fucking with the tea partiers

last night sam.

hope we get a lot more soon.

Bills Adopted Under Suspension of the Rules (5):

H.Res. 1222 - Supporting the goals and ideals of National Library Week (Rep. Ehlers - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1041 - Congratulating and commending the University of Idaho's football team for winning the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho (Rep. Minnick - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1042 - Commending the Boise State University Broncos football team for winning the 2010 Fiesta Bowl (Rep. Minnick - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1198 - Congratulating Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania for 140 years of excellence in higher education (Rep. Thompson (PA) - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1206 - Remembering the victims of the attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and supporting the goals and ideals of the National Week of Hope (Rep. Fallin - Oversight and Government Reform)

House meets at 10 a.m.
First Vote Predicted: 1:00-2:00p.m.
Last Vote of the day:3:00-4:00 p.m.

“One Minutes” (15 per side)
Suspensions (15 Bills)
H.R. 3506 - Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act (Rep. Paulsen - Financial Services)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HR3506:

Senate Amendments to H.R. 4573 - Debt Relief for Earthquake Recovery in Haiti Act of 2010 (Rep. Waters - Financial Services)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HR4573:

H.Res. 197 - To commend the American Sail Training Association for its advancement of character building under sail and for its advancement of international goodwill (Rep. Kennedy - Transportation and Infrastructure)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HRes197:

H.R. 4275 - To designate the annex building under construction for the Elbert P. Tuttle United States Court of Appeals Building in Atlanta, Georgia, as the "John C. Godbold United States Judicial Administration Building" (Rep. Lewis (GA) - Transportation and Infrastructure)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HR4275:

H.Res. 1062 - Recognizing the Coast Guard Group Astoria's more than 60 years of service to the Pacific Northwest (Rep. Wu - Transportation and Infrastructure)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HRes1062:

H.Con.Res. 222 - Recognizing the leadership and historical contributions of Dr. Hector Garcia to the Hispanic community and his remarkable efforts to combat racial and ethnic discrimination in the United States of America (Rep. Ortiz - Judiciary)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HConRes222:

S.J.Res. 25 - Granting the consent and approval of Congress to amendments made by the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the District of Columbia to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact (Sen. Cardin - Judiciary)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:SJRes25:

H.R. 1258 - Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009 (Rep. Engel - Energy and Commerce)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HR1258:

H.R. 3125 - Radio Spectrum Inventory Act (Rep. Waxman - Energy and Commerce)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HR3125:

H.Con.Res. 243 - Authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for an event to celebrate the birthday of King Kamehameha (Rep. Hirono - House Administration)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HConRes243:

H.R. 4994 - Taxpayer Assistance Act of 2010 (Rep. Lewis (GA) - Ways and Means)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HR4994:

H.Res. 1237 - Honoring the life of Wilma Pearl Mankiller and expressing condolences of the House of Representatives on her passing (Rep. Boren - Natural Resources)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HRes1237:

H.Res. 1236 - Honoring the coal miners who perished in the Upper Big Branch Mine-South in Raleigh County, West Virginia, extending condolences to their families and recognizing the valiant efforts of emergency response workers at the mine disaster (Rep. Rahall – Education and Labor)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HRes1236:

H.Res. __ - Congratulating the Duke University men’s basketball team for winning the 2010 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship (Rep. Price (NC) - Education and Labor)

H.Res. __ - Expressing sympathy for the people of Poland in the aftermath of the tragic plane crash that killed the country’s President, First Lady and 94 others on April 10, 2010 (Reps. Dahlkemper/Kanjorski/Lipinski – Foreign Affairs)

* Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.
* Motions to go to Conference should they become available.
* Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.
http://majorityleader.house.gov/

Your Tax Dollars at War: More Than 53% of Your Tax Payment Goes to the Military
by Dave Lindorff

...The budget for the 2011 fiscal year, which has to be voted by Congress by this Oct. 1, looks to be about $3 trillion, not counting the funds collected for Social Security (since the Vietnam War, the government has included the Social Security Trust Fund in the budget as a way to make the cost of America's imperial military adventures seem smaller in comparison to the total cost of government). Meanwhile, the military share of the budget works out to about $1.6 trillion.

That figure includes the Pentagon budget request of $708 billion, plus an estimated $200 billion in supplemental funding, called "overseas contingency funding" in euphemistic White House-speak), to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, some $40 billion or more in "black box" intelligence agency funding, $94 billion in non-DOD military spending, $100 billion in veterans benefits and health care spending, and $400 billion in interest on debt raised to pay for prior wars and the standing military.

The 2011 military budget, by the way, is the largest in history, not just in actual dollars, but in inflation adjusted dollars, exceeding even the spending in World War II, when the nation was on an all-out military footing.

Military spending in all its myriad forms works out to represent 53.3% of total US federal spending...

US military spending isn't just half of the US budget. It is also half of the entire global spending on war and weaponry. In 2009, according to the venerable War Resisters League, US military spending accounted for 47% of all money spent globally on war, weapons and military preparedness. What makes that staggering figure particularly ridiculous is that America's allies--countries like France, Britain, Germany, Italy, and Japan--account for another 21% of the world's military spending. Fully 12 of the top-spenders among big military-spending nations are either allies of the US, or are friendly countries like Brazil and India. That is to say, America and its friends and allies account for more than two-thirds of all military spending worldwide.

China, in contrast, probably the closest thing to a real "threat" to American interests because of America's treaty commitments to the island nation of Taiwan, and China's claim that it is a part of the PRC, spends only some $130 billion on its military, much of which is actually devoted to maintaining military control of the country's own 1.3 billion people, some of whom might prefer to be independent, or to be freer.

The next biggest military spender, Russia, spends less than $80 billion a year on its decrepit military, and isn't even technically an enemy of the US anymore. Its military is largely busy keeping restive regions from spinning off from the mother country, anyhow.

Meanwhile Iran, which the White House and Congress are portraying as America's arch enemy despite its not having invaded another country in hundreds of years, isn't even on the list of the top 17 military big-spenders. Iran's current military budget is a teensy $4.8 billion, about the same as the estimated $5 billion spent on the military by North Korea--America's other "major enemy." Each of those country's military budgets is about one-quarter of the military budget of Australia, or a third of the military budget of the Netherlands.

Just to give one an idea of how small $4.8 billion is in comparison to the $1.6 trillion that the US is spending each year on war and planning for war, that number is roughly what the Pentagon plans to spend over the next year on childcare and youth programs, morale and recreation programs and commissaries on its bases! It's about what the Pentagon will spend acquiring replacement Seahawk, Chinook and Blackhawk helicopters this year.

For the average American, what all this means is that of every dollar you send to the IRS, 53 cents will be going to pay for blowing stuff up, fattening the wallets of colonels admirals and generals, bloating the portfolios of investors in military industries, and of course funding the bonuses paid to executives of those companies, and the campaign chests and expense accounts of the members of Congress who vote for these outlandish budgets. Your money will also be going to pay for the salaries and the bullets of those brave heroes over in Afghanistan who are executing kids, killing pregnant women (and then digging out the bullets and claiming they were stabbed by their families), and for the anti-personnel weapons that are creating legions of legless Afghani kids.

Next time you hear that the government needs to cut funds for providing medical care to the children of laid-off workers, or that supplemental unemployment funds are running out, next time you hear that federal funds that are needed to fund extra teachers at your school are being cut, or that Social Security benefits need to be cut back, or the retirement age needs to be increased to 70, next time you hear that your local post office has to be shut down for lack of funds, next time you hear that Medicare benefits need to be reduced, think about that 53% of your tax payment that is going to finance the most enormous war machine the world has ever known.

And ask yourself: Is this really necessary? Is this really where I want my money going?
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/04/13-4

Dave Lindorff www.thiscantbehappening.net

America’s First Anti-Globalization Protest
Submitted by Thom Hartmann November 2007 - 13:38
(but he read this On Air today 4/14/10)

I shall therefore conclude with a proposal that your watchmen be instructed, as they go on their rounds, to call out every night, half-past twelve, “Beware of the East India Company.” -Pamphlet signed by “Rusticus,” 1773

The Boston Tea Party

Now that Bush administration Treasury Secretary and former Alcoa CEO Paul O’Neill has publicly called for the complete elimination of all corporate income taxes (and the elimination of Social Security), many people are wondering if history is repeating itself in a way that may be particularly dangerous for democracy.

Conventional wisdom has it that the 1773 Tea Act - a tax law passed in London that led to the Boston Tea Party - was simply an increase in the taxes on tea paid by American colonists. In reality, however, the Tea Act gave the world’s largest transnational corporation - The East India Company - full and unlimited access to the American tea trade, and exempted the Company from having to pay taxes to Britain on tea exported to the American colonies. It even gave the Company a tax refund on millions of pounds of tea they were unable to sell and holding in inventory.

The primary purpose of the Tea Act was to increase the profitability of the East India Company to its stockholders (which included the King and the wealthy elite that kept him secure in power), and to help the Company drive its colonial small-business competitors out of business. Because the Company no longer had to pay high taxes to England and held a monopoly on the tea it sold in the American colonies, it was able to lower its tea prices to undercut the prices of the local importers and the mom-and-pop tea merchants and tea houses in every town in America.

This infuriated the independence-minded American colonists, who were wholly unappreciative of their colonies being used as a profit center for the world’s largest multinational corporation, The East India Company. They resented their small businesses still having to pay the higher, pre-Tea Act taxes without having any say or vote in the matter. (Thus, the cry of “no taxation without representation!”) Even in the official British version of the history, the 1773 Tea Act was a “legislative maneuver by the British ministry of Lord North to make English tea marketable in America” with a goal of helping the East India Company quickly “sell 17 million pounds of tea stored in England…”

America’s first entrepreneurs’ protest

This economics-driven view of American History piqued my curiosity when I first discovered it. So when I came upon an original first edition of one of this nation’s earliest history books, I made a sizeable investment to buy it to read the thoughts of somebody who had actually been alive and participated in the Boston Tea Party and subsequent American Revolution. I purchased from an antiquarian book seller an original copy of Retrospect of the Boston Tea Party with a Memoir of George R.T. Hewes, a Survivor of the Little Band of Patriots Who Drowned the Tea in Boston Harbor in 1773, published in New York by S. S. Bliss in 1834.

Because the identities of the Boston Tea Party participants were hidden (other than Samuel Adams) and all were sworn to secrecy for the next fifty years, this account (published 61 years later) is singularly rare and important, as it’s the only actual first-person account of the event by a participant that exists, so far as I can find. And turning its brittle, age-colored pages and looking at printing on unevenly-sized sheets, typeset by hand and printed on a small hand press almost two hundred years ago, was both fascinating and exciting. Even more interesting was the perspective of the anonymous (“by a citizen of New York”) author and of Hewes, whom the author extensively interviewed for the book.

Lengthy but interesting...
http://www.thomhartmann.com/articles/2007/11/america%E2%80%99s-first-ant...

How Tweet It Is!: Library Acquires Entire Twitter Archive
April 14th, 2010 by Matt Raymond

Have you ever sent out a “tweet” on the popular Twitter social media service? Congratulations: Your 140 characters or less will now be housed in the Library of Congress.

That’s right. Every public tweet, ever, since Twitter’s inception in March 2006, will be archived digitally at the Library of Congress. That’s a LOT of tweets, by the way: Twitter processes more than 50 million tweets every day, with the total numbering in the billions.

We thought it fitting to give the initial heads-up to the Twitter community itself via our own feed @librarycongress. (By the way, out of sheer coincidence, the announcement comes on the same day our own number of feed-followers has surpassed 50,000. I love serendipity!)

We will also be putting out a press release later with even more details and quotes. Expect to see an emphasis on the scholarly and research implications of the acquisition. I’m no Ph.D., but it boggles my mind to think what we might be able to learn about ourselves and the world around us from this wealth of data. And I’m certain we’ll learn things that none of us now can even possibly conceive.

Just a few examples of important tweets in the past few years include the first-ever tweet from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey (http://twitter.com/jack/status/20), President Obama’s tweet about winning the 2008 election (http://twitter.com/barackobama/status/992176676), and a set of two tweets from a photojournalist who was arrested in Egypt and then freed because of a series of events set into motion by his use of Twitter (http://twitter.com/jamesbuck/status/786571964) and (http://twitter.com/jamesbuck/status/787167620).

Twitter plans to make its own announcement today on its blog from “Chirp,” the Official Twitter Developer Conference, in San Francisco.

So if you think the Library of Congress is “just books,” think of this: The Library has been collecting materials from the web since it began harvesting congressional and presidential campaign websites in 2000. Today we hold more than 167 terabytes of web-based information, including legal blogs, websites of candidates for national office, and websites of Members of Congress.

We also operate the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program www.digitalpreservation.gov, which is pursuing a national strategy to collect, preserve and make available significant digital content, especially information that is created in digital form only, for current and future generations.

In other words, if you’re looking for a place where important historical and other information in digital form should be preserved for the long haul, we’re it!
http://www.loc.gov/tweet/how-tweet-it-is.html

Larry King Files for Divorce #8
Originally posted Apr 14th 2010 12:50 PM PDT by TMZ Staff

TMZ has learned Larry King just filed for divorce from his wife Shawn Southwick -- the 8th time King's pulled the plug on a marriage.

In the divorce papers, filed moments ago in L.A. County Superior Court, Larry blames the split on "irreconcilable differences."

Larry, 76, and Shawn, 50, were married back in 1997 -- they have two sons together.

Back in 2007, Shawn had bragged about being the only one of Larry's wives to have made it into "the two digits." She is the 7th woman to marry King.

As for the eight divorces -- back in 1962, King divorced a woman Alene Aknis ... and then remarried her in 1967 ... before divorcing her again in 1972.

http://www.tmz.com/2010/04/14/larry-king-divorce-shawn-southwick-live-wi...

...to get an audience :)

Cenk talks to Discovery insider

Last night on The Young Turks we broke the story of reaction to Sarah Palin's new show inside Discovery. We have an inside source at Discovery Communications and we've been leaked information on Sarah Palin's show for Discovery's TLC network.

Last week Discovery had its annual sales conference for ad buyers for all of its 13 networks. The presentation showcases all of their new shows across the different networks. That night the presentation was on Sarah Palin's Alaska.

Our source says "the whole thing [was] comical." Apparently the ad buyers were not impressed. This Discovery insider said, "When the promo was over, people (employees and buyers) were rolling their eyes, snickering, and even laughing. People were laughing and it's not even a comedy. No one took it seriously."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/discovery-insider-sarah-p_b_537...

Obama Hires a Clooney Confidant
by Sandra McElwaine

David Pressman took George Clooney on his first trip to Darfur. Now Obama’s hired him to a new position to help combat genocide and mass atrocities.

In 2006, David Pressman, then working with the United Nations, smuggled George Clooney, Clooney’s father Nick, and a cameraman into the devastated Darfur region to film a documentary about the ongoing genocide.

As the group clambered off the plane in the Sudan, a teenage gunman stuck a rifle in Clooney’s face as he attempted to film the scene. According to the star, Pressman casually strolled up to the boy, calmed him down, swatted away the gun, and moved on as if nothing had happened.

“David is brave in the real sense of the word,” George Clooney said. “He’s found himself in some of the most volatile places at the most volatile times.”

That kind of sang-froid will serve Pressman well in his new job as the nation’s first-ever director for war crimes atrocities and civilian protection, a national security position created by President Barack Obama. Pressman, a 32-year-old civil-rights attorney and former Clooney adviser, will be coordinating and supporting the U.S. government’s efforts to respond to and prevent mass atrocities around the globe, from Darfur to the Congo, Rwanda, Burma, and Zimbabwe.
Read more here:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-04-13/obama-hires-a-...

Here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/14/kerry-trueman-sam-seder-d_n_538...

New Thread here:
http://samsedershow.com/node/5778

So much of tea parties, and here is a very good news...
The Arizona rebate for appliances program is beginning and Arizona citizens can get the Arizona rebate for getting approved appliances. Federal funds were allotted to give individuals some cash back on appliances that use less energy, but the Energy Star program was recently rocked with scandal of malfeasance. Given, if the new appliances are more energy efficient, a person can save a payday advances worth yearly, and they do not expense more than the normal models anyway. Seems like virtue would be its own reward in this case.

I honestly am too thick to decide.

The thing about the AZ rebate is that the money has run out...

(Says so at your link.)

work driving me crazy, but off today - woo-hoo. Now Dodd speaks up about banking? SHeesh. I wonder what his father would say.
ANyway, good stuff about Weiner...I woulda voted for him for Mayor, but I think he was scared of moneybags (oops - I mean Bloomberg -- and i did not vote for bloomberg, he didn't buy me).G'day mates

God and His Demons

Michael Parenti brings his critical acumen and gifted writing skills to bear on the dark side of religion, the many evils committed in the name of godly virtue throughout history. This is not a blanket condemnation of all believers. The focus is on the threat posed by fundamentalists and theocratic reactionaries. Historically anchored and biblically informed, this eloquent indictment of organized religion's delusions and abuses will be welcomed by secular laypersons and progressive religionists alike.

Prometheus Books (Available March 2010)
http://www.michaelparenti.org/

Luisa...is this SPAM, or not?
Submitted by gloryoski on Thu, 04/15/2010 - 7:27am.

It's along the same line as "Cash for Clunkers" but you don't have to turn in a clunker to take advantage of it. Each individual state will be running their own program, and you do have to act fast (see articles below).

By the end of 2009, consumers nationwide will be able to take advantage of a federal "cash for appliances" program offering rebates on purchases of a wide array of home appliances certified as energy-efficient by the EPA's Energy Star program.

Backed by an initial $300 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the state-run rebate program is intended to help make American homes more energy-efficient while further stimulating the economy.

"Appliances consume a huge amount of our electricity, so there's enormous potential to both save energy and save families money every month," said Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu in a press release. "These rebates will help families make the transition to more efficient appliances, making purchases that will directly stimulate the economy and create jobs."

States will Run the Rebate Program
Each state will administer its own cash for appliances program. The states will be free to select which residential Energy Star qualified appliances to include in their programs and the individual rebate amount offered for each appliance.

What Can You Buy?
The Department of Energy (DOE) has recommended that the states focus their cash for appliances rebate efforts on heating and cooling equipment, appliances, and water heaters as these products offer the greatest energy savings potential. Energy Star qualified appliance categories eligible for rebates include: central air conditioners, heat pumps (air source and geothermal), boilers, furnaces (oil and gas), room air conditioners, clothes washers, dishwashers, freezers, refrigerators, and water heaters.

How Big Will the Rebates Be?
While the states will be free to set actual rebate amounts based on their share of the $300 million, the Department of Energy expects the rebates to range from $50 to $200 per appliance. But wait, there's more. Any rebates offered by state and local utility districts for purchases of energy-efficient appliances will be added to the federal cash for appliances rebate.

How do You Qualify?
All consumers will need to do to get the rebate is simply buy any qualifying Energy Star appliance. Unlike the "cash for clunkers" fuel-efficient vehicle rebate program, you don't even need an old trade-in appliance. In addition, consumers will not be required to haul their bulky old appliances to the dealer in exchange for a new one.

When Does it Start?
The states will have until October 15, 2009 to submit their applications for funding and plans for recycling old appliances to the Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE plans to have distributed funding to the states by November 30. As a result, the cash for appliances rebates could be available in stores just in time for Christmas shopping.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/moneymatters/a/cashappliances.htm

Cash for Appliances Already Huge Success in Arizona
by Amanda Wills

For the greatest potential energy savings, the DOE recommends programs focus on appliances, heating and cooling equipment and water heaters. Photo: Flickr/loonyhiker
The Cash for Appliances program started Monday at 6 a.m. in the state of Arizona. Within less than an hour, some rebates had actually already sold out.

Arizona’s Appliance Rebate Program was designed as an incentive for purchasing energy-efficient appliances.

Administered by the Arizona Department of Commerce Energy Office, the state is giving away $6.2 million dollars to consumers who purchase clothes washers, dishwashers and water heaters. The rebates range from $75 to $425, depending on the purchase.

The program has one key objective: help individual consumers replace old and inefficient appliances with new appliances that are generally 15-50 percent more energy. But the money is only available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Just about three hours after the program went live, local Phoenix NPR station KJZZ reported that both the program’s Web site and phone line was overloaded, and now those consumers looking to participate will have to be put on a waiting list, which is also managed on a first-come, first-served basis.

As of Monday at 9 a.m., rebates for dishwashers and water heaters have been closed. However, there is still an estimated $219,100 left in stimulus cash for the purchase of a new clothes washer.

Rebates are distributed via mail in the form of a Visa prepaid card. The Arizona Department of Commerce Energy Office hopes that these cards will encourage consumers to spend money at their local restaurant or retail stores.

The Cash for Appliances nationwide program will utilize nearly $300 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fund a rebate program that encourages consumers to purchase Energy Star-certified appliances. Unlike its “Clunkers” predecessor, turning in an old model is not required – although we highly recommend recycling as an option for your washed up washers and dryers.

For the greatest potential energy savings, the DOE recommends programs focus on appliances, heating and cooling equipment and water heaters. The rebates’ worth and time lines for receiving them will be determined by individual states and territories, so every program will be a bit different.
http://earth911.com/news/2010/04/12/cash-for-appliances-already-huge-suc...