Supreme Court permits 140 lawsuits against small farmers to proceed

Our legal system is just not designed to treat Dave vs Goliath fairly and here is a perfect example. Filing lawsuits is a drop in the ocean to a megacorps/government legal teams while the same legal processes are a huge and often destructive inconveniences to individuals or small business. How can you have a fair trial when the cost of being involved is ruinous to one party and trivial to the other?

US WWII vets are war criminals

At least the ones serving the pacific front. Just finished watching the anime movie Graveyard of the Fireflies which is a story about the US firebombing urban housing areas on mainland japan, aka civilian targets, in WW2. Hiroshima and Nagasaki had to happen because they ended wars, current and potential and saved lives. The target areas were business districts, a civilian target but not targeting civilians per say. Creating firestorms out of wood houses in Japanese urban population areas and indiscriminately killing in one of the most horrible ways possible (burns suck) 100,000s of women and children (since all the man were out at war) is barbaric. As far as I know Japan never attack a US civilian target, and it certainly had the opportunity. I'm thankful most WW2 vets arnt around any more..I dont generally enjoying kicking old people in the nutz.

Obama: Turkeys pardoned 10 vs non violent Humans 11

This story just sums up Americans for me. The justice system that everyone feels is broken in sucking the life out of 100,000 people plus their families. Turkeys need to be abused and stuffed with food to get to that weight. The thanksgiving story is bad history. The president that got elected to change things doing more of the same. The American public who isnt outraged at how hurtful this hypocrisy must be for the families of (mostly inappropriately and unproductively) incarcerated Americans.

It seems like such a nice, cute little ceremony. But things stop being cute in the face of blatant hypocrisy. These ceremonies of light become a reminder to those of us with any values whatsoever how far we've fallen. And how America will eat the cake whether its our birthday or not.

Am I missing a zero somewhere?

Interesting article over on the libertarian news website. I dont agree with everything there but apparently it would cost 6 trillion dollars for the government to give every American 20K/year to cover living expense. And thats about how much we bring in with our pathetically low taxes. If we raised taxes on the wealth horders we could cover this and still have a budget to play with. 20k isnt much but since it does include babies and 100yos..I think it would be big net gain in quality of living for the majority. More people could escape the fight for basic survive and take a ride on that land of opportunity bus the rich are always talking about.

Tea party policy causing Florida sinkholes

A couple interesting articles in the Tampa Bay times about how Florida Governor Ricks Scott's campaign promise to deregulate environmental protections have born fruit. First, remember those sinkholes eats up peoples homes? Ya..apparently that is due to overuse of the ground water by farmers. Business get a permit to pump X gallons of water from the underground aquifer and ever since Rick Scott replaced the heads of the agencies who monitor and enforce violation, its really been more about gentle suggestions and asking nicely rather than the fines that are supposed to be levied on violators. There is another story in South Florida about farmers overusing water resources to fight tree diseases, which apparently has no scientific backing whatsoever, to which the State replied we cant fine them because "they were well intended". And of course the farmers have kept overusing even after being told nicely not to since they know the regulators are in their pocket. And then there is this wonderful story about a company called Moasic using millions of gallons of aquifer water to dilute the pollution it spills into the waterways to get around pollution laws.

Regulatory bodies really need to be independent of whoever is governor and the politics of the day.

State wants stability regardless of quality of service

The Huffington post is doing a great series of articles on Youth "facilities" in Florida. My take on this is it doesn't work to privatize jobs no one wants to do and when you do you get so few applicants you are stuck with the very few who apply. Florida is stuck saying we need these kids housed and fed en mass (forget rehabilitated), but taxpayers wont let the State do it cause that looks like "more government" and only a few people want this job, because it requires all sorts of things regular business want nothing to do with. These private businesses who manage the bear minimums become too big to fail in their respective communities since no one else wants/is equipped to do the job.

All I can say is that I've been in an American court room where a judge commit a child to one of these private institutions based on the written advice of a doctor from another private institution, while not providing any competent legal council to argue the child's desire not to be incarcerated. Oh and then there was the judge in Pennsylvania caught doing this for $$.. and the prescription drug companies getting in on this jailing game too

So how do you fire someone managing the care for 40,000 kids ?

Jail doesnt help anyone except the jail companies and the people they spread the wealth too(doctors, lawyers, cops). Policing is a basic function of government and need to be brought back under the pubic umbrella were there is more transparency and better methods to promote change than all or nothing contract/no contract.

Feed America=feed walmart?

Larger food banks no longer accept donations of food from individuals. This is because its a pain in the butt for them to inventory, package and store a multitude of small individually donated items. To their budget it makes more sense to let Walmart deal with warehousing the food and just go shopping with donated cash when you need inventory.

Large food banks, like Feed America, provide the majority of their services to the public school system. They supplement and often run the before and after school lunch programs. The intent of these programs is to provide additional food to kids whos working parents dobnt have the time to cook breakfast and dinner at home or take them to Mcdonalds.

So follow my logic train here. The government (and private doners) gives millions (billions) of dollars to food banks(*cough* middle men), which they spend at Walmart (and other large volume grocers) buying food to feed 10s of millions of American kids. Children who's parents cant afford to feed them or dont have the time to feed them because their wage is low and needs to be supplemented with the second job. A wage kept low by Walmart so its prices stay low and customers (the largest buyer of food being the government and/or private food banks) dont shop elsewhere.

Southpark premiere blew my mind

Great show in its 23123th season just keeps getting better. The new episode ran with the connection between God always watching us and how the NSA is always watching us. So Butters prays to the government to keep him safe..causes its watching us to keep us safe right? Same reason people pray to God..cause they expect God to step in when something bad happens. There is a joke there..but one wonders how different our expectations are of Government and of God. They seem to have similar roles as both are mostly called on to pull our butt out of a fire in an emergency and be ethereal whenever else. In order to calm hysteria about spying and privacy Butters turns the DMV into a confessional. Interesting thing confessionals. Wouldn't it be great if you could go to the government and PRIVATELY talk to someone about all your problems with the promise that they would stay secret and that you would be absolved of accountability (if you followed through with atonement assignment)? How many problems would this fix in our society? . Supposedly the government already knows about all you personal problems since they spy on you..there are just so many scofflaws and "criminals" out there they havnt gotten to you yet.Bad people no longer fear eternal damnation, they fear loosing their freedom. So why not go and talk with the jailer and since you were honest about it they wont follow up with the swat team or 70 consecutive life time sentences. We sort have stuck with our puritan roots regarding incarceration and punishment rather than reform and atonement and it clearly hasnt worked for us. I know..it only will be as good and benign as the people running it. But a serious idea to chew on from South Park.

Government isnt being honest about Syria attacks

Great article about how various governments are spinning what they we know to justify aggression in Syria

Free food for the rich ?

I was talking with the Cuban refugee I work with the other day about what school is like in Cuba and he told me most kids go to school because that is where they get their meals. I guess they have a very "open" casual attendance program where you go to school when you want and leave when you want but most kids stay for the food. This was all in the context of how disappointing he was in the school food here. He said while it tasted fine the portions are so tiny compared to what they fed him at school in Cuba. One possible reason for that : The lunches in Florida schools are now free for every child. Now I am guessing the district is going to be saving money by not having to monitor who is on free/reduced lunch and that is why they are doing this. But if school lunch is free for everyone doesnt that mean more kids will want school lunch? How will an increase in demand and the loss of income from the families who could afford to pay change availability and portion size? Also being lost is the economic/responsibility lesson tied in with lunch money (and the bully aspect which comes with valuable life lessons of its own). Just food for thought.

Obama and Co are soo dishonest

Obama's head lawyers has been in the news for proposing changes to the sentencing laws so that people dont get ridiculous life sentences for minor drug arrests. This sounds great - but the reality is this is just talk..a politician blowing hot air - lying- to look like they are doing something when they are actually part of the problem. Obama has the power and authority to commute these so called unfair sentences and has used it less then any president before him. Less than Bush or Regan. He may say he wants to help people wrongly being fed into the for profit prison machine but his actions speak differently. This is spy on you, lock everyone up and do nothing about travon martin's shooter President. This is a president who sits on his thumbs and does nothing while dictators slaughter their own people.

Politicans talk a lot. Remember what he stands for in 2016. You are gonig to be ignoring my pleas to vote third party and the person you replace him with will be one of the croneys who also likes to break up families and promote the cycle of poverty by jailing 100's of thousands of Americans. 

"God Creep"

The evangelicals have given up on door to door proselytization and gone for a policy of assimilation. One example is Jeb Bush is pushing "education reform"..which is really just Christians trying to get control of the countries education system or at least defund public schools to the point where responsible parents have no choice but to send their kids to private christian schools with vouchers.

The Christians are playing the long game, slowly working their dogma into everyday life. And a by-product of this is that religious people are becoming more comfortable pushing their voodoo on others. Like this Judge who claims "The word Messiah is a title and it's a title that has only been earned by one person and that one person is Jesus Christ" I guess the State of Tennessee now dictates who the Messiah is? How does a person who "feels the Holy Spirit" so strongly get into government office? They pull it off because the Christians are slowly creeping, changing what normal looks like. Bat-Crazy has become nuanced and soon will be mainstream.Here is another Tennesee example though I saw this sorta game played by the Churches in Tulsa too. Churches drive into poor communities in a big truck full of food/clothes claiming to be providing social services..but you only get the goodies if you pray with them and accept Christ in your life.  

Anyone paying attention yet ?

Update : A 2nd private email service says it cant do business in US. I really hope these are pebbles that start an avalanche of freedom...but the weak government our parents have left us wont be ready for it when the opportunity arrives.

This wonderful country took another swipe at Snowden a related businesses. This reminds me when the US government told Amazon to dump wiki links from its web servers and then told Paypal not to accept donations for Wikileaks.

 “This experience has taught me one very important lesson: Without congressional action or a strong judicial precedent, I would _strongly_ recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States.”

Its a rhetorical question as if people are going to do anything..if it doesnt directly affect Americans they dont budge. Not that we have any control at all over what the government chooses to do..is this the "change" you can believe in?

City of Tampa outlaws homelessness

Interesting story. The City of Tampa has passed a law outlawing sleeping in public places and I've got to side with the city on this one.

Once you’re out on the street, you’re done,” Todd explained. “It’s nearly impossible to get out of it.”Brian McLellan, a homeless man who has already been in jail several times for loitering and panhandling, confirmed what the others explained, that the only options for them are the Salvation Army or jail. “There is no affordable housing here, and there are no jobs for us,” he told the WSWS. “The police won’t talk to us about how to make things better. They just arrest us.”

I've seen first hand how homeless people cluster in parks and downtown areas and completely drive away any desire for "regular" people to shop, eat and do business there. And "homelessness" IMHO is a culture - most of the chronic homeless are choosing to be there and live that way. Some are truly stuck but the region built a whole new facility to help these people. The homeless dont like it because its not in the middle of the city where they can beg, barder fro drugs and hump in bushes. Allowing large groups of people to build makeshift settlements anywhere, even under overpasses is not the answer.You cant put them in section 8 housing because they will destroy the rooms. A jail like facility is the best option.

Living wage calculator

Mother Jones magazine put together handy calculator to determine whether the minimum wage job in your area pays a living wage. Basically there is no point in working a minimum wage job if you live anywhere near an urban area because your basic living expenses will exceed your income. Unfortunately people really dont have a choice since the social service net is as holey as swiss cheese. You cant depend on government support and you cant depend on goverment to force companies to offer a living wage. Recently Obama proposed a raise in the minimum wage to 9-something an hour. 9 dollars? 9$ is not anywhere near a living wage. The president argues that if he proposed anything hire the corporations would rebel, fire people, and raise prices and nothing would pass. Which just goes to show what a weak, terrible leader he really he. Walmart already tried this and The D.C. city council called their bluff. My biggest issue with this whole debate is the unfairness of wages. I'm sure the corporations know their businesses, know their customer and know costs. They are prob telling the truth that prices would go up. But they are saying that while paying their top executives millions of dollars a year. No one person "needs" a multi million dollar salary to survive. And we are talking about basic survival needs at the minimum wage level. We need a new minimum wage and a maximum wage and they should be tied together so that one is not grossly out of proportion to the other.

Gov accuses Gallup polling of false claims

I never in my life have been polled by any media, whether by "poffesional" pollsters or just the TV news, nor ever seen evidence anyone going around polling people. Ive often wondered how/where these poll companies get their data and still manage to completely miss me and stay off my radar. Apparently the Justice Dept. would like to know as well.

Lets leave slavery up to the States too

I really hate sounding like fox news but...weakest president ever! Obama keeps punting..whether its kids shot in schools, kids shot in Syria or just one kid shot in Florida. Lets leave justice for Trayvon up to the Florida justice system >? Really? you thought that was a satisfactory answer? Jeez. The man does nothing. Talk is cheap Obama..what happened to "change we could believe in" ?

Jesus wanted accountability

I heard a great line on NRP this morning. "If you know nothing about Jesus of Nazareth other than he was crucified by the Romans - that is all you need to know; Crucifixion was an unusual punishment saved for those who spoke out against the government. The authorities didnt cared about this guy until after he challenged the money changers at the Temple, who were the local symbol of Roman Imperial Governance and Power. "

Does the State Dept ever tell the truth?

John Kerry was spotted chilling on his mega-yacht by members of the press during the recent Egyption coup. When asked why the Seceratry of State was on holiday during a crisis (reminiscent of the president of BP during the gul oil spill) the State dept deliberately misled the press and said he was hard at work.

 “Since his plane touched down in Washington at 4 am, Secretary Kerry was working all day and on the phone dealing with the crisis in Egypt,” Psaki said. “He participated in the White House meeting with the President by secure phone and was and is in non-stop contact with foreign leaders, and his senior team in Washington and Cairo.”

Then the pictures started showing up.

Maybe the guy was working from his yacht or whatever..but the first choice was to be dishonest. Kerry, Edwards, Clinton, Obama. Not a single one of the democrat inner circle has a word you can trust. Bill Clinton set the bar for honesty and transparency with this group and water seeks its own level. Bill Clinton should have been arrested for lying under oath and Hilary, who continues to cover for him, shouldnt ever hold high office that requires integrity. I'm' sorry for the women of the world but Hilary is not an answer for 2016

Why do billion dollar sports programs need handouts?

The country of Brazil has seen some mass protest of late. The government raised the cost of bus tickets, which poor Brazilians use to get to work, while spending tens of billions of dollars on Stadiums for the the upcoming World Cup and Olympics. There is a running joke in Rio that goes "if your child is sick take them to a stadium". To the working poor, it appeared the Brazillian government was putting the needs of FIFA and foreign tourists above the needs of Brazilian citizens who need schools and hospitals and buses none of which get the sort of funding and handholding these stadiums are.

Here in Jacksonville, we have a very similar scenario going down. The city has pledged 43 million dollars to build "The worlds largest scoreboard" for the Jacksonville Jaguars football stadium. Included in the taxpayer funded renovations is a swimmingpool so people can swim and watch football at the same time. Meanwhile the city is closing a community center and 6 libraries  and limiting park hours and well as shuttering a few fire stations. Many schools outside the affluent parts of town are unfit for human habitation.

Now sports do bring with them an economy of their own. They certainly do inject value into the community as well as giving something for the citizens to unite behind. But these industries make millions and billions of dollars. Why do they need handouts when not for profit services like education and healthcare are totally underfunded. How out of touch do you need to be as a politician to promote welfare programs for billion dollar private businesses?Why doesnt the city build a free swimming pool for my business?