The Republican Impervious to Reason Litmus Test

In 1546 the Roman Catholic Church condemned Copernicus because he believed that the planets circled the sun. In 1633 Galileo was denounced and sanctioned for supporting the theory. It wasn't until 1939 that the church officially admitted the mistake. Today we see a similar problem with the, blame it mostly on religion and American jingoism, Republican party which requires its leaders to pass a difficult litmus test. The requirements are outlined in an editorial in the St Louis Post-Dispatch called "Eight myths to chill an old-school Republican soul".

#SharedSacrifice - It's Time To Stand Up To The Bullshit Attacks On The Middle Class

"The middle class is collapsing". Most Americans agree with Bernie Sanders, whether they like him or not. Congress is incapable of acting because both parties have sold out to the corporate oligarchy. Join the conversation via the twitter hash-tags #SharedSacrifice or #USDOR

The Dollar Redesign Project

The dollar redesign project has some interesting examples of new designs ideas for our paper currency. For some reason I have a feeling conservatives wouldn't like the set of designs that include the FDR $100 bill below or the design for a new one dollar bill.

How To Rape Your Mother (Earth) And Like It - From Your Friendly American Petroleum Institute

In the name of profit and greed the energy companies and their public lobbying voice The American Petroleum Institute continue to promote the lie that mining of Canada's tar sands only consideration should be creating jobs and a freedom from foreign oil. They never talk about reducing oil consumption through conservation or the extensive environmental and health damage these mining methods cause. Nor do they ever mention the enormous consequences tar sand mining has on carbon emissions and climate change.

In reality these methods have caused major environmental damage, are making people sick and adding significantly to the world's carbon emissions that drive climate change. The institute is the mouthpiece and lobbyist for the oil industry.

The ads almost always promote the safety and the abundance of energy sources that are "right underneath your feet". We only have to  exploit these hidden sources to create "thousands" of jobs and reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.  If only the politicians, environmentalist, and your mother, the earth, would just get out of the way.

"Gee whiz I didn't know that" the friendly female voice interjects...

Here's an example of the API's sweet and family friendly bullshit....



and here's a report on the widespread destruction related to tar sands mining in Canada:

US Day Of Rage Gathers Steam - Non Violent Organization Ramps Up Protests Against The Corporate Oligarchy

After many months of building an organization US Day of Rage has launched its new website today. The organization, which up until now has been mainly based around social media and twitter, is now moving on to the next phase of non violent protest with a national effort for boots on the ground citizen protests in key cities and state capitols around the country directly aimed at the corrupted and corporate controlled political system .

USDOR believes that most of the evils and inequities citizens experience in the course of their daily lives can be traced directly back to well meaning citizens relinquishing political power to this global network of corporations and a political system that continues to be co-opted by them. USDOR's main aim is presently focused on stopping corruption they believe is caused by the out of control and unregulated influence that corporate contributions have on our political system.

USDOR has setup an extensive social media network on tweeter and facebook to facilitate these planned future people protests.

Here is excerpt from the USDOR manifesto with links for those who may want to get involved:

Corporate influence corrupts our political parties, our elections, and the institutions of government.

Bought by hard and soft dollars, disloyal, incompetent, and wasteful special interests have usurped our nation’s civil and military power, spawning a host of threats to liberty and our national security.

We have had enough.

Legitimate government is born of the self-interest and will of the people expressed by its citizens in free and fair elections. It does not spring from a tyranny of corporate or royal patronage, or a system or ideology that runs counter to the aims of life.

The institutions of government were designed to protect the principles of our democratic republic and to serve the will of citizens.

Corporations, even those owned by foreign shareholders, use money to act as the voices of millions, while individual citizens, the legitimate voters, are silenced and demoralized by the farce.

Free and fair elections inspire good citizenship and public service, because they engage the intelligence and genuine good will of the American people.

They produce the kind of stewardship our nation desperately needs, because they ensure that citizens can influence their destiny, and make genuine contributions to society.

Free and fair elections remedy the myriad ills and abuses of a corrupt and illegitimate government, which preys on the resources and spirits of citizens. These abuses and ills are listed on the official US Day of Rage twitter hash tag #usdor.

For these reasons, we come together now to organize a national and non-violent protest.

We demand that integrity be restored to our elections.

One citizen. One dollar. One vote.

For many citizens understanding and dealing with the scope of the problem of runaway corporate influence on our political institutions and our lives has been a daunting undertaking.

We came across this piece via The Raw Story where Pulitzer-winning author and former New York Times reporter Chris Hedges offers his revolutionary world-view. In the video below, his recent “Endgame Strategy” piece for AdBusters is read aloud by George Atherton.

Boeing Outsourcing - Runaway Shop Tactics Translate Into Poorly Built & Engineered Planes

Boeing's greedy once admired barons of the airline industry continue to commits hari-kari.....

The freaking bottom line is the only thing that matters to these wizards of industry nowadays. Not loyalty to their employees, not patriotism, not loyalty to  the communities that help them become the rich and powerful entities they became. Anybody with a pea brain knows that The Boeing Company ran to South Carolina to avoid having to bargain with the Machinist Union and the other unions here in Washington State that for most of their existence as a company built their planes. It's an unfair labor practice to do that. Or it used to be a unfair labor practice.

Everyone thought that The NLRB has been neutered by a succession of anti-worker federal administrations and political sellouts. But recently it offered up a ruling on the Boeing move to South Carolina that made it look like the old NLRB. The one setup in the 1930's to protect the collective bargaining rights of workers. The ruling said that Boeing moved its plant to avoid the union and by doing so had discriminated against the machinists in Washington State because of their union activities.

The underlying problem, that the company doesn't seem to get, is that the Boeing Company doesn't build planes that are as good as the ones they used to build. Why you may ask, outsourcing work to unproven factories and workers across the globe, many experts believe, caused the delays, engineering quality drop offs and skyrocketing cost of the next generation 787 Dreamliner. Which is now several years behind schedule.

Build it cheap instead of building a quality product was the company's new mantra. Forget the fact that Seattle is the envy of the nation because of its skilled workforce, especially when it comes to building jet planes. Yes, maybe we demanded more money and our dignity, but it was worth ever penny. Boeing's name used to be synonymous with quality built planes, but not so much now. Washington State ate, slept, and breathed The Boeing Company. Generation after generation of Northwest family members worked at the company. It says much about the supposed loyalty this company had for this community.

The gnashing of teeth and whining over the NLRB decision by these pompous corporate dolts and their right wing scab cronies would lead you to think someone killed their first born child. They beleive their good businessmen, but in the end whether the machinist union wins the day or not Boeing will have destroyed the goose who laid their golden egg because of their greed and disloyalty to this community that's played a key role in making them successful in the first place.

A Libertarian Paradise - Free Of Government Regulation

The Real Cost Of Filling Up?

via: grist

The Trickle Down Bull Crap Argument Rules The Day

Chart of the day. Corporate taxes are now lower then during the administration's of Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush. The standard Republican argument is that lower taxes on the rich create jobs, but research shows that exactly the opposite is true. But the lying continues.

Instead of creating jobs what has been created are massive cuts in government services,  programs, jobs, health care and aid to education. The effect of this is to exacerbates the economic stagnation we find ourselves in today. More government spending is needed now, not less. The Democratic Party's strategy should be to articulate this message effectively instead of running from it.

via: Best of the Blogs

36th District Democrats Endorse Yes Vote On Tunnel Referendum #1

At least two-thirds of active PCO and other key Democrats located in the neighborhoods that border both ends of the proposed AWV Hwy 99 Tunnel have now endorsed the project. The 36th District composed of the Queen Anne, Magnolia, Ballard, Phinney Ridge, Belltown, Fremont, and Greenwood neighborhoods recommended a yes vote yesterday. The 34th District comprising West Seattle and Vashon Island's neighborhoods endorsed a YES vote on the tunnel referendum last week.

These are the people that have direct experience traveling the Hwy 99 corridor and not eggheads sitting at the Stranger, in the Mayor's or councilperson O'Brien's office kept busy trying to make up sanctimonious and negative shit about building the tunnel. Both the 34th and 36th require a 2/3 majority of those voting for an endorsement.

Most elected officials have long supported the tunnel as the best option to replace the crumbling Alaskan Way Viaduct. Officials estimate that $800 million dollars would be lost if  tunnel construction were stopped now. Opponents have offered little in the way of actual concrete ideas on how to handle the traffic or what it would cost should the tunnel not be completed thereby  putting ALL traffic onto surface streets or the already gridlocked I-5.

Eh- Some Drunks High on Molson's and 220's Trash Vanhoserville Tarnish Lord Stanley's Legacy Forever - Bruins Suck

Ironic thought.... working class can't connect the dots.. The government can send your sons, daughters brothers and sisters off to fight and die in some questionable foreign war. Runaway corporations and banks can steal the people's money and put deadly pollutants into the environment and poison the food supply with impunity. The government can take away your ability to effectively bargain for better working conditions. The rich can exploit the poor without punishment. The political system is so corrupt and unresponsive that it is almost entirely ineffective. Your civil rights have been co-opted in favor of a police state mentality and fear mongering.

Wait a minute that's the US not Canada. Maybe not....

The only thing apparently that really pisses you off enough to take to the streets in Canada is losing a fucking ice hockey championship. The chant "fuck the bruins, fuck the bruins" while you destroying a police car is a rather haunting non sequitur.

These hockey riots reflect the anger of the young with those in power, with authority in general and with the status quo enforcer police. The general perception by the young is that society has failed to create justice and equity or a Stanley cup champion.  The large crowds of disgruntled  hosers fresh from losing the championship game and high on Molson's and 220's  provided an opportunity for them to manifest some Canadian misdirected working class anger, eh?

Lopping Off Some Super Rich Wiener

This is the shit the mainstream media should  be talking about instead of Weiner-gate 24/7. Fucking hacks!

Transportation Not The Only Reason: Building The AWV Tunnel Will Create 30,000 Jobs

Progressives and some economists on the left say that we need a new stimulus plan now to ward off a double dip recession. Though a Republican controlled congress probably won't go for that. Seattle is lucky because if we are smart and bold we won't need the wing nuts in Congress to create a stimulus program of our own. The plan of which I speak will create 30.000 mostly union wage high paying new jobs in the region. All we have to do is stop the egghead reasoning, nit-picking and misleading information campaign by obstructionist who continues to interfere with moving forward.

What could this stimulus program be you may ask?  It's simple, build the deep bore tunnel.

One of the most compelling reasons for building the tunnel in this jobless economy is that it will create lots of jobs. In fact years of union wage construction jobs and other jobs at new and existing businesses that will come with the eventual transportation improvements and revitalization of the entire waterfront.

We have only to overcome one final hurdle. We can do it by voting YES on Proposition #1 August 16th. Your pioneer square waitress will thank you later when the establishment she works at is full of tunnel construction workers having lunch.

Message To Youth: Being A Misfit Is Always A Good Thing

I'm put off by beer commercials where the subtle message is that it's unmanly to be different. This goes beyond beer commercials really, because it's a general trend in America. If your a misfit, the thinking goes, your supposed to be ostracized as a mental case. I know I'm telling you something you already may know. But, I think lots of people need to be reminded of the fact that people who choose to be different are always the ones who create the really meaningful things in life. Young people especially need to hear this message because of the overwhelming peer pressure they experience when they find out they may not be the same as their contemporaries wish them to be.

Style arbiter Glenn O'Brien (great last name) talks about how men's fashion is effected by this peer pressure to conform.

Patty Murray Playing Key Role In Effort To Keep Dems Majority In Senate

Many insiders think it will be a uphill battle. Murray has taken on the challenge as the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Many give Murray credit for raising more money than the Republican counterpart Senate campaign at this stage of the game.

Just Keep Telling Yourself That Climate Change Is Total Bullshit

But, maybe you won't... after you watch this video.

Removal Of South End Of Viaduct 6 Months Ahead Of Schedule

Who needs a fancy tunnel anyway? Motorists and businesses who regularly need to use the Hwy 99 corridor overwhelmingly say we do.

The viaduct was closed Saturday so that state Department of Transportation crews could tear down two columns to make way for the new southbound Highway 99. It reopened late Saturday night. "We're scheduled to take down the south end of the viaduct here six months early,"  says Matt Preedy of the state DOT. But right now workers need room, so they closed northbound lanes from the West Seattle Bridge to Royal Brougham. Southbound lanes were completely shut down Saturday. "Then you don't have many options left, right? - when the viaduct is closed," said one motorist who was caught in the jam. This weekend's gridlock could be a glimpse at traffic in October, when the viaduct will close for nine days so crews can knock down nearly a mile of elevated road. If nothing else, the weekend closure shows just how dependent Seattle is on the viaduct,  and how much strain it causes when the major thoroughfare is not available. (via KOMO story on this weekend's closure of the viaduct)

Happy Birthday Ted Fliss

Ted was a quintessential Queen Anne boy and raconteur friend of mine who pasted away in February. Today would of been his 66th birthday. I found this rare Polaroid the other day that Ted sent me in 1967, when he was in Vietnam. At the time I was in the Army stationed in Germany. There was no letter with the photo, only a short note on the back that said, Ah sucker, Watcha doing?

Georgetown Carnival Happens Saturday Noon To 8pm

Be sure to check out the Freakatorium.

Need A Date With Someone Who Loves Cats?

Attention online daters, here's a creepy ad that was apparently posted on eHarmony as this cat lady's video Bio. Meow!



via: The Daily Dish