Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Oh, beautiful Italy! We love you!! And unlike Trump in Louisiana, we will send MONEY!!!

Greetings, fellow Dot Calm Readers, Freedom Fighters, and Truth Crusaders!

I grieved to hear of the 6.2-magnitude earthquake near Perugia, Italy. According to BBC, the death toll is already up to 159.

Dot Calm was half Italian, half Sicilian...her father's family hailed from Calabria, and her mother's hailed from Messina. She visited Italy at least twice that I know of...including once in 1995--when the first slightest twinges of MS began to cause her pain and slow her down but before she realized anything was wrong--and once some time around 2010, when the MS had already largely disabled her. That second visit was part of a cruise she took with her favorite sister, and they got to see a lot more of the beautiful Mediterranean coast than she'd seen on earlier trips. The wonderful stories she told when she came back to the states made me want to take the same cruise myself someday.

I've been to Rome and Florence myself--and I made sure to throw a coin into the glorious Trevi fountain in Rome, which must be seen in person because pictures simply cannot do it justice, to guarantee my return someday. (And yes, I stood with my back to the fountain and used my right hand to throw the coin over my left shoulder, just as our adorable Roman tour guide instructed. According to the link, they often collect some 3,000 euros daily from the fountain and use that money to fund a supermarket that benefits the poor. Glad it was a 5 lira piece I threw!)

Image result for trevi fountain

Image result for trevi fountain


I could sooo live in Tuscany...! Fiesole was so completely charming that I hated to leave and hope someday to go back there, too. (Pardon the weird spacing--I tried to fix the formatting, but the image, which is also a link, and Blogger had other plans.)
Image result for tuscany fiesole

But I digress...*sigh*

It grieved me to see the once-lovely homes around 100 miles northeast of Rome with their tile roofs reduced to rubble by the earthquake. And it happened while everyone was asleep, too--the worst possible time. Several years ago, there was a 5.8-magnitude (IIRC) earthquake maybe a hundred miles from where I lived, but it was mid-afternoon...we were all awake, all clothed...all we had to do was throw on our shoes and run outside. That was the only time in my life I've ever used the bathroom without washing my hands afterward! I'll never forget watching the front of my house pitch toward and away from me as I stood aghast on the lawn...wondering whether the quake would get much worse and wondering how long it would last. We were fortunate--a few things in the house fell over, but not a single thing broke. Contrast that with the images from Perugia and surrounding areas, like Amatrice.

Aerial photo showing damaged buildings in the historical part of the town of Amatrice, central Italy, after an earthquake (Aug. 24, 2016)

My heart goes out to my precious brothers and sisters in Italy. I'm sure my workplace will set up a fundraiser for you, and I promise to donate as much as I can afford...just as I did for the recent flooding in Louisiana.

Alas, I don't have much more in the tank to write my usual essay this time...apparently, I'm still pooped from the crazy month I've had this week.

In other words...

...let's slawg on with the blawg!

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

Daily Kos
AlterNet

Peas, friends. Please be good to yourselves and loved ones, and please and thank you for doing what you can to help our precious ones in Italy, who are hurting today.

Stick a phork in me cuz I'm dun 4real 4now. I lurves ya!
  
- Dot Calm's shadow

Consider the preemptive Blogger phuqued-up phormatting disclaimer to be in effect. Grrr.
-- Dot Calm's shadow

********************************************
 Trump is "reaching out" to Black voters
Either his poll numbers suck,
or he thinks he can sweet-talk them
into letting him reinstate slavery
 
Trump is "reaching out" to Latino voters
Either his poll numbers suck,
or he thinks he can sweet-talk them
into being the free labor for his border wall
  
Trump is nopologizing
for his hurtful remarks
Either his poll numbers suck,
or he thinks our attention spans
are as non-existent as his
-- Dot Calm's shadow
******************************************** 
    
Headlines
  
Holy scam, Batman--RawStory reports that, after being nominated and getting donors to finance his campaign, Donald Trump raised the rents he pays himself from $35,458 per month to $169, 758 per month for his Trump Tower offices, which he pays himself out of his campaign funds
...Good thing Republican voters aren't troubled by Trump's grift to humanity. At least we know where his campaign funds are going...cuz he sure ain't buying ads with the donations.
       
The Hill: Trump companies have $650M in debt: report
...For a more detailed look at the New York Times's report on Trump's $650 million debt (including owed to China), why not check out the New York Times article itself? (It's a long read, but it's interesting--you can tell they're trying not to get sued by Trump.)
   
Politicususa: Trump appoints Sam Brownback as fiscal advisor so he can turn all of America into the sunken, bankrupt ship that is the Tea Party policy incubator known as Kansas. Here's an excerpt:
"In July the unemployment rate kept up its steady rise and grew by 1.3 percent in June. In the past 12 months Kansas lost 4,500 existing jobs. The Kansas economic growth rate over that same period came in at a minus 0.3 percent. Add to those disasters the revenue shortfall in May and June totaled over $109 million on top of the $45 million already lost in fiscal 2016. These are the results Republicans claim they want the whole nation to experience and Trump will aid is making it happen at the federal level if he is elected president."
   
Vox: Donald Trump's black outreach isn't for black voters. It's for wavering white Republicans.
    
BuzzFeed: Trump Often Claimed To Be "The Largest Real Estate Developer In New York. He Isn't.
...Spoiler: Trump isn't even in the top 10 of real estate developers in New York.
   
Vox: Donald Trump is what happens when you don't know many black people. Michelle Obama has a solution.
  
Vox: Nigel Farage, Brexit's biggest booster, is speaking at a Trump rally in Mississippi
   
Vox: We asked 6 experts if Donald Trump's unpopularity will doom congressional Republicans
   
Vox: America's bail system punishes poor people — even if they're innocent of any crime
  
BuzzFeed: People Are Horrified That French Police Forced This Muslim Woman To Remove Her Clothes
...Let me paraphrase one commenter's brilliant tweet: it's no more feminist to force women to wear burkas than it is to force them to take them off. It's also veddy intedestink that they left the similarly-garbed nuns alone. I wonder how the nuns would have felt if they'd been subjected to the same treatment. Hm.
   
*Sigh*...this is so sad...
Vox: "Wine. Immediately." The depressing reason so many women today drink
...I've seen my Tea Party Christian friend attack women and tell them that they are not who they are and that they have not had the experiences they have had. Highly educated women, too. Does my Tea Party Christian friend even realize that there's a difference between a GED and a PhD? Nah...!
  
Vox: I went to Italy to eat, and learned an ugly truth about the Italian diet
...Hum. I went to Italy in 1995, and the food in Rome and Florence was delightful. Reasonable meal portions, lots of fresh produce, light and tasty fare...delicious. What a shame that Italy has started following in our fat footsteps. I remember visiting my Australian cousin in 2000, and she said that fast food joints had popped up all over Sydney and that, with them, wider waistlines. She had never seen an overweight person until McDonalds and their ilk showed up. *Sigh*
   
Vox: It's hard to talk about climate change. This storytelling project wants to make it easier.
   
Vox:  The Olympics left Rio with a few improvements. And a frightening police violence problem.
...Ugh. They shoot Blacks, don't they?
  
******************************************** 
MOAR MOAR MOAR MOAR MOAR
No abortion for you, silly woman--
squeeze out the government's new Zika baby
and figure out for yourself
how to pay the $1-10 MILLION per year
to keep it alive its whole life
because no Obamacare for you!
...Maybe Rubio thinks that having
all those Zika babies around
will make him look c-a-t smart
...He should just try wearing glasses,
like Rick Perry
...derp
******************************************** 

Mailbag
   
From National Partnership--make Congress work to fight Zika

The Zika virus is spreading, and public health officials are warning of increased risk to those in flood-ravaged areas of the Gulf coast. Meanwhile, funding to continue fighting the disease is running out — and Congress has failed to take appropriate action.

That’s why I am resending my email below and encouraging you to make your voice heard today.

Tell members of Congress to end their vacations and get back to work to pass emergency funding to combat the dangerous Zika virus!

   
------------------------------------------------
   
The video is below in todaze m00bies, friends.
I made a pernt of hunting it down.
-- Dot Calm's shadow
On Sunday night, John Oliver did something incredible on his HBO show “Last Week Tonight”: He exposed the waste, fraud and abuse that are far too common in the charter school industry.

From schools that close in the middle of the year to companies that put profits above the well-being of students, the segment should make you angry at the lack of oversight and accountability at institutions our students should be able to rely on. As we know from our work, in too many states oversight is becoming even more lax.

People need to know about this
. John Oliver has put the spotlight on bad actors in the charter industry; now it’s up to us to make sure people see the truth. Click here to watch and share his video.

Every child has the right to a free, high-quality public education. Education gives our kids building blocks for a successful life. Education propels our economy, anchors our citizens in democratic values and gives America’s youth a path toward achieving their dreams.

Education matters too much to let bad practices by unethical, incompetent profiteers undermine our public schools.

What John Oliver exposed underscores why we need to hold charter schools accountable to the public. Charter schools must be transparent, centered on the needs of students, and held to the standards we expect of any publicly funded institution.

Some charters meet these standards, and make sound use of public dollars.
This isn’t about them. This is about the rampant growth of charter schools that put profits over pupils—and the lax oversight that lets those schools undermine our communities and our students.

Let’s make sure everyone sees the truth. Watch the video (you’ll be horrified) and share it with your friends.

In solidarity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President
   
------------------------------------------------
   
Patty Murray

      Over the past two weeks, we've seen some amazing things from women at the Olympics.
They're leaping higher, swimming faster, and lifting others up both on and off the field (or track) to achieve greatness. The U.S. team arrived in Rio with the largest women's contingent in Olympic history, and they left with a record 61 medals.

That's had me thinking a lot about Title IX recently -- the federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally-funded education program or activity -- because it's such a huge part of why our women's team had the most members and the most medals.

Now more than ever, it's time to protect that legacy: Add your name to commit to strengthening and protecting Title IX for years to come.

Since its passage 44 years ago, Title IX has given so many women and girls the opportunity to compete and to excel. Women and girls' participation in sports has increased by almost 900 percent in high school, by almost 500 percent in college, and the number of women and girls whose lives it touches continues to grow every day.

So many of our women Olympians are going home to college (and in some cases, high school!) programs that depend on Title IX, so if you love watching these U.S. women compete and win as much as I do, you know how important this is.

That's why today, as we celebrate the U.S. women's team's success in Rio, we should take the time to recommit to continuing the fight for equality and ensuring those doors of opportunity stay open for generations of women to come.

We have to protect this landmark law -- add your name to show your support for Title IX today.

Thanks,
Mindi Linquist
People for Patty Murray
   
------------------------------------------------
   
From Cartwright for Congress--Support equal rights for women

I don’t think twice about supporting a bill that would expand equality to more Americans, because I take our Founding Fathers' beliefs to heart: everyone is created equal , and it’s our job as members of Congress to keep that promise.
This means I will always fight for bills that support women’s rights, like the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. But this kind of piecemeal, patchwork progress is not good enough.
There is a solution that would finally ensure women equal rights across the board, not just one at a time – and it’s past time we make it law. Will you join me in calling for an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution?
   
------------------------------------------------
   

VoteVets


There are more than 8 million veterans across the country enrolled to receive a wide range of services through the VA. In 2013, the VA averaged around 236,000 health care appointments per day.
Privatizing that system might pad the profits for some very large health care providers, but it would severely under-fund the Department of Veterans Affairs and leave many veterans with service-connected injuries out in the cold.
With Republicans looking at large losses in November, we're worried they are going to take one more shot at getting Congress to vote on privatizing veterans' health care. We have to stop them:
Sign our petition telling telling Congress veterans' care is NOT for sale, and that you oppose any efforts to privatizing the VA. Once you sign, you'll get a look at our new ad with this message running in congressional districts across the country.
Veterans depend on their VA care. Oftentimes, VA centers are equipped to deal with specialized care, amputations, and traumatic brain injuries in a way a local doctor or hospital may not be.
For far too many veterans in need of specialized care, both physical and mental, they may not have a caregiver to turn to in their area.
And with a new generation of service members returning home from overseas, this is precisely the wrong time to put the profits of a few large companies over the care of those who served.
Sign our petition telling Congress veterans' care is NOT for sale, and that you oppose any efforts to privatizing the VA. Once you sign, you'll get a look at our new ad with this message running in congressional districts across the country.
Thank you for adding your name. Of course we are doing everything to stop Donald Trump from becoming Commander in Chief this November, but we cannot ever afford to take our eye off of the Koch Brothers' and other ultra-conservatives campaign to privatize veterans care.
All my best,
Rick Hegdahl
VoteVets
ADD YOUR NAME
    
------------------------------------------------
   
From Keystone Progress

Tell Mifflin County (PA) Commissioner to resign for bigoted posts


Mifflin County Commissioner Lisa Nancollas (Republican) was caught posting bigoted Facebook posts on her campaign site. She has since taken them down, but they are available on news sites, including her hometown paper (http://act.keystoneprogress.org/go/671?t=4&akid=2732.346524.A9dyH1).

She still has anti-Islam posts on her personal Facebook page (https://keystoneprogress.actionkit.com/go/672?t=6&akid=2732.346524.A9dyH1).

 Will you sign our petition?

Tell Mifflin County (PA) Commissioner to resign for bigoted posts


"We demand that Mifflin County Commissioner Lisa Nancollas resign for her bigoted Facebook posts. An elected official who holds these views can not represent all of the people."

The first post was a meme of a mosque with a red “no” symbol covering it. It also said “No Islam Allowed.” The commissioner followed the post with the following posts:

“If you don’t like what I post on my wall then don’t look at my wall,” the second post said. “Also, I believe in the Christian God. I don’t believe in Islam, sharia law nor do I believe in Allah.”

She said people “are only allowed in the kingdom of God if they accept God as their savior not Allah,” in a third post.

She has since deleted the meme but has continued posting about Islam on here personal Facebook page, which includes images supporting Donald Trump for President.
  
------------------------------------------------
   
Imagine being a technician in the drone program of the U.S. Air Force -- and then becoming a whistleblower.

That's the experience of Cian Westmoreland, who has been awarded the first Drone Whistleblower Fellowship of the RootsAction Education Fund.

Cian is now doing extensive research and speaking out for alternatives to drone warfare. It's essential work that has taken him to many countries this summer -- and he's just getting started.

To support Cian's vital work as a drone whistleblower, and to strengthen the Drone Whistleblower Fellowship program, please click here.


"Last month,"
Cian writes, "I sent out a request for support of my endeavors in going forward with my whistleblowing. To all of you who responded, I give my utmost thanks."

He adds:

"When we speak about drones, we are not only speaking of the aircraft itself, but the hyper manned infrastructure that spans the globe to do what it is ultimately tasked to do, which is to kill individuals with total impunity and in total secrecy, often times in undeclared war zones.

"For the people living under drones, the persistent hover of this technology over their homes and families who constantly have to guess whether or not that drone will fire at them in error, because they unknowingly ran into a person who was targeted at a market, is terrifying."

Cian worked on the U.S. drone program in Afghanistan. Now he says: "When people who are not actively engaged in combat are afraid to meet at a tribal jirga, which for centuries has been their method of civil governance in tribal lands, it destroys cultures and societies. For those living under drones, what the United States has chosen as their most ‘humanitarian weapon’ is terrorism of the sort that not any of our allied nations have ever been forced to endure."

At the RootsAction Education Fund, we're proud to be working with Cian Westmoreland. But his international efforts as the first Drone Whistleblower Fellow can only continue with support from people who share his values and sense of urgency. You can help now by making a tax-deductible donation to sustain this fellowship.

As Cian says about the areas where the U.S. is conducting drone attacks, "Generations of young people in these regions will know nothing else of the United States than the worst of our culture and the persistent terror they experienced on a daily basis. As several U.S. generals have acknowledged, there are more 'terrorists' today than when we started droning people.

"So perhaps we should see what the real damage has been? In July, the president of the United States finally released an official count of the numbers of civilians killed outside of areas of active hostilities -- an astonishing 64-112. Perhaps you shared our outrage, as many of us could count 64-112 civilians from a handful of drone strikes.

"The report was a face-saving gesture, because the U.S. government does not actually know how many civilians have died. This information is lost through the language used to define civilians, the limitations in metadata, the fact that many individuals killed aren't even registered to ID them, and the filter of authorities making calls to protect themselves from scrutiny."


Unblinking scrutiny of the drone program and the war policies behind it is what the Drone Whistleblower Fellowship is all about. The Fellowship can continue and get stronger if you help with a tax-deductible contribution now.

"In the last few months," Cian writes, "colleagues and I have traveled to London, Oslo, Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney to share our experiences and knowledge -- with politicians, educators, the technical communities, activist groups, journalists, and concerned citizens. Our presentations have shed light on what drone warfare entails for their nations, how their governments are complicit, and what they can do to help us to make the decision to use lethal force from a drone no longer politically expedient.

"The ways in which we choose to treat this issue -- to include interlocking issues like surveillance, artificial intelligence, automation, and the privatization of our intelligence and military apparatuses -- will be the linchpin that will determine our fate as a nation and a global community for decades to come."


And Cian adds:

"A general rule is that all war technology finds its way back home. We are already seeing this play out within our police forces, and there's a keen interest in military robots at this time.

"The cultural arrogance that has lead our governments into thinking that we can win wars by bombing people and playing half-finished games of human chess is leading us toward a world where a few own all the wealth, our military and intelligence personnel are bought and sold on the stock market, and robots will one day protect whomever the highest bidder is.

"It's really up to us to prevent this nightmare from happening; by 'us' I mean anyone who reads this.

"We need to create strong networks of individuals from the technical, political, media, and activist domains for an effective critical mass. We need to unite. We need to strategize, and devise methodical approaches to push this issue forward. We need to recognize all points of leverage at our disposal and creatively and constructively utilize them.

"As the late great Martin Luther King once said, 'Those who love Peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love War.' This is timeless advice we should all meditate on thoroughly.

"Thank you all for the energy you have put into this. Just know that it does not go in vain, and that we can win.

"Peace and Solidarity,
Cian"

Please help Cian Westmoreland as the first recipient of the Drone Whistleblower Fellowship:



Thank you!

-- The RootsAction Education Fund team

PS  You can follow Cian on Twitter: @CianMW

    
------------------------------------------------
   
CREDO action
Tell Republican officials: Stop promoting anti-trans bigotry
The petition to Republican attorneys general, governors, and state officials reads:
“Stop promoting hate and discrimination against transgender children. Drop your bigoted lawsuit against extending civil rights protections for transgender people.”
Add your name:
Sign the petition ►
    
------------------------------------------------
   
From Daily Kos--Stop killing civilians in Yemen

The Obama administration has notified Congress of intent to sell $1.15 billion of weapons to Saudi Arabia, including tanks which would replace tanks destroyed in Saudi Arabia's war against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The New York Times joined a bipartisan group of Congresspeople, including Senator Chris Murphy in urging Congress to put the Saudi arms deal on hold until Saudi Arabia stops targeting civilians.

Add your name! Click here to email your Representative and ask them to support the bipartisan effort to put this arms deal on hold.

Just in the last several days, a Saudi airstrike on a school in Yemen killed 10 children, and a Saudi airstrike on an MSF (Doctors Without Borders) hospital in Yemen killed 11 people. Amnesty International has documented airstrikes by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition across Yemen that appear to have deliberately targeted civilians and civilian facilities, such as hospitals, schools, markets, and places of worship.

Continued U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia could make the U.S. complicit in potential war crimes committed by the Saudi-led coalition.
   
------------------------------------------------
   
CREDO action
Stand with Rep. Waters: The Justice Department must prosecute banking giant HSBC
Petition to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch:
"Revoke the deferred prosecution agreement with HSBC that allowed the bank to escape criminal prosecution on charges of money laundering and violating U.S. sanctions."
Add your name:
Sign the petition ►

   
******************************************** 
From the Greenville Gazette
"IRS CHIEF:
'TRUMP IS A LIAR;
 WE AUDITED HIM
BECAUSE HIS TAXES
ARE HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS'"

"Trump is getting audited year after year
because he is suspected of hiding income
and not paying his taxes properly,
not because he is a 'Christain.'"

"IRS Chief John Koskinen
explained in an interview with C-SPAN,
'The taxpayer
controls his returns.
There’s nothing in an IRS audit process generally
that would keep you
from sharing that information generally,
any way you wanted to.'"
 
SHOW US YOUR TAXES,
DONALD!
******************************************** 

Democracy Now!

By the way, President Obama only went to Louisiana when the governor was ready for him--not before--because he did not want to sap their already-overstretched resources. Another crazy story today features New Jersey's police, who traumatized an unarmed 10-year-old boy by chasing him to kingdom come with guns drawn. Click on the headline for details.
-- Dot Calm's shadow

Stories


On Tuesday, President Obama visited Louisiana for the first time since the devastating floods that killed 13 people and damaged 60,000 homes. The Red Cross has called it the ... Read More →

A new article in the medical journal The Lancet has concluded much of the Northern Hemisphere will be too hot by 2085 to host the Summer Olympics. Researchers are ... Read More →

A new study has found that without action on climate change, the millennial generation as a whole will lose nearly $8.8 trillion in lifetime income dealing with the economic, ... Read More →

Last week, Donald Trump once again upended his campaign team and named Stephen Bannon, the head of Breitbart Media, to be his campaign chief. Breitbart ... Read More →
  • Obama Tours Louisiana Flood Damage, Does Not Mention Climate Change

  • 4 Activists Arrested Protesting Plan to Sell Offshore Oil Leases

  • Italy: 6.2-Magnitude Earthquake Kills At Least 73

  • Global Extreme Weather: Floods, Fires & Heat Waves

  • AP: As Secretary of State, Clinton Met with Dozens of Foundation Donors

  • Trump: "Impossible to Figure Out Where Clinton Foundation Ends & State Dept. Begins"

  • WashPo: Clinton Raised $32 Million at Elite Fundraisers in August

  • Guantánamo Bay Prisoner Abu Zubaydah Argues for His Freedom

  • NLRB Ruling: Graduate Students at Private Universities Can Unionize

  • Afghanistan: U.S. Soldier Killed in Bomb Explosion in Helmand

  • Turkey, Backed by U.S., Launches Ground Offensive into Syria

  • Kashmir: Another Protester Killed Amid Brutal Crackdown

  • Mexico: Journalist Survives Assassination Attempt in Veracruz

  • New Jersey: Police Chase 10-Year-Old Boy with Guns Drawn

  • California: Judge Persky Recuses Himself from Another Case
  •     

    Stories


    In North Dakota, indigenous activists are continuing to protest the proposed $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline, which they say would threaten to contaminate the Missouri ... Read More →

    In North Dakota, more than a thousand indigenous activists from different tribes have converged at the Sacred Stone Spirit Camp, where protesters are blocking construction of ... Read More →

    In Oklahoma, funeral services were held Friday for Khalid Jabara, a Lebanese-American man police say was shot dead by his next-door neighbor in a possible hate crime. ... Read More →

    As the Jabara family mourns the death of Khalid Jabara in Tulsa, Oklahoma, we remember a similar fatal shooting last year in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In 2015, Razan ... Read More →

    Headlines →

       
    ********************************************
    Donald Trump disapproves
    of the Clinton Foundation
    so strongly
    that he only donated $100,000.00
    -- Dot Calm's shadow
    ********************************************
     
     
    ******************************************** 

    Daily Kos

  • Conservative talk show host pens attack on Neil deGrasse Tyson—Tyson goes supernova on him
  • Bill O'Reilly accused in sex harassment claim—invites FOX host to take a walk on the 'wild side'
  • 10-year-old boy chased by Newark police, guns drawn, while playing in his front yard
  • Like the Daily Kos Recommended email? Chip in $1 to support the team that brings progressive news to your inbox every day.
  • Scientists are linking chemicals produced in the 1970s to increased autism today—not vaccines
  • Trump doesn't visit black voters because it's too dangerous
  • 1,500 drunk refugee American 'floaters' illegally cross Canadian border—are welcomed and rescued
  • Republican former IRS commissioner: 'What is Trump hiding?'
  • Journalists haven't been able to verify that Trump donated anything at all to Louisiana flood relief
  • What the Clinton Foundation does—and why Hillary Clinton should point to it with pride
  • Sign if you agree with PFAW: Congress needs to pass the "We The People Act". sponsored
  • What does the Clinton Foundation do, other than get attacked by Republicans?
  • Clinton campaign opens office in Utah
  • Hillary's long game in West Virginia
  • A movement takes shape to memorialize lynching victims in the U.S.
  • Where are your tax returns, Donald?
  • The top-two primary system is as ridiculous as ever. So end it!
  • A simple reminder: It really is all about the Supreme Court
  •    
  • Daily Kos Elections 2016 presidential forecast: Hillary Clinton's chances hold steady at 88 percent
  • Trump talked to NBC about continuing 'The Apprentice' reality show from the Oval Office
  • Ron Johnson, genius, doesn't understand why we have college professors
  • NC trooper shoots and kills deaf man
  • What the media doesn't know about the Clinton Foundation could sink the Titanic
  • Trump quintupled campaign's Trump Tower rent once donors started paying for it
  • School board elections halted in Ferguson area
  • 1,500 drunk refugee American 'floaters' illegally cross Canadian border—are welcomed and rescued
  • Donald Trump is tanking the Republican Party so hard the he could put the House in the play, despite the GOP's outrageous gerrymandering. Chip in $1 to Democrats running in must-win districts to take back the House.
  • Donald Trump is 'mature' and 'doesn't hurl insults.' Then he got on twitter this morning ...
  • Add your name if you agree with the Democratic Governors Association (DGA): Democrats ARE fighting to expand voting rights, while Republicans are trying to disenfranchise voters. sponsored
  • The number of women in local jails has skyrocketed and here's why
  • Colin Powell suddenly forgets a conversation he remembered quite well back in June
  • In Hillary Clinton's new ad, Donald Trump is the bomb
  • Let's take a deep dive into this Trump family portrait
  • Here's why Democrats might need a 7- or 8-point popular vote margin to take back the House this fall
  • A campaign of conspiracies
  •   
  • Protect Our Rural Water, Stop the Dakota Access Pipeline!
  • Race, racism, and sports history
  • Florida Gov. Rick Scott's war on Planned Parenthood opens the door for a Zika emergency
  • "The Cloak I Was Offering Them Was Identification With My Whiteness"
  • The black and brown firewall blocking Trump
  • Sign and send the petition: Stop gerrymandering based on prison populations
  • Wisconsin considers 'Blue Lives Matter' bill after Dallas
  • Race, racism, and sports history
  • Protect Our Rural Water, Stop the Dakota Access Pipeline!
  • Democrats deliver most pro-LGBT platform in party's history
  •    
    ******************************************** 
    Holy Crap!
    I would never have called this,
    but Hillary Clinton IS more honest
    than Bernie Sanders!
    Hillary Clinton is the MOST honest candidate!
    I'm stunned.
    Kudos to Dot Calm--she knew all along.


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

    AlterNet
    By Janet Allon, AlterNet
    So, this is how the Donald earns his bestseller status. READ MORE»

    By Robin Scher, AlterNet
    French authorities wrong-headedly think the burkini ban will curb terrorism and promote secularism. READ MORE»

    By Adele M. Stan, The American Prospect
    When Trump repudiates his racist followers, we’ll know he’s serious. READ MORE»

    By Nico Lang, Salon
    She did everything by the book, from documenting Depp's rage to donating her settlement—and she's still doubted. READ MORE»

    By Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    Giuliani called on viewers watching Fox News Sunday to google 'Hillary Clinton illness' and Stephen Colbert did. READ MORE»

    By Kali Holloway, AlterNet
    Social media was, predictably, horrified and grossed out.  READ MORE»

    By Matt Bors, AlterNet
    The whiter you are, the better you're treated. READ MORE»

    By Carrie Weisman, AlterNet
    Ryan Lochte has lost all major endorsements and sponsors after his Rio scandal. Now, a new opportunity has presented itself.  READ MORE»

    By Walter Einenkel, DailyKos
    Neal Larson gets owned. READ MORE»

    By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
    A new study has found that without action on climate change, the millennial generation as a whole will lose nearly $8.8 trillion in lifetime income dealing with the impacts of climate change. READ MORE»

    By Arturo Garcia, Raw Story
    "How do you know that someone is the healthiest ever?” READ MORE»

       
    By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet
    Sanders also will campaign for Clinton after Labor Day. READ MORE»

    By Greta Christina, AlterNet
    It goes much deeper than the comments on her voice, clothing and hair.  READ MORE»

    By Joe Conason, The National Memo
    Many unanswered questions about Stephen K. Bannon. READ MORE»

    By Sarah Lazare, AlterNet
    Environmental toxicology report ties elevated levels of lead in children to bombings and ammunition. READ MORE»

    By Gary Legum, Salon
    Hannity is reportedly consulting Trump — another egregious offense to journalism committed by Fox News. READ MORE»

    By Taryn Fivek, AlterNet
    A company town where the business is nuclear weapons. READ MORE»

    By Will Fantle, AlterNet
    France's Groupe Danone stands to dominate the organic dairy market. READ MORE»

    By Rebecca Gordon, Tom Dispatch
    The enemies of my enemy may be war criminals. READ MORE»

    By Amy Lieberman, AlterNet
    These immigrants lack rights, opportunities, and help during crises—adding up to a life in limbo. READ MORE»

    By Rebecca Klein , The Hechinger Report
    No one knows how often it’s happening or what impact it’s having on students READ MORE»

    By Jolene Forman, AlterNet
    Here's a major reason the Golden State needs to take the next step.  READ MORE»

    By Evette Dionne, Revelist
    It's time to remove harmful waiting periods. READ MORE»

    By Michael Arria, AlterNet
    He is suing the fire department. READ MORE»

    By Tom Boggioni, Raw Story
    “He would say lots of things about God being OK with it" READ MORE»

    By Zachary Roth, Crown Publishing
    There has been a reemergence of a deeply rooted conservative fear—something close to an ideology—that giving full voting rights to the masses will dangerously destabilize society and usher in rad­ical change. READ MORE»

       
    By Kali Holloway, AlterNet
    Andrea Tantaros describes a place where boys will be insulting, offensive, harassing letches.  READ MORE»

    By Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
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    By Chauncey DeVega, Salon
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    By Jen Sorensen, AlterNet
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    ******************************************** 
     
    Yeah...not just Blacks,
    but also women, Latinos, LGBTQ+,
    working people, poor people, ...
    And that's just here in the good ol' U.S. of A!
    Imagine what he'd do to the rest of the world!
    Death by global warming, anyone?
    How about nukes?
    Bueller? BUELLER?
    ******************************************** 

    Movies!

    Alas, this video is not from Last Week Tonight itself...so it may get taken down soon. Watch it before it goes away! John offers teh Dumbald such a nice, fat, juicy, worm face-saving Brexit that I can't imagine how the slimy orange fucksicle could possibly resist. I think it's brilliant. What do you think?

    John Oliver on charter schools--muy importante! My Tea Party Christian friend thinks charter schools are ever so much better than public schools because FUX Noise has brainwashed him to think that private profiteering is ever so much better than accountability. He forgets that he is paying for these private institutions and that, by allowing or accepting them as private institutions, he is abdicating his oversight into how they are established, accredited, or run on a daily basis. As for me, I was much more aware of the problems--like siphoning off talented students--than I was of even one of the success stories John mentions. But I think I was closer to the truth than my Tea Party Christian friend: charter schools open up a world of hurt...gobbling up millions of dollars in taxpayer money without necessarily even providing one school year's worth of education--let alone decent education. America, it's time to save our public schools. Let the charter schools go back to being incubators for new ideas that can transition into the mainstream. If it's being funded by public dollars, then it had damn well better be a public institution. I keeps sayin': some things should NEVER be for profit, including (but not limited to) education, insurance, and health care...in short, anything where the business profits more by providing less--basically by ripping you off. Bleah!

    Ruh roh, Reorge...I'm apparently back to Mr. Deity!



    Personally, I find mythicism to be a very plausible explanation for the origin of Christianity. But unlike Trump, I'm no "Christain"...which sounds to me like what the artist painted on the hoax shroud of Turin....

    Ooh ooh, Mister Kotter--Jaclyn Glenn, my fave!!! I had to watch this one twice to catch all the goodness. You have been warned.

    'Til next time, check out these great channels:
    ...or, if you just want something mindless and fun, try Tested
      
    ********************************************
    Hey!
    You made it all the way down here!!
    Here's a funny for you, then!!!