My Digg this week--[National Update]-Kucinich angrily reacts to Clinton-Edwards exchange on limiting debate

“Candidates, no matter how important or influential they perceive themselves to be, do not have and should not have the power to determine who is allowed to speak to the American public and who is not,” Kucinich said in a statement released by his campaign.

A Digg post from an AP article by Beth Fouhy is awesome. It has a great exchange with two top presidential canidates, a clip about the Republican Party of Massachesuts and a reference to Mike Moore of "Sicko" fame and "Mike Huckabee" of almost no fame.

First off

Thank you for Kucinich. I appreciate someone with enough integrity to call out Hillary and John for their comments:

Edwards:
"Edwards was heard suggesting to Clinton that they try to exclude some of their rivals from future gatherings" AP
“We should try to have a more serious and a smaller group,”
Clinton:
"Clinton agreed, saying the forums were “trivialized” with too many candidates crowding the stage." AP

Really? Excluding rivals and feeling debates are trivialized? Or limiting media time so those ideas don't get attention? Hmmm. Either way good job Dennis to stand up to those two.

Also in the article:

The Massachusetts Republican party has made some changes to its primary delegations. Helping Rudy and potentially Hurting Mitt.

Mike Huckabee is all over Micheal Moore for his Sicko movie. Blaming Moore's weight for high health care costs. The article also states that Megan O'Hare, producer of Sicko had this to say about Huckabee's comments:

"Looks like Mike Huckabee is auditioning for some insurance company dough, since he's raised just about no money and sparked zero interest since jumping into the race" (I say, oh snap)

Go see Sicko, It is a good movie. It is worth a look and always unnervingly funny.



read more | digg story

SEIU Protests outside a local Toledo bank.

SEIU Local Three was holding a protest outside of 5/3rd bank today. Their current contract expires on July 14 2007 and they are fighting for a "living wage and benefits". This will cover over 600 janitors in the Toledo area.

Call 419-243-0447 for more info. That was the number on the brochure they gave me.

I happened to be walking back from Beaner's and they were protesting outside of the bank. I would estimate around 100-150 people, but my crowd measurement statistics are not in tune. Either way, they were picketing, singing songs and chanting phrases. They drew some curious faces and handed out flyers.

Dana Corp- Works with Investor Group- Tries to inch out of Chapter 11

This post is a National story with a local Toledo company.

The title link goes to an article I found online from CNN Money. It discusses the steps Dana Corp. has taken to get out of Chapter 11 banruptcy. In the article it mentions the deals it is goin to ink with the UAW (Auto) and USW (steel) unions to convert its helthcare system to a VEBA account which is eplained as:

"A VEBA is a special, tax-deductible trust that can be used to provide certain benefits, such as medical reimbursement, to participants and their beneficiaries"

Included in the deal is also a four year partnership with the two unions and Centerbridge Capital Partners. Centerbridge Capital will be investing money to help with the reorganization of Dana Corp.

I do not have an opinion on the deal, I just hope that the "reorganization efforts" proceed smoothly. I also like the transition of the current healthcare system into the VEBA accounts.

National Update-- 11 Congress Members now support Impeachment of Cheney and Bush

Wildman presidential canidate Dennis Kucinich now has 11 co-sponsors who have signed his bill filing articles of impeachment on Mr. President (aka. captain commute) and Mr. VP (aka. captain "Go F*^% Yourself").

The title link goes to Jim McDermott's site for his Congressional House seat. The link has an actual transcript and a video of the speech he gave on the House Floor.

Getting verey interesting...

National Update - Wolfowitz joins AEI

The title link has an article from the people's daily (China's most influential newspaper, they say) that former World Bank leader Paul Wolfowitz will join Washington D.C. Think Tank American Enterprise Institute or AEI for short.

Xinhua is the article's source and described Wolfowitz's duties will include:

"At AEI, Wolfowitz will work on entrepreneurship and development issues, Africa, and public-private partnerships"

He was let go from his world bank position on June 30th and already has a new job! If only most Americans were so lucky the world would be a better place.

Digg Link--Cheney claims a non-executive privilege - Los Angeles Times

"He asserts he's exempt from showing an agency how his office keeps secrets because he's not fully part of the administration."

This is the last digg of the night. I just wouldn't be complete without linking to this article which explains the laughable and arrogant statements made by our VP. These guys are non-compliant, crooked and corrupt. They will try to outlast any loophole that will keep them from transparency. Cover it up and let's hope the people don't fight back. Well they're right. Americans won't fight back because our national politics have been influenced by complete hacks who only know smear campaigns and misleading information. Citizens don't trust "the other side" and thus we are divided, which is why when we are faced with people who truly do not have the best interest of every citizen at heart, we all fall down.


Here is another article discussing the 217-209 vote in opposition of defunding the office of the VP. So sad it failed, but it only lost by 9 votes. I say keep on this administration and you will uncover how bad they are for our country. http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN2836805120070628?pageNumber=2

read more | digg story

Digg Clip-- Report : Pentagon Can't Account For $19 Billion Spent On Iraqi Forces

"The Pentagon "cannot report in detail how many of the 346,500 Iraqi military and police personnel that the coalition trained are operational today," according to the 250-page report. "We have no idea what our $19 billion has gotten us," said Rep. Martin T. Meehan (D-Mass.), chairman of the Armed Services subcommittee on oversight and investigations"

Again I see that transparency is a problem. Are you telling me that with the onset of computers, technology and Microsoft excel or some other higher end database software that our governemnt does not track the money it spends in Iraq? You have got to be kidding me. Oh well, huh, life goes on you know. Governments sucks, but oh well, they'll never change.

read more | digg story

Digg Clip--White House exerts executive privilege on documents

"The White House, moving toward a constitutional showdown with Congress, asserted executive privilege Thursday and rejected lawmakers' demands for documents that could shed light on the firings of federal prosecutors. Bush's lawyer says he does it "with much regret.""

To Me, lack of transparency = something to hide.

No one wants to believe that this group is corrupt and willing to pull out all the stops to get out of office untarnished. They do not answer to the people, they do not listen to others. The simple fact that these guys are still in office baffles me. What is worse is that people defend them and will believe they are great people and pass that on for generations. It is utterly ridiculous.

read more | digg story

WWE Superstar Chris Benoit is Dead--Apparent Murder Suicide

Oh Man,

As a wretling fan (haven't watched since the WWE took ownership of every company) I always like to watch the "Canadian Crippler" Chris Benoit. He used to head butt people from the top rope and he could jump halfway across the ring. He also used to pick people up and slam them three times in a row, in a fashion that the other wrestler would actually have to get up in motion only to be slammed again. If I were a pro wrestler I would have refused to let him do that to me three times as I would have laid motionless after the first slam and refused to move.

Anyway it is plastered all ver the news that his wife and son were murdered and that he committed suicide by hanging himself with a cable from a weight bench. I included a link from MTV in the title and this article from the Edmonton Sun. The Edmonton Sun article is a review that his wife once filed for domestic violence charges, which she later dropped. She also refused to get a restraining order on him. Well, now they are all dead.

My buddy and I were discussing how it could very easily have been "roid rage" and clearly the "Guardian Unlimited" wanted to know as well. They describe "roid rage" in the article as "explosive outbursts" brought on by using steroids.

We also wondered if his son and wife were put in the "Crippler Crossface", which was Chris's patented strangulation wresting move with a link from "Everything 2". If you are going to go so far as to kill your wife and son, why not use a patented wrestling move? (I am not trying to make light of the loss of this family, but I believe I am distanced enough from all of them that I can freely make the statement. My heart does go out for all of the families involved)

Anyway,

There were bibles left next to the two victims. They are currently treating it as a murder suicide and it looks like it will remain that way.

Its a mad mad world.

Click Here To Make Your Next Hotel Reservation

I thought this would be a good site to review, since I am always booking my travel online. The name of the site is Hotel Reservations . com and they are similar to other online travel sites. I went online and did a few searches on some of their pages. The page navigation was easy, the layout of the site made it easy to follow, and the content is easy to read and laid out well.

The site has several options for choosing your travel needs. You can book hotels, flights, rental cars, or package all of the options together, making for easy travel itineraries. They also have golf destinations, resorts, and vacation packages as options to search for on their site. I did a search for Hotel, Flight and Car from Detroit to Orlando and found prices comparable to other sites. The site does offer a discount club, group rates, and a special internet rate guarantee.

It appears from the site that Hotel Reservations will match a trip price if booked online (with criteria) or let you out of an existing trip if you find a lower priced option. Obviously they are not covering New Years Eve or the Superbowl, but if you find cheaper fares online, they are at least willing to work with you. I will be sure to check them out for future travel plans. Click here for-- Cheap Hotels

They have English and Spanish available as languages on their site. They also have several different numbers for different countries to dial up and make their travel plans, providing enough numbers to make a small rolodex out of just their information. So for the next business meeting, family vacation, or quiet trip to Las Vegas, make sure you check out Hotel Reservations . com as part of your trip planning. This was a sponsored post!

The Brown and Orange--My New Sports Blog!!

I have a new blog to report all of my rants and raves about everyone's favorite professional footbal team in Cleveland. Nope not St. Ed's or St. Ignatius. Feel free to add the site to your list if you too are a fan of the Brown and Orange!! If you want to be a contributor or support crew please let me know, I would love for the blog to take off.

Dear 11 Daily Readers (on average)

It has been 13 days since my last post and I feel terrible. I have not been up do date with my posting and I missed a few things in no order:

Paris in jail
Paris out of jail
paris in jail
failed "no confidence" vote in the senate
Recall Carty Campaign
J-Fo and the school board
UT Creating Hybrids
Robert Jobe tried as an adult

Anyway,

Sorry about being gone, please come back as this summer is sure to be grand. You might also check out www.g1ntol.blogspot.com for some a new type of media company. That g1ntol guy sure seems fun.

Great Night for Cleveland Sports

I consider this to be a great sports week for Michigan and Ohio this week. The Cavs and Pistons are battling it out for a shot at the NBA Finals and the Indians and Tigers are duking it out for 1st place in their division.

Tonight was a great night for Cleveland.

The Indians rode a good pitching performance from their newcomer Carmona. It was fun to see Sheffield and Mesa on the Tigers team. Seeing Mesa reminded me of the great run the tribe had in the 90's. Seeing Sheffield reminded me that Detroit is still a pretty big market ballclub. The tribe's closer Borowski is really coming on and the club gets solid hr's from Garko tonight. The Indians swept the weekend series with the Tigers and will play them on Friday of next week.

The Cavaliers found a way to beat the Pistons, after two close 79-76 losses. LeBron scored 30 and paced the Cavs to a great win. He made some great fade aways and clutch shots. I hope Larry Hughes is alright, but Daniel Gibson seems tough under pressure. I also like Z this series and season. He is diving, picking up the outside man, and making good plays. The Cavs got a much needed win against a tough and experienced Piston squad.

Either way, Cleveland and Detroit have national spotlights' on them now. That is good for both cities and the Midwest in general.

Voice of America- Hamas Fires Rocket-Kills One Israeli

Here is a link to that article. It also seems that there are air strikes on the Gaza Strip and no one is callling for a cease fire. The Israelis and Palestinians are at it again. How big will this event get? Will they ever get along? What, if anything, can we (humans) do about the political and cultural differences of religion? What else fuels this fire between the two nations?

Unseen War Casulty--Combat Stress Disorder

This memorial day I am using my blogging time to talk about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is a form of mental illness brought on by life events that cause a high level of stress or contain a traumatic event. Sometimes we have seen the disorder after pregnancies and we have seen them after war. Here is a wiki of the disorder for a quick glance. We will see a lot of this occurrence as the war in Iraq and Afghanistan continues in the name of Combat Stress Disorder. This tells us that we need to be ready to handle the rigors of dealing with people who have experienced trauma while serving our country.

For that reason I am in support of Mental Health Parity to ensure that our affected servicemen and women get the support they need when they come back to our country. Not only will it ensure that our service men and women are taken care of, a National Statement will ensure that those with mental illness in our country do not go forgotten about. In my field(s) I have noticed that Mental Illness gets the least amount of government funding. Education is number one of course and mental illness is last, right behind people with Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.

Here is why I would support the legislation

1.) Legislation will help mental illness get the same validity of physical illness in terms of health care coverage.
2.) The government money used can go to programs that can improve diagnosis and treatment of the disorder; hopefully they will also try to track fraud.
3.) It will strengthen our communities by providing more resources to our mentally ill population. This will decrease family and caregiver stress and hopefully improve the lives of people living with Depression, Personality Disorders, Bi-Polar and PTSD.

Here is an article that will discuss in further detail a discussion about Combat Stress Disorder. It talks about the disorder and the numbers they are seeing already with troops men and women) early cases. We need to be able to respond as a country to make sure these people get the best care for their mental health that we possibly can.Written by By Jessica Fargen
Boston Herald Health & Medical Reporter

Click Here for the Article


Here is a list of about 95 organizations, regional and National who are in support of the legislation:

Click Here: List of Organizations Involved mhlg.org

Finally here is a write up of the Mental Health Parity Bill that they hope to sign this year. It will really effect insurance companies and employers, there is a lot of detail about exemptions and small businesses. You can read the full text at the following link:

Link to The Mental Health Parity Act of 2007

Feel free to give me any feedback you want regarding this post. I think mental illness is an easy target for people because it is hard to see, hard to diagnose, and some people can experience the same events and not feel emotional pain. It affects a lot of people on a daily basis.

Make a Difference joins Pay Per Post.

To all thirteen of our faithful (daily average for the month) readers,

We are now going to post Pay Per Post offers on our Make a Difference Blog. We hope that you consider this act of shameless advertising more as a means of giving us the ability to continue doing our creative media work rather than "pimps" of internet marketers.

ads on blogs

We believe we are both, but only want to mention it just this once. Anyway, if History Mike can do it, then so can we dammit!

Anyway, pay per post is pretty easy,

1. You sign up and get you blog approved.
2. Look at the opportunities you are qualified for. (we do not qualify for many, yet)
3. Decide whether or not you want to "Pimp" I mean post.
4. Post
5. Wait for people to blast you for your posting a piece of crap or thank you for making their day with products, websites, software programs, and other items offered to write about.

Please feel free to comment on this post or any other for that matter. Also, you get to choose what items you want to sponsor on your site. We will try to be selective!! We love feedback.

historymike: Bush Finally Finds His al Qaeda-Iraq Connection, Albeit Post-Invasion

historymike: Bush Finally Finds His al Qaeda-Iraq Connection, Albeit Post-Invasion

Here is a link to a good piece written on Toledo's History Mike's Musings, a local Ohio blogger. A great discussion of the George Bush revelation today about the Al Qaeida and Iraq. The anonymous poster is also funny in the comments section. Although, I do wonder how many people actually believe that speaking out against war is somehow leftist.

Then I read this post by Kris Kling on his blog The Kris Kling Opinion going off on someone:

http://tkko.blogspot.com/2007/05/you-are-proving-your-own-point.html

I don't know if the two posts go together, but I thought I would highlight their thoughts and keep encouraging change.

How many people vote for America idol but don't vote in US elections?

Go Ted, and f*ck the Right Angle blog

I normally don't post to the blog on the gay issue, but I feel compelled to do so today after spending time perusing the blogs.

Background:

On last Saturday, I attended the ODP State Dinner, where the Columbus Gay Men's Chorus was asked to sing two songs,as an addition to the great entertainment for the function. The governor, during the event, even went so far as to come over to the chorus members, right before they performed, to acknowledge their presence. This invitation to the Gay Men's Chorus was an unprecedented event, and was just one of the steps that the governor has taken to keep his promises to the LGBT community, which came together to raise a great deal of money and contribute many volunteer hours during his political race last year.

As I watched the news and the blogs this past week, I saw nothing written about the Gay men's Chorus performing at the dinner. In fact, some bloggers went out of the way to not cause trouble for the governor by calling the group "the chorus". This was fine with me, as I didn't expect anything to surface just because of the Gay issue; after all, the Governor was simply promoting inclusion of all groups, and working to make Ohio a state the doesn't treat groups of people differently. Even attempts to share the news of the passing of Jerry Falwell, a destructive and slanderous pillar for Conservative America, was done with taste by the bloggers.

On to the issue:

So, this morning, the Governor signed an executive order that includes GLBT people in the current protections of employment discrimination for state employees:

______________________

6. Prohibition Against Discrimination. For the reasons stated above, I am declaring it to be the policy of the State of Ohio that no person employed by a Cabinet agency or by a State of Ohio Board or Commission may discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in making any of the following employment related decisions:
a. Hiring
b. Layoff
c. Termination
d. Transfer
e. Promotion
f. Demotion
g. Rate of Compensation
h. Eligibility for In- Service Training Programs

___________________________

View the full text of the Executive order at http://governor.ohio.gov/News/May2007/News51707/tabid/280/Default.aspx.
Again, this protection is not asking for special protections for GLBT people, it is asking for equal protection for such people, the same equal protection that is afforded to all people in this great country.

What fired me up was this text, which I am quoting from the Right Angle Blog:

______________________

...this could be seen as a back door (no pun intended) handout to the trial lawyer lobby, since anyone working in state government or applying for a job in state government will be empowered to file frivolous lawsuits against their employers. Since homosexuality is a lifestyle choice, anyone would have the ability to file such a lawsuit, regardless if they have or haven't taken part in homosexual activity in America...

_____________________

Some people's stupidity just pisses me off to no end. I am not a lawyer but I can tell you that someone would not claim that they are gay to keep their job, and even if they did, the law is going to insist that they prove their claim. Does the blogger really believe that some straight guy is going to subject himself to testimony that he has engaged in such "perverse lifestyle choices", as it is described within the blog post? Why must some people try to scare the hell out of people; oh yeah, it is because that is how they ensure they get the votes.

I will close with a paraphrase of comments that I heard Joyce Beatty deliver to a group of people participating in a lobbying effort from Equality Ohio yesterday. She explained that each person should remember, as he or she talks with his or her senator and Representative, that he or she is simply advocating for equal protection and treatment, the same equal protection and treatment that is given to all of the citizens of this country.

It is herein that I personally thank and congratulate our Governor on his efforts to make Ohio a state where all people are treated equally and protected equally. It is only through such efforts that Ohio will begin to recover from its 16 years of losses, begin to repair its inadequately funded education system, and begin to develop an economy that attracts the best workers and secures the best future for its residence. Ted, I hope you continue to "Turn around Ohio".

Wolfowitz Gone; will it ever be Gonzales's Turn?

Well, World Bank Leader Paul Wolfowitz has "resigned on his own terms" after his promotion and bonus giving to a female "friend". I did not know that he was the architect of the Iraq War.

When will it be Alberto Gonzales's Turn to step down? Or is he going to be drug out kicking and screaming? A few more Republicans are calling for his ouster, the Democrats are filling a vote of no confidence, and GOP report remains strong.

Meanwhile,

The Leader of the Republican Party in Michigan wants Ron Paul banned for his comments about the Iraq War.

And I saw a clip on The Colbert Report tonight that had this Bushism found at crazylinks:

--Reporter: Is the tide turning in Iraq?

-- Bush: "I think - tide turning - see, as I remember, I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of, it's easy to see a tide turn - did I say those words?" June 14, 2006

July 8 begins Ride Transit/Bike/Walk to work week

Thanks to Abandoned Stuff for giving us the heads up on a great effort related to trying to impact the Gas Price Situation. Check out an excerpt from the event being proposed for the Week of July 8 through July 15:

___________________________

“Get out of your cars and enjoy the world!”
From July 8-15, 2007, all around the globe, people are going to try their hardest to get out of their cars for their daily commute, and walk, ride transit, or bike to work for a whole week. A chance for all of them to save gas, produce less traffic and pollution, and enjoy life a little more.

__________________________

Though I do not feel this will have a huge impact on profits of suppliers or significantly reduce the price of gas, the longer duration might help to show the effects of a boycott on gas. I'm also hoping that participants may realize that they can, in fact, find other ways to get to work. But, as I stated in my previous post, the only real way to decrease the price of Gas is to consistently, over time, decrease our use of gas.

Read more about the event on Facebook or at http://www.1337hax0r.com/?p=557

I thought I would present this as a follow up to my post last week on the Gas Out.

Urgent Action by June 4: The Department of Energy wants to turn Southern Ohio into a nuclear waste dump.

I received this email today from a recently formed group: The Southern Ohio Neighbors Group (SONG). Any time a group of people come together to stop corruption and turn around Ohio, I think it is worth getting the word out.

The following is an excerpt from the text of the email that I received:
___________________________

The federal reservation near Piketon, Ohio, has been proposed as a storage site for high-level nuclear waste, imported from other counties, other states, and other countries. These plans were developed in secret without public disclosure and with fraudulent claims of community support.
________________________________

The group, in conjunction with Progress Ohio, has put together testimony, which, after signed by all of us, will be delivered to the Department of Energy. The deadline to take action is June 4, 2007.

In addition to the message quoted above, you can view their Video directly on You Tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kI8QAqRDqg&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eprogressohio%2Eorg%2Fpage%2Fpetition%2FDoEpetition

Remember, please go to http://www.progressohio.org/page/petition/DoEpetition to take action on a great cause by June 4. Let's keep challenging our government to clean up Ohio.

A NWO Blog--Who won the 2nd Republican Debate

Here is a link from Framed Discourse and Debate about who won the 2nd Republican Debate last night. The blogs author is James Trumm. I am copying his work on Rudy Guiliani and Ron Paul because it highlights my previous post, Why are we at war. James goes into a little more detail about the exchange and I think he does a great job in highlighting the scenario. You should also check out his blog (Title Link) for the rest of his reactions to the debate winners and losers.

Rudy Guiliani:

Giuliani didn't. He was doing fairly well--calling the Democrats' plan to get out of Iraq a "timetable for retreat," and handling the abortion questions much better that last time--until Ron Paul suggested that just maybe U.S. policies in the Middle East had something to do with motivating the 9/11 terrorists. Rudy went borderline apoplectic about this and took off after poor little Ron Paul like a rabid badger. It's a pretty basic rule of debate that you don't pick fights down; you can only hurt yourself. That's what he did. He overplayed his 9/11 hero cred and wound up looking like a bully--and not a very bright one at that.


Ron Paul:

Paul didn't, though as noted above, he probably benefited from having Rudy the Rabid charge after him. He could have gotten an even bigger boost had he not seemed to physically shrink in the face of Giuliani's bullying. He had the virtue of offering the most coherent philosophy. He had the courage to advocate dismantling the Department of Homeland Security, saying we didn't need another layer of bureaucracy to fight terrorism. He zinged the other candidates who used the term "enhanced interrogation techniques," saying it sounded like Newspeak. Yesterday I noticed that "Ron Paul" was the top Google search of the day, and his performance last night will probably keep him on top of those rankings for a while. Still, his repeated references to "my argument is . . ." made him seem like he was competing in a high school debate contest, not a Presidential primary. People don't vote for arguments.

Why are we at war?

Here is a post from the New Republic discussing the difference between Rudy Giuliani and Ron Paul regarding the War that Bin Laden has waged with the US.


I like what Ron Paul has to say about this war. His views are opposite of Rudy Giuliani who believes Islam does not like us because "freedom and women's rights."

Ron Paul believes that America's presence in the Middle East is because of

(1) US Involvement in the Middle East, (2) Palestine, and (3) Sanctions on Iraq as reasons why he has declared war

To me, just by reading the differences in thought Ron Paul's assessment seems more realistic. But just for probings sake I "scoured the internets" to see what else I could dig up on Bin Ladens reason for declaring War on The US. Here is what I found:

Here is a PBS transcript of the original FATWA (declaration of war) against the US

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/terrorism/international/fatwa_1996.html

Here is a transcript in Osama's own words discussing his anger about the occupation of the Holy Land and our relationship ($$) with Israel.

http://www.wethepeoplefoundation.org/UPDATE/Update2007-05-07.htm

Here is some video of the Republican debate last night where Rudy blasted Ron Paul about his beliefs for our occupation and the reasons for war. Again using 9/11 as "the day the world changed" But more importantly it is a great compassionate compelling reason to really ask "Why do they hate us"
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YWMyMTBjOTMzOWY5NmIyYTRjNjAzNWYwY2NiYTVmNTg


What I think is sad is the fact that Ron Paul got a few claps and relieved cheers and Rudy got a raucous applause for his one liner.

To me it seems clear that we (the United States) have had a vested interest in the Middle East. We do fund a lot of projects in Israel, we do have a president with huge ties to Saudi Arabia, we have a desire to gain cheaper access to foreign oil. We have been in the middle east for as long as I remember. I think Rudy Giuliani is wrong by dismissing and attacking Ron Paul for his viewpoints and so are people who believe that the US is innocent in what it is strategically implementing overseas. Our actions have angered people and will continue to do so until we have a government that is able to take a look at itself and evaluate what is really best for our country. An American Embassy in Iraq that is bigger than the Vatican, should not be a priority.

A Cleveland Player, Mayor, and an ex TPS Super

My buddy (not really) Braylon Edwards gave 1 million of his hard earned NFL earnings to the Cleveland School System for the advancement of a new scholarship program. The mayor of Cleveland was also in the house, in addition to our famed Dr. Eugene Sanders former Toledo Public Schools.

Other than being there, they did not mention Sanders as being a critical component of this event.

Looks like Braylon has his own foundation dedicated to underserved youth and educational opportunities. Here is a link to his foundation.

http://www.braylonedwardsfoundation.org/index.asp?ID=1

I think it is great that athletes venture out from their NFL roles and give back to the community. I also saw on his site that he fed 500 families from Detroit and had this to say:

“I am grateful to be in a position where I contribute to the lives of so many people,” Edwards says. “It feels good to return home to see family and friends, but more importantly, to make a difference.”

You go Braylon.

Cavs won tonight too.

He's back! What a "Sicko"

Here is an article from MSNBC about Michael Moore. This time he is being questioned about breaking the trade embargo with Cuba. The Treasury's OFAC-Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued this investigation and Mr. Moore is already blaming George Bush and the administration as being responsible for the pressure.

Looks like good timing for Moore's new Movie "Sicko" coming out this summer. The article also states that the movie has gotten good reviews on both sides of the political aisle. It also stated that some enemies of the movie will be "Big Pharma" and HMO's (imagine that).

Seems to me that the administration would like to silence Mr. Moore. Seems to me that Mr. Moore does a great job at getting media attention. I will go see "Sicko" to piss off the neo-con's and see what we can do about fixing health care.

The May 15 Gas Out—Organizing for Real Change?

I have received at least three different emails talking about the Great Gas Out which is scheduled to take place on May 15, 2007. For your reference, one of them reads:
NO GAS...On May 15th 2007
Don't pump gas on May 15th
In April 1997, there was a "gas out" conducted nationwide in protest of gas prices. Gasoline prices dropped 30 cents a gallon overnight.

On May 15th 2007, all Internet users are being asked not to go to a gas station in protest of high gas prices. Gas is now over $3.00 a gallon in most places.

There are 73,000,000+ American members currently on the Internet
Network and the average car takes about 30 to 50 dollars to fill up. If all users did not go to the pump on the 15th, it would take $2,292,000,000.00 (that's almost 3 BILLION) out of the oil companies' pockets for just one day. Send this to all your contact list. With it saying, ''Don't pump gas on May 15th"

At S & G Endeavors, we are committed to change on all levels, whether it is using our strategic planning services to help create organizations with great ideas or using our media services to create media for a changing world. I, personally, am extremely committed to the Bill of Rights for this country, which provides us with the ability to organize in groups to protest those things that we feel unfair. Though I do not drive, I believe the gas prices to be a true injustice to those who do, and have held several conversations with friends, family members, and my business partner regarding the subject. I fully support the intentions of this protest, but my higher commitment to leading change is compelled to ask the following question:
Just how effective is this “protest” going to be, and what will be yielded to the consumer as a result of such efforts?

Before you get upset with my question and assume that I am just spouting off a negative attitude, I ask you to continue reading…

Emails like the one above have been in circulation on the Internet since 1999. The Urban Legend Reference Pages explain why:
This year's e-mails (proposing a one-day "gas out" in May 2007) is yet another recasting of similar messages that have been circulating since 1999. All of them are reminders that "protest" schemes that don't cost the participants any inconvenience, hardship, or money remain the most popular, despite their ineffectiveness. A one-day "gas out" was proposed in 1999, and a three-day-long event was called for in 2000, but both drew little active participation and had no real effect on retail gasoline prices.
The premise behind all these messages is inherently flawed, because consumers' not buying gasoline on one particular day doesn't affect oil companies at all. The "gas out" scheme doesn't call upon people to use less gasoline, but simply to shift their date of purchase and buy gas a day earlier or later than they usually would. The very same amount of gasoline is sold either way, so oil companies don't lose any money.
Further research yields similar statements—from CBS2Chicago.com:
Chances are the plan is more fantasy than feasible…"I think in theory it may have some effect. But in reality or practice it would have little or no effect at all," said Jason Toews, co-founder of gasbuddy.com, a gas price-tracking site that allows visitors to post and compare local gas prices. “Getting enough people to participate would probably be difficult,” he said, “as well as the fact that those participating would probably just fill up the day before or after the boycott.”
And in addition, we find the following written in the Post Tribune:
BP Amoco spokesman Scott Dean said a one-day strike wouldn't affect operations. "If suddenly, people no longer demand gasoline ever, certainly it would affect supply and therefore price," Dean said. "But for a single day? It doesn't change the picture for the month, the year or the decade."
And, finally, as reported on NJ.com—who featured the article from the Gloucester County Times:
It would take more than a one-day boycott to have an impact, said Eric DeGesero, executive vice president of the New Jersey Fuel Merchants Association. "They aren't going to have any long term impact until they change their behavior," DeGesero said.

And, there we have it! An email goes out; it motivates people to think they will make a great impact; and, all that happens is the people are portrayed by the media as a joke. Check out these headlines from previous similar efforts provided by The Urban Legend Reference Pages:
Reports indicated few motorists paid attention to a nationwide boycott touted initially by Internet e-mail and later by word of mouth.
Although a gasoline boycott that began as an electronic mail campaign kept some drivers nationwide away from the pump, dealers say they saw little, if any, effect on their traffic.
Friday's gasoline boycott was an effort that sputtered, coughed, then died. Motorists continued to fill up gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles and trucks alongside smaller vehicles despite a one-day protest aimed to pressure oil companies to lower gas prices.

This is not to say that a boycott does not send a message, but the research suggests that the effects are minimal at best. In addition, the only supporting comment I found when doing my research was, ironically, from a Democratic Congressman in Gary, Indiana, as reported in the Post Tribune:
"It sends a message that people have power," said state Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, who is trying to convince constituents to protest on May 15.
It takes all of my effort at this time to not pick up the phone, call the Congressman, and ask him why he is using his time encouraging his constituents to waste their time with a boycott that lacks effect instead of using his resources to advocate on their behalf. To me, his comment only demonstrates that he is good at deflecting his own responsibility for not addressing the issue. As a fellow democrat, I am disgusted at the spin control he is using on his own people.

My purpose in writing this post is not to discourage people from boycotting fuel; it is quite simply put, to demonstrate that we need to take a more aggressive strategy with our boycotting efforts. If we are going to use resources to bring the people together, why not bring the people together for a cause that will have a greater effect?

How can a greater effect be achieved by consumers?

According to the Urban Legend Reference Pages:
Not buying gas on a designated day may make people feel a bit better about things by providing them a chance to vent their anger at higher gasoline prices, but the action won't have any real impact on retail prices. An effective protest would involve something like organizing people to forswear the use of their cars on specified days, an act that could effectively demonstrate the reality of the threat that if gasoline prices stayed high, American consumers were prepared to move to carpooling and public transportation for the long term.
Gasoline is a fungible, global commodity, its price subject to the ordinary forces of supply and demand. No amount of consumer gimmickry and showmanship will lower its price in the long run; only a significant, ongoing reduction in demand will accomplish that goal. Unfortunately, for many people achieving that goal would mean cutting down on their driving or opting for less desirable economy cars over less fuel-efficient models, solutions they find unappealing.
And, from Break the Chain.org, we read:
In order to influence a reduction in prices, producers must either make more oil and refined fuel available, or consumers must reduce the demand for it. But this means a reduction in overall demand over a significant period of time. The United States is among the world's top consumers of gasoline. Fuel-efficiency on America's highways has not improved significantly over the last ten years and light trucks (including SUVs), which typically get the worst mileage, comprised nearly 55 percent of all new vehicles sold in 2003, and have accounted for more than half of all sales each year since at least 2000.
And from CBS2Chicago.com, we are told very simply:
"People just have to stop using their cars," Toews said. "They'd have to start using public transportation or carpooling. That's what it's going to take, not a 'gas out."

So, what do I propose?—to start the discussion, I feel it best to include another excerpt from Break the Chain.org:
The bottom line: If we want to save money at the pump, we must use less gas - slow down on the freeway, plan outings to get everything in one trip, walk more, ride a bicycle and trade in that gas-guzzling SUV for an economical compact or hybrid car for starters. Unfortunately, this has proven to be a very unpopular approach to the problem.

Leave your comments, please. Based on the information discussed in this post, what do you think we should do—should we protest for a day, or should we do something else? Should we pressure our Congress members to stop wasting our time with spin control and to do something about the problem like using our income tax to invest in public transit that we can use? Should we pressure our country’s leader to use his family connection to oil to begin to fix the problem? I’m looking forward to your comments.

Toledo History Museum

Here is meeting information for the Toledo History Museum. They have a membership meeting coming up and I wanted to help get the word out. They have a lot of great plans in the works for the project and I hope you go and learn more. I cannot go because I have a parking lot party to go to in Findlay for the Camp Fire USA Teen Center. I will be there though, oneday, I promise.
If you want more information about the Toledo History Museum e-mail Donna Christian at the contact info below. I am sure they will provide you with meeting minutes and official brochures and organization information.


May General Membership Meeting

The second THM general membership meeting is
scheduled for Tuesday, May 29, 2007 at the Sanger
Branch Public Library, 3030 West Central Avenue.
The business meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. with
the program following from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Program:

Camp Miakonda: The Hills Are
Alive with the Sound of Memories

By
Kenneth R. Dickson

Refreshments

Free and open to the public

Contact: Donna Christian, Vice-President, dchristian_thm@yahoo.com

Thinking About Fishing? Try Fishfull Thinking.

Shameless self promotion. Well kind of.

The link above is for Fishfull Thinking Charters in Eastlake Ohio. We did their website, but more importantly I have chartered with them. Captain Bob is a great guy and they definitely have the gear to find fish on Lake Erie. I am a big Tribe fan (19-10 Right Now) and I would say a day on the boat with them and a Jacob's field nightcap would be a great summer weekend.

You could go with any charter company in the Cleveland area, but I recommend Fishfull.

Ask for Captain Bob and tell him Make a Difference sent you, he'll have no clue who the hell that is. Only serious charter inquiries welcomed.

Walmart, when will you learn

Just in on my email from Progress Ohio:




Get Caught Even Mentioning the Word "Union" and You Will Be

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 7, 2007
Contact: Brian Rothenberg, Spokesman 614-441-9145
***MEDIA RELEASE***
Wal-Mart’s routine practice of violating U.S. workers’ rights
Americans United for Change to deliver damning new report
on WalMart to Voinovich & Brown
Report spotlights the need to pass the Employee Free Choice Act
[COLUMBUS] – As more and more of America’s working people are struggling to make ends meet and our middle class is disappearing, Americans United for Change along with ProgressOhio and UFCW officials will deliver a damning new report to Ohio Senators Voinovich and Brown detailing the disturbingly systematic union-busting practices of Wal-Mart, the largest private employer in the United States.
The report by The Human Rights Watch includes intimidating and even illegal firing of employees who attempt to exercise their right to freedom of association.
Click here to download ‘Discounting Rights: Wal-Mart's Violation of US Workers’ Right to Freedom of Association’
“Wal-Mart is the textbook example of how badly broken U.S. labor laws are,” said Brian Rothenberg, Executive Director Of ProgressOhio. “There’s no better example of how millions of workers are being denied, through systematic intimidation and coercion, of their right to join together to bargain for better pay, improved benefits and retirement security. And there’s no better reason for Senator to fix this system give our disappearing middle class a fighting chance by supporting the Employee Free Choice Act.”
The timely new report examines in depth the tactics that Wal-Mart uses to preempt workers’ organizing efforts and undermine workers’ freedom of association at its US stores. The report focuses first on tactics and policies that, though they largely comply with US law, create a work environment so hostile to union formation that they coercively interfere with workers’ internationally recognized right to decide freely for themselves whether to organize.
A separate chapter examines Wal-Mart’s anti-union tactics that violate both US and international law and contribute to the generalized fear many Wal-Mart workers report feeling whenever the topic of union formation is broached. Five separate case studies illustrate the very real human impacts of Wal-Mart’s attack on workers’ right to freedom of association. Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world.
The Employee Free Choice Act would:
Strengthen penalties for companies that illegally coerce or intimidate employees in a effort to prevent them from forming a union
Bring in a neutral third party to settle a contract when a company and a newly certified union cannot agree on a contract after three months of negotiations
Establish 'majority sign up', meaning that if a majority of the employees sign union authorization cards, validated by the National Labor Relations Board, a company must recognize the union.
“The middle class in this country are losing ground – losing health care coverage, retirement security, and jobs,” added Jeremy Funk, of Americans United For Change. A union voice can change all that. In fact, workers who belong to a union earn 30 percent more than nonunion workers than nonunion workers. They’re 62 percent more likely to have employer-provided health coverage and four times more likely to have pensions.
The Employee Free Choice Act would give the 60 million American workers the chance they have been denied for far too to unite and rise together. It’s about leveling the playing field in a system that’s stacked entirely in employers’ favor – a system that lets huge corporations like Wal-Mart routinely get away with harassment, intimidation, coercion and even dismissal of workers who try to organize unions.

RIAA claims rights to all artists' royalties

Here is the opening of the blog post on digg.com:"The RIAA is looking more and more like the Mafia. Not only is it trying to kill Internet radio, but its royalty-collecting subsidiary, SoundExchange, is now claiming the right to collect royalties for ALL artists, even those who want nothing to do with the RIAA and its jackbooted henchmen."How do they have rights to charge royalties for "non-members".I wonder if avery indie and local/independent music artist knows this. What does this say about creating music in America? This does not seem right to me.



read more digg story

I don't have a sports blog yet.

I am glad the Cleveland Browns chose Joe Thomas in the draft. I was also glad to see he was fishing and enjoying the moment in his own style. I am also glad that there is another fisherman coming to the Cleveland area.

The shock of all of the ESPN analysts, when Phil Savage and company didn't take Brady Quinn was fun to witness, good old Berman looked like the browns took his adams apple! They were so stunned as their tries to woo the Browns into taking Brady or Adrian fell through. I was glad to see that they finally addressed the need of offensive line.

Phil Savage and his crew do a great job of bringing in players that fit the football system and the community. Seeing that Joe Thomas would rather be with family (I am guessing) fishing, should sit well with Browns Fans.

Condoleezza Rice refuses/or does not want to testify

I saw this link on the Raw Story who got it from the AP(title link). It seems Condoleezza Rice does not feel she needs to testify to the from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on:

"Rice and the State Department have failed to respond to questions about the claim that Saddam Hussein had tried to by uranium from Niger."

Here is what she had to say to the AP reporter:

The Secretary of State also invoked executive privilege as a reason for not testifying.
"This all took place in my role as national security adviser," Rice noted

However:

"Her spokesman, Sean McCormack, said later that no final decision had been made about Rice appearing before the committee."


Bring her in. I think we need to see what she has to say. Plus, I want to see what she has to say to a committee. Those who paid attention got to see the Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, not recall, any of the information.

( I think this is a Daily show transcript)

“After weeks of mock testimony, there you have it. Alberto Gonzales doesn’t know what happened, but he assures you what he doesn’t remember was handled properly.”

San Francisco Chronicle:

When told by reporters that Gonzales had replied "I don't recall" 55 times in his first round of questioning, ranking committee Republican Sen. Arlen Specter quipped, "That's an improvement, I'd say."

How he is still at his post I do not know.

Anyway, bring her in, let's see what she remembers.

Here is the vote and the response from the state department (from the AP article):

"Waxman's committee voted 21-10 on Wednesday to subpoena Rice despite the State Department's insistence that the questions have already been answered..."

Social Security and Congress--Your thoughts?

I received the below message via email and though I’m sure it isn’t the first time it has been said, I thought it might be interesting to see what would come from it on the blog. Please offer your comments: Though we, as the people, are not able to start a bill, we are able to start petitions, use the internet to get our dissatisfaction out, and use our voices to put pressure on Congress to deal with this situation. How should we move forward in presenting this information and drawing people together around its message?

SOCIAL SECURITY:

Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years. Our Senators and members of Congress do not pay into Social Security and, of course, they do not collect from it. You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of their elevation in society. They felt they should have a special plan for themselves. So, many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan. In more recent years, no congressperson has felt the need to change it.After all, it is a great plan.

For all practical purposes their plan works like this: When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die. Except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments...

For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman White, and their wives, may expect to draw $7,800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275, 000.00 during the last years of their lives.This is calculated on an average life span for each of those two Dignitaries.Younger Dignitaries, who retire at an early age, will receive much more during the rest of their lives.

Their cost for this excellent plan is $0.00. NADA..! ZILCH...

This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan. The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Funds; "OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK". From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into, every payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our employer). We can expect to get an average of $1,000 per month after retirement. Or, in other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years and one (1) month to equal Senator Bill Bradley's benefits!

Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made.

That change would be to:

Jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under the Senators and Congressmen.
Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us
Then sit back.....
And see how fast they would fix it.

new post

new post

G1NBC Update

Here is an update for our venture with G1NBC in Detroit. All is going well, but business can always get better! All local independent production and media partners please seek us out for networking opportunities. We call as many people as come across our desk.

We now have direct links to our webpages up for the tv sites.

Toledo--http://www.g1ntoltv.com

Columbus-- www.g1ncmhtv.com

We are preparing for a full launch in July. We are currently interviewing potential staff and doing initial advertising pricing for local businesses and investors. If you would like to advertise or have questions, please feel free to call me at 888-863-5391.

Also,

If you have show ideas or want to be a part of SGE Media Group, we are always interested in talking business! Feel free to e-mail us at sgemediagroup@gmail.com.

Campaign 101-- Blogging and Emerging Technologies

First off I want to thank Lisa Renee of Glass City Jungle for the invitation to the Campaign 101 Training, hosted by the Young Democrats of Toledo.

It was also a pleasure to meet Mark Adams of Dispassionate Liberal and hear his thoughts on blogging and its uses on a political campaign.

I was reminded on what an "internet dork" I have become as I spoke about the possibilities of IPTV and the internet to would be activists, candidates and campaign managers. Overall, I thought the discussion of the Internet and blogosphere was basic but beneficial for those in attendance.

One thing that was an eye opener for me was the limited access to broadband or high speed Internet for a lot of people in Toledo and the surrounding area. I hope that the Wi Fi Toledo initiative can alleviate some of that burden.

We also have to continue to teach people how to effectively use the Internet. We need to do a better job at getting people to be less fearful when it comes to computers and the Internet. I am not Captain Technology nor am I Mr. Website, mostly I am curious, self-taught, and trained by my business partner who is blind. If he can do it, anyone who can read has the ability to learn how to navigate the web. So whenever I hear someone say they are computer illiterate, I have to laugh. If you can read, you can surf the web, design your own blog, or conduct intelligent research.

Overall, I believe the way we get our information is changing. That change will affect other areas of our lives, hopefully for the better.

Review of Kyle Sampson's testimony Before the Judicial Committee-Post 1

So, yesterday, John comes to me and says matter of fact, I want you to cover the testimony of Kyle Sampson for the blog tomorrow. I said, make sure you introduce the topic tomorrow, and yet…..Hmmmmmm….I see no topic this morning. Great!!!

Lol, I’m sure all of you who know John or me personally understand exactly why I had to write that joke as my opener. So, I thought how am I going to do this? Looking for a detour to sitting in front of the TV and watching the prelude to the event, I decided I should work out. As I finished my workout, I turned on the TV to watch. MSNBC, the more credible has the same old thing, strategists, who know everything that should be going on. I thought to myself, hmm…..good times to meet with local officials and provide there perspective on our upcoming IPTV Shows. Letting their knowledge flood my mind, I heard there thoughts on what we really know as the public, what was really going to be exposed today, and how much damage could be done by his testimony? It is all speculation of the worst, as is usual with the mainstream media. I wonder, could we balance the worst with the best. Or, could we just wait and see what he will tell us in his testimony, using this time to promote the groups of the local community and how they will be impacted by the testimony. Hmmm……Interesting thought for another time.

So, I come back in from the workout and talk with John’s wife a little. I turn on MSNBC again and they are still reviewing their own thoughts while we are waiting for the proceeding to begin.

While waiting, I did some research on Google about Mr. Sampson. From the LA Times:
WASHINGTON — The former Justice Department official who orchestrated the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year plans to tell Congress today that such dismissals are appropriate when prosecutors prove ineffective from "a political perspective." In his first public remarks on the firings, D. Kyle Sampson says the process of identifying underperforming U.S. attorneys "was not scientific nor was it extensively documented," according to testimony prepared for delivery to the Senate Judiciary Committee.None of the prosecutors was asked to resign for "improper reasons," notes a copy of Sampson's statement obtained by The Times, but an unusually broad standard was used to decide on proper grounds for dismissing them
End of quotation from the LA Times...

He didn’t see a difference, it appeared, between firing someone for policy or political differences in any of his opening statement. In his opening remarks, he did make statements that things were mishandled—“poor judgments, word choices...” He talked of a “good faith attempt to carry-out management operations” and then one sentence later, admitted that actions have caused “misunderstandings and embarrassments”. He also indicated that he was not asked to resign, but instead chose to resign his post in an effort to hold himself accountable for what he “could have and should have done to prevent this”. He went on to assure the committee that he genuinely—“honestly and in good faith”—“never sought to conceal...facts...from anyone” within the department. Going far enough to state the “others in the department knew”. But, when discussing what happened in his opening statement, he simply stuck to the language already reflected in the LA Times excerpt above.

Reports from MSNBC say that he is currently being grilled on the language he has chosen to hear. But, they are not covering it live, and neither is CSPAN 1 AND CSPAN 2. I need to find a live feed to the proceeding and I will get our readers more. How does one get a press pass to this stuff, anyway?

Have any suggestions, email or call me.
Jeremy
(614) 519-3026

At first the article in this link pi$$e& me off...

At first I heard our President say:

"We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honourable public servants,"


But then I read what Patrick Leahy said and felt a little better:

"Testimony should be on the record and under oath. That's the formula for true accountability," he said.
He said Mr Bush's offer "is not constructive and it is not helpful to be telling the Senate how to do our investigation, or to prejudge its outcome".

Thanks BBC

Then I saw this article and these few lines:

"Republicans forced a delay in a vote on Senate subpoenas a week ago, and it was not clear whether any of the GOP members of the panel were now prepared to support them."

and then this classic deal from Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania:

The Senior Republican on the panel, floated a compromise in which Rove and others would answer questions from selected lawmakers without being sworn in but with a transcription made.

But then Sen. Harry Reid had this to say in response:

"Anyone who would take that deal isn't playing with a full deck,"

and then I saw this article in which the first paragraph said:

A House panel authorized subpoenas Wednesday requiring Karl Rove and four other senior Bush administration officials to testify under oath in the inquiry into the dismissals of eight federal prosecutors.


Further down the article:

“I think the Democrats are overplaying their hand,” said Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi.

[Wow, thank you #2 guy in the Republican party! You are supposed to say that, but that doesn't make it true.]

Well, this can only get better,

Go get 'em Leahy

Pat Leahy announced today that he will go after White House staff to testify. He also said he did not want to have a "private briefing" with the White House. Here is his quote found in the linked yahoo article.

"I want testimony under oath. I am sick and tired of getting half-truths on this," Leahy said. "I do not believe in this, we'll have a private briefing for you where we'll tell you everything, and they don't."

Pressure is building on this story.

Grape Juice = Good for you

"Grape and Berry Juices: Elixers for Long Life? Grape Juice-Industry-Funded Study Finds They May Help Prevent Alzheimer's, Heart Disease" By AMMU KANNAMPILLY

Antioxidants are good for you but don't overate them.

Grape Juice is good for you but not as good for you as cranberry and pomegranate juice. It is better for you than orange juice and grapefruit juice, but you should still have oj and gf juice weekly. They are citrus fruits and contain the only fruit that contain a certain type of antioxidant.

House of Reps. (except 94 republicans) pass Whistleblower Legislation

The house agreed to a bill that will protect scientists from political interruption into their work. They will be able to expose and be protected from having their findings impeded or influenced. I wonder why 94 of our house reps did not think this should pass. Anyone want to tell me (us)?

Click on the Link--Thread for The Worst Company In America

"Consumerist.com's "Worst Company in America" battle is down to the final round: RIAA vs. Halliburton. Go vote." I had to blog this article I found on Digg.com. The thread has a bunch of companies squaring off.


http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/worst-company-in-america/
read more digg story

Attorney General, Karl Rove, The plot thickens

Kyle Sampson-attorney general's chief of staff--Subpoenaed.

This is a link to an article written by Ari Shapiro found at npr.

"As more documents dribble out, they continue to damage Gonzales' standing with critics. "

"The exchange also shows White House adviser Karl Rove playing an early role in planning the dismissals. "

As for Karl Rove, Ari highlights a note left for a White House Lawyer that said, "Karl Rove stopped by to ask you how we planned to proceed regarding U.S. attorneys. Whether we were going to allow all to stay, request resignations from all and accept only some of them, or selectively replace them, etc."

Hmmm.


Rove had this to say:

""I just ask the American people and ask Congress to look fairly and carefully at what's being said and done now."

Ok.

Patrick Leahy, as reported earlier, has subpoenaed 5 Justice officials



and it goes on...

Iran Sanctions Agreement

The Big Six (Britain, United States, France, Russia, China and Germany) agreed to some sanctions on Iran to decrease weapons development and shipping. The 15 member U.N. security council will vote on the sanctions next week.

Some of the sanctions include (from Reuters Article in the link):

"a ban on Iranian arms exports, an assets freeze on individuals and firms involved in Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and a call for nations and institutions to bar new grants or loans"

The president of Iran had this to say:

"Issuing such torn pieces of paper ... will not have an impact on (the) Iranian nation's will,"


I am glad that the U.N. was able to get "the powers" to actually meet and develop sanctions this time. We'll see if it works. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seems more obstinate and passive aggressive than Saddam.

Can tiny little Vermont ruin this administration?

The link in the title goes to Raw Story and describes with some detail the announcement this morning that Patrick Leahy D-Vermont, wants a comprehensive questioning of all White House administration and Attorney General staffers. He seems pretty adamant that they will either give out all of the details covering arguments that the attorney general's office was carrying out the will of the White House. I also hear there was documented proof of this argument :) Here is the video clip that is available at CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/video/partners/clickability/index.html?url=/video/politics/2007/03/14/blitzer.leahy.interview.cnn


I am sure this story will only get better and I will continue to post as we move forward.

Swamp Bubbles Post-- Chris Meyers Canidate for Toledo School Board

A round of support on this site for Chris Meyers, local blogger, change advocate, and web activist and his announcement of running for school board. Chris is a welcoming member of the community and seems to look for collaborative solutions and good ideas. We will keep you posted on his campaign at our site.

You Go Vermont

Six towns in Vermont have gathered signatures to file paperwork to Impeach President Bush. The congress representative does not want to investigate their claims of "unanswered questions" about 9/11, so they are doing it on their own.

You go, Vermont. Let's see how far you get!

Can You Tube Help Elect the next president

If you are a presidential canidate, you better have a you tube account for your campaign. It seems most of the "bigger name" hopefuls already have their videos up.

Let's look at some stats from the link:

McCain

Joined: 2 weeks ago Videos: 13 Viewed: 9,877

Edwards

Joined: 11 months ago Videos: 23 Viewed: 26,518

Biden

Joined: 1 month ago Videos: 15 Viewed: 6,069

Romney

Joined: 1 month ago Videos: 33 Viewed: 13,934

Clinton

Joined: 7 months ago Videos: 14 Viewed: 30,226

Guliani

Joined: 2 weeks ago Videos: 5 Viewed: 16,555

Richardson

Joined: 1 month ago Videos: 3 Viewed: 9,832

Kucinich

Joined: 2 weeks ago Videos: 4 Viewed: 7,340

Obama

Joined: 6 months ago Videos: 22 Viewed: 81,618


OBAMA, leader of the You Tube generation!

Democrats Set Timetable for Iraq

The Democrats are trying to set a timetable for Iraq. Fall 2008. Of course Republicans are already attacking the plan. Here is the article, from the El Paso times, as an AP report.

The filing will also include 1.2 billion in funds to support military action in Afghanistan for a supposed "spring offensive" by the Taliban.

Let's see where this legislation will go. I think unless the "political aspect"(see the post right before this one) is figured out in Iraq, fall of 2008 is too far away. At least there is some healthy planning and debate going on.

New General in Iraq-- A Military Solution is Not Enough

Even for those who believe there is no civil war going on in Iraq, the new US Commander General Patraeus, says an end to the war would only come by bringing in the "militant" groups and giving them a voice at political tables.

He is quoted in the article with the following thoughts:

"There is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq. Military action is necessary to help improve security... but it is not sufficient. There needs to be a political aspect.”

I want to know what the extent of "political aspect" covers. Does he mean economic development, rebuilding, and policy/ strategy. Or does he mean political power and decision making? Or could it be a combination of both?

What is clear is that we can have as many troops as we want there to keep the peace and stop "militants" but the "War" will not be won without some other form of development. Remember, we are "building a democracy" where it has never really existed, so this type of bloodshed is really just "resistance to change". What is clear is that even the top military leaders of this "War" believe that a military presence alone CANNOT WIN THE WAR! There needs to be other plans in place for economic and political development. I sure hope someone in Washington is going to listen to General Patraeus and make a plan for the "political aspect."

SCOOTER LIBBEY = Found Guilty

AP reports and others, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libbey, was found guilty in the CIA leak trial. His lawers were disappointed and will seek an appeal or retrial.

He was found guilty of "Libby was convicted of one count of obstruction, two counts of perjury and one count of lying to the FBI"

No one will be charged with the actual leak.

This is what Patrick Fitzgerald, special prosecutor for the case had to say, according to the report (if you click on the title of this post) , "It's sad that we had a situation where a high-level official person who worked in the office of the vice president obstructed justice and lied under oath. We wish that it had not happened, but it did."


Also in the report was this information from Dana Perrino, White House deputy press secretary:

"the president respected the jury's verdict but "was saddened for Scooter Libby and his family."

and that

"I would not agree"{ with any characterization of the verdict as embarrassing for the White House. }

Hmmm.

Two FBI Whistleblowers Confirm Illegal Wiretapping of Government Officials and Misuse of FISA

Here is a press release from the National Security Whistleblowers Commission. A former spacial agent for the FBI is claiming that there is “... reasonable belief that the request for ELSUR [electronic surveillance] coverage was a subterfuge to collect evidentiary information concerning public corruption matters.”

The press release also states that "Graham blew the whistle on this illegal behavior, but the actions were covered up by the Department of Justice and the Attorney General’s office."

Dennis Hastert is reported as having this to do with the activities: "involved in illegal activities with the Turkish organizations and personnel targeted in FBI investigations"

Sibel Edmonds--former (she was fired, of course) FBI language scpecialist was quoted by David Rose of Vanity Fair as saying, "...much of what Edmonds reportedly heard seemed to concern not state espionage but criminal activity. There was talk, she told investigators, of laundering the profits of large-scale drug deals and of selling classified military technologies to the highest bidder.”


The unclassified report is available online

Please click on the link for the full press release.

I hope Dick Cheney is ok

Although, not my favorite guy in the world (actually not even close) , I hope and am sure he should have an easy and speedy recovery. I would bet he can't wait until 2008! I think I speak for about 50% of America when I say "Dick, I completely understand if you would want to retire at this very unfortunate time."

I would not take the same road as Bill Maher, suggesting that if Mr. Cheney were not here, lives would be saved. Thanks Fox News for getting that article!

Congress Fucks Up Another One

It seems there are already some discrepancies of royalties that have to be paid by internet radio broadcasters as opposed to your Clear Channel and Cumulus conglomerates. the author of the article has had his been slowly building his own Internet Radio Channel over the internet.

Here is the gist of the argument from Kurt Hanson:

The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has announced its decision on Internet radio royalty rates, rejecting all of the arguments made by Webcasters and instead adopting the "per play" rate proposal put forth by SoundExchange(a digital music fee collection body created by the RIAA).

Bill Goldsmith from Radio Paradise had this to say:

"while Internet stations like ours are being told they must pay royalty fees that exceed their income, sometimes by several times over, FM stations - including those owned by media conglomerates like Clear Channel - pay nothing at all!"


All of this came about because of this legislation:

music industry lobbyists persuaded Congress to include wording in two pieces of legislation (the Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act of 1995 and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998) that drew a sharp division between analog and digital broadcasts. Their reasoning was that a digital radio transmission was not a radio broadcast at all, but a sequence of perfect digital copies of music performances provided to the user, who could then copy them rather than paying to own a CD.


"Radio is radio, whether it comes in digital or analog form." says Goldsmith. Hey congress, not every lobbyist that come through the door has American citizens best interests at heart. When they tell you everyone will be stealing digital music, don't believe them! Not everyone has that technology just sitting around their house.

It may get worse before it gets better, but there is no better time than now to stop overt corporate control of our government.

Check out Radio Paradise

OOPS...She did it again

"BRITNEY Spears has flipped her lid in rehab, trying to hang herself with a bedsheet after screaming "I am the anti-christ" to frightened staff."


I just had to post this article for the hell of it. How do you say "she is fucking nuts" in Northwest Ohio. Oh yeah, she is fucking nuts.

Leave it to San Francisco

University of California at San Francisco has been smoking pot again, oh I mean studying pot. It looks like the "devil weed" has properties that relieve pain that most legal narcotics cannot alleviate.
It seems it can help this crazy "hippie" ailment called Neuropathic Pain. Oh Yeah sure! Here is what the alternet article said:

"Neuropathic pain is notoriously resistant to treatment with conventional pain drugs. Even powerful and addictive narcotics like morphine and OxyContin often provide little relief. This study leaves no doubt that marijuana can safely ease this type of pain."


Then as if that wasn't far fetched enough, to top it off the article reported that the researchers had the audacity to say the "illegal" weed the government gave them wasn't good enough:

"As all marijuana research in the United States must be, the new study was conducted with government-supplied marijuana of notoriously poor quality. So it probably underestimated the potential benefit."

So if they had some Maui Wowie (this website is called grass city, for a minute I thought Lisa Renee at Glass City changed her format!!) or Acapulco Gold who knows what ailments may up and disappear. Pizza delivery drivers beware!

Ann Coulter is a moronic you know what!

She is an idiot, another ultra conservative minion, who goes around spewing hate at every turn. Does she attract a lot of attention? I know Brian Wilson from WSPD loves to have her on, and she has wrote a few books. C'mon people, do you really want to hear drivel like this:

“I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot,’ so I — so kind of an impasse, can’t really talk about Edwards,” she said, speaking to an overflow room of activists.-- link from The Caucus

She needs rehab of her whole routine, the problem is she believes herself and so do others.