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The Freedom Index

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:53:13 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: To learn how any representative or senator voted on the key measures described herein, look him or her up in the vote charts. The scores are derived by dividing a congressman’s constitutional votes (pluses) by the total number he cast (pluses and minuses) and multiplying by 100.

Clip Source: www.thenewamerican.com

The Freedom Index: A Congressional Scorecard Based on the U.S. Constitution

About This Index

“The Freedom Index: A Congressional Scorecard Based on the U.S. Constitution” rates congressmen based on their adherence to constitutional principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, national sovereignty, and a traditional foreign policy of avoiding foreign entanglements

The average House score for this index (votes 21-30) is 31 percent; the average Senate score is 26 percent

Ten House members scored a perfect 100 percent: John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Ed Royce (R-Calif.), Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), John Campbell (R-Calif.), Thomas Tancredo (R-Colo.), Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.), Tom Price (R-Ga.), Paul Broun (R-Ga.), and Ron Paul (R-Texas)

The top scorer in the Senate was Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) with a score of 80 percent

For congressional contact information and a series of pre-written letters to Congress on some key issues go to www.capwiz.com/jbs/home

Tags: congress, government, freedom

ANOTHER OLYMPIC UPDATE

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:44:42 GMT

clipped by: tanyamm
clipper's remarks: .Another new sport was introduced.

Clip Source: mfrost.typepad.com

BEIJING -- In gymnastics today, the odds-on favored Hamstrovakian team took the gold in the Women's Synchronized Dangling. Pictured here, from top, are teammates Uvula Stolichnaya, Ivana Hugankissya and Olga Reallylongfunnynameski.

Limbaugh Blames Affirmative Action For Obama's Success

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:44:45 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Because according to "His Lardness" and his dittoheads, the only way a black man or any non white for that matter, can succeed is if they use affirmative action or are Republicans.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: limpbaugh, racist, idot, ditto, stupid, moronic, trash

Rachel Maddow Replacing Dan Abrams on MSNBC

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:17:27 GMT

clipped by: dulios
clipper's remarks: Very, very, very cool.

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Rachel Maddow Replacing Dan Abrams On MSNBC Effective Immediately

Rachel Maddow will replace Dan Abrams as host of the 9PM hour on MSNBC, the New York Times' Bill Carter reports. Just last month in a Times article by Jacques Steinberg, MSNBC president Phil Griffin declared Maddow "at the top" of a "very short list" for those who should have their own show, though at the time he said he "[didn't] know when" that would be. As Carter reports, the final stretch of the 2008 election season will be Maddow's debut as the host of her own MSNBC show:

The moves, which were confirmed by MSNBC executives Tuesday, are expected to be finalized by Wednesday, with Mr. Abrams's last program on Thursday. After MSNBC's extensive coverage of the two political conventions during the next two weeks, Ms. Maddow will begin her program on Sept. 8.

Tags: msnbc, rachel maddow, dan abrams, news, politics, 2008 election

FactCheck debunks Rezko/Obama myths

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 18:06:12 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: McCain ad "gives an oversimplified and misleading account of how Obama bought his ... house in Chicago" "Obama paid market price for his home." Time to get honest, righties - it's been independently researched, and it's bogus. Here are the facts in summary - see complete analysis at the link.

Clip Source: www.factcheck.org

Rezko Reality

McCain misfires as he attacks Obama's home purchase.

On the defensive over the extent of multiple McCain homes, the GOP candidate strikes back. But his TV spot gives an oversimplified and misleading account of how Obama bought his own $1.6 million house in Chicago.

The ad says Chicago power broker Tony Rezko got "political favors" including "$14 million from taxpayers." But there's no evidence of any connection to the Obama home purchase. The $14 million was to build apartments for low-income seniors. Obama wrote a letter supporting the "worthy" project, but both men say Rezko didn't ask for the letter.

It says Rezko "purchased part of the property [Obama] couldn't afford." Rezko's wife did buy an adjoining tract but later sold the land at a profit. Obama paid market price for his home.

Tags: obama, rezko

Gutter Art

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 22:01:44 GMT

clipped by: Kelika

Clip Source: abduzeedo.com

Most of us would never think that a gutter could be a piece of art. Here in Brazil, some people are using these parts of urban scenery to bring a little bit of color to the commomly grey sidewalks. They are Anderson Augusto and Leonardo Delafuente from 6emeia.

Tags: urban art

Rights Group Suing AT&T for Spying Will Sue Government Too

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 22:54:47 GMT

clipped by: Kelika
clipper's remarks: "Cohn admits the government has many sovereign immunity defenses that can protect it from lawsuits, but says they aren't insurmountable and that the program clearly violates the Fourth Amendment.

As for the unexpectedly long-lived suit against AT&T, the government and the EFF are discussing when and how the government will attempt to have the case dismissed using the amnesty provision. The EFF wants to challenge the legality of the amnesty before it is actually applied, while the government prefers to have the case dismissed first -- then have the EFF fight the dismissal.

Lawyers for both sides will meet with the judge in the case in early September, setting a likely date for the next court appearance in December."

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

A civil liberties group suing AT&T for helping the government warrantlessly spy on Americans isn't abandoning its lawsuit after Congress voted to give retroactive immunity to the nation's telcoms.

The full extent of the government's warrantless spying has yet to be revealed, but it is reported to involve massive data-mining of Americans' phone records, and broad wiretapping of communicationst that enter or leave the U.S. border .

After the portion that targeted Americans' international communications was submitted to the nation's acquiesent secret spying court for blanket approval in January 2007, the program was quickly found to be illegal.

That prompted the Bush Administration to scare Congress into giving it wide, but temporary powers to turn American internet and phone companies into de facto extensions of the nation's spooks.

Though the EFF didn't want to sue the government originally, the amnesty issue forced their hand, according to Cohn.

Tags: at&t, government, spying

Pew Research Shows Churchies Want Out Of Politics

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:29:17 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Can I get an "AMEN!"?

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

A slim majority of Americans, including more conservatives and Republicans than previously, want to keep religion out of politics, a survey released on Thursday found.

The survey by the Pew Research Center found that 52 percent of Americans thought that churches and other religious institutions should stay out of politics, an increase of eight percentage points since 2004, when the last U.S. presidential election was held.

Forty five percent in the survey of nearly 3,000 adults conducted earlier this month took an opposite view, saying churches should make their political views heard.

A huge shift came from voters who described themselves as conservative, with 50 percent saying churches should stay out of politics compared to 30 percent in 2004.

Among Republicans, 51 percent held this view, up from 37 percent in August of 2004.

Dogs have a sense of right and wrong

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:25:07 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: How much is that doggy in the window?!

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Dogs have a sense of right and wrong

Dogs have become more intelligent, and even learnt a sense of right and wrong, through spending time with humans, a study shows.

Although still controversial, recent research is beginning to support the view that an owner is perfectly correct when they pat their pet and coo "who's a clever boy then?"

Because of the way owners have selected smarter and more empathic dogs down the generations, these pets now appear to have a limited "theory of mind", the capacity that enables us to understand the desires, motivations and intentions of others, New Scientist reports today.

A decade ago, most scientists would dismiss the claims of dog owners that their precious pets could experience pain, excitement and other "human emotions" as sentimental claptrap that anthropomorphises the abilities of animals.

"Dogs show some aversion to inequity," she says. "I prefer not to call it a sense of fairness, but others might."

"Domestication seems to have shaped dogs

Tags: dogs, pets, intelligence, animal kingdom, bizarre, canine, iq

Student Union Area Not Wheelchair Accessible

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:29:07 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern

Clip Source: www.insidehighered.com

Access Denied

In a discrimination case that is still crawling through the Louisiana court system after seven years, McNeese State University’s president has asserted that it is not a “high priority” for disabled students to access the university’s student union.

The case, which stems from a 2001 accident, was brought by a student who — while in a wheelchair — was injured trying to pry open a bathroom door in the union. The door was not made accessible for disabled people, according to the suit.

Robert Hebert during a 2005 deposition

As of Tuesday, however, the lone women’s restroom in the student union was still not compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act — seven years after a student was injured there.

Covington, who lives alone in southwest Louisiana near McNeese, collects disability payments and is unemployed. She says she struggles with neurological problems and epilepsy, and still uses a wheelchair.

Tags: disability, ada

Take your god and shove him

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:19:20 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Or why freedom of religion must also be freedom FROM religion. Prepare to be offended.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: religion, freedom, rights, gospel

From Homeless to Hero: US Olympian Lolo Jones

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:37:56 GMT

clipped by: dulios

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

Hurdler Lolo Jones clears obstacles on and off the track

BEIJING -- The coach knew there was something wrong. He could tell sometimes by the way Lori "Lolo" Jones dressed. Or by how she no longer had the bike she rode to practice. Or by how she didn't want to be dropped off right in front of her house when he gave her a ride home.

In a sense, Jones was homeless the first 18 years of her life in Des Moines, bouncing from apartment to apartment, school to school, because her single mother had five kids and no money for the rent. They lived a while in the basement of a church, an arrangement Jones made an effort to hide.

Her family moved so often, Jones said, that she went to a different school every year until she reached high school. Her father was in and out of jail. Her sister moved to live with a grandmother in Texas.

"I wanted to get out of poverty," she said.

At 26, Lolo Jones has done that and so much more.

Tags: olympics, poverty, homelessness, sports

Savage: "America is being overrun by an invasion force from Mexico"

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:40:02 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Yes, because the immigration issue has nothing to do with race or ethnicity. Nothing at all....

Clip Source: mediamatters.org

Summary: Michael Savage claimed that "America is being overrun by an invasion force from Mexico that'll soon take over the country." After noting a news report stating that immigration, higher birth rates among immigrants, and an aging white population are responsible in part for America's changing demographics, Savage stated: "And you think the gang-banger with baggy pants is going to pay for your retirement, you liberal fools? You think that they're going to pay for your housing in a senior citizens center? You psychotic liberals don't even know you're digging your own grave and throwing lime in there. All that's missing is the worm from the tequila bottle to go with it."

Tags: michael wiener savage, idiot, racist, far right

Jr Miss Pageant Valued More than Proper Care

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:05:10 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern
clipper's remarks: I almost never hear "pro-life" people balk at the horrific lives lived by the mentally ill in our country. If only we could put them back in the womb.

Clip Source: psychcentral.com

Creative Funding Solutions for Mental Health Care

Clip Source: psychcentral.com

Historically, mental-health funding has been a low political priority. In Wyatt v. Stickney, the country’s first major civil-rights battle about mental illness, attorneys sued Alabama and introduced horrific evidence that showed how patients in state asylums in the 1970s were being abused, neglected, and, in some cases, tortured. Yet, when a disgusted Alabama judge ordered the state legislature to overhaul its shameful system by pumping in millions of new tax dollars for improvements, legislators balked. They cried poor. There was no money, they insisted, until an enterprising attorney released state financial records that revealed Alabama was spending more each year to host the Alabama Junior Miss Pageant and swine shows at county fairs than it spent caring for people with mental illnesses.

Read the full article: Finding Funding

Tags: mentally ill, neglect, abuse

Shooting at Arkansas Dem HQ

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:34:19 GMT

clipped by: Wisco
clipper's remarks: Before you make assumptions about the shooter's motive, consider that a bomb and hostage situation at Clinton HQ last year turned out to have more to do with drugs and mental illness than political ideology.

When we know more, I'll post it.

Clip Source: www.arkansasbusiness.com

Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman and former state Senator Bill Gwatney of Jacksonville has been shot at the party's headquarters, according to the Associated Press.

KTHV-TV, Channel 11, is reporting that Gwatney was shot multiple times in the upper torso has been taken to a local hospital. The Arkansas Democratic Party said Gwatney is hospitalized in critical after incident, KTHV said.

Officers told the CBS affiliate that police pursued a white male suspect in his 40's, driving a pickup truck, into Grant County. KTHV reported that officers apprehended him in Sheridan, and that he was shot during his capture.

In addition to being state Democratic Party chairman, Gwatney is also CEO of Gwatney Chevrolet in Jacksonville.

Tags: news