Thursday, August 28, 2014

Why keep it all in the family? Because family doesn't snitch on each other.

The latest in Po' White Trash.

Followed by another fall from grace in Iowa.

August 27, 2014
By Steven Dennis
A former Iowa (click here) state senator pleaded guilty to concealing payments he received from former Rep. Ron Paul’s presidential campaign to switch his support from Rep. Michele Bachmann.
Kent Sorenson, 42, of Milo, Iowa, entered the guilty plea for one count of causing a federal campaign committee to falsely report its expenditures and one count of obstruction of justice.
According to a Department of Justice release, Sorenson admitted he had supported one campaign for the 2012 presidential election, but from October to December 2011, “he met and secretly negotiated with a second political campaign to switch his support to that second campaign in exchange for concealed payments that amounted to $73,000.”...

The Republican Motto has always been, "If you can't bet 'em, join 'em." I mean that sincerely. Republicans never fear prison enough to end corruption. Serious. Think about it.

How many times was Rove before the Special Prosecutor in the Valerie Plame outing? That is just one more example.

McConnell states in the House and Senate we own the budget. 

"W"rong. The people of the USA own the budget and when Republicans are in power THAT right is removed from the people and placed with Wall Street, literally, in the pockets of all the people that put them in office. So, when Mitch McConnell states the Republicans own the budget that is exactly what he means.

...“So in the House and Senate, we own the budget. (click here) So what does that mean? That means that we can pass the spending bill. And I assure you that in the spending bill, we will be pushing back against this bureaucracy by doing what’s called placing riders in the bill. No money can be spent to do this or to do that. We’re going to go after them on healthcare, on financial services, on the Environmental Protection Agency, across the board [inaudible]. All across the federal government, we’re going to go after it.”...

And how exactly will Mitch McConnell be sure to put all that budget into the pockets of campaign contributors of Big Money? By doing exactly what Ron Paul's campaign did.

 ...On Wednesday, Sorenson admitted in federal court what he had long adamantly denied: that he took thousands of dollars in payments from the campaigns of Bachmann and Paul in exchange for his endorsement....

...Jesse Benton, a Republican strategist who is married to Paul’s granddaughter, served as chairman of Paul’s 2012 campaign. He is now running Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s reelection campaign and is expected to play a significant role in a 2016 presidential bid by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)....

While I like Senator Rand Paul, I should not have to point to the fact the illegal bribery took place in Iowa, but, the candidates were Republicans from Kentucky. One big happy family.

...Neither Benton nor the McConnell campaign returned requests for comment.
A key point person from the Paul campaign who urged Sorenson to defect was Dimitri Kesari, then Paul’s deputy national campaign manager....

We all know when it comes to Republican politics, the momentum achieved in Iowa carries through to subsequent elections because it is a SUPPOSEDLY a direct straw poll of the people.

...Part of that massive payment (click here) came in the form of a $25,000 check written to Sorenson’s wife by a top Ron Paul staffer named Dimitri Kesari. The Iowa ethics investigation reported included a photo of the check, which Sorenson had not cashed. Dimitri Kesari had written the check from the account of a jewelry business owned by Kesari’s wife. In this secretly recorded audio, Sorenson claims that Dimitri Kesari had written the check at a restaurant dinner and given it to Sorenson’s wife while Sorenson was using the restroom....

Dimitri Kesari not only wrote the check, but, detoured the money into a private business account of a jewelry store. The jewelry store was owned by his wife.

November 26, 2014
By Russ Choma
...The campaign of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) (click here) hired a former Ron Paul campaign aide accused of trying to buy the endorsement of an Iowa state senator in 2012, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. The aide, Dimitri Kesari, was also implicated in allegations made last week by a former National Right to Work Committee employee who says the politically active nonprofit broke Iowa state campaign finance rules and misled the Internal Revenue Service about its political activity....

Mitch McConnell’s campaign manager then went on to tell Fusaro, “Between you and me, I’m sorta just holding my nose for two years, cause what we’re doing here is gonna be a big benefit to Rand in ’16.”

The Republicans are so ensconced in lies they literally have to practice several times in order to find a way out of the maze to stay out of prison when the truth is discovered outside 'the family.'

High on my Bucket List.

The day I hear the White House Press ask about the deterioration of unions and the Middle Class. Why don't the unions have a press person in the room?

President Obama gave a great news conference on the topics he covered by questions of the press.

I like his new summer suit. He looked nice. I betcha he bought it on vacation. I wasn't crazy about the tie. The tie may have some sentimental value but tan and gray came across as bland. 

I would encourage the President to bring an agenda to speak about as well as answering questions because not one of the journalists asked about Ferguson. The truth is FOX is simply hammering away at Attorney General Holder for every reason under the sun including the death of Michael Brown, Jr.

I have the support of "The Greats" on that topic.

August 28, 2014
By Erik Wemple

Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert (click here) hardly replicated the grand critique of Fox News mustered on Tuesday night by colleague Jon Stewart, but on his show last night he took a swing or two....

I appreciate and thank President Obama in his incremental approach to the activities of the USA military when confronting possible engagement. It is appreciated to have the tone of the country considered when approaching these subjects. 

I think President Obama is spot on when it comes to the Middle East and regional involvement. His current assessment regarding Ukraine is conservative and correct. I also believe he is correct in regard to NATO. The region unfortunately is coming into play because of bizarre Russian politics and priorities. Oh, well.

I found it unfortunate war dominated the entire news conference. There is a country called the USA, too.

Moscow doesn't have control of it's troops? Then this must be the Russian version of ISIS then?

August 28, 2014
Heather Saul, Independent

...Poroshenko's statement (click here) came as the pro-Russian separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko claimed former and serving Russian soldiers on leave from their posts are fighting Ukrainian troops alongside the rebels. 

The rebel leader told Russian state television station: "Among us are fighting serving soldiers, who would rather take their vacation not on a beach but with us, among brothers, who are fighting for their freedom." 

He estimated between 3,000 and 4,000 Russians have joined fighting, but insisted they did so voluntarily and not on Moscow's orders....


That is a blatant lie and Ukraine needs to assess it's ability to withstand a Russian invasion into the country and then take to the people of Ukraine. Tell them what has happened to their democracy since the annexation of Crimea. There is no sense to the continued loss of Ukrainian lives in cities completely unprepared for such violence. 

The next stop for the Russians, NATO.

There are no more international boundaries for Russia. There are no more international affiliations other than it's economic/military union. If one looks at the so called economic union Russia is attempting to achieve there is a rich supply of recruits.

August 22, 2014

Sergei Guriyev, (click here) former dean of the prestigious New Economics School in Moscow, and now a professor at Instituts d'etudes Politiques (Sciences Po) in Paris, left Russia in 2013 amid a crackdown on liberal intellectuals critical of the Kremlin's authoritarianism....

There is no mistaking the movement of Russia to it's former methodology when the Ruble had no value.  

...These predictions were taken into account by the Russian government in the past and that is why the Russian government in the last 20 years integrated into the global economy and chose policies [different] from protectionism and autarky that were pursued by the Soviet government. And that has actually been one of the important factors behind growth of the Russian economy and growth in consumption, and therefore the raising of living standards, which, in turn, actually contributed to rising support for the Russian government among ordinary Russians, who enjoyed this prosperity and growth of consumption and living standards....

Russian can close it's borders to any imports and/or exports and live with the Ruble by also controlling costs to both consumers and producers. That will result in discontent within the country again and the political dynamic will begin to escalate, but, there is always oppression, propaganda and "Death to those that would destroy any preservation of Russian Speaking People." I believe that is the direction Russia is headed and any word otherwise is simply buying time to prepare for an inevitable war for expansionism.

Expansion is the only method left to improve the life of Russians and contain discontent as it grows. There is a reason why the Russian Olympic games reminded the world so much of past expansionist regimes when Crimea was annexed. These are not the good days in Russia, they are the days of preparation to return to old methods.

Professor Guriyek helped develop the basis of the Russian Economic Union which is properly called the Eurasian Economic Union. He was threatened with his life. It didn't have to be written in words, but, the assault on his practices within the academic community was as good as a tombstone. It was just that Putin could NOT cause carnage to expand his timeline to assault against The West. 

Professor Guriyek is correct in his statements about the end of profitability of the Russia economy and the silly ideas Putin has in administering sanctions. Russia is not The West. The West is diverse. It won't take any time at all, perhaps one growing season, for Europe, the USA, Mexico, South America or India to begin to purchase the excess Polish apples. Russia's sanctions are basically meaningless. Putin is victimizing his own people and his greatest enemy now is discontent. There are limited ways he can over come that and none of his options are pretty.

It is time for the Ukraine people to move away from ANY chance of danger. What was once unthinkable as an outcome to a community of 12,000 people without arms to such intentions is now within the gun sites of Russian troops. The Russian troops have already committed crimes against humanity. There is nothing to say they won't continue to do the same. The Ukraine people need to realize that. While President Poroshenko's willingness to seek peace is at the heart of every Ukrainian, there needs to be a reality check to it's possible failure and the peril of the citizens.

The States that care about the lives and the quality of life of their children have a challenge before them.

My "Bucket List" includes never finding an Uzi anywhere inside the borders of the USA. It is a benign wish. 

The wish of a child to fire an Uzi is not a benign wish. The gun industry has the problem. Their product is not benign within a democracy. It's product brings harm to others with values very different than the national value of domestic peace. 

How much danger does a society ALLOW to exist within it's borders and as the population of the USA increases how realistic is it to continue the values of violent bucket lists as if benign to the outcomes of our families?

The gun industry through politicking has been exonerated from responsibility for it's products and distribution. It is time that changes.

Was tobacco within our borders benign? Well, then.

It is completely bizarre for the professionals in the USA to seek answers for violence among our young people only to have it destroyed by profiteers.

  1. Firing a gun is not a religious directive. I think most every American would agree with that, although the political right wing and the NRA would like it to be a religious edict.
In the Middle East the USA has made investments with countries such as Saudi Arabia to help rehab madrasas (click here) after 911. Yet within the borders of the USA there are absolutely no guidelines for children and violence while profiteers crank out violence into their lives.
  1. Developmental trajectories toward violence in middle childhood: Course, demographic differences, and response to school-based intervention.
    Aber, J. Lawrence; Brown, Joshua L.; Jones, Stephanie M.
    Developmental Psychology, Vol 39(2), Mar 2003, 324-348. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.39.2.324
  2. Investigated (a) (click here) the course of developmental trajectories toward violence over middle childhood, (b) whether and how the course of these trajectories differed by demographic subgroups of children, and (c) how responsive these trajectories were to a universal, school-based preventive intervention. Four waves of data on features of children's social-emotional development known to forecast aggression/violence were collected over 2 yrs for a highly representative sample of 1st to 6th grade children from New York City public elementary schools (N=11,160). Using hierarchical linear modeling techniques, synthetic growth curves were estimated for the entire sample and were conditioned on child demographic characteristics (gender, family economic resources, race/ethnicity) and amount of exposure to components of the preventive intervention. Three patterns of growth--positive linear, late acceleration, and gradual deceleration--characterized the children's trajectories, and these trajectories varied meaningfully by child demographic characteristics. Children whose teachers taught a high number of lessons in the conflict resolution curriculum demonstrated positive changes in their social-emotional developmental trajectories and deflections from a path toward future aggression and violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)
If the USA can stand in judgement of Middle East madrasas while allowing it's children to be exposed to the same violence, but, this time for profit; who indeed has the real problem?

August 28, 2014
By News 21
For every U.S. soldier (click here) killed in Afghanistan during 11 years of war, at least 13 children were shot and killed in America.
More than 450 kids didn’t make it to kindergarten.
Another 2,700 or more were killed by a firearm before they could sit behind the wheel of a car....

...“It’s an unacceptable number and it should be regardless of where you stand on gun-owning ideology,” said Colette Martin, a member of Parents Against Gun Violence. “The numbers are that high and we are as a country ignoring them.”...

The answer to protecting our children and our society from this level of gun violence is not about teaching them how to shoot a gun; it is preventing them from being exposed to the availability of guns and commercial exploitation of them and their parents.

In the case of Sandy Hook, a young man with emotional problems found his only reward in violence. He became an expert when he believed he was not an expert in anything else. He and his late mother were victims of politicized violence in our society. He should have never been exposed to violence and the potential to allow it into the lives of 26 families. 

This country allowed Adam Lanza and his mother to make very bad choices for the sake of profits to gun manufacturers. What occurred in Arizona with a nine year old child is simply more of the same.

This killing is not an isolated incident and is a larger subject than the mechanics of gun use.

The NRA Women account—sponsored by Smith & Wesson—has since taken down the tweet. (click here)


Like I said, it is a sick, perverted aspect to our society.

Gun profiteers desperately want to break this death down into the mechanics of the gun and it's BEST use to educate children. That is not a topic that carries brevity. Every gun range operator speaking about this subject says the reason they allow children within their range is due to income. Alienate the children and cut into profits. Children are being used as a market source. Think McDonalds. Why not put up a paint ball range instead of a playground at your favorite gun range that caters to children. It is sick. No different than movies that feature children killing children. What is the purpose of any child receiving orientation to firing a gun and what possibly could be the goal in firing an automatic weapon that is not even on the market anymore. 

These automatic weapons are expensive because they are rare. So, next to buying one the gun ranges have created a novelty in firing the automatic weapons at their gun range. PROFITS. This is about profits when in fact the people participating can't even purchase one. 

Guns are not novelties. The gun ranges are not even providing instruction that matters. This is entirely inappropriate.
Burger King is evading taxes. Just because it is a logical investment doesn't mean it isn't inversion. A side effect of a good investment should not be unethical or illegal.

By the way, burdening the USA with a high carbon emission reality is a hugely unethical industry. It is no different the entire of the right wing Wall Street politicians, most of not all their backers are unethical in their investments and PERMISSION to continue same for the sake of profits to convert to campaign funding.

The NRA doesn't peddle just hunting, they peddle high gun content to the USA society. That is unethical as well as deadly.

The morality that dictates unethical content in a society is lost to profiteers that have perverted that morality in the USA.

A society's morality and ethical content isn't set by religious content. Using only religious standards as a moral basis for society ultimately victimizes aspects of any society. Religion can govern, but, it governs with victimization and isolation of citizens. 

The ideology of the political right wing in the USA is not just unethical, it is asinine. It completely rejects the very constitution and it's subsequent laws that allowed it's existence in the first place. The problem for the right wing is obvious as to their aspirations for the November elections, in that they don't hold a majority to CONVERT the USA within the power of majority to a theology.

The political right wing is completely committed to destroying the USA as we know it in order to instill a theology as well as a banquet for right wing Wall Street and ultimate failure of this democracy.

There are asinine. There is no other word. 

“In order to understand, I destroyed myself.” 
― Fernando Pessoa


An entire country has to destroy itself in order to realize it's former value? Asinine.

The USA was a country leading into the future, now it is a captive of Wall Streets entrails, ie: Koch, NRA, etc. The greed component alone should tell the people of the USA what they are dealing with. Is Koch making THEIR WEALTH available to stock investors? No, then why lend the country to their exploitation? Jobs? Yeah, sure, jobs that cause disease with companies that don't provide the best health care to their employees. It is chronic stupidity because JOBS, any job is better than a good paying job. BAN UNIONS, it costs jobs.

The post boy for the asinine. Jobs means destroying unions, BUT, send soldiers to the Middle East forever. 

Why is that asinine?

Because it destroys the federal and state tax base while increasing it's spending. 

Why is that asinine? 

Because it destroys the Middle Class while increasing the working poor and the answer by GOVERNING AUTHORITY is to provide incentives to work by eliminating social supports to the poor in food stamps and Medicaid. 

Why is that asinine?

Because eliminating social supports to the poor casts them forever into poverty when schools are all privatized and out of the reach of the majority of citizens.

Why is that asinine?

Because the brain trust of the USA will be lost and will result in the USA becoming a Third World country and no better than Idi Amin in Uganda. He rejected The West's influence in his country in order to align with the communists. Amin was the wealth of the country and the people lived in poverty.

But, of course, the right wing has the best answers for the USA in destroying the country in order to understand it.

That is asinine.

Children rely on parents to insure their safety and the response is? "Here kid learn to defend yourself."

There are no responsible gun owners if they back children being indoctrinated into violence. The children think it is simply another lesson as if their teachers in school. 

Guns are violence. I don't care if one is shooting pheasants or are carried for personal protection; the context is violence. Children don't need those lessons they will find out about it when they are adults. It is like teaching a 9 year old about sexual content and pregnancy. The right wing objects to sex education, but, being indoctrinated to guns is the best thing for them. IT IS A SICK ASPECT OF OUR SOCIETY!

Children have rights, albeit limited. They have a right to feel and be safe. Being exposed to guns as child is to tell them they are not safe and they need appendages other than their own to be safe. There is no sport in shooting a weapon as a child. It is a lesson to learn to carry through life. That is not sport.

Guns are life and death be it human or otherwise and it is an adult issue.


A western man in Syria as a recruit states, "This is like Disneyland."

That's because the women don't have guns.

Radical and primitive Islam is abusive to women. It isn't just oppressive. When Bedouins are hanging stained sheets outside of their marriage tent to prove the virgin was real, that is abuse. Give me a break. The western men that find ISIS the same as Disneyland deserve to live under the gun. Remove their citizenship. In Pakistan they attempt to kill school girls. They should not be allowed back into the country. Their longevity is as good as their aim and affiliations.

The West spends enormous amounts of money to improve the quality of life of people in foreign lands. There is a reason for that and it isn't so the citizens of the country bring home crude and primitive values again. The Western media should never carry a glamorized message of war to young lives in the USA. That is what occurred here. The young men in the USA were told the Syrian people were under siege and The West wasn't engaging another Iraq. It proved a recruitment tool for radicals.

It wasn't enough the USA military trained soldiers for ISIS and proved hardware, The West's media provided recruits.