Posted by Elaine Magliaro
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Picture of the Day for April 23, 2015: On the Subject of Outsourcing American Jobs
Posted in Economics, Labor Movement, Oligarchy, United States
Tagged Outsourcing Jobs, Picture of the Day
7 Comments
Man-made Earthquakes and “Three-Eyed Billy Embraces the Apocalypse” (Mark Fiore Video)
By Elaine Magliaro
Mark Fiore said that the new frontier in scientific denial is “earthquake denial.” He noted that the burning of fossil fuels has helped to change the atmosphere—and now processes being used to extract oil and gas from the earth are causing earthquakes. Yes, earthquakes! As Fiore said, “this isn’t just some crackpot conspiracy theory designed to undermine the oil industry. The USGS and loads of scientists confirm that the industry practice of injecting oil and gas wastewater deep underground is causing earthquakes.”
Fiore:
Something must be up when Oklahoma now has more earthquakes than California. Speaking of California, even though we have naturally-occurring earthquakes, the Golden State isn’t immune from the ravages of the oil and gas industry. (Or the ravages of bumbling regulators, depending on which part of the story you pursue.) Hundreds of oil wastewater disposal wells have pumped toxic filth into aquifers that had previously been fit for human consumption.
Three-eyed Billy Embraces the Apocalypse
The Los Angeles Times reported today that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has unveiled a map of earthquakes thought to be triggered by human activity in eastern and central United States.
Posted in Big Oil, Economics, Energy Policy, Geology, Science, Short Video, United States
Tagged Air Pollution, Fossil Fuels, Fracking, Hydraulic Fracturing, Man-made Earthquakes, Mark Fiore, Oklahoma, Political Cartoon, Pollution, United States Geologial Service, USGS, Wastewater Injection
32 Comments
How to Win Friends and Influence People: Invitiation to Federally Self-fornicate Edition
submitted by Gene Howington
I’m not going to offer much commentary on this document other than to note that representing yourself in litigation is usually a very bad idea, that sugar works better than napalm when dealing with a Federal judge and that this presents a level of logic and legal reasoning rarely seen in this day and age (I’m particularly glad these lovely children were here today to hear that speech.).
So without further fanfare, I present “NOTICE: To F*ck This Court and Everything that it Stands For.” filed April 20, 2015 in the U.S.D.C. for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta by Jason Joseph Clark and Tamah Jada Clark (both on their own and on behalf of “Baby” Clark).
Enjoy.
Posted in Civil Liberties, Constitutional Law, Courts
11 Comments
Picture of the Day for April 22, 2015: On the Subject of Americans’ Access to Doctors and Weapons
Posted in Health Care, Health Care Insurance, Physicians, United States
Tagged Guns, weapons
2 Comments
Wisconsin Has Largest Decline of Middle Class of Any State According to New Study.
By Elaine Magliaro
Scottie Lee Meyers of Wisconsin Public Radio wrote an article earlier this month about a new state-by-state analysis conducted by The Pew Charitable Trusts which shows that Wisconsin has “experienced the biggest decline in middle-class households in the country between the years 2000 and 2013.” Meyers reported that the study had found “the percentage of households in the middle class dropped in all 50 states, with Wisconsin’s drop from 54.6 percent to 48.9 percent being the most significant.” In addition, Wisconsin saw a 14 percent decline in median household income.
Governor Scott Walker
(R-Wisconsin)
Meyers said that Marc Levine–a professor of history, economic development and urban studies who is director of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for Economic Development–had “attributed the state’s shrinking middle class to the Great Recession, among other factors.” Levine said that “reversing the trend would require raising the minimum wage and restoring unions, especially in the manufacturing industry.”
Meyers:
Wisconsin’s economy relies on manufacturing perhaps more than any other state, said Levine. When manufacturing gets hit hard, he said, Wisconsin gets hit hard too.
Since 2000, Wisconsin has lost about 90,000 — between 18 to 20 percent — of its manufacturing jobs, according to Levine, in part due to free trade agreements and Chinese imports.
According to Professor Levine, a major part of the problem has been “downward occupational skidding.” That is, manufacturing workers who have been laid off “have been displaced into lower-paying jobs in the service industry, and those who have been able to continue working in the manufacturing industry have seen stagnant wages.”
Levine, said, “It turns out the manufacturing jobs aren’t paying what they use to anymore, and a big chunk of that is because of the de-unionization that has occurred.”
Campaign 2016: Let the Running Begin…with a Handy Dandy “Candidate Kit” (Mark Fiore Political Cartoon Video)
By Elaine Magliaro
That time has arrived when prospective presidential candidates are “on the road” once again in densely populated states like Iowa and New Hampshire speaking to and eating with the regular folks—you know, the common working people these politicians would never deign to rub elbows with unless it was absolutely necessary. And, of course, it’s absolutely necessary for presidential candidates to get up close and personal with the folks who get their hands dirty or who work for minimum wage if they hope to serve as Commander in Chief of these United States. Photo ops are essential for every candidate!
It’s looks as if there will be a surfeit of Republicans seeking the presidency—probably more than can be count on two hands and two feet. Some members of the GOP–Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio–have already officially announced their candidacies. There are still plenty more who are definitely entertaining the thought of a presidential run. Think: Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, and “The Donald.”
As political cartoonist Mark Fiore noted, people are now active delving into presidential candidates’ eating habits, transportation habits, and hair styles. Fiore said, “Never mind the policies, now is the time to talk about the nothingness of the very early stages of the campaign.”
Posted in Animation, Campaign Finance, Humor, Media, Political Science, Politics, Short Video, United States
Tagged 2016 Presidential Candidates, Campaign 2016, Marco Rubio, Mark Fiore, Political Cartoon, POTUS, Rand Paul, Republicans, Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Rand Paul, Senator Ted Cruz, Ted Cruz
3 Comments
Police Officers and Officials of Small Missouri Town Resign after First Black Mayor Is Elected
By Elaine Magliaro
The town of Parma, Missouri, recently elected its first black mayor. Tyrus Byrd, a woman who served as the town clerk years ago, was sworn in as mayor last Tuesday. Prior to her swearing in, five of Parma’s six police officers resigned.
Randall Ramsey, Parma’s former mayor, said that the city’s attorney, clerk, and the waste water treatment plant supervisor also resigned. They reportedly cited “safety concerns” in their letters of resignation. Ramsey said that “the city employees gave no prior notice.”
Posted in Law Enforcement, Missouri, Racism, Society, United States
Tagged Parma (MO), Tyrus Byrd
6 Comments
Ben Bernanke and the Revolving Door That Leads to Wall Street
Ben Bernanke
Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve
By Elaine Magliaro
Surprise! Surprise! Ben Bernanke, the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, is going to “head down a well-beaten path” that many former federal government workers have headed down before him. As Kristin Cwalinski put it, Bernanke will be “shuffling through the revolving door between Washington’s policy circles and Wall Street’s big money institutions.”
Last Thursday, it was announced that Bernanke will be going to…where else? Wall Street! The former Fed Chair will be “a senior adviser at Citadel.” Citadel, a $25 billion hedge fund, said, “Dr. Bernanke will consult with Citadel teams on developments in monetary policy, financial markets and the global economy.” Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of the hedge fund, said of Bernanke, “He has extraordinary knowledge of the global economy and his insights on monetary policy and the capital markets will be extremely valuable to our team and to our investors.”
Posted in Government, Investing, United States, Wall Street
Tagged Ben Bernanke, Citadel Hedge Fund, Federal Reserve, Hedge Funds, Revolving Door
2 Comments
New Research Shows the Negative Impact of Poverty on Children’s Brains
By Elaine Magliaro
Jordan Weissmann has an interesting article over at Slate about recent research which shows that poor children have smaller brains than rich children. Weissmann noted that social scientists have found that “by the time children enter kindergarten, there is already a large academic achievement gap between students from wealthy and poor families.” He added, “We still don’t know exactly why that’s the case.” Some have sensed that the educational gap may have something to do “with the fact that affluent mothers and fathers have more intensive parenting sytles—they’re more likely to read to their kids…and have enough money to make sure their toddlers grow up well-nourished, generally cared for, and intellectually stimulated. At the same time, poor children often grow up in chaotic, food-insecure, stressful homes that aren’t conducive to a developing mind.”
Weissman said the new study, which was published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, has added “an interesting biological twist to this issue.” The researchers used “MRI scans of more than 1,000 subjects between the ages of 3 and 20.” They found that children from poor families tended “to have somewhat smaller brains, on some dimensions” than children who grew up in affluent families.
More Information on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)–A US Trade Deal Called “NAFTA on Steroids”
Posted by Elaine Magliaro
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): Job Loss, Lower Wages and Higher Drug Prices (Public Citizen)
The TPP would expand the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) “trade” pact model that has spurred massive U.S. trade deficits and job loss, downward pressure on wages, unprecedented levels of inequality and new floods of agricultural imports. The TPP not only replicates, but expands NAFTA’s special protections for firms that offshore U.S. jobs. And U.S. TPP negotiators literally used the 2011 Korea FTA – under which exports have fallen and trade deficits have surged – as the template for the TPP.
In one fell swoop, this secretive deal could:
- offshore American jobs and increase income inequality,
- expose the U.S. to unsafe food and products,
- jack up the cost of medicines,
- roll back Wall Street reforms,
- sneak in SOPA-like threats to Internet freedom,
- ban Buy American policies needed to create green jobs,
- and empower corporations to attack our environmental and health safeguards.
Posted in Barack Obama, Countries, Democracy, Economic Policy, Economics, Fascism, Foreign Policy, Government, Government Propaganda, Justice, Labor Movement, Oligarchy, Pharmaceuticals, Politics, Propaganda, Short Video, United States
Tagged Fast Track, TPP, Trade Deals, Trade Pacts, Trans-Pacific Partnership, US Trade Deals
3 Comments
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Flowers For Socrates 