations and causes. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, many of Koch Industries’ contributions have gone toward achieving legislation on energy issues,defense appropriations and financial regulatory reform. According to Greenpeace, the company has “had a quiet but dominant role in a high-profile national policy debate on global warming,” and has out-spent ExxonMobil (another corporation active in fighting climate change science and legislation) in giving money to organizations fighting legislation related to climate change. “From 2005 to 2008, ExxonMobil spent $8.9 million while the Koch Industries-controlled foundations contributed $24.9 million in funding.” Another Greenpeace study states that between 1997 and 2008 Koch Industries donated nearly $48 million to groups which doubt or oppose the theory of anthropogenic global warming. Koch Industries replied saying the Greenpeace report “distorts the environmental record of our companies.”

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One policy proposal to control global warming that Koch Industries has come out against is Low Carbon Fuel Standards, such as were passed in 2007 in California. According to Koch Industries, “LCFS would cripple refiners that rely on heavy crude feedstocks to provide the transportation fuels that keep America moving.”

According to a critic of the Mercatus Center and the Kochs, the political activity by some of the Koch-supported foundations — such as Mercatus Center – helps the company financially.  According to Thomas McGarity, a law professor at the University of Texas who specializes in environmental issues, “Koch has been constantly in trouble with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Mercatus has constantly hammered” on the EPA. The founder of the Mercatus Center, Richard H. Fink, also heads Koch Industries’ lobbying operation in Washington DC. According to a study by the liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America, Koch Industries (and other Koch brothers-owned companies) “have benefited from nearly a $100 million in government contracts since 2000.”

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Koch Industries have also been active in supporting and opposing politicians, including presidents. During the US 2000 election campaign, Koch Industries spent some $900,000 to support the candidacies of George W. Bush and other Republicans. (disputed) It has funded opposition campaigns against programs of the Obama administration — “from health-care reform to the economic-stimulus”. The Koch Industries website includes an opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal by Charles Koch, one of the company’s owners, “Why Koch Industries is Speaking Out”,  The article states:   Because of our activism, we’ve been vilified by various groups. Despite this criticism, we’re determined to keep contributing and standing up for those politicians, like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who are taking these challenges [deficit spending by governments] seriously.

WIKI:  Political activities of the Koch family

David and Charles have funded conservative and libertarian policy and advocacy groups in the United States. Since the 1980s the Koch foundations have given more than $100 million to such organizations, among these think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute, as well as more recently Americans for Prosperity. Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks are Koch-linked organizations that have been linked to the Tea Party movement.

SECOND: I am much more comfortable with CROP CIRCLES. They are so much easier to explain.  If only the aliens could vote.  

BERJAYAWIKI: A crop circle is a sizable pattern created by the flattening of a crop such as wheatbarleyryemaize, or rapeseed. Crop circles are also referred to as crop formations, because they are not always circular in shape.  Since appearing in the media in the 1970s, crop circles have become the subject of speculation by various paranormalufological, and anomalistic investigators ranging from proposals that they were created by bizarre meteorological phenomena to messages from extraterrestrial beings.

Formations usually are made overnight, but have also been made during the day. While it is not known how all crop circles are formed, various theories have been put forth ranging from natural phenomenon and man-made hoaxes, to the paranormal and even animals.  Man-made:  The most widely known method for a person or group to construct a crop formation is to tie one end of a rope to an anchor point, and the other end to a board which is used to crush the plants. Some crop formations are paid for by companies who use them as advertising. As an explanation of some of the more complex formations, physicists have suggested the use of GPS, lasers, and portable microwave generators.

The Tea Party, as a front for the Koch Brothers, wants to place a brick wall in front of social momentum.  They are expecting or hoping for a crash that will eliminate the “unproductive” parts of American Society, that  they feel is an unnecessary drain on public resources. That is not the humane method to the change speed of social progress.  They don’t care.  A Civil War would suit them just fine.  Their agenda matches the John Birch Society which promotes CPAC and opposes the Civil Rights Act.  Their single minded agenda will use anyone who succumbs to their twisted logic.  Anything progressive is a liberal conspiracy to promote Socialism.  They are a product of the Cold War and dream of returning to that mentality. The one attraction this group brings is its rabid opposition to anything it perceives as “The New World Order”.  You can thank these guys for all the conspiracies surrounding this idea.  You can thank these guys for trying to return America to the Cold War and pre-Civil Rights accomplishments.  Maybe that’s why their mantra is “anyone but OBAMA”!  Thats why the GOP refuses to work with Obama and do anything that will make him look good.  You can thank this attitude for almost shutting the US Government down too many times this year.  They never made any bi-partisan decisions, they just “kicked the can down the road”.  America is very vulnerable right now.  The Tea Party Movement has stopped the gears of government and wants to blame someone else.

TPA Roundup – 12/5/2011

Posted by bosskitty

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So, its now December 2011, the US Presidential campaign is already nasty, and it has just under a year to go. 

The Texas Progressive Alliance thinks that if Herman Cain had just married all those women he could be where Newt Gingrich is today as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff provides a little perspective about redistricting and the political outcome of the ongoing litigation over it.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson says it’s time for a new direction for the Texas Democratic Party, A tremendous opportunity to create a new Democratic Party in Texas.

McBlogger says that Judge Rakoff threw a big wrench into the sweetheart deals some of the banks have been getting from the SEC.

Bay Area Houston has information if you want to Contact the Judge about State Representative Joe Driver’s sentencing.

Refinish69 has a few suggestions since The Holiday Season is Here!

BossKitty at TruthHugger - Is more comfortable with Crop Circles than the Frankenstein Tea Party the Koch Brothers created. Why the Tea Party is like a Crop Circle.

At TexasKaos, Libby Shaw summaries the choices presented by the Republican presidental hopefuls in An OOPS, Serial Flipper Flopper, Adulterers, a Sourpuss and a Scared Spin Doctor. It would be funnier, if it were not all true.

Mitt Romney’s path to the GOP nomination got considerably rockier in the past week, and that was before Herman Cain failed to deliver in 30 minutes or less. The rise of Newt Gingrich is however a dilemma for conservative fundamentalist Christians, as PDiddie at Brains and Eggs observes. Can they get behind a nominee who believes that marriage should only be between a man and a woman who does not have cancer?

Neil at Texas Liberal took a walk along some railroad tracks in Houston. On this walk, Neil encountered both solid and metaphorical aspects of life.

A Revolutionary Agenda

Posted by nytexan

BERJAYAby Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy

Why has the right wing apparently succeeded in stacking SCOTUS with 5 justices who have in common their disdain for the work of our founders? They succeeded for several reasons:
  • the media, concentrated in very few corporate hands, demands ‘free speech’ but only for themselves;
  • the corporate community is interested in their privileges but disdain YOUR rights;
  • education is neglected and most notably in those states ‘occupied’ by the GOP.
Texas is a case in point. Prior to the arrival of the Bush crime family, one could get a good education in Texas. I would like to think that I am but one of millions who are the living proof of it. Bush/Perry, however, were more interested in the profits that ‘private education’ might make if declining test scores in the public systems were ignored. The ‘private schools’ are profitable but serve the ruling elite. Everyone else is expected to resort to crime and thus fill the gulag of corporate-owned prisons.
Recently, Karl Rove ‘demanded’ to know who gave us the right to occupy our country! Rove has apparently never heard of the Bill of Rights. I will be happy to educate Rove. In fact the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution does not ‘give’ or ‘grant’ those rights; it merely affirms the rights that all of us enjoy by common law.
I suggest Karl Rove read John Locke for a start. By ‘common law’ we have the right to speak, dissent, protest, criticize and, in every other non-violent manner, hold every politician –from elected dog catcher to President –accountable to US!!Though he was not a ‘founder’ in that he was not among the delegates to the Constitutional Convention, Thomas Jefferson wrote of the right of people to abolish tyrannies, the right to abolish those governments failing to uphold their end of a ‘social contract’, a ‘covenant’ between government and people. Governments failing those responsibilities are in ‘breach of contract’, the ‘social contract’ which is, in fact, its only source of legitimacy.

Every philosopher who is connected in any way with what is called the ‘enlightenment’ has held that when the ‘government’ i.e, the ‘hired hands’ who run it from day-to-day violate the terms of this ‘social contract’, it is the right of the people to ‘abolish it. To wit:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,[74] that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are suffer able, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpation, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

–The Declaration of Independence [authored by Thomas Jefferson; bolding mine, LH}

The nimrods in Washington D.C. to include all of K-street, the gang of lobbyists as well as paid liars like Karl Rove and numerous ‘elected’ representatives should go back to school. I suggest that their first course be entitled: HUMILITY with various lessons to include:

  • public service
  • the sovereignty of the people
  • the enumerated responsibilities of government to its sovereign

BERJAYAThe people are the final jurors. We, the people, are tasked with deciding whether a particular government shall remain or be replaced. Jefferson and the founders as well believed that that was our right! I have, at this point, given up on a corrupt establishment, controlled as it is by the ruling elite of just 1 percent of the population. I have given up on the ‘community’ of ‘legal abstractions’ called ‘corporations’! Enough! It is time that the people be heard! A new broom sweeps clean. All things must pass!

The time is near, perhaps arrived, when the people must re-establish as matters of law that:
  • the people are sovereign;
  • that whenever any ‘government’ has failed its duties and responsibilities to the people it is the RIGHT of the people to abolish it;
  • that any new government inherits, therefore, a legal and ironclad responsibility not to tolerate the rights of the people but to preserve, protect and defend them actively against all subversive attempts at home or abroad.
Our so-called ‘government’ –at least since Ronald Reagan –has failed the people. The Constitution is paid lip service. The Bill of Rights is reviled. The needs of the people are ignored. The environment is considered the preserve of corporations. Corporations are given ‘rights’ though they are not and never will be people. The coming revolution has a long list of wrongs to be undone and crimes to be punished.

US and NATO Allies Too Sloppy For War

Posted by bosskitty

 We hear this over and over.  Ooops, sorry.  How many did we accidentally kill this time?  The US and NATO and the multitude of countries occupying Afghanistan, on an obsessive-compulsive mission to complete the mission started after 9/11/2001.   The Taliban is hurt but not destroyed, Bin Laden is dead.  There is no oil in Afghanistan … even though there are plenty of valuable minerals.  There is always the BERJAYAfamous golden egg, poppies. Somebody wants to make money from that, while spending more money to eradicate the same thing, the Golden Goose.  Just like the US war on drugs is doing in America. Spend money on more war toys while being paid by the drug lords.

The US and NATO allies are obsessed with destroying those Afghan poppies, making everything as western as they can, and unleashing proselytizer soldiers.  Yes, Afghanistan is poor, uneducated and subject to the whims of whoever occupies them at the moment.  They adapt.  They suffer from extremist religious suppression … would not want to be a female in that place.  But, it is their country.  We did extract revenge on the last two occupiers of the country (Russia and Taliban).  After all, we put the Taliban there to get back at the Russians.  We put Bin Laden in charge.  We have resolved our guilt, moved the money around the table and reduced earth’s population by several thousand.  We have also created new and wonderful enemies, trained them and given them weapons.  All this to insure we will have to come back sometime in the future to boost the global military-industrial complex, and make money change hands again.

WIKI: Collateral damage is damage to people or property that is unintended or incidental to the intended outcome.[1] The phrase is prevalently used as an euphemism for civilian casualties of a military action.

WIKI: As of November 22, 2011, there have been 1,801 American fatalities in the war in Afghanistan. More than 1,455 of these casualties have been the result of hostile action. But, we may never know how many civilians and non-combatants have been destroyed.
US censures report on drone casualties - Officials reject independent UK study’s finding that up to 168 children have been killed in drone strikes in Pakistan.
BERJAYAHollywood shows us how strategic and accurate our weapons of war have become … sure.  Hollywood gives the war machine too much credit.  Repeat, Mea Culpa over and over, because we can’t stop ourselves from sloppy warfare.  The billions of dollars changing hands from military-industrial lobbyists to politicians and back to the military-industrial complex promises the moon, but gives inferior star wars technology, made in China, Korea and Malaysia.  Our toys just don’t work as advertised.  Collateral damage is the definition of today’s conflicts.  

US politicians spout convincing reasons for these accidents, after reading the excuses sent to them by the military officers in charge of the missons. The last thing any of  the military reports will give us is the truth.  For those officers in charge, it is bad public relations … and, how would this effect their political future and publication royalties?  
‘Civilians make up over 90% of casualties in US drone strikes in Pakistan’
U.S. Drone Strikes Have Killed 2292 People In Pakistan Since 2004, Including Over 160 Children
Photos from the Ground Show Civilian Casualties
In the US, remote-controlled drones are considered great tools in the war on terror. For years Washington has sent these high-tech weapons into western Pakistan, lauding their precision. But a local journalist says he has photographic evidence that civilians are often the victims.

Drones Radicalize Locals

BERJAYA

US drone strikes in Pakistan have killed more civilians than previously reported, including 168 children, according to figures compiled by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.Many people from Waziristan say — independently of one another — that America’s drone attacks radicalize the locals. The attacks are formally condemned by the Pakistani government, but sanctioned in secret, as diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks make clear. “When a house is destroyed and civilians die, you can assume that the people who lived there, their neighbors and their friends all hate America,” says Behram. Violence and economic need have led inevitably to radicalization, he says. The people have no choice: “They’re too poor to look elsewhere for better prospects.”

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s key findings

• Since 2004 a minimum of 291 drone strikes have been launched by the US – almost 10 per cent more attacks than previously understood.

• A minimum of 2,292 people have been killed in the attacks – 40 per cent more than generally reported. The number may be as high as 2,863.

• The bureau has identified 126 named militants killed.

• At least 385 civilians have been killed, with a possible upper figure of 775.

• Some 168 children have reportedly been killed in the drone strikes – 56 of them during
Pakistan Militants Killed 2,500 In 2010, Report Says — BBC
More than 2,500 people were killed in militant attacks in Pakistan in 2010, according to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).
Nearly half of victims were civilians killed in suicide blasts. There were 67 such attacks last year, the group said.
The report also said at least 900 people had been killed in US drone strikes during the same period.
The number of people killed by the army is not mentioned, but it estimated to be in the region of 600-700.
US Promises Full Probe Into Pakistan Deaths
The US has offered its “deepest condolences” after up to 26 Pakistani soldiers were killed in cross-border Nato air strikes.

America stressed the “importance” of its ties with Pakistan following the deadly assault on a border checkpoint.

In a joint statement, US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also backed Nato’s intention to launch an immediate investigation.
NATO Strikes Kill Pakistani Forces, Raising Tensions
The Collateral Damage in Pakistan
Fatalities in Terrorist Violence in Pakistan 2003-2011
Journalists behind drone death report reject CIA-backed spin machine
Afghanistan war logs: Friendly fire deaths plagued invasion from the start
Afghanistan war logs: Reaper drones bring remote control death
Afghanistan war logs: Out-of-control drone shot down by US jet plane before it flew into Tajikistan
I am so tired of the excuses and apologies for the way we Americans do business, the way we conduct war.  

I am so tired of those in charge getting away with assigning blame, for the trouble they cause, onto the least capable among us.  Those who decide to blame the elderly, the incapable, the handicapped and of course the children, are very deluded.   There is a whole movement promoting the exclusive rights and privilege and mantle of ‘God’s Chosen’ to them and not to anyone with progressive thinking.  Wow, those evil progressives have caused the Apocalypse again.  These self-righteous maniacs want to destroy in the name of ‘God’.

Why can’t anyone get the contradiction that everyone is asking ‘God’ to destroy the other guy … who is also asking the same ‘God’ to do the same thing.  What we see right now is the self-fulfilling prophesy.  Each side seeking to destroy the other, asking divine assistance.  So, what is ‘God’ supposed to do?  Well, let’s see what December 21, 2012 brings.

BERJAYA

Texas Progressive Alliance – 11/28/2011

Posted by bosskitty

BERJAYA

The Texas Progressive Alliance welcomes the opening of candidate filing season (SCOTUS willing) as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Noted “redistricting analyst” Off the Kuff analyzed the new court-drawn Congressional map.

Lightseeker takes on the question of where OWL is now and what its future might hold. Check it out: OWS Meets Mass Democracy – The Need for OWS Narrative [updated].

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the recent failure (or was it?) of the so-called “supercommittee”, Failure was a success.

Bay Area Houston wonders about Rep Joe Driver’s felony and his $57,000/yr pension.

BossKitty at TruthHugger – cannot stomach the ongoing civilian casualty toll in wars America participates in. Money talks, accountability walks. Quit electing politicians who answer to the military-industrial lobby and want to throw the rest of us under the bus. US and NATO Allies too sloppy for war.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is ashamed of the Texas Democratic Party. The only thing going for the party is that they’re not Republicans.

Just one year ago, Texas Republicans were laughing all over themselves celebrating their super-majority in the House with the defections of Aaron Pena and Allan Ritter. They’re not laughing any longer after two federal judges redrew the maps that erased all of their gains from 2010. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs notes that political fortunes can rise and fall just like the stock market, especially when pigs turn into hogs.

Neil at Texas Liberal noted that Occupy Houston printed a newspaper. Occupy Houston and Occupy efforts across the nation are working hard and staying creative to make certain that the movement is here for the long haul.

WhosPlayin wrote about a Tea Party candidate for City Council in Lewisville who is running on a platform of “rule of law” and “transparency”, but who utterly failed at both in his campaign finance reports. But hey, at least this mistake is not as bad as his $56 million overstatement of the City’s debt.

Sinclair Lewis

“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross”

BERJAYA


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