Clipmarks | Progressive Clips

Naomi Klein on Obama: MoveOn is not Anti-War Anymore

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:32:25 GMT

clipped by: katsteevns
clipper's remarks: video at source.

August 26, 2008

Naomi Klein on Obama

Klein speaks about Obama and the intellectual and political integrity of the progressive movement

KLEIN: What will the people who helped win his historic victory ask of Obama now? I hope that we, that you, will demand that he earn the incredible trust that he has been given, because the hard truth is this: Obama may have the energy and the anger and the networks of the antiwar vote, but he does not have a plan to get us out of Iraq. What he has is a plan to downsize the occupation of Iraq, not to end it. He may have the very real rage at the income inequality that has opened up in this country and around the world, but I am sad to say that he does not have a real plan to close that gap. And he may have the incredible, inspiring idealism of young environmentalists who are terrified about the future of this planet, but he does not have a green agenda that is a match to our climate crisis.

How to Replace Bush Democrats - Spread the Word

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:34:54 GMT

clipped by: zizzy
clipper's remarks: Obstructionists out!

Clip Source: www.actblue.com

While Democrats control the House of Representatives by 236-199, they cannot pass progressive bills on health care, the environment, jobs, justice, and impeachment – or even stop horrendous Republican bills on Iraq, torture, and warrantless wiretapping – because a few dozen “Bush Democrats” regularly vote with George Bush

replace “Bush Democrats” with progressive Democrats through primary elections, and that’s why we created this page. Read more about our efforts here: http://www.democrats.com/bushdemocrats
The candidates below are running against “Bush Democrats” in Democratic primaries. We hope you’ll join us in supporting them!

Stephen A. Harrison

NY-13 (Map)

Howard Shanker

AZ-01 (Map)

One solution is to elect more Democrats to increase our majority so “Bush Democrats” matter less, and many netroots groups like Moveon.org, DailyKos.com, and Blue America are doing this brilliantly

American People are More and More Afraid of Their Government

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:03:00 GMT

clipped by: klippety
clipper's remarks: Too long have Americans been silenced and intimidated. America is one of the very few democracies where the people are afraid of their government and not the way it should be, whereby the Government should be afraid of its people.

Clip Source: www.commondreams.org

The Land of the Silent and the Home of the Fearful

I was a speaker last night at an anti-war event sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County, Progressive Democrats of America and Democrats For America in Lincroft, NJ, near the shore. It was a great group of activist Americans who want to see this country end the Iraq War, turn away from war as a primary instrument of policy, and start dealing with the pressing human needs of the country and the world.

"I want to get involved in writing emails to members of Congress urging them to cut off funding for the war and other things, but if I do that won't I end up getting put on a "watch list'" or something?"

I told her the short answer was yes,

n George Bush's and Dick Cheney's America, no one is safe from such spying, and even from harassment

witness Tom Feeley, the man behind the website Information Clearing House, who had armed men invade his house at night and threaten his wife

How Dems grew to hate the liberal media

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:19:57 GMT

clipped by: dl211
clipper's remarks: “I used to get a lot more on the right,” said columnist Richard Cohen, who broke with liberals when he supported the Iraq war. More recently, the left has picked apart columns that are perceived as being favorable to John McCain.

“If you’re a little bit critical of Barack Obama, you get really a pie of vilification right in the face,” Cohen said, adding that his liberal critics “were born too late, because they would have been great Communists.”

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

How Dems grew to hate the liberal media

If you asked a random sample of progressive Democrats and liberal bloggers to describe the current state of political media, from CNN to The New York Times, there’s one word that’s unlikely to come up: “liberal.”

For those on the left, the more operative words these days are “mainstream,” “establishment,” or “traditional.” And if one is feeling particularly aggrieved, the description of choice is increasingly — and surprisingly - “conservative.”

Gone are the days when only the right howled about bias and malice from network anchors and star political reporters. What began roughly a decade ago as frustration from Democrats over coverage of President Bill Clinton’s impeachment and adulterous escapades, has morphed into an informally organized rapid response network, ready to pounce on any and all perceived slights against Barack Obama at the hands of the media.

Tags: democrats, media

How come we only hear about white male evangelicals?

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:31:24 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "the media often chronicle the broadening social concerns of white evangelical males such as Rick Warren and Richard Cizik." But much non-white evangelicalism has been politically progressive - and isolated - for a long, long time.

Clip Source: blog.beliefnet.com

Meanwhile, the stories of progressive evangelical minorities and women

remain

invisible

before us lie two roads

One path pursues the common good of white evangelical men, while relying on the common labor of evangelical women and minorities. This path is marked by denominational positions that define minstry by gender and not gifting

theology that clarifies doctrine while obscuring the correlations of race and poverty, and well-intentioned civic disengagement that nevertheless stacks an already tilted deck of cards against the marginalized.

The other road

relies upon the common labor of all evangelicals to pursue the common good of all

This pathway also has signposts: more women serving as bishops and pastors; theology that rhythmically alternates between digesting scripture and dismantling the poverty-race correlation; and wise engagement that represents the broad concerns of the evangelical constituency to the public and private sector.

Christians must toil for

a technicolor justice revival

Tags: theology, religion, evangelical

media coverage of DNC is insane

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:18:33 GMT

clipped by: kroqben
clipper's remarks: i'm glad i'm not the only one who thinks so. the article gets part of it, but it misses the whole sycophantic relationship msnbc has with the democratic party. it's nauseating to see olbermann and matthews fellate the party so blatantly. how can any progressive complain about foxnews' support for the gop when msnbc is just as bad?

anyway, hillary knocked it out the park tonight - perfect perfect speech.

Clip Source: www.thenation.com

Media Gone Mad

I try not to let the MSM's agreed-upon national news narrative upset my plans to have a good time, but many more times than not, I find the mass stupidity of so many putatively smart people, marching in unison to a destination that invites--nay--allows no logical point of entry. If you read today's Note, which is how I submit myself to this torture in as short and relatively painless form as possible, you can find any number of literally nutty notions.

Take a look at whom they cite when it comes to evidence of this supposed disunity: other journalists.

Each offers evidence that is either purely editorial and unsourced, or sourced anonymously.

Pelosi's Farting Up the Wrong Tree

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:31:46 GMT

clipped by: bmeuppls
clipper's remarks: Get some bean-o for your gassy ignorance!

Cont..You know what else she’d learn if she read that EIA link? She’d learn that natural gas isn’t brought to us by magic fuel fairies but by the same arrangement that brings us oil. She’d learn how you drill for gas using the same equipment as you do for oil and that sometimes we drill for gas and oil at the same time using just one well. She’d also learn how natural gas is carried by evil pipelines, just like the oily pipelines that might endanger caribou if they didn’t like them so darned much.

Of course, that all assumes that she’s the least bit interested in learning anything that might demolish her own infantile view of how we get energy in this country and what we’re going to need to do to keep ourselves supplied well into the future. Based on her behavior in the last few weeks, it seems the only thing she’s interested in is making herself a couple more million dollars and scoring cheap political points.

Clip Source: www.sundriesshack.com

We voters ought to be at least a little bit ashamed that we’ve let a nincompoop like Nancy Pelosi get her hands on our national energy policy. It’s not enough that we let someone who believes she’s on a mission to “save the planet” get her delusional mitts on the levers of political power. That would be bad enough, considering that we’ve seen what happens when an old-school progressive starts getting Messianic aspirations.

I believe in natural gas as a clean, cheap alternative to fossil fuels

REP. PELOSI: Well, that’s not–that is, that is the marketplace. The fact is, the supply of natural gas is so big, and you do need a transition if you’re going to go from fossil fuels, as you say, you can’t do it overnight, but you must transition. These investments in wind, in solar and biofuels and focus on natural gas, these are the real alternatives…
[emphasis mine]

Tags: politics, energy, gas

Send Karl Rove to Jail

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:01:39 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Please Sign it at the link! It may not work but putting the heat on Rove is a good thing!

Clip Source: www.democracyinaction.com

Karl Rove has gone too far in his attacks against poor and minority voters. It's time to make him pay.

Add your voice to hundreds of thousands of Americans calling for Karl Rove to be held in contempt of Congress. Help us build a movement against Rove's dirty voter suppression tricks!

Background:

In 2004, Justice Department lawyers started getting strange instructions from Washington -- crack down on voter registration drives in urban areas. The idea was to harass progressive organizations and keep poor and minority citizens from getting to the polls.

Many Justice Department lawyers, Republicans and Democrats alike, balked at these unscrupulous orders. They refused to carry out a partisan witch hunt. In return for their disobedience, Washington started cracking down on THEM -- firing a host of them and passing up others for promotion, in what came to be known as the U.S. Attorneys Scandal.

A long trail of evidence indicates that Karl Rove cooked up and executed the whole scheme.

Thomas Paine and American Values

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:13:45 GMT

clipped by: willhelm
clipper's remarks: "Aspirations of Thomas Paine and his fellow liberal-progressives toward economic equality as the necessary condition for earthly social perfection gave us the bloody French Revolution. More than 70,000 French citizens – from children to the elderly – were murdered on the guillotine, by hanging, and by firing squads, in the name of "Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood."

Those same liberal-progressive ideals espoused by Thomas Paine gave us the 20th century, the most savagely sanguinary and oppressive period in human history, all in the name of perfecting humanity."

These realities combined with the motivations from Rousseau laid the foundations for nationalism and socialism that came to fruition in the early 20th century Europe.

Clip Source: www.intellectualconservative.com

Paine's social and political ideas were essentially the revolutionary and bloody socialism that afflicted the world in the 1789 French Revolution.

His The Age of Reason is an attack upon Christianity and all spiritual religion, a panegyric to the minds of intellectuals as the source of human perfection via the collectivized political state.

Paine was a great admirer and supporter of the French Revolution and an advocate of cutting everyone down to the lowest denominator of poverty in order to achieve economic equality. This, of course, remains a guiding principle of today's Democrat/Socialist Party and of liberal-progressives on both sides of the political aisle.

Taxpayer advocate takes aim at IRS deficiencies

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 13:23:05 GMT

clipped by: finifinito
clipper's remarks: Tax reform ought to be the highest priority in this country after universal health care. This report ought to make it very clear our tax system is in need of scrapping and rebuilding the system from scratch. There must be a better way for government to fund itself in a fair and progressive manner which does not place undue burdens upon individuals, businesses and non profit entities, churches and schools.

Clip Source: www.indystar.com

Taxpayer advocate takes aim at IRS deficiencies

Nina E. Olson, the official appointed to speak out on behalf of U.S. taxpayers, has a few major gripes about the Internal Revenue Service.

As national taxpayer advocate, she issued a summer report to Congress identifying areas of concern the IRS needs to focus on in the 2009 fiscal year.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the creation of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate in order to identify problems within the IRS and help taxpayers resolve conflicts.

Olson works independently within the IRS and is required by law to submit two annual reports to Congress.

Olson has served as the taxpayer advocate for seven years. She is an attorney licensed in Virginia and North Carolina and the founder of the Community Tax Law Project, a low- income taxpayer clinic. Her experience working with taxpayer disputes has helped her appreciate the frustration so many people have had with the IRS.

Tags: taxes, irs, economy, taxpayer advocate

what is fibromyalgia

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 08:24:18 GMT

clipped by: jimmy123

Clip Source: www.myfibro.com

What is Fibromyalgia?

In trying to explain fibromyalgia, the American College of Rheumatology uses an effective analogy. They say that “for the person with fibromyalgia, it is as though the ‘volume control’ is turned up too high in the brain's pain processing areas.” Consequently, they endure chronic pain across much of their body, despite no evident source of that pain, in addition to a wide range of other symptoms including chronic fatigue and muscle soreness.

Fibromyalgia is not a clinical disease, it is a syndrome. In other words, it is a set of symptoms that are often experienced together but are not related to a specified cause.

Does it just go away?

No. While the symptoms may come and go, fibromyalgia is chronic. It could last a lifetime.

Is it fatal?

No. Fibromyalgia by itself is never fatal.

Does it get worse?

No. It is not progressive. In fact, many people improve over time.

Does it damage the body?

No. Fibromyalgia has not been shown to damage organs, muscles or joints.

Tumor

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:18:42 GMT

clipped by: drose69701

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Clinical signs and symptoms depend on the location of the tumor.

Since many of the tumors occur in the posterior fossa they present like other posterior fossa tumors, often with headache, vomiting, lethargy, and ataxia (unsteady gait). There is a case report of a seven-month-old child with a primarily spinal tumor that presented with progressive paraplegia and abnormal feeling in the legs.^[4]

Hallmark to offer same sex marriage cards

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:57:21 GMT

clipped by: tommy2balmy
clipper's remarks: "It's our goal to be as relevant as possible to as many people as we can,"

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Now on the Hallmark aisle: Gay marriage cards

The nation's largest greeting card company is rolling out same-sex wedding cards — featuring two tuxedos, overlapping hearts or intertwined flowers, with best wishes inside. "Two hearts. One promise," one says.

Hallmark added the cards after California joined Massachusetts as the only U.S. states with legal gay marriage. A handful of other states have recognized same-sex civil unions.

The language inside the cards is neutral, with no mention of wedding or marriage, making them also suitable for a commitment ceremony. Hallmark says the move is a response to consumer demand, not any political pressure.

"It's our goal to be as relevant as possible to as many people as we can," Hallmark spokeswoman Sarah Gronberg Kolell said.

Hallmark, known more for its Midwest mores than progressive greetings, has added a wider variety lately. It now offers cards for difficulty getting pregnant or going through rehab.

Tags: same sex marriage

John McCain, Friend of Monopolies

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:56:26 GMT

clipped by: Wisco
clipper's remarks: I think there are two reasons McCain invokes Teddy Roosevelt. 1. Roosevelt wasn't a Republican in the modern sense, but a Republican in the original sense -- i.e., a progressive. McCain hopes to signal some that his "maverick" label actually means something.

2. Teddy Roosevelt is the one face on Mt. Rushmore that Americans know the least about.

In the end, I'd say it's more 2 than 1.

Clip Source: www.mcclatchydc.com

John McCain broadcasts his affection for Theodore Roosevelt, but his opposition to regulating the local telephone industry suggests that he may not share the former president's passion for busting huge corporate trusts.

Unlike Roosevelt, who railed against "malefactors of great wealth," McCain's positions frequently have echoed those of the giant regional Bell phone companies, now consolidated as AT&T, Verizon and Qwest, the big survivors of the telecommunications wars of the last quarter-century.

McCain's opposition to the 1996 Telecommunications Competition and Deregulation Act, intended to spur competition by pressuring the Bells to lease their lines and switches to competitors cheaply, offers a window into how he might view regulation of other markets as president.

Tags: news

Gambling addiction

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:23:03 GMT

clipped by: jimmy123

Clip Source: www.myaddiction.com

Also called problem gambling, a gambling addiction, compulsive gambling, and pathological gambling, problem gambling is characterized by an urge to gamble, even in the face of consequences sufficiently

Although seemingly analogous to other addictions, in its early stages at least problem gambling is construed not by the gambler's behavior but by its consequences. As a result, it is relegated diagnostically to something more than a personality quirk but less than a compulsion.

In fact, a gambler must virtually throw away his entire life to gambling before the American Psychiatric Association's criteria will acknowledge the presence of a problem. At that point it becomes clinical pathological gambling, a progressive mental illness involving an impulse control disorder.

Tags: addiction, gambling