July 12, 2014

Who is this bald asshole on Real Time With Bill Maher?

...... Not one to let facts get in the way of his right-wing bluster.

BIG LOVE for Donna Edwards!!!

July 11, 2014

Hillary Clinton Could Get Some Neoconservative Support In 2016

(HuffPost) Hillary Clinton may get some unlikely support from the right if she decides to run for president in 2016.

During a HuffPost Live conversation about a New York Times op-ed that explores Clinton's relationship with neoconservatives, Mother Jones Washington bureau chief David Corn explained that neocons have a political history of seeking to "burrow into one camp and establish a foothold somewhere," meaning they'll be on the hunt for any candidate that best suits them. And if the Republican party veers away from their interests, Corn argued that Clinton could be the alternative.

"If (neoconservatives) see that it's clear the 2016 GOP presidential contest is really going to go toward the isolationist wing like Rand Paul or maybe Ted Cruz, they they may say, 'Hey, Hillary is our best of not-great options,'" Corn said. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/11/hillary-clinton-neoconservative_n_5578062.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013&ir=Politics

July 11, 2014

Escalating Domestic Warfare

from Consortium News:


Escalating Domestic Warfare
July 8, 2014

Between the War on Drugs and the War on Terror, the United States has witnessed a transformation of its law enforcement, from lightly armed neighborhood policemen to militarized units deploying weapons of warfare, including armored personnel carriers, as Brian J. Trautman explains.

By Brian J. Trautman


Last month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released a report titled “War Comes Home: The Excessive Militarization of American Policing,” shedding much needed light on the emergence of a militarist ethos in policing across the nation.

In a review of public records, such as incident reports, requested from more than 260 law enforcement agencies in 25 states and the District of Columbia, the ACLU found that, from the responses received, 818 SWAT operations from 20 local law enforcement agencies located in 11 states fully met their research criteria, which took geographic diversity into account, among other factors. The SWAT incidents that were analyzed fell in the time period between July 2010 and last October.

Based on the ACLU’s examination, it was determined that paramilitary policing is neither sporadic nor isolated; rather, it is widespread and pervasive. Perhaps the most eye-opening and disturbing aspects of the ACLU’s report are the revelations of when, why and how Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams are being used.

The trend toward hyper-aggressive tactics of today’s law enforcement are having tragic consequences, for both civilians and law officers. Property is being destroyed. Civil liberties are being violated. SWAT teams are employing methods and equipment which have traditionally been reserved for war. For example, roughly 500 law enforcement agencies now possess Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles built to withstand armor-piercing roadside bombs. ............................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://consortiumnews.com/2014/07/08/escalating-domestic-warfare/

July 11, 2014

D.C.: Old Railcars Slow Down Metro Progress

Metro’s fleet of aging trains — scheduled for replacement over the next several years — continues to bedevil commuters, risking Metro’s message that things actually are getting better halfway through a six-year, $5 billion rebuilding effort.

As D.C.'s Metro continues its system-wide rebuilding program that will run through 2017, transit authority officials say real progress has been made fixing track and signaling infrastructure to improve the reliability of rail service. Yet on a day-to-day basis, railcar breakdowns and delays frustrate riders already annoyed by another fare increase.

If commuters judge the quality of service based on personal experience, quarterly progress reports on system reliability may mean little compared to the delays that make them late for work, squeezed onto packed platforms or inside old railcars without air conditioning. Because even as the number of delays caused by track or signal problems dwindle, Metro’s fleet of aging trains — scheduled for replacement over the next several years — continues to bedevil commuters, risking Metro’s message that things actually are getting better halfway through the six-year, $5 billion rebuilding effort.

June: a snapshot

As he rode the Red Line to work one morning, Jason Stonewall shared his feelings about Metro’s oldest line: “It’s horrible.” Stonewall pulled out his smartphone to scroll through old Metro text message alerts. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.wnyc.org/story/old-railcars-slow-down-metro-progress/

July 11, 2014

D.C.: Old Railcars Slow Down Metro Progress

Metro’s fleet of aging trains — scheduled for replacement over the next several years — continues to bedevil commuters, risking Metro’s message that things actually are getting better halfway through a six-year, $5 billion rebuilding effort.

As D.C.'s Metro continues its system-wide rebuilding program that will run through 2017, transit authority officials say real progress has been made fixing track and signaling infrastructure to improve the reliability of rail service. Yet on a day-to-day basis, railcar breakdowns and delays frustrate riders already annoyed by another fare increase.

If commuters judge the quality of service based on personal experience, quarterly progress reports on system reliability may mean little compared to the delays that make them late for work, squeezed onto packed platforms or inside old railcars without air conditioning. Because even as the number of delays caused by track or signal problems dwindle, Metro’s fleet of aging trains — scheduled for replacement over the next several years — continues to bedevil commuters, risking Metro’s message that things actually are getting better halfway through the six-year, $5 billion rebuilding effort.

June: a snapshot

As he rode the Red Line to work one morning, Jason Stonewall shared his feelings about Metro’s oldest line: “It’s horrible.” Stonewall pulled out his smartphone to scroll through old Metro text message alerts. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.wnyc.org/story/old-railcars-slow-down-metro-progress/

July 11, 2014

Escalating Domestic Warfare

from Consortium News:


Escalating Domestic Warfare
July 8, 2014

Between the War on Drugs and the War on Terror, the United States has witnessed a transformation of its law enforcement, from lightly armed neighborhood policemen to militarized units deploying weapons of warfare, including armored personnel carriers, as Brian J. Trautman explains.

By Brian J. Trautman


Last month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released a report titled “War Comes Home: The Excessive Militarization of American Policing,” shedding much needed light on the emergence of a militarist ethos in policing across the nation.

In a review of public records, such as incident reports, requested from more than 260 law enforcement agencies in 25 states and the District of Columbia, the ACLU found that, from the responses received, 818 SWAT operations from 20 local law enforcement agencies located in 11 states fully met their research criteria, which took geographic diversity into account, among other factors. The SWAT incidents that were analyzed fell in the time period between July 2010 and last October.

Based on the ACLU’s examination, it was determined that paramilitary policing is neither sporadic nor isolated; rather, it is widespread and pervasive. Perhaps the most eye-opening and disturbing aspects of the ACLU’s report are the revelations of when, why and how Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams are being used.

The trend toward hyper-aggressive tactics of today’s law enforcement are having tragic consequences, for both civilians and law officers. Property is being destroyed. Civil liberties are being violated. SWAT teams are employing methods and equipment which have traditionally been reserved for war. For example, roughly 500 law enforcement agencies now possess Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles built to withstand armor-piercing roadside bombs. ............................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://consortiumnews.com/2014/07/08/escalating-domestic-warfare/

July 11, 2014

Scared of Biking in Traffic? These Cities Are Making It Safe

This article originally appeared at On the Commons.


Scared of Biking in Traffic? These Cities Are Making It Safe
To get people on bikes in big numbers, cities are finding that it's essential to separate bike lanes from traffic.

by Jay Walljasper
posted Jul 10, 2014


[font size="1"]Cyclists use a protected bike lane in Vancouver, British Columbia. Photo by Paul Krueger / Flickr.[/font]

You can see big changes happening across America as communities from Fairbanks, Alaska, to St. Petersburg, Fla., transform their streets into appealing places for people, not just for cars and trucks.

“Over the past five years we’re seeing an infrastructure revolution, a rethinking of our streets to accommodate more users (through) busways, public plazas, space for pedestrians, and, of course, bike lanes,” says David Vega-Barachowitz of the National Association of City Transportation Officials. “More protected bike lanes is one of the most important parts of this.”

Protected bike lanes separate people on bikes from rushing traffic with concrete curbs, plastic bollards or other means—and sometimes offer additional safety measures such as special traffic lights and painted crossings at intersections.

Protected bike lanes help riders feel less exposed to danger, and are also appreciated by drivers and pedestrians, who know where to expect bicycles. Streets work better when everyone has a clearly defined space.

The continuing evolution of bicycling

Protected bike lanes are standard practice in the Netherlands, where 27 percent of all trips are made on bicycles. That’s because more women, kids, and seniors feel comfortable biking on the streets—along with out-of-shape, inexperienced riders. Dutch bike ridership has doubled since the 1980s, when protected bike lanes began to be built in large numbers. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/scared-of-biking-in-traffic-these-cities-are-making-it-safe

July 11, 2014

Professor Richard Wolff: Workers' Self-Directed Enterprises

Published on Jul 10, 2014

Economist Richard D. Wolff on workers' self-directed enterprises. Excerpts from a talk at the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung.

July 11, 2014

Richard Wolff: Economy Boom or Bubble

Published on Jul 10, 2014

Thom Hartmann discusses the current state of the U.S. economy with Professor Richard Wolff

July 11, 2014

David Sirota: As Usual, Washington Follows the Buck

from In These Times:


As Usual, Washington Follows the Buck
When it comes to party politics, Big Money wins over big principles.

BY DAVID SIROTA


In politics, as the old saying goes, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies—there are only permanent interests. Few policy debates prove that truism as well as the one now brewing over the Export-Import Bank—a government agency providing taxpayer subsidized loans to multinational corporations.

This tale starts 15 years ago when my old boss, U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, was trying to construct a left-right coalition to reform the bank. While a few libertarians were willing to voice free-market criticism of the bank, the impetus for reform was primarily among Democrats and the left. Indeed, Sanders' failed 2002 amendment proposing to restrict the bank's subsidies garnered only 22 Republican votes but had 111 Democratic backers—mostly progressive legislators who, in the words of Sanders, saw the Ex-Im Bank program as “one of the most egregious forms of corporate welfare.”

As Salon's David Dayen reports, liberals in subsequent years “highlighted how Enron, the failed energy giant, benefited from $675 million in Ex-Im loans”; how “Ex-Im gave an $18 million loan to a Chinese steel mill, which was later on accused of dumping steel into U.S. markets and hurting U.S. workers” and how, “Ex-Im loan guarantees helped build one of the largest coal plants in the world.” By 2008, the progressive-themed criticism of the bank had become so central to Democrats' agenda that Barack Obama used a presidential campaign speech in 2008 to lambast the bank as “little more than a fund for corporate welfare.”

Fast forward to the last few years. In 2012, Democrats rammed a bill reauthorizing the bank through the Senate, and Obama held a public ceremony to sign the reauthorization bill into law. At the same time, Republicans provided most of the congressional votes against the bank. And now, in the last few weeks, the GOP's new House majority leader is threatening to block the next authorization bill and thus completely shut the bank down.

This tale is not just another “I was for it before I was against” anecdote. It is also a bigger parable providing a two-pronged lesson: Partisan politics can abruptly shift; yet money politics almost never changes. .....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://inthesetimes.com/article/16945/david_sirota_money_interests