November 7, 2014

Chart: Why The House is A Fortress the Dems Can't Win..Talking Points Memo

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/chart-why-dems-cant-win-house


ByTom Kludt Published
November 7, 2014, 6:00 AM EST


After Republicans expanded their majority in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, giving the party its largest number of seats in the lower chamber since World War II, "Meet the Press" moderator Chuck Todd made an observation that probably triggered even more Democratic heartache.

"So this really secures the House Republican majority for the rest of this decade," Todd said during NBC's election coverage. "Not until 2022, I think, at the earliest, will you see Democrats have a chance at winning the House."


A closer look at the numbers shows why the GOP House majority is basically impenetrable until the next redistricting, and maybe beyond. It was never more stark than in 2012, when Democrats received about 500k more votes nationwide than Republicans but still ended up with substantially fewer seats. Some of this is due to an extremely effective gerrymandering effort by Republicans after the 2010 election. But it's not only that. Democrats are also increasingly concentrated in small geographical areas, which greatly amplifies the effect of gerrymandering and is also a significant and growing issue in itself.

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While this has been discussed before, this is still pretty ugly when one looks at it this way.

November 7, 2014

Eight Years Ago Today, The Main Stream Media Died. 8AM

It was a Friday after the 2006 midterm elections. Democrats had won a huge victory in the midterms, lots of positive talk everywhere on the news. Yet, if I recall, that talk did not last very long. On the Thursday after the election, there was other news, Bush had fired Rumsfeld, but that was big news that day, I knew it would be one day, and then, back to our victory. So, I was listening to CBS Radio network news, I recall it was 8AM. Perhaps, I thought, some good news on the huge victory. Some changes would be in order to stop the Bush nightmare. It was the CBS News Radio network, honest, reliable. Walter Cronkite.

The lead story that lasted close to a minute at 8am that day, (the whole radio network news was no more than 4 minutes of news) was John Mc Cain setting up an exploratory committee to run for president in 2008. That was the lead story two days after we won the so called victory of a lifetime. Someone decided that mentioning Mc Cain's committee being set up for a presidential run two years away, was more important than the midterm elections. What the hell??? The story explained why the committee needed to be set up early and that Mc Cain needed time to consider all possibilities. That was the "news" on a respected national radio network eight years ago today. Something was wrong. Someone wanted to pitch Mc Cain tentative campaign more than discuss the huge election victory of a few days ago. . I thought about it, and all respect for the national radio news on CBS flew away forever. (for me) The network was pitching a republican candidate's election two years into the future, when there was other more important "news. " It had morphed into national "tell all" for republican hacks and their point of view. That news source was gone for me, and I soon realized most of them were the same. Not unbiased, but very biased. Their goal is to legitimize a particular point of view, (the republican view) not present news. It had been that way for years.

It happened 8 years ago, on the Friday after the midterm elections, and that is the way it was...and still is... .

November 6, 2014

Movies That You Can Watch Over and Over, and Still Enjoy..

Star Wars.. "A New Hope" Ep 4
Its a Wonderful Life..
The Producers ..Zero Mostel/ Gene Wilder..1968
The Iron Giant.
Rango

November 6, 2014

Harvard University Secretly Photographed Thousands of Students As Part of a Study: TPM

Talking Points Memo:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/harvard-secretly-photographed-students-study

By Brendan James Published November 6, 2014, 10:13 AM EST
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Harvard University officials dropped a bombshell on Tuesday, admitting that the school secretly photographed thousands of students last spring.


As part of a project to monitor classroom attendance, the university maintained secret a network of cameras installed around campus, The Boston Globe reported on Wednesday.

Details of the surveillance program came out as officials addressed faculty about an incident from the previous year, in which the administration had rifled through thousands of college email accounts — including 16 deans — in order to trace a media leak on a cheating scandal.

Computer science professor Harry Lewis broached the question during the faculty meeting, telling the Globe that he learned of the photo surveillance from two colleagues.

“You should do studies only with the consent of the people being studied,” Lewis told the Globe

November 5, 2014

The Hate Machine Won..

Call it what you want. Cheating, Obstruction, Illegal Voter Registration Rules, Fear Mongering, or Whatever. In simple terms, the Hate Machine Won.. It has won before, but we must know that we can win too. It may take time, but we must try, and it will not be easy.

October 29, 2014

"Flip This House" Seminar...Coming to Chicago. Saw a TV Commercial for this..Never hear of it..so.

Sometime coming up..is a " Flip the House ' seminar..saw an ad for it on Ch 26 in Chicago....I think it is this weekend or next..

Sounded too good to be true..So I googled ...."Flip This House...scam"...found a number of entries..sure looks like a scam, just to sell more lessons, and more materials..and more at outrageous prices...pass it on..If you look up "Flip This House" Scam.. at Google....you will find the information too...Lots of info on this scam.
......evidently they make more money selling lessons and materials, then flipping houses..Oh...I like to study scams...first time I had ever seen this one..Stuart

October 29, 2014

Red Cross' Secret Disaster: Huff Post, Pro Publica

http://www.propublica.org/article/the-red-cross-secret-disaster

by Justin Elliott and Jesse Eisinger, ProPublica, and Laura Sullivan, NPR
October 29, 2014

In 2012, two massive storms pounded the United States, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless, hungry or without power for days and weeks.

Americans did what they so often do after disasters. They sent hundreds of millions of dollars to the Red Cross, confident their money would ease the suffering left behind by Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Isaac. They believed the charity was up to the job.

They were wrong.

The Red Cross botched key elements of its mission after Sandy and Isaac, leaving behind a trail of unmet needs and acrimony, according to an investigation by ProPublica and NPR. The charity’s shortcomings were detailed in confidential reports and internal emails, as well as accounts from current and former disaster relief specialists.

What’s more, Red Cross officials at national headquarters in Washington, D.C. compounded the charity’s inability to provide relief by “diverting assets for public relations purposes,” as one internal report puts it. Distribution of relief supplies, the report said, was “politically driven.” During Isaac, Red Cross supervisors ordered dozens of trucks usually deployed to deliver aid to be driven around nearly empty instead, “just to be seen,” one of the drivers, Jim Dunham, recalls.
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This one is very ugly. It is a long read, but very well documented. Shows real incompetence and self indulgence. I read about this a couple of years ago in relation to another disaster. Red Cross has done this before, and evidently, no improvement according to this report.

October 24, 2014

About the NRA, gun violence, and what it says after horrific violence.

It has it down pat.. ...exactly how long, what to say, when to say, , and so on.
The NRA, in my opinion, has spent much time and money on the response it provides. It is all timed, planned out way ahead of time and carefully orchestrated. Who will say what and where. All of that.. After Sandy Hook, nothing was done. No laws were passed, and no changes made. More guns, not less. The NRA knows the routine and plays it well. Watch the next few days. The same old show will be played. And nothing will be done to restrict guns.... nothing

October 23, 2014

If we win NC and New Hampshire, then we need 3 out of 9 of these in the Senate:

Kansas, Iowa, Ark, Georgia, Colorado, Kentucky, Alaska, Louisiana, South Dakota...... That's it. 3 out of 9.

Assuming the rest go as expected...That is it...That's all.
I wonder how much money is going into those races?
Take your pick, 3 of 9. Any three, of those nine, any combo, then we keep the Senate, win only 2, then we lose.
That includes Democratic wins in North Carolina and New Hampshire..
That assumes there will be no severe upsets in the other states...(those could be ...Miss, S.C. or West Virginia..very very unlikely)
....So, there it is: Three of Nine.
...That's it, clear and simple...I sure hope we do it. Time will tell.

October 13, 2014

"Republican Cuts Kill" ....Brutal New Ad Blames GOP Spending Cuts for Ebola Deaths

..(from Talking Points Memo,)

Brutal New Ad Blames GOP Spending Cuts For Ebola Deaths.

By Sahil Kapur
Published October 13, 2014, 10:39 AM EDT

"A new TV ad blames prominent Republicans for Ebola deaths, attacking them for championing spending cuts that have gone after emergency public health funding for containing disease outbreaks.


The one minute ad, called "Republican Cuts Kill," splices grueling images of body bags and workers in hazmat suits with footage of top Republicans like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) and House Speaker John Boehner (OH) calling for spending cuts. It also features 2014 Republican Senate candidates Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Pat Roberts of Kansas.

The spot was produced by the Agenda Project Action Fund, the same progressive group that has made controversial anti-Republican ads such as "Granny Off the Cliff." The group's spokeswoman, Erica Payne, said Monday the ad would air in Kentucky, North Carolina, South Dakota and Kansas — all of which feature competitive Senate races that could swing the majority."
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This ad hits them exactly where it should. These cuts to the budget kill people. It shows what the Republican party was/is/ and will always be, an organization that takes care of the rich and does nothing but lie to the rest of us. Like the cuts are for the "good of the country" they say and imply. That is one of their biggest lies. As this ad shows. The cuts to the budget can kill. I certainly hope this ad destroys the political careers of some of their biggest liars.