Good morning!

Living in  North Dakota? You need to read this.

North Dakota Finds Itself Unprepared To Handle The Radioactive Burden Of Its Fracking Boom

Bags full of radioactive waste in an abandoned North Dakota building.

North Dakota recently discovered piles of garbage bags containing radioactive waste dumped by oil drillers in abandoned buildings. Now, the state is trying to catch up to an oil industry that produces an estimated 27 tons of radioactive debris from wells daily.

Existing fines have apparently not been enough to deter contractors from dumping oil socks — coiled filters that strain wastewater and accumulate low levels of radiation.

“Before the Bakken oil boom we didn’t have any of these materials being generated,” the state’s Director of Waste Management Scott Radig told the Wall Street Journal. “So it wasn’t really an issue.”

The state is in the process of drafting rules, out in June, that require oil companies to properly store the waste in leak-proof containers. Eventually, they must move these oil socks to certified dumps. However, North Dakota has no facilities to process this level of radioactive waste. According to the Wall Street Journal, the closest facilities are hundreds of miles away in states like Idaho, Colorado, Utah, and Montana.

Even though it is illegal, contractors have taken the occasional shortcut to dump the oil socks in buildings, on the side of the road, or at landfills. And the rate of dumping incidents has been on the rise as drilling activity has increased in the Bakken shale region, according to one North Dakota Department of Health study. Dump operators now even routinely screen garbage for radiation.

If things don’t improve, oil drillers may risk turning parts of the state into EPA Superfund sites, which would mean a long and expensive clean-up.

North Dakota’s oil activity has delivered a string of bad news for the area that disrupts the rosy portrayal of the state’s economic growth. The oil boom has brought along with it more frequent oil and wastewater spills, skyrocketing rent and homelessness, as well as drug addiction and STDs.

*****

Readers: One way to get these North DaKota oil producers to clean up their act and not pollute their state, is if they are heavily fined for dumping oil socks in undesignated areas, so that they don’t do it again. Any other ideas you can think of? Blog me.

Venus: I apologize, if you did not think my response was satisfactory. I agree with you, voting men out of office will not stop a raping man from raping, and it isn’t enough. But at least it would keep them from being able to have the power of the office to take advantage of women in the worst of ways. Who knows what men like this will do once they are in office – obviously this scumbag was able to order  his aids to do his dirty work.

As Ellen mentioned, “…it will certainly send a message that anyone in that position can’t hold that position with that attitude.” Let’s certainly HOPE she’s correct, because with men like Zhirinovsky in office what’s the next step?  Legitimize and legalize rape? Then every woman would be shit out of luck. And you know men will go as far as they can if people allow them the grounds to do it. Look at your anti- LGBT laws in Russia. Wishing you the best, Venus.

Lucy:  Thank you! I’ll read it at my next opportunity.

Peace out. 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

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Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

4:57 PM update:

Readers: Sorry – this post got published on January 23rd of this year, and I just noticed it. Not sure how this happened.

In Denial

Conservatives Line Up To Oppose Minimum Wage Increase

Yesterday, during a public forum hosted by Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL), a fast food worker named Shaneeka Rainer stood up to ask the Congressman to support increasing the minimum wage. Rainer has worked an entire decade receiving only one raise: when Congress increased the minimum wage in 2007.

Here is what happened, as reported by Think Progress (head over there for a video of the exchange):

Ross, who is seeking a third term representing Tampa’s northwest suburbs, was unmoved by Rainer’s plea. “It’s not right,” the Florida Republican said. “If we are going to make it a living wage, who’s going to pay for it?”

An audience member declared that he’d gladly pay slightly more for a hamburger in order to increase the minimum wage, prompting applause from the crowd.

Rainer asked the congressman whether he would be willing to come work at Arby’s with him for one day so he can see how difficult minimum wage work is, but Ross demurred. Instead, he railed against the very notion of a minimum wage and even the concept of labor laws in general.

“If the government’s going to tell me how much I can get paid and when I can work and when I can’t work, then we have a serious problem in this country,” Ross said.

There are numerous reasons that raising the minimum wage to $10.10 will increase economic prosperity and not hurt job creation. But Ross is far from the only conservative policymaker who has publicly shared his backward and unpopular view about the minimum wage. Some not only oppose an increase, but they would go so far as to repeal the existing minimum wage altogether. We’ve put together a list of some of these “minimum wage deniers”:

• Sen. Lamar Alexander: “I Do Not Believe In” The Minimum Wage. At a Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee meeting to mark 75 years since the signing of the Federal Labor Standards Act, which set a minimum wage and mandated overtime pay, Alexander, the ranking Republican on the committee, jumped into a discussion between a witness from the Heritage Foundation and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to say of the minimum wage, “I do not believe in it.” Sanders followed up, asking, “So you do not believe in the concept of the minimum wage?” “That’s correct,” Alexander responded. “You would abolish the minimum wage?” “Correct.”
• Gov. Rick Perry Questioned The Constitutionality Of The Minimum Wage. The outspoken Texas governor has called Social Security an “illegal Ponzi scheme,” but he hasn’t limited his scorn for the social safety net to just that program. In the 1930s, Perry said, “an arrogant President [Franklin] Roosevelt, an emboldened Congress” and a compliant Supreme Court agreed the federal government could enforce minimum wages — and the result has been “a complete and total failure.” In case those views weren’t clear enough, he also doesn’t think “it’s the government’s business to be setting the minimum wage out there.”
• John Boehner: I’d Rather Kill Myself Than Raise The Minimum Wage.House Speaker John Boehner is so against raising the minimum wage that he once commented that he would “commit suicide before I vote on a clean minimum-wage bill.” Yikes.
• Rep. Joe Barton Would Vote To Repeal The Minimum Wage. Responding to President Obama’s call to raise the minimum wage, Rep. Joe Barton suggested that the minimum wage should be repealed completely. “I think it’s outlived its usefulness,” Barton said. “It may have been of some value back in the Great Depression. I would vote to repeal the minimum wage.”
• Gov. Susana Martinez Vetoed Minimum Wage Legislation In 2013. The New Mexico governor is in the news today for other reasons — Mother Jones published previously unreleased audio recordings that aren’t exactly flattering. In 2013, though, Martinez vetoed a bill that passed both houses of the state legislature raising the minimum wage from $7.50 to $8.50.
• Gov. Scott Walker Calls Efforts To Raise The Minimum Wage A Misguided Political Stunt. “I think it is nothing more than a misguided political stunt,’ the Wisconsin governor said of efforts to raise the wage. To Walker, apparently, working to reduce inequality and put money back in the pockets of hard-working low-income Americans is “little more than a political grandstanding stunt.”

BOTTOM LINE: The minimum wage has been a good thing for this country and the effort to increase it is no stunt. You shouldn’t work full time and still live in poverty in America. As incomes at the very top keep going up and up and up, it’s time to put some more money back in the pockets of hard-working low-income Americans too. Republicans have supported increasing the minimum wage in the recent past, and they should again — instead of being the “party of NO.”

*****

Mercedes: I have never heard that story told that way before. How interesting and illuminating. Like /SB, I would be interested in reading the French version as well. Thank you for sharing.

Venus: Your post is frightening to me. I can’t tell you how angry and upset I was from reading the story. I am at a loss of words. I wish I had the solution to end these horrific atrocities against women. When I think of how sick and inhumane it is for a man to order a woman to be “violently raped,” and the fact that his aids did as was told, is just beyond shocking.

Where is the love? Where is the caring and respect of women? These are women, mothers, daughters, who have the ability to give birth to you…the reason why you are here.

I agree with you….I want to say too, “Aliens, have your way with these disgusting men.” Only the better solution is that all women and good men need to come together and help themselves by getting rid of these sickos in office. STOP voting in men who don’t give a damn about women.

Readers: Like with corporations who get fined so little when they break the law, it is barely a deterrent to prevent them from doing it again, I think men need to have worse punishments for rape, because evidently the punishments that exist now are not enough to prevent rape.

If I ruled the world, I would “convict and remove.” You rape a woman and you’re “convicted,” your dick is surgically “removed.”  Sound harsh and barbaric? Maybe, but that’s my solution, because so far nothing else is working. If a man fears having his dick cut off, perhaps, he’ll keep it in his pants, or risk having the rape be the last time he is ever able to enter a woman.

What solution can you come up with to stop men from being so cruel? Thoughts? Blog me.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

To all the repubs out there: “just noticing…”

“…Ahh…Obamacare is working.”

“This Thing Is Working”

A Slew Of Good Health Care News Has Conservatives On Their Heels

The evidence continues to pile up that the Affordable Care Act is doing exactly what progressives said it would: providing the peace of mind of high-quality and affordable health coverage to millions of Americans. Despite the initial bumps, the law is actually exceeding expectations when it comes to enrollment. What’s more, Americans are sick of Republicans who have voted over 50 times to repeal the law without even offering an alternative — the law is working better than expected and it is here to stay.

19 Million Americans Covered

With President Obama’s final announcement of enrollment numbers on Thursday, the tally for the total number of Americans getting coverage (so far!) thanks to the Affordable Care Act is in:

• 8 million people have signed up for health coverage through the state and federal marketplaces.
• 3 million more have signed up for coverage through Medicaid.
• 3 million now have coverage by staying on their parents’ plan.
• 5 million people have signed up for ACA-compliant plans outside the marketplace.

Altogether, a new Gallup survey reveals that 4 percent of all Americans are newly ensured this year.

Exchanges Working And Costs Down

Opponents of the law claimed that insufficient numbers of young and healthy people would enroll in the exchanges, causing premiums to skyrocket next year. These fears also aren’t panning out; in fact, just the opposite is happening.

For one, young people are signing up for health coverage under the law in droves. The White House reported that 28% of enrollees are between the ages of 18 and 35. That’s the same percentage as in Massachusetts, which has run a successful healthcare marketplace since 2007. Gallup echoes this point, writing that “the newly insured are, on average, much younger than the overall population.”

Additionally, worries about dramatic cost increases have also proven to be overblown. New Congressional Budget Office projections for 2016 insurance premiums are 15 percent lower than previous estimates, a reduction that they estimate to save $186 billion (not to say we called it, but…we called it).

The mix of massive enrollment and a young, healthy enrollment pool has insurers who “got their first taste of Obamacare this year [wanting] seconds,” according to Politico. In at least ten states, insurers that didn’t offer coverage through the exchanges this year have said they plan to in 2015. This creates more options for consumers, and signals the strength of the ACA marketplaces.

Conservatives On Defense

As millions of people experience real, and not just theoretical, benefits of the law, Americans are getting more and more tired of the political battles to repeal it. A recent Kaiser survey found that 59 percent of Americans want keep the law in place or improve it, while only 29 percent want get rid of it. Pew reports that even a “majority of ACA opponents – representing 30% of the public overall – want politicians to do what they can to make the law work as well as possible, compared with 19% of the public that wants elected officials to do what they can to make it fail.”

And constituents are showing their frustration with their conservative elected officials’ fixation on repeal. Without any alternative to point to, and an increasingly frustrated public, these politicians have nobody to blame but themselves.

Think Progress videotaped on one such interaction at a town hall for GOP Rep. Dennis Ross (FL):

Constituent: Why do you think it is so good to deny seniors on Part D to make them pay more, about $4,000 more for medicine, and people with pre-existing conditions get denied insurance, have 26-year-olds have a harder time getting insurance because they can’t get on their parents’? Why do you think those are good ideas?

ROSS: I don’t. I think one of the most unfortunate things my party did the last three years was not offer an alternative to health care.

Ross isn’t the only Republican to face criticism recently. Paul Ryan, Scott Brown, and Chris Christie have also had constituents tell them to end their focus on repeal. Meanwhile, states that have refused to expand health care to low-income residents are also starting to face the music: the uninsured rate is dropping three times faster in states that have expanded Medicaid compared to those that have not.

BOTTOM LINE: We think just a look at a few of this week’s health-care related headlines provides the best summary: the ACA is working.

*A*C*A*!*

Readers: I am in a small girls group and I texted them this morning wishing all of them a Happy Easter and hoping that those who celebrate Passover, were enjoying the holiday as well. One sister texted me back saying how much she “loved this season of miracles and rebirth.” Her comment made me smile.

So, here’s to all of you on this Easter Sunday and nearing the end of Passover. I HOPE you all have a joyous day, and miracles happen all around you. I find that when I appreciate all that I have, the miracles just appear. And I HOPE for all of us, that this rebirth of our nation since Obama came into office will continue to go on and remain strong.

I find that although much of what is written here talks about the atrocities that are happening in our country and around the world, that if we focus on the good that we already have, and continue to appreciate and strive for solutions for the betterment for all, it will come to us. Look at Obamacare –  it is working. Miracles do not have to be miraculous. All of us, working together, can make this a piece of cake.

So happy to have you all here with me. Have a wonderful day celebrating with friends and family!  Share of you are inspired. Blog me.

Peace & Love…

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

Ann: You inspired me the other day. The LSOS’s are still out there going strong. This one from The New Republic is for you.

The Right’s New Scam: Feigning Anger on Behalf of People They Encouraged to Skip Obamacare

*****

Readers: Thoughts? Who else comes to mind when you think of an LSOS? Blog me and we’ll add them to the running list of members.

Howard: My thoughts exactly!

Chrissy: Cute. :)

Marjorie: Thanks for the reminer. You are so correct.

Sonja, Misty, Paul, et al: Thank you for stepping up!

Social Butterfly: Thank you for posting about National Voter Registration Day on September 16th.

Mark your calendars everyone, and encourage people to register or donate some time to help get people registered. Thank you!

Peace & Love….

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

I’ve been wanting to respond to a few comments from a few days go, and I’m finally getting around to it.

Monroe: That is the point, the “youngsters” need to get with it. They were all so excited and participatory in the 2008 elections…but they quickly lost steam and stayed away during the midterms, which is part of the reason we lost the House. Dems, ALL Dems, need to get a fire up their asses and realize that if we lose this chance, life will be far worse than they can imagine.

As Eldon, Mildred and Stewart said, the repubs will vote during the midterms. The Dems…who knows why they don’t show up. Could be laziness, complacency…whatever. I don’t care what the reason. No reason is a good reason. Any reason is no excuse.

Readers: I am speaking to you, who read my blog, that this time it is not enough for us Dems, to just get fired up and do nothing but walk down to the voting booth and vote Democratic. If you have always voted Dem, or if through reading my blog you changed parties, and voted Dem for the first time in 2008 and 2012, more action needs to take place before it is time to vote in the midterms this year. More action in rallying up friends, family, strangers, to vote Dem and get to the polls. It may mean helping drive people to the polls so they can be sure to vote.

This is the time, where we need to do more. This is the time where Dems need to act differently than we have in the past, and surprise the heck out of the repubs, and show up big and strong, big time. This is not the time to get passive, lazy, complacent, or throw up your arms in frustration,  feeling as if our vote doesn’t count. It does. Because whether you make it to the polls or not, your vote or lack of vote will count for one party. You might as well make it count for the Dem party, because a no vote will most certainly count for the repubs. And..if you think you’re frustrated and disillusioned for whatever reason, you will have plenty of reason when it gets worse and you realize you could’ve done something.

Anonymous: I love your idea. That is exactly what I am talking about when I say we need to do more than just vote this time around. Thank you!

Anyone else inspired by Anonymous? Maybe you can’t go out and buy a billboard, but you can certainly walk the streets and be your own personal billboard.

I know I can do more because, quite frankly, I am sick and tired of bitching about all that is happening on a daily basis. And worse, I am sick of the bitching from people who complain about the state of our affairs when it is us, the Dems, who are the ones to blame. Yes we are. We can point fingers at the repubs, and all they are doing, but we gave them they control. We had control and we gave it up. We’ve got one more chance with Obama as our president. Big change can happen if we retain control of the Senate and get back the House in November.

You do your part big time, I promise I’ll do mine big time.

You don’t like the fact the raving S.T.A.R.K. are in control? I don’t either. If the repubs remain in control, STARK will remain bought and paid for and this country will be at the mercy of those 5 repubs, who will remain on the bench working for the billionaires until the day they die. I’m not willing to see this country become a one party nation, and launch into a third world war. Are you? Don’t doubt that the repubs will take us there.

The question is, what are you willing to do in the coming months to prevent this? If we get control of Congress, we can set term limits on the time a Supreme Court judge can be on the bench and take away these insane “Until I die, Lifetime” appointments. Down with lifetime appointments.

If we get control of Congress we can overturn Citizens United.

From The Nation:

Bernie Sanders Raises Battle Cry Against Citizens United: ‘I Vote for Democracy!’

Citizens United is not just the default reference for US Supreme Court decisions—including the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling—that have ushered in a new era of corporate dominance of American elections. It’s the name of the conservative groupthat encouraged Chief Justice John Roberts and the most activist Court majority in American history to tear the heart out of what were already weak campaign finance laws.

Citizens United still exists as an activist group that produces documentaries—ACLU: At War with America, Border War: The Battle Over Illegal Immigration, Fire From the Heartland: The Awakening of the Conservative Woman, America at Risk: Hosted by Newt and Callista Gingrich—and organizes gatherings that highlight right-wing policies and politicians. On Saturday, Citizens United hosted something of a kickoff for the Republican presidential race in the first-primary state of New Hampshire.

Organized in collaboration with the Koch brothers–funded Americans for Prosperity Foundation, Citizens United’s “Freedom Summit” attracted a list of speakers that included leading contenders (and wannabes) for the GOP nod. Indeed, Greg Moore, the director of AFP-New Hampshire, described the summit as the first “cattle call” of 2016.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul made his pitch to the Koch crowd.

So did Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

And former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

And perennial (if never quite announced) contender Donald Trump.

The Freedom Summit was not entertaining objections to the latest Supreme Court decision to steer more big money into politics—in the case of McCutcheon v. FEC—or to the political machinations of bottom-line corporations and self-serving “mega-donors.”

But across town, on the same day, the objection was raised.

The New Hampshire Institute of Politics on the campus of Saint Anselm College was packed Saturday for a town-hall meeting with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who roused the crowd with a condemnation of the money power that is corrupting American elections and governance.

“In the United States of America, billionaires should not be able to buy elections,” declared Sanders, to thunderous applause.

“If we do not get our act together, we are moving towards an oligarchic society,” he continued, arguing that, “We have got to fight to defend American democracy.”

Like some of the Republicans who will be in New Hampshire this weekend, Sanders has talked about running for president. And his visit to the first-primary state has stirred speculation about a possible bid.

The independent senator says he is months away from any kind of decision. What he’s doing now is inviting progressives to join in a conversation about how to take on the money power. It’s a conversation he’ll carry forward May 9 and May 10 in Northampton, Massachusetts, with a series of events, including an appearance with the activist group Progressive Democrats of America.

What Sanders has already made his decision about the absolute absurdity of the High Court’s approach to cases like Citizens United and McCutcheon.

“What world are the five conservative Supreme Court justices living in?” Sanders said after the McCutcheon ruling.“To equate the ability of billionaires to buy elections with ‘freedom of speech’ is totally absurd. The Supreme Court is paving the way toward an oligarchic form of society in which a handful of billionaires like the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson will control our political process.”

Sanders has also decided that a constitutional amendment is needed to push back against Supreme Court decisions that threaten to make the dollar more consequential than the vote in American elections.

The “Democracy is for the People” amendment, sponsored by Sanders and Congressman Ted Deutch, D-Florida, is one of several proposed by members of Congress in response to the national outcry over the Citizens United decision—an outcry that, so far, has seen sixteen states and close to 600 communities demand that the Constitution be amended to address the crisis created, and now compounded, by the court.

It reads:

Section I. Whereas the right to vote in public elections belongs only to natural persons as citizens of the United States, so shall the ability to make contributions and expenditures to influence the outcomes of public elections belong only to natural persons in accordance with this Article.

Section II. Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to restrict the power of Congress and the States to protect the integrity and fairness of the electoral process, limit the corrupting influence of private wealth in public elections, and guarantee the dependence of elected officials on the people alone by taking actions which may include the establishment of systems of public financing for elections, the imposition of requirements to ensure the disclosure of contributions and expenditures made to influence the outcome of a public election by candidates, individuals, and associations of individuals, and the imposition of content neutral limitations on all such contributions and expenditures.

Section III. Nothing in this Article shall be construed to alter the freedom of the press.

Section IV. Congress and the States shall have the power to enforce this Article through appropriate legislation.

Sanders is blunt with regard to the crisis.

“The disastrous 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United threw out campaign funding laws that limited what wealthy individuals and corporations could spend on elections,” he has argued. “Since that ruling, campaign spending by Adelson, the Koch brothers and a handful of other billionaire families has fundamentally undermined American democracy. If present trends continue, elections will not be decided by one-person, one-vote, but by a small number of very wealthy families who spend huge amounts of money supporting right-wing candidates who protect their interests.”

And Sanders is blunt about the necessary response.

“Clearly, if we are to retain the fundamentals of American democracy, we need to overturn the Supreme Court decision,” explains the senator, who argues that the time has come for “overturning Citizens United.”

It is part of what Sanders sees as a :political revolution” that has as its point the establishment of electoral landscape where the vote matters more than the dollar.

In New Hampshire Saturday, Sanders summed the concept up with a declaration that earned a standing ovation:

“I vote for democracy!”

Take Action: Tell Congress to Pass the ‘Democracy Is For People’ Amendment

*END*

Are you with me?

Ann: The LSOS feature has not ended. Go at it sister.

Vic: Nope no censoring here. The blog goes as it flows.

Helena: Is this the same Helena from many years ago?  HOPE so. Always nice to see you here. If not, I still like your comment. :)

Peace out. 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

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