Saturday, January 26, 2013

January 26

More Threats From Fracking: Radioactive Waste

Pennsylvania's DEP begins study on radioactivity from oil, gas development; follows other studies showing high levels of radium, boron

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Austerity? More like Awsomesterity - Congratulations to our friends across the pond who are now entering a triple-dip recession as theirgovernment keeps cutting services to fight the deficit. Keep f***ing that chicken. (Guardian UK)

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The Palin family as a whole seems to hope for careers in show business, but this is only the latest in a string of failures for them. The TLC show Sarah Palin's Alaska saw declining ratings and wasn't renewed for a second season. Bristol Palin's Lifetime show was yanked from the network for lower viewership, but not before landing $354,348 in tax subsidies from the state of Alaska. Todd Palin was reduced to appearing as one of many celebrities on NBC's military reality show Stars Earned Stripes.

Maybe now that Fox News has cut ties with Palin, the rest of the television industry will follow suit. Sarah Palin long ago proved she had no real aptitude for governance when she quit her job as governor as Alaska. Her time on Fox proved she didn't have much spark as a source of news or opinion. And the rest of her family's efforts suggest that as entertainment, the Palins have nothing to offer us but diminishing returns.

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Not jobs, not the economy, not the huge bloated budget of our War Machine, not climate change, not renewable energies, not education access for all Americans, not shoring up and expanding social safety nets as needed, not shoring up corporate and uber rich tax haven loopholes, nope....NONE of these are as important as a pointless attempt at changing a SCOTUS ruling that has been the reality for 4 decades, because your party, and a minority of its members don't think women should have control over their own bodies. 

This is disgraceful, even for a republican. Why do anti-choice crusaders IGNORE that before abortion was legal, thousands of women were dying by their own hand or from 'back alley' abortions that were performed because they had no other way out? Do they think that if we could go backwards and take away the right for a woman to choose that this would not happen all over again? 

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A couple days ago, the South Dakota House adopted a resolution that basically asks the Supreme Court to reverse Roe v. Wade, pretty please with a cherry on top.

Seriously.

We're three weeks in to this legislative session, and South Dakota is kicking things off with pointless resolutions designed to make sure everyone knows that South Dakota really hates abortion rights.

As if we didn't already know.

[read full post at ABLC]

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The First Prison Sentence Related To Gitmo Torture Goes To Someone Who Spoke Out Against It

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Virginia Advances 'Gangbanger Bill of Rights' To Withhold Gun Crime Evidence From Federal Government

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Bobby Jindal: He built that.

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CNN Anchor Tricks Opponent Of Women In Combat To Endorse Racial Segregation

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Mississippi Republicans' Nullification Fantasy

Mississippi Republicans are pushing for the creation of a "Joint Legislative Committee on the Neutralization of Federal Law."

The bill, known as the Mississippi Balance of Powers Act, was authored by state Rep. Gary Chism (R), chairman of the House Insurance Committee, and Rep. Jeff Smith (R), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Earlier this week, the bill was referred to the House Constitution Committee.

"The provisions of this act shall serve as a notice and demand to the federal government to cease and desist any and all activities outside the scope of its designated constitutionally enumerated powers, and that attempt to diminish the balance of powers as established," the bill reads. [...]

The committee will be allowed to review "any and all existing federal statutes, mandates and executive orders for the purpose of determining their constitutionality." Any measure that is found to be "beyond the scope and power assigned to the federal government under Article 1 of the United States Constitution or in direct violation of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890" may be recommended for neutralization by the simple majority vote of each house of the Mississippi State Legislature.

Not to sound like a broken record, but Article VI of the Constitution clearly states that federal law shall be "the supreme law of the land." And Mississippi state legislators who have obviously become too big for their britches can't simply nullify it on a whim.

The arrogance required to even entertain the idea that some panel of handlebar mustache-ed shitkickers in Mississippi would have the power, or even the knowledge, to decide what is and is not constitutional is truly beyond description. And I shouldn't laugh, because we're deep inside secessionist territory here, but their unflinching belief in their own significance is breathtaking.

The only thing that rivals their hubris is my contempt for them.

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Murray Energy, the Big Coal company that fired numerous employees after President Obama won re-election, is rehiring almost all of those who were fired.

Throughout the 2012 presidential election, Murray Energy CEO Robert Murray used his employees as a political tool to try to defeat President Obama. Murray allegedly forced miners to attend a pro-Romney rally without pay and to contribute to Republican candidates. He announced layoffs at mines in Ohio and Utah, claiming that Obama's "war on coal" has cost jobs and hurt his business.

But months after blaming Obama for layoffs, Murray Energy is looking to hire back workers. Alec MacGillis reports this includes mines in Ohio and Utah, which had announced layoffs in the days following the election.

To fully realize how dramatic of an about-face this is, you have to go back to the prayer Chairman and CEO of Murray Energy, Robert E. Murray, read to the employees he fired.

The takers outvoted the producers. In response to this, I have turned to my Bible and in II Peter, Chapter 1, verses 4-9 it says, "To faith we are to add goodness; to goodness, knowledge; to knowledge, self control; to self control, perseverance; to perseverance, godliness; to godliness, kindness; to brotherly kindness, love."

Lord, please forgive me and anyone with me in Murray Energy Corp. for the decisions that we are now forced to make to preserve the very existence of any of the enterprises that you have helped us build. We ask for your guidance in this drastic time with the drastic decisions that will be made to have any hope of our survival as an American business enterprise.

Blaming President Obama's "war on coal," Murray fired 56 employees in Ohio immediately after the election. They are now rehiring at least 43 of them.

And I would be remiss not to add that these are the same miners who were forced to appear in a campaign ad with Mitt Romney and lost a day's pay to do so.

They lost a day's pay, were forced to appear in Romney's ad, and then they were fired by Murray because Romney didn't win. Because "the takers outvoted the producers"

For more on how the whole story unfolded, see here.




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