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Last night was the best free entertainment I’ve had in years. After living 48 years in the Sunset District I finally had a chance to step into the United Irish Cultural Center. I have to say it was a real treat and getting to meet most of the mayoral candidates and hear them talk was just icing on the cake.Last night was the best free entertainment I’ve had in years. After living 48... more
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Tweet
This is a teaser to an article i wrote on Examiner.com"
"Proverbs 23:7a, "As a person thinketh in their heart, so are they." http://bit.ly/lOnOzU
On Twitter.com, there is an atmosphere of constructive intellectual exchange that challenges and causes each of us to think about why we believe what we believe. The internet represents a similar component of technological advance as Movable Type did to the First Enlightenment* (1650AD-1800AD). Twitter.com, Facebook.com and MySpace.com are analogous the coffeehouses and debating clubs of First Enlightenment. Through these electronic forums, Information and Ideas are being freely exchanged at a rate too fast for most governments to adapt to (for the purpose of maintaining their own power and the status quo)
One of my fellow Citizens and Patriots, responding to one of my “tweets” suggested that a split was occurring amongst WE THE PEOPLE in general and, in particular, those of us who take a greater interest in Liberty, Freedom and Politics.
My fellow citizen and cohort described this perceived split as "Libertarian" vs "Conservative". Before I say more, I thank my said cohort for bouncing their ideas off from me, so I would be inspired to reflect upon what causes me to believe what I believe in this regard. I hope that each of you are enlightened by our exchange of ideas...."
Continue reading on Examiner.com Strap on your thinking caps if you love Freedom - Locke vs Hobbes - Minneapolis Independent | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/independent-in-minneapolis/strap-on-your-thinking-caps-if-you-love-freedom-locke-vs-hobbes#ixzz1QQHPGWNR
Thank you for taking the time to read and reflect upon what i have written.
I write this article with the same intentions as Thomas Paine http://ushistory.org/paine. I seek no leadership role. I seek only to help the American People find their own way using their own “Common Sense” http://amzn.to/kbRuar
Those were my thoughts.
In Liberty,
Don Mashak
The Cynical Patriot
http://twitter.com/dmashak
TellMyPolitician
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Leviathan - Hobbes (Oxford World's Classics)
The Social Contract from Hobbes to Rawls
Two Treatises of Government - John Locke
Critique of Practical Reason - Kant
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This is a teaser to an article i wrote on Examiner.com"... more
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Congratulations OHIO workers !!!
June 20, 2011
Liz Shuler
See AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler and others at the Netroots Nation Plenary session talk about achieving economic equality.
In an incredible mobilization, Ohio workers, activists and other volunteers collected 714,137 signatures in just two months for a November referendum to repeal a bill that eliminates the collective bargaining rights of more than 350,000 public employees. That’s more than three times the number needed to qualify for the ballot.(links @ my site for AFL-CIO blog and big up's to the movement & all your help too current community the fight has just begun for workers and the people of this great nation CONGRATULATIONS another battle well done-figg)Congratulations OHIO workers !!!
June 20, 2011
Liz Shuler
See AFL-CIO... more
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The clock is counting down (pun intended) and it's almost time for the "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" premiere. What are you most excited to see from the show?The clock is counting down (pun intended) and it's almost time for the... more
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In 2009, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the annual Nobel Peace Prize to newly minted President Barack Obama. In its press release, the Committee noted “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
Democrats hailed the announcement as a validation of their faith in the erstwhile junior Senator from Illinois. Conservatives acknowledged the most-recent addition to the untested former community organizer’s collection of accolades as proof that the Nobel Prize — which had gained considerable tarnish after being handed to Al Gore for science fiction — was rapidly becoming as precious as those fancy breath mints they have in a dish at the Chicago-area restaurants where Oprah Winfrey dines. The conservative skepticism was confirmed after it became apparent the Norwegian Nobel Committee voted to hand the medal to Obama only nine days into his occupation of the Oval Office.
But Obama is a Nobel laureate. He successfully campaigned on his opposition to war, proudly touting his stance against further combat in Iraq and promising a swift withdrawal from that conflict. With Obama in the White House, not only were we all going to be better people, but we were going to live in a more peaceful world. Obama was demonstrating “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation.”
So, more than two years later, how’s that working out for everyone?
The War in Iraq continues, although the corporate media have developed an apparent aversion to reporting on it. The War in Afghanistan has gotten more — not less — violent, although the corporate media have evidently forgotten how to find Afghanistan on a map. The Middle East has erupted in a revolutionary frenzy which seems inspiring, until closer examination of the various conflicts reveals what may well be some sort of intramural Islamofascist squabble. Instead of delivering harmonious peace to the planet, Obama has increased U.S. military obligations from two wars to four. And he has done so at a time when the U.S. economy is wheezing like Ed Schultz chasing after a date (thanks to Obama’s ham-fisted economic stewardship).
You read that correctly. In addition to the continuing engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama has committed us to the dubiously progressing effort to oust Moammar Gadhafi from Libya. And thanks to a report which will probably cost The New York Times a spot on the plane the next time Michelle Obama takes a few dozen of her closest friends to a five-star foreign resort, it has been revealed the U.S. military is now conducting a “secret” — and growing — conflict in Yemen. “Cooperation between peoples” is fairly simple when one side of those “peoples” is pushing up palm trees.
To be honest, I have no issue with justifiable war. Terrorists, among others, need to die; and the U.S. military has consistently demonstrated it is second to none at killing terrorists. Plus, war looks much cooler on television than the corporate media excusing Representative Anthony Weiner’s contact with high school girls. Of course, I didn’t run for President of the United States on an anti-war platform, nor did I win the Nobel Peace Prize on spec. The Obama global doctrine appears to involve some sort of diplomatic board game: “All right, Mr. President, you rolled a five and a three. You have to go to…Yemen… with a cruise missile!”
I am, therefore, perplexed by the ability of rank-and-file liberals to rectify their beloved Obama’s anti-war promises with his decidedly belligerent (or scattershot) performances.
The whole of human history has been marked by war. Indeed, the number of war-free years since the first Neolithic tribesmen began scribbling depictions of dead other Neolithic tribesmen is, counting 2011, effectively zero. Ever since Thok figured out he could have the best cows and women by splitting Unk’s skull with a rock, we’ve been at it. In fact, there may well be only one thing that has defined man’s attempts to assert his own dominance over the world: lying.
–Ben Crystal
http://www.personalliberty.com/hot-topics/outside-the-asylum/giving-peace-no-chance/?eiid=&rmid=2011_06_14_PLA_[P11826592]&rrid=238466338In 2009, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the annual Nobel Peace Prize to newly... more
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Many progressives are affluent and well-educated. Does their elite status stand in the way of a movement to fight attacks on the working class?
Over the past few years, it’s become an article of faith among progressives that we’re living through a second Gilded Age -- you know, an era in which great fortunes accrue to powerful business leaders and institutions and the nation’s wealth is concentrated at the very top. In the past few months, as Republicans have proposed budgets that would cut taxes still further on the backs of the middle and working class, progressives have hammered away at the statistics -- like that the top 1 percent of Americans hold 34.6 percent of the nation’s wealth; the bottom 90 percent, just 26.9 percent.
But the growth in inequality and decline of the middle and working class, though exacerbated by Bush administration economic policies, isn’t a recent phenomenon -- it’s been in progress for decades. Which begs the question: why on earth did it take so long for the Left to take notice? How did we end up with inequality reaching levels not seen since before the Depression without waging anything approximating a real fight against it? Surely the trends of decreasing social mobility and increasing social stratification in the supposed “land of opportunity” call for serious resistance -- where has it been? As thoroughly reprehensible as the Right’s slavishness to wealth and power is, the fact that it took a financial meltdown for economic justice to even begin to replace welfare reform on the political agenda suggests progressives need to do a bit of navel-gazing.
By now it should come as no surprise that most Democratic politicians are more responsive to the interests of more affluent voters than to the working class, even if they’re nominally better than Republicans with regard to middle-class interests. But the fact of the matter is that it’s not just Democratic politicians who are operating from a position of privilege, but the broader progressive leadership. Perhaps this isn’t surprising either, but for a party purporting to defend the economic interests of the working and middle class -- to say nothing of the poor (as per usual) -- it’s a fatal weakness. By and large, the people who work at progressive think tanks, media outlets and policy centers are well-compensated -- some extravagantly so -- and staggeringly well-educated; they have solid health-care benefits and 401(k)s. As genuinely as they may care about social justice, their caring is largely based on principle rather than self-interest.
Indeed, Princeton political scientist Larry Bartels has shown that voting based on social values has increased among middle-class and affluent white voters -- making “What’s the matter with Manhattan?” a more appropriate question than “What’s the matter with Kansas?” The answer is, of course, nothing. There’s no reason people should vote based on economics rather than social issues, or vice versa. And yet the distinction does matter when it comes to questions of economic justice -- it’s harder to let wage stagnation slide when it’s a fact of life rather than a line on a graph.
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You can continue reading at the link.
http://www.alternet.org/economy/151040/are_well-off_progressives_standing_in_the_way_of_a_real_movement_for_economic_justice?page=entireMany progressives are affluent and well-educated. Does their elite status stand in the... more
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FreeTurbine - Netlabel scene generator.... Latest news, albums, concerts, videos from netlabel scene... Users generated... Vote for best free album, download favorite free album, discover best music before main media ....... Just started .... http://www.freeturbine.com/FreeTurbine - Netlabel scene generator.... Latest news, albums, concerts, videos from... more
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May 10, 2011
WASHINGTON, May 10 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced today that he introduced legislation to provide health care for every American through a Medicare-for-all type single-payer system.
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) filed a companion bill in the House to provide better care for more patients at less cost by eliminating the middle-man role played by private insurance companies that rake off billions of dollars in profits.
The twin measures, both called the American Health Security Act of 2011, would provide federal guidelines and strong minimum standards for states to administer single-payer health care programs.
"The United States is the only major nation in the industrialized world that does not guarantee health care as right to its people," Sanders said at a press conference on Capitol Hill. "Meanwhile, we spend about twice as much per capita on health care with worse results than others that spend far less. It is time that we bring about a fundamental transformation of the American health care system. It is time for us to end private, for-profit participation in delivering basic coverage. It is time for the United States to provide a Medicare-for-all single-payer health coverage program."
McDermott said, "The new health care law made big progress towards covering many more people and finding ways to lower cost. However, I think the best way to reduce costs and guarantee coverage for all is through a Single-payer system like Medicare. This bill does just that - it builds on the new health care law by giving states the flexibility they need to go to a single-payer system of their own. It will also reduce costs, and Americans will be healthier."
Sanders and McDermott were joined at the press conference by leaders of organizations supporting the measure, including Arlene Baker-Holt, executive vice president of the AFL-CIO; Jean Ross, co-president of the National Nurses United; and Greg Junemann, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.
While making the case for a single-payer system nationwide, Sanders applauded the Vermont Legislature which earlier this month voted to put the state on the path toward a single-payer system. Vermont, Sanders said, could become a model for the nation.
Last year's health reform law is projected to cover 32 million more Americans. Despite that important step forward, however, 23 million people living in the United States will remain uninsured by the end of this decade while health care costs continue to skyrocket. Some 60 million Americans, both insured and uninsured, have inadequate access to primary care due to a shortage of physicians and other like providers in their community.
Under the current health care system, 45,000 Americans a year die because they delay seeking care they cannot afford. Health care eats up one-fifth of the U.S. economy, but we rank 26th among major, developed nations on life expectancy and 31st on infant mortality.
Drug companies charge Americans twice as much or more for the exact same drugs manufactured by the exact same companies than citizens of Canada or Europe. Some insurers that gouge policy holders spend 40 cents of every premium dollar on administration and profits while lavishing multimillion dollar payouts on their CEOs.
"This is unacceptable," Sanders said. "Until we put patients over profits, our system will not work for ordinary Americans."May 10, 2011
WASHINGTON, May 10 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced today that... more
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Sure, foreign travel can be a life-changing educational experience, but what a hassle! Instead of flying across the globe and trying to speak funny languages, take a seat on the couch next to Terry Snash (Bryan Safi), aka the TV Traveler. This week Terry tells you all you need to know about Scandinavia by watching its TV programs, from a talk show in which a man tries to kick a burger to the moon (not a joke) to a game show built on identifying unpleasant smells. So put your passport away and grab a seat.
infoMania is a half-hour comedy show that airs weekly on Current TV. Picture the ultimate office water-cooler, only with funnier co-workers who willingly stay up late imbibing all forms of media so you don't have to. Caveat: Bring your own water. Hosted by Brett Erlich and co-starring Sergio Cilli, Erin Gibson, Ben Hoffman and Bryan Safi, infoMania airs on Thursdays at 11/10c on Current TV.
Go to http://current.com/infomania for more, and make sure to check out our Facebook profile for special features at http://facebook.com/infomania.
Current Media, the Peabody-and Emmy Award-winning television and online network founded in 2005 by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, engages viewers with smart, provocative and timely programming -stories that no one else is telling in ways that no one else is telling them. Current's programming shines a light where others won't dare and boldly explores important subjects -- opening minds, sparking conversations and forming deep connections with its viewers. The channel's audience is comprised of affluent, curious, social and connected adults who crave the kind of entertaining, enlightening, witty and informative programming found on Current's TV and online properties. Current is now available via cable and satellite TV in 75 million households worldwide - 60 million households in the US - through distribution partners Comcast (Channel 107); Time Warner ; DirecTV (Channel 358 nationwide); Dish Network (Channel 196 nationwide); Verizon and AT&T. In the UK and Ireland, Current is available on BSkyB (Channel 183) and Virgin Media (Channel 155), and in Italy, Current is available on Sky Italia (Channel 130). Viewers can also find Current online at www.current.com.Sure, foreign travel can be a life-changing educational experience, but what a hassle!... more
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Neither post-rock nor post-metal, NWI! exist somewhere in between, adding some quirky math-rock overtones and a classy violin-driven progressive rock signature to their sound. They shape their material during 2009, bearing influences from TOOL, ENVY, PELICAN, ISIS and some other bands, but never imitating someone’s manner or sound. http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/rock/42941-nice-wings-icarusNeither post-rock nor post-metal, NWI! exist somewhere in between, adding some quirky... more
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By Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
The super rich are different from you and me. For one thing, their tax rates are lower.
According to IRS statistics, the nation’s top 400 taxpayers increased their average income by 392% and slashed their average tax rate by 37% between 1992 and 2007, Dave Gilson reports in Mother Jones. Furthermore, when you factor in payroll taxes, the tax rate for Americans earning $370,000 is nearly equal to the rate for those making between $43,000 and $69,000 a year.
Meanwhile, at TAPPED, Jamelle Bouie notes that, in 2007, more than 10,000 Americans reported incomes of $200,000 or higher and paid no income tax at all. These lucky ducks are known to the IRS as HINTs, which stands for High Income, No Taxes.
Pseudo-farms of the rich and tax-dodging
The ultra-rich are using deluxe hobby farms to dodge millions of dollars in taxes, Yasha Levine reports for The Nation:
Take Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computers and the second-richest Texan, who qualified for an agricultural property tax break on his sprawling 1,757-acre residential ranch in suburban Austin and saved over $1 million simply because his family and friends sometimes use the land as a private hunting preserve to shoot deer. Or take billionaire publisher Steve Forbes, who got more than a 90 percent property tax reduction on hundreds of acres of his multimillion-dollar estate in upscale Bedminister, New Jersey, just by putting a couple of cows out to pasture.
Agricultural tax breaks were originally designed to help farmers stay on their land as suburban sprawl grew up around them. As neighborhoods shifted from rural to residential in the 1950s and ’60s, farmers struggled to keep up with rising local taxes.
So, who’s a farmer for tax purposes? Levine reports that the standards are ridiculously low in many states, like New Jersey, where a yard full of weeds can qualify as a farm.
Worst of all, tax breaks for faux farms are depriving public schools of billions of dollars of desperately needed revenue. In Texas–which loses over a billion dollars a year in property taxes from pseudo-ranches of the rich and famous–hundreds of public school students are taking to the streets to protest massive proposed layoffs of teachers and support staffers, Abby Rapoport reports in the Texas Observer.
Tax me, I’m rich
A group of self-proclaimed “trust fund babies” is demanding higher taxes, Pete Redington reports for Working In These Times:
Resource Generation recently teamed up with another nonprofit that organizes affluent activists, Wealth for the Common Good, to form a Progressive Tax Campaign. They will be organizing and advocating a change in the policy, laws and perceptions of our tax system. Specifically, the campaign aims to draw attention to the social services that taxing the wealthy could fund, and advocates higher tax bracket rates for top income earners, as well as higher taxes on investment income.
Major debt
Student loan debt is likely to reach $1 trillion this year, outpacing credit card debt for the second year in a row, Julie Margetta Morgan reports for Campus Progress. Student loans can be a smart investment if they lead to a lifetime of higher earnings. However, Margetta Morgan notes, the average bachelor’s degree holder will shell out $250 a month for a decade to pay back the loan.
Many Americans won’t pay off their debt until their own children are in college. President Obama was still making payments into his late 40s.
As college tuition continues to rise, we can expect students to borrow even more for their education in years to come. Much of this debt is guaranteed by the taxpayer. Margetta Morgan argues that colleges should be doing more to educate students about smart borrowing.
The economics of happiness
Kristy Leissle reviews the new documentary, The Economics of Happiness, for YES! Magazine. The film argues that community is the foundation of happiness and that globalization is the enemy of community. The movie also examines what ordinary citizens can do to nurture their own communities.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the economy by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Audit for a complete list of articles on economic issues, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Mulch, The Pulse and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.By Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
The super rich are different from... more
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http://www.thethinkingblue.com/goplie.html
The GOP LIES!
If you have ever wondered if in fact the GOP LIES, well this can put your wondering at rest at last. John Kyl, blatantly told an out and out lie on FOX the other day and did not even skip a beat while doing so… “well over 90% of what Planned Parenthood does (Abortions)”. When called on this outrageous and very destructive lie (abortion is actually well under 5% of what Planned Parenthood does), Kyl’s office released a BUGABOO claiming that: “his remark was not intended to be a factual statement”
SAY WHAT?
Now we have a new REALITY coming from the GRAND OLD PARTY, "Hey, don’t take anything we say as factual statements… All our rhetoric is NOT INTENDED TO BE FACTUAL…"
Yeah, like we didn’t know that already? They have proven beyond a shadow of doubt that they only wish to incite and enrage people to HATE ONE ANOTHER so that the LOW INFORMATIONAL VOTER (who usually votes republican) WILL CAST THEIR VOTE FOR THIS LYING PARTY.
Tis a pity and will eventually bring our nation to its knees or WORSE! thethinkingblue
While John Kyl keeps lying on the percentages of abortions Planned Parenthood has performed, one question goes unanswered... Who will defend a woman's choice to have one? Perhaps the excerpt below will help those who still question this right.
Why Abortion is Moral - Abortion questions answered
[[EXCERPT]] Anti-abortionists claim fetal dependence cannot be used as an issue in the abortion debate. They make the point that even after birth, and for years to come, a child is still dependent on its mother, its father, and those around it. And since no one would claim its okay to kill a child because of its dependency on others, we can't, if we follow their logic, claim it's okay to abort a fetus because of its dependence.
What the anti-abortionist fails to do, however, is differentiate between physical dependence and social dependence. Physical dependence does not refer to meeting the physical needs of the child - such as in the anti-abortionist's argument above. That's social dependence; that's where the child depends on society - on other people - to feed it, clothe it, and love it. Physical dependence occurs when one life form depends solely on the physical body of another life form for its existence.
Physical dependence was cleverly illustrated back in 1971 by philosopher Judith Jarvis Thompson. She created a scenario in which a woman is kidnapped and wakes up to find she's been surgically attached to a world-famous violinist who, for nine months, needs her body to survive. After those nine months, the violinist can survive just fine on his own, but he must have this particular woman in order to survive until then.
Thompson then asks if the woman is morally obliged to stay connected to the violinist who is living off her body. It might be a very good thing if she did - the world could have the beauty that would come from such a violinist - but is she morally obliged to let another being use her body to survive?
This very situation is already conceded by anti-abortionists. They claim RU-486 should be illegal for a mother to take because it causes her uterus to flush its nutrient-rich lining, thus removing a zygote from its necessary support system and, therefore, ending its short existence as a life form. Thus the anti-abortionist's own rhetoric only proves the point of absolute physical dependence.
This question becomes even more profound when we consider a scenario where it's not an existing person who is living off the woman's body, but simply a potential person, or better yet, a single-cell zygote with human DNA that is no different than the DNA in a simple hair follicle.
To complicate it even further, we need to realize that physical dependence also means a physical threat to the life of the mother. The World Health Organization reports that nearly 670,000 women die from pregnancy-related complications each year (this number does not include abortions). That's 1,800 women per day. We also read that in developed countries, such as the United States and Canada, a woman is 13 times more likely to die bringing a pregnancy to term than by having an abortion.
Therefore, not only is pregnancy the prospect of having a potential person physically dependent on the body of one particular women, it also includes the women putting herself into a life-threatening situation for that potential person.
Unlike social dependence, where the mother can choose to put her child up for adoption or make it a ward of the state or hire someone else to take care of it, during pregnancy the fetus is absolutely physically dependent on the body of one woman. Unlike social dependence, where a woman's physical life is not threatened by the existence of another person, during pregnancy, a woman places herself in the path of bodily harm for the benefit of a DNA life form that is only a potential person - even exposing herself to the threat of death.
More Here: Why Abortion is Moral - Abortion questions answered
Those who wish to force their beliefs on others should not be allowed to make laws regarding those beliefs. Most who oppose the rights women have over their own bodies belong to some religious based belief system and would like to do away with the separation of church and state altogether. If they were to ever get their own way on this, all will lose freedom not just those who can think outside the religious box. I once saw a bumper sticker that hits it right smack on the head... DON'T LIKE ABORTION THEN DON'T HAVE ONE! http://thinkingblue.blogspot.com/2011/04/does-gop-lie-you-betcha.htmlhttp://www.thethinkingblue.com/goplie.html
The GOP LIES!
If you have ever wondered... more
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Episode 21 of the E-Music Podcast and Radio Show
Dru West in the Mix
Tracklist:
1. Deadmau5 - HR8938 Cephei (Original Mix)
2. Koen Groeneveld - Minimums (Original Mix)
3. Dino, Tiesto, Mark Knight - Beautiful World feat. Dino (Original Club Mix)
4. Dada Life - Fight Club Is Closed (It's Time for Rock'n Roll) (Original Mix)
5. ALex Guesta - So Much Love To Give (Gianluca Molta Vs Dr. Space & The Chocolates Remix)
6. Peter Gelderblom - Waiting 4 (2011 Remix) (Manuel De La Mare Remix)
7. TyDi - Never Go Back feat. Brianna Holan (Original Mix)
8. Gareth Emery - El Segundo (Arty Remix)
9. Emalkay - Fabrication (Original Mix)
10. Vaski - Gotham (Original Mix)
11. Metrik, Futurebound - Sabotage (Original Mix)
Old School Jam of the Week
Gat Decor - Passion (Original Mix) 1992Episode 21 of the E-Music Podcast and Radio Show
Dru West in the Mix
Tracklist:... more
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Progressive Caucus co-chairs Raúl M. Grijalva and Keith Ellison sent a memo to House Budget Committee Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen April 6 outlining the Caucus' top budget priorities.
The CPC proposal:
• Eliminates the deficits and creates a surplus by 2021
• Puts America back to work with a “Make it in America” jobs program
• Protects the social safety net
• Ends the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
• Is FAIR (Fixing America’s Inequality Responsibly)
What the proposal accomplishes:
• Primary budget balance by 2014.
• Budget surplus by 2021.
• Reduces deficits by $5.7 trillion over 2012-21
• Both outlays and revenue equal 22.3% of GDP by 2021
• Reduces public debt as a share of GDP to 64.4% by 2021, down 16.9 percentage points from a baseline fully adjusted for both the doc fix and the AMT patch.
Report here:
http://grijalva.house.gov/uploads/CPC.Budget.112th.Memo.pdfProgressive Caucus co-chairs Raúl M. Grijalva and Keith Ellison sent a memo to... more
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It’s hard, if you follow the news, not to be compelled by the idea that we’re currently in something of a watershed moment in history. Revolts sweeping the Middle East, aiming to drive thugs like Mubarak and Gaddafi from power. The neo-feudalist Koch brothers and the Wisconsin uprisings against their towel-boy governor. The looming NFL work stoppage, driven by greedy billionaire owners who are demanding an extra $billion off the top because they need it. Their proof? You don’t need proof, they say – just trust us.
And why not – it’s not like the hyper-rich have ever lied to us before or acted in a way that was counter to our best interests, right?
Arianna Antoinette has picked a bad time to go all let-them-eat-cake on us. If she has PR advisors, they’d be well advised to lock her ass in a closet.It’s hard, if you follow the news, not to be compelled by the idea that... more
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I think Rachel Maddow and her team are some of the finest investigative reporters around. Rachel, the face and leader of that team, informs, spells out, educates, explains, does her homework, and is engaging, brilliant, crystal clear, convincing, and open-minded. What’s not to like?
No, seriously, what’s not to like?
Apparently, America is catching my Maddow Fever, and it’s about time. When you compare her to the competition ::coughBECKcough:: the contrasts are laughably obvious. Why, it’s like comparing Maddow to Beck! Oh, wait.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, without the benefit of a buzz-booster like Charlie Sheen, quietly jumped to the elite levels of cable news ratings, outperforming everyone at CNN and MSNBC, and even beating Fox’s Glenn Beck. Maddow hit 452,000 viewers 25-54, easily dominating CNN’s Piers Morgan, who had 208,000. Maddow, who was without any Charlie Sheen-like celebrity guest, even came close to Fox’s Sean Hannity, who won the time period with 561,000.
Thanks to GottaLaff http://current.com/users/GottaLaff.htm
More Info—>> http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2011/03/05/rachel-maddow-beats-beck-covering-union-rights/I think Rachel Maddow and her team are some of the finest investigative reporters... more
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Republicans offered Democrats two more weeks before the doomsday shut-down. Democrats countered with four. Republicans held their ground. Democrats agreed to two.
This is what passes for compromise in our nation’s capital.
Democrats have become irrelevant. If they want to be relevant again they have to connect the dots: The explosion of income and wealth among America’s super-rich, the dramatic drop in their tax rates, the consequential devastating budget squeezes in Washington and in state capitals, and the slashing of public services for the middle class and the poor.
It is not a complicated story. Begin with what’s happened to the typical American, whose wages have been stagnant for thirty years. Today’s typical 30-year-old male (if he has a job) is earning the same as a 30-year-old male earned three decades ago, adjusted for for inflation. (Although women are doing better than they did 30 years ago, their wages still trail men’s.)
more info here—>> http://robertreich.org/post/3591689800Republicans offered Democrats two more weeks before the doomsday shut-down. Democrats... more
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In the mold of WTF has Sarah Palin done so far and WTF has Obama done so far comes WTF have Unions done so far.
www.whatthefuckhaveunionsdonesofar.comIn the mold of WTF has Sarah Palin done so far and WTF has Obama done so far comes WTF... more
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It's time the working class picked a leader to run for President in 2012, and Barack Obama is not that person.It's time the working class picked a leader to run for President in 2012, and... more
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Today, in fifty cities across the country, [the group] "U.S. Uncut" debuted as a serious, mobilized effort to fight corporate tax dodging. February 26 was the group’s big national Day Of Action—the first coordinated effort by the organization and its regional captains to educate the public and drum up support for the movement.
http://www.thenation.com/article/158874/us-uncut-hits-streets
[See Johann Hari's "How to Build a Progressive Tea Party," the Nation article that inspiried US Uncut.] http://www.thenation.com/article/158282/how-build-progressive-tea-party
At the rally in New York City, around ninety people ultimately showed up, which as one attendee pointed out, was about double the size of a Bahrain protest he’d attended earlier in the week in the city. The protesters handed out flyers and shouted to pedestrians: “Do you pay your taxes? Bank of America doesn’t!”
That was the simple message the group hoped to convey to the public, according to Alisa Harris, one of US Uncut’s New York organizers.
“Bank of America is a corporation that got a $45 billion bailout from US taxpayers, and yet they paid absolutely no income tax [in 2009],” she said, “And so this is just a great example of the problem of taxpayers pouring resources into these corporations, and the corporations are using our infrastructure, and yet they’re not giving back to the community.”
As I conducted interviews, I repeatedly heard protesters refer to America’s two-tier economy in which workers are expected to shoulder the burden of deficit while corporations continuously skirt liability.
Continue Reading At:
http://www.thenation.com/article/158874/us-uncut-hits-streets
US Uncut's Website:
http://www.usuncut.org/Today, in fifty cities across the country, [the group] "U.S. Uncut" debuted... more
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