Fear Factory, Direct From The Floor To You

If there was ever a story designed to turn terrified Southern whites towards an all out war on Latinos in an election year, it's this CNN one involving the intersection of the War on Brown People and the War On Drugs.

The numbers could rise in coming years. The Justice Department's National Drug Intelligence Center estimates Mexican cartels control distribution of most of the methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana coming into the country, and they're increasingly producing the drugs themselves.

In 2009 and 2010, the center reported, cartels operated in 1,286 U.S. cities, more than five times the number reported in 2008. The center named only 50 cities in 2006.

Target communities often have an existing Hispanic population and a nearby interstate for ferrying drugs and money to and fro, said author Charles Bowden, whose books on the Mexican drug war include "Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields."

"I'm not saying Mexicans come here to do crime, but Mexicans who move drugs choose to do it through areas where there are already Mexicans," he said.

Evidence of the cartels' presence in small-town America isn't hard to find. Take the 66 kilos of cocaine found in a warehouse in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, in February 2011. Or the Wyoming, Michigan, man denied bail on drug charges last year because he had alleged cartel connections. Or consider that a surge of Mexican black tar heroin into Ohio pushed the price per kilogram down from $50,000 in 2008 to $33,000 in 2009.

Latino communities are "cover for Mexican drug cartels" in small-town America.  If you're wondering how the GOP is going to easily justify their latest raft of anti-Latino proposals, this is it.

"Maybe that guy is working for them" becomes "Well not in my town, dammit" turns into "Somebody ought to do something about all them" becomes "Well if lawmakers won't do anything about it..." and the worst of America's history rears its ugly head once again.  The border states are deep into this paranoia, but it's new to the rural Midwest and South outside of Texas and Florida.

It will get worse before it gets better.

StupidiNews!

• Director Mike Nichols picked up his sixth Tony award last night for directing the revival of "Death of a Salesman" and was among the big winners in the 66th annual award ceremony.
• MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan will be moving on from his afternoon show as he will be leaving June 22 to pursue a more activist role.
• Unions in California are fighting a ballot measure that would ban direct contributions by those groups to candidates, as well as ban union fees and dues for any contributions, even to PACs.
• With a record number of baby boomer engineers retiring, companies are reaching out to engineering students as early as possible to get them through college and into the workplace.
• The end of film reels may be soon at hand, with a new report predicting major movie studios will stop producing celluloid copies of films and go digital by the end of next year.

Last Call

If you want to know what lessons the GOP have taken from Scott Walker surviving his recall attempt, it's nothing less than the call now to eliminate all public sector unions.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) criticized public-sector unions on Sunday, saying they should be eliminated entirely.

"There's, I think, a fundamental problem with government becoming its own special interest group," he told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday." "Ultimately, there is not really bargaining in those situations because government sits on both sides of the table."

Wallace then asked whether Daniels would like to see public-sector unions disappear entirely.

"I think government works better without them, I really do," Daniels replied.

"There's a reason that defenders of labor ... always said that unionism had no place in the public sector, that it was necessary freedom, and it is, in the private sector. But that it was a bad idea in government," he added.

Government employees aren't entitled to anything now.  No unions, no collective bargaining, no retirement, hell at this point even paying public sector workers is "theft of taxpayer money".  The politics of resentment that the Republicans are using now demand you rise up against teachers, cops, firefighters, social workers, and anyone else working for the government and TAKE BACK YOUR COUNTRY and stuff.

So we can't have private sector unions because the job creators will all leave, and we can't have public sector unions because GOVERNMENT IS THEFT.   Pretty soon we'll be asking "why pay government employees at all?"  And our FOX zombie nation will agree because none of them ever got raises.  Why should anyone else? 

Won't be long now until you'll be paying your employer for the privilege of working for them.

Greek Fire, Part 60

And we've reached the point where Spain has beaten Cyprus to the bailout window first as Madrid has asked the EU for something in the neighborhood of a hundred billion euros to solve their little bank implosion crisis.

Spain became the fourth euro member to seek a bailout since the start of the region’s debt crisis more than two years ago with a request for as much as 100 billion euros ($125 billion) to rescue its banks.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who as recently as May 28 said he wouldn’t seek a bailout, characterized the deal as a credit line for banks and an endorsement of his policies. He spoke to reporters today in Madrid before flying to Gdansk, Poland, for a soccer match between the national team and Italy.

Monday is going to be...ugly.  Ireland already wants to renegotiate its austerity-dependent bailout terms and Greece knows can push for that now too. 

If, as seems likely given the country’s size and therefore bargaining power, preferential terms are extended to the Spanish, the EU might find it has opened a Pandora’s box, beginning in Dublin.

A “European government source” told AFP that Ireland had highlighted “the need to ensure parity of the deal with Spain retroactively on its bailout".

AFP says a second European government source backs up this story. Apparently, Ireland intends to raise the issue during the next meeting of eurozone finance ministers on 21 June.

Ireland was known to be keen on renegotiating its bailout well before Spain agreed to request a loan, as a report in the Irish Examiner from June 5 suggests.

The even larger question is when Italy will follow Spain, considering everyone has been quietly propping up the Italians over the last five years, including the Spaniards.  When the Italians figure out they can now push for a deal like Spain got (and time would be of the essence in this case) it's going to get brutal.

And so, the Greek Fire has consumed Greece, Portugal and Ireland, and now Spain burns like a gasoline soaked torch in a napalm factory.  Four European countries down.  A whole lot of targets here could be next as the flames jump this latest Spanish firebreak, but if that next target is Rome as I suspect it will be,then the final act will be written.

We're into the beginning of the EU endgame now, folks.  Europe had its chance.  Spain's bailout means the last three years of half-measures, austerity, and musical chairs bank bailouts have now broken the back of the #5 economy in the region.  The difference with Spain is the size.  Greece is the #12 economy in Europe, Portugal #14, and Ireland #15.  Plenty of bigger countries that could help out with a bailout.  Not so with Spain.  The UK is #4.  Italy is #3.  When Italy goes, the game ends as they are too big for #2 France and #1 Germany to bail out by themselves.

So now we have not only a top 10 European country needing a bank bailout, but a top 5 one.  Now we're seeing the big boys fall.  And now things get deadly serious in Europe.

The Greek Fire now has taken a victim larger than the other three combined.  That's how bad this is, people.  Hold on to your crap.

The Death Of Humor

I think we may finally see the result of sitcoms on the nation's sense of humor.  It seems nobody is laughing or celebrating to suit others, and therefore it must be wrong.

Anderson Cooper went on a rant about one mother arrested for celebrating at her son's graduation.  Another school is withholding a diploma until a boy or his family performs community service to "apologize" for the crowd cheering too enthusiastically when his turn came.  Now we have a homeowner's association banning chalk from the sidewalks.  Some neighbors complained, and because it's a common space it is therefore unacceptable.

Where is the common sense here?  It's hard enough to encourage kids to play outside, and this is a creative, traditional washable activity.  Hopscotch spans the generations, as do hearts, flowers, stories and   stick figure families drawn with bright colors.  The article doesn't mention any issues like inappropriate drawings or otherwise bad behavior.  Coloring on sidewalks annoy some black holes of suck, and therefore it must not be allowed.

I'm sad.  It's hard enough to be a kid in a world where terrorists and other whispered threats shadow our lives.  Bullies, criminals and gangs strike anywhere, and if kids go the straight and narrow path they may still not be able to afford college or get a job.  Let them be kids, and make fun memories of drawing in the sun with their friends or siblings, playing and doing what kids are supposed to do.

Jackass tag awarded to the jerks who complained and the HOA that would react so stupid to a shallow issue.

Stephen King's "It" Gets A Reboot

Warner Bros has hired director Jane Eyre director Cary Fukunaga to helm and co-adapt the decades-long story of the serial killer clown who lives in the sewers. Chase Palmer will co-write the script.

The Hollywood Reporter says (and these may be spoilers so be warned) that the story follows a group of kids called the Losers Club that encounter a creature called 'It' in the 1950s, which preys on children (movie one?). When the creature resurfaces in the 80s, the kids are called upon to regroup again, this time as adults (movie two?) even though they have no memory of the first battle.

The book was previously adapted in 1990 as an ABC miniseries that starred John Ritter, Harry Anderson, Tim Reid, Annette O'Toole, Richard Thomas and Tim Curry as Pennywise. Warners picked up the rights in 2009 and originally intended to adapt it into a single movie.

I hope they do a good job with this.  The original wasn't bad, but like any other King project, the ability to take the scary and put it into film is just hard to translate.  The best part of reading Stephen King is the naughty joy we get for hanging around inside the character's heads, the peek at them that doesn't shy away from the evil we all have inside of us.  That's hard to illustrate without hammy speeches and clumsy trips into the past for random side stories.

It was a hell of a story.  Each kid has his own interesting contribution to the story, and they all seemed to strike people differently.  The article makes a good point that the split between movies will likely be the first and second time It rears its head. How they grow up and why they are who they are is part of the story.  I hope making two separate movies will let them bring these kids to life and do it right.

And we have a creepy-ass clown.  That's a win-win in the horror world.

The Libertarian's Libertarian

If you're a libertarian who somehow thought Sen. Rand Paul wasn't going to endorse Mitt Romney for President, you probably should avoid running with scissors too (although being a libertarian, you would be completely prepared to handle the consequences of running with scissors if you managed to stab yourself through the heart with them, and you would demand your right to be allowed to do so and call it "freedom" and crap.)

Anyway, libertarians are SHOCKED that this is happening.

The freshman senator said on Thursday night that he supports Romney for president, even though his father has not officially withdrawn from the race. The move was seen by many as a signal that the younger Paul is willing to compromise and work with establishment Republicans.

Politico quoted a Republican strategist who commended the Kentucky senator on what is seen as a savvy career move, “Rand’s endorsement of GOP nominee Mitt Romney clearly shows that in spite of those who try to marginalize him, he has keen set of political instincts and is very much aware that a successful national run will require more than just his father’s loyal following.”

Members of that loyal following, however, are not as impressed.

The Libertarian Party’s candidate for president, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson issued a blistering statement through the party’s website, in which he called Rand a turncoat, a traitor to his father’s legacy and a sellout.

“(N)o true libertarian, no true friend of liberty, and no true blue Tea Partier could possibly even consider, much less actually endorse or approve of, the Father of Obamacare, Big Government tax and spender, Republican Mitt Romney,” Johnson wrote.

Rejoice, Randroids.  Your leader is in fact adhering to that most sacred tenet of libertarianism, "I'm going to get mine any way I know how, and screw the rest of you."  He is reveling in the success of the individual, i.e. Rand Paul, over the Collective Moochers and Looters Weighing Down Rand Paul, i.e. the rest of the idiots who thought Rand Paul wasn't going to throw them under the bus in order to advance his political career giving more power to Rand Paul.

If Johnson's all butthurt over this, maybe he shouldn't be, you know, running for President on the Libertarian ticket.  Even better, maybe the EVOLution crew might want to ask why Rand's dad also ran screens for Romney, ostensibly to help his son.

I mean you guys can't all be that dense, can you?  Rand and Ron were playing you for saps to help Rand and Ron and at your expense, and you knew this as an informed consumer and chose to back them anyway, right?  Libertarian way, and all that?

OK, just checking.

Last Call

We can't have unions or laws that protect workers in America because they unnecessarily hurt our most important national resource, our precious job creators.  After all, we can't sell you Everyday Low Prices at the megastore or the 2 for $20 special at the watering hole chain without stealing wages from the cashiers, cooks, waitstaff and stockers.

Wage theft is a pervasive and often unacknowledged crime in our radically unequal society. Recently CNN reported a 400-percent increase in wage-and-hour violation claims over the last 11 years, a statistic that likely only scratches the surface of unreported wage thefts. While property theft is punishable with jail time, the National Employment Law Center (NELP) estimated (in 2008) that the average low-wage worker loses 15 percent of her annual income to wage theft, through underpayment and denied overtime, among other schemes. Many do not have the support of groups like Make the Road, or in other parts of the country, laws that prioritize such crimes.

NELP's analysis of the nation’s three largest cities—New York, Los Angeles and Chicago—found that over one-fourth of low-wage workers weren’t being paid the minimum wage, while 76 percent weren’t compensated for overtime work. There is no reason to think conditions are better elsewhere. Across the nation, millions are forced to work off-the-clock, misclassified as “independent contractors” to avoid taxes (which the workers then have to pay themselves), their paychecks tampered with, their time sheets altered. Walmart is an example of a national company that has indulged in almost all of these practices.

Enabled by staggering power differentials between employers and workers, these practices have become the norm in many low-wage industries (in 2000 the Department of Labor found 100 percent of poultry companies were in violation of wage and hour laws). In the absence of a strong labor movement and robust federal and state departments of labor, low-wage workers are left to fend for themselves in a weak job market. Immigrants who lack proper documentation are particularly susceptible to thieving bosses, who often threaten to turn their employees over to the police if they complain.

And the massive power of the business lobby in the GOP will assure national laws to protect workers will never, ever get passed.  Even in blue states like New York, wage theft laws are still a long and time-consuming process for the workers to handle.

Unions would make this process much easier, but of course unions are "dead" after Wisconsin's recall election and are slowly being strangled everywhere else for the sole reason that for American workers to be competitive in the global marketplace, their standards of living have to be lowered in order for CEOs to continue to make 500 times what their lowest paid workers make. 

And you'd think conservatives would be the first to say that with "taxes being theft" and all, actual wage theft would rank high on their outrage-o-meter.  Sadly, conservatives don't give a damn because only "those brown people" or "those single women on welfare" get their wages stolen, not real Americans.

All hail the job creators.

Soon you won't have any other choice.

The Thoroughbred Of Hearts

The big sports news around horse country today is of course the retirement of Triple Crown contender I'll Have Another due to tendinitis as he was pulled from this afternoon's Belmont Stakes in New York.

The breathtaking journey of I'll Have Another over the past five weeks ended with a punch to the gut Friday when trainer Doug O'Neill and owner J. Paul Reddam announced the colt was out of the Belmont Stakes and would be retired following the discovery of the beginning of tendinitis in his left front leg.

Having captured the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in spectacular fashion, I'll Have Another was attempting to become the 12th horse in history and the first since Affirmed in 1978 to sweep the American Triple Crown.

The troubles began when O'Neill first detected "some loss of definition" in I'll Have Another's left front leg on Thursday afternoon.

O'Neill said the issue appeared to be moot when the colt's legs were cold Friday morning and he still moved well when sent out for a jog and gallop around the Belmont oval. The swelling returned when I'll Have Another was cooling out, and a subsequent ultrasound revealed the damage.

"It's subtle, but it's one of those things, if you don't do the right thing, it's gonna turn in to be a problem, so we don't wanna do that," said O'Neill, who — as he has during the entire Triple Crown run — remained upbeat despite the circumstances. "It's a roller coaster. What a ride. He's given us so much pleasure. It is a bummer, far from tragic, but very disappointing."

I have no small amount of respect for O'Neill to scratch his horse.  Lesser people would have run him anyway, even if it meant a debilitating or fatal injury was possible.  And let's not feel too bad for I'll Have Another, folks.  He may not have made history, but he gets to spend the next decade plus or so in a stud pasture.

Here's hoping your kids kick some ass.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/06/08/2217316/ill-have-another-withdrawn-from.html#storylink=cpy

Six Of Nothing, Half Dozen Of A Record

While I'm at the Reds game with the Zandarparents this afternoon watching the Pirates take on the boys, note the Seattle Mariners tied a record last night for most pitchers involved in a combined no-hitter as the M's knocked off the LA Dodgers.

Kevin Millwood held the Dodgers scoreless in six innings before leaving the game with a groin injury. Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Leutge, Brandon League and Tom Wilhelmsen combined to throw for three scoreless innings to keep the no-hitter intact.

Third baseman Kyle Seager had a RBI single, scoring Ichiro Suzuki from second base in the Mariners' 1-0 victory.

It is the fourth no-hitter of the baseball season so far, following Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Johan Santana of the New York Mets and Philip Humber of the Chicago White Sox.

How crazy has this season been for Major League Baseball?  Already four no hitters and the first ever for the Mets a few weeks ago.  Your trivia points of the day, Kevin Millwood threw a no-hitter by himself with the Phillies versus the Giants in 2003, and the other six-pack no-hitter was by the Astros versus the Yankees, also in the 2003 season.  They very nearly pitched a no-hitter and lost, allowing six baserunners through walks, errors and a hit batter.  The first and only time anyone pitched a 9-inning no-no and lost happened when Ken Johnson pitched one against a young Pete Rose and the Reds who beat the then Houston Colt 45's in 1964 on double groundout and an error, 1-0.  At least, that's what Wikipedia says, anyhow.

Gotta love baseball.

Gay Librarian Fired For Refusing To Sign Anti-Gay Employment Contract

Despite being a tenured librarian, 50-year old Michael Wilson was fired a few weeks after he refused to sign the Shorter University’s new contract which included a lifestyle statement which required all employees to reject homosexuality.

Rome News-Tribute reports that along with the contract, Wilson submitted a letter in which he said:

“Please find enclosed for your reference a copy of my signed employment contract for the 2012-2013 school year; the original document has been submitted to the Provost’s office. As you can see, I have redacted Clause 10; I believe, for reasons that should be obvious, that the provisions therein constitute a grave violation of the principles of academic freedom and tenure, core values in academe that were formerly embraced by the University’s administration.”

Employers should  not be able to ask their employees to sign a contract rejecting legal choices.  Personal choices that do not affect their work, or their ability to live a legal life outside of the bounds of employment.  I'm just disgusted, and I hope they are ashamed of themselves.

Their motto is "transforming lives through Christ."  I'm not sure what Bible they read, but the Christ I know taught by example, showing compassion and kindness to all, not just the popular folks.  He told us we must not judge others, because we can also be judged and quite harshly, when we lack compassion.

Bitch Slap

I had heard about this but was slow to watch the video (one can only read so many headlines!) but now I realize I was wrong to skip this one.  NPR nails it when they say we teach people better in first grade.  This man goes berserk, throws water on one woman.  What they call a slap is more like an open-handed punch.  He reaches all the way back and slaps the woman so hard I'm surprised she remained standing.

Word of advice, jackass... your name isn't respected.  Next time try the logical approach.

This sounds like something we said in first grade:

"She raised her hand and hit me first and since I respect my honor and my name, I had to defend myself. The police ought to arrest her."

That's the excuse Greek far-right politician Ilias Kasidiaris offered on Star TV for that slapfest we posted about Thursday.

He spoke from an undisclosed location because there's a warrant for his arrest.

Here is the video.  About 75% of the way through, all hell breaks loose.

Three Gazillion Miles On The Odometer

The Car Talk guys, Tom & Ray Magliozzi, are hanging up their mics after 25 years.

On Friday, hosts Tom and Ray Magliozzi, known as "Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers," announced that they would be retiring from the popular NPR program in October.

"We've decided that it's time to stop and smell the cappuccino," Ray wrote on the show's website.

"As of October, we're not going to be recording any more new shows. That's right, we're retiring," Tom added, noting that "Car Talk" is celebrating its 25th anniversary on NPR this year.

However, fans will still be able to enjoy the show after the brothers' retirement. New "Car Talks" will be assembled from archival material, the brothers wrote.

They'll also continue their regular website column.

"Car Talk" debuted in 1977 on Boston radio station WBUR and was picked up by NPR 10 years later. It regularly ranks as one of public radio's most popular shows -- including the most popular weekend program -- with about 4 million listeners.

Many a Saturday errand trip in the car with dad and my brothers consisted of listening to Car Talk on the way around town, getting everything from mulch to paint to groceries.  Tom and Ray pretty much defined my weekends growing up.  My brother?  Manages an auto parts store now.  I blame these guys.

I'll miss them, that's for sure.  I still turn them on when I'm running errands myself on weekends.

America Hangs Its Head

And our old friend Pastor Terry "Qu'ran Burning For Fun And Profit" Jones has a new hobby this month in response to President Obama's evolution on same-sex marriage and marriage equality:  hanging POTUS in effigy.

The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., has hanged an effigy of President Barack Obama from a gallows on its front lawn, a move DWOC pastor Terry Jones said was in response to Obama's recent endorsement of same-sex marriage, as well as his stance on abortion and what Jones called his "appeasing of radical Islam."

According to the Broward-Palm Beach New Times, the U.S. Secret Service is currently investigating Jones in response to the display.

"The Secret Service is aware of this incident and will conduct appropriate follow-up," Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary told the paper's "The Pulp" blog.

The effigy is suspended from a makeshift gallows with a noose of yellow rope, has a doll in its right hand and a rainbow-colored gay pride flag in its left.

In a telephone interview with The Huffington Post, Jones said the flag was meant to call attention to Obama's stance on same-sex marriage and that the baby doll is there because the president is "favorable toward abortion."

Jones also said that radical Islam is "the most dangerous threat to life and national security in America."

There is also an Uncle Sam dummy standing at the base of the gallows outside the DWOC. Jones told HuffPost that the Obama effigy had originally been positioned to be hanging Uncle Sam when the display went up two weeks ago, but that the church changed the display on Wednesday.

The words “Obama is Killing America” are printed on a trailer nearby.

Explain to me how race has nothing to do with it and that any Democrat would have been treated the same way.  Please.  I'm listening.  Convince me we're not going the full ni-CLANG by, say, July 4th.

And yes, you will have to click on the damn HuffPo link to see the photo, because screw Terry Jones with a bag full of rabid wolverines stuffed into his urethra, that's why.  I hope the USSS completely ruins Terry Jones's life over this.

Meanwhile, to let you know what kind of state Kentucky here is where I live, the two UK students who hung President Obama in effigy last fall got precisely zero indictments from a grand jury, because there's not a grand jury that can be empaneled in the Commonwealth here that would ever see any reason to charge anyone with hanging a black President in effigy for anything.

The grand jury dismissed charges of second-degree burglary, theft by unlawful taking and disorderly conduct against Hunter Bush, 21, and Joe Fischer, 22, a UK senior, lawyer Fred Peters said Tuesday.

University of Kentucky police found the effigy on the Wednesday before Election Day hanging from a tree on the Lexington, Ky., campus.

UK President Lee Todd immediately called a news conference to denounce the incident, calling the act "deplorable" and "abominal." "We've done many, many things to increase diversity," Todd said. "I know this is not a reflection of this institution."

Bush and Todd were arrested the next day. UK police said the two men told them the act was in response to news reports that an effigy of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin had been hung in California.

Material used to make the effigy, including clothes, was stolen from a fraternity house, leading to the burglary and theft charges. Neither man was a member of the fraternity.

The disorderly conduct charge was for the actual hanging of the effigy. Peters said the charge clearly violated the First Amendment.

So yeah, nothing to see here, no trial necessary, was just a prank, the real racists are the folks trying to criminalize this clearly first amendment "protected vile speech", yadda yadda amen.  Hey, let's have everyone in America do this, then we can all join in the fun of yelling FIRST AMENDMENT, BITCHEZ while we have a good laugh.

Try to burn the American flag or a Bible in this country however, well our conservative friends (and more than a few Democrats) had no problem wanting to criminalize that by changing the Constitution or by law.

Moving on.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2009/01/27/60852/if-they-had-hung-joe-biden-we.html#storylink=omni_popular#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2009/01/27/60852/if-they-had-hung-joe-biden-we.html#storylink=omni_popular#storylink=cpy

StupidiNews, Weekend Edition!

• Attorney General Eric Holder has assigned two attorneys to investigate the possible leaks of state secrets involving the US cyberattack on Iran last year.
• House Republicans have passed an anti-abortion rider preventing immigration services from providing abortions, which is meaningless because they do not provide the services now.
• Lawyers for USS Cole bombing suspect Abd al Rahim al Nashiri are asking for his upcoming trial from Gitmo to be broadcast freely and not just on closed-circuit TV.
• This year's charity eBay auction of lunch with billionaire investor Warren Buffet saw the old million dollar plus record eclipsed by a last minute bid worth nearly $3.5 million.
• The next generation of wireless routers won't need routers at all, with direct transfers of high-speed bandwidth on the 60 GHz spectrum to devices.