Saturday, June 9, 2012

Uh-oh...

For some, this may not end well...

7th Annual Truckee Optimist Brew Fest Truckee Regional Park, June 9th, 2012, Saturday, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

DUI Saturation Patrols in Truckee, Eastern County

Sounds like a Venn diagram in the making. Complete with flashing red lights. Heh.

Saturday Emmylou Blogging

The dawn of country rock or straight country? Your pick. About as old as it gets for Emmylou.


Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris ~ We'll Sweep Out The Ashes In The Morning
Thanks to ernestosb7, Peru.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Fat City

There's a lot of profit in our national obesity epidemic. The profit goes to Snack Inc. but we pay the health care cost. Private profit, public fat.

Thanks to YubaNet.

Marijuana law just creates criminals

CNN on New York's "Catch-22" law.

But what many people don't know is that the state decriminalized this offense more than 30 years ago, making private possession of less than 25 grams of marijuana a violation punishable by a $100 fine. Possession of the same amount in public view remains a criminal misdemeanor.
...

Often, however, the police approach young people and instruct them to empty their pockets immediately and show the officers anything they have. People who have a small quantity of marijuana in their pockets take it out and hold it up. The marijuana is now in public view. Thousands of people are then arrested and charged with misdemeanor possession, punishable by up to three months in jail and a $500 fine.

That's just plain chickenshit and only creates grist for the Law enforcement/Prison industry mill.

But New York is prepared to take a significant step forward to solve this problem. With the leadership of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, we are on the brink of finishing the job that the state Legislature started in 1977. We want to reduce the classification of possession of small quantities of marijuana in plain view from a misdemeanor to a violation.
Justice demands this change. The possession of small quantities of marijuana is either a crime or it is not. But it cannot be criminal activity for one group of people and socially acceptable behavior for another when the dividing line is race.

Good for Cuomo. The criminal records of people who have been turned into criminals in this patently unfair arrest scam should be expunged as well. Fat chance.

Related:

Raw Story

A dozen New York City lawmakers will meet members of Congress and officials from the justice department on Wednesday in the hope of prompting a federal investigation into the NYPD’s controversial stop-and-frisk policy....

Members of the coalition say mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly have failed to respond to demands for change and that federal intervention is now needed. [...]

Let's review "probable cause".

In California there used to be an "implied consent" law that the mere fact you had a driver's license implied consent to a search of your vehicle if you were stopped for any reason. That went by the boards a long time ago but many cops want you to think it still applies.

A police officer can act on any "plain view" observation, but "probable cause" is necessary for a "Constitutional search". Mere suspicion is not grounds for probable cause. I was in court once (I did that a lot back in the day) and a judge ruled that anything the cop saw in a pickup was OK until he bent over to have a closer look and saw an open beer on the floorboard, and that constituted a Constitutional search and the evidence was not allowable and the guy beat the "open container" charge. I've also seen that judge in the Safeway at one a.m. in his PJs and slippers buying a gallon jug of wine. Justice was gonna get blind. Heh.

There must have been a specific crime or violation committed with actionable evidence that a person was involved. That constitutes probable cause. This despicable, mostly race-based "stop-and-frisk" law is blatantly in violation of the Constitution and needs to be stopped. Now.

Never ever consent to a Constitutional search especially if you have nothing to hide. Let the cop go through the process even if it wastes your time. Let him summon the dope-sniffing pooch (ours is usually about 65 miles away. Heh.) The cops know they're just fishing and only the most chickenshit of them (plenty of those) will detain you. They know they have no grounds for a warrant and are just trying to browbeat you into complying with their request. Do not be intimidated by all the cop's flashy hardware or bully attitude.

Cop: "I know you have dope or are up to something criminal." That's the way those fuckers think, and if you think too long, you think wrong. All they do is think all the time about us civilian scumbags being up to no good and they're wrong 99% of the time.

You (locking car, putting keys in pocket, crossing arms, leaning on car, smiling): "Officer, you may suspect I'm up to no good, you may even believe I'm up to no good, but you fer goddam sure don't know I'm up to no good. Go wake up a judge and ask him to issue a search warrant on what you think. I'll wait."

Won't happen unless someone dropped a dime on you. Heh.

I know a cop who claims he can get probable cause on anyone if he talks to them long enough. Keep your mouth mostly shut and don't make or respond to small talk. Remember that government officials, from cops to the President, are allowed to lie to you, but it's a crime for you to lie to them.

We should make it a crime for them to lie to us, with appropriate penalties. That would change everything. All the Repugs would be in the hoosegow where they belong and most of the Dems as well.

Update:

I wandered a bit above. Ben Jealous, president of the NAACP, on "stop-and-frisk":

Such policing is a wholesale violation of civil rights. The program has seemingly given law enforcement carte blanche to stop anyone they please. This has led to hundreds of thousands of innocent people – a majority of whom are people of color – being harassed and humiliated by the police sworn to protect them.

More. Give 'em hell, Ben.

Dirty Little Red State Secret

It's no secret to those of us who are watching. Good read anyway.

Politicususa

ALEC is Behind the GOP’s Voter Purge

Voting is a privilege that is abused with great frequency, but it is from non-participation as much as Republican voter suppression tactics, and democracy is paying the price. There is one thing to say about Republican voters and it is that they vote. They vote in large numbers and although they vote against their own best interests, Republicans can count on every registered Republican voter showing up on Election Day, and coupled with Democratic voter apathy, harsh voter ID laws, and intimidation tactics, it is a wonder Republicans fail to control the House, Senate, and the White House permanently. However, despite Republicans’ dirty tricks and harsh voter ID laws, Democrats are still competitive and if they would just show up at the polls, Republicans would not be driving America toward a corporate fascist state. The upcoming general election will decide the makeup of the Supreme Court for a generation, and if Republicans win the White House and control both houses of Congress, decisions like Citizens United, eliminating Social Security and Medicare, bans on contraception and homosexuality, and the end of freedom of religion will occur within one election cycle as the country is controlled by Dominionists and men like the Koch brothers.

Much more.

Headline of the Day

Reid: Bet on filibuster changes if Obama, Dems win in November

Shoulda done it last time, Harry. Coulda saved two years of Repug grief.

Thanks, that clears it up...

Gleefully gleeped from Seniors for a Democratic Society.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Delusion on the Never-Right

Thanks to YubaNet.

A Few Brief Observations on the Wisconsin Recall Failure

El Rude-o on the Wisconsin loss:

5. We have to nut up and go after them with a savagery that would make a tiger shark shit itself. How bad does it have to be? You might have read about or seen Barrett condemning Walker for a particularly harsh ad. Did you check out the actual ad about crime in Milwaukee? A blurred photo of a dead two year-old? That's some terrible shit. And it didn't appall people enough to turn against Walker. No, it worked. So we have to be at least that brutal. And don't be a pussy and say that we shouldn't stoop to their tactics. You use the tactics that succeed or you lose.

Rifle butts and bayonets work for me. Up close and personal.

Beating-Head-Repeatedly-On-Keyboard Headline of the Day

Why Romney’s Police Impersonations Could Really Alienate His Base

Bush Blocked Iran Nuke Deal

Figures. The real men (puke) wanted an excuse to bomb Tehran and invade Iran. The best (or worst) thing they could get away with was Iraq. Bastards. Consortiumnews:

A former top Iranian negotiator says Iran offered the West a deal in 2005 that would have eliminated the possibility of Iran developing a nuclear bomb, but the plan was blocked by hardliners in George W. Bush’s administration who rejected any right of Iran to process uranium, Gareth Porter reports for Inter Press Service.
...

Seyed Hossein Mousavian, who had led Iran’s nuclear negotiating team in 2004 and 2005, makes it clear that the reason that offer was rejected was that the George W. Bush administration refused to countenance any Iranian enrichment capability, regardless of the circumstances. Mousavian reveals previously unknown details about that pivotal episode in the diplomacy surrounding the Iran nuclear issue in memoirs published Tuesday.

I understand Iran's reaction perfectly. Anybody tells me "my way or the highway", I step over their freshly supine form on the way to the highway.

Headline of the Day

‘Sluts’ Unite Against Republicans, Rush Limbaugh

I wanta go to those rallies!

Now yer talkin'!

WaPo

Supporting marijuana legalization and winning elections

Wow! What a concept!

Politicians typically lag behind the voters on social issues, at least publicly. Many elected officials will say in private that they personally support marijuana legalization but fear political repercussions if they “come out” about their support for reform. That dynamic may be shifting. In blue Oregon and California and red Texas, candidates have just succeeded with a pro-reform message. As the momentum builds for marijuana legalization across the country, politicians will have no choice but to get in step with the public. And then we’ll really start to see things change.

"Politicians typically lag behind the voters on social issues." No shit. The only thing they don't lag behind in is cashing checks. They're scared like little girls to piss off their money spinners, in this case the liquor and private prison and law enforcement lobbies, not to mention the anti-fun people on the Puritan right.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Sadly, yes...

Thanks to YubaNet.

Semi-Official CA Primary Election Results

Not that anybody gives a shit...

President, on separate partisan ballots, Obama - 100%, Romney - 79.6%, followed by Ron Paul and the other usual suspects, most of whom already dropped out.

U.S. Senate, 23 candidates, all parties, top two to face off in November, incumbent Dianne Feinstein - 49.3%, followed by some Repug woman nobody's ever heard of at 12.5%. In homage to brain-dead name recognition, Oily Taint came in fourth at 3.1%, followed by a gaggle of others, mostly Repugs.

Propositions. Sounds risqué but it's not. Heh.

Prop 28, Legislators Term Limits, passed handily, thanks to me 'n Mrs. G.

Prop 29, Buck A Pack Tax On Cigarettes To Fund Cancer Research went down 50.8% to 49.2%. I was going to vote 'No' because I don't much care to vote extra taxes on only some people unless they're rich, but when I saw who was against it - R.J.Reynolds and Philip Morris among others - I changed my mind. They dive-bombed the airwaves with $47 million and squeaked it out.

U.S. Congress, District 4, incumbent Tom "Carpetbagger" McClintock(R) won in a mudslide. I voted for the Dem I've never heard of.

Locally, I voted for a judge because he was recommended by an old friend and retired Nevada County Sheriff's Captain who was also in charge of the county jail on one of my stays there. He came to visit me once in the day room just to shoot the shit which caused a goodly amount of consternation amongst the other trustys as if I were an intel plant. Heh. The judge also was recommended by a retired judge who had to make up a charge to rule against me in a land-use case when he couldn't find cause to rule against me on any of the original 23 charges. The plaintiff's lieyer, his former employee, was up for Superior Court judge and he didn't want him to lose a case. Clever bastards, judges. They stick together like priests on pedophile charges.

It wasn't much of an election, with a projected 25% voter turnout which would be a record low for a CA presidential primary. Ho-hum.

Babies! At the end of the world

If it's Wednesday, it must be Morford on the low birth rate in Spain, world overpopulation, and paella. Mmmmmm, paella, or "shrimps 'n rice" as my Spanish friends call it.

I have recently returned from Spain. Spain is sultry and delicious like spicy paella at midnight; Barcelona is like San Francisco with a sexier accent and better sangria, warmer and bigger and messier, a million outdoor patios and nightclubs that won't even look at you until 2:00AM.
...

It's a basic, insane truism of economics: Population growth is what makes for a thriving economy. Not population stasis, not population contraction, not population oh-my-God-there-are-way-too-many-people-in-this-room-right-now. Only growth, endless and forever, will keep the world from imploding. How very preposterous.

Sound obvious? Sure it is. But it's also sort of tragic, this collision course with imminent implosion. We're like the bus in Speed or the boat in Speed II or the quantum rocket ship in Speed III -- slow down even for a second, and Sandra Bullock gets it.

The thought of Sandra Bullock "getting it" is ... but I digress.

This much we know: No one is walking through the slums of Mumbai or Sudan, no one is stuck in traffic in LA, coughing up a lung in São Paolo or just trying to cross the street in downtown Cairo and saying, "Hey, you know what we need? We need more people. We need to procreate ourselves out of this problem. After all, it's what God wants." Because God, apparently, is a complete idiot.

Yeah, the ancient charlatans who conjured up an imaginary sky monster to scare people into doing what they want and makes them go by what He says made Him in their own image. Whatever works, and it does.

More. Enjoy the paella.

Now ...

She's a New Yorker:

The wing of the space shuttle Enterprise was damaged on its journey from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to its new home at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in Manhattan.

The shuttle was en route to a New Jersey marina, its first destination on a two-part trip, when the tip of the wing scraped a piling in Jamaica Bay.

...

Nearly every vehicle in NYC has, at the very least, a small dent or has had a side-view mirror torn off parking on the street. Comes from packing 8 million people and their cars into such a small space. Enterprise can now say she has her first NYC dent. Heh ...

We're doomed ...

It's all over but the crying in Wisconsin:

Republican Gov. Scott Walker has won the Wisconsin governor’s recall over Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, holding onto his job after his push to slash collective bargaining rights for public employees sparked intense statewide backlash.

...

This is the news I woke up to and my first reaction is that I'm pissed and disappointed. The ramifications of this are far-reaching and will have deleterious effect on our system for a long time.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Ending a deadly drug war

Suggestions by LATimes readers on ending the drug wars. Weak as water. Here's mine:

Decriminalize, or better yet, legalize possession of marijuana.

Beef up interdiction of the cheeb at our southern border. Our 'free market' is perfectly capable of satisfying demand if left to its own devices. Leave Canada alone. Great weed and no war up there that we've heard about.

Send the big brave DEA agents who are so good at busting the places where sick folks get their meds to Mexico to wipe out the baddies in the drug cartels.

That was a grim joke, folks. Then send the Marines (SEALS, SpecOps, 82d Airborne, whomever) down there to rescue what's left of the DEA guys and wipe out the cartels in the process.

We could win TWO drug wars, the Mexicans' and ours.

Doughy Pantload is at it again

LATimes

It should surprise no one that I'm opposed to the recall of Scott Walker, the Wisconsin governor whose fate will be decided Tuesday. But that's only in part because I support what he's been trying to do in the Badger State. I'm also against recalls as a matter of principle.

He's a right-winger and by definition wouldn't know 'principle' if it bit him on the ass.

In 2003, I was one of the few conservatives opposed to the recall of Gray Davis, arguably the worst California governor in modern memory.

Except for the two Repug goobernators that preceded and the one who followed him.

Wisconsin's governor is no Schwarzenegger. Walker ran as a full-spectrum conservative promising to take on the political machine. "I was the original'tea party'in Wisconsin," he declared in 2010. The effort to remove Walker from office is not an attempt to hold him accountable for his failures — as it was with Gray Davis — but to punish him for his successes.

It's probably easier to esplain shit to a three-year-old than to a committed wingtard, but I'll try.

Ker-whack! (Dope slap to get his attention) Look, asshole, Walker lied, cheated, and stole to get "success" for the Big Money, NOT the people, of, by, and FOR whom government is supposed to be, and they're PISSED. They don't want to go back to Robber Baron days like the Repugs do.

Note to my Wisconsin friends: Turn out in UNBELIEVABLE numbers today and send that puke home to await his coming indictments.

Quote of the Day

Mr. Aravosis:

Not to go all Pat Robertson, but it is interesting how so many of these phenomena seem to occur in the same places tornadoes hit.

I been saying this for a long time. When natural cataclysms hit Jesusland, it's "God is testing us" but when there's a natural disaster in a blue state "God is showing his displeasure with our decadent lifestyle". If that's true, how come Jesusland is the major recipient of flooding, tornadoes, and all around bad things? Maybe God is trying to tell them something.

Good luck ...

Our progressive brothers and sisters in Wisconsin are embarking on the fight of their lives today. Good luck and godspeed!

A year of explosive legislation, bitter protests, endless campaigning and a prior round of recalls in Wisconsin have led to today.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and four state senators are facing recall votes. It is only the third gubernatorial recall election in American history, and the first ever for Wisconsin.

...

Looks like ...

Karzai of the Afghans has more to worry about from his own family than he does from the Taliban:

The family that has prospered most under our shower of largess is in discussion as to their future course of action. Discussion Hell! The Karzai family is fighting tooth and nail amongst themselves to get their share of all they have stolen these last ten years.

...

Monday, June 4, 2012

"Permanently capitalizing the P in Presumptive Nominee"

Will Durst on Willard and The Donald:

Another potential mine in the Road to Tampa is the struggle to keep Willard from hanging out with the wrong crowd. You know, other Republicans. Especially distressing to see him palling around with Donald Trump. Again, Like being photographed at a clown convention. No matter how hard you try, some of that white face is bound to wipe off on the shoulders of even the most ghostly of political shadows.

I gar-on-tee nothing but white is gonna rub off on Rmoney. And who could tell?

Donald Trump: a man who is to sober judgment what chocolate covered marshmallows are to quantum physics. Fueling more fickle furnaces that suspect he’ll say or do anything to get to 50.1%, Romney refuses to criticize The Donald, even when the reality show host spouts further Birther nonsense. “Obama was born in Kenya.” No, he wasn’t. He was born in Honolulu. In a manger. Everybody knows that.

When asked why he continues to press on with this discredited charge, Trump said: “People on the street tell me not to give up on the issue.” Donald, for crum’s sake, you live in New York City. People on the street also say “My tricycle sprouted wings and is made out of plutonium.”

Although when you think about it, the Oxymormon needs to pick a vice president who makes him look presidential, and The Donald might be the perfect choice. Next to him, Lou Ferrigno looks Presidential. Manny Ramirez. Some random guy in a banana suit twirling a sign.

Of course, featuring these two titans of industry, people would either flock to or flee from the Vulture Capitalist Ticket. You’ve heard of Dumb & Dumber? Welcome to Rich & Richer. Even George Will would have to admit, it’s a pairing that would go a long way into nailing down the bloviating ignoramus vote. Start cranking out the bumper stickers: “Romney/ Trump 2012. We’re Good at Firing People!”

Oh, the irony...

Ironic Times

BUSH, CHENEY, RUMSFELD, YOO CONVICTED OF WAR CRIMES BY INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL IN INDONESIA
Move along folks, nothing going on here.

Needs to happen a little closer to home, like the Hague.

Iran Says It's Been Hit by Powerful Cyber Attack
Ayatollah Khamenei rails against foreign invaders who disrupted his download.

Pulled his pants up for the first time in weeks.

Study: Regular Viewers of Fox News Least Informed
Regular viewers of test pattern score higher.

I like the one with the Indian Chief.

Study: Women Smell Better Than Men
Based on thousands of extremely awkward interviews.

"Not awkward at all!" says Fixer. Note his official interviewer shirt:

Click to embiggen

Quote of the Day

Thers:

...

Boy, if Mitt Rmoney wins the election, I wonder if he'll even have time to do any proper presidentin', what with all the billionaire dick he'll be sucking.

...

Real food ...

Been saying, and practicing, this for years:

What is it about we Americans that makes eating for pleasure such a doggone difficult concept to wrap our little Cotton Mather heads around?

...

But for some reason, Americans still insist on "eating for health" instead of for pleasure. And that all but provokes an inevitable reaction: too many of us keep on mistaking pleasurable foods for processed garbage with lethal amounts of salt, sugar, and who-the-hell-knows-what-else in them. It creates a deadly dichotomy. One side leads to deadly dull meals; the other is simply deadly.

...

This is where "keep it real" hits home. There is amazingly little that comes out of a package in this house. Eat real food, get adequate exercise, and you'll never have to put anything with the word "diet" on it near your lips again.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Headline of the Day

All 67 Florida Election Supervisors Suspend Governor Rick Scott's Voter Purge

In other words, "Stick yer purge where the sun don't shine, chromedome."

Don't Thank Me for My Service

This op-ed comes awfully close to the way I feel.

By Camillo Mac Bica, Truthout

I do not want to appear disrespectful or ungrateful, but should we meet on the street one day, do say "Hello," or "Fine day" or other such nicety, but please do not thank me for "my service" as a United States Marine. I make this request because my service, as you refer to it, was basically, either to train to become a killer or to actually kill people and blow shit up.
...

So, in the future, if you really insist on thanking me for something, do not thank me for the eight years I spent as a Marine, but for the 45 or so years following my discharge from the military that I have spent as an activist fighting for human rights and social justice and to end the insanity of war. Frankly, however, I would prefer that you just say hello, or fine day or other such nicety. You see, my activism all these years warrants no praise or merit, as it is not something I choose to do. Rather, I do it because I must, perhaps as penance for my culpability for the sacrilege of war. And if you truly want to demonstrate your good character, patriotism, and support for the troops and veterans, rather than merely mouth meaningless expressions of gratitude for something you don't truly understand or care much about, do something meaningful and real. Do what is truly in the interest of this nation and of those victimized by war.

Make some demands.

Demand, for example, an immediate end to the corporate takeover of our "democracy" and to the undue influence of the military-industrial-Congressional complex. Demand sanity in Pentagon spending and a reallocation of finite resources to people-focused programs such as health care, education and jobs rather than to killing and destruction. Demand an immediate end to wars for corporate profit, greed, power and hegemony. Demand that we adhere to the Constitution and to international law. Demand accountability for those who make war easily and care more for wealth, profit and power than for national interest or for the welfare of their fellow human beings. And finally, demand the troops be brought home now, and that they be adequately treated and cared for when they return. So, should we meet on the street one day, do say Hello, or Fine day, and as you talk to me about your efforts to make this country and the world a better and more peaceful place in which to live, I would be happy to thank you for your service.

Don't thank me either. Thankfully I never had to go to war and I didn't join the service for anybody but myself anyway. I was a dumb kid like everybody else. It worked out all right and I'm proud of my service but that's my business. So far I have been able to avoid telling people who thank me to go fuck themselves and where were they when my brothers in arms were being reviled for doing their duty in a war that was less despicable than Bush's Oil War. It's a struggle sometimes.

I guess I'm looking for a courteous way to say "Keep yer goddam thanks to yourself. You don't know jack shit."

I'll keep looking.

Well ...

Maybe it's not so bad:

Over the last week, the signals have been abundant that congressional Republicans are pivoting from their total opposition to “Obamacare” toward supporting the more popular chunks of the law.

...

Seems the Orange Boner realizes that too many people like too many provisions of the Affordable Care Act for the GOP to keep saying they're gonna repeal it. Idiots.

Quote of the Day

Watertiger:

Trump is the living exemplar of why the inheritance tax should be much MUCH higher.

Ain't no such thing ...

Heh ...


Stolen from the Americans Against The Tea Party FB page.