Sunday, July 31, 2011

Republicans' Debt Ceiling Charade Is Downright Dangerous | Swampland

US debt deal 'really, really close'

US debt deal 'really, really close'

Let's fucking hope os, and hope the compromise is coming from both fucking sides, and fairly so.

As per my letter in the LA Times, again,
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/07/opinion/la-le-0707-thursday-20110707

Debts that must be faced

Re "Obama calls meeting to break debt impasse," July 6

So House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said budget talks will be "fruitless" unless the president abandons calls for any tax increases. "The American people simply won't stand for it," he said.

Which American people? Not most, because repealing Bush-era tax cuts for the uber-wealthy isn't raising taxes on average Americans, and the 2% at the top are the only segment of Americans prospering in the post-recession anyway. To suggest that their largesse is sacred while programs such as Medicare and education grants must be cut should make moderates run from the Republican Party.

G. Colby Allerton

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Some Good News for the Planet on Fuel Efficiency - NYTimes.com

Some Good News for the Planet on Fuel Efficiency - NYTimes.com
Nice by Obama and the automakers! We're moving modestly into the right direction, and a more desirable, sustainable future....

Dams to Be Removed in Washington to Replenish Salmon - NYTimes.com

Dams to Be Removed in Washington to Replenish Salmon - NYTimes.com
Good news!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

John McCain unloads on the tea party | The Ticket - Yahoo! News

John McCain unloads on the tea party | The Ticket - Yahoo! News

Some straight shooting by a man who looks to be a latter-day moderate Republican again.

Too much drama, bring back GOP moderates - baltimoresun.com

If John Boehner is a moderate, we have a problem

The nation needs jobs, not ideological war

by Dan Rodricks

I heard someone use the term "moderate Republican" the other day, and I looked around for Mac Mathias. Of course, the great Maryland senator departed this life in January 2010, at the age of 87. He had retired in 1987, having served in Congress for 25 years. Once upon a time, Senator Mathias was aligned with something called the "influential liberal wing of the Republican Party," a phrase you could never conjure today without first doing some herb — and, even then, it would have to be really good stuff....

Hungary Destroys All Monsanto GMO Maize Fields

Hungary Destroys All Monsanto GMO Maize Fields

Good.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Forget Anonymous: Evidence Suggests GOP Hacked-Stole 2004 Election

http://www.benzinga.com/news/11/07/1789905/forget-anonymous-evidence-suggests-gop-hacked-stole-2004-election

Holy fucking shit.
What many of us feared, actually happened.
Democracy's foundations have been cracked and bludgeoned, perhaps irreversibly.
People should go to jail for a long time for this.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Obama: Rich should pay 'fair share' of debt reduction - The Oval: Tracking the Obama presidency

Obama: Rich should pay 'fair share' of debt reduction - The Oval: Tracking the Obama presidency

As Congress weighs competing debt plans, President Obama said today that "the wealthiest Americans and big corporations" should pay their "fair share" to reduce the nation's red ink if valuable programs are to be cut.

Some HUGE COMPANIES still pay ZERO or ALMOST NO TAXES.
AMERICAN TAXPAYER MONEY bailed out WALL ST.
Now, they are keeping their gains, and programs for for average - low and middle class Americans - are scheduled to be cut.
THIS IS NOT WORKING, SUSTAINABLE, or FAIR.
Support balanced efforts to reduce the debt, have the big companies (and Bush-era tax cut wealthy) pay us back.
It is ONLY FAIR.

I've been thinking some about the Winter Solstice, the Mayan end of the 30,000-year-cycle on 12/21/12.

What if in fact the world did end? Even though this probably will not happen, to live consciously it is honest for us to take a bit of an inventory.

Am I happy with how I've lived my life? (Yesterday, I thought mostly yes, with some areas for improvement, as below.) Are there changes I would make?
Would I have tried to forgive those that were hostile or disappointing to me?
Would I spend more time with those I loved the most, telling them that, feeling that more?
Would I be happier, grateful for what I have, what I've experienced, the joy, the beauty in this world?

Maybe the answer is yes to all of the above.
So this time can serve as a point of rebirth for all of us. If we think about it.

Because somewhere along the line I realized I think maybe mankind deserves it. !
The way we are killing each other, killing the planet.
How selfish we are, and snotty to those around us. Petty, competitive. Why is this? Do we have to behave this way? (I say no, it greatly detracts and misdirects energy from the full-time celebration in which we could engage, the great multi-cultural, multi-rhythmic dance we can sustain here.)

Maybe God or the Great Universe is fed up, and will pull the rug out from under us.
Don't think I can say we could blame Him/Her/It.

But it probably won't happen. (Probably not! This time.)

Still we are finite on this ride.

It is a time to think, am I happy with how I've lived my life?
Hopefully most of us can say yes.

For the part of us that have a little worry, a little sadness....
This is the time to be present.
This is the time to be the person you want to be, that can die at peace, that can hope to every day be able to look yourself and the Universe in the eye and say, how beautiful, smiling, and thank you. Let's do that.