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G_j

G_j's Journal
G_j's Journal
December 26, 2012

& now as even more military style weapons fly off

the shelves in America, I really don't feel good about living in a country with so many arrogant, dangerous people who own and worship military style weapons (killing machines). What is the future of a country awash with anger, ignorance and weapons? The guns scare me but the people who think they need them really scare me!

December 18, 2012

so all of a sudden our politicians have a 'revelation'

that these multiple ammo gun clips or whatever the f&@k they are called, are a danger to society.. DUH ...both Democrats and Republicans, a bunch of spineless, hypocritical cowards.. Where were you when Gabrielle Giffords and so many others were shot?

December 12, 2012

Five CEOs Who Prove That Lower Corporate Taxes Don't Equal More Hiring

Meet Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon. From 2009-2011, he paid an average effective federal corporate income tax rate of -3.3%. As in negative 3.3%. Meanwhile, Verizon has laid off 30,000 workers since 2007. Are we supposed to believe that if we just lowered his tax rate even more this "job creator" would start creating some jobs?

Meet 4 more CEOs who pay ridiculously low taxes and are still laying off workers: http://bit.ly/Z0ayBz



Meet Five CEOs Who Prove That Lower Corporate Taxes Don't Equal More Hiring

George Zornick on December 11, 2012 - 5:34 PM ET

<snip>

Never mind for a moment the obvious problem with lowering tax rates as a means of fixing the long-term debt. Would allowing corporations to pay less taxes really mean more hiring?

Luckily we have some interesting case studies. Several of the CEOs pushing this idea actually run companies that pay extremely low corporate tax rates, well below the statutory 35 percent rate—or pay none at all. So, via the invaluable Institute for Policy Studies, let’s see what kind of job creation these folks did while enjoying very low corporate tax rates:
~~~

December 12, 2012

Mourning an Alpha Female

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/10/mourning-an-alpha-female/

December 10, 2012,

Mourning an Alpha Female

By NATE SCHWEBER

As I reported on Sunday in The Times, Yellowstone National Park’s best-known wolf was shot and killed last week outside the park’s borders. A large gray alpha female known as 832F, she had been fitted by researchers with a GPS collar that allowed them to track her movements.

The wolf wowed scientists and tourists alike with her size and a strength so great that she could “take down animals on her own,” said Daniel Stahler, a park wildlife biologist.

She also led the pack in Yellowstone’s northeastern Lamar Valley, an area rich in bison and elk that has a road offering vantage points for wildlife watchers equipped with cameras and spotting scopes. The Lamar Canyon pack could be counted on to roam the valley near dawn and dusk, allowing scientists and tourists to observe wolf behavior at a level of detail rarely seen outside National Geographic specials.

(Wolf 832F, named thus by the park biologists who collared her, has also been known to wolf watchers as 06 — oh-six — because 2006 was her birth year.)

Marc Cooke, a member of the advocacy group Wolves of the Rockies, said he was moved by the way that 832F had cared for her pups, bringing them food and snarling ferociously at any animals that posed a threat to them.


“She was an amazing mother,” Mr. Cooke said. “When I heard she died, I felt like I lost a family member.”

..more..
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http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021946313


Another collared, and very famous Yellowstone wolf killed in Wyoming’s hunt





http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2012/12/07/yet-another-collared-and-very-famous-yellowstone-wolf-killed-in-wyomings-hunt/



Briefly noted wildlife news stories. Dec. 5, 2012..

Yet another collared, and very famous Yellowstone wolf killed in Wyoming’s hunt.

By Ken Cole On December 7, 2012 ·

Wolf “06″, the alpha female of the Yellowstone’s Lamar Canyon Pack has been shot in Wyoming by a hunter.

Wolf “06″ was probably the most famous wolf in Yellowstone and had been viewed by thousands of Park visitors. She was also part of the ongoing study of wolves that has been conducted in Yellowstone since the time they were reintroduced in 1995. So far there have been 8 collared Yellowstone wolves killed this year and an unknown number of uncollared Yellowstone wolves have likely been killed as well.

The ongoing study of wolves and their interactions with other species is responsible for the huge amount of information gained since the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone and Central Idaho. The number of collared wolves lost to the hunt in the surrounding parts of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming could only be described as crippling to understanding the role that wolves play in the ecosystem. The wolves in Yellowstone also draw millions of tourist dollars to the area each year.

Several conservation groups have petitioned to ask that a buffer zone be created around Yellowstone National Park so that wolves that primarily use Yellowstone National Park have some level of protection when they move out of its boundaries.



A Conservation Icon in the Crosshairs
http://www.defendersblog.org/2012/12/conservation-icon-in-the-crosshairs/

It's just unfair. Hunters and outfitters are picking off the wolves of Yellowstone National Park. Call upon officials to create a buffer zone to protect them: http://wg.convio.net/site/MessageViewer?em_id=10181.0

Reform the Federal Wildlife-Killing Program

Urge Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to reform Wildlife Services from the federal government's top wildlife killers to a program that can truly resolve wildlife conflicts.

http://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=2443&fb_action_ids=4602717198872&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582
~~

http://www.wolfcenter.org/pdf/Benerfits-Wolves.pdf
December 12, 2012

More trouble in Michigan (for wolves)

An urgent update from our Great Lakes Team: SB 1350 will be up for third reading this morning in Michigan's Senate. We are opposed to this bill because there is no scientific evidence that supports the need for designating the wolf as a "game animal" and a recreational wolf hunting season in Michigan.

Please call TODAY and tell MI senators that you OPPOSE S. 1350

For Michigan residents: Contact your senator via http://www.senate.michigan.gov/fysenator/fysenator.htm
Even just a two line statement like, "I oppose because..." will be so very helpful to the cause! If you live in an area where there are wolves, you should highlight there are ways to co-exist with wolves and why you value wolves on the landscape.

Out of state residents - 517-373-2400 You do NOT need to be a Michigan resident to comment, though it would be helpful if you can mention a connection to Michigan as a tourist or as a strong supporter of Michigan goods (Whirlpool, Amana products, GM, Chrysler, Ford, Kellogg’s, Comstock Fruit).

FACT SHEET ON S.1350 can be found at: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7xYnjjogLTJdHc1M3Y0ejBqNmM

More information at: http://wolfwatcher.org/news/all-news/michigan-wolf-alert/


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December 10, 2012

Bill Moyers Essay: The Truth Behind Grover Norquist’s Pledge

http://billmoyers.com/segment/bill-moyers-essay-the-truth-behind-grover-norquists-pledge/

Bill Moyers Essay: The Truth Behind Grover Norquist’s Pledge

December 7, 2012

In an original broadcast essay, Bill says there’s more to Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge than ideology or principle — it’s also about Norquist’s efforts keep taxes low for his donor base of billionaires.
~~~

BILL MOYERS: Don’t you wonder just who is this Grover Norquist who has such a maniacal hold on the Republican Party? Mickey Edwards isn’t the only conservative who would like to see the party free itself from his grip. Writing in the "Financial Times" last week, the conservative journalist Christopher Caldwell describes the Norquist Pledge as a “partisan document,” “a ratchet driving taxes down to unsustainable levels,” and it “symbolizes a political system short on legitimacy.” Norquist claims the pledge is something politicians make to their constituents, not to him. But Caldwell wonders “who authorized him to collect politicians’ signatures on their constituents’ behalf.”

Even this misses the main point. Norquist’s efforts – keep taxes low for his donor base, billionaires like the Koch brothers and the plutocrats secretly clustered around Norquist’s comrade, Karl Rove. This past election, Norquist’s group, Americans for Tax Reform, spent nearly $16 million to support his favored candidates; that’s according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Where did that money come from, and what did it buy? Back in the 1990’s it was the tobacco industry backing Norquist’s fight against cigarette taxes; now it’s the pharmaceutical companies, among others. Not long ago, this same Grover Norquist was using his organization to launder money for the notorious lobbyist Jack Abramoff. How about that for tax reform!

Check it out yourself in the documentary "Capitol Crimes" on our website BillMoyers.com. You’ll see the story of how the man who has the Republican Party under his thumb came to Washington to start a revolution and wound up running a racket. Now he’s the proxy for the powerful interest groups that finance him. So, not only does the Norquist Pledge symbolize a "political system short on legitimacy," as Christopher Caldwell wrote, it isn’t even about principle or ideology. Conservatism my foot, it’s all about the money.
December 8, 2012

Another collared, and very famous Yellowstone wolf killed in Wyoming’s hunt

http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2012/12/07/yet-another-collared-and-very-famous-yellowstone-wolf-killed-in-wyomings-hunt/



Briefly noted wildlife news stories. Dec. 5, 2012..

Yet another collared, and very famous Yellowstone wolf killed in Wyoming’s hunt.

By Ken Cole On December 7, 2012 ·

Wolf “06″, the alpha female of the Yellowstone’s Lamar Canyon Pack has been shot in Wyoming by a hunter.

Wolf “06″ was probably the most famous wolf in Yellowstone and had been viewed by thousands of Park visitors. She was also part of the ongoing study of wolves that has been conducted in Yellowstone since the time they were reintroduced in 1995. So far there have been 8 collared Yellowstone wolves killed this year and an unknown number of uncollared Yellowstone wolves have likely been killed as well.

The ongoing study of wolves and their interactions with other species is responsible for the huge amount of information gained since the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone and Central Idaho. The number of collared wolves lost to the hunt in the surrounding parts of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming could only be described as crippling to understanding the role that wolves play in the ecosystem. The wolves in Yellowstone also draw millions of tourist dollars to the area each year.

Several conservation groups have petitioned to ask that a buffer zone be created around Yellowstone National Park so that wolves that primarily use Yellowstone National Park have some level of protection when they move out of its boundaries.



A Conservation Icon in the Crosshairs
http://www.defendersblog.org/2012/12/conservation-icon-in-the-crosshairs/

It's just unfair. Hunters and outfitters are picking off the wolves of Yellowstone National Park. Call upon officials to create a buffer zone to protect them: http://wg.convio.net/site/MessageViewer?em_id=10181.0

Reform the Federal Wildlife-Killing Program

Urge Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to reform Wildlife Services from the federal government's top wildlife killers to a program that can truly resolve wildlife conflicts.

http://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=2443&fb_action_ids=4602717198872&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582
~~

http://www.wolfcenter.org/pdf/Benerfits-Wolves.pdf

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