ThinkFast: July 8, 2008
ThinkFast: July 8, 2008
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) is considering legislation to cease funding of Karl Rove-type advisers in future administrations. “Why should we be using taxpayer dollars to have a person solely in charge of politics in the White House?” Waxman said. “Can you imagine the reaction if each member of Congress had a campaign person paid for with taxpayer dollars?”
The Senate will begin debate today on a bill giving telecommunication companies immunity for participating in the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, with a final vote planned for Wednesday. Despite strong bipartisan opposition, the bill is expected to pass.
There is “a growing body of evidence” showing “that alcohol abuse is rising among veterans of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.” Experts and studies say “the problem is particularly prevalent among those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.” “Increasingly, these troubled veterans are spilling into the criminal justice system.”
The White House was forced to apologize yesterday after circulating a “less-than-flattering” biography of Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi that described him as “one of the ‘most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for government corruption and vice.’” The biography said further that Berlusconi “burst onto the political scene with no experience.”
On the trail today: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) speaks at the League of United Latin American Citizens’ (LULAC) national convention in Washington, DC, and then heads to Pittsburgh. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is scheduled to address crowds of supporters at a town hall meeting in Powder Springs, and then head to DC to address LULAC.
“Iran will hit Tel Aviv, U.S. shipping in the Gulf and American interests around the world” if it is attacked by the U.S. or Israel, an aide to the Iranian Supreme Leader declared today. “The first bullet fired by America at Iran will be followed by Iran burning down its vital interests around the globe,” the aide was quoted as saying.
Yesterday, shares of the most important U.S. mortgage companies, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, plummeted 18 percent and 16 percent, respectively, sending a loud warning sign that, in terms of the economy, “the worst is yet to come.” The turmoil caused global stocks “from Sydney to Stockholm” to fall today.
In Japan yesterday, G8 leaders “endorsed the idea of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050,” but did not set any short-term goals for reducing emissions. The declaration, which called on developing nations like India and China to follow suit, was criticized as “weak” by environmentalists because “it aims to reduce emissions from current levels rather than 1990 levels.”
The Bush administration “didn’t pursue hundreds of potential water pollution cases after a 2006 Supreme Court decision that restricted” the EPA’s “authority to regulate seasonal streams and wetlands.” In a March 4 memo, the EPA’s enforcement chief said “there were 304 instances where the EPA found what would have been violations of the Clean Water Act before the court’s ruling.”
Former Senate aide Michael E. O’Neill “will not withdraw his nomination” for a federal judgeship, despite the fact that he was credibly accused last week of plagiarizing a law article. O’Neill, who says “he fully disclosed the controversy to both White House officials and the FBI during interviews” before being nominated, claims the plagiarism “wasn’t intentional.”
And finally: There’s a new book coming out by Susan Wise Bauer that’s likely to be popular around Washington, DC. “The Art of the Public Grovel” advises “sex-scandal-afflicted leaders of America” on how to salvage their political careers. According to Bauer, politicians have to do more than apologize; they have to prove they are no better than anyone else by admitting they’ve erred and asking for forgiveness.” Bauer mentions that one politician who didn’t do it well was former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, although she admitted he was in a “tough spot.”
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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Wal-Mart Opposes Workers Comp Disability For Shot And Beaten Police Officer
Wal-Mart is now fighting to keep disability benefits from non-employees and well as employees. Former Pine Bluff Police Officer Jimmy Singleton was shot in the ankle and knocked unconscious from a blow to the head in 2003 while patting down a suspect. Today he suffers frequent migraines, and the bullet remains lodged in his ankle making it difficult to walk or stand up for long periods of time. For the past 4 years he’s been waging a nasty court battle to receive disability benefits.
So where does Wal-Mart come in? To flex it’s political and legal muscle, and push the Arkansas court to set a Wal-Mart-friendly precedent by denying him benefits. Both Wal-Mart and Tyson, Arkansas’ largest employers, “tendered friend-of-the-court briefs with the state Supreme Court this month arguing his claim should be denied.”
In addition to being completely shameless treatment of an officer wounded in the public service, this looks to be another horrible business decision for a company who continually struggles with its public image. We’ll see what happens when Wal-Mart’s PR people catch wind of this disaster-in-the-making.
http://walmartwatch.com/blog/archives/wal_mart_vs_officer_jimmy_singleton/
The only reason Wal-Mart is getting involved is because they are self-insured. They are using their political clout to undermine this case. This way if an employee of theirs is injured on the job they won’t have to pay for it. “Each Wal-Mart store should reflect the values of its customers and support the vision they hold for their community.” (Sam Walton) Unfortnately Sam didn’t impress his vision on his children very well; if their idea of supporting the community is to deny worker’s comp benefits to employees injured on the job.
I’m going to send this to Keith Olbermann so that he can put Wal-Mart back on the Worse Person List again. They embody the worst in large corporations.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:02 amGood morning Freb :)
July 8th, 2008 at 9:03 amNY’s New Voting System Fails Right Out of the Box
You would have thought that since there have been so many documented problems in other states over the years that voting machine vendors would have gone out of their way to make sure new systems being deployed in the Empire State were thoroughly tested, met all state requirements, and worked flawlessly.
At a minimum, you would expect that any business fulfilling an enormous, multi-million-dollar contract to a new client would make sure the systems were, well, at least operational. But, incredibly, you would be wrong. The machines which ES&S and Sequoia are providing to New York State are failing initial testing at a rate which would astound anyone – unless you’ve been following the voting machine industry for the last 10 years.
“…of the 156 BMDs [Ballot Marking Devices] received by Nassau through June 26, 2008-after the SBOE acceptance tested them in Albany-have substantial operational flaws that render them unusable or that require major repairs. 29 were rejected immediately when they were unloaded from the truck because of obvious physical defects or damages, such as a broken side of the printer. 62 failed diagnostic testing because of problems with the USB cord and the printer. And 42 failed Nassau’s acceptance testing for a variety of reasons, such as nonresponsive key pads and battery failure. Out of a total of 156 BMDs, only 23 can be used by voters in the condition they were received in.”
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6145
There is no excuse with something as important as collecting and tallying votes that the Vendors are sending defective and damaged Voting Machines. When you have $12,000 dollar machines that won’t even start up that is a serious problem. And the Republicans are worried about Voter Fraud, give me a break..
July 8th, 2008 at 9:05 amA G8 removed from the real world
Climate, oil and food crisis – it’s no longer business as usual for world’s leaders
It’s been 13 long months since the leaders of the G8 gathered for their annual talkfest. I’m sure the details of last year’s communique are etched into your brain but just in case you’ve forgotten what was agreed in Heiligendamm, here’s a reminder. “We noted,” the G8 said, “that the world economy is in good condition and growth is more evenly distributed across regions.” This was June 8 2007, two months to the day before the entire global financial system came to a shuddering halt. If you like your humour black, it’s rather funny isn’t it?
But wait, because it gets better. The communique expressed confidence that there would be “a smooth adjustment of global imbalances which should take place in the context of sustained and robust economic growth”. Glad to see, then, that there was no risk that the US sub-prime mortgage crisis would prompt what the International Monetary Fund has called the biggest shock to the global financial system since the Great Depression.
Snip…
Global economy
In the build-up to the summit, it has been clear that the individual members of the G8 have been tempted to concentrate solely on the problems facing their own economies and to defer action on the issues that have dominated these events over the past five years – Africa and climate change. Gordon Brown was right to say at the weekend that it would be a profound mistake for the G8 to adopt that approach. For one thing, it is impossible for any country, no matter how big and powerful, to insulate itself from developments in the global economy. And even if they could, it would still be stupid since in the long-term the stability of every country in the world will require energy security, action on climate change and the spread of economic prosperity to the billions living on or below the breadline. This is certainly not the time to renege on the Gleneagles aid pledges made three years ago or to decide that the threat of unemployment makes tackling climate change something that can be put off for another day.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jul/07/globaleconomy.economics
**I think that the saddest, scariest thing about all of this is that they really BELIEVE what they are saying. I keep reading how this is just a temporary situation and things are already getting better. Maybe things really are getting better for those who have raped the global economy and climate and managed to hide huge amounts of cash offshore. But, things continue to decline for the middle and lower economic classes. Everything that is being done by these crooks helps corporations because they still subscribe to their beliefs that money “trickles down” to those in need and makes everything O.K. I have news for them –it’s not money trickling down on all of us.
The most frustrating thing for me is the fact that the best I can do is sit by and watch it all unfold. There is absolutely nothing I can do to change the course of all of this.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:05 amSay hi to Keith for me, ok Freb? :)~
July 8th, 2008 at 9:09 amC’mon fatboy Rove, squeal like a pig, you putrid waste of human space.
I’m sure you can do Ned Beatty proud!
July 8th, 2008 at 9:10 amGood post, FR, as usual. Maybe we can get others to help you out:
July 8th, 2008 at 9:10 am
The Senate will begin debate today on a bill giving telecommunication companies immunity for participating in the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, with a final vote planned for Wednesday. Despite strong bipartisan opposition, the bill is expected to pass.
Proponents of the FISA deal say companies should not be “punished” for cooperating with the government. That’s Washington-speak for a cover-up. The purpose of withholding immunity is not to punish but to preserve the only chance of unearthing the details of Mr. Bush’s outlaw eavesdropping. Only a few senators, by the way, know just what those companies did.
Restoring some of the protections taken away by an earlier law while creating new loopholes in the Constitution is not a compromise. It is a failure of leadership.NYT 7/8/08
I’ve not heard one single pol explain, to my satisfaction, why anyone is supporting this bill. The WH is pressuring both congressional houses hard on this one, & I think we know why. If the truth about Bush’s spying & the telcom collusion in helping ever really hit the light of day, Americans would be crashing the WH gates.
Fascist governments spy on their own citizens.
Is this what we’ve become?
July 8th, 2008 at 9:10 am#2 Exit Stage Left Says:
Good morning Freb :)
Good Morning Exit Stage Left :)
That is a new nickname for me. LOL In the past, I have been called Kat or Red usually. (I have auburn hair) I have a new one to add to my repertoire. Zooey loves it also.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:11 amThe Senate will begin debate today on a bill giving telecommunication companies immunity for participating in the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, with a final vote planned for Wednesday. Despite strong bipartisan opposition, the bill is expected to pass.
Tomorrow promises to be yet another sad day for our once-great country :(
July 8th, 2008 at 9:11 am#5 Exit Stage Left Says:
Say hi to Keith for me, ok Freb? :)~
I give who is Keith?
July 8th, 2008 at 9:12 amFreedom Rebel Says:
#2 Exit Stage Left Says:
Good morning Freb :)
That is a new nickname for me. LOL In the past, I have been called Kat or Red usually. (I have auburn hair) I have a new one to add to my repertoire. Zooey loves it also.
We could combine Freb with Red and call you Fred. Oh wait…That won’t work :)~
July 8th, 2008 at 9:15 amHow does one “accidentally” plagiarize something? Did O’Neill mean to plagiarize something else? Did he just forget to change the wording after C&Ping the original?
O’Neill was clerk for Clarence Thomas, dumbest USSC judge in history. He also ushered Sammy Alito’s nomination. Alito may in the future push Thomas for dumbest judge title, but he stands little chance.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:16 amFreedom Rebel Says:
**The voter fraud the repukes are interested is all those common, poor folks who tend to vote Democratic. They are trying to sell the story that those people are committing a lot more voter fraud that the voting machines which either don’t work or are easy to hack and leave no paper trail.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:16 amFreedom Rebel Says:
I give who is Keith?
You said you were gonna send the WalMart article to Keith Olbermann. I figured you could say hi to him for me while you were at it. Try to keep up ok Red? j/k :)~
July 8th, 2008 at 9:17 am#7 And the beat goes on Says:
Good post, FR, as usual. Maybe we can get others to help you out:
I’m going to send this to Keith Olbermann so that he can put Wal-Mart back on the Worse Person List again. They embody the worst in large corporations.
Good Morning As the beat goes on :)
When I read that this morning I just couldn’t believe how low one company could go. But they have even topped their all time low standards. Wal-Mart personifies ruthless greed.
Have a great day!!!
July 8th, 2008 at 9:18 am#15 Exit Stage Left Says:
Freedom Rebel Says:
I give who is Keith?
You said you were gonna send the WalMart article to Keith Olbermann. I figured you could say hi to him for me while you were at it. Try to keep up ok Red? j/k :)~
I’m sorry, not enough caffiene in my system yet. Thanks for keeping me on my toes. I will pass on your greetings to Keith.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:23 am“The first bullet fired by America at Iran will be followed by Iran burning down its vital interests around the globe,” the aide was quoted as saying.
And I have to say that I would not blame them. Can you imagine what the reaction of this country would be if some other country were to bomb us unprovoked? What if China were to decide that we posed a threat to their country? What if they preemptively attacked us. Do you think we would sit idly by and just take it and not retaliate?
And to all the trolls who will take this post as meaning that I love Iran and it’s leaders, let me tell you that I would say the same thing about any country, not just Iran. If a country is attacked for no reason, they haven’t invaded or attacked another country, then they have every right in the world to retaliate and to defend themselves.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:25 amLook closely at this pig…this is ‘Bush’s brain’. Soon, this will be the complete brain and idea man for the new McBush. The Republican attack masters have attacked Obama in their first negative ad run in four states including Michigan. When you see McNasty you are seeing Bush/Rove/Chaney at their best (worst for America). McCain is now waist deep in slime politics…with Rover to wollow around with.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:26 amIn Japan yesterday, G8 leaders “endorsed the idea of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050,” but did not set any short-term goals for reducing emissions.
These people need to rethink this strategy. We may not have until 2050. Scientists had predicted the polar ice caps melting in 20 years, then in 10 years and not it looks like it could happen this year. Things are accelerating and we need to pay attention.
And to any global warming debunking troll out there, please answer this question for me.
Do you really think that we (meaning man on earth) can dump thousands of tons of pollutants into our air every day and it will have NO adverse affect on our atmosphere and on this earth? Are you really that stupid?
July 8th, 2008 at 9:28 amO’Neill, who says “he fully disclosed the controversy to both White House officials and the FBI during interviews” before being nominated, claims the plagiarism “wasn’t intentional.”
Right, the guy just “accidentally” opened that book and copied all the words down in his computer. How can you “unintentionally” plagiarize?
July 8th, 2008 at 9:30 amTell Sen. Grassley He Can’t Monitor Your Online Transactions
Hidden deep in the Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision inserted by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America’s small businesses.The provision, which was added by the bill’s managers without debate two weeks ago, would require the nation’s payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government.
From the Bill Summary:
Payment Card and Third Party Network Information Reporting. The proposal requires information reporting on payment card and third party network transactions. Payment settlement entities, including merchant acquiring banks and third party settlement organizations, or third party payment facilitators acting on their behalf, will be required to report the annual gross amount of reportable transactions to the IRS and to the participating payee. Reportable transactions include any payment card transaction and any third party network transaction. Participating payees include persons who accept a payment card as payment and third party networks who accept payment from a third party settlement organization in settlement of transactions. A payment card means any card issued pursuant to an agreement or arrangement which provides for standards and mechanisms for settling the transactions. Use of an account number or other indicia associated with a payment card will be treated in the same manner as a payment card. A de minimis exception for transactions of $10,000 or less and 200 transactions or less applies to payments by third party settlement organizations. The proposal applies to returns for calendar years beginning after December 31, 2010. Back-up withholding provisions apply to amounts paid after December 31, 2011. This proposal is estimated to raise $9.802 billion over ten years.
The only way that we can get this stopped is by letting Chuck Grassley and the rest of the Senate know that we won’t stand for this invasion of our privacy. If this legislation passes, just imagine all the different ways they could expand it.
http://freedomworks.org/petition/grassley/index.html
To prove how nefarious the Republicans are; they put this in the housing bill. The bill that will save homeowners, it has a provision title where part of the funding is coming from, is another way for them to invade our privacy.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:30 amThe White House was forced to apologize yesterday after circulating a “less-than-flattering” biography of Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi that described him as “one of the ‘most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for government corruption and vice.’” The biography said further that Berlusconi “burst onto the political scene with no experience.”
LOL Pot, meet kettle! Funniest thing I’ve read in a long time. Sad, but funny. I’d love to see the Italian biography of Bush.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:30 amFreedom Rebel Says:
When you have $12,000 dollar machines that won’t even start up that is a serious problem.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:05 am
______
Then again, if it’s in a heavily African-American or Hispanic district, that $12,000 non-working machine is much cheaper way for a Republican to win a district than campaining or advertising.
This is why McCain already won the election.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:31 amBilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
If a country is attacked for no reason, they haven’t invaded or attacked another country, then they have every right in the world to retaliate and to defend themselves.
Agreed. Israel is a good example. After 60 years of paranoid behavior, they’re setting the ‘preemptive’ model, killing & maiming in the name of ’security’.
The saddest part is that the USA, and it’s nanny mentality, are not only buying into it, but practicing it.
Our Planet cannot take much more. When does our life source become more important than Nationalism? The clock’s ticking, and, as with our Coral Reefs, we don’t have much time to spare.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:31 am(doing my snarkish Jibberjab impression):
Would you look at the altered picture of Rove above. Disgusting TP!
I demand an apology immediately! You are no worse the Fox News!
I’m going to continue to post nonsense here until I see the words “TP does not, nor encourage altering photos of any type”!
(and now my uplight reft):
Why does TP continue to find photos that imply the person is drunk? It does get old, and is by any means not better than altering photo’s. ;-)
How did I do?
July 8th, 2008 at 9:34 am>The Senate will begin debate today on a bill giving >telecommunication companies immunity
Its official.. our scumbag congressmen, with a few notable exceptions, sold us down the river. Keep following this case though, as the lawsuits wont be dismissed if the law dismissing them is found to be unconstitutional…however, if this law survives judicial scrutiny, it will demonstrate a very frightening prospect…that our constitutional rights exist only at the discretion of our congress…
July 8th, 2008 at 9:34 amRep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) is considering legislation to cease funding of Karl Rove-type advisers in future administrations. “Why should we be using taxpayer dollars to have a person solely in charge of politics in the White House?” Waxman said. “Can you imagine the reaction if each member of Congress had a campaign person paid for with taxpayer dollars?”
Didn’t the Repubs and press have a cow over Gore making a couple of fund raising phone calls from his office. Where is the outrage now?
July 8th, 2008 at 9:35 amFreedom Rebel Says:
I’m going to send this to Keith Olbermann so that he can put Wal-Mart back on the Worse Person List again. They embody the worst in large corporations.
Good for you. One would think that Walmart would have learned it’s lesson the last time Keith made them Worsts!
I had a funny thing happen yesterday that involved Walmart. I got a call from my VISA company telling me that since I was such a good customer, they were going to send me a free $25 gift card for Walmart. I told them that I don’t shop at Walmart and asked them to send me something else to show their appreciation of me as a customer. Unfortunately they had nothing else to offer me as a gift to show their “appreciation”. Just another Walmart gimmick to try to get people to shop in their stores. I wonder if their sales are falling with their reputation?
July 8th, 2008 at 9:35 amZimzone Says:
Our Planet cannot take much more. When does our life source become more important than Nationalism?
July 8th, 2008 at 9:31 am
______
Heh. Just wait until aquifers in Asia, the Middle East, and North America start running out of fresh water in a few years. Then you’ll REALLY see nationalism kick in. The Iraq oil war will pale in comparison.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:35 amTP forgot this story.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:36 amCaption:
July 8th, 2008 at 9:37 amThank you! Thank you! It’s official now…I’ve just been voted the biggest pig in the World!
Freedom Rebel Says:
There is no excuse with something as important as collecting and tallying votes that the Vendors are sending defective and damaged Voting Machines. When you have $12,000 dollar machines that won’t even start up that is a serious problem. And the Republicans are worried about Voter Fraud, give me a break..
One of my favorite talk show hosts, Thom Hartmann often says “the day we privatized our vote was the first day of the decline of democracy in our country”. I agree with him. How could we privatize something as important as our vote? How did we survive all those years counting paper ballots?
I truly believe the answer to our voting problem is vote by mail. We do it here in Oregon and as far as I can see there is no downside to it other than the fact that we probably would not know the next day after an election who won.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:38 am#24 hussein toasterhead Says:
Freedom Rebel Says:
When you have $12,000 dollar machines that won’t even start up that is a serious problem.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:05 am
______
Then again, if it’s in a heavily African-American or Hispanic district, that $12,000 non-working machine is much cheaper way for a Republican to win a district than campaining or advertising.
This is why McCain already won the election.
Good Morning hussein toasterhead :)
I couldn’t agree more. What they did in Ohio back in 2000 was in heavy democrat voting districts in Cleveland, were the population is African-American they put two voting machines. But in places that aren’t heavy traffic areas they had 12 voting machines, usually 10 were not being used. In Cleveland, people waited 7 to 8 hours to vote, it was that bad.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:39 am“The Senate will begin debate today on a bill giving telecommunication companies immunity for participating in the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, with a final vote planned for Wednesday. Despite strong bipartisan opposition, the bill is expected to pass.”
Democrats, you should be ashamed of yourselves.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:40 amFreedom Rebel Says:
Tell Sen. Grassley He Can’t Monitor Your Online Transactions
Hidden deep in the Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision inserted by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America’s small businesses.The provision, which was added by the bill’s managers without debate two weeks ago, would require the nation’s payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government.
God I hope that Obama does something about this. There should be no way that anyone can attach anything to a bill without it being fully vetted. Think of how many times the Bushies have gotten away with some new odious attack on our freedoms by attaching things like this to bills that are necessary for the survival of this country. Perhaps it’s time that we go to a system of one issue per bill. That will take care of things like this and also of unnecessary pork. I think that some “pork” is good, and that maybe twice a year the Congress should pass a bill passing worthy pet projects. But keep them out of unrelated bills.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:46 amA Clintonian at Fox
Howard Wolfson, who was a top strategist for the presidential campaign of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, is going where some Democrats were unwilling to go during the early days of the election season: the Fox News Channel.
The network is expected to announce as early as Tuesday that it has signed Mr. Wolfson as a contributor who will appear regularly on its programs.
Mr. Wolfson is joining a network that Democrats shunned for a time, complaining that its coverage was unfair. But aides to Mrs. Clinton came to view Fox News as distinctly fair to her in a news media climate that they believed favored Senator Barack Obama.
“I thought that Fox’s coverage during the primary was comprehensive and fair and evenhanded,” Mr. Wolfson said Monday in a telephone interview from Liverpool, England, where he was vacationing. “It’s a huge audience, and it is important to have a strong, progressive voice on the network.”
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/wolfson/
**I am sure Wolfson will fit right in and be very happy…sorry, but I can’t stop laughing. Dear God, I am so glad she lost the primary!!!
July 8th, 2008 at 9:48 am#29 Bilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
Good for you. One would think that Walmart would have learned it’s lesson the last time Keith made them Worsts!
I had a funny thing happen yesterday that involved Walmart. I got a call from my VISA company telling me that since I was such a good customer, they were going to send me a free $25 gift card for Walmart. I told them that I don’t shop at Walmart and asked them to send me something else to show their appreciation of me as a customer. Unfortunately they had nothing else to offer me as a gift to show their “appreciation”. Just another Walmart gimmick to try to get people to shop in their stores. I wonder if their sales are falling with their reputation?
Good Morning Bilbo :)
Thank you. I wish I could say that they are losing sales. But this is from their 2008 Annual Report.
Wal-Mart completed its 2008 fiscal year on Jan. 31, 2008, marking an 8.6-percent increase in net sales over 2007, to $375 billion. “We added about $30 billion in sales, which is equal to adding the annual sales of a Fortune 75 business,” Scott wrote. “Even more impressive, Wal-Mart exceeded $100 billion in sales during the fourth quarter – a first for any global retailer. And, we accomplished this during a quarter when most of retail was going in the other direction.”
I find this so upsetting. They do not deserve to be having a record setting year. But what I think is happening is that people just don’t have the money to shop other places. Also, when Wal-Mart moves into a town all the other businesses around it fail. Where I live, as soon as Wal-Mart moved in two strip plazas are practically ghost towns now. That doesn’t include some family owned stores that disappeared because of them within 6 months.
Have a good day Bilbo !!
July 8th, 2008 at 9:50 amJust to add more punch to that question, it’s not thousands but more like 75 MILLION METRIC TONS per day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions
July 8th, 2008 at 9:53 amVA Votir sez (in link):
“But aides to Mrs. Clinton came to view Fox News as distinctly fair to her in a news media climate that they believed favored Senator Barack Obama”
bwhwhwhwhwhhaahhahahaha. “a news media climate they beleived favored senator obama”?
yeah, uhm huh…especially during that time where I couldnt turn on tv without seeings obamas pastors entires lifes preaching boiled down to one 5 second soundbyte? meanwhile, johnny mcSame seeks out an endoresment from Pastor “GOd gives Hitler Hugs” Hagee and theres barely a peep. Can you imagine the hubbub if anyone obama had ever known had claimed hitler was doing gods work? Obama would be knocking down brewskis with Ron Paul now if that had happened…
fox news was good to hillary as soon as they realized hillarys only role in this election would be to damage obama as much as possible before the general election.
f#ck fox, while i fully support their right to exist, i take strong exception with them being allowed to call themselves “news”, as they have asserted in court that they have a legal right to lie to to thier viewers..
July 8th, 2008 at 9:53 amFreedom Rebel Says:
I couldn’t agree more. What they did in Ohio back in 2000 was in heavy democrat voting districts in Cleveland, were the population is African-American they put two voting machines. But in places that aren’t heavy traffic areas they had 12 voting machines, usually 10 were not being used. In Cleveland, people waited 7 to 8 hours to vote, it was that bad.
I sincerely believe that the Democrats need to start mobilizing right now for the November election. They need to have an army of legal people available and on the ground to go where needed. They need to, today, approach counties that are heavily Democratic and confront their local officials about how the machines will be allocated throughout the county. They need to get written agreements from these people or they need to threaten a lawsuit. The Democrats also need to organize making sure that everyone who wants to vote is registered properly and to help people get ID in states that require it.
I am no longer volunteering for Obama because of his FISA stand. But, I do think I’ll see if there isn’t some sort of committee or organization in Corvallis that is working on registering people to vote. Since we vote by mail, I don’t have to worry about getting people to the polling places.
I don’t think they will be able to steal this election because the margin is going to be too big. But, you never know and it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:53 amYes and no. These global warming skeptics are just looking for any excuse not to change their lifestyle for the future of mankind.
The best record of temperature and CO2 change comes from samples in the ice caps. From this we see that when CO2 goes down, temperature goes down…and when CO2 goes up, temperature goes up.
Well, geez…there is 34% more CO2 in the atmosphere since the pre-industrial revolution and these skeptics are willing to throw away common sense and logic for propaganda that is coming out of the corporate funded propaganda machines???
Bizarre.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:53 am“In Japan yesterday, G8 leaders “endorsed the idea of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050,” but did not set any short-term goals for reducing emissions.”...
What’s the hurry? 2050 is ONLY 42 years from now.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:56 am> and it will have NO adverse affect on our
> atmosphere and on this earth?
yeah, you know its really strange, but for some reason everytime i ask any global warming denier to name one single type of pollution we should be concerned about, I never get an answer.
could it possibly be that these people simply want to sh$t all over the entire world for the sake of a few extra pennies and leave it to future generations to clean up the mess?
July 8th, 2008 at 9:56 am#33 Bilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
Freedom Rebel Says:
There is no excuse with something as important as collecting and tallying votes that the Vendors are sending defective and damaged Voting Machines. When you have $12,000 dollar machines that won’t even start up that is a serious problem. And the Republicans are worried about Voter Fraud, give me a break..
One of my favorite talk show hosts, Thom Hartmann often says “the day we privatized our vote was the first day of the decline of democracy in our country”. I agree with him. How could we privatize something as important as our vote? How did we survive all those years counting paper ballots?
I truly believe the answer to our voting problem is vote by mail. We do it here in Oregon and as far as I can see there is no downside to it other than the fact that we probably would not know the next day after an election who won.
I agree Bilbo. I don’t have a problem with that at all. I can’t wait to hear what the ruling is going to be in New York. Also, I hope the judge throws the book at the Vendors of the new machines. It is getting to close to the election to have these kind of worries.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:57 amOur Wal-Mart showed their ass this weekend. A family traveling home from the holiday needed a tire. The family had 15 minutes before the automotive department was scheduled to close. Needless to say, the family stayed at our Best Western for the night. I don’t know if that is company policy to screw people when they’re supposed to still be open, but I guess they’re only as good as the company they keep.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:57 amThe Senate will begin debate today on a bill giving telecommunication companies immunity for participating in the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, with a final vote planned for Wednesday. Despite strong bipartisan opposition, the bill is expected to pass.
Why are we not out marching in the street.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:59 amProgress Rocks~
Give it up… no one’s buying.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:01 amThanks.
Any bets of Wolfson, live on air, asking pigboy why he’s refusing to answer subpoenas?
VAVoter?
July 8th, 2008 at 10:01 amTheRadicalRightisRadicallyWrong Says:
Why are we not out marching in the street.
Because we are the frog in the pot of boiling water and the water has been boiling for quite some time now.
Seriously, it’s because so people truly seem to care. I have talked to people at work about FISA and generally the answer is “there’s nothing we can do about it”. I point out there there is something they can do by writing and calling people and then they tell me “I’m too busy to do that”. Then they go back to playing solitaire on their computer.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:05 amProgress Rocks Says:
Go away troll before you make a complete and utter fool out of yourself.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:07 amDick Cheney is planning to attend Jesse Helms funeral. ( from the AP at Fox news, so no link).
The AP carefully whitewashes Helms’ record in their little report and completely avoids quoting him, stating only that “he forced votes on cultural issues such as federal funding for art he deemed pornographic, school busing and flag-burning” and that his last two campaigns (1990 and 1996) were “racially tinged“.
Well yeah, racism is part of the Republican “culture” and Dick Cheney is going to the funeral to honor this “Son of the South” by attending his funeral.
The man was not just a racist bigot through and through, but a racist bigot with power. Whilst the US was busy condemning apartheid in South Africa, Jesse Helms was being paid to promote it in the US.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:08 amGive what up? I’m just telling everyone here to relax, we will have complete and absolute power next Jan. We can impose a Progressive image for America, cut off Israel and become friends with Iran.What’s wrong with this?
There is a kernel of truth in what this troll has to say. The Democrats will have the ability to exert “complete and absolute power” come January. This is because it is the legacy that the Bush Crime Family has left this nation. I don’t want to see Obama abuse those powers the way that Bush did, but it would be kind of fun to watch the Righties howl if he did. And they would not have a leg to stand on. We could, daily, tell them why was it OK for Bush but not for Obama.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:10 amProgress Rocks Says:
Bilbo Hussein Baggins,
How am I a troll? Do you disagree with anything I wrote? I’m a Progressive and I can’t till Jan. for when we have power.
Because of they way you post and what you post it is obvious to anyone with an IQ out of room temperature range that you are another right winger pretending to be a progressive. No true progressive would post anything close wot what you have posted here.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:11 amHoward Wolfson (from the Clinton campaign) has joined FOX Noise, along with Lanny Davis. Who’s going to be next to join the propaganda network? Are they going over there as advocates for the Democrats – when we all know Fox employees are given their scripts every day.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:22 amClean up TP. Same fcking idiot troll, different name.
How many flags will it take?
July 8th, 2008 at 10:23 amProgress Rocks: I was told some posters here are snotty with new users.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:29 amReally? And who told you that?
VA Voter, I just clicked on your link and saw the full article. What gives with the Clinton staff? Fox??
July 8th, 2008 at 10:29 amPaging Trajan: Your tall cup of our special roast, Shutup Latte, is ready.
What’s that?
We don’t speak trolllish, sir.
Oh – do we accept the troll currency?
You’ll need 5,000 of those, sir. That currency has always been worth crap against the American dollar.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:33 amProgress Rocks Says:
With a 3rd grader’s mindset comes 3rd grader posts.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:36 amWhoops — ‘American’ and ‘dollar’ sound redundant together. Just ‘dollar.’
July 8th, 2008 at 10:37 am#58 5th Estate Says:
Dick Cheney is planning to attend Jesse Helms funeral.
Good Morning 5th Estate :)
I’m not surprised at all. Cheney has alot in common with Helms, they are both mean spirited, evil men.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:38 amsad, sick little puppy. What a poser.
Of course this is what the right wants people to think progressives believe, but what a sick, sick method. Sad part is, this is all they know. Their bag of black magic is dwindling.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:41 amGood morning FR! Maybe Cheney should jump at this one-time opportunity and be buried with his dear friend.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:42 am7/08/2008
In Brief: John McCain Hates/Hearts Economists:
Okay, follow this. It’s got a fun little pay off:
So John McCain proposes a gas tax holiday and economists almost universally say it’s a stupid idea. In June, McCain, being a reasonable man, chooses to mock the economists: “If you want to call it a gimmick, fine. You know the economists? They’re the same ones that didn’t predict this housing crisis we’re now in.” Ha-ha. Stupid economists. What do they know?
Now McCain has put forth a great and mighty economic plan. Did it yesterday, less than a month after dissing the poindexters. And his campaign has released a letter from, well, who else? Economists who support it. Oodles of them. Guess they know a lot about economics, eh?
Here’s the final step: the Rude Pundit chose one of the names at relatively random. University of Chicago’s Gary Becker, who does a blog on, you know, economics, with Richard Posner. And here’s that promised pay off: back in December 2007, Becker says, “The vast majority of economists, including me, were surprised by the extent of the subprime mortgage crisis.”
So, to conclude: for John McCain, economists who didn’t predict the mortgage crisis don’t know what they’re talking about when it comes to a gas tax holiday, but when it comes to his entire economic plan, they’re a-ok. What fun.
Does that qualify as straight talk?
http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/
July 8th, 2008 at 10:47 amProgress Rocks behaves like Limbaugh tells him a progressive does. He’s too stupid to know what he doesn’t know.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:47 am#72 McWars Says:
Good morning FR! Maybe Cheney should jump at this one-time opportunity and be buried with his dear friend.
Hey good to see you McWars :)
Like the old saying goes only the good die young. Well I think Cheney will definitely be around to celebrate his 95th birthday.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:52 amZimzone Says:
If the truth about Bush’s spying & the telcom collusion in helping ever really hit the light of day, Americans would be crashing the WH gates.
I completely agree.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:59 amI’m thinking we should be crashing the gates when the bill passes.
Who knew? The legalization of gay marriage might make Californians happier. At least that’s what a new study based on surveys of 350,000 people in nearly 100 countries suggests.
No, the authors aren’t gay activists, nor do they seem to be peddling any particular political agenda. But in their search to discover which countries are happier than others and why, these scholars — led by University of Michigan political scientist Ronald Inglehart — have stumbled on one pretty fundamental conclusion about what people want out of life: freedom.
Yes, that’s right, more or less the same thing you were celebrating Friday by scarfing down hamburgers next to the pool in your brother-in-law’s backyard. How exactly, you ask, is gay marriage connected with “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”?
It’s simple. According to surveys, in developed countries discrimination against women and minorities is actually waning and gays remain the least tolerated “outgroup” in society. They are the proverbial canaries in the coal mine. In most developed countries, the relative level of their acceptance or rejection is a sensitive indicator of that society’s overall tolerance toward minorities. And — here’s the takeaway — social tolerance “broadens the range of choices available to people,” thereby enhancing happiness for both the tolerant and the intolerant alike.
The researchers have found that freedom of choice is not only a universal aspiration but the single most important basis of human happiness. But to get to freedom of choice for Armenians, who live in poverty, social tolerance might not beat out economic development on the national “to-do” list. That’s because first, you have to have enough food to eat. Of course, economic well-being doesn’t just buy food, it also frees people from the lack of life choices that deprivation imposes — suddenly you’re on your way up the happiness scale.
Where did the U.S. come in? Sixteenth. Which country was No. 1? Denmark.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-rodriguez7-2008jul07,0,6818301.column
July 8th, 2008 at 11:15 amProgress Rocks Says:
This guy’s got more flags than the UN charter…
July 8th, 2008 at 11:15 amArmy Vet Seen in Iconic Photo Dies of Overdose
An Army medic who became famous for being photographed in 2003 carrying an Iraqi child to safety has died at the age of thirty-one after overdosing on a computer cleaner aerosol. Army Specialist Joseph Dwyer had been struggling with post-traumatic stress syndrome. After he returned from Iraq, his marriage fell apart, and he spiraled into substance abuse and depression. In 2005, he shot up his El Paso, Texas apartment and held police at bay for three hours with a 9-mm handgun, believing Iraqis were trying to get in. The March 2003 photo of Dwyer was published around the world and has been described as one of the most iconic images of the US invasion. His mother Maureen Dwyer said, “He loved the picture, don’t get me wrong, but he just couldn’t get over the war. He wasn’t Joseph anymore. Joseph never came home.”
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/8/headlines
So?
July 8th, 2008 at 11:32 amSenate on C-Spam discussing FISA now..Feingold doing his usual great job..Blessings
July 8th, 2008 at 11:41 amThanks for the tip, Witch1.
July 8th, 2008 at 11:54 am#71 Our local paper had a half page article and picture on this vet , page 3..It should of been front page…Sad legacy of bull shit bush term..I am wondering how many thousand’s of our young vet’s are coming back with pts…I see many in my tiny area…Sadly they are not getting the medical help they need and deserve…Blessings
July 8th, 2008 at 1:39 pm