(from The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche by H.L. Mencken)
". . . The ignorant man solves this problem in a very simple manner: he holds that whatever he believes, he knows; and that whatever he knows is true. This is the attitude of all amateur and professional theologians, politicians and other numbskulls of that sort. . . "
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(http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/27/parody-politician-is-new-star-in-serbia-presidential-race.html)
". . . Ahead of Serbia's presidential election (and Aleksandar Vucic's victory). . . a political parody . . . emerged as a true star. . . His real name is Luka Maksimovic, but the 25-year-old student bidding to become the Balkan country's next leader has won fame — and public support — appearing as a grossly exaggerated politician, complete with a white suit, oversized jewelry and a man bun. . . Campaigning as a sleazy, loud. . . character who makes wild promises and whose triumph is foretold by fortune tellers, Maksimovic has won over many in crisis-stricken Serbia, which has been plagued by political corruption and is eager for new faces and ideas. . .Opinion polls have predicted that Maksimovic could win around 11 percent of the vote Sunday, trailing the powerful populist Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic but surpassing several other established candidates. . ."
(from http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/7/1481253/-THE-WORM-HAD-TURNED-Barring-unforeseeable-events-Bernie-Sanders-will-be-the-Democratic-nominee)
". . . The party's elected politicians would rally to her as the presumptive nominee—and they did. Donors were lined up for a big haul—and they gave. The media would willingly marginalize Sanders—and they tried. And the voters could be quickly frightened with specters of Republicans into sticking with the establishment candidate—but they weren't. . . Despite every institutional advantage and a made-to-order GOP horror show, voters could not be scared away from Sanders. The more intently the machine insisted upon Clinton, the more suspect Clinton became. . ."
My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak
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I understand the principle of compromise and the importance of it in the contact of the legislative branch of government. And I understand that if this bill does not pass it will be more difficult to arrive at a reasonable one with the new congress as it tilts further to the right. But politicians who are in the pockets of giant banks (or other corporations) have absolutely NO right to talk about the lack of compromise in our current congress when the only compromise they want to see is one that succumbs to the well-heeled lobbyists working for those banks and corporations. Compromise is, and will always be necessary in the process of making laws. But the laws should be of benefit to all the people and not just to a privileged, monied few.
(from NBCNews.com)
". . . Taking to the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon, Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts urged those in her party to oppose the spending bill because of the financial policy language, calling it "a giveaway to most powerful banks in this country." "This is a democracy, and the American people didn't elect us to stand up for Citigroup, they elected us to stand up for all the people," she said. . . "
This bill is dangerous in loosening up on the giant Banks. Have we all forgotten 2007-2008? Our banks managed to bring down the entire global economy. Do we want to see that AGAIN??!!
OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
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(By binaryloop, at http://libertycrier.com/forum/congress-quietly-repeals-insider-trading-ban/)
While Congress might be stuck in a deadlock on just about every issue imaginable, there’s one piece of legislation that both Democrats and Republicans hate unanimously: the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, a law passed last year designed to prevent insider trading among lawmakers and government officials by requiring them to post disclosures of their financial transactions online.
Both parties and both houses of Congress hated the disclosure portion of the law so much that it was repealed last Friday (4/12/13) without debate—the measure was sent to the President by unanimous consent. The ordeal took about 10 seconds in the Senate and 14 seconds in the House, according to official records.
The STOCK Act would have required members of Congress, their aides, and other federal employees making more than $119,554 a year to disclose their financial dealings in an online database. It was supposed to prevent government officials from using insider knowledge about policy-making to profit from stock trades and other investments.
Upon the signing of the bill into law last year (pictured above), President Barack Obama said, “The idea that everybody plays by the same rules is one of our most cherished American values. It’s the notion that the powerful shouldn’t get to create one set of rules for themselves and another set of rules for everybody else, and if we expect that to apply to our biggest corporations and to our most successful citizens, it certainly should apply to our elected officials—especially at a time when there is a deficit of trust between this city and the rest of the country.” The White House has not said whether the President will sign the repeal.
Despite the repeal, government officials will still have to file disclosures of securities trades over $1,000 within 45 days, but they no longer have to file them in a searchable database that was to be easily accessible to the public.
Congress and the President had delayed the online posting portion of the act from going into effect 3 times already, but the ultimate repeal came after the National Academy of Public Administration, a nonprofit group, found that publishing the information would create an “unwarranted risk to national security and law enforcement, as well as threaten agency missions, individual safety and privacy,” in a report delivered last month. The group suggested that the online posting requirements should be suspended indefinitely.
Lisa Rosenberg of the Sunlight Foundation, a nonprofit group advocating for government transparency, said that the repeal “sets an extraordinarily dangerous precedent suggesting that any risks stem not from information being public but from public information being online.“
[from http://www.truthdig.com/report/item
the_crucifixion_of_tomas_young_20130310/]
. . . "(Thomas)Young will die for our sins. He will die for a war that should never have been fought. He will die for the lies of politicians. He will die for war profiteers. He will die for the careers of generals. He will die for a cheerleader press. He will die for a complacent public that made war possible. He bore all this upon his body. He was crucified. And there are hundreds of thousands of other crucified bodies like his in Baghdad and Kandahar and Peshawar and Walter Reed medical center. Mangled bodies and corpses, broken dreams, unending grief, betrayal, corporate profit, these are the true products of war. Tomas Young is the face of war they do not want you to see. . . "
Yet Bush, Chaney and Rumsfeld are free, and wealthy men.
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(from http://truth-out.org/news/item/11792-the-israel-lobby-and-how-it-operates)
". . . Step One: A lobbyist, in this case someone from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), approaches Congresspersons or Senators. At some point in time that means every single one of them has been approached: all 435 voting members of Congress and every one of the 100 voting members of the Senate. Party affiliation is not an issue here.
Step Two: The lobbyist offers to organize financial campaign assistance, positive media coverage, briefings on situations in the Middle East, trips to Israel, etc.
Step Three: All that is asked in return is that the recipient consistently vote in a pro-Israel way. In other words, AIPAC wants the politician to surrender a part of his or her mind to them — that part that might exercise critical and considered judgment on issues pertaining to Israel.
Step Four: There are several unspoken, but publicly acknowledged, consequences of turning down this offer, or alternatively, managing to get elected on your own and then voting the wrong way.
1. If you say no, the same offer will be made to your opponent both at the primary and general election levels.
2. If you are elected and vote against Israel, AIPAC will do all it can, sooner or later, to see you defeated. It has a good record of turning such people out of office.
Step Five: If you sign up for this Faustian bargain and are elected, the lobby becomes your permanent partner. It is a constant presence. Its agents are always hovering about, rating your performance, letting you know they are there. Prove yourself reliable and they will underwrite you for life. . .
President Obama made this bargain as solidly as have most other politicians in Washington. . ."
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AMBIENCE & WINE
. . . I'm not talking about the jury in the famous play and movie. I'm not talking about the twelve sons of Jacob or the followers of Jesus. Not 12 bad habits that hold good people back, not twelve good men and true. . .
No. I heard a politician on the radio this morning refer to the Congressional "'Super Committee' as twelve GOOD people who worked hard" to reduce the deficit. Almost FOUR months! And NO DEAL! COME ON!!!
Now the final insult from our public servants. No deal after all this time, fuss and their refusal to take the well being of their constituents seriously. And the same, one, big, clear point of disagreement remains - TAXES!!
And even the rich people that the Republicans refuse to tax WANT to take on the extra burden. (See the news last week.)
I URGE the "Occupy" groups to take on this one issue and I'll be specific about how I think it should be done. Here's your chance to show the world that you DO HAVE AN AGENDA. What better way to help the 99% than by removing the 1% from power. My suggestion. . .
Occupy Washington DC and recall the ENTIRE CONGRESS. WHO NEEDS THESE PEOPLE to continue pretending to serve us? We certainly don't.
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(from MSNBC) . . . Perry said, "Mitt, while you were the governor of Massachusetts ... you were 47th in the nation in job creation," Perry said in a challenge to Romney's economic credentials. "What we need is somebody who can draw a bright line between themselves and President Obama, and let me tell you one thing: I will draw that bright contrast."
Romney responded by dredging up Perry's work as a young Texas politician in support of Al Gore's 1988 presidential campaign.
"With regard to track record and the past, governor, you were the chairman of Al Gore's campaign. And there was a fellow Texan named George Bush running," Romney said. "So if we're looking at the past, I think we know where you were."
(The non-partisan Politifact determined that Perry was not Gore's campaign chairman, but rather, simply a single supporter.)
The showdown between Romney and Perry was, in some respects, the one that political observers had hoped for since Perry entered the race in mid-August. The Texas governor overtook Romney, the campaign's putative frontrunner, in the polls, but has seen his numbers decline since then. . .
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. . . for a smart and savvy politician to step up and say, "These Wall Street protesters are correct" - Simply because THEY ARE. I don't think many people would argue that the housing bubble-burst and the financial meltdown were the result of excessive GREED on the part of those in a position to exhibit increasingly large amounts of GREED - OOOORRRR - show some RESTRAINT with regards to their POCKETBOOKS and simply accept a SMALLER PROFIT (or at least remain satisfied to cover costs) IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE NATION!!
from WBAL-TV, Baltimore... "President Barack Obama discussed the growing movement, saying demonstrators "are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about how our financial system works."
Speaking at a White House news conference, Obama also defended the country's financial sector, which has taken the brunt of protesters' criticism, focusing on Wall Street and its regulators' purported role in expanding economic disparities.
"We have to have a strong, effective financial sector in order for us to grow," the president said.
Still, Obama discussed a need to pursue action aimed at improving government oversight and blamed Republican lawmakers for obstructing financial reforms.
Friday marked the 21st day of the grass-roots Wall Street protests.
Demonstrations have erupted in more than a dozen cities throughout the week, ranging from thousands who marched in lower Manhattan Wednesday after receiving support from local unions, to the dozens of college students who staged walkouts at various college campuses.
The movement started in New York and some of the protests there have been marred by scuffles with police.
New York authorities set up at least one vehicle checkpoint as police appeared in larger numbers throughout the financial district Thursday and established a perimeter around Zuccotti Park, which is considered a rallying point for the largely leaderless movement in that city.
"We hope that our message continues to resonate with everyone who has felt disenfranchised by the current state of our country," said Tyler Combelic, a spokesman for the Occupy Wall Street group."
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. . in forgiving. . . holding no grudge. . . showing mercy, tolerance, empathy etc. . .
But is it my imagination or does it seem that our public servants are becoming more and more depraved? Take the case of the recently discovered (and more recently admitted) and aptly named Anthony WEINER, for example.
Of course our professional legislators and executives are only human beings, and most folks know that FDR had extramarital relations. And don't forget John Kennedy, who may be the Julio Iglesias of politicians - but that is unverifiable by this writer and neither here nor there all the same. But ever since Bill (S.E.G.) Clinton faced a grand jury and said, ""It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the--if he--if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not--that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement....Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true." Granted, the Republican accusers were merciless in their glee in catching old Bill in the act (so to speak). But nevertheless, would you really want to buy a used car from a guy like Clinton, let alone let him run your country?
Well, that's now ancient history. But you know, the above printed quote from the former president sounds uncannily and unsettlingly like a female candidate (non-candidate?) of the opposite party, for president currently in it's sentence structure, thoughtfulness, sincerity and articulation of clear, concise thought. . .
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