Reince and the MoJoes cuttin’ the cheese this ayem. Yawnnnnn.

Thanks, SD. Funny that when a country privatizes private industry, it’s in the interest of the public rather than any ‘privatizing’ of public services which turns those services into the DIY mode.

Mornin’, pups

Once you’ve been freed and been pissed off by the truth, it’s fun to share it:

http://freewayblogger.blogspot.com/2012/08/san-francisco.html

Doing LA now.

Good morning pupses, and thank you, SD. In the waiting room at a big surgery center while SIL has cataract surgery and no wifi. Not like we are in the middle of the ocean here. Grrr. The morning yappers are on so i have my back to them, earbugs in, listening to Gerald Finzi and reading the Diner, all on my phone.

Yay, Freeway, glad you dropped in, another worthwhile appearance you have there.

Now here’s an interesting concept, mentioned earlier on moJoe … no bonus tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. Everybody gets tax cut up to $250 thou, but no bonus tax cuts no more. finally. a simple resonating message.

Don’t suppose you can quietly ask the staff if you can watch actual news? which is how I ask to watch Current tv, where Bill Press has on factual accounts of events.

You’ve been doing great work for a long time. Always a pleasure to see you.

Capehart making point about RRmoney’s steady drumbeat of hate, dogwhistles despite MoJoe’s righteous indignation about Biden. Singing the Unchained Melody ….

No WiFi seems to be typical of hospitals. I know they have internal WiFi for their staff and medical personnel, but often don’t have any public WiFi — or decent cell phone reception either.

Good morning everyone!

Thanks for reminding us again of your good work!!

Launching into hate invective about hating is too funny. But it’s not as if the wingnuts are trying to appeal to a rational voting bloc.

I’m too chicken. Everyone else is rapt.

Yes, thank you, Freeway Blogger.

Found a BBC report on Rohingya massacres. Since the Brits fanned the antipathy betw Buddhists & Muslims when Burma was a colony, you’ve got to be watchful for bias in BBC reports.

Whoa, if I closed my eyes I’d swear that the lady next to me was a gardenia bush.

I took my three small grandkids to McDonalds on the way to the hospital to visit their mom on Monday, and Faux Nooz was on the big TV in the center of the dining area. If I hadn’t had the three youngsters with me, I probably would have asked for a change of channel, but…

Fragrant, is she?

Not too hard to find, it’s the 6th bullet above.

Seems you’re in dogs’ country there. Reading anything by, say, Amy Goodman or Matt Taibbi might help keep your sanity, anyway.

That’s when you can instruct the kids that unfortunately we’re having to listen to things intended not to be taken as factual. Sort of like My Little Pony for adults.

My question is what are the British going to do about Assange.

Tap his phone? oh, the horror.

Hadn’t read the post. Sorry.

I was under the impression yesterday that you thought presstv was fabricating it.

Brazil government has adopted a number of monetary policies for effectuating Brazilian economic stimulus package. Rebates and tax deductions amounting to $3.1 billion in 2007 have been set to increase to $5.05 billion by 2011. These tax deductions would be funded by reducing budget surplus. These tax deductions are being provided in form of exemptions of industrial and wealth taxes.

http://www.economywatch.com/economic-stimulus-package/brazil.html

Tax Cuts for the rich and big business are not economic stimulus Bush proved that. Privatized transportation and communication only help if more jobs are created and hopefully made more efficient I see no mention of creating jobs so far in this plan.
Tax cuts even for the poor don’t stimulate as much as jobs do. Brazil should focus on creating consumer demand in Brazil even if it means taxing imports.
I expect Brazil’s economy to grow at an even smaller rate in 9 months. Wallmart is claiming China and Brazil are their new growth areas they don’t expect much growth in America.
I think China might also be bad for Wallmart their economy seems to be slowing down but at least they are creating new jobs.

China is spending $618 billion on various infrastructure programs (roads, rail, etc.), as well investments into science and technology.
China is lowering its trade surplus. Since 2007, the country’s trade surplus as a share of GDP has gone from 7.5% to 3.1%, as domestic demand creates benefits overseas.
China is expanding its social safety net. All Chinese now have free education. 90% of the population has access to medical co-ops. 60% of counties have old-age insurance schemes.

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-06-23/markets/29959039_1_wen-jiabao-chinese-growth-china

Many of these will be Green jobs meaning cheaper power which will lower manufacturing costs and provide health benefits reducing labor healthcare costs.

The problem with China’s infrastructure spending is that corruption in the construction industry is so rampant that structures have a habit of collapsing after a few years because of the shoddy materials used to build them.

I think the Brits will arrest him if he sticks his nose out of the embassy. And then deport him to Sweeden as required under British law.

I doubt they’ll give him safe passage to an airport. If they do, they’ll tell The Drone King his route.

And even if he gets on a plane, I wouldn’t put it past Obama to force it down. Or shoot it down.

Or wait until he gets to Equador and arrange an accident. or a kidnapping.

Boxturtle (Does it seem like I’m qestioning ObamaLLP’s ethics?)

Developing countries have the good fortune not to be saddled with antique industries such as our own fossil fuel/BigOil monopolies that try to prevent advances the public can benefit from.

Oh, hell, they were bouncing off the walls, so nobody was watching anyway. Including me.

Wore Grandma Molly OUT.

It seems that you are pessimistic. Me too. Not comforting that there are multiple accounts of whether he’s got asylum or not.

A helicopter from the Embassy to the airport solves the problem of getting him out. A government jet from Ecuador would add a level of seriousness to the situation. If Obama sent out our military to ground an Ecuadorian government plane, things might get weird.

Good morning BT, other firedogs, and as always – thanks for the post and host SD.

The helicopter requires approval from British Government Air Traffic control.

If Obama grounded an Equador jet, and arrested a passenger under asylum, the following would happen:

1) Equador’s ambasador to USA would be recalled. Equador would expell all our diplomats and might well break diplomatic relations. Obama’s re-election doesn’t care.

2) Almost every country in the world would protest. the USA would veto a UNSC resolution and the UNGA would vote something to 3 against USA. Obama’s re-election doesn’t care.

3) Julian would vanish. Obama’s re-election wouldn’t care.

4) A few years afterward, a new president would apologize, ambassadors would be exchanged again and Julian would still be disappeared. Obama’s re-election wouldn’t care.

Boxturtle (We still don’t know what killed Arafat. Not sayin’ nuthin’, just sayin’)

Regarding Truthout, Monsanto. . .

Quite aside from the merits, I’m wondering if Calif will be able to enforce that labeling mandate, under Commerce, if it passes the ballot in Nov.

Morning SD and Diners,

Thanks for the think and link hosting, again.

Listening to the WI primary rehash.

KrisTX, there were a couple of follow-ups at ddayen’s Prosser NewsDesk diary for further info.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/08/war-chalk-arrests

Good they’re taking their grandchildrening duties seriously.

Oh yes they were. LOL. But they are very good kids. These are my DIL’s 3 from first marriage. Including those three, I have 8 and the oldest leaves for college tomorrow.

(How did I get old enough to have a grandson in COLLEGE??)

The Supremes are sharpening their knives to carve further gaps into the constitution.

I’m still reading the comment thread on DDay’s “Calvinball” post. VERY interesting reading. Thanks to you and the other Wisconsinites (is that correct?) for keeping us informed! (I didn’t want to call you “Cheeseheads”)

Has anyone seen Norske lately?

Thanks for trying.

Thompson can’t remember where he wants to send his opponent for the presidency back to, I see. sigh.

Off to swim in the great capitalist cesspool.

US KIA Afghanistan: 2,088

Afghan, Iraki, Yemeni and Pakistani casualties: estimates vary to over 2M

US MBS: 28,148 and counting

No war but class war

Return Post

Be good to yourselves, and all other living things

Namaste

Never. Give. Up.

That was just the GOP primary to run against US Rep Tammy Balbwin in November. Our former governor beat out the hedge fund dealer, multi-millionaire self-funded just moved to WI to try to buy a senate seat Eric Hovde.

Tammy is one of the most true liberal and progressive candidates currently in Congress, now trying for the US Senate as (D) Herb Kohl retires.

Seems like Thompson is using the country’s general winger tactic last election, to run against the prez instead of the actual opponent.

It seems they’re all doing that. Dewhurst lost to Ted Cruz here a couple weeks back (as I’m sure you know :D) on the same platform. He didn’t run against Ted Cruz in the primary – he ran against Barack Obama.

It’s so bad there you’d think you were living in Quebec. Stuff keeps collapsing here on a regular basis. (full disclosure: my wife’s uncles built a lot of the collapsing culverts, bridges and overpasses. The biggest bridge in Canada (Pont Champlain) is on the verge of being declared unusable. The only reason it hasn’t is because half a million people a day need it to get into Montreal to work. They hadn’t figured what all the salt and much heavier trucks would do to the steel that reinforces the concrete pillars. China has a long way to go to catch up to us. Did I mention the couple sitting at an outdoor cafe celebrating their first wedding anniversary a couple of years ago? A concrete slab fell off the face of the building above them, crushing the woman. Owned by a numbered company headquartered somewhere in Switzerland that never bothered to check the construction.

Assange’s asylum is really good news, for a change.

Tommy Thompson, HHS Sec under George W Bush, will have to answer or defend his Medicare give-away to big pharma, his support of the Bush tax cuts for the rich, his support for getting into Iraq, his admission (bragging) that he left state government broke and (in 2010) was stating to the press that he had since,”made a few sheckles.” Long Bush record to defend and some serious lobbying activity to explain after that.

Tammy will have a fight but listening to Thompson’s speech last night (apparently they might have been forcing some coffee down him just prior) was praising Ryan to the hilt, in what might have been a Korbel induced haze, which is a set of coat tails that might not be so great to be riding, even as a newly minted extreme right winger that he prefers to frame himself as.

Assange has been under house arrest of some kind or other for so long he can probably just wait it out in the Embassy until the Brits elect a Labour Government. The longer he stays there, the more embarrassing it is for the U.S. He will become a Cardinal Mindzetsky (sp?) symbol.

It’s really amazing how fast the US is slipping into the ways of the old Soviet Union. I keep wondering exactly when the tipping point occurred, but we are surely long past it.

Good morning everyone.
Thank you for the post SouthernDragon.
Just checking in to see if anyone is still in the Diner. It is 9:15 here and had to get the oil changed in the car this morning.
Thought I would see if any patrons decided to hang around.

I’m here AC2! Going to vote in a bit, but from now I’m sittin’ here drinkin’ lukewarm coffee.

On the evolution of local American politics. A kid I played with when I was 12 or 13 years old (Norm Dicks) finally retired from Congress, where he has been our Democratic Rep since 1976. He got his name on every other public building in what is left of downtown Bremerton WA. I was out there last week visiting my mother when the Primaries came in. I see that the Republican candidate is a Weyerhouser heir from Gig Harbor. Put up a half million of his own money to fund the campaign. Since nobody knows anyone there anymore, I wouldn’t be surprised if he were to win. A lot of crackers have moved into the county since it was made home base for the Reagan and Eisenhower, not to mention the Polaris Sub base at Bangor.

I’m always happy to see my mother, and always saddened to see the destruction of the place where I grew up.

I’d say the 70s, when corporations were no longer facing a labour shortage and computerized machinery was replacing workers. Outsourcing and stagnating wages led to outrageous profits and the ability to flat out buy Congress and the White House. Substitute corporate power for the Politburo.

Southern Dragon,

Thank you for finding and posting the link to the Rohingya story.

I’m next to OK and had to listen to the gov’nr there run against Obama and Pelosi. Her opponent was the Lt.Gov. who’d been doing a great job, and was actually an OK resident, but the other kind won with multi dollars and constant lies.

It’s pretty sad. Nothing left resembling true democracy.

In LA so many people rebuilt after Katrina using lethal paneling from China that standards are now in place to keep us all from being poisoned by our own internal structures.

Just us voters. And our effort needs to be at the local levels, especially, since that’s where the votes are counted.

Kris, good to see ya!
Going to vote on a Wednesday in Texas? I thought all primaries were on Tuesday. Dumb me.

Thought for today [saw the film last night]: “When you’re small, you gotta fix what you can.” Hushpuppy/Beasts of the Southern Wild

Put on your hushpuppies and ask ‘em politely to change the channel. I do that all the time. Car dealerships, medical waiting rooms, wherever. You gotta fix what you can.

And sidebar to the RRmoneys, spare me your preppy pity party. I ain’t buyin’ it. Biden’s words resonated with this NorEuro grandma. ’cause I don’t want the crowd that’s clamoring for bonus tax cuts to get their hands on what’s left of my nest egg unchained of regs and accountability again.

We tried the RmoneyRnay way. Bushonomics drove us over the cliff once and I’m not hitching to your fly-by-night schemes.

Knut,
If I am not mistaken, I visited the USS Missouri at Bremerton back in the ’80′s before it was moved to another site.
You live in beautiful country.

Pundits talking up, Baldwin/Thompson match-up as key to US Senate control.

Long story here, from the paper that will be particularly and nearly exclusively supportive of the right, no matter what.

Thanks, we need the huge numbers being knocked over that cliff to realize that what the right is pushing is lies, they are the ones that did that to us.

It’s hopeful news. I wonder exactly how badly the hide of Hillary is getting chapped. Backs are up all over DC.

City-wide school district tax increase. Early voting opened today. Actual election day is on a Saturday. September 1st.

Weird, huh?

Hi, Dinerzens. Kris, that’s your tax, so to speak, right? Quick work. Good luck with it.

I do find it frustrating that so many local and school and other types of district elections are scheduled separately, so naturally, most people don’t know about the issues or even are aware of the election date, and don’t vote. Which means a small group of motivated voters, often with interests, do vote.

This is part of the trouble with our region’s multile school districts, and a big reason why unqualified people get onto the school board and stay there for years, more interested in making money for friends and family than in quality education for the kids of the district.

Just started doing the washup and this was the first mug out of the sink, staring me right in the face: Let’s Just Say That This Was Not A Great Career Move. Hmmmmm.

Just keep on washing, it can only get better, right? lol.

Those Who Wait

You pupses have a great afternoon!

ohmmmm

We’ll have a run-off for an at-large seat and my district on the school board in the general. Both top vote getters are anti-charter schools and beat their “business” oriented opponents quite handily yesterday. Hopefully, the pro-charter school candidates will see the writing on the wall before the ballots are printed.

In the Regressive primary for sheriff the guy who had been sheriff for a number of years in the 80s and 90s, Everett Rice, in his 70s, ran against the current sheriff. Rice had a huge lead in the polls until a couple months ago, when he hitched his star to the Tea Party wagon. Got his ass whupped big time yesterday, 17 points. The NRA is trying to get an open carry law passed in FL again. They sent a questionnaire to all candidates for sheriff in the state. Rice told the Tampa Bay Times that he answered the questionnaire the way the NRA wanted him to.

I used to hang out with Rice’s younger brother in the 80s and Rice was never this far to the right. Now he’s just gone over the cliff.

Hopefully, the Tea Party shine is beginning to lose its luster.

Ooh! That’s good news! Yea, the Tea Party seems to have had mixed results in this week’s primaries. Maybe that will reduce incumbents/candidates’ fear of them. (on edit, let’s hope the NRA is losing some shine, too)

Haven’t had a chance to hear all the news from yesterday, but caught a few.

Summertime = Watermelon.

They have a pretty good life, do those big cats :)

Royal Rmoneys fiat: no more tax returns for you (people), Dowager Princess Ann doubles down.

What if it’s worse than years of zero taxes? Some say the Royal Rmoneys invested against America.

It’s out there, Cokie.

Guns!

Yessiree, Bob. Another citizen hero gonna save all the folks from some gunman. Moron.

Had a local gun nut wanna show me his latest acquisition. Went to hand it to me and I asked if the weapon was cleared. Nope. Gonna hand me a Colt .45 with magazine in and a round in the chamber. Didn’t take the weapon and gave him a earful. Just another asshole.

Maybe Harry will take some more shots….glad he’s not shy.