November Fifth

Registering only Republicans

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:37:00 +0000

Here's what's scary about this: everything.

A young woman, completely ignorant of how even the *registration* process works, is caught doing something that she was told to do by someone with obviously illegal motives--- if indeed she is working for the county clerk's office.

The scariest thing about it: she's a young woman that has no idea that if Romney/Ryan get elected, their first order of business is to set up shop in her reproductive system and tell her when and how she will procreate. Heaven forbid she might get pregnant as a result of a rape: if that tragedy would come to pass, it would be obvious to Romney/Ryan and his ilk that she wasn't *really* raped, right? Since during a *legitimate* rape a woman's body just shuts down... ergo, if she would get pregnant after a sexual assault, it wasn't *really* a sexual assault...

These same candidates will make it harder for her to borrow money to go to college. Too, she would likely pay more in taxes under the Romney/Ryan "plan." She could likely kiss social security and medicare goodbye for her grandparents. This poor child is the face of the millions being brainwashed by the Republican ticket this fall and I'll be damned if I am going to sit by and them win...

Home, Home on the Plains (in every sense of that word)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 00:32:00 +0000

I hope I don't offend any flatlanders with what I am about to type here (I am a native flatlander myself) but the Great Plains here in central Indiana are "plain" indeed compared to the great "range" out West.

We just got home from an extended stay near Yellowstone, WY. We went to the park/forest five days and saw some amazing things.

Here's just one (Lower Canyon Falls from Artist's Point):

About 30 minutes before I took this picture we hiked down Uncle Tom's Trail to the left of the falls in the picture above and I shot a video that blogger won't let me upload... I am still learning the interface!

We had an incredible time and just enjoyed spending time away in nature and managed to do pretty much everything we set out to do and then some. Our plan is to go back next May sometime for a longer stay in the park itself... since we did most of the major spots on the loop, next trip we are planning to go a bit off the beaten path.

Our drive home from the airport in Indy was at 1 a.m. this morning and I was glad we drove in the dark so we wouldn't be immediately reminded of how flat and frankly, dull, the landscape is here. However, there are lots of places for us to visit down south in Indiana where nature shows a bit more character... and hopefully I will have time in the coming months to post about what we find in our own part of the world before heading back out west...

Who the Eff is Kunoichi?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 19:25:00 +0000

You know, once upon a time I *might* have felt a bit "competent" using blogger... I mean, I could add gadgets, change my layout, archive my posts, use random punctuation marks for emPHAsis on the proper syllAble/word.

Apparently, I have lost what little ability I carved out for myself, but I did manage to be able to see my blog again yesterday after pleading to the blogger godds [sic] for help and being rewarded by discovering that some javascript in a widget I installed 3+ years ago had utterly commandeered my little space on the web and was blithely directing my traffic (me and the oh-so-loyals!) to Home Depot, Kohl's and some effing company named "Kunoichi." [That is one heck of a long sentence.]

I hope you, my bloggy friends, are able to work around this issue, too... if you are in the throes of wanting to find kunoichi headquarters and T.P. them, see this google forums post that saved my ever-blogging mind and this article for how to fix the dang bug. It took me a while to find the offending code, but after dusting off my mad blog-skilz [total sic and totally sarcastic] it seems all is back to normal, i.e., not-much-to-say.

Happy last few days of July 2012, all.

Mish-Mash

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 01:32:00 +0000

Mish:

So after months (years) of seemingly purposefully avoiding blogger-land I turned around and... haven't posted.

If you are reading these words, I. am. grateful!

There is a new member of our extended family---a baby girl named Adalyn who is precious as precious can be. She was born to my nephew and his wife last Thursday (about a month early), their first child. Sometimes it takes a little gift like Adalyn from the universe to help us all remember what's most important in life: family and those who love us. Like, *always* love us in the way that only grows and gives life that truer shade of happy. The kind of love that shows us that our lives do mean something. They matter. They have value.

Another nephew is expecting his first, too, very soon. Another gift.

Tom and I keep trucking on. We are still house hunting. I couldn't have married a more perfect partner.

Weight continues to come off; I have shed almost 40 pounds now.

To celebrate, I got my hair cut. It's funny losing weight *and* getting a new "do." It seems most folks feel safe complimenting me on my hair... since I am pretty sure it's obvious I have lost a few sizes. Stop reading right here if you want only the good stuff...

Mash:

I think if SCOTUS rules the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional, my head might just about explode. I am tired of people (present company excluded :) not actually *reading* our laws. The ACA makes it illegal to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions; no life time caps on benefits; and lower costs to patients (and for us all). Here's a link for anyone who would like to read the bill that passed and that the president signed. After all, Thomas Jefferson once wrote that: "An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people." And since we know that conservatives value access to good education just about as much as they do [insert category of "non-white/non-wealthy/non-straight/ non-Christian" people here] it is our duty as Americans to read what our national representatives are writing and passing as our laws. It is our duty to *educate* ourselves instead of listening to what someone else tells us to think.

It brings into sharp focus the need that our newest addition to our family, little Adalyn, will have for the rest of her life. She will need good health insurance. And her parents are going need the peace of mind of good health insurance since she was born with Down's Syndrome. Why should *they* have to worry about coverage for her if some paper-pusher at Blue Cross, or Anthem, or Cigna decides that Adalyn's health risks outweigh the benefits of her living a healthy life? That's the role of this legislation, folks. It's to protect families and all of us from the growing commodification of everything in our culture by corporations...who now have unfettered "1st Amendment" rights thanks to the very same SCOTUS who might decide that insurance companies know better than doctors how best to care for patients.

I am more and more convinced that American's for Prosperity and the Heritage Foundation have successfully turned reason into public enemy number one... and I hope most of us thinking folks will realize that the only way we make it moving forward is actually to move *forward*... not right, or left. But onward. Upward. In every direction... like the universe.

It's Been So Long, I...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:28:00 +0000

... didn't even know where to go to write a new post. Seriously, Blogger. Why did you go changing things up on me? Pitiful. Downright neglectful and silly (of me).

Notable news: Tom defended his dissertation last month and walks in commencement this weekend. We are officially the "doctors." Sounds pretentious, right? Well, if you equate the equivalent of a mortgage payment in student loans every month with pretension, then indeed-- go on with your bad self. We must be totally crazy since we are looking to lock ourselves into a "real" mortgage by the end of this year. House-hunting has been a strange marital experiment. Slightly less terrible than the writing and defending of two-- count them--- TWO dissertations in our household in the last three years. But, slightly better than having Tea-Publicans as our local, state and federal representation. What the heck is going on in politics? It's like there's an election this year, or something.

So much has happened in the last several months since my last post, I don't know where to begin.

Here's a quick run-down and then I'll be back for more in the coming weeks:
I am 30 pounds lighter (literally) since I last posted!
No more migraines or back aches... yay, me.
We still have two cats, no kids (not going to), and are both gainfully employed with full benefits.
The down-side: not much. But give me a couple of weeks... I'm sure I'll get back to my usual frothy self.

Thanks for stopping by and I would say looking forward to comments, but I am not sure I will know how to find them!

Every minute matters

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:21:00 +0000

I colleague of mine died in an accident yesterday at work. I. am. stunned.

Teaching can be a dangerous job, but this man had an especially dangerous job teaching students how to maintain wind turbines on a two-story cell-tower-ish looking thing.

Wasn't the weather... cause of the accident is still under investigation, but the student he was up there with is okay--- physically. I have a feeling he saved that student's life. He was just that kind of guy.

Weird thing was, I was leaving a noontime faculty meeting and walked past the tower/class-area heading out to my car when I saw the cop cars and ambulance as it drove away. Offhandedly I thought: I need to email him to ask what happened and if he's okay.

An email informed me a couple hours later that he had died as a result of his injuries from the two-story fall.

Shocked and stunned.

He was 36, had an adopted greyhound, loved the outdoors, loved his job, was a teacher and a kind soul who thought our stupid world was important enough to respect with green-energy jobs and infrastructure. He will be missed.

Gone Teachin'

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 23:15:00 +0000

All,
Out to lunch
Be back in two years

Sorry for my horrid and seemingly determined avoidance of the blogosphere.

I landed a full-time professorship in late July... have been doing that waving-my-arms-while-running-forward-as-fast-as-I-can-so-I-don't-trip-and-fall-flat-on-my-face thing.

My excuse for the twenty-four months prior? A newly discovered condition known as B.A. No, not Big Ass (but that's apropos, too). Blog Apathy. Just couldn't read anymore, didn't want to write, felt like a douche-y blog friend. Add to that the *18* classes I taught in the academic year 2010... yes, being an adjunct nearly cost me what was left of my sanity after I finished the hell that is known as "writing a dissertation" in 2009.

We are getting ready to move my 80 year old mother to the town where she swore she would never return after my dad left her for the lab tech with whom he had been sneaking around, 30+ years ago. (Hi, Dad's Wife, if you are reading this. Congrats on the 30 years of marriage.) *That* has been one f*ck of an epic battle. Long story. Not worth going into.

Tom's doing well. He's writing his dissertation and expected to graduate in December. And by "expected," that means he is registered as a candidate (officially, with the university, too) and he better be writing it because I will kick his furry man-butt if he doesn't.

Since I last broadcast my nonsense into the ether: we have not moved; we still have two cats; we almost moved to Australia; we got a second car; we decided 1,000% we are not having kids; we almost talked about moving to Scotland/Sweden/Munich (Tom's getting all kinds of job ads now that he's nearing the end of the 'ole doctoratino); we are about one year older, none the wiser, and still stuck in the middle of corn fields.

What has changed: I am okay with it. All of it. Really.

Except the GOP.

Not okay with those fuckers. Ever.

I'll be back for more...

I leave you with the finished product of a project I started years ago and gave my mom for X-mas last year (finally) as in X-mas, ten months ago X-mas:

I know. I am a procrastinator...

Make Them Pay

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 03:39:00 +0000

Bernie Sanders, perhaps one of the only rational remaining members of Congress in terms of our debt, has a great petition for the president that you can sign at this link.

We need to send a message to our Commander-in-Chief that we middle-classers are sick and tired of paying the tab for the orgy of excess by the top 2%.

We need to make sure they pay their fair share. There is indeed *something* trickling down... it's yellow but it isn't gold doubloons...

Wednesday Wisdom

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:30:00 +0000

Dear Financial Robber-Baron

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 17:49:00 +0000

Dear Mr.-Big-Wall-Street-Eff-You-Mainstreeter Bank,

I am closing my account and taking my business to a locally owned and operated bank.

This is on the heels of many, many things that have pissed me right the hell off in the last few years about your bank (one that got its ass covered by my tax dollars). The last straw: my *two* direct deposits for May (slow month pay-wise in higher ed if you are an adjunct) didn't meet your rules for ONE minimum deposit, EVEN THOUGH BOTH TOGETHER BLEW THE MINIMUM OUT OF THE WATER! You swiftly debited my account $12 in order to show me the error of my ways. When I called about it I was told (by a disinterested and crappy telephone "banker") to: check my account daily (do) and... wait for it..... wait for it.... to ask my boss to "adjust" my pay so that it would meet the YOUR BANK'S needs.

Yes. You read that right. A telephone customer "service" rep told me to go to my BOSS and tell him/her that he/she needs to give me a raise--- to satisfy your arbitrary and uncommunicated demands. Seriously. I never was informed about this direct deposit minimum eight years and a couple hundred grand in transactions ago....

My mainstreet moolah isn't good enough for you? Fine. I just got paid $100 to open a checking account at another bank without giving them a *SINGLE* penny. That's right. I have not given them one, red cent and am a proud new customer. They don't have any fine print, either. No fees for anything.

This gal is taking everything out of your institution, will never do business with you again, and will actively tell the roughly 400 students I teach annually not to do business with you, either. And tell them to tell all of their little Facebook, twitter and other social networking friends that, too.

Sincerely,

An American Who is Sick and Tired of Getting Screwed Coming and Going by You as You Put Dancefloors in Your Third Mansion (the One with a New Helipad) and Diddle The "Help"

The Weft and the Warp

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:47:00 +0000

Not too long ago an aged Christian predicted the end of the world... you are thinking to yourself, which one?

Seems like some folks are rapt with the notion that the end looms near. One thing being a cancer survivor teachers you: the end is always near and not just by means of illness. I could get hit by a bus, a falling chunk of twister-hail, a random act of violence.

What fascinates me these days are my inner thoughts (and now outer musings) about the juxtaposition between organized religion and non-organized spirituality. Too, I am inclined to draw attention to the fact that one distinctly relies on fear as a shuttle of control. (Guess which one?) I suppose I'd rather be on the inside looking out instead of the other way around... I'd rather be the seer than the seen.

In general, I tend to think of "belief" as a rather personal thing--- in every way imaginable. I'll try to explain.

I think that organized religion (regardless of type or leaning) tends to place responsibility for one's life *outside* of one's self. Those of the religious persuasion rely on an external source for all of their power, guidance, and choices. By proxy, it means that no one else has power either or if they do it is granted to them by this same outer-existing thing. This external source tends to be rather parental, judgmental, and jealous ---not unlike the human societies that conjure such a "being."

On the other hand, I think of reincarnation as the ultimate paradigm for personal responsibility. If one considers reincarnation then we are truly at the center of our lives and the choices that we make to create the life we have (or don't). Not only do we choose our lives, but those with whom we travel in this life.

I'd much rather think that my existence is a series of choices made on a meta-conscious level rather than a slowly unraveling destiny shaped by a grand-rug weaver (or clock-maker if you prefer a mechanistic approach). I also like the idea of approaching all those with whom my life comes into contact as teachers instead of combatants. That somehow we have all mutually agreed to join the classroom of life to learn how to play well with others instead of just running with scissors. That we dance with all partners, we learn how to say goodbye gracefully, and that we practice peace instead of just making it.

Perhaps it helps me to rest better at night thinking and trusting that I am where I have chosen to be and that thought is as empowering as it is terrifying on some levels. It's been a long, dry patch where I have neglected the tapestry of my life... slowly, deliberately, I am returning to the loom and seeing it again as a means to connect the frayed ends into a greater whole. Instead of focusing on what crosses me, I have been trying to see what tracks I am laying down. These days it seems more important to be aware of what we put into life instead of what (or how) we get out of it.

Still Here? Me, too...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 21 May 2011 16:28:00 +0000

After reading, seeing and hearing all about the end of the world today, I just wanted you all to know I am in the boat-load of sinners still sailing the seas of life.

Not raptured and not bummed about it... I wish something like that would *really* happen so all of the self-righteous pricks and bitches would just get the hell off the planet and leave those of us who entrust our minds to science and fact (not mythiness) to get to the work of improving things around these here parts of the solar system.

Sadder still are those that believe this nonsense and do harm to others (like their children) in order to save them the end-times:

I wonder if all of those who aren't raptured today and who are devout Apocalyptics will admit that they were wrong or that maybe they aren't going to be among the chosen? Doubt it. Seriously.

Thirsty

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 05 May 2011 01:56:00 +0000

I have a confession: I am glad that Bin Laden is dead. Yeah, he was a Grade-A Fuck-a-doodle-do. No doubt about it. I am glad for any modicum of "peace" it may offer to grieving families.

*However* I am more than a little disturbed by all of the revelry going on. I can't shake the feeling that all of the *celebration* is not unlike radical parades where folks fire weapons into the sky for zealous causes.

One death will not bring back the countless *thousands* of lives lost on and since September 11, 2001. One death will not atone for all of the senseless attacks on unarmed, innocent people since then, the millions of gallons of blood and tears shed.

I shudder a bit to see so many people *rejoicing* at one death. Why all the barbaric "let's see his body" garbage? Or "show us pictures of the scene." I makes me wonder how "civilized" our society truly is in the face of these events that seem to glorify violence and justify violence as the final solution to problems. I don't have an answer to break the cycle, but we at least must try to break OPEN the meaning of that cycle...

Don't get me wrong; I am glad the prick is dead. Ten million bullets don't nearly approach the justice he so rightfully deserved. If I were religiously inclined I would offer, further, that I hope he's roasting in the inferno, balls in the hottest white spot. However, have we become so parched with revenge that we, as Americans, have turned into grave dancers?

We are the Universe Looking Back at Itself

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 22:35:00 +0000

In times like these, I feel the need for perspective. (Soundtrack is nice, too.)

The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

May you laugh with a heart free from fear...

Speechless Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:36:00 +0000

One of my totally awesome graduate students emailed me this video (courtesy of MoveOn):

Happy Friday, all!

PS: Sorry I continue to be an absent-minded professor and blogger! I miss you all more than you will ever know and am so grateful for those who stop by and leave comments (in particular, sorry Paul, Diana, and Sidhe that it took me *so long* to see your comments on that really old post!)

"United We Bargain: Divided We Beg"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 20:47:00 +0000

Great pics from rallies to support labor in the U.S.

Happy Monday, all.

In case you missed how this is just another move in the erosion of our democracy brought to you by the uber-wealthy, see here.

Organized labor is the only thing standing between the rich, who create nothing and own everything, and us...

The uber rich buy our politicians...
The uber rich control our banks...
The uber rich decide whether or not we will breathe clean air or have safe water...
The uber rich decide who lives and dies because of their strangle-hold on insurance companies...
The uber rich own the media that continues to pit us against one another (*6* companies own 90% of every kind of media on *the planet.* *6.*)...

The uber rich *are* the enemy in our own midst...

PS: From a blogger at Daily Kos:

Here's a side-by-side comparison of federal budget proposals Democrat vs. Republican.
If you are a member of the GOP, how do you sleep at night?

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

How to Stump a Climate Change Denialist

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 21:16:00 +0000

Wealth Distribution, Taxes, and Who's Paying for Everything

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:07:00 +0000

For an excellent, comprehensive read (with colorful pictures!) see this story from MotherJones.

It clearly shows who has benefited and who has been damaged by the economic policies of our Government in the last 40 years+.

Happy Friday, all.

How to Make Sure Your Tax Dollars Don't Pay for Abortions

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:32:00 +0000

This is how the defunding of a medical-provider for low-income women proves the depths to which the GOP has sunk:

The Daily Show
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Loony logic seems about right...

PS: A bill has been proposed in the GA legislature that would make miscarriages punishable by the death penalty... yes, you read that right.

"Under Rep. Franklin's bill, HB 1, women who miscarry could become felons if they cannot prove that there was 'no human involvement whatsoever in the causation' of their miscarriage."

"What Conservatives Really Want"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 23:45:00 +0000

My words aren't there these days, so I defer to others with *much* greater talent.

For an excellent psychological and sociological deconstruction of Conservative Destructionism, see this article by George Lakoff, "What Conservatives Really Want."

Truer words are rarely written... their destruction of the middle class, women's health rights, the environment, and public media will be the end of American democracy as we have known it...

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 23:03:00 +0000

America's Real Enemy: The Banks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 13:02:00 +0000

If there is any doubt about the sickening power the banks have over our country, this video and investigation should remove all doubt:

2010 Midterms: Brought to You by Foreign Countries

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:32:00 +0000

From Think Progess, yesterday:

"Last week, ThinkProgress published an exclusive story about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s foreign fundraising operation. We noted the Chamber raises money from foreign-owned businesses for its 501(c)(6) entity, the same account that finances its unprecedented $75 million dollar partisan attack ad campaign. While the Chamber is notoriously secretive, the thrust of our story involved the disclosure of fundraising documents U.S. Chamber staffers had been distributing to solicit foreign (even state-owned) companies to donate directly to the Chamber’s 501(c)(6).

We documented three different ways the Chamber fundraises from foreign corporations: (1) An internal fundraising program called “Business Councils” used to solicit direct, largely foreign contributions to the Chamber, (2) Direct contributions from foreign multinationals like BP, Siemens, and Shell Oil, and (3) From the Chamber’s network of AmCham affiliates, which are foreign chambers of the Chamber composed of American and foreign companies. The Chamber quickly acknowledged that it receives direct, foreign money, but simply replied, “We are not obligated to discuss our internal procedures.” Instead of providing any documentation or proof to demonstrate foreign money is not being used for electioneering purposes, the Chamber launched an aggressive media strategy to first, attack ThinkProgress with petty name-calling and second, to confuse the media by highlighting the Chamber’s relatively minor AmCham fundraising, which the Chamber says (also without documentation) totals “approximately $100,000” from all 115 international AmCham chapters. The Chamber and the media largely ignored ThinkProgress’ revelation about the Chamber’s direct foreign fundraising to its 501(c)(6) used for attack ads.

A new ThinkProgress investigation has identified at least 84 foreign companies that actively donate to the Chamber’s 501(c)(6). Below is a chart detailing the annual dues foreign corporations have indicated that they give directly to the Chamber (using information that is publicly available from the Business Council applications and the Chamber’s own websites):

Company	Location	Money/Level
4G Identity Solutions	Hyderabad, India	$7,500
A2Z Maintenance & Eng.	Gurgaon, India	$7,500
Amarchand Mangaldas	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Apollo Hospitals	Chennai, India	$7,500
Arshiya International	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Astonfield Management	Mumbai, India	$7,500
AXA Group	Paris, France	$7,500
Avantha Group	India	$7,500
Avasarala Technologies	Bangalore, India	$7,500
AZB & Partners	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Azure Power	New Delhi, India	$7,500
Bharat Forge	Pune, India	$15,000
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP	Toronto, Canada	$7,500
Brookfield Asset Management	Toronto, Canada	$7,500
Cameco Corporation	Saskatoon, Canada	$7,500
Credit Suisse	Zürich, Switzerland	$15,000
Devas Multimedia	Bangalore, India	$15,000
DSK Legal	Bombay, India	$7,500
Dua Associates	Hyderabad, India	$15,000
Educomp Solutions Ltd	Delhi, India	$7,500
Essar Group	Mumbai, India	$7,500
Fox Mandal Little	India	$7,500
GMR	Bangalore, India	$15,000
Hindalco Group, The	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Hinduja Group, The	London, UK	$15,000
Hindustan Construction Company	Mumbai, India	$15,000
HSBC	London, UK	$15,000
ICICI Bank	Mumbia, India	$7,500
Infosys	Bangalore, India	$15,000
Infotech Enterprises	Hyderabad, India	$7,500
International SOS Assistance	Singapore	$7,500
Ireo Management	Gurgoan, India	$15,000
ITC Group	Kolkata, India	$15,000
J. Sagar Associates	Mumbai, India	$15,000
J.B.Boda Insurance	Mumbai, India	$7,500
J.M. Baxi & Co.	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Jagran Prakashan	Kanpur, India	$7,500
Jindal Power	New Delhi, India	$15,000
Jubilant Organosys	Noida, India	$7,500
Kimaya Energy	New Delhi, India	$15,000
Kotak Mahindra	Mumbai, India	$7,500
KPIT Cummins	Pune, India	$7,500
KPMG	Amstelveen, Netherlands	$15,000
Lahmeyer International	Frankfurt, Germany	$7,500
Larsen & Toubro	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Leela Hotels	Bengaluru, India	$7,500
Linklaters LLP	London, UK	$7,500
Luthra & Luthra	New Delhi, India	$15,000
Macquarie Capital	Sydney, Australia	$15,000
Majmudar & Company	Mumbai, India	$7,500
NIIT Technologies	Delhi, India	$15,000
Nishith Desai Associates	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Novartis	Basel, Switzerland	$15,000
Oberoi Group	Dehli,India	$7,500
Patni Americas	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Punj Lloyd	Gurgaon, India	$15,000
QuEST Global	Singapore	$7,500
Ranbaxy, Inc.	Gurgaon, India	$7,500
Reliance Industries	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Reliance Communications	Navi Mumbai, India	$7,500
Rolta	Mumbai, India	$7,500
Sanofi-Aventis	Paris, France	$7,500
SKP Crossborder Consulting	Mumbai, India	$7,500
SNC Lavalin	Montreal, Canada	$7,500
State Bank of India	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Sun Life Financial	Toronto, Canada	$7,500
Tata Group	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Tatva Legal	India	$15,000
Urenco Investments	Slough, UK	$7,500
Trilegal	India	$7,500
Walchandnagar Industries	Mumbai, India	$7,500
Welspun	Mumbai, India	$7,500
Wipro	Bangalore, India	$15,000
TAIB Bank*	Dubai	$20,000
Aluminum Bahrain B.S.C	Kingdom of Bahrain	$10,000
Bahrain Financial Harbour Holding Company	Kingdom of Bahrain	$10,000
Gulf Air	Kingdom of Bahrain	$10,000
Midal Cables	Kingdom of Bahrain	$10,000
The Nass Group	Kingdom of Bahrain	$10,000
Bahrain Maritime & Mercantile International	Kingdom of Bahrain	$5,000
The Bahrain Petroleum Company	Kingdom of Bahrain	$5,000
First Leasing Bank	Kingdom of Bahrain	$5,000
Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company	Kingdom of Bahrain	$5,000
TOTAL		$885,000

Again, all of these annual dues are collected in the same 501(c)(6) the Chamber is using to run partisan attack ads. The data above reflects information from public sources, and the Chamber likely has many more foreign corporations as dues-paying members — but refuses to divulge any of the funders for their ad campaign. Unfortunately, many reporters in the traditional press covered the Chamber story, but missed the entire point of our reporting. Most reporters (from the New York Times, McClatchy, the Associated Press, etc.) never contacted ThinkProgress, instead opting to only interview Chamber officials."

I wonder what the founding fathers would have thought about England dumping money into 18th-early 19th century campaign coffers?

Voter Anger

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 00:04:00 +0000

I keep hearing about voter anger this, voter anger that... and it got me thinking about a few things.

Who started this anger? The Tea Bag "movement" (and I must admit, I cannot call it a "movement" without an immature grin) started to gain more media attention after the election in November 2008. Can we all say a collective 'Thanks, Dick" to Dick Armey for lining his own pockets by preying on the most feeble-minded among us?

Make the GOP squirm by voting them out of office in two of three branches on government? NO way! We'll show you how mad... we can tell people... they should be.

We'll cook up some cockamamie story about how the gubment is going to put bar codes on your bullets, and lock you in internment camps for conservatives, and convince you that *you* are paying more taxes even tho' you are not (if you only knew how to read your paycheck), and that you need to be MAD! MAD! MAD! that a group of religious people would DARE! to build a cultural center with a basketball court within 5 million light years of lower Manhattan, and convince you that returning the income-tax to pre-Bush era levels will annihilate the smoldering cinder that is our economy.

Really? Most of those baggers don't even understand how the tax code works. First, those folks in the highest brackets pay taxes only on the amount *over* their first million dollars of income. See, if you make $1,000,001 only that extra *buck* is taxed at the higher rate. Second, most of those in the highest tax bracket haven't created significant jobs in years (I need to do some research on this and post a source, but my work impedes me from doing much more than observing at the moment). But, seriously. When was the last time someone like Paris Hilton created *a* job that didn't involve her hands, mouth, and her boyfriend's sex tool?

I am *almost* as sick of hearing how mad voters are as I am about how folks want their country back. Back from what, may I ask? From the previous administration (the threat of the almighty presidential veto) and the 109th and 110th Congress' crappy policies both domestic and foreign that have crippled our economy and hamstrung our ability to house, feed, educate, and employ a rather frightening percentage of Americans?

Really? Are you mad?

When I ask myself that question the answer is simple: Yup.

I am mad that the bankers on Wall Street are back sitting high on the hog while most Americans (read 98%) fret about their savings, mortgages, health insurance, and livelihoods. Have you seen the stock market lately? It's not a barometer of how healthy the *economy* is; it tells us peons how rich the rich are.

And I am mad that I keep hearing about really fucking stoopid people (see Paladino or O'Donnell or Angle or Palin ) and knowing that the sheeple in the scared 20% are going to once again fuck the rest of us come November if we don't keep off our asses and get to the polls in a few weeks.

In my opinion, it's a good idea to ask who is *profiting* from all of this pissed-offness... and the answer to that question will tell you who the real target for all of that misplaced voter anger should be.

*Post Script* October 2: Apparently, Tea Baggers are facing some backlash about their views from neighbors and friends. They liken it to "coming out" and say they have been "persecuted" for unpopular views. Karma is a bitch, huh?

Beckerheads On Parade

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:17:00 +0000