And on doing what's best for the average American.
Yeah, they're pro-life, of course.
Until it comes to the poor.
Or when they want young men to go off to wars.
Etc.
It's God's will, for sure.
Showing posts with label The Los Angeles Times. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Los Angeles Times. Show all posts
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Walmart, locally and nationally, yesterday
I saw this a couple days ago:
The bad thing? They polluted. And blatantly so. Worse, then they tried to get away with it.
The good thing? The great thing?
They got caught.
Far better than that, they got penalized for it, and stiffly:
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will pay $81.6 million after pleading guilty on Tuesday to criminal charges of improperly disposing of fertilizer, pesticides and other hazardous products that were pulled from stores in California and Missouri because of damaged packaging and other problems.
The retail giant entered the plea in federal court in San Francisco to misdemeanor counts of violating the Clean Water Act and another environmental law regulating pesticides. The fine also settled Environmental Protection Agency allegations.
Here's the headline from the Star:
Here's hoping they learned their very expensive lesson and don't repeat it.
I'm not holding my breath.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Republicans "unserious about governing"?
There is a terrific article out today at the Washington Post blog, saying just that about the current Republican Party today:
Naturally, they are mostly speaking of the national Republican Party, specifically as it applies to Washington and the federal government.
But what better place represents this as fact than Kansas right now, what with the drug out and long-delayed and even expensive session going on which their Governor Brownback stepped out on last week?
What state better exemplifies the irresponsibility and demagoguery and inability to or interest in compromising with the opposing party?
I can't think of one.
The crazy thing, however, about Kansas is that they--the Republicans--don't have one figure they can conveniently continue to block as they do in Washington with Kenyan/Socialist/Communist/Whatever-they-come-up-with-next President Obama. Far from it.
In Kansas, they have the Senate and the House and the Governor's mansion, all, and they've made clear they want to raise the sales taxes on the middle- and lower-classes while lowering taxes on the already-wealthy and corporations.
Fortunately, to date, they haven't been able to make that stick, in spite of the Governor's political pushes. Something about answering to the people back home, I think.
In the meantime, check out this additional article, this time from the LA Times:
A bit from the article:
WASHINGTON – Although the controversies dominating political headlines eventually might undermine PresidentObama's standing with voters, a longer-term reality – a declining number of people who identify themselves as conservatives – could cause much more trouble for his Republican opponents.
Republicans won big in the 2010 midterm election, taking control of the House and numerous state legislatures. That victory corresponded with a significant increase in the percentage of Americans calling themselves conservative, particularly on economic issues. Since then, however, the percentage has steadily declined, according to an annual "values and beliefs" survey conducted by Gallup.
The latest version shows a further drop, with 41% of Americans calling themselves economic conservatives, down from just over 50% at the 2010 peak. On social issues, the share identifying as conservatives has dropped slightly and is now just more than 1 in 3.
On social issues, the big gain has come among those who call themselves liberals, whose ranks have increased from 22% of adults in 2010 to 30% now. On economic issues, gains have mostly come among those calling themselves moderates, with the percentage of liberals holding relatively steady.
So all I can say is, Republicans, keep it up, please, by all means. You're falling apart and people are running away from you, your party and your ideology and in the meantime, you learn nothing whatever.
I love you, Republican Party.
That said, I and all the rest of us Americans would love you even more if you would come back to reality, do what's best for most Americans, not just the wealthy and corporations, and compromise with the other political party for the betterment of the entire nation.
It's not that much to ask.
It's how things used to work.
It's how things used to work.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Notes on tonight's Golden Globe Awards
1) Jonah Hill? Seriously?
2) Arnold Schwarzenegger? Are you kidding me? Do you have no shame at all?
3) It should have been Tony Kushner
4) Glenn Close--that hair. Wow. That was bad
5) Jodie Foster-- What??
6) Taylor Swift needs to lay low. Taylor Swift needs to not be seen anywhere and/or everywhere for a while. She needs to a) not date or b) if she does date, don't break up or c) if she does date and does break up, for the love of all that is good, don't, for pity's sake, for our sake, don't write yet another song about your latest breakup. Get a new theme. Wow. It's painful out here.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
The biggest and most under- or un-reported story of the year?
Have you seen anything on or about this story?:
Israel accused of air strike on Sudan munitions factory
1,000-mile air raid on Khartoum seen as signal to Iran of ability to attack nuclear facilities
Sudan has complained to the UN security council that Israeli planes bombed a munitions plant in Khartoum, an attack that has been widely interpreted as a warning to Iran over its nuclear programme.
Israeli military commentators said that the Yarmouk facility in the Sudanese capital was owned by Iran and had been used to supply weapons to Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip. The "impressive" reach of the secret operation was said to have demonstrated an ability to hit Iran's nuclear facilities — a similar distance from Israel.
As reverberations continued from Tuesday's 1,000-mile attack, Israel would neither confirm nor deny it was involved. Ehud Barak, the defence minister, said : "There is nothing I can say about this subject." But one of his most senior officials praised the country's air force and called Sudan a "terrorist state".
Get that?
Israel--or someone--flew in, blew up a nation's nuclear facilities LAST TUESDAY, flew out and there has been precious little news coverage of it here in the States.
I was told about it earlier in the week by a friend but hadn't seen or heard anything of it and I'm a rabid news hound. I had to do a Google search to find these links and stories.
This has got to be one of the biggest stories of the year, to date, and simultaneously, one of the most unreported or under-reported of the year, I believe. It has huge implications and potential ramifications for the world, really, since it deals so much with the Middle East.
The scary part--the really scary part--is that naturally Sudan has already said they will "retaliate," of course. Naturally.
Oh, boy.
It's a huge, huge story with incredible international implications but I--a newshound--haven't heard a thing about it. That is freaking weird. It's also grossly irresponsible on the part of the American news media, I think, unless I've only just missed it.
"Hang on to your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night."
Links: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/25/israel-accused-sudan-munitions-air-strike
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/25/israeli-sudanese-factory-secret-war
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/24/world/la-fg-sudan-airstrike-20121025
Friday, October 12, 2012
Walmart in Missouri: the company with the most government dependents
I've been seeing a recurring post out on the interwebs this week, saying Walmart stores have more employees on food stamps than any other.
So I searched it.
And voila, look what I found:
Missouri
In October 2009 the state Department of Social Services finally fulfilled a requirement contained in a law passed in 2007 by publishing a list of the companies with the most employees (and their dependents) participating in the state's Medicaid program, known as MO HealthNet (MHN). At the top of the list is Wal-Mart, which was found to have 1,555 employees enrolled in MHN and another 3,040 employees with dependents enrolled in MHN.
Source: Missouri Department of Social Services, MO HealthNet Employer Match Report: First Quarter 2009, October 21, 2009; online at http://dss.mo.gov/mhd/general/pdf/emp-match.pdf
Original source for the larger article, showing state-by-state statistics: http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/corporate-subsidy-watch/hidden-taxpayer-costs
Nice, huh?
In the meantime, there's this from the LA Times on the Walton family:
Wal-Mart heirs worth as much as bottom 41.5% of American families
And this:
Walton Family Lands Combined $3.3 Billion On Wal-Mart's Biggest Gain In 3 Years
Seriously, if you still shop there, would you please stop? It's not good for you, in the bigger picture, even with lower prices, and it's patently bad for America.
Finally, know, too that Arvest Bank is owned by a Walton family member.
Don't. Just don't.
Links: http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/18/business/la-fi-mo-walmart-heirs-20120718
http://www.forbes.com/sites/calebmelby/2012/05/17/walton-family-lands-combined-3-3-billion-on-wal-marts-biggest-gain-in-3-years/
http://walmart1percent.org/top-reasons-the-walton-family-and-walmart-are-not-job-creators/
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Israeli military: above the law, decency, humanity and international law
An Israeli judge ruled today that their nation's military was in no way responsible for the death of a protester he bulldozed because the Israeli government wanted to destroy homes in the Gaza Strip. The news and headline today:
Israel judge rules Rachel Corrie responsible for her own death
Parents of American activist Rachel Corrie fail in their attempt to place blame on Israel after their daughter was killed by a bulldozer in Gaza at a protest
JERUSALEM — Nine years after their daughter was crushed by an Israeli military bulldozer in the Gaza Strip, the parents of American activist Rachel Corrie lost their legal bid Tuesday to hold Israel responsible for her death and force authorities to reopen the investigation.
A Haifa judge rejected the parent's negligence lawsuit, calling Corrie's death an accident that she brought upon herself by refusing to leave what had been declared a closed military zone. "It was a very regrettable accident and not a deliberate act," said Judge Oded Gershon.
And sure, people will take sides--the driver did see her, he didn't, whatever.
As you can tell here--and as you would guess if you know me--I'm on the side of the protester and her family. I find it at least extremely difficult to believe that the driver of the bulldozer didn't see her or know she was there. She "was wearing a fluorescent orange jacket and standing just a few feet away" from the bulldozer and driver at the time.
In fact, I'll go one step further on this. I feel sure the official order from the Israeli government was to go forward with the destruction of the homes no matter what. It may well have been only spoken but I feel strongly that was their position.
This flies in the face of decency and of humanity, as I said in the title, above, but it also goes against international law. A nation and its government isn't supposed to tear down anyone's home, regardless.
Was the young lady--Rachel Cory, 23--pushing her luck?
Apparently the answer to that is yes.
Did the right thing happen? Should she have been killed so a nation's government could tear down homes they didn't want?
Absolutely not.
Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/middleeast/la-fg-israel-corrie-verdict-20120829,0,4476903.story
Monday, July 30, 2012
Salutations, Anaheim
Police State!
(Sung to the tune of the "Mickey Mouse TV Show") Based on the rash of police shootings of late. See links below.
Who's the holder of the club
That beats on you and me
P-O-L-I-C-E S-T-A-T-E
Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there
You're as bloodied as can be
P-O-L-I-C-E S-T-A-T-E
Police State!
Police State!
Forever let us hold our banner
High! High! High! High!
Come along and sing a song
And join the jamboree!
P-O-L-I-C-E S-T-A-T-E
Police State club
We'll have guns
We'll kick new faces
High! High! High! High!
We'll shoot people
We'll go places
All around the world
We'll go marching
Who's the holder of the club
That beats on you and me
P-O-L-I-C-E S-T-A-T-E
Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there
You're as bloodied as can be
P-O-L-I-C-E S-T-A-T-E
Police State!
Police State!
Forever let us hold our banner
High! High! High! High!
Come along and sing a song
And join the jamboree!
P-O-L-I-C-E S-T-A-T-E
Links: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/police-shooting-civilians
http://pocho.com/pocho-ocho-excuses-anaheim-pd-gave-for-shooting-civilians/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/23/manuel-diaz-police-shooting-protests_n_1694459.html
And then, earlier this year, from the other side of the nation: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/25/nypd-occupy-protests-report
Thanks and credit to one Chris Lowe--from and on Facebook--for lyrics, above.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition (and guns. Lots more guns)
Here we go again.
Yet another gun-toting chucklehead, shooting up a public space in America and killing, this time, a dozen innocent people while wounding approximately 50.
I am convinced that we, as a country, as a nation, as a people will certainly not learn anything from this, this time around, if ever, and that the guns and gun culture will continue ad infinitum.
Because, after all, guns don't really kill people, do they?
Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-colorado-shooting-update-batman-20120720,0,5201212.story
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Good for the country--Republicans won't like it
Monday, February 13, 2012
The movie(s) 3-D was made for
Face it, all the "Star Wars" movie technology was made for. Now if they'd just get on with the original, first 3 films. Yi. Don't make us wait.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Kansas City's own Joyce DiDonato wins a Grammy!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Quote of the day
“Some people think that you can’t let same-sex couples get married without changing the definition of the word 'marriage.' When we let openly gay people join the army, did we have to change the definition of the word 'Army'? Did Rosa Parks make us change the definition of the word 'bus'?It’s one thing to blame the Bible for your bigotry, but don’t blame the dictionary.” --Bill Smith, attorney, California
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Two conclusions about Arizona
Friday, December 30, 2011
How great would this be?
Here's the deal--you're Margaret Thatcher. You're not especially physically attractive and you fight your way to the top of British politics. You're also into very austere, punishing, Right-wing, Conservative, heartless government.
And that's just the beginning. Much later, after you've long-since retired, none other than Meryl-freaking-Streep is tapped to play you on the big screen.
Further proof, as though we needed it, that life is grossly, grossly, too frequently punishingly unfair. (Think happy thoughts, campers).
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
A haunting, beautiful, sad tale
From The Los Angeles Times today: Texas teen dies on Christmas, leaves online message Ben Breedlove died on Christmas, leaving behind a wordless, two-part YouTube video message about chronic illness, death and the afterlife viewed more than 450,000 times as of Wednesday.
In the first part of the video, posted Dec. 18, the teen starts out smiling, brown hair neatly parted, staring into the camera and holding up the first card, written in blue marker. The only sound is instrumental music playing in the background, Gary Jules' "Mad World." I'll leave the rest to him:
Monday, December 19, 2011
Great, breaking news on solar energy
Check it out: Breakthrough could double solar energy output "A new discovery from a chemist at the University of Texas at Austin may allow photovoltaic solar cells to double their efficiency, thus providing loads more electrical power from regular sunlight.
Not only that, but it’s way cheap."
And that's not the end of the good news:
"Breakthroughs in the solar industry seem to be coming fast of late. Just two weeks ago we heard about researcher Douglas Keszlar at Oregon State University in Corvallis, who is studying the photovoltaic potential of fool’s gold– pyrite – and discovered instead that some more ordinary materials could make improved photovoltaics, especially iron silicon sulfide. Once again, the advantage would be that it’s hyperefficient and cheap."
I'm telling you, one day in the not too distant future, we will be able to have photovoltaic cells all over our homes, our office buildings and cars and they will generate their own electricity, far, far cleaner than we create that same energy today and with, obviously, far less pollution and carbon dioxide released. We won't need big, expensive, crushing utility companies any longer.
Think about it. As the song says, "It's a new dawn. It's a new day."
Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/environment/la-me-gs-breakthrough-double-solar-energy-output-20111216,0,3897047.story
Saturday, November 26, 2011
From LA and their Times paper to KC
Sunday, November 6, 2011
From Mizzou: It's official
Word out today is that Missouri is officially moving to the SEC. Love it or hate it, that's what's happening. So it goes. Link: http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/missouri-sec-deal-14892450
Monday, August 29, 2011
Hurricane and floods, of course: Next up? Wildfires on the West Coast
2011 will, I think, go down as the year of all years, in terms of weather, it seems. With Texas and Oklahoma, at least, broiling in the sun and high, high temperatures, and then all the flooding from the North central part of the country--Montana and the Dakotas--South, following the Missouri and then Mississippi Rivers. This weekend's Hurrican Irene didn't help things any and now wildfires have broken out on the West Coast in California, in and around Yosemite. I refuse to lay this at the feet of global warming or climate change, though that may well be what's contributing to it all. Instead, I merely watch the ice caps and glaciers melting and know those are surely far bigger examples of global warming's handiwork. Links: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/08/wildfire-outside-yosemite-forces-evacuations.html; http://www.google.com/#hl=en&cp=22&gs_id=1v&xhr=t&q=Yosemite+wildfires+news&pq=yosemite+wildfires&pf=p&sclient=psy&source=hp&pbx=1&oq=Yosemite+wildfires+new&aq=0w&aqi=q-w1&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=87cd2c56f2a7d925&biw=1424&bih=711
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