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POPSStevens: A Plainspoken Judge Gets Louder More from the article below: “The majority blazes through our precedents,” he wrote, “overruling or disavowing a body of case law” that included seven decisions. Justice Stevens, who served in the Navy during World War II, reached back to those days to show the depth of his outrage at the majority’s conclusion that the government may not make legal distinctions based on whether a corporation or a person was doing the speaking. “While American democracy is imperfect,” he wrote, “few outside the majority of this court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics."
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POPSJustice Steven's Dissent On 5/4 SCOTUS Decision
A lengthy document, but beautiful and deserves a reading. More below: "... not only because the Framers and their contemporaries conceived of speech more narrowly than we now think of it..., but also because they held very different views about the nature of the First Amendment right and the role of corporations in society. Those few corporations that existed at the founding were authorized by grant of a special legislative charter. Corporate sponsors would petition the legislature,... if amenable, would issue a charter that specified the corporation’s powers and purposes and “authoritatively fixed the scope and content of corporate organization,” including “the internal structure...” . Corporations were created, supervised, and conceptualized as quasi-public entities, “designed to serve a social function for the state.” . It was “assumed that ... had to be closely scrutinized by the legislature because their purposes had to be made consistent with public welfare.”
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POPS26,000 Exotic Animals Seized By SPCA, Texas More from the article below: "The very idea of an Internet-based exotic-animal wholesaler is repulsive. The clear image is of these animals being captured by the truckload in their native habitat, shipped in bulk from wherever in the world that is to the U.S. Global Exotics warehouse in Arlington, shipped in bulk again to retailers and then sold to some end-user."
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POPSNietzsche and Christianity This site has several interesting quotes from Nietzsche illustrating his views on christianity. One more below: "Doubt as sin.-- Christianity has done its utmost to close the circle and declared even doubt to be sin. One is supposed to be cast into belief without reason, by a miracle, and from then on to swim in it as in the brightest and least ambiguous of elements: even a glance towards land, even the thought that one perhaps exists for something else as well as swimming, even the slightest impulse of our amphibious nature- is sin! And notice that all this means that the foundation of belief and all reflection on its origin is likewise excluded as sinful. What is wanted are blindness and intoxication and an eternal song over the waves in which reason has drowned." from Nietzsche's Daybreak,s. 89, R.J. Hollingdale transl.
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POPSThe Hell of War Comes Home More from the article below: But in the vicious confusion of battle in Iraq and with no clear enemy, many said training went out the window. Slaughter became a part of life. Soldiers say the torture and killing of Iraqi civilians lurked in the ranks. And when these soldiers came home to Colorado Springs suffering the emotional wounds of combat, soldiers say, some were ignored, some were neglected, some were thrown away and some were punished. More killing by more soldiers followed. In August 2007, Louis Bressler, 24, robbed and shot a soldier he picked up on a street in Colorado Springs. In December 2007, Bressler and fellow soldiers Bruce Bastien Jr., 21, and Kenneth Eastridge, 24, left the bullet-riddled body of a soldier from their unit on a west-side street. In May and June 2008, police say Rudolfo Torres-Gandarilla, 20, and Jomar Falu-Vives, 23, drove around with an assault rifle, randomly shooting people. ...John Needham, 25, beat a former girlfriend to death."
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POPSA Few FACTS For Global Warming Denialists Like Al says, we all have to work with the same facts. More from the article below: "And while too much water is an issue for Coastal inhabitants, not enough water is the other issue for many other people who rely on glacial melt for fresh drinking water - such as in Bolivia, where Scientists recorded the first glacier to 'disappear' from existence this past year. Or in news closer to home, The Winter Olympics in Vancouver are having to use trucks to bring in Ice and Snow for their downhill skiing competition because it has been too mild for snowfall." Happy opinionating!
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POPSContradictory Supremes' Decision From June 2009 Read this article carefully and see where Justice Kennedy's decision again becomes the crucial vote. Also below, find the quote from Justice Roberts where he essentially says that giving the appearance of justice and impartiality is more important than the actual justice in itself: Joining Kennedy in the ruling were Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter and John Paul Stevens. In dissent signed by fellow conservatives Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts argued that the ruling would damage public confidence in the judiciary: "The Court's new "rule" provides no guidance to judges and litigants about when recusal will be constitutionally required. This will inevitably lead to an increase in allegations that judges are biased, however groundless those charges may be. The end result will do far more to erode public confidence in judicial impartiality than an isolated failure to recuse in a particular case."
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POPSCutting SSI and Medicare or Here We Go Again Whether the Administration is Repub or Dem, it's just dying to get its grubby little paws on that Social Security money. Crap,crap, crap! More from the article/letter below: "For nearly three decades, Social Security has taken in more revenue each year than it has paid out in benefits. These excess funds have been invested in special issue U.S. government securities. Thus, Social Security has effectively been loaning its excess funds to the federal government to spend on other programs. Rather than increasing the federal deficit, Social Security’s annual surpluses have actually been covering up the true size of the deficit in the general fund." There are no congressional hearings and no opportunity for members of the House to weigh in on the proposals. To rub salt in the wound, this plan was largely crafted not by members of the House, but by vice president and former Delaware senator Joe Biden along with two senators:Kent Conrad, the North Dakota Democrat ... and Republican Judd Gr
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POPSAfter The Massachusetts Massacre Decent and thoughtful article. More below: " If the tea party right and populist left agree on anything, it’s that big bailed-out banks have and will get away with murder..... Politically, no other issue counts. In last weekend’s Washington Post/ABC News poll, 42 percent of Americans chose the economy as the country’s most pressing concern. Only 5 percent picked terrorism, and 2 percent Afghanistan. Obama’s highest approval ratings are now on foreign policy and national security issues — despite the relentless hammering from the Cheney right — but voters don’t care. The smartest thing said as the Massachusetts returns came in......: “Obama took all his winnings and turned them over to Max Baucus.” When it comes to economic substance, small symbolic gestures (the proposed new bank “fee”) won’t cut it. bankers ... have castrated regulatory reform by buying off congressmen of both parties. ...pressing for all constitutional remedies that counter last week’s Supreme Court decision.
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POPSPuppy Rescued from Train Track More from the article below: "McLean tried applying warm water and lifting him off. That didn't work. So he took a knife and carefully cut him off the track. If the train had come, the dog would never have been able to set himself free, McLean said. McLean's already have three dogs and couldn't adopt another. So they turned to the Internet to find the dog a home. She posted the picture on Facebook and the story found its way to the blog of ABC 33/40 meteorologist James Spann. The e-mails started pouring in. Sorting through the of fers, the McLeans decided to give the dog to Terry Walls of Bessemer. "He is doing great," Walls said as the puppy she's named Track chewed on her slipper. "Track had a manly ring to it," she said. Walls estimated the puppy is 7 or 8 weeks old. It has a full set of sharp teeth and has German Shepherd and possibly some husky in his ancestry.
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POPSLion And Tiger And Bear, Oh My! Whether a right wing or left wing or moderate animal lover, you gotta admit that these critters have something to teach us all. More from the article below: "Visitors can watch the 1,000-pound bear, 350-pound lion and 350-pound tiger play together in the grass, or lounge on their porch. “It is wonderful and magical to see a giant American black bear put his arm around a Bengal tiger and then to see the tiger nuzzle up to the bear like a domestic cat. When Leo wakes up, the three of them mess around for most of the day before they settle down to some food.” “Noah’s Ark is their home and they could not possibly be separated from each other.”
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POPSU.S. Marine Howls Over The Supremes' Decision I swear, this is the last one (until the next one...). More from the article below: "For years we complained about AIPAC, the Sierra Club, the NRA, trial lawyers, trade unions, NAM (National Association of Manufacturers) and the churches that got involved in politics. Behind all of these were people, American citizens, and, on some occasions, Americans who fought for their country, raised kids here and were invested in the survival of America although they didn’t always act that way. This was an American problem. Now we aren’t even sure we have an America anymore. Anyone who believes that a massive flood of corporate money into politics won’t throw control of both houses of Congress into the hands of the wealthy nations that are also our primary strategic enemies, you know the ones, the ones loaded with oil cash, the ones with 10 cent an hour labor and legal systems that shoot first and ask questions later. They can now make our laws, raise our taxes, decide on our civil righ
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POPSU.S. Officially Sold To China While this article is about the Supremes' ruling on the "Citizen's United" case, it also points out a very interesting fact about Chinese interference in our government. While I do not pursue information on Israel and "Zionism" (whatever that may be), I am aware that the Chinese hold most of our debt, and, like any other Third World country in debt to a wealthier nation, he who holds the debts will call the tune to which the indebted must dance. Hence, Afghanistan, through which the Chinese would very much like to run a pipeline or three, in safety. Quote from the Atlantic below: "The U.S. budget deficit is financed by borrowing. More and more of that money comes from China, now the United States' second-largest lender, after Japan. China's investment in U.S. government debt has more than tripled in the past five years, from $71 billion in 2000 to $242 billion in 2005". By 2007, China owned $1.6 Trillion in U.S. securities.
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POPSNot-So Compassionate Conservatism Right next door in South Carolina. Yeppers, he be talkin' to all you deadbeat unemployed. And with 12.5% unemployment in S.C., that's alot of "slackers". He even managed to plug the zombified but never dead Eugenics movement. More "refreshing" honesty below: "My grandmother was not a highly educated woman but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. You’re facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don’t think too much further than that. And so what you’ve got to do is you’ve got to curtail that type of behavior. They don’t know any better." Yep, they breed and they don't know any better. And they've got amazingly loud mouths and nasty opinions. They vote for people just like themselves, as well.
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POPSHow To Amend The U.S. Constitution This is a dandy little site on the Constitution. More from the article below: "The Constitution, then, spells out four paths for an amendment: * Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state conventions (never used) * Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state legislatures (never used) * Proposal by Congress, ratification by state conventions (used once) * Proposal by Congress, ratification by state legislatures (used all other times) It is interesting to note that at no point does the President have a role in the formal amendment process (though he would be free to make his opinion known). He cannot veto an amendment proposal, nor a ratification. This point is clear in Article 5, and was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in Hollingsworth v Virginia (3 US 378 ):"
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POPSAirplane Maintenance Complaints Solved! More complaints below: P: Aircraft handles funny. S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious. P: Radar hums. S: Reprogrammed radar with words. P: Mouse in cockpit. S: Cat installed. P: Dead bugs on windshield. S: Live bugs on backorder P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick. S: That's what they're there for!
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POPSThe Regressive Antidote by David Michael Green David Michael Green is a professor of political science at Hofstra University. Please click on the link for more of "The Regressive Antidote". More from the article below: "She was asked some simple questions in order to get a sense of who this new face to most voters might be. But she was quickly revealed to be an idiot. Therefore the big lie had to be trotted out to change the story. Poor Sarah. Poor chief executive of one of America’s fifty states. Poor ferocious hockey mom. Poor potential president who might one day have to take on Vladimir Putin or Hu Jintao or al Qaeda. Poor abused Sarah. Monsters like Katie Couric were brutalizing her by asking her outrageous questions, such as, “What do you read?”. All of which continues to explain one of the biggest lies of our time, the notion that regressives/Republicans are serious about national security, while progressives/Democrats are not."
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POPSThis Week: In Memoriam Don't forget our "old friend, Martin". Go to the site for a video, more from the article below: "This brings the total number of allied servicemembers killed in Iraq to 4,691; in Afghanistan, 1,594. During this same period, Iraq Body Count lists 39 Iraqi civilians killed. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, both the US and the UN are claiming that most of the civilian casualties are being caused by the Taliban."
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POPSVeterans and Military Families Speak Out There is a HUGE antiwar rally scheduled for March 20th in Washington, DC. More from the article below: "This reality cannot be hidden forever, and every day more of us are waking up. Every day it becomes more apparent that these are not wars for “national defense” or anyone’s “freedom”; these are wars for empire. On March 20, we will be marching on Washington. And the more people that join us, the more we can inspire other soldiers to do the same, and the closer we get to ending these criminal wars. –" "As mothers, when our sons and daughters are sent back in flag-draped coffins, we do not ask if they were one in 135,000 or one in 50,000. They are still just as dead. When our sons and daughters come home, broken in mind and soul, trying to kill themselves with many succeeding, we do not ask if they were one in 135,000 or one in 50,000. They are still just as broken, just as lost."
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POPSHappy Birthday, Dr. King! Really nice little article which deserves a read. More below: "Is it mere coincidence that during that heyday of self-absorption it became so popular to blame others for their lack of personal responsibility? To blame the poor for being poor? To blame the homeless for being homeless? To blame welfare recipients for being on welfare? On the day of his birth, if we want to remember Martin Luther King, we must first turn to his words and study them in depth. And if his words are worth remembering this one day, they are worth remembering every day. We should remember Dr. King's words every time we hear someone talking self-importantly about other people's lack of personal responsibility, every time we hear them speak of the poor, the tired, the hungry, the desolate as objects of contempt, lacking in responsibility, dignity, and worth. And we should remember his words as well every time we hear talk about "individual achievement," "competitiveness," or "being all that you can be."
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POPSProfiteering In Haiti I left off the petition link so that you can write your own letter in case you don't like the MoveOn organization. Personally, I'm not crazy about them but I thought that this petition was a very common-sensible suggestion.
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POPSAmerica's Wise Man: Part II More below: "Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love." "Many of the ugly pages of American history have been obscured and forgotten....America owes a debt of justice which it has only begun to pay. If it loses the will to finish or slackens in its determination, history will recall its crimes and the country that would be great will lack the most indispensable element of greatness--justice" "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death"
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