Tag Archives: United State

~ my 2cents ..., ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

TGIF &some News

08/05/2011 Nativegrl77

just another rant …

The latest events or filibusters by Republicans in both Chambers of Congress have made me wonder if or when will the Democratic Party push back or beat back the ideology that is taking over up on the Hill. I do think a line in the sand may have been drawn when our big 3 programs came under fire and while you can see vids of Republican leaders say they got 98% of what they wanted in the debt deal, it’s obvious they change Republicans want was worth pushing possibly over the cliff. To those people who hated the deal, remember they will have to defend it, which will be interesting, especially if forced to this debt deal give full disclosure. I have to say the Debt deal and the FAA debacle proved to be a moment when we saw the Democratic Party unite against the ideology of Republicans who want to take down the entire system, as we know it. The assault on the middleclass by the Republican members of Congress is obviously very offensive and will continue until we the people get out the vote and put Democrats back in control. So, when Congress gets back from their five-week break let’s hold Republicans accountable and demand that Democrats not only stand up more but do it as a united Political Party because it makes you want to jump in and say just exactly what they are thinking but too cautious to say.

It’s time for the Democratic members of Congress the President and We the People to get on the same page and take back our Democracy.

The temporary Band-Aid that Congress has put on the debt, deficit as well as the things filibustered, or sitting on some table in a back room somewhere in the Senate will rear its ugly head again. Republicans are planning to bring back the Paul Ryan Budget. It is and ideological plan that should open the eyes of most if not all Republican constituents, well maybe… hey, I definitely an optimist. We all were scared about Sarah Palin becoming one person closer to being President of the US of A and thank goodness, saner minds prevailed. In a time when millions are unemployed, more layoffs coming and Corporate America is still outsourcing and holding middle class jobs hostage. The Republican Party continues to cut slash and burn American Workers in Republican controlled states. The party of No, which used to be just a conservative pro-life scary group, is now so extreme that the slogan “taking their country back”, is no longer code but an overt statement from Republican Tea Party members. Obviously, it is about not wanting “his kind” in the White House or as other as Sarah Palin and cohorts have spewed on various occasions. I don’t know about you but the BS about President Obama being too “other” from anyone outside of Congress is offensive but when those who took an oath to serve and protect the lives of all Americans not a select few or those who you signed that Grover Norquist pledge admit to putting ideology and pledges before the People.

We are all Freedom Fighters on some level every day

CSPAN …

U.S. Economy

117,000 Total Jobs Created in July: Unemployment Down to 9.1%

154,000 private sector jobs created

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Congress Agrees to Short-Term FAA Authorization

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Defense Department Faces Budget Cuts

Panetta worried about debt ceiling agreement

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Bachmann bashes Whoopi back in new fundraising letter

Bachmann Stands By Marriage Pledge That Links Slavery to Black …
Romney, Bachmann, Santorum Vow to Defend Marriage

Reich ’68 critiques US debt deal

Senate Passes FAA Funding Measure to End Impasse, Furloughs

NATO airstrike kills Gadhafi’s son: rebels

Factors behind the market sell-off

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

What has four wheels and loves equality?

08/03/2011 Nativegrl77

HRC is hitting the road, taking our message of equality cross-country.

Join our “On the Road to Equality” tour at a stop near you »

You can also download and proudly display these signs supporting LGBT rights everywhere.

Dear Carmen,

It’s been an exciting couple months. We’ve won marriage equality in New York, secured new protections for transgender people in Connecticut, and watched as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” crumbled into history.

Americans’ support for LGBT equality issues is at an all-time high, but there’s still a long way to go in fighting discrimination and educating the public at large.

Carmen, we are at a crossroads and we need to drive as far and as fast as we can toward fairness.

So, we’re hitting the road – and we wanted you to be one of the first to know. Ten days from now we’re launching “On the Road to Equality,” our 12-week, 15-city, nationwide bus tour to spread the message and promote equality. We’ll be working with local communities to educate the American public and empower LGBT people to become advocates for fairness all over the country.

Join us on this exciting journey. Come meet us at a stop near you or download one of our four fun “road signs for equality” to display your support everywhere you go:

This tour will bring us to the reddest of red states where legal protections for LGBT Americans are severely limited and living openly can be incredibly difficult. We’re starting it off in Salt Lake City – where less than a year ago one of the Mormon Church‘s top leaders called same-sex attraction “impure and unnatural” in the days following a rash of teenage suicides.

We’ll be traveling then to Omaha and Little Rock and Birmingham and beyond – carrying our message to states with few, if any, legal protections against discrimination. We’ll be holding workshops and forums to help local LGBT communities empower themselves even in some of the nation’s most conservative areas. Achieving equality isn’t just for LGBT people in cities or on the coasts. It’s got to be everywhere.

Even if you don’t live near a tour stop, you can still join this ride for equality by downloading and displaying these pro-equality signs in the window of your car or home.

Our bus tour launches in just 10 days and we want to see your support on display as we travel the country. You can also follow all of the action at www.hrc.org/roadtoequality. If you do join us along the way, you’ll get to visit our one-of-a-kind traveling exhibit and share your own story and experiences with our very nifty video sharing tool.

We’re excited to have you on board.

Bags packed,

Joe

Joe Solmonese
President

P.S. You can also text ONTHEROAD to 30644 to join HRC’s ever-growing Mobile Action Network. You’ll get our updates from the road and beyond.

~ my 2cents ..., ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

whiney Wednesday & some News

08/03/2011 Nativegrl77

The featured photo is from an article or event by the NMAAHC.

The Faces of My People
Margaret Burroughs (b. 1917)
Woodcut on paper

it’s just another rant …

About six days ago, an article popped up about slavery and while the topic is definitely, a sensitive one I do like to read what has happened because of the word itself has a history of pain misery and sadness. I have been hearing a lot about human trafficking, which is what I expected until I read the entire headline and went from interested to pretty pissed off in a matter of seconds. I don’t know about you but we don’t use the word slavery or slaves lightly where I come from.

According to wiki, yes wiki. I use them because i need the writer to read the formal use of the word in all its ugliness… Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property and are forced to work.^[1] Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation. Conditions that can be considered slavery include debt bondage, indentured servitude, serfdom, domestic servants kept in captivity, adoption in which children are effectively forced to work as slaves, child soldiers, and forced marriage.^[2]

Slavery predates written records, has existed in many cultures.^[3] The number of slaves today is higher than at any point in history,^[4] remaining as high as 12 million^[5] to 27 million,^[6][7][8] though this is probably the smallest proportion of the world’s population in history.^[9] Most are debt slaves, largely in South Asia, who are under debt bondage incurred by lenders, sometimes even for generations.^[10] Human trafficking is primarily for prostituting women and children into sex industries.^[11]

I responded to “the article” because many of us have ancestors who have experienced the institution of slavery in its formal definition and while the headline probably grabbed the attention of many I say shame on you for using the word so loosely so disrespectfully or remorse. There is absolutely no acceptable way of using the word “slave” when defining inmates of a prison. I will repeat wiki but it will be in my words because words matter and not only do they matter they have impact especially when the word is very specific to a person or group of people. The use of the word “slave” has a long awful history behind it and if i have tell you what it meant back in 1800’s then you need to do more research or stop writing about or using the word to gain more readers. I ask the writer, were these prisoners” “slaves” as you call them taken from their countries, homes, raped, branded just because, compromised or that families were split because the owner ordered a human being “slave” to be sold. I just do not believe or accept your article calling or using prisoners to do stoop work free can be considered slaves. I cannot begin to tell the writer just how disappointing it is to read such a nonchalant use of the word let alone the definition of the word which was taken way out context or a gimmick to gain readers not to mention a lack of true journalism forget about professionalism. I have to ask the writer, maybe ask the people who are nice enough to read this blog how anyone could in with good conscious acquaint slave labour to that of labour from prisoners. So, by all accounts prisoners are called prisoners because they commit a crime of some sort then tried and convicted for said crime and taken to jail or “prison” because they were bad to someone or something. I guess you might dispute this but the fact is people of colour were victims of slavery in the 1800’s and what ensued after being imprisoned was through no fault of people considered chattel or 3/5 of a person. That is undeniable fact not fiction and the way in which the writer used the term “slavery” is disrespectful to the people who lived it. Today, we have a more modern equivalent r of “slavery” … human trafficking.

The info below is from wiki is about the new modern lives of slavery …

There are more slaves today than at any point in history,^[4] remaining as high as 12 million^[5] to 27 million,^[6][7][8] even though slavery is now outlawed in all countries.^[7][133] Several estimates of the number of slaves in the world have been provided. According to a broad definition of slavery used by Kevin Bales of Free the Slaves (FTS), an advocacy group linked with Anti-Slavery International, there were 27 million people in slavery in 1999, spread all over the world.^[134] In 2005, the International Labour Organization provided an estimate of 12.3 million forced labourers in the world,.^[135] Thanks to the ILO Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour (SAP-FL), the work of the ILO has been spearheaded in this field since early 2002. The Programme has successfully raised global awareness and understanding of modern forced labour; assisted governments to develop and implement new laws, policies and action plans; developed and disseminated guidance and training materials on key aspects of forced labour and human trafficking; implemented innovative programmes which combine policy development, capacity building of law enforcement and labour market institutions, and targeted, field-based projects of direct support for both prevention of forced labour and identification and rehabilitation of its victims. Siddharth Kara has also provided an estimate of 28.4 million slaves at the end of 2006 divided into the following three categories: bonded labour/debt bondage (18.1 million), forced labour (7.6 million), and trafficked slaves (2.7 million).^[136] Kara provides a dynamic model to calculate the number of slaves in the world each year, with an estimated 29.2 million at the end of 2009.

Words Matter … I cannot stress how important it is to do research before using red button topics, words, phrases, or photos and suffice it to say the use of slavery for this story is just wrong.

Slavery is a crime but it is one against humanity …shame on you

Other News …

Tropical Storm Emily on path toward Haiti

Business Insider

US Job Cuts Surge 60% In July On Month – Challenger Report

A famine in Somalia, and a chronic political failure on humanitarian aid

FAA Shutdown to Continue as Congress Leaves

Syria Storms Center of Rebellious City

Secret Service captures second White House intruder in 48 hours

$150 million in promised upgrades at former Stevens Hospital begin

CSPAN …

Debt Ceiling Agreement Goes Into Effect

President & Congress avoid default with last-minute deal

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Relief Efforts in the Horn of Africa Face Obstacles

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Hearings on Housing Finance System & Debt Financing

Drought and Famine in the Horn of Africa

Anti-Government Protests in Syria

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Patty Murray … Working for Washington State … and more

07/26/2011 Nativegrl77

Time for Slogans to End, Work to Begin on Safeguarding Our Economic Future

As we continue to work to forge compromise and avoid a default on our nation’s debts, I was deeply upset that Republicans continued to waste the little time we have left by introducing a plan that balances the budget on the backs of the people who can least afford it. The clock is ticking for families across America. It is time for Republicans to step up and join us in the job of governing. Too much is on the line for average families to allow partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C. to once again endanger the livelihoods of millions.

That is why I gave a speech on the Senate Floor this week urging Republicans to stop playing political games with this country’s economic future. With less than two weeks to go before the August 2 ^nd deadline, Democrats and Republicans need to come to the table for serious negotiations that involve shared sacrifices.

Preserving Benefits for Veterans Suffering from Agent Orange Exposure

On Thursday, I helped defeat an amendment introduced by Senator Tom Coburn that would have created a nearly impossible standard for Vietnam Veterans to receive compensation for certain types of exposure to Agent Orange. Before the vote on Coburn’s amendment, I went to the Senate Floor and called out the amendment for what it was: another hurdle Vietnam veterans would have to overcome in their 40 plus year struggle for compensation and care. The amendment ultimately failed to be included in the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill after I successfully asked that the amendment be tabled – which it was – by a vote of 69-30. Soon after the tabling of the amendment, the Senate passed the Military Constructions and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill which will ensure that veterans across the country get the support they deserve.

“Military Construction-VA Spending Bill Easily Passes Senate” – CQ

“Military funding bill clears Senate” – The Hill

Supporting Women’s Health

On Wednesday, the Institute of Medicine released their recommendation that critical preventive health care services for women and girls, including a full range of FDA-approved contraceptive methods, be fully covered by insurance companies at no additional cost. I believe that implementing these recommendations is the right thing to do and will end unnecessary and burdensome costs for millions of American women who currently struggle to afford the contraceptive coverage and other preventive health care services they need and deserve.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Conservatives Urge GOP to Raise Debt Ceiling

07/25/2011 Nativegrl77

By ThinkProgress War Room on Jul 22, 2011 at 4:55 pm

Default Denialists Called Out By Conservatives

We are now 11 days away from a default on our obligations, and House Republicans appear no closer to agreeing to increase the debt ceiling than they were weeks ago. The business community and other conservatives appear to be reacting to this default denialism with increasing alarm. Here’s a rundown of some of the right-wing calls to raise the debt ceiling.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

We have been telling you for weeks and months that defaulting on our debt is not an option – it has real, immediate, and potentially catastrophic consequences. […]

The result from political inaction could be devastating.

Financial Services Forum

Failure to raise the debt ceiling and the ensuing default and inability of our country to pay its bills as they come due would have harsh implications for the dollar, the international and domestic financial system, economic growth and job creation. It is critically important that our leaders arrive at a deal to avoid both the negative consequences of a default and address our federal debt and large annual budget deficits in a responsible way.

More than 450 Corporate CEOs

Now is the time for our political leaders to put aside partisan differences and act in the nation’s best interests. It is time to pull together rather than pull apart.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R)

But they’ve got to get this done immediately or the uncertainty for the business community is going to be just devastating to our country.

Mesa Arizona Mayor Scott Smith (R), Vice President, U.S. Conference of Mayors

Anything that upsets the potential for any kind of recovery creates huge problems for the city… We’re sort of at the bottom of the food chin. When you have someone out of work, when you have someone who’s homeless, when you have someone with mental health issues, any interruption, anything that disrupts the economy, hurts our ability to help them.

Many of the social ills that we experience, you can’t just ignore. We have people who are homeless, we have people who are unemployed. They don’t just go away when governments cut their budgets…These are human beings, they still have needs, they still have problems…Our biggest concern is when there’s an across the board cut in spending without thinking about these different needs, you end up paying more.

President Ronald Reagan

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You May Have Missed

Although GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has recently remarked that he doesn’t “see carbon as a pollutant,” he certainly regulated carbon dioxide like one while he was governor of Massachusetts.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) defended the Gang of Six’s deficit-reduction proposal with the promise that only “the people sucking off the program are going to be the ones that lose.”

The real sticking point for conservatives opposed to the IOM’s recent recommendations on health care plans isn’t abortion — it’s contraception.

Pulitzer-prize winning undocumented immigrant Jose Antonio Vargas had his driver’s license revoked by the state of Washington.

A top Iowa Republican and former Bob Vander Plaats ally tells the pro-discrimination crusader that he and his organization’s “credibility is waning to the point of no impact.”

David Leonhardt is the new New York Times DC Bureau Chief.

Blue Bunny Ice Cream, whose CEO Mike Wells has close ties to Bob Vander Plaats, is feeling the heat over his support for the Iowa FAMiLY LEADER.

Ohio’s unemployment rate rises for the first time in 15 months as Republican Gov. John Kasich’s budget cuts go into effect.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) criticizes President Obama for cutting NASA’s shuttle missions. In reality, it was a former president from Texas who ended the program.

NewsCorrupt: New MoveOn Ad Calls For Congressional Investigation of News Corp