At what point do the people tell the politicians to go to hell? At what point do they get off the couch, march down to their state legislator's house, pull him outside, and beat him to a bloody pulp for being an idiot?
Were I in Washington State, I'd be cleaning my gun right about now waiting to protect my property from the coming riots or the government apparatchiks coming to enforce nonsensical legislation.
Hey, remember when the fright-wing nutjobs were all indignant and shit after DHS issued a report warning of right-wing political violence in this country? Good times, good times. "Conservatives derided and dismissed an April 2009 report by the Department of Homeland Security warning law enforcement officials of a spike in homegrown "rightwing extremism" fueled in part by "antigovernment" sentiments, which in retrospect appears to have been a chilling omen for the tragic Arizona shooting Saturday. ... The Homeland report, which was coordinated with the FBI and titled, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," warned of a rise in violence spurred by the economic downturn and the election of the nation's first African-American president. ... Eighteen were shot, some fatally, in the attacks Saturday at a Tucson grocery store, including Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (AZ), who was critically wounded, as well as members of her staff and a federal judge. ... The suspected gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, 22, has apparently posted anti-government screeds in videos on YouTube -- first uncovered by Talking Points Memo -- ranting about the government and its supposed desire to control minds and grammar."
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We've been tolerating political rhetoric that is unspeakably violent since long before Sarah Palin started spewing her nonsense on Facebook. If she never spoke again, if she never said another word, we would still have a society in which it is totally okay to call some people expendable because they're unprivileged, evil because they're idealistic, and irredeemable because they have the gall to say that the way things are isn't the way things have to be.
Sarah Palin and her Facebook page are just a little cruder about expressing it, is all. And nobody really minded all that much until some lunatic started shooting.
He is described as a middle-aged, White male and was seen by several witnesses driving away from the scene of the shooting.
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Prayers won't wipe the stench off this shit
From an email sent by City of Winchester, KY staff on City of Winchester computers to an apparently statewide distribution:
Subject: Prayer Meeting Hosted by Mayor BurtnerEach year Mayor Burtner has arranged a prayer meeting near the beginning of the year to focus attention on the needs of our local elected leaders for the prayers of the people of the community. This year the prayer meeting will be at Emmanuel Episcopal Church and those leading in prayer will be several of our elected leaders themselves. The meeting will be on January 8, 2011 at 10 am and everyone is invited to come and be part of this time of encouraging our leadership to know that the church is behind them with prayer.
Emmanuel Episcopal Church
Saturday January 8, 2011
10 AM
Prayer for our local officers
Local officials in Winchester certainly are in dire need of assistance. I'd recommend starting with a basic introduction to the Establishment Clause.
As for the poor abused citizens of Winchester: instead of begging for magic tricks from an invisible sky wizard, they should start recruiting candidates from the reality-based community.
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This is rapidly approaching embarrassing over-reation. "The US government has subpoenaed the social networking site Twitter for personal details of people connected to Wikileaks, court documents show. The US District Court in Virginia said it wanted information including user names, addresses, connection records, telephone numbers and payment details. Those named include Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and an Icelandic MP. The US is examining possible charges against Mr Assange over the leaking of 250,000 classified diplomatic cables."
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How many of those 30,000 would still be alive if marijuana were legalized? "The decapitated bodies of 15 young men have been found in the Mexican beach resort of Acapulco. Police said they were discovered near a shopping centre and were all aged between 15 and 25. They were dumped there by drug cartel members fighting over the control of the drugs business in the city. More than 30,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since late 2006."
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"When they talk of hatred, we must stand against them."
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Keith Olbermann's Special Comment: Sarah Palin Must Be Repudiated By Her Party
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FLASHBACK: Giffords Warns About "Consequences" To Palin's Hit List
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Best healthcare in the world
For all the screeching about how we have the best healthcare system in the world, there sure is a lot of evidence to the contrary.
Take for example, Malyia Jeffers, a 2-year-old Sacramento girl who was forced to have several limbs amputated because her parents waited in an emergency room for five hours.
Once they arrived, Malyia developed bruise-like splotches on her cheeks and eventually couldn't muster the strength to walk.Even with these symptoms, emergency room personnel told the family to wait. More than five hours later, Jeffers told KTXL that he couldn't take it anymore.
In addition to the fact that their 2-year-old daughter had to have her feet and left hand amputated following their journey to three different hospitals, the family is now faced with the epic costs of the Best Healthcare in the World™
The bill for the helicopter transport alone is $26,000. Although the family is currently staying at the Ronald McDonald House for $10 per day, their other expenses are being paid out-of-pocket and Jeffers describes their insurance policy as inconsistent at best.
I was going to title this post "Third World Healthcare" but after further thought I considered that to be an insult to Third World healthcare.
Good thing our new Congressional Overlords are on the case, looking for ways to "kill the job-killing government takeover of healthcare."
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Eskimos Defeat BP - by JM Ashby
Only an oil company would be arrogant enough to drink someone's milkshake run a pipeline into and tap someone's land without acquiring the land owner's permission or paying them their dues. Thankfully there are still judges out there who are not beholden to corporate interests. Is there any doubt remaining that federal regulation of the energy industry over the last decade has been a complete failure?
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- BP PLC has closed a small portion of the Prudhoe Bay oil field following a judge's ruling that federal regulators didn't get approval from the land owners...In November, federal claims court Judge Nancy Firestone said the Oenga family is owed millions in unpaid rent because the BIA improperly allowed BP to tap three offshore oil deposits from the family's allotment.
I marvel at the fact that BP was defeated in court by a native Eskimo family, but then I am reminded that thousands of Gulf Coast residents are still awaiting similar closure and may be waiting for a long time. Perhaps we can request a transfer of Judge Nancy Firestone to Louisiana.
Adding... No, I mean no disrespect to Eskimos. It is simply remarkable because native tribes are pushed around a lot in this country.
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