Monday, February 22, 2016

Poly-ticks Monday

Republicans be like so many ticks sucking the blood out of this country...!

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Didja ever notice
that only liberals are outraged
by lying and hypocrisy?
Republicans only seem outraged
at the thought of
some "undeserving" person somewhere
catching a break.
Why is that?
Maybe, good Christians that they are,
Republicans are so comfortable with hypocrisy
that they think it's perfectly OK to lie,
especially if you are lying for God.
Just like Rafael Cruz, Sr.,
when he pretends to be a scientist.
Rafael Cruz Jr. and Sr. both know
if you don't lie for God,
you can't say anything!
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My Tea Party Christian friend thinks
what you say matters more
 than what you believe
and what you believe matters more
than what you actually do.
He spends so much energy fooling himself
that it wobbles the mind.
He thinks he's fooling me...
he's not.
Does he think he's fooling God?
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This is one of the AlterNet summaries I usually post together at the bottom. I just wanted to make sure everyone sees it. There's also one with video of Bernie being arrested during the 1963 civil rights actions.

By Adam Johnson, AlterNet
Hillary's appeal to consistency did her no favors.  READ MORE»


There's also this one:

By Gerald Friedman, Dollars and Sense
A handy guide to Bernie's brass tacks. READ MORE»


If ever a politician in living memory walked the talk and stayed on point throughout his or her political career, it's Bernie. He is both honest and consistent. Let's all get behind Bernie and take our country back from the billionaires!

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The so-called ranch where Scalia died
is apparently a luxury resort.
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End Citizens United National Poll - 74% Favor Passing a Constitutional Amendment to End Citizens United

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I want to know
what all the creationists
who don't accept evolution
say to the families of people
who die from MRSA.
Do they scream at them,
accusing them of lying,
screaming that their loved ones
are still alive?
Do they shout that you can't die from MRSA
because MRSA doesn't exist
because drug-resistant micro-organisms
don't exist because
there's no such thing as evolution?
Do you think these brainiacs
get flu shots every year?

Or do they believe in the flu virus
but not that it mutates?

Or do they disbelieve in the flu virus
and believe as the Bible says
that all illness is due
to sin and DEMONS?
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A word from Bernie Sanders

The final results are in from Nevada and it looks like we’re going to leave another state with roughly the same number of delegates as Hillary Clinton, maybe down just a few.

I want to be completely clear with you about what this result means: Nevada was supposed to be a state "tailor made" for the Clinton campaign, and a place she once led by almost 40 points. But today, we sent a message that will stun the political and financial establishment of this country: our campaign can win anywhere.

There are 26 primaries and caucuses in the next month, and three straight positive results for our campaign are sure to prompt an over-the-top response from the millionaires and billionaires who are funding our opponent and her many super PACs.

We have to be prepared for their best shot, because it’s coming:

Make another contribution to our campaign tonight and we are going to win this Democratic primary, the White House, and take our country back from the billionaire class.

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:

We’re closing the gap dramatically in states that have yet to vote, and there’s a path to victory for our political revolution. If we continue to stand together, we’ll continue to win.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

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Donald Trump is such a great business man
that he would have been worth $4B
--twice as much as he is today--
if he had just left his father's money
in the stock market
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Hypocrite much, Donald?

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Petitions, petitions!
Get your petitions here!
Get 'em while they're here!
Get 'em while they're hot!

CREDO action
Tell President Obama: Nominate a progressive to replace Justice Scalia
The petition to President Obama reads:
“Nominate a progressive to replace Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.”
Add your name:
Sign the petition ►

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A democratic request from Alan Grayson

I’m a “superdelegate”; I want to listen to you. You decide: Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. The choice is, literally, yours. Go vote now.

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Friends, this is why we need Bernie! We HAVE to stop letting the foxes run the henhouse!
 
CREDO action
Tell the Senate: A vote for Dr. Califf is a vote for Big Pharma
Petition to the United States Senate:
"Oppose the nomination of Dr. Robert Califf as head of the Food and Drug Administration. At a time of rising prescription drug prices and safety risks we need a champion for American families, not an insider so closely tied to the pharmaceutical industry."
Add your name:
Sign the petition ►
 
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Remember the financial crisis? 

To protect consumers against future predatory lending and financial abuses, Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) - an idea first proposed by Senator Elizabeth Warren. I am a strong supporter of the agency. 

But a shadowy front group possibly backed by the Koch Brothers wants you to think otherwise. They are running TV ads twisting my words to make it seem like I oppose the CFPB, and I won’t stand for it.

This is a blatant attempt to deceive the public and proves once again there is nothing the extreme right-wing won’t do to further their anti-middle class agenda. 


Since its formation in 2011, the CFPB has returned more than $11 billion to victimized American consumers.


Thank you,

Keith Ellison

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Just Foreign Policy: Hillary enabled the coup in Honduras
Some people say: there's more to U.S. foreign policy than voting for or against the war in Iraq. That's why I put up a piece at the Huffington Post this morning recounting how when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State in 2009, she acted to help the coup in Honduras succeed, by refusing to cut off U.S. aid to Honduras, as required by U.S. law.

I think more people should know about this. If you agree, please help spread the word by reading and sharing my piece at the Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/secretary-of-state-hillar_b_9273712.html

And if you haven't signed our petition yet urging Congress to use its financial leverage against corruption in Honduras, you can do that here:

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/congress-end-anti-corruption-charade-Honduras

Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,

Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy

Help support our work!
If you think our work is important, support us with a $15 donation.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate


Please support our work. Donate for a Just Foreign Policy

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CREDO action
Make a call to Senate Republicans: Don’t block President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee
Republicans are promising to prevent President Obama from nominating Justice Scalia’s replacement in the Supreme Court. That’s not only partisan obstructionism, it’s a radical anti-democratic power grab that violates their duty to the nation. We have to show that it will come with a political cost. Make a call today.
Click below for a sample script and the number to call:
Take action now ►

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From DKos: Grassley must hold hearings to replace Scalia

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley has changed his messaging on obstructing President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.

Sign the petition: Tell Sen. Grassley to hold confirmation hearings for the President’s Supreme Court nominee.

After rejecting any possibility of confirming a justice this year--and lying about Senate procedure to make the GOP’s partisan obstructionism seem reasonable--Sen. Grassley has now weakened his stance, claiming that he hasn’t decided whether to hold a hearing on Obama’s Supreme Court pick.

As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the panel that holds high-profile hearings for Supreme Court nominees, Sen. Grassley can hold up the confirmation process before it even begins by simply not holding a hearing.

Sen. Grassley’s shifting stance is a move in the right direction. Tell him to give up the partisan games and allow confirmation hearings for whomever the president nominates.

Sign the petition: Give it up, Grassley. Hold confirmation hearings for the President’s Supreme Court nominee.


Keep fighting,
Monique Teal, Daily Kos


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When Jeb! gave his concession speech to drop out of the primaries, do you think he stood in front of a "Mission Accomplished" banner wearing a codpiece?
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A word from ThinkProgress

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is endorsing Marco Rubio for President -- which could give the candidate a big bump ahead of the SC primaries. These Trump supporters, however, say they don't care because she took down the flag. And, have Republicans always been against confirming judges in an election year? Lets find out.
   Sponsored Post   
PETITION: Denounce the GOP Lawsuit Against President Obama
A federal judge has ruled that Congressional Republicans can officially SUE President Obama. Unless something changes, Obamacare could be destroyed forever. We need to collect 1OO,OOO signatures denouncing this frivolous lawsuit before it goes any further. Will you add your name right now?...(read more)

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Daily Kos

  • Hillary Clinton wins Nevada caucus    
  • Clinton with decisive advantage among Democrats; Sanders landslide among Independents not enough    
  • How undemocratic can caucuses be? Here is what some casino workers had to put up with today    
  • In Iowa, they used coin tosses. In Nevada, they broke ties in a more Las Vegas kind of way (Photo)    
  • Entrance polls showed Sanders with surprise edge among Latinos    
  • Check out Dailykos.com for more live updates, including South Carolina Republican primary returns starting at 7:00 PM eastern

  • Marco Rubio runs scared from audience of South Carolina conservatives    
  • Ted Cruz’s logo hilariously appropriate    
  • Chicago Tribune digs Up photo of Bernie's arrest in 1960's protest    
  • Like the Daily Kos Recommended email? Chip in $1 to support the team that brings progressive news to your inbox every day.    
  • Trump rally stand-off: Supporters start screaming match with Beaufort High kids in South Carolina      
  • What has Bernie ever accomplished? Quite a lot, actually.    
  • Bernie News Roundup: 'Sanders Works To Defy The Odds With A Win In Nevada' & 'Bernie's Foreign Travels'    
  • Hillary News & Views: Nevada town hall, major endorsements & a poem for Hillary
  • 'It's unraveling, every piece of it is unraveling, they’re all in lockstep together'    
  • Bernie Sanders can't help but laugh in Chris Wallace's face when asked this question    
  • Chuck Grassley in disarray over Supreme Court appointment    
  • Cartoon: Flint    
  • People in prison drawing pictures of people who should really be in prison is an amazing thing    
  • Glenn Beck says God killed Scalia to goose Ted Cruz's poll numbers. Sure, why not.    
  • The IRS had its sights on the gun-toting Nevada assemblywoman involved in the Bundy standoff(s)    
  • GOP Kentucky governor slaps new Planned Parenthood facility with a lawsuit    
  • Cartoon: How Gavin Smythe broke science      
  • Federal grand jury hands down 16 felony charges against Cliven Bundy and crew for Nevada standoff    
  • Far-right groups: No Scalia replacement in 2016, because 'the real objection here is to Obama'    
  • Republicans are knee-deep in bogus justifications for obstructing Obama on the Supreme Court    
  • Why does the FBI want Russian hackers to have your phone data?    
  • Pope Francis: Wall-building Donald Trump 'is not Christian'    
  • Pope Francis says contraception 'lesser of two evils' compared with spread of Zika virus    
  • Who paid for Antonin Scalia's vacation to the luxury resort in Texas?    
  • It's Mary Lou! She believes Obama was a homosexual prostitute & she's running for Texas Board of Ed
  • Who paid for Antonin Scalia's vacation to the luxury resort in Texas?    
  • Now we know why Trump will win the nomination
  • Sign if you agree with NARAL: SCOTUS should rule on the side of reproductive freedom when ruling on targeted regulations of abortion providers in Texas.    
  • Cartoon: Scalia later, alligator    
  • 'Impartial' media insists that Obama appoint a Republican to the court, and they have their guy    
  • Oregon occupiers desecrated sacred Native American grounds in the most disgusting manner possible    
  • 25 Ted Cruz quotes that prove he should be the President of Planet Uranus    
  • Robert Reich: The Republican Party died in 2016    
  • Add your name: Congress must address the impact of student loan debt. Join Democrat Paula Hawks from South Dakota to make this happen.    
  • CNN's John King: 'You can bet' Obama will make Supreme Court fight about race    
  • Palm Beach billionaire's sex-trafficking case involving Alan Dershowitz and Prince Andrew is revived    
  • 34 page doc just slams Cliven Bundy in court    
  • France set to pave over 600 miles of roadways with solar panels    
  • GOP campaigns prep for worst-case scenario: A brokered national convention    
  • Thanks to Trump, 45 percent of Latinos now see GOP as 'hostile,' up from 18 percent in 2012    
  • Jeb Bush just tweeted a gun pic and the Twitterverse obliterated him for it

  •  
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    Or the 13 embassy attacks and 60 people killed when Duhbya was preznits.

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    AlterNet

    Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet
    Working-class voters in Las Vegas tipped the balance to Clinton. READ MORE»

    Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    Why do we continue to fight fire with fire? READ MORE»

    By Daniel Denvir, Salon
    It's becoming increasingly clear that Trump isn't just inexperienced — he's actually living in a fantasy world. READ MORE»

    So are all Republicans! Not one of them has any idea how the world actually works; all of them are actually living in a fantasy world. Money Boo Boo is different exactly how?

    By Les Leopold, AlterNet
    The Times columnist's favorite strawman turns out to not even back Sanders. READ MORE»

    By May Bulman , The Independent
    Global water scarcity is far more severe than previously thought READ MORE»

    By Bethania Palma Markus, Raw Story
    “She was crying and removed it because she was afraid she had done something wrong." READ MORE»

    So much for freedom of religion. Silly Muslims, atheists, and whoever else--freedom of religion is just for Christians!

    Heather Digby Parton, Salon
    Whether taking on GOP sacred cows are being caught in flat-out lies, Trump always manages to survive for a reason. READ MORE»

    I hafta confess, I've been loving the Republican cat fight, especially Trump calling out the Bush-Cheney junta's lies on 9/11. Mee-YOW.

    By Alexandra Rosenmann, Sarah Lazare, AlterNet
    A new group by the name of "Veterans Challenge Islamophobia" called out Donald Trump for his bigoted attacks on Muslims.  READ MORE»

    By Tony Papa, AlterNet
    We could learn a thing or two from the Europeans.  READ MORE»

    By Jim Hightower, Other Words
    A corporate-backed study says the latest Washington trade scam will raise incomes — but for whom? READ MORE»

    By Gerald Friedman, Dollars and Sense
    A handy guide to Bernie's brass tacks. READ MORE»

    By Laurie Levy, AlterNet
    Children are coming home from school exhausted, frustrated and overworked. READ MORE»

    By Center for Biological Diversity, Eco Watch
    “It’s shocking that it’s taken so long, but we’re glad it’s finally going to happen.” READ MORE»

    By Vijay Prashad, Al Araby
    Saudi Arabia cannot be seen to withdraw unless it has won the war. READ MORE»


    Adam Johnson, AlterNet
    Nevada is notoriously difficult to predict; South Carolina is much more manageable.  READ MORE»

    Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    "Is it possible that Donald Trump and the Pope are fighting because they have so much in common?" READ MORE»

    Ed Pilkington, The Guardian
    Lee's 1961 novel became a defining text of 20th-century literature and of racial troubles in the American south. READ MORE»

    By Adam Johnson, AlterNet
    Hillary's appeal to consistency did her no favors.  READ MORE»

    By Elias Isquith, Salon
    The New York Times columnist's defenses of wonkery are well-intentioned. But politics and policy are not the same. READ MORE»

    By Michael Winship, BillMoyers.com
    Back in 1962, the fossil fuel giant was bragging about its ability to heat up the Arctic. READ MORE»

    By Gary Legum, Salon
    From the glowing reviews he gets, you'd think Rubio was neck and neck with Trump. In fact, he's not even close. READ MORE»

    By Marjorie Cohn, Truthout
    A number of pending SCOTUS cases may have more progressive outcomes due to tie votes. READ MORE»

    By Gaby Hinslif, The Guardian
    The FBI’s fight to unlock an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters is a reminder of the risks of putting all our electronic eggs in one basket. READ MORE»

    By Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    A tree farm is offering to pay the state of New York $10 million for Donald J. Trump State Park.  READ MORE»

    By Sarah Burris, Raw Story
    "The day the Justice died, the day justice in America died. They got away with it." READ MORE»

    Hmm, and here I'd heard that O'Bama the World's Worst Muslim killed Scalia with his own bare Kenyan hands....

    Kali Holloway, AlterNet
    Veterans of the force allegedly targeted victims who were most unlikely to report or be believed. READ MORE»

    asha bandele, Huffington Post
    A radical continues his fight for freedom, after 34 years in jail.  READ MORE»

    Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    Kasich: "The Republican Party is my vehicle; it is not my master." READ MORE»

    By Adam Johnson, AlterNet
    A parade of fawning trial balloons for Bloomberg are showing up.  READ MORE»

    By Michael Arria, AlterNet
    Investigative story reveals how some employers are mining their workers' data. READ MORE»

    TeleSur
    President Barack Obama will visit Cuba in the coming weeks, he said on his official Twitter account, marking the first trip by a sitting president to the island since 1928. READ MORE»

    By Ben Norton, Salon
    Critics say the unelected superdelegate system is rigged. Debbie Wasserman Schultz basically admitted this is true. READ MORE»

    By Sam Levin, The Guardian
    The militia left behind ‘significant amounts of human feces’ and dug trenches filled with waste on grounds that contained sensitive Native American artifacts. READ MORE»

    By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
    In Utah, more than 100 protesters disrupted a federal auction of oil and gas leases, spontaneously bursting into song until they were forced to leave. READ MORE»

    Lynn Stuart Parramore, AlterNet
    An economist takes aim at both candidates' plans. READ MORE»

    Reynard Loki, AlterNet
    The laws governing the tens of thousands of chemicals that saturate the marketplace are being reformed. But will it make any difference?  READ MORE»

    Sarah Lazare, AlterNet
    A new advertisement released by Future 45 criticizes Sanders' proposed minimum wage increase and health care for all. READ MORE»

    By Liam O'Donoghue , Salon
    In a new book, a former U.S. Marine and Army sergeant reveals how a Dick Cheney-connected company got rich while U.S. soldiers got poisoned. READ MORE»

    By Valerie Wilson, Economic Policy Institute
    The best state unemployment rate for blacks equals the worst state unemployment rate for whites. READ MORE»



    Here's Bernie! 
    By Jessica Desvarieux, The Real News Network
    If it doesn't adapt to a changing nation, could the Constitution become a pact for suicide? READ MORE»

    By Miles Kampf-Lassin, In These Times
    The Democratic presidential candidate participated in civil disobedience to end segregation. Now there's a video to prove it. READ MORE»

    By Ben Norton, Salon
    An exhaustive study shows privatization is more expensive, despite the right-wing's insistence to the contrary.  READ MORE»

    By Arturo Garcia, Raw Story
    The GOP presidential candidate tweeted a photo of his gun, made by a company that also made weapons for Nazis. READ MORE»

    By Ilana Novick, AlterNet
    Residents and business owners channel their fear and uncertainty into art.  READ MORE»


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    Movie time!

    Christians, why do you consistently disobey Jesus?

    Yes, I know people who act like this person used to: arguing with 100% confidence about things of which they are 100% ignorant. Just think of how much more advanced we would be as a society if everyone learned science instead of superstition. I've been reading Dr. Michael Shermer’s book, "The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom." He makes a compelling case that science and reason make us more moral than religion and superstition.

    Like I said above, in America, religious freedom is only for Christians. Atheists get fired from jobs, receive death threats, and are refused at banks--Tracie Harris relates how TD Bank wouldn't even notarize something for her once they realized she was an atheist. Friends, it happens. The courts aren't even recognizing what's going on as bullying or causing harm--the blinders of religion are on, so the critical thinking faculties are off.

    Oh, how they want it both ways...!

    God's perfect moral standard is a double standard, and it's heinous. And by the way,
    "They're not dolls--they're action figures!"

    If you have time for a lengthy but fascinating and thought-provoking podcast, here's Seth Andrews with counter-apologetics...apologetics being, according to Dot Calm's shadow, the use of logical fallacies to pretend to prove that for which there is no evidence.
     
    But wait--there's more!