"Reboot Illinois" or, better name: Rubout Illinois

Reboot Illinois is, allegedly, a "non-partisan" journalistic website/entity that just cares about the financial abuse of our state. It has no agenda, except "reform" and of course, shows "both sides" of an argument, debate or issue...sure. Just ask them.
ReBoot Illinois began within the last couple of years and began by attacking pensions. Yes, I know we have an unfunded pension liability, but we also, as a state, promised state workers that if they took LESS money during their employment, they'd enjoy a secure retirement. The outrageous pensions are those of politicians and appointees, not the average worker.
But I digress...stepping on correct soapbox...

Reboot Illinois is the baby of Anne Griffin. So who is she? She is the wife of Kenneth Griffin and the founder of Aragon Global Management LLC(Hedge fund/vulture capitalist).
She was a major contributor to Emanuel's mayoral campaign to the tune of about $100,000(who favors privatized schools rather than public, as Ms. Griffin does), and a contributor($30,000) to a shadow right wing PAC(Paul Ryan's PAC), Campaign for Primary Accountability. Another $1 Million went to the Romney campaign, Restore our Future. So, she's going to have a so-called "non-partisan" "journalistic" website? Sure...and pigs fly.

But it gets even better...or worse.
Some of the other PACs($467,100 between 2010 and 2012) she has contributed to:

Prosperity Action, of which 100% of contributions went to Republicons
Republican National Committee
National Republican Senatorial and Congressional Committee
Batshit crazy Aaron Schock "Victory Committee"
Every Republican is Craven...oops Crucial(Eric Cantor's PAC)
American Crossroads($250,000)
John McCain 2008
Republican Party of KY(when Paul was running)

So, I'm sorry if I'm not buying the "non-partisan" crap, but really? Millions of $$$ for the right(and many times for the bat shit crazy right), nothing for progressive candidates, but her so called reform site is non-partisan. Ok, so how about a look at the issues on the website and where this "reform" stands on these journalistic adventures.

First and foremost: Overblown Pensions....those evil bloodsucking teachers and state employees who made billions of dollars during their lifespan...ooops, wait a minute, that's Ms. Griffin and her peers...ummm...pensions are badbadbadbad. They are the reason that education has gone down in Illinois, this is the reason that Illinois has such high taxes!!! Its the reason that businesses are leaving Illinois and everybody absofreakinlutely hatehatehates pensions and the loathsome sloths who receive them!

Umm, time to breathe. First the reason education has gone down is because, truthfully, the state has not been funding education as it should, but that has nothing to do with pensions. Education funding is low because Illinois hasn't been paying their bill for that either! But, really, to use the tired argument that we can pay for this or that, but not both is disingenuous and just stupid. The flip of that coin is that Reboot Illinois is the drunken cheerleader for corporate schools...you know, charters? The ones that they can pay the teachers little to nothing, no benefits, work long hours and make money for the corporation that owns them? The ones that haven't shown they are any better than most public, neighborhood schools except they get to pick and choose their students. That means that the kid with a learning or physical disability? Might not make the cut and screw any kid with emotional issues...don't even darken their corporate door! Oh, the beatitudes that are fostered upon charter schools from this website and their co-conspirators would have you believing if your child goes to their "choice" schools, s/he will begin to fart gold.

And, lets not forget the 67% tax lie. See, a couple of years ago, Illinois general assembly voted to raise our measly ass flatulent tax from 3% to 5 for individuals and 5% to 7 for corporations...now, to anyone that can actually do math, that means you are paying 2 cents on the dollar more...if you have no deductions. WHAT!? There are DEDUCTIONS  on our flat tax???? OH YES...whole helluva lot for the corporate whores out there, among other ways to screw the state, but I've written about that in the past. So...how do you come up with a 67% tax increase? By dividing what you paid before by what you pay now. This way, you get everyone thinking that your taxes are like 2/3 of you income, rather than your taxes are $.05(or .07) on the dollar...LESS THAN ALL BUT ONE STATE IN THIS AREA(except, of course, Indiana...but who wants to live in Indiana? They have higher property taxes, higher sales tax, less education programs...ok, sorry this should be another rant...er...post).

Oh, and while the darling of the right wing gets adoration(Scott Walker), the right wing has failed, as has Rubout Illinois(I like this name better) that Scott Walker has caused Wisconsin to become one of the worst states for job creation. In the mean time, while Scottie boy has lost about 10,000 jobs, Illinois has gained over 30,000 jobs. Huh? We gained? Wouldn't be able to tell that from Rubout IL, now could you?

So, why am I so aggravated about this type of site? Because too many of my fellow state retirees fall for their lies. Now, I understand that these same retirees are prolly duped by Faux News also, but how is it that retirees, knowing that their security depends on their pension, can fall for this? Why won't they actually research where this crap comes from? 
Could it be cuz they're still drinking the Ronnie kool-aid? If you tell a lie over and over, sooner or later the naive and the unknowledgeable will believe. Just sad. Now all of you who are retirees, TIME TO RESEARCH, TO INVESTIGATE, TO EDUCATE! Don't let them cut you with your own knife. Please.

History, Gardening, Dinner and Democracy--All Mashed Together

Warning: I'm waxing philosophically here...could get deep....
I garden. Yes, its a verb, not just, I have a garden. I've enjoyed gardening since childhood, having grown up in a family that had farmers on both sides and an uncle(Mike) who owned 5 lots, 4 of which were garden plots. I remember going to his home and "helping" by pulling up the carrots and picking the tomatoes and enjoying other stuff like the the rich smell of carrots and turnips just out of the earth always excited me...go figure. 
During this time, I remember people complaining about the differences between real and "store bought" produce. My uncle was of the opinion that the "company" farms( i.e., not small family farms) were "manipulating " the plants so they could grow all year long even tho that wasn't normal. Most people just sort of laughed at Uncle Mike behind his back--see he was old fashioned and just really didn't understand about "progress".
Well, as we now know, that's basically what happened. I was reading an article about the tomato and how, in the 70's, the agriculture corporations came out with a "season-less" tomato. Did it taste like a tomato? No, but their idea was to flood the market, marvel at being able to have tomatoes, cheaply, all year round...and in a decade, no one would really remember what "real" tomatoes tasted like and the agra-businesses would make money. 

 

This is a Genovese Costulo tomato, the one on the right is a Brandywine. Not a perfect round sphere, but oh so luscious, who needs pretty when you have taste?


So...it sounded like something that would work, and it did for many a year, but most people who grew up with real tomatoes remembered the sweet, juicy treat and dreamed of the summer days when the deep red fruit was available...maybe a plant on the balcony, maybe one of the small family farm kiosks that are available in some towns, but they remembered.
So, now, go to the present. Not only are Farmer's Markets in every town, but they're packed with people looking for those summer treats that are full of flavor! They've become fluent in the language of tomato--heirlooms, determinant, indeterminate, Box Car Willie, Lunch Box, Brandywine, Genovese are all well known adjectives and pronouns rather than just Big Boys and Early Girls. The consumer has gone even farther by growing their own, demanding organic and wanting to know which products are GMO or not! So, in other words, the citizens are debunking the corporations ideas and, if not winning, making a dent in the idea that people will just settle for what we shove at them.
Also, because of my gardening, we eat a lot more "fresh" stuff--no canned tomatoes for this family, nosireebob, when I'm cooking, I have fresh tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, herbs, spices...but this does mean a bit more work for me. I mean it is easier to just open a can and throw it in. No weeding, no seeding, no waiting. Right now, between par-boiling tomatoes to make sauces, I'm roasting peppers, slicing up squash, freezing peppers. Also, giving some of it away, to friends, to our church(we have a summer program about sharing your gardening "wealth") and not doing it just because I'm overwhelmed by the bounty(I've got about 2 gallons of tomato sauce at this time and I've roasted at least 40 peppers), but because its good to share and to give to others that have less than you. Yes, its a bit messier than just going to the supermarket, which more and more is looking like SlaveMart, but its a much more satisfying feeling.

 
 Yes, two of my 80% home grown meals--stuffed peppers and a tomato/mac dish. The only added ingredients that were bought? Ground beef and cheese for one, a chicken breast, whole grain pasta and cheese for the other.



So, how does this warp into democracy? We have been forced into this political farce by big bidness buying the republicon crazies, who, since Reagan, have made government the "bad guy". We've been taught that we shouldn't have a War on Poverty or a Great Society, both of which did take a bite out of being poor, but that being poor is criminal...while giving more and more of the People's wealth to the corporate sluts. We've allowed the greed of human nature to become honorable position, unless, of course, it may truly affect us(like those teabaggers that carry signs, "Keep your gov't hands off my Medicare!", kinda sad when people don't know that Medicare is a Government program, eh?).
Education funding is cut, but more money sent to the War Industry and the Prison Industry. Republicons try to cut food stamps by billions of dollars, while giving twice that amount to the agra-business whores who do lap dances for them. We are told that this evil president has made the deficit so much worse...without most of the media yelling, "LIARS!" at the top of their lungs(since the deficit has shrunk faster under President Obama than the last 3 or 4 Republican presidents. But, most of the media has also been bought by the corporate whores who own most of the media, so why would they turn away from the golden idol?
Its time we, the American people, stand up and take a real look at what is happening. We did it with food, an important ingredient of life and we need to do the same with democracy...another sweet luscious fruit of an earlier generation. Its time to learn the lessons of being somewhat old fashioned...and remembering that we are the Government, we are the ones that fire the Government representatives, but we need to spend time to educate ourselves on what is happening and what is important, not just what the sound bytes tell us. Yes, soundbytes are easy, but they just aren't as satisfying as the truth and compassion for your fellow human being. 

The Governor's Race in Illinois

Oh goodie, another governor's race, another let down. The governor's race in Illinois is starting up...and already it doesn't bode too well for many that will be directly effected by the outcome. We have at least 2 darlings for the teabaggers, 1 1/2 for the dollarcrats, poor Kirk Dillard, who's been forced to dumb down so as to look like a teabagger...but not one for citizens who are intelligent and compassionate, at least so far.
So, the players of today:
Patrick Quinn: The Governor as of today. I always feel a bit sorry for Mr. Quinn. He was the true outsider, in his day, he was the face of CUB, Citizen's Utility Board, he's been a force in the 'outsider's' club, he was fired by Harold Washington because of his inability to get involved with day to day politics...he knew how to agitate, not negotiate...in fact, he is the true outsider, unlike Rauner who knows how to grease palms. BUT that causes a big problem when you're governor cuz he's the one that has no friends. That can work in campaign ads, but it doesn't work after the election, specially when you're dealing with Mike Madigan.
Bill Daley: All I can say is always running on the coattails....he has never won a political position, but has been given many. In fact, when he's thought about running, he jumps out before the opposition polling attacks. Also, another Dollarcrat--not Democrat; a lapdog for the Chamber of Commerce and the Civic Federation. He was involved with my nemesis, the evil Chase Bank...
Bruce Rauner: Well, he does own a German Wirehaired Pointer, one point in his favor. One point...but he's also given $$$$$ to break the Chicago Teacher's Union(he was instrumental in getting the bill passed that made it illegal for Chicago teachers to strike unless they had a 75% pro-strike vote...and the teachers outsmarted him by getting over 75% of a strike vote--he's still pissed about this), he's on the board of a charter school corporation, and brought the "Stand For Children"(read screw the teachers) group to Illinois(their policy insists that charter schools are the end all/be all and teacher's unions are evil...teachers should just feel blessed that they get to teacher our brats....err....angels and get paid a little better than minimum wage). He's listed on 21 Boards
And who did he speak to while trying to make up his mind to run? Scott Walker--who's placed WI in 50th place in the union in keeping jobs and enticing new businesses, Bobby "The Exorcist" Jindahl, who has allowed charter schools to run amok in Lousiana...and is consistently in the bottom 10 of educational ability of states(and the same for jobs), Chris Christie--another teacher abuser(notice how all of these 'men' enjoy abusing women?), and just signed a bill to allow 50 caliber weapons in NJ---after he said he wouldn't, and, last, but not least...although probably the smallest, Mitch Daniels--again, abuse of teachers, championed a right to work for less law in Indiana. And the Trib says this guy is fascinating--just like a train wreck, I imagine, for working people.
And, of course, he's running as the "outsider", although he's been on winning end of political appointments. You know, the ones in charge that aren't elected. He blames the "union bosses" for all of the issues with the state, never the corporate welfare that Illinois vomits out(Sears, Caterpillar, Google, CME, Office Max...and on and on and on...oh, and giving these big corporations tax cuts/rebates/refunds and not paying the bill). I'm always amazed when I hear how much power I have as a "union thug/boss" while still having to fight for the pension that I paid up to 9% of my income into...while the state hung out with the likes of Rauner(who, by the way made his money with...wait for it...outsourcing our jobs to other countries!). He's been outspoken on how our economy hurts Illinois' ability to create jobs while praising Walker...although since Walker took over Wisconsin, he's lost about 10,000 jobs...and Illinois has gained over 30,000 jobs. Seems like Rauner can't even understand basic math. OK, so his math issue may be to blame for his non-payment of taxes in Cook County.
Kirk Dillard(R): If Dillard had won the last governor's primary, he'd probably be governor now. He knows how to talk to both sides of the aisle, knows how to negotiate. BUT since his run in with teabagger Chris Nybo, he's been dancing with the right wing crazies...so will the real Kirk Dillard, please stand up...
Bill Brady: He made his money the old fashioned way--he married it. He plays the "pull yourself up be the bootstraps" crap without telling people how he made his money(again, so....was he on his knees?) Another CINO(christian in name only). Would love to get rid of worker protection for public employees and thinks right to work for less is just fantastic...
Dan Rutherford(R): Rutherford is a life long politician. He's been a state representative(93-2002), state senator(02-10), born in Pontiac, was a "business executive" before running for office, of course that was 20 years ago. Recently, he's come out against the new education initiative, Common Core Standards, which does have conservative support...except for the likes of teabaggers and Glenn Beck. Although he voted for civil unions in Illinois, he's against marriage equality, feeling that a 24 hour marriage in Vegas between a man and a woman holds much more love/honor than a 40 year same sex relationship. And what do you serve with hypocrisy, Mr. Rutherford? He's also a member of ALEC, which doesn't bode well for middle class/working Illinoisans.
So, there's my take on how our governor race is shaping up....sad to say, but unless Dillard decides to be Kirk Dillard and not Kirk"OH PLEASE...I'LL VOTE FOR BATSHIT CRAZY RIGHT WING LEGISLATION!!!", I may be voting for Quinn again.

The First Driving Lesson

Just a disclaimer, this has nothing to do with any political views.

My granddaughter is finally taking driver's ed this year, why finally? Well, she was held back a year so we all here the lament of the already 16 year old who doesn't have her license yet. I had nothing to do with that, I tell her, but go forward!

Last night there was the meeting for the parents and driver's ed students. It was very informative, both about the laws of our state, what the instructors are responsible for, the students and the parents. In Illinois, before a teen is given a license, s/he must have at least 50 hours behind the wheel with a licensed adult--outside of school. That means parents must get off butts and bond with the new driver!

So today we went for the first drive. I took her to a partially empty parking lot and first showed her that you don't have to have your foot on the accelerator for the car to move---idle speed. Why? Because last night one of the instructors said that if a driver is having problems with curves, he'll not allow them to touch the accelerator around corners and she didn't understand why he'd do this, she thought the car would just stop. Now, she understands that the car can keep moving without any action on the accelerator.

In the parking lot, I had her practice turns...we did a serpentine chain up and down the empty lanes. When I felt she'd done well, then we went the whole length of the lanes, where cars were parked and people were walking so she could get used to watching for movement.

We then moved into the 2-lane residential street. She does the newbie listing right and I'd have to tell her to move left, but she did pretty well. She stops short on the stop signs/traffic lights, but I'd rather her have more room than in the middle of an intersection--again, that's just experience.

She wanted to drive to work, which includes a 4 lane highway/street which I thought would be the worst(although we limited the dreaded "Ogden" stretch to less than a half mile), but no...the real challenge was after we crossed the tracks. See, we live in an area that sometimes saw growth without consequence...such as premium condos that have no service area, no place for trucks to unload...except for on the 2 lane street...on our side...why, oh WHY today???? 

So, she slows down and stops behind the truck cuz there were people who had the audacity to be on the street when MY GRANDDAUGHTER WAS TRYING TO LEARN! Evil people...and we waited...and we waited...I told her that she needed to shift more to the left...she drifted a bit, but went more forward---still a good 2-3 feet off of the bumper, but half the car was still blocked by the truck. I asked her if she was ok if I told her when to go, she gave an emphatic, "YES!" So, finally I saw an opening, I told her hard left...and then I watched as we were still precariously close to the truck and started screaming, "LEFT! LEFT@! LEFT!"....we passed within inches of that truck....but we passed.

She was still cool, we took the "back way" to her job, except for the last 1/2 mile and then we did Ogden, which was uneventful.  I told her she did very well, but we have to work on passing skills. Where's the vodka when you need it?

Tonight, when I picked her up from work, she told me that her heart was in her throat all the way to work! I told her that she had fooled me...and that's good because, again, she did a good job. And I think its a great time for me to have a driver...driving Ms. Gram is just fine.

OK you racist idiots JUST STFU--you're making the rest of us look stupid!

I would first like to say that this is not going to be one of my "G" rated posts, that's your warning.
I received an email a couple of days after the Zimmerman so called trial which began with the statement, "This is what Trayvon REALLY LOOKED LIKE"...and showed a photo of GAME, a rapper...you know, a black man that has tattoos on his face? Then the email went on and on about how evil Trayvon was and how vicious...and, OH NO...his worst crime? Serial murderer? Rapist? Shot an unarmed neighbor in cold blooded murder? No, it was the evil selling of marijuana..you know that drug that makes you think you can terrorize the neighborhood, if you can ever get off the couch...
Yes, anyone who is stupid enough to believe this crap...I don't know....is either a COMBINATION or just stupid, racist, hateful, way too high or way too drunk to understand basic human compassion and empathy...oh, and probably a white male(although I've gotten these stupid right wing lies from white women, I would say its 90% white male)...and if you are white and a male, notice, I used the term, "male", not man...I have a male dog, I had a male cat, but I married a man.
But when has it become OK to demonize the victim? We, as women, have went through it as rape victims, with the "what were you wearing? Why were you in a bar? Why were you out after dark?" and, some of that has stopped...but how can women look at this and not think, "Wait a minute....this is very similar to what we were put through as victims"? Too many of us women think that just cuz we're white, we're above the Frey.
On the other hand, how can anyone look at a young person, who just turned 17 and is being followed by a creepy guy and not think he did what we've all told our children to do? Evade, run, and, if no other course, punch his lights out(if  you believe the lies of the Zimmerman defense...where he was being beaten into the ground, but received superficial scratches). Why is it that racists feel that Zimmerman had the right to "stand his ground", but Trayvon, who was being followed by some pasty white guy who looked creepy, did not? Must be cuz Trayvon was black. All I see is a kid who just turned 17 and is acting like a teen...whether white or another color. Why hasn't the (very white)NRA came out with one of the stupid ad campaigns about if Trayvon had a weapon...blahblahblah...oh, yeah, he wasn't white so its better if "his kind" doesn't have anything to protect themselves...specially against white racist wannabee robocops.
And about all of those bad things that Trayvon did...well, what has Zimmerman been charged with? Oh, yeah, nothing big just attacking a police officer(but she was just a female officer...and racists are usually misogynists so that doesn't count), domestic violence(again a female, so for racists, that doesn't count).
I wanted to do a post that discounted the lies in the email I received, but as I read the email, it was just too filled with lies, hate and bigotry and I really felt ill that anyone with any sense could believe that crap...unless they, too, were filled with hate and stupidity...and I can only feel sorry for people who are so filled with hate and fear and stupidity. The only good thing? Many of these racists are over the age of 50 and will die out soon. But, until then, please white racists just SHUT THE FUCK UP...you know the old phrase? Keep your mouth shut so you don't look like a fool...I am so tired of saying, "just cuz I'm white doesn't mean I'm stupid", you're really beginning to make all of us look bad.

Zimmerman gets away with murder, and America Loses Again

I was watching one of my favorite shows on Friday, Real Time with Bill Maher, but I had to turn it off because of some of the racist/bigoted remarks of his guest from the Daily Caller(a right wing "white is best, white male is even better rag). First, the racist began with his whiny rant about black on black crime running rampant, which is racist speak for, "Don't look at the cracker killing a black boy". It also shows how shallow their intellectual ability is, considering that we have ensured a large majority of African Americans stay in poverty, by our laws, by our school policies, by our white ability to assimilate, but making sure our Black citizens must still play by "The Help" rules in many instances.

What is this about racist White males that wanna whine about black on black crime? Sure, lets not look at how many African Americans are treated in everyday white America(Driving while black, hey, now, even walking while black, stop and frisk, police harassment), just point your finger and yell, "SHAMESHAMESHAME" and say that we white liberals should talk about it? REALLY???? Cuz I know you don't want me to tell you what I think...well since you whined....

Black on Black crime happens because of how the majority white race has treated the black race since the beginning of our history--lynchings, mob beatdowns, tying black men to pickup trucks and dragging them for miles(and that was within this century)...and we white folks have no problem cannibalizing our own, we've treated Irish, Italians, Germans, Eastern Europeans the same way when they first came over, but its much easier to blend in when all you have to do is lose an accent and "Americanize" your name. Before we "White Liberals" need to speak on black on black crime, we all need to address how we've treated people of color since we stepped on Plymouth Rock...and how we treat the poor in rural White America. Or when we White Americans are going to address the problem of pedophilia, which is, for the most part, a crime of white married men who prey on children(over 80% of pedophiles are white married males). As a white person, I don't have the right to speak on Black and Black crime until there is equality in our economic/societal status. What does that mean? When both I and a black woman of the same age can enter a store and neither of us be followed by the store security, then maybe I can ; it's a fairly decent idea. 

But, then we're getting into white privilege...you know that whole thing that was stopped cuz of a very small affirmative action(there are no affirmative action tests or interviews). The reason that our white children can walk down the street and not be stopped, but black children can be harassed whether they are wearing the "ghetto look" or a tie and suit....both will be stopped because of the color of their skin. That's REALITY. 

George Zimmerman lived at least on the edge of white privilege, Trayvon? Knew what it meant. In all probability, Trayvon understood how not to raise the deal about being in a white neighborhood, but he was just walking back from the 7/11...talking on his phone, doing normal teenage things until he noticed a "creepy guy" following him. Trayvon also had a GPA of 3.7, he'd won a full scholarship, something that George Zimmerman could only dream of. One that was on the phone to the police department, calling him a punk and a "f***ing c**n", yes, Zimmerman is the epitome of diversity...diversity of racial derision.

My son is bi-racial, he is my heart. But society? Well he "looks white"...to a point('cept for his hair- red and nappy), he's faced being called a "wigga" in our yuppie high school and other incidents; now, my son has his own issues(feels that "fuck" is the adjective for everything and has a redheaded temper on steroids), but he's also one that takes care of others, smarter than most and has a wicked sense of humor. But when he'd walk out my door, my heart would drop because I knew there could be an "incident". I don't think white mothers feel this as strongly, not that we don't, but we don't face half the trials that black mothers must face.

I know how society treats outsiders...as do, both Trayvon and George Zimmerman. Yes, both were on the outside looking in(just look at George Zimmerman-I know he was the kid that was the target of spit balls!), and although Trayvon had his brushes with "authority"(getting suspended for marijuana), I think he did better at acclimating and I think that was probably because of his parents' support and guidance, his parents loved him, cared for him, tried to raise him as a kind, knowledgeable young man. Was he perfect? Nope, not what I'm saying, but from interviews held in his school, with his friends, most remembered him as the one that had a smile and a good word. Zimmerman's parents? His father wrote a racist ebook...tells you where George got his views, doesn't it? Zimmerman already had some problems in the world due to his views(fired as a bouncer, failed police interview, etc.), seemed to feel fairly impotent at life in general.
Now, logically, I understand that the police/prosecution did a very poor job with the crime scene and other forensic information, but then, they weren't going to file charges, remember? It was only some black teen that got himself shot by a white guy. They were forced to charge George with something...I mean he was just doing his civic "whiteman" duty of protectin' the liddle wimmen, wasn't he? Again, I don't mean all white men, but we know the type, don't we? Well, this is what we project in American society.
And society's place in all this? Well, we're taught from an early age to be afraid of the "other"---whether that "other" be a different skin color, religion, ethnicity(how many derogatory terms can my white friends come up for different white ethnic groups?). We're taught, in society that it's OK to objectify/ignore people who are female, gay, old, young(well as in children) because they don't matter as much as white males(of a certain age). And white males that don't become "that certain age"? Whether its due to their inability to achieve(education, personality,etc.), what they choose to do(occupation of choice doesn't integrate with the skill set) or where or how they choose to live, this type(think most of Fox Noise personalities) find a way to blame everyone else for their shortcomings...and we allow it. Its time to make everyone act like adults and start shaming those that exist on stereotypes, ignorance and hatred. Obviously the blather about a "post-racial America" isn't worth the oxygen it uses to say it. 

SCOTUS Gives us tidbits and takeths away Chunks of Liberty and Law

Yes, the Supreme Court found parts of DOMA unconstitutional...this means that if a state recognizes Marriage Equality, the United States will also, allowing gay partners both the burdens and benefits of marriage(income tax, inheritance, property, social security/Medicare, insurance benefits, etc.), but this is only in 13 states. SCOTUS did not find the whole law unconstitutional which means that if a couple are married in Iowa, but move to Indiana due to job or other circumstances, they lose their rights...which is completely against the Constitution's direction of equal liberty which is protected by the Fifth Amendment. But you'd never know that, watching the corporate media. First, let me be very clear. I am happy that SCOTUS did this much, that gay couples receive the same benefits as my husband and I do and I also believe that SCOTUS should have thrown out the whole law and made it clear that if I get married in IL, that marriage should be recognized in IN, whether its between consenting opposite genders or the same gender. Some figures I've thrown together...using the stat that gays are approximately 9-10% of the populace and that 13 states honor marriage equality, that roughly comes to about one quarter of the country, then that drops the actual "equality" of being able to see your loved one in the hospital to only 2-3% of gay couples....and that's not very equal...or even moral.
BUT I also believe that Roberts left this for last so he'd have cover for some of the other very corporate/racist...yes even on the brink of fascist decisions coming out of this court.
So, what am I basing this statement on? Read on:
First the Voting Rights Act demolition. Please remember that this law was reaffirmed in 2006 under George Bush overwhelmingly(98-0 in Senate, over 400 ayes in the House) and kept the more stringent sights of the DOJ on 9 states that have been known for their inability to play fair consistently(Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Virginia). The Act was written(in 1965), to address the entrenched racial discrimination in voting rights across the country and banned any "standard, practice or procedure" that resulted "in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen to vote on account of race or color", and although this part applies nationwide, Section 4 addressed only parts of the country, those states that required literacy "tests" or other discriminating requirements to be able to register to vote. Section 5 states that voting procedures cannot take place unless the DOJ approves these changes. This part of the law was to expire in 5 years, but has been reauthorized several times, always with a large majority of congress backing the extension.
Now, the Roberts court comes to a decision that POOF! its unconstitutional. And think the Congress should rewrite Section 4...yes, this congress, the one that's voted to overturn ObamaCare 38 times, voted to take away reproductive choices and other rights of women over 300 times and not one vote on jobs/economy/etc.  They want the republicon controlled do nothing but whine congress to fix the Voting Acts Rights. And I do agree that this should be fixed, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana(all under teabaggercon control) have done the same shit as Texas, Mississippi and Alabama, but I truly doubt our ability to fix it at this time...so, The People lose. Oh..and of the 9 states that are involved, 6 of them already have legislation in the works to radically limit people's ability to vote.  Racists 1, We the People 0.
Speaking of racists, there are 2 other decisions that go for racists/bigots: VANCE v. BALL STATE UNIVERSITY is dealing with workplace harassment of a black woman by a white woman, who did have a higher job title, but was not her supervisor. Now, I'm not very sure about the validity of the case, it seemed that there was a personality issue between the two women, rather than overt racism(although the white woman could have known how far to take it without calling the other woman names), but the court ruled that as long as an employer did something about the harassment(as in tell one to play nice, I guess), and as long as the harasser could not hire/fire the person that was being harassed, it wasn't really an issue...again, looking at this case, I don't think it warranted a Supreme Court Decision, but then taking a "bad" case just to affirm less workplace remedies for employees wouldn't be below the Roberts court. Bigots/Corporations 2/1, We The People 0.
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER v. NASSAR Again, we have discrimination, this time religious and national origin. The plaintiff, Dr. Nassar(hired in 1995) alleges that he was a victim of harassment by a supervisor(although not his immediate supervisor), Dr. Levine(hired in 2004). He being Arab and Muslim, she being Jewish and...Jewish; Dr. Levine going so far as to say, "Middle Easterners are lazy" and other blatantly bigoted comments. Dr. Nassar went to the head of the department, Dr. Fisk< and reported this and, in the end, negotiated a settlement that he would only work in the hospital, he would not teach classes(which is where Dr.Levine had the most control). Dr. Fisk decided that Dr. Nassar had aired his grievances too publicly and had hurt Dr. Levine's reputation and forced the hospital to refuse to hire Dr. Nassar. Now, Dr. Nassar won his suit in the lower courts, but SCOTUS again decided in favor of discrimination because, although they did not disagree that Dr. Levine was, in fact, a bigot and causing a hostile work environment, she had nothing to do with him losing the hospital job. Bigots/Corporations 3/2, We the People 0.
Also, FISHER V. U of T-AUSTIN: Ms. Fisher was not  selected for placement at UT-Austin and decided it was because of race, not other facts such as that she did not score as high on placement. In Texas, public colleges allow the top 10% of all high schools placement. In the year that Fisher applied, there were over 29,000 applicants for under 8000 seats. Texas' placement procedure is 2 pronged, first the top 10% of all high schools, a holistic metric of the individual student which includes grades, leadership and work experience, extracurricular activity, adversity the student has come through and, since 2004, race is included in this metric. This is what Ms. Fisher attacked; she did not measure up in grades(and within this criteria, she not only placed under 10% in her school, but many of the minority high school applicants).
Now, being fair, Texas' demographics in 2010 census showed that its population broke down, racially, as such: 45% white, 37% Hispanic, 12% African American. The University's population? 77% White, 17% Hispanic and 4.5% African American...Hmm, doesn't seem so bad for white folks, eh?
So, Ms. Fisher goes through the 2 lower courts and is denied by both courts, saying that the school did not base solely on race, the school's were doing the right thing. SCOTUS? Well, they did not affirm Ms. Fisher's claim, just decided that the lower courts did not scrutinize this race business well enough and threw it back to the Appeals court, where, it can be decided in the same manner and go back up to SCOTUS or the Appeals court can decide the way SCOTUS wants them to...and, no I didn't read Thomas' dissent...AKA a waste of paper. Bigots 4, We The People 0.
And let's not forget about drugs, no the real drug problem in America is MUTUAL PHARMACEUTICAL CO. v. BARTLETT involving generic drugs, you know the ones that all insurance companies require or you pay extra? Well, the "extra" for formulary just may have gotten cheaper, if you value your life. In this case, the Supreme Court concluded that generic drugs do not have to make the buyer beware of side effects if the side effects were discovered after the drug has entered into the generic market. So, we consumers must not only read all of the crap inside the box, but then go to the original medications website and check that? And that's good legal reasoning????  Corporations 3, We the People 0.
So, all in all, you can get married in 13 states if you are gay, but you can still be discriminated against in all 50 for being gay, female, of different color, of different religious preference and SCOTUS has limited those remedies...and if you end up getting ill from all of this crap? Don't take generic medication cuz SCOTUS decided that generics have the right to kill or maim you without discretion....lovely....
When the fuck is Alito and Scalia retiring?????

Ralph Martire is My Hero--Illinois Fiscal Policy Wonk.

Ralph Martire is the executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountablility which is a bipartisan nonprofit research group that studies budget and fiscal matters. Mr. Martire also writes a monthly column for the Springfield Journal Register.

This month's column dealt with how government spends money. There are 2 ways, first directly on services(roads, education, medical, prisons, human services, etc.) but the other way is indirectly by enacting tax breaks/cuts.

I think all of us understand the first category at least a bit, although some skew it to just spending on poor lazy people who just won't get a job(of course they are the only ones that use the roads, education, medical, IEMA, Commerce Agency....yes, I'm being snarky). But the second category is a bit wonkier....now, we, as normal people, do receives some tax cuts, dependent and property tax "cuts" could be considered "tax expenditures", but this category are giving to businesses to allegedly "help fund a public good", you know-economic development. Such as jobs.

OK, the first category, direct expenditures, are given direct funds from the budget...hence the term, "direct expenditures"(OK, duh), but indirect or tax expenditures, Illinois doesn't collect anything, they allow businesses to keep the profits they would pay in taxes(or a percentage) and expect the business to provide a public good...you know, jobs and such. Now, don't get me wrong, this is a very "noble" aspect and a good partnership, if neither partner tries to screw the other...HELLO Google, Sears, CME! I'm talking about you!

Once corporate tax cuts(rarely are these given to the mom and pop small business groups--cities and counties can give local tax cuts) are made law...the cuts are not inspected to see if they are being used as intended...you know, more jobs rather than...oh...junkets to Costa Rica.  Corporations don't have to come back on a yearly basis, begging for their tax cut, unlike schools, social service agencies--they must make their argument annually for their share of the budget...and these same services also compete with each other for what's in the pot...sort of like the reality shows like Survivor or Fear Factor(among others), each agency has to prove their more worthy than the next for a budget that keeps shrinking...strongest man left standing. 

Now, its understandable that during times of sluggish economy, services might have to fight to be King of the Hill, but why only those? Why not corporate tax cuts? As I noted, both Google and Sears are still receiving the tax cuts even tho they lied about how they were going to help Illinois! Everyone needs to pay their fair share.

SB1159/HB390, the Close Corporate Tax Loopholes bills were written during this session to close/investigate changes within a couple of our worst loopholes in Illinois. Forcing service providers to slug it out for funding during difficult fiscal times may be unavoidable, but why only direct expenditures? Why not big corporations having to also be scrutinized? Tax expenditures should also be scrutinized. Even Gov. Quinn endorses it as well as having bi-partisan supporters.

The first loophole that was identified in this bill is the Foreign Dividend Exemption. Corporations in Illinois don't have to pay any taxes on dividends made in foreign lands, only on profits in the United States...could we make it any easier for companies to move much of their profits into dummy corporations in, oh, I don't know, Viet Nam????? How about the job outsourcing? No taxes paid for that call center in India? Cool, lets screw the Illinois citizens. This is an annual loss of $300 million.

The second loophole is almost as bad as the first. The Domestic Activities Production Deduction which is guided by federal law that states that businesses may deduct 9% of their income if they are producing anywhere in the United States. So, what does Illinois do? We have the same freakin' wording, so that if an Illinois company moves its business to say, Alabama, it get to keep the deduction from the Illinois business instead of only making it about Illinois. Yes, this does encourage businesses within the US, but why not just make it for Illinois? Instead of encouraging businesses to grow in other states?  The cost of this idiotic law? $100 million annually.

And last, the non combination rule. This rule exempts all financial, insurance and transportation businesses from reporting all profits. So, if I'm in charge of a big corporation that has a transportation subsidiary...how long do you think it'd take me to figure out, move most, if not all, of my profits to that business and not pay taxes? Maybe an hour if I'm a bit dull, I'd say. This costs us about $25 million--not as large as the other 2, but I'd pick it up in a flash, wouldn't you?

And as we know in these times of corporate greed and lobbyists, this bill wasn't even called for a vote.

But there a couple  more that I'd like to see changed and I've complained about them in the past:

The Retailer's Discount on Sales Taxes and Accelerated Depreciation.

Accelerated depreciation is very easy to understand. Some businesses get to depreciate equipment (computers, cars, JETS) at a faster rate than other businesses--doesn't sound very fair to me.

The Retailers Discount goes sorta like this---I go to a store, buy $100 worth of clothing and pay the 6.25% state sales tax. The retailer then sends the $6.25 to the state at the end of the quarter/year, right? Nope. This  tax cut allows the retailer to keep some of the sales tax. It was established years ago when it was more difficult to figure out the taxes in a small window of time. My idea? To the State legislature...ummm, we have computers now, this problem is alleviated! Get rid of this giveaway NOW!  This costs the state between $4-5 Billion annually! We wouldn't have a so-called pension problem if we changed this law to only include small local businesses. Walmart walks out with an extra $9 million a year---you mean to tell me you think Walmart, the one that pays its employees so little that over 80% receive medicaid and food stamps...and we give them another $9 Million of our tax money?????
Yes, its time for some changes in Illinois, but that means everyone should pay their fair share, not just Mr. and Ms. John Q Public...Caterpillar its time to get your lazy ass off of corporate welfare and get to work!

SCANDAL! SCANDAL! Scandal? Republicans, again, using the throw the spaghetti on the wall and see if something sticks.

This week, it seems that the most important news in this country is the Obama administration's evil and illegal scandals and cover ups! OH...MY...GOD...teabaggers and republicons are worse than high school gossip and soap operas...white trash soap operas....so, I will try to muddle through this slimy stinky pile of crap that the right have been falling on their fainting couches over.

First: Benghazi. I haven't understood this yet...it seems that the republicons were mortified that 4 embassy staff, including an ambassador were killed and President Obama did absolutely NOTHING, but wait...no, its not about the men dying, its because Obama tried to cover it up and downplay the terrorist act during the election...but wait, President Obama called it an "act of terror" the day after the attack...so its because he didn't use the term, "terrorism"...huh? Confused yet?

This basically began as a campaign to slam Susan Rice so she would not be able to accept the Secretary of State position. Ms. Rice did make the talking head circles after the attack with prepared statements from the CIA which did downplay it being a terrorist attack, but the reasoning behind it was they hadn't investigated it enough to be sure it was a terrorist attack. But you can't go on TV and say, "we haven't had the time to investigate the reasons for the attack" cuz then the talking points would be "OBAMA'S NOT INVESTIGATING QUICK ENOUGH, BENGHAZI'S ON THE BACK BURNER"...or something worse. But then it was Hillary's fault, she hid from the patriotic teabaggers by giving herself a concussion, but even with a concussion, she made more sense than Rand Paul. So, we have Boehner complaining about emails he didn't see because when the White House invited him to see the emails, he refused...and then we have a star witness in Mr. Hicks...who isn't so much of a witness after all, then we have the "EMAIL Scandal"  which ends up only being a scandal because Faux News and the Daily Standard made up what was in the emails and now we have all of the emails and no "there" there, in fact the White House wasn't even involved...but WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

So, onto the next spaghetti plate...er...scandal: the IRS auditing right wing tax shelters...oh, sorry, non-profits. First, that's what I thought was one of IRS's responsibilities--to audit/approve non-profit applications. Well, silly me..BUTBUTBUT the IRS did a much larger investigation in right wing applications! That's wrong! Really? Let's remember that since 2010, there has been a major upswing in batshit crazy right wing groups(with the Citizen's United decision) and that many of them have no problem bragging, in print or on TV about how much they've raised for political purposes rather than social welfare. So again, more hearings, more spells on the fainting couch, more turtle hysterics, only to discover that this, again, doesn't lead to the White House. It was handled poorly(although didn't effect any of the high rollers in the non-profit campaign financing shills such as Crossroads or Americans for Prosperity), shouldn't have been done that way, but with no White House demands...OK, so that's done....
And there goes the plate of salad! The DOJ subpoenas phone records of AP reporters!!!! What happened to the Fourth Estate?!?!??! Freedom of the Press???? Freedom of Speech!!!! It died with the Patriot Act. Now, to be technical, there was no wrongdoing. The DOJ followed the letter of the law and did it under the guise of "national security" and received the records for phone numbers, there are no recorded conversations, just phone records--and there had been a bill, called the Shield Law, which would have stopped this, but the republicons voted it down...and now they blame Obama? Well of course! And, still this only goes to the Dept. of Justice, not the White House. Too bad, you lose again teabaggers...
OK so now goes the dessert(I'd never throw the dessert) splaying across the wall...today, the newest scandal? President Obama had a Military escort hold his umbrella!!!!! NO President has ever done that in the past!!! Except for Reagan, BushI, BushII....oops, you the cons lose again.
There very real wrongdoings, in my opinion, with the Obama Administration, one of which is the treatment of whistle blowers, the cons won't bring this up because its something cons approve.
So, after all of the screaming, fainting, crying, and yelling, Congress has just wasted their time and our money...and actual problems? Nope, not even touched.

Let's Review the week of April 14, 2013

The week of April 14, 2013 left me feeling like I'm under the influence of a 3 day bender of tequila and Fritos...and I hate Fritos.
OK, Sunday was boring,
So, from  Monday on  gave us the Boston Marathon bombing, congressional hypocrisy, Texas fertilizer plant explosion, blizzards in WY, CO, MN, tornadoes in OK and people in my neck of the woods building arks, by Thursday, the Boston bombers got jealous and started killing people again, including the older brother.
So, on Monday, April 15, lovingly known as Tax Day throughout the United States and Patriot's Day in Massachusetts, the Boston Marathon Bombing occurs. I think its safe to say that it knocked many of us to the core and we learned that a little boy was killed, along with his sister losing a leg and mom receiving some type of brain injury...all because they, as a family, watched dad run in the marathon. By the time it was over, 3 people were killed and over 200 injured and during the hunt for the 2 brothers, many citizen's rights were trampled upon. My opinion? I understand why the police trampled, but I hope that this is a very rare case, both the bombing and the trampling of rights. The good news? By the end of the week, one brother was in custody and the other was in the morgue. Lindsay Graham screamed about immigrants, then fell back on the fainting couch, Peter King did the same...and all forgot about the other immigrant, Carlos Arrendondo, the gentleman in the cowboy hat. The one that lost one son in Iraq and his other committed suicide due to his brother's death? You know, the one who assisted the marathoner, tended to his injuries, grabbed him and his dis-attached  legs and got him very quickly to medical staff? Yes, that immigrant. By the way, due to his quick interaction, not only the man survive, but the injured marathoner ID'd the bombers which helped police catch them that much quicker.
At the same time, 2 letters tainted with ricin were received by the mail facility addressed to one Mississippi senator and President Obama. First they pick up an Elvis Impersonator(Kevin Curtis) who swears he didn't do it, but has an idea who did and the other guy(James Everett Dutschke) was just setting him up...and that's the actual story! Yes, America it's finally happened...we ARE the reality show.
But there were many other stories that didn't get the publicity that they should have, First, again in my opinion, was the overturn of the Stock Act by Congress almost a year after it was signed into law as I wrote about here. This law updated the Congressional Ethics act of 1978, banning congressional members being able to enrich themselves on insider trading -- just like the rest of us. Well, Congress overturned it, saying it was a matter of National Security that they be able to get rich on something the rest of us would be put in jail...just ask Martha Stewart.
Then there was the West Texas fertilizer explosion. This explosion killed 15 people and injured over 200. It also decimated the town around the plant, including 75 homes and 80 apartments, one nursing home and damage to the school(luckily, the school wasn't in session when the explosion happened).  Now,  within 2 days, the 2 brothers had been named and we all knew what they looked like. It took over a week to find out much about who owned the Fertilizer plant. See, its a private company and I guess in Texas, they don't even keep records on who owns what! Yes, that was snarkey.
Mr. Donald Adair, owner of the West Fertilizer Co., Adair Grains, Inc. did finally come out and make a statement, but has not, as far as I can find, given any reasons on why he had so much of the ammonium nitrate at the facility, 270 tons of the stuff, 1350 times the amount that they were supposed to legally have one site. Then the word comes out that there hadn't been an OSHA inspection in almost 30 years! But, then considering there are only 2200 OSHA inspectors nationwide(and millions of sites to inspect). This is what happens when republicons keep cutting OSHA's budget, which is down to about $568 Million. Yes, their "small government" can be defined by the people that are killed by it. Oh, and the kicker? This asshole only has $1 million of insurance on the friggin' plant...so, any guesses on who's gonna be paying for this disaster? Or should the rest of the nation treat the Texas disaster the same way Texas congressmen treated Hurricane Sandy?
This was the real tragedy and crime of the week of April 14. not the Boston bombing. That was 2 psychopaths who've been caught. The explosion is the true terrorism--the annihilation of  the American Middle Class and a Democratic government. Because when government does not protect the people, only the big bidness, we are now living in a plutocracy. Mr. Adair needs to be in prison for the murder of those victims and the millions of dollars of property damage he chose to allow due to his negligence and abuse. Plain and simple.