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.

Governor Quinn is being a mouse turd

Yeah, I get it, the state is in financial ruin(if we made the 2/3 corp.that pay no income tax pay like citizens have to, it wouldn't be).
Yeah, I get it, we have a pension(Although I don't get the meme of how much we make, since over 60% make under $25K and no social security).
NO I DON'T GET WHY WE'RE THE PROBLEM!!!!
Governor Quinn decided he's gonna take his ball and go home....just like the mouse turds that use to do that in neighborhood ball---name your sport, football, basketball, baseball---you know the kid. He wasn't able to bully the other kids into what he wanted so his panties got in a bunch and he owned the ball.
REALLY????
Gov. Quinn Cancelled our contract and lied about the reasons why: he said AFSCME wanted too much money, we wouldn't even think about playing ball(not when "playing ball" meant a 20% pay cut). He whined that we were just too mean....
Again, REALLY???
Let's look at what has been happening for the last....oh...30 years...
First, for the employees: Employees have paid into the pension every paycheck their fair share, somewhere between 4 - 9% of their paycheck, every paycheck, towards their pension.
Second, AFSCME has negotiated, for at least the past 30 years to protect pensions--we've gone without raises/benefits/language to keep the pension for our members. Why? Because we thought it was important for our members to be safe during retirement.
Third, the state's reaction to pensions? For the past 30 years, they've acted like a drunken sailor when it came to pension payments. Not only have they not paid their part for at least 26 of the past 30 years, but they took my money out to spend on other things such as projects the governors wanted to do(remember Illinois First? That was done with public employees pension funds) or to pay other funds. And now? Oh, its too much of a bother to pay what they owe...I feel the same way about my mortgage, but I still must pay it - if I want to keep my house. The same for the state of Illinois--if they want to keep their employees, they must pay what is due.
And then, there are the lies that Quinn has told. The first one? Before the election, he spoke about how much retirees made when they retired. He said that if an employee in 1992 was making $65K, that retiree now would have doubled what he was receiving due to the overgenerous COLA...sure. What Quinn didn't relay is that in 1992, the average pension was about $11,000 a year, no where close to $65K(that was the pols and governor appointees) so, even if he is right about the pension doubling in 20 years, that doubling would only amount to $22K for most long term retirees!
And some more lies: Quinn whines he's cancelling the contract because AFSCME is being mean...you know how bullies are, they either intimidate you or snitch that you're being mean...BUT the facts are far from what he's whining about.
AFSCME negotiated a contract, but came back to the table to defer raises and find money savings in health insurance 2 years ago. AFSCME also requested meeting about negotiating changes in retirement earned benefits with only one caveat--that these changes would only effect future retirees, not present ones. The union was rebuffed by the Governor. AFSCME has always tried to work with the state during times of duress, but that doesn't mean we are going to roll over and play dead. Now some facts:

• Quinn is arguing that AFSCME is making excessive demands in negotiations. The truth? AFSCME has been at the bargaining table for almost a year now working in good faith to try to reach a contract settlement. Contrary to the governor’s claims, the Union’s economic proposals have been very moderate in recognition of the state’s dire fiscal condition.
• Quinn tries to give the impression that the Union has been dragging its feet in negotiations. In fact, progress in negotiations has been moving at a snail's pace for only one reason -- the Quinn Administration for more than 10 months was demanding that every employee’s pay had to be cut by 10%. And Administration is the one that cancelled meetings, not AFSCME.
•  Even now the Administration continues to demand that employees’ wages be reduced by demanding a three-year wage/step freeze and massive health care cost increases.  
• Quinn is basing his efforts to drive down employee wages on the lie that Illinois state employee salaries are the highest in the country. NOT TRUE. Although Illinois ranks 7th in the nation for wages, Illinois public employees rank only 9th, compared to other states.  

And, yes, I know, AFSCME endorsed Quinn during the last Governor's election. But I don't think we really had much of a choice, considering Brady(R) veers on teabagger and made his money the old fashioned way---he married into it and Whitney(G) had no game---no ground game, no finance game, no election game. Yes, Mr. Whitney had good ideas, but no one knows who he is, which means, no name recognition for the voters.
So, what happens now? We live in a state that seems determined to bankrupt seniors so 2/3 of Illinois based corporations pay nothing in income taxes. We seem to think its just fine if these seniors lose their homes, their savings, their future, their dignity, but can't change our laws so that the state receives all of the 6.5% of retail tax, instead of retailers keeping about 1.5%(which gives Wallmart an extra $9 million in profits just cuz they don't have to pay the tax to the state).
But, then, there we are--I think the administration of this state would like to pay us the way Wallmart pays their employees...little to nothing and the employees qualify for food stamps and Medicaid...so, then the state budget crisis would just go from so-called pension problem to the Medicaid and food stamp program...but at least the employees of those agencies know what they need to qualify for those benefits. Just very sad and shameful.