Have I told you how much I hate these people? - Mike Malloy. It is every thinking person’s responsibility not to side with his or her executioners. - Albert Camus. Popular democracy anywhere threatens fascism everywhere. - The Scallion. A fascist junta of neocons using George W. Bush as its shill has taken over America by bloodless coup. What will it take for us to stage a revolution and take our country back? - Dot Calm. Drive a hybrid. Leave a lighter footprint on the planet. - Dot Calm.
Like Granny D, I have watched my own beloved country change, and I am angry beyond words about what I see. I grew up seeing America as the equivalent of the movie good guy, the hero in the white hat who came to the rescue of those in need around the world. I have watched in silent horror as the corporations, the captains and the kings of industry, used a comparatively small outlay of cash to buy the Republicans to use as their shills. George W. Bush is the puppet cowboy-king of shills, the proverbial emperor with no clothes. Every day, I watch these evil men legalize, legitimize, and institutionalize robbing the poor to pay the rich. They are carving up America like a giant carcass and doling out choice chunks of its meat to themselves and their cronies. Since the Democrats have been sipping at the same corporate teat where the Republicans have been gorging for the past generation, the fascists are free to do their worst; there is no longer any opposition. There is no one left to stand up for the rights of the American people, the Constitution, or the democracy, which I fear will be replaced by a fascist dictatorship in my lifetime. Wake up, America: we need a REVOLUTION NOW!
Greetings, fellow Dot Calm Readers, Freedom Fighters, and Truth Crusaders!
Well, here I am again, grouching about something or other...grumble, grumble, grumble.
Today, Paul LePage is pissing me off. What a hateful waste of oxygen he is. Dot Calm hated the corporate take-over of our once-great nation; she would have been beside herself to see the Christo-fascists, dissatisfied with mere unbridled greed, add searing, seething hate to the political equation. How could they resist after being given permission and free rein by Donald J. Trump? Trump has single-handedly made hatred and bigotry mainstream again, not to mention dragging right-wing nut-job tin-foil-hat conspiracy from the lunatic fringe into mainstream Republican thinking. It grieves me to witness all the -isms and -phobias he foments. How many generations is it going to take to undo the damage Trump is gleefully wreaking?
Combine that with Christians' equally gleeful destruction of our nation's once-formidable technical edge. Michio Kaku has said--in his outside voice--that America has the worst education system known to science, adding that only 50% of Ph.D. students in science and engineering are American; the rest are immigrants who take their degrees back to their home nations. Dot Calm's younger daughter saw that phenomenon with her own two eyes: not only was she the only female pursuing an electrical engineering doctorate in her school's EECS department, but she was the only white! Of the rest, roughly 50% were Asian (Chinese, South Korean, etc.), 25% were Middle-Eastern, and the remainder were from India and other non-melanin-challenged areas of the world (Dot Calm's younger daughter jokes that she tans like a lobster). This is the natural outcome when people get their science from the preacher in the pulpit, screaming and shouting weekly at them that all science is evil, inaccurate, the work of the Devil, and not to be trusted. This is what happens when Christian parents fight against teaching science in the science classroom, demanding to replace with religion any possibility that children might learn critical thinking. This is what happens when "I'm not a scientist, but..." politicians teach the public to disrespect scientists and engineers and when people like my Tea Party Christian friend come away convinced by FOX News and talk radio that he with his GED knows as much about science and technology as, say, Dot Calm's younger daughter with her Ph.D. Couple all of this with declining science and engineering salaries, which have been driving anyone with any math talent into lucrative Wall Street jobs, and what do you expect? Do you really expect America as a nation to hold onto its technical edge without having enough scientists and engineers to do the actual work? Or is the only thing you care to export our crappiest forms of culture (McDonald's, Wal-Mart) and democracy (we choose and install your dictators for you at gunpoint)?
Holy yuck.
Yuck. Yuck! YUCK!!!
...only I ain't laughing.
It's a shame, really--I'm actually a rather happy person. I had the privilege of hanging out with Dot Calm for so long that I couldn't possibly be otherwise. Her optimism was contagious.
Here's hoping that I'll be back to my usual jolly self once Trump has been well and truly trounced--assuming that that is how the election goes.
As Dot Calm would say, "Oh, my bleeding gums."
VOTE BLUE all the way down those ballots, friends--please and thank you!
Here's also hoping that my work spouse is correct in assuming that, perhaps within the next 50 years, Christianity, Islam, and their ilk will have gone the way of Zeus and the rest of the deific dodos by virtue of mounting ridicule that rubs superstitious people's noses in moral and scientific obviousness. I'll drink to that.
Before I slawg on with the blawg, I do have one piece of personal news for you, my virtual Intert00b budz: I am going out of town this weekend and won't be back on the blawg til Wednesday--FSM willin' an' da crick don't rise.
Don't forget to read Dot Calm's shadow's favorite independent sources of news and information:
BBC: Italy earthquake: Death toll passes 240 as rescue efforts continue
...I heard on NPR's three-minute sound-bite this morning that the death toll is even higher. Friends, forgive me--I just can't look right now. I am grieving for our beautiful Italian brothers and sisters. I can't go look right now for the higher numbers. Please understand.
Vox: 4 experts make the case that the Clinton Foundation's fundraising was troubling
...Check out the "Democracy Now!" debate below. Two Dems: one fault-finder, one defender. Both made good points, but I still have to side with those who express concern over the fact that Obama and Clinton even permitted the appearance of a conflict of interest. As the Vox article points out, with all that money greasing palms, there's no way to know for sure whether it had any influence because, at the very least, it's possible that those who donated helped frame Hillary's point of view just by virtue of having contacted her.
Vox: artist shows how women are scorned regardless of what they wear
...As the headline says, "covered, naked, or in between: artist shows how women are scorned regardless of what they wear." Spoiler: see below for the artwork--lovingly translated into English, no less.
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Mailbag
From Change.Org
One of my dearest friends, who's deathly allergic to bees, would have died if Mylan had pulled this shit before 2012, before she got married...when she was out of work and had only Social Security for income. Even the $150 per EpiPen was too much for her, so I bought them for her. I could never have afforded $600. Even with me helping, she still had to hang onto expired EpiPens because she couldn't afford to buy enough to keep fresh ones everywhere around her house and car where she might need one. One day, she was sitting on her patio and was stung by a bee and only had an expired EpiPen within reach to "shoot up" with (as Dot Calm, who used daily injectable Copaxone whenever the greedy insurance companies could spare it, would call it). My friend bought herself just enough time to call EMS and unlock her door so they could come in and take her to the ER. She was only barely conscious when they arrived and was pretty sick for some time afterward. And that's with an expired EpiPen--which saved her life until EMS arrived. Without it, they said she'd have died. And Mylan presumably would have had an orgasm, just as Wayne LaPierre does every time an innocent American is shot to death. -- Dot Calm's shadow
EpiPen
prices recently skyrocketed 500%, from $100 per 2 pack to $600 per 2
pack. Even with the "coupons" from Mylan, individuals and families who
need this critical, life-saving drug are still stuck footing most of the
bill. An EpiPen can mean the difference between life and death for
children, men, and women who are afflicted with life-threatening
allergies. Some of the typical uses for EpiPen include bee stings,
peanut allergies, shellfish allergies, bug bites, and other medical
issues which are crisis situations and require immediate action.
Mylan
holds a monopoly over the EpiPen product, and thus is able to hike up
their prices to whatever standard they prefer. They think there will be
no pushback, or if there is, it will be manageable. The "outrage" will
die down soon enough. Until someone who can't afford to buy an EpiPen
dies instead. Don't let this happen.
Research
shows that 1 in 50 Americans has a life-threatening condition that
requires them to carry an EpiPen to prevent them from going into
Anaphylactic shock. This means that a child could accidentally ingest a
food toxic to their systems, such as peanuts, and enter a state which
for many, can prove fatal. Something as small as a peanut can kill a
child. That is what the EpiPen injectible is supposed to help prevent:
death. A woman working in her garden who is stung by a bee but is
severely allergic depends on her EpiPen to keep her airway from swelling
shut before the ambulance arrives. Know anyone with asthma? Chances are
you do, and you know that an asthma attack can be deadly. On average,
it takes about 6 minutes for emergency crews to arrive on scene after
receiving a crisis call. With allergic reactions especially, seconds
count, and the EpiPen has helped save thousands of lives.
Take
a moment and think about your family members, loved ones, friends,
coworkers, students-- if you know anyone who depends on an EpiPen to
survive, send a message to Heather Bresch, CEO of Mylan Pharmaceuticals,
that her company's price gouging of an essential, life-saving
medication is unacceptable and must be reversed immediately. They know
people need this medication and are exploiting that to make money--
don't let it happen. Speak up!
Stop the irresponsible and costly practice of airing drug ads on TV
Aug 25, 2016
—
In light of the recent price hikes and significant increase in executive
salaries, I think resurrecting this petition is appropriate. Please
sign to stop this predatory practice.
Thank you!
Read more
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When the economy crashed in 2008-09, it meant disaster for working and
middle-class families. The recklessness of Wall Street created the
biggest economic crisis since the Depression.
We’re still fighting to make sure Wall Street can’t do that to us
again—but America’s largest banks are even larger now than before the
financial crisis. The nation’s six largest banks, for example, issue
more than two-thirds of all credit cards and hold more than 40 percent
of all U.S. bank deposits.
To rein in Wall Street and help people like you and me, we need a
21st-century Glass-Steagall Act. To back this bipartisan idea—a plank in
both the Republican and Democratic platforms—we’ve joined with other
progressive and labor organizations that are fighting to make banks
smaller, simpler and safer.
Tell Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson: “Terminate and refuse to renew immigrant detention contracts with private prison companies.”
Add your name:
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From Cartwright for Congress--Protect and expand Social Security
This month marks the 81st anniversary of the
Social Security Act becoming law, and my colleagues across the aisle
have a strange way of celebrating: dreaming up new ways to gut Social
Security benefits that are some people's only income.
My fellow Democrats and I are
fighting back to expand benefits and protections, but it’s frankly
shocking that we have to push this hard to defend seniors’ economic
security.
You’d think this would be crystal clear: We cannot make changes to Social Security that harm our seniors. Seniors
are the foundation of our communities, and risking their retirement
income is no way to show our gratitude and respect. That’s why I’m
committed to protecting Social Security, but I need you with me.
Across the country, politicians are trying to rob voters of their fundamental rights using tactics like racial gerrymandering and discriminatory voting laws that keep minority communities from the polls and silence vulnerable American voters.
The courts recently struck down racially biased voter ID
laws in North Carolina, a huge step forward in our fight to unrig
elections. But now proponents of these discriminatory laws are doubling down in Texas and JUST reinstated them in Ohio and Wisconsin – right before the November election.
With millions of voters across the country still at risk of being silenced, we can't stop here.
We're mobilizing a grassroots movement in key
battlegrounds to pass crucial ballot initiatives that will restore and
protect voting power in elections. But more than 500 supporters still haven't given, and we're falling short of our $17,000 goal. Will you give $5 or more to help stop politicians from rigging our elections?
If you've saved payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:
In today's graphics, we look
at the increasing proportion of insured visits to family planning
centers following the Affordable Care Act's implementation. We also examine research showing how HB 2 curbed abortion access for women in Texas, particularly for women of color. More »
Several states and multiple providers that hold themselves out as
religious filed a lawsuit challenging regulations issued by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services implementing a nondiscrimination
provision in the Affordable Care Act (PL 111-148), the Wall Street Journal reports. More »
The "minefield" that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg warned
about in the 2014 Hobby Lobby case "has now detonated," columnist
Michael Hiltzik writes in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece. More »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday
released new guidelines that advise pregnant women to avoid a part of
Miami Beach where officials have confirmed local transmission of Zika
virus, the New York Times reports. More »
The Charlotte Lozier Institute on Wednesday
released a report calling on states to collect more data on abortion
care and women who obtain abortion care, spurring privacy concerns among
abortion-rights advocates, Politico Pro reports. More »
The Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force last week released
a report finding a disproportionate rate of maternal mortality and
morbidity among black women in the state between 2011 and 2012, ProPublica reports. More »
The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois has filed a lawsuit
against a provider at a Catholic health care system on behalf of a
Chicago woman who says the provider denied her appropriate care for a
dislodged intrauterine device (IUD), the AP/Sacramento Bee reports. More »
Physicians working at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)
have been forced to send patients seeking abortion care to other states
because of a new South Carolina law (Act 183) banning the procedure at
or after 20 weeks of pregnancy, the Charleston Post and Courier reports. More »
In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, Britany Robinson
writes about her abortion experience, discussing how abortion stigma can
exacerbate what can be a "lonely experience." More »
Blogs comment on 'desperate' antiabortion-rights strategies, Texas' 'devastating' maternal mortality rate and more. More »
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From Change.org--Update on pro-rape Judge Persky
Judge Persky Will no Longer hear Criminal Cases!
Aug 26, 2016
—
Dear Friends and Supporters-
We have some amazing news. Judge Persky will no longer be presiding over
criminal cases and will move to civil court at his own request.
Although it is not his resignation, for now, he will no longer stand in
the face of rape victims and pity their rapist. For now, He will no
longer let persons pleading guilty to child pornography off without jail
time! This is a...
Read more
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From People For the American Way via Daily Kos--tell Grassley to quit obstructing O'Bama's qualified judicial nominees
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley is leading
unprecedented obstruction of judicial nominations -- both on the Supreme
Court AND on other important federal courts. Court vacancies are piling
up and this judicial crisis is denying countless Americans access to
justice. Sign the petition and demand Chairman Grassley does his job.
The partisan blockade on filling these vacancies is unconscionable, and
we all need to turn up the pressure on Sen. Grassley to DO HIS JOB as
Judiciary Chair and move swiftly to confirm the president's qualified
nominees.
Sign the petition to the Department of Justice: “Take all necessary measures to stop Republican voter
suppression in 2016. Investigate the Trump campaign’s ‘Trump Election
Observers’ program and do everything in your power to stop Republican
voter intimidation and suppression efforts.”
Just back from a trip to the Arctic aboard the Greenpeace ship the Arctic Sunrise, celebrated British actress Emma Thompson joins us to talk about visiting the Canadian town ... Read More →
In
our extended interview with scholar Vijay Prashad, he discusses the
U.S. presidential election and notes that while President Obama was
reticent, then-Secretary of State ... Read More →
As
the United States backs a Turkish military incursion into Syria
targeting ISIS-held areas along the border, Turkey says it's also
concerned about Syrian Kurdish militias at the ... Read More →
As
we speak with scholar Vijay Prashad about how the United States carried
out regime change in Libya and left behind a failed state, he notes:
"The story in Libya is not ... Read More →
The epilogue of Vijay Prashad's new book, The Death of the Nation and the Future of the Arab Revolution, examines the undercovered conflicts in Yemen and Palestine, and the role ... Read More →
In
Kashmir, another protester was killed and as many as 50 people wounded
when Indian security forces opened fire and threw tear gas at crowds of
protesters on Wednesday. ... Read More →
On Wednesday,
British politician Nigel Farage joined Donald Trump at a campaign rally
in Mississippi. Farage was one of the leaders of Britain's campaign to
leave the European ... Read More →
New questions have arisen this week over Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation. On Tuesday, the Associated Press published a new investigation revealing that while ... Read More →
Bernie
Sanders and his supporters have launched a new political organization
called Our Revolution. It seeks to support the next generation of
progressive leaders, ... Read More →
According to a new report in The Wall Street Journal, if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, the Clinton Foundation will stop accepting corporate and foreign donations— ... Read More →
...Doesn't Obummer know he's running out of time to confiscate everyone's guns 'n' ammo 'n' bibles and throw all the good, god-fearin' Republicans into his death camps? They're w-a-a-a-a-a-aiting! Garshk, I'd hates ta dissapernt them! ********************************************
A
conversation with the architect of "Moral Mondays" on the struggle for
voting rights, Fight for 15, and building toward a third
Reconstruction. READ MORE»
The
California Senate passed a bill that could make the state the second in
the nation to ban the use of bullhooks on elephants in traveling shows
and circuses. READ MORE»
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