Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Stick a fork in me...

...I am so done!

Friends, I am exhausted.

I've put in so much overtime at work these past two weeks that I am going cross-eyed. I've worked until after midnight Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, which was a 14-hour day; I worked 11 hours today after spending the morning continuing to put out my parent's ransomware fire. This was the first time since Saturday that I got more than just lunch--yep, today I actually had lunch AND dinner! Luxury! Sadly, for me, the luxury was time...for too many Americans, the luxury is having the money to afford food. I am also extremely grateful to have my parent living with me--we help each other. So I am counting my blessings.

As for work, I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and am hoping it-snot the usual oncoming train...I think I'll be out of the woods if I put in one more herculean-ly long day tomorrow. That gives me Friday as a buffer--to mop up all the whiskey-tango comments about my work on the project so far.

Today's ransomware update is that we are still not sure whether our mail has been diverted. Since I called the local post office, we have been seeing mail trickle in. That tells me that it has not been diverted. If a few key pieces of mail show up here on time, as expected, then I'll conclude that we in fact dodged that bullet.

In our uncertainty, we have told our banks to freeze our accounts and set up new ones for us. My bank was able to do most of this by phone--they know me--until I can stop by and sign the paperwork. So I am limping along and am able to pay my bills as I usually do--although I had to pay them "twice" because the bank very cleverly stopped payment on the first set (better safe than sorry). My parent, on the other hand...! My parent moved into my house in December, so we are still establishing all those business relationships. That meant a personal trip to the bank, which took over an hour, and then to Social Security to set up the new direct deposit, which took...maybe half an hour between a 15-minute wait and very prompt completion of the task by a very pleasant and capable Latina--that trip could not have been more painless. So I was back in my home office (if you want to call it that...i.e., sitting on the bed surrounded by laptops and binders from work) by about noon.

So, maybe I've succeeded in squashing most of the rampant ants...?

I dare not hope just yet!

For one thing, I have only had time and mental bandwidth to do my job and to handle the fall-out to my parent's financial affairs. Mine aren't in nearly such good shape. I also still have to call in my favorite computer technician to ensure that my parent's computer is completely untainted by the scammers.

But the good news for you (if you want to call it that) is that I'M HERE...even if it's just long enough to say "hey" to y'all and give you the headlines.

So here I am.

For Friday's post (assuming I don't keel over from exhaustion), I am planning to blog about the wealthy (Republican) elite's deliberate dumbing down of the American public, designed to keep us too ignorant and stupid to stage uprisings like we did in the 1960s (I wonder how Occupy is working out for those dorks). That there is some seriously scary shit.

For now, let me slog on with the blog...I'm not even going to proofread it. As Dot Calm used to sign her e-mails:

Disclaimer:  
  Not responsible for keys getting in the
      way when headed to the right ones.
  Not responsible for misspellings. Too lazy
      to look up the right spelling.
  Not responsible for initial caps. You know
      where they belong...put them in.
  Not responsible for punctuation or grammar;
      consider poetic license being in effect.
 

Drive a HYBRID.
Leave a lighter footprint on the planet.

Don't forget to read Dot Calm's shadow's favorite independent sources of news and information:

Daily Kos
AlterNet
Democracy Now!
Conservatives are Destroying our Future
Conservative Clown Car
Americans Against the Republican Party
Americans Against the Tea Party

...And, whatever you do,
VOTE BERNIE!!!!!

Please send him a buck o' five--Bernie won West Virginia, and California is coming!

Thanks for reading, thanks for being you, and go pour yourself a Fireball whiskey! I know I will as soon as I click "Publish."

- Dot Calm's shadow

********************************************
ATTENTION, REPUBLICANS!
The Kenyan Muslim
liberal fascist
weak dictator
Obama is coming
for your guns 'n' Bibles
November 8, 2016.
DO NOT
LEAVE YOUR HOUSE
THAT DAY
FOR ANY REASON!
The rights you save
may be your own!
********************************************

From the Mailbag



Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice stated that North Carolina’s anti-LGBT law violates the Civil Rights Act.

The Governor of North Carolina has until Monday to repeal this backwards law that legalizes discrimination against the LGBT community.

Now, it’s up to us to put the pressure on him to act.


We need 10,000 people to sign our petition by Monday and demand North Carolina take this divisive law off the books. Will you sign your name immediately?

From the moment this law passed, Ralph sounded off against North Carolina’s attempts to discriminate against the LGBT community. He knows that divisiveness never leads to progress.

That’s why as a strong Democratic leader, he’s calling on North Carolina’s governor to do the right thing and protect civil rights for everyone.

So A.J., will you stand with Ralph and call for an immediate repeal of North Carolina’s anti-LGBT law?

http://act.ralphnortham.com/LGBT-law

Thanks,
Official Northam for Governor Team


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That is just one of the many challenges Kasich should be addressing now that he has pulled the plug on his quixotic campaign -- let's help him reset his priorities.

ADD YOUR NAME to this petition to send John Kasich his To-Do list (and even add a To-Do of your own!)



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WOMEN'S HEALTH
Policy Report
Weekly Top 10


Video round up: N.J. legislation would ease access to contraception; abortion-rights advocate slams Okla. ban bill; ANSIRH looks at abortion access around the world

In today's clips, stakeholders express their support for a New Jersey bill that would allow pharmacists to dispense oral contraception to a woman without a doctor's prescription. Elsewhere, an abortion-rights advocate talks about the potential repercussions of an abortion ban under consideration in Oklahoma and Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health explores abortion access around the globe. More »

VRU.5-5.NJ.jpg

Read More



OB-GYN in federal civil rights complaint says hospital barred her from discussing abortion rights publicly

A Washington, D.C.-based OB-GYN on Monday filed a civil rights complaint alleging that the hospital at which she works violated federal law by barring her from drawing attention to the importance of abortion as a health care service, the New York Times reports. More »

Read More



The Nation spotlights summit drawing connections between repro health care access, women's economic security

Conversations about abortion rights and economic security "are mostly happening separately, overlooking the ways in which access to reproductive healthcare is inextricably tied up in a woman's ability to support herself and her family financially," columnist Zoë Carpenter writes for The Nation. More »

Read More



House committee rejects effort to lift ban on abortion care at defense medical facilities

Conservative House lawmakers last week blocked an effort to eliminate a ban on military health care facilities offering abortion care to service members on site, Rewire reports. More »

Read More



Physicians raise concerns over Utah fetal anesthesia law

Several physicians are voicing concerns about a Utah law (SB 234) that requires anesthesia or painkillers be administered to a woman who seeks abortion care at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy, the New York Times reports. More »

Read More



Blogs comment on the recent slate of state-level abortion restrictions, link between economic stability and abortion access, more

Read some of the best commentary from bloggers at Ms. Magazine blog, Bustle and more. More »

Read More



Colo. gov. signs budget bill that funds LARC initiative

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) on Tuesday signed into law a state budget bill (HB 1405) that includes $2.5 million in funding for an initiative that offers long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) to women who are lower-income or uninsured, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports. More »

Read More



Planned Parenthood sues Kan. over decision to cut Medicaid contract

Planned Parenthood on Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit challenging Kansas' decision to cut the organization from the state's Medicaid program, Reuters reports. More »

Read More



California Medical Association joins ACLU lawsuit against Catholic hospital

The California Medical Association (CMA) last week filed a motion in state court seeking to join a lawsuit that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed against Dignity Health for refusing to provide a tubal ligation for a woman following her C-section, Modern Healthcare reports. More »

Read More



Ala. House approves abortion ban, TRAP bills

The Alabama House on Wednesday approved two antiabortion-rights bills, the Florence Times Daily reports. More »

Read More



Blogs comment on Okla.'s 'absurd' antiabortion-rights measure, speaking out about abortion, more

Read some of the best commentary from bloggers at Salon, Bustle and more. More »

Read More


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ACLU Action



Join Dalton Johnson to stop the attack on women's health
ACT NOW

Please note: If you forward or distribute, the links will open a page with your information filled in.

Hi -

Alabama politicians are at it again in their relentless attack on women’s access to abortion. They just passed two bills that would block access to abortion.

As one of the few abortion providers left in Alabama, I must take a stand for women’s safety in my state. Will you stand with me? Add your name now to tell Alabama’s governor to veto these bills.

I operate the only abortion clinic in Huntsville. I talked with my mother, father, and sister back in 2001 when I was considering opening a clinic. I prayed. I knew that women desperately needed safe options and access to providers. That’s why I went out on a limb when my state passed a law imposing medically unnecessary requirements on my clinic that had nothing to do with patient safety and required me to close my clinic or move – so I cashed in my retirement savings and bought a new building. But that hasn’t been enough.

I know what happens when clinics close. Last year when another Alabama clinic temporarily closed, we received gut-wrenching calls from an alarming number of women asking: how can I take matters into my own hands?

Please tell Alabama Governor Robert Bentley that he must veto these bills.

No matter how you feel about the decision to have an abortion, it is a right guaranteed by the Constitution. As a father and a brother, I do this work because I know that without access, that constitutional right means nothing.

It’s crystal clear that the politicians behind these bills have one goal: to close clinics and make a woman’s right to abortion so inaccessible that it is nonexistent. These bills would only harm women by eliminating abortion access – closing clinics and banning abortion procedures puts women at risk.

SB 205, which would force clinics within 2,000 feet of a school to close, would shutter my clinic and the only clinic in Tuscaloosa. This would devastate abortion access in Alabama by closing two clinics that provide well over half the abortion services in the state.

SB 363 would ban a medically proven abortion procedure. Medical experts like the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists oppose bills like SB 363 because they interfere with patient care – but these politicians insist they know better.

My clinic is under attack. And the well-being of women who come to me seeking safe and legal abortion is hanging in the balance. Join me in this fight to protect women – add your name now.

Thanking you for taking a stand,
Dalton Johnson for the ACLU Action team

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Warning: this may make your blood boil. Carlos Beruff, my Republican Senate opponent, just thanked Patrick Murphy, my “Democratic” Senate opponent, for standing with the GOP, in this tweet:

“Thank you @PatrickMurphyFL for standing with the GOP on Benghazi.”

So it has come to this: The Republicans are explicitly thanking a so-called “Democrat” for aiding their taxpayer-funded witch-hunt called the Benghazi Committee.


Two years ago last Sunday, the Benghazi Committee came into being. There are only three Democrats in the House today who voted for it. One of them is my primary opponent, Patrick Murphy.

Of course, Patrick isn’t really a Democrat. He’s a lifelong Republican, masquerading as a Democrat. So he didn’t hesitate to join the GOP in their Benghazi Committee charade. And he has never apologized for it, either.

In fact, Trey Gowdy, the odious Chairman of the Benghazi Committee, talked to Patrick Murphy about the Benghazi Committee a few months ago. But neither one of them will tell anyone what Gowdy sent to Murphy.

Give GOP Senate candidate Carlos Beruff extra credit for honesty: he’s willing to thank Patrick Murphy for “standing with the GOP” – just where Patrick wants to be.

Howard Dean said it best: “Give the voters a choice between a real Republican and a fake Republican, and they’ll choose the real one every time.”


Courage,

Rep. Alan Grayson

-----------------------------------------------------------------

From Daily Kos: Get out the vote to fight Trump!
Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee. We cannot allow him to become the President of the United States.

We must commit to doing all we can do to elect a Democratic president in November—which means making phone calls, knocking on doors, registering voters, contacting friends and more to help drive a huge voter turnout.

Sign the pledge: I will help Get Out The Vote to defeat Donald Trump. We absolutely must do everything we can to stop him from getting to the White House.

Trump's toxic mix of racism, sexism and vulgarity is dangerous—even right-wing pundits are renouncing the GOP, declaring that Trump would be a disaster for the country and the world.

Simply put, Trump is tearing the Republican Party apart. He could sink the entire Republican ticket this fall, putting on the table Senate seats, governors offices, and state legislatures that otherwise wouldn't be competitive—maybe even putting the GOP's extremely-gerrymandered House majority in jeopardy.

We can win this fall—and win big. But only if we start mobilizing our base of supporters right now.

Sign the pledge to help Get Out The Vote for Democrats this fall. We'll contact you as the election nears to put you in touch with Democrats in must-win races.

Can't volunteer? Chip in $3 to Daily Kos to help us get voters to the polls.

Keep fighting,
Michael Langenmayr, Daily Kos

-----------------------------------------------------------------



The 2016 elections could not be more important.
Everything is at stake, from state houses all the way to the White House – and with Donald Trump as the presumptive Republican nominee, those stakes couldn’t be higher. But at a time when a handful of votes could change the course of our country, millions of Americans are barred from the ballot box – and not by accident.
Right now, Republicans are pushing extreme, deliberate voter suppression laws through legislatures and courthouses across the country. Their goal? Silence votes they don’t like by slashing early voting and requiring unnecessary identification.
DFLers know that protecting every American’s right to vote is not optional – it’s essential. We need to act now to defend voting rights ahead of the critical 2016 election:
Republicans count on low turnout so much that they’re manufacturing it. They know that when Democrats show up, we win big – and 2016 will be no different.
Free and fair elections are not a suggestion, no matter how much Republicans act like they are. DFLers need to live our values and speak up before it’s too late. Victory in November depends on it.
Thank you for standing up for every voter,
Ken Martin
Chair, Minnesota DFL

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Nearly 1 in every 3 dollars raised by Republican Cresent Hardy has come from special interest PACs — mostly from the oil and gas industry.
Super PAC donations from special interest groups increased by nearly 500% between 2014 and 2015.
This is what we’re up against in this election: the deep pockets of the oil and gas industry who are desperate to keep their man in Congress.
Hardy is leading the fight with his ‘good friend’ Cliven Bundy to sell our public lands to the highest bidder for development. In return, oil and gas lobbyists are cutting big checks so he can keep his seat in Congress and vote to sell our national parks and public lands.
Thank you,
- Ruben


Paid for by Ruben Kihuen for Congress

-----------------------------------------------------------------

CREDO action
Tell CNN: Stop the climate negligence. Show climate coverage, not fossil fuel ads.
Petition to CNN:
"Stop the climate negligence. Inform viewers with comprehensive coverage on the urgent issue of climate change, and stop airing ads from organizations that deny science and obstruct climate action."
Add your name:
Sign the petition ►

********************************************

Democracy Now!

Stories


Polls have opened in West Virginia, where Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are vying for the 29 delegates up for grabs. Eight years ago, Clinton won West ... Read More →

Polls show Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are on pace to be the least popular major-party presidential nominees in decades. Will some voters look to cast votes with third- ... Read More →

Brazil's Senate has forged ahead with impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff, despite an earlier move by the interim house speaker to derail the ... Read More →

We speak with consumer advocate and former third-party presidential candidate Ralph Nader about presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's rhetoric ... Read More →
  • Obama Admin Sues North Carolina over Anti-Transgender Law

  • California Lawmakers Advance Bill for Gender-Neutral Restrooms

  • Donald Trump Seeks Fundraising Aid from Republican Party

  • Sanders, Clinton Face Off in West Virginia Primary

  • Kerry: U.S., Russia Agree to Press for Nationwide Ceasefire in Syria

  • Pentagon: U.S.-Led Strike Kills ISIS Official in Iraq

  • Brazilian Senate Forges Ahead with Bid to Impeach Rousseff

  • Philippines: Duterte Wins Presidency Despite Accused Death Squad Role

  • Canada to Support U.N. Declaration on Indigenous Rights

  • Ferguson, Missouri Gets 1st Permanent African-American Police Chief

  • Panama Papers Scandal Widens as Journalists Publish Searchable Database

  • Mexican Court Allows Extradition of Drug Lord Chapo Guzmán to U.S.

  • Report: 1 in 5 Plant Species Worldwide at Risk of Extinction

  • 5 Tiny Pacific Islands Disappear Due to Climate Change

  • Facebook Accused of Suppressing Conservative News Stories


  • President Obama will become the first serving U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, Japan, later this month. The White House said Obama will not apologize for dropping an ... Read More →

    Donald Trump's campaign is facing criticism after it named a prominent white supremacist leader to its list of delegates in California. William Johnson is the head of the American ... Read More →

    A shocking new exposé in The New Yorker magazine documents how prison guards at the Dade Correctional Institution in Florida have subjected mentally ill prisoners to ... Read More →
  • Iraq: Car Bomb at Crowded Baghdad Market Kills At Least 64

  • Bernie Sanders Wins West Virginia Primary

  • Hillary Clinton Shifts Healthcare Stance Closer to Sanders

  • Trump Wins Nebraska, West Virginia Primaries

  • Obama to Become 1st Sitting U.S. President to Visit Hiroshima

  • Brazilian Senate Set to Vote on Suspending President Rousseff

  • NYC: Activists Honor Slain Environmentalist Berta Cáceres on Mother’s Day

  • Mexico: Parents of Missing Children March in the Capital on Mother’s Day

  • Canada: Alberta Wildfire Spreads to More Than 880 Square Miles
  • Ethiopia: Flooding, Landslides Kill At Least 50 People

  • Baltimore Officer Chooses Trial by Judge over Death of Freddie Gray

  • Citadel Military College Refuses to Let Prospective Student Wear Hijab

  • Pentagon Gives Henry Kissinger Distinguished Public Service Award

  • ********************************************

    Daily Kos

  • Donald Trump loses one of the most embarrassing polls in recent memory
  • Jon Stewart analyzes, explains, and destroys Donald Trump and the Republican Party
  • Trump realizes that putting Ben Carson in charge of anything is crazy stupid
  • Donald Trump is the Republican nominee and he could sink the whole GOP ticket. Chip in $1 to Daily Kos-endorsed Democrats running against at-risk GOP senators.
  • Warning: 'Bernie Glowsticks' meme is trying to get people hospitalized or killed
  • North Carolina representatives demand ‘immediate assurances’ that the feds won’t defund the state
  • Cartoon: The disgusting, unspeakable satire that is being hurled at Turkey's president (illustrated)
  • Trumping Clinton Derangement Syndrome: My Republican mother is voting for Hillary
  • Imprisoned deadbeat rancher Cliven Bundy files conspiracy-heavy lawsuit against President Obama and Harry Reid
  • Add your name if you are part of the 85% of Americans that agree with Nevadans for Background Checks: I support background checks for gun purchasers. sponsored
  • Democratic primary voters look like the real America. Republicans? Not so much
  • Trump 'source' says Donald Trump will figure out what his policies are later, after he wins
  • Loretta Lynch's plan to get 'buddy-buddy' with local cops
  • Donald Trump raised $6 million for veterans groups, but more than $3 million still missing
  • Senate Republicans take action! ... Over Facebook's newsfeed being insufficiently conservative
  • Studies show what we already knew: Torture isn't just evil, it elicits false information

  • Evangelicals stunned that they’ve finally alienated everyone, including those in their own ‘party’
  • Wells Fargo told employees to pretend like they didn't lose important customer papers
  • Sign if you agree with Nevadans for Background Checks: We need common-sense gun safety legislation. sponsored
  • A black woman talks of voter suppression: Are you fighting for my voice, or just my vote?
  • Obama to make historic visit to Hiroshima
  • Thousands of pictures of naked defendants found on judge's computer
  • John Oliver promotes real science—a comedian gets it right
  • Senate Republican: We should confirm Merrick Garland quickly ... if we lose in November
  • Gun permit owner shoots gun into bathroom because he felt the person was taking too long
  • Lawyer arrested when she remained silent during traffic stop by New Jersey troopers
  • WV Democrat brutally beaten two days before the primary
  • Dear GOP: Confirm Merrick Garland now, or it's Clinton's seat to fill
  • Someone is lying about electric cars on the internet
  • Rachel Maddow goes off on Donald Trump nomination
  • 'Captain America: Civil War' uses the fun of superheroes to explore power and its consequences
  • Sign if you agree with the Democratic Governors Association: Voting should be easier—move Election Day to a weekend. sponsored
  • There's a new force in campaign contributions: Women
  • Koch brothers' attack backfires as local TV stations pull deceptive ad
  • Cartoon: Trump's Woman Card
  • Lawyer arrested when she remained silent during traffic stop by New Jersey troopers

  • ********************************************

    AlterNet
    By Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    Following Trump's Indiana primary victory, Senator Elizabeth Warren slammed him on Twitter, and the GOP nominee has since dismissed her as a joke.  READ MORE»

    By Robin Scher, AlterNet
    "This is not just about legislation," said House Speaker Paul Ryan. "This is about saving people's lives." READ MORE»

    By Elizabeth Preza, AlterNet
    Donald Trump doesn't hate women—just women's rights to choose. READ MORE»

    By Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    Hillary Clinton as the anti-Trump vote may not be strong enough—the proof being every Republican candidate who failed with that strategy.  READ MORE»

    By Daniel Denvir, Salon
    Far from a productive dialogue about America's future, both campaigns will be appealing to voters' fears. READ MORE»

    By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
    President Obama will soon become the first serving U.S. president to visit Hiroshima. READ MORE»

    By Chauncey DeVega, Salon
    The right-wing's playbook—culture war, Southern Strategy, Fox News lies—has come home to roost with one man READ MORE»

    By Kylie Cheung, The Frisky
    According to former employees, Facebook regularly ignores trending, conservative-leaning topics. READ MORE»

    By Christine Malossi, Earth Island Journal
    A study suggests that proximity to trees and other plants decreases mortality rates from cancer and respiratory disease. READ MORE»

    By Matt Bors, AlterNet
    We want the Goldilocks of politiians—one who's "just right" READ MORE»

    By Sarah K. Burris, Raw Story
    Raleigh reported $3.5 million in losses as conferences were scaled back or canceled following HB2's passage. READ MORE»

    By David Morris, AlterNet
    What Bernie supporters should demand from Hillary on trade, education and controlling corporations. READ MORE»

    By Heather Digby Parton, Salon
    It sounds crazy that a man as lacking in piety as Donald Trump could win over religious voters. But he has. READ MORE»

    By Reynard Loki, AlterNet
    Over 2,000 locations across NYC have been sprayed. READ MORE»

    By Aviva Stahl, AlterNet
    Recent alleged terror plots reveal deeply troubling patterns in the FBI's practices. READ MORE»

    By Justin Miller, The American Prospect
    Who says Democrats and Wall Street don't get along? READ MORE»

    By Adele M. Stan, The American Prospect
    The presumptive GOP nominee is reviving Patrick Buchanan's legacy of bigotry. READ MORE»

    By Elizabeth Preza, AlterNet
    As the reality of Trump's nomination sinks in, conservative leaders scramble to find a viable candidate. READ MORE»

    By Paul Buchheit, AlterNet
    Family-sustaining positions are quickly being replaced by lower-wage and less secure forms of employment. READ MORE»

    By Carrie Weisman, AlterNet
    Teens who break the abstinence pledge end up being ill-prepared for safe sex. READ MORE»

    By Phillip Smith, AlterNet
    A vanishing twin? Chinese deer musk glands? Penis-enhancement medications? You ain't heard nuthin' yet.  READ MORE»

    By Viji Sundaram, New America Media
    “In California, we have kids’ teeth rotting out of their heads,” said an independent reviewer of California's dental care. READ MORE»

    By John Ehrenreich, Cornell University Press
    These three simplistic conservative beliefs are accepted by virtually all Republicans and, unfortunately, by many Democrats. READ MORE»

    By Leah Penniman, Yes! Magazine
    These Black farmers don’t stop at healthy food. They’re healing trauma, instilling collective values, and changing the way their communities think about the land. READ MORE»

    By Bethania Palma Markus, Raw Story
    She turned herself in.  READ MORE»

    By Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    "You've got to believe, Stephen. You've got to rock the system." READ MORE»

    By Noam Chomsky, Tom Dispatch
    Noam Chomsky on the true costs of the War on Terror. READ MORE»

    By Kali Holloway, AlterNet
    There was a huge disconnect between what investors got and the amount managers got to spend on, say, influencing politics. READ MORE»

    By Brendan Gauthier, Salon
    King has been murderslaying Trump on Twitter since the "rabid coyote" descended the Trump Tower escalator in June. READ MORE»

    By Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    One of the most disgraceful con jobs in America often goes unreported. READ MORE»

    By Kali Holloway, AlterNet
    Plus, a review of the many Bee insults of Cruz, which were brilliant! READ MORE»

    By Brian McFadden, AlterNet
    Who needs new ideas? READ MORE»

    By Kali Holloway, AlterNet
    If your main problem with the current crop of beers is that they're not patriotic enough, it's your lucky day! READ MORE»

    By Walter Einenkel, Daily Kos
    The cop seems to have conveniently forgotten the right to remain silent.  READ MORE»

    By David Edwards, Raw Story
    She's been Secretary of State and a senator—stop fixating on Hillary Clinton's marriage.  READ MORE»

    By Alex Henderson, AlterNet
    Bevin, Rauner and Scott are only too happy to attack the poor at every turn while their own fortunes continue to grow.  READ MORE»

    By Heather Digby Parton, Salon
    After decades of crying wolf of the demise of conservatism, Trump is the final blow to the party. READ MORE»

    By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet
    Many mistakenly registered with the wrong party. READ MORE»

    By Reynard Loki, AlterNet
    Only 2 percent of America's streams and rivers are effectively tested for water quality. READ MORE»

    By Nafeez Ahmed, AlterNet
    The amendments were passed by Congress in late 2015. READ MORE»

    By Tana Ganeva, The Influence
    “It’s not different than a person who shoots somebody with a gun,” said U.S. attorney David Hickton. READ MORE»

    By Steve Fraser, Basic Books
    It is impossible to understand the perseverance and passion of right-wing populist politics in America without coming to grips with this metaphor. READ MORE»

    By Carrie Weisman, AlterNet
    Porn sales featuring mature women have been going up since 1999. READ MORE»

    By Karen Keane, The Conversation
    If this juice concentrate were a drug, it would probably get FDA approval. READ MORE»

    By Tamar Todd, AlterNet
    The legalization campaign submitted 600,000 signatures, more than enough to ensure that it will be on the November ballot. READ MORE»

    By Dustin Beilke, PR Watch
    For the U.S. Department of Education, promoting charter schools is not exactly a unique event befitting a holiday. READ MORE»

    By Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    "Hamsa" powerfully explores the life of a successfully resettled refugee family. READ MORE»

    By Travis Gettys, Raw Story
    The company issued a statement explaining why Breck’s family was assessed a fee for its “base rate." READ MORE»


    ********************************************
    This thot occurred to me
    after being completely sleep-deprAved
    the past few daze...
    Did you know
    that there was no such thing
    as atmospheric water vapor
    before Noah's flood?
    If atmospheric water vapor
    had existed before Noah's flood,
    then there would have been rainbows
     after EVERY rainstorm--
    even the very first one!
    -- Dot Calm's shadow
    ********************************************

    Sorry, Loves--no movies today.
    Well...maybe just this one...!