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Tuesday, June 16, 2015

The Daily Drift

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The napkin that changed the world

A few scrawled lines that disrupted the entire American economy and Republican politics to this day
The business of America may be business, but we generally don’t spend a great deal of time really thinking about the subject. At least not the same way we reflect upon history or sports or even pop culture, all of which are explored in major museums (plural) across the country. Until now that is. Now, business gets its turn, as the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. readies “American Enterprise: A History of Business in America,” the museum’s first deep exploration of commerce in our country. The Smithsonian recently let Yahoo Finance in for an exclusive, sneak preview of the exhibit, which opens July 1st.
What strikes you right away when you walk into the exhibit is how rich our business history is, and how much change our country has witnessed and driven over the past 300 plus years. “This exhibit is about American business and how it changes American lives,” says David Allison, the exhibition project director. “We’re really focusing on the way that innovation has driven American business from the Colonial era right up to the present.”
Innovation, or put another way, disruption. Here you get a super clear picture of how one business or industry is constantly changing another, or even putting it out of business. From covered wagons to trains to cars to jets for instance, you can truly get a feel for the linear arc of American business history here. But you also see its elliptical nature. There are over 600 carefully chosen emblematic objects; everything from cell phones to antique china, the napkin that economist Arthur Laffer drew the famous Laffer Curve on. Yes the giants like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Steve Jobs are represented, but so too are lesser knowns.

Hackers Part Deux

Second breach: Hackers grab sensitive military and intelligence personnel background information

Youngest Woman President

Hillary Clinton announces presidential run (Screenshot/YouTube)

Roger Ailes Has ‘Personally Taken Charge Of Some Of Fox’s Recent Attacks’ On Hillary Clinton

Roger Ailes Has Reportedly ‘Personally Taken Charge Of Some Of Fox’s Recent Attacks’ On Hillary Clinton
A fascinating article about the ascension of Rupert Murdoch’s son, James Murdoch, to CEO of 21st Century Fox, which owns Fox News, predicts that Roger Ailes will continue to play the role of uber Republican strategist for the foreseeable future.

Democrats On Benghazi Committee Publicly Call Out Republicans' Political Game-Playing And Delays

Dems On Benghazi Committee Publicly Call Out GOP’s Political Game-Playing And Delays It’s been over a year since the latest Benghazi sideshow committee went to work on trying to find some

Ziggy

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Typical Republican Answer: Not fixing the problem just adding to the mess

Walker's Fascism Could Cost Taxpayers $1 Million

Walker's Fascism Could Cost Taxpayers $1 Million
Suppression of Free Speech isn't free
Walker's Fascism Could Cost Taxpayers $1 Million

Paul Ryan Falls Apart On Fox News And Admits Republicans Have No Obamacare Alternative

ryan-fnsPaul Ryan fell apart on Fox News Sunday and when pressed refused to say that he would guarantee Obamacare subsidies for the people who might lose them.
Chris Wallace asked if Republicans would come up with a way to keep the ACA subsidies going? Ryan answered, “We will have an answer. We will have a solution. We don’t want people to fall victim because of this bad law, and we want to give people freedom from Obamacare.”
Ryan listed a series of Obamacare lies, and Chris Wallace come back at him by asking if he was guaranteeing that people will be able to keep their subsidies. Ryan tried to dodge the question, “Well, we will have a solution that address this law that gives people a bridge from Obamacare.”
Wallace asked, will you demand an end to the mandates, the employer mandates, the individual mandates, and Ryan refused to answer again, “Well, I’m not going to get into all that, because we want to see what the ruling is. We want to give people freedom from Obamacare. We want to actually let them buy what they want to buy.”
Paul Ryan refused to answer the simple question of whether House Republicans are going to screw millions of people out of their health insurance. Ryan’s answers were an admission that the Republican Party has no backup plan because Republicans can’t agree on what to do if the Supreme Court strikes down the subsidies.
If the Supreme Court gives conservatives the ruling that they want Republicans are in deep trouble. Most of the states where people will lose their subsidies are Republican controlled red states.
Fox News doesn’t want to see Republicans held accountable by voters if the subsidies are taken away, which is why Chris Wallace was pushing Ryan so hard to guarantee the subsidies.
Instead of honestly answering the question, Paul Ryan ducked and dodged while doing his usual deer in headlights schtick. Reality is knocking on Paul Ryan’s door, and the Wisconsin Republican is about to discover that life isn’t an Ayn Rand fantasy novel.

Chris Christie Claims Free College Tuition For All Will Destroy America

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Chris Christie broke out the old Republican myth that giving people anything will destroy America by suggesting that the country doesn’t need tuition free college and that people have to “earn” their education.
Transcript via ABC This Week:
But the idea of free college for everybody, there’s nothing free in this world. We need to earn what we get.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But you even pointed out — you know, you talked about your dad and what he got on the G.I. Bill. Studies show that there’s a seven to one return on that kind of an investment.
Why not for all Americans?
CHRISTIE: Listen, it is available for all Americans, George. We have grant programs that are very broadly used. We have loan programs that are very broadly used. And by the way, my dad went for six years again night. He worked all day to help to put himself through college.
So it wasn’t that the G.I. Bill did everything for my father, it helped. It helped for certain. And we should still provide those type of benefits for folks.
But my dad also worked every day for six years to get his degree, all day and then went to school at night.
But the idea of free college for everybody, there’s nothing free in this world. We need to earn what we get.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But you even pointed out — you know, you talked about your dad and what he got on the G.I. Bill. Studies show that there’s a seven to one return on that kind of an investment.
Why not for all Americans?
CHRISTIE: Listen, it is available for all Americans, George. We have grant programs that are very broadly used. We have loan programs that are very broadly used. And by the way, my dad went for six years again night. He worked all day to help to put himself through college.
So it wasn’t that the G.I. Bill did everything for my father, it helped. It helped for certain. And we should still provide those type of benefits for folks.
But my dad also worked every day for six years to get his degree, all day and then went to school at night.
Christie was voicing the same flawed ideology that Republicans use to defend keeping people in poverty. Republicans argue that giving people access to health care makes them lazy. Republicans claim that giving people a path to a better life will destroy the moral fabric of American society.
Gov. Christie seems to be the only person in America who doesn’t understand that he is never going to be elected president. The scandal-plagued Christie really believes that if moves far to the right, he can win the hearts of Republicans.
Christie was echoing the Republican position that college should not be available to all, and that lack of economic opportunity is a good thing.
Republicans aren’t even trying to hide it if elected, they intend to make life worse for most Americans.

The Delusion is strong in this one, Obiwan

Lindsey Graham speaks to CBS News (screen grab)

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback Cries During Meeting About State Budget He Destroyed

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback Cries During Meeting About State Budget He DestroyedAn “emotional” Brownback discovers destroying your state’s economy makes people hate you.

You Must Hate The Constitution If You Think ‘under god’ Should Remain In The Pledge Of Allegiance

You Must Hate The Constitution If You Think ‘Under God’ Should Remain In The Pledge Of Allegiance It becomes more and more apparent that some people really love to live in a fantasy world where their religion is the only religion that matters ...

GoDaddy Allegedly Turned Down Job Applicant Because He Was An ‘Obese 'christian'’

GoDaddy Allegedly Turned Down Job Applicant Because He Was An ‘Obese Christian’ (IMAGE)
Arizona-based GoDaddy, who’s probably the best known hosting/domain support company in the country, has found itself in an unusual discrimination...

California Republican: Abortion, Liberal Politicians Caused Drought

Someone call the Cuckoo Nest one of their inmates has escaped! Qnacjzm8uo2dsd5woclj
by Tierney Sneed
If Californians would like to see an end to the extreme drought the state is facing, they should consider passing more restrictions on abortion. That, at least, was the suggestion of a California Republican in remarks to anti-abortion activists last week.
"Texas was in a long period of drought until Governor Perry signed the fetal pain bill,” (Now they have excessive flooding)  Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) said, as reported by RH Reality Check. "It rained that night. Now dog has his hold on California."
The legislation Grove was probably referring to was part of omnibus bill of abortion restrictions passed by Texas lawmakers in 2013, some of which are currently being challenged in courts. A federal version of the so-called "fetal pain" provision -- a ban on abortions after 20 weeks into the pregnancy -- passed the U.S. House of Representatives last month and was introduced in the Senate on Thursday, where it stands little chance of overcoming an expected Democratic filibuster.
Grove was speaking at a banquet of anti-abortion agitators that included catholic bishops for no chioce, Pray California, Californians for no choice, and the California Republican Assembly.
Grove did not respond to RH Reality Check's request for comment, but in a Facebook comment Thursday, she went on to suggest liberal politicians could also be to blame for the drought:
I believe --and most Americans believe (That is incorrect, Ma'am ~ Most Americans) --that dog’s hand is in the affairs of man, and certainly was in the formation of this country. The Founders put dog in the center of this nation (Again, Ma'am, incorrect) by recognizing him as a giver of our rights. Is this drought caused by dog? Nobody knows. But biblical history shows a consequence to man’s actions; we do know for sure that California’s water shortage crisis has been compounded by liberal politicians’ poor decisions - not properly managing our water resources and refusing to build water storage for decades
Brian Johnston, the chairman of the California Anti-Choice Council, attempted to distance his group from Grove's linking of abortion and the drought, telling RH Reality Check, "That was never said by me or the California Anti-Choice Council." Likewise, Marylee Shrider, executive director of Right to Life of Kern County, did the same, telling The Bakersfield Californian, "[W]e have not made a connection between the drought and abortion here in California.”
Meanwhile, pro-abortion rights groups have pounced on Grove's comments. Pro-Choice Kern Count posted a mock T-shirt design on its Facebook page that said, "I made a desert with my abortion and all I got was this lousy T-shirt."

High Carbon Levels Can Make It Harder For Plants To Grow



Shoe

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Typical Republican - can't recognize the reality of any situation

A Band of Brothers

Gerry Suttle, 75, and Reynolds boys (Screenshot/KWTX)
Had it not been for the help of four young brothers, a 75-year-old Texas woman could have ended up in handcuffs already, all because of overgrown grass.

Judge Says Cause Exists To Arrest Cop Who Killed Tamir Rice For Murder

A Municipal Court judge in Cleveland, Ohio determined that probable cause exists to bring murder charges against an officer involved in the slaying of 12 year-old Tamir Rice. The judge also determined that probable cause exists to charge a second officer with negligent homicide.Rice was shot by Officer Timothy Loehmann while the young African American boy was holding a toy gun. Officers allegedly did not seek medical help for Rice for several minutes, though they did reportedly handcuff his 14 year-old sister and threaten to detain her further.
Judge Ronald B. Adrine found that sufficient cause exists to charge Loehmann with murder, involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, negligent homicide, and dereliction of duty. Officer Frank Garmback may face charges for negligent homicide and dereliction of duty.
What happens now is less certain. Adrine released his findings after clergy members and activists invoked a provision of Ohio law that allows citizens to bypass prosecutors and seek a judge’s opinion on whether cause exists to bring criminal charges. Though Judge Adrine must now issue an arrest warrant for the two officers, the case ultimately will still be referred to a local prosecutor, and the question of whether to indict the two cops rests with a grand jury.

Cops in one US city killed more people in 5 months than Icelandic police have in 71 years

The Guardian's new project, The Counted, is trying to track every police killing in the United States in 2015.  The project is still gathering data, but has already put together preliminary numbers for the first few months of this year. On Tuesday, Guardian reporter Jamiles Larty compared the data to similar numbers about police in other countries — and the results were stunning. Not only has the US already had more police killings in five months than most other countries have had in decades, some individual US cities have too.
The comparisons are shocking — even when you account for population
[...]
Here is a sample of some of the most disturbing facts that Larty's analysis revealed:
  • Police in Stockton, California killed three times as many people in 2015 as Icelandic police ever have: Stockton has slightly more people than Iceland does. Stockton police killed three people in the first five months of 2015; Icelandic police have only killed one person in the country's entire 71 year history.
  • Police in Pasco, Washington fired more bullets in one fatal shooting than Finnish police did in all of 2013: There are about 80 times as many people in Finland as there are in Pasco. Finnish police fired 6 bullets in 2013; Pasco officers fired 17 when they shot and killed Antonio Zambrano-Montes in February 2015. According to investigators, Zambrano-Montes was armed only with a rock.
  • More unarmed black men were killed by police in the US in 2015 than people of any race were killed by German cops in two years. Germany's population is about a fourth of US's total population, but there are roughly twice as many Germans as there are African-Americans. According to the Guardian's data, 19 unarmed black men have been killed by US police in 2015 so far. By contrast, German police shot a total of 15 people, both armed and unarmed, between 2010 and 2011.
  • America's guns: the real issue?