Been Awake The Moment You Commented!

Rep. Louie Gohmert: GOP Leadership Warned Us Not To Attack Nancy Pelosi And Barack Obama

2012-01-17T05:47:00.001-05:00

Like every Republican such as Congressman Louie Gohmert, they'll keep saying what they want despite having the first female House Speaker and the first Black President. We don't care how it affects our constituents! We want [Obama] to fail!

It ain't about the economy!

It ain't about jobs!

It ain't about solving reasonable issues!

They just want this [Independent] woman and Black man to fail.

This represents the culture war within the Republican Party along with allies like Rush Limbaugh (and the conservative movement). They're engaged in an ongoing rift of trivial issues instead of a broader sense of urgency as a nation to fix the problems that affect everyone. The enemies are the middle class, lower class, minorities, GLBT, those who practice in Islam and the many supporters of Barack Obama deemed by Republicans and its allies as enemies of the state.

These culture wars within the Republican Party are not the practices of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. These practices are fully within the ongoing struggle between rational and irrational.

Congressman Gohmert is an example of why King's Dream is still burning alive. We must overcome. I can't do much other than enlighten this delusional man and his allies within the Republican Party and conservative movement.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Mitt Romney: President Obama Out Of Touch Like Marie Antoinette

2011-12-29T21:12:00.001-05:00

What was that Flipper?

You say President Barack Obama is "out of touch"?

I guess a $10,000 bet to a political rival is not out of touch, eh?

Flipper, making them splashes for those sardines.

Mitt Romney and the rest of the useful idiots are still riding on that "Obama failed" narrative.

What do you offer other than cheap, petty, and nonessential attacks?

They really think its easy being the President Of the United States!

Nope. They can't even be specific on how they can improve the economy without tearing apart that incentives that President Barack Obama signed into law.

Which way will Mitt Romney go?

I know he'll be joining Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich in the back of the history books as failed candidates!

Let's put President Barack Obama back into the White House.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Ron Paul Walks Out Of CNN Interview (VIDEO)

2011-12-22T22:09:00.001-05:00

How can you handle pressure when you up and end an interview?

If Barack Obama can tolerate ongoing nonsense about his birth certificate, his religion, his former pastor, his neighbor who was once an anti-war radical, and other issues which managed to surface from right wing media, how come he didn't just up and walk away?

While this character is entitled to speak his mind, I am as well! I am going to say this! The Republicans, its candidates and their allies in the conservative movement are wrapped around the American flag in the preparedness of a culture war in which they will lie and deceive the misinformed!

Since the rise, the old newsletters of "Ron Perot" came out, he's denied them! He goes anal on Sasha Baron Cohen after being fooled into seduction by "Bruno"! His cult-following are still engaged in the arm chair war online. Where the slight's amount of criticism towards this guy is treason!

The core of Ron Perot's base is a bunch of disengaged conservatives and libertarians who are not satisfied with GOP presidential field, liberals who think the Drug War is bias towards their support of legalizing marijuana, conspiracy theorists (birthers, 9/11 truthers, PNAC, NWO, and North American Union, etc.), extremists (White supremacists, tax revolters, anti-Semitics, militias, or the lone wolf terrorist) and those who think they've read the U.S. Constitution "all the ways!"
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Obama 2012 Reelection Odds Roughly 50-50 According To New AP Poll

2011-12-17T00:38:00.001-05:00

My opinion will always stay the same.

The Republicans, its allies in the conservative movement, and the candidates running for President Of The United States are wrapping their asses around the American flag in preparedness of a culture war.

I don't care what the polls say right now! We haven't made it to October 2012 when the round of presidential debates will have the Republican nominee line up their plans against President Barack Obama.

I would love to see if they could throw around all the "red meat" to a ravenous crowd misinformed voters during the primary debates. Only in a Republican primary debate, you could hear all the talk about how "this marxist is trying to play on the minds of voters with this class warfare rhetoric!".

But give them a serious debate to really show how they can handle pressure. I only hope that the Republican nominee whether its either Romney, Gingrich, or Paul will make their tongue stick out in a weird way like John McCain did and an Associated Press reporter catches it!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

The Most "Ghettoest" Girl I've Known | The Car Ablaze!

2011-12-16T00:12:00.000-05:00

Payroll Tax Cut Extension Rejected In Senate Vote

2011-12-02T09:42:00.001-05:00

This first session of the 112th Congress was wasted for the most part in the [Republicans] stupid "culture war".

I am extremely concerned that the lower and middle class (of course those employed) will have no money to pay bills, support families and enjoy the luxuries the high end earners enjoy.

I am very concerned that the following year we'll see more of this during the peak months when oil prices increase and we'll sore back to the nearly $4.00 gallon gasoline.

I am very concerned that since the unbalanced driven by all the overheated rhetoric will cause a tragedy post Gabrielle Giffords.

I am concerned that more politically heated rhetoric from Republicans who bring up canards of "IMPEACHMENT", "BIG GOVERNMENT", "SOCIALISM", telling people to "WAKE UP" will masquerade for pushing overreaching laws to repeal progress.

I am concerned that we'll have a Republican president who will drive this country back into a deeper recession let alone a depression.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Obama Thanksgiving Address: Conservatives Upset By Lack Of God Mention

2011-11-25T22:07:00.001-05:00

Let me repeat my comments!

This is just an example of the mindset of a hateful society we've come adjourned to. It doesn't matter who's the President Of The United States, the First Lady or the Vice President, it's just our reactionary mindset of how we'll never be satisfied with whomever leads this country.

The Republicans are wrapping their asses around the American flag in preparedness of a "culture war!"

The Republican "culture war" has an enemy. The enemy is the middle class, lower class, minorities, unions, GLBT, those who practice in Islam, and the many supporters of President Barack Obama.

The Republican "culture war" masquerade debates in order to create a volatile environment for political gain. These canards of "big government, soft on terror, high taxes, liberal media, and wanted people to wake up" are typical weapons [Republicans] used in the culture war!

Everything President Barack Obama is presenting to help the middle class is a "giveaway to the low incrumbs" according to the Republicans and its allies in the conservative media. The first session of the 112th Congress has been wasted on abortion laws, pork barrel spending, making lawmakers read the Constitution before presenting bills and stripping benefits from seniors and the poor.

Politics is a ugly game, if you're the president of the current party, the opposition fiercely opposes everything! No amount of good will satisfy an opposition.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Republican Culture War: We're Not Passing A Jobs Bill! But You Can At Least Carry Your Firearm! | HR 822 Concealed Carry Gun Bill Passes House Vote

2011-11-17T08:10:00.001-05:00

WASHINGTON -- A state permit to carry a concealed firearm would be valid in almost every other state in the country under legislation the House passed Wednesday.

The first pro-gun bill the House has taken up this year and the first since Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was severely injured in a gun attack in January, it had the National Rifle Association's backing and passed by a comfortable margin. The vote was 272-154, with only seven Republicans voting against it and 43 Democrats supporting it.

The Democratic-controlled Senate has no parallel bill. But two years ago, GOP Sens. John Thune of South Dakota and David Vitter of Louisiana nearly succeeded in attaching a similar measure to a larger bill.

Under the House legislation, people with a concealed carry permit in one state could carry a concealed weapon in every other state that gives people the right to carry concealed weapons. While states have various standards for issuing such permits, currently only Illinois and the District of Columbia prohibit the concealed carrying of weapons.

"The Second Amendment is a fundamental right to bear arms that should not be constrained by state boundary lines," said GOP Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

The bill's chief co-sponsor, Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., said states should consider concealed carry permits no differently from driver's licenses recognized by all states. He noted that many states already have reciprocity agreements with other states.

The legislation would "make it easier for law-abiding permit holders to know that they are simply in compliance with the law when they carry a firearm as they travel," he said.

Democratic opponents said the bill would constitute a "race to the bottom," with states that have strict requirements for issuing permits having to accept permits from states with far more lax standards.

"It's a situation where weaker state laws become the national law," said Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va. He noted that some states require training for permit holders, or deny permits to those under 21 or who sell drugs to minors, commit sex offenses or are involved in domestic violence.

According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the measure would allow states with tough requirements, such as New York and California, "to allow in concealed carry gun-toting people from states, such as Florida, which repeatedly have given dangerous people licenses to carry."

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., wrote President Barack Obama last week urging him to issue a veto threat against the bill. Passing the bill "would jeopardize public safety and would be an insult to states like New Jersey and New York that purposefully have strong gun ownership laws," they wrote.

The administration has not yet taken an official position on the bill.

Democrats also chided Republicans for ignoring their dedication to states' rights. "For the Republican House majority that supposedly believes in states' rights, this bill is shocking," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.

There hasn't been much legislative action on firearms issues this year. A spending bill that the House is expected to vote on this week would bar the Justice Department from consolidating firearms sales records or maintaining information on people who have passed firearms background checks.

The chief sponsors of the concealed weapon measure, Stearns and Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., said their proposal would not create a federal licensing system but merely require states to honor one another's carry permits.

People who are unable to get a permit in their home state would not be able to carry a concealed weapon in their home state by getting a permit in another state. A state's ban on carrying concealed weapons in places such as bars, sporting events or state parks would apply to nonresidents as well as residents.

Thirty-five states have "shall issue" permit laws that usually require states to issue permits to those who meet legal requirements. Ten others have "may issue" or discretionary permit laws. Vermont, Arizona, Alaska and Wyoming do not require a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

I mean how many Republicans and conservative Democrats waste enough time passing bills that absolutely mean nothing to the American people?

It is a ridiculous overreach in the aftermath of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' shooting. I am assuming when she gets back to work, she'll vote for it too, because after all she was in favor of firearms too.

I mean they claim that President Barack Obama wants to make bigger government, but what do the Republicans do now! They get lobbyists to help craft a controversial bill to make it more of burden to businesses, schools and religious institutions. They claim that controversial laws should be left to the states! So what do they do now? Go pass state legislation to make a federal law in order to appease the gun lobbyist groups that favor this.

This is a part of the culture war the Republicans have wasted most of their session on! The narrative of conservatives is when Blacks and Hispanics/Latinos owning firearms it is gun violence. Whites owning firearms is gun rights.

So to those reading my comments, how many jobs will this bill create?

Defeated!

2011-11-09T07:36:00.002-05:00

Republicans, time to panic!

Two controversial amendments from Republicans go down in defeat.

In Ohio, the controversial SB-5, a law that strips the public sector of their collective bargaining was defeated by the voters.

In Mississippi, the controversial "personhood" amendment was defeated also. The amendment was to make an embryo or fertilized egg a living being. It would put a hold on abortions and cause a threat to the landmark decision of Roe v. Wade.

These culture war battles were defeated by voters. The most important things that came to most voters, jobs.

A sign of disappointment in the public sector. Most voters are rejecting school levies. The voters can't afford paying more for schools. And with Republican governors cut funding for schools and public transportation, these sectors are going to make difficult cuts.

Republicans are not polling well. According TPM, President Obama and the Democrats have succeeded at convincing voters that Republicans are trying to delay economic recovery, according to a series of recent polls.

The new data suggests that about half the country, including a majority of self-identified independents, believe that congressional Republicans are using their political power to thwart Obama’s efforts to reduce unemployment, presenting Democrats an opportunity to make this argument more explicitly as the 2012 campaign moves forward — to undercut Republicans’ claims that Obama and the Dems bear full responsibility for the economy, and to make their pattern of obstruction a real liability for them.

Suffolk University polled registered voters in Florida and found that nearly half of voters, including large minorities of conservatives and Republicans, believed “Republicans are intentionally stalling efforts to jump-start the economy to insure that Barack Obama is not re-elected?”

On Monday, a nation-wide Washington Post/ABC News poll yielded similar results. The question in the Post/ABC poll was different — it asked respondents to choose between “President Obama is making a good faith effort to deal with the country’s economic problems, but the Republicans in Congress are playing politics by blocking his proposals and programs,” and “President Obama has not provided leadership on the economy, and he is just blaming the Republicans in Congress as an excuse for not doing his job.”

Once again, half of their respondents went with option one. But as Greg Sargent noted, that’s because Republican voters overwhelmingly disagreed. By contrast, a healthy majority of moderates and independents agree with the economic sabotage premise.

Also on Monday, liberal blogger Markos Moulitsas publicized the top lines of a PPP poll he commissioned, which closely mimic the the Post/ABC survey: “50% think GOP intentionally stalling economy, incl 51% of Indies, & 15% of GOPers. Details Tuesday.”

It’s not all good news for the Democrats. Polls still suggest Obama hasn’t opened a big gap between himself and the GOP on the question of who’s a better steward of the economy. But if the notion that elected Republicans are blocking economic recovery for political gain becomes a mainstream proposition, they’ve got big trouble — particularly if small but substantial numbers of their own voters believe this to be the case, and disapprove of the strategy.

Obama Mocks Congress For 'In God We Trust' Motto Vote, Ignoring Jobs Bill

2011-11-03T11:17:00.001-04:00

My honest opinion on the matter.

The Republicans are wrapping their asses around the American flag in preparedness of a "culture war!" A culture war in which, "In God We Trust" is more important than trying to work on a reasonable bill to help put Americans back to work.

The Republicans can put forth bills to recognize a motto, tweet about the debt count and put out web videos insulting President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. It's the party's choice to make these decisions.

Republicans were elected to take over the House of Representatives and state/territorial governorships, so far they have not presented reasonable solutions to helping Americans find work.

Everything President Barack Obama is presenting to help the middle class is a "giveaway to the low incrumbs" according to the Republicans and its allies in the conservative media. The first session of the 112th Congress has been wasted on abortion laws, pork barrel spending, making lawmakers read the Constitution before presenting bills and stripping benefits from seniors and the poor.

At a 9% job approval according to the CBS/New York Times poll, this Republican House will be the "Do Nothing Congress!"
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

And I Missed My Welfare Check! | Conservatives Cause Another Racist Stir!

2011-10-27T12:17:00.000-04:00

Jillian Rayfield October 27, 2011, 5:55 AM 4300 69

There is no “Go” space in the anti-welfare board game “Obozo’s America,” but rest assured — you can still collect welfare benefits as you pass the “First Of The Month” space.

The game is called “OBOZO’S AMERICA: Why Bother Working for a Living?” with the tagline “The Most Timely and Original Board Game of the Decade!” The website describes it as “a fun fantasy board game based on the preposterous notion that a Marxist clown, running on the vague and shaky platform of hope and change, could become President of The United States.”

The object is to keep collecting benefits while avoiding the “Working Person’s Rut.” From the rather embarrassingly low-tech website:

Get your initial $1,000 cash grant at the First of the Month, then maneuver along Obozo’s Welfare Promenade. Get cash for your out-of-wedlock children. Draw from a stack of Welfare Benefit Cards. Get extra cash from Saturday Night crimes: Gambling, Armed Robbery, Drugs, and Prostitution. Play the lottery and the horses. Get your live-in a job on the Government Cakewalk. Experience the Jail Jaunt. Avoid landing on one of those dreaded “Get a Job” blocks forcing you onto the Working Person’s Rut (Somebody has to pay for Obozo’s Welfare Promenade). 50 Welfare Benefit Cards. 50 Working Person’s Burden Cards. Lots of funny money.

The site features the game’s mascot “Obozo The Marxist Clown” — who also graces the game’s fake currency — and boasts of the “welfare benefit cards” like “you lose perspective and apply for a job, but are denied it. Oboze says: Scream ‘racism’ until welfare lawyer gets you $1,000 settlement.”

In the Economy version of the game, you get “a stack of over a half-a-million dollars in play money (we’re talking serious welfare fraud here), 50 Welfare Benefit Cards, 50 Working Person’s Burden Cards, 30 Out-of-Wedlock Children.” The Deluxe version has a spill-proof surface and the out-of-wedlock children are easier to cut out of the paper they’re printed on.

Here’s the play money:

And the board game:

You can see the full-size board as a pdf here.

The game was created by Ron Pramschufer and Bob Johnson, who run Hammerhead Enterprises in Maryland, and was originally released in 1980 as “Public Assistance: Why Bother Working for a Living?”

“We didn’t invent this game, government liberals did,” Johnson said then. “We just put it in a box.”

In a press release Wednesday, Johnson announced that the game was coming back, claiming it “was forced off the retail market in the 1980s by government officials working with the NAACP, NOW, and other welfare ‘rights’ groups.”

“We intended the game as a parody of government liberalism, with a special focus on the able-bodied loaferism, welfare fraud, and social chaos its domestic policies promote,” Johnson wrote in 2009. “Threatened by the game’s popularity, embarrassed liberals successfully implemented a nationwide government plan to ‘remove the game from the marketplace.’”

The game was entangled in a number of lawsuits after several government officials and the NAACP criticized it as racist and sexist for its depiction of “welfare queens” and other stereotypes. Pramschufer and Johnson first sued (sub req.) a New York City official who sent a letter to retailers urging them not to sell the game, saying “keeping this game off the shelves of your stores would be a genuine public service.” They lost the case and their ultimate appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court, but they also filed a suit against the NAACP and NOW, according to the AP (sub req.).

But in the 90s when they re-released the game — complete with a new “Criminal Justice” side of the board — and claimed it had been banned, the Attorney General of Maryland said there was never a ban on the game. “The state wouldn’t have had the authority to ban this game whatsoever,” then-AG Kathy Schultz said (sub req.), according to the Washington Times.

Via Ashley Lopez of The Florida Independent.

Why Don't They Drug Test Politicians? Obviously They Always Engage In Drunken Behavior! | The Republican Culture War: Drug Testing Welfare Recipients!

2011-10-24T21:00:00.000-04:00

ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal judge temporarily blocked Florida's new law that requires welfare applicants to pass a drug test before receiving benefits on Monday, saying it may violate the Constitution's ban on unreasonable searches and seizures.

Judge Mary Scriven ruled in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of a 35-year-old Navy veteran and single father who sought the benefits while finishing his college degree, but refused to take the test. The judge said there was a good chance plaintiff Luis Lebron would succeed in his challenge to the law based on the Fourth Amendment, which protects individuals from being unfairly searched.

The drug test can reveal a host of private medical facts about the individual, Scriven wrote, adding that she found it "troubling" that the drug tests are not kept confidential like medical records. The results can also be shared with law enforcement officers and a drug abuse hotline.

"This potential interception of positive drug tests by law enforcement implicates a `far more substantial' invasion of privacy than in ordinary civil drug testing cases," Scriven said.

The judge also said Florida didn't show that the drug testing program meets criteria for exceptions to the Fourth Amendment.

The injunction will stay in place until the judge can hold a full hearing on the matter. She didn't say when that hearing will be scheduled.

More than two-dozen states have also proposed drug-testing recipients of welfare or other government assistance, but Florida was the first state to enact such a law in more than a decade. Should any of those states pass a law and face a court challenge, Scriven's ultimate ruling would likely serve as a legal precedent.

The law's proponents include Gov. Rick Scott, who said during his campaign the measure would save $77 million. It's unclear how he arrived at those figures. A spokesman for the Florida Department of Children and Families deferred all comments to the governor's office.

"Drug testing welfare recipients is just a common-sense way to ensure that welfare dollars are used to help children and get parents back to work," said Jackie Schutz, a spokeswoman for Scott. "The governor obviously disagrees with the decision and he will evaluate his options regarding when to appeal."

Earlier this year, Scott also ordered drug testing of new state workers and spot checks of existing state employees under him. But testing was suspended after the American Civil Liberties Union also challenged that policy in a separate lawsuit.

Nearly 1,600 applicants have refused to take the test since testing began in mid-July, but they aren't required to say why. Thirty-two applicants failed the test and more than 7,000 have passed, according to the Department of Children and Families. The majority of positives were for marijuana.

State officials said Monday that applicants previously denied benefits for testing positive or refusing the test could reapply immediately. The Department of Children and Families will also approve all pending applications that await drug test results.

Supporters had argued applicants skipped the test because they knew they would have tested positive for drugs. Applicants must pay $25 to $35 for the test and are reimbursed by the state if they pass. It's unclear if the state has saved money.

Under the Temporary Assistance For Needy Families program, the state gives $180 a month for one person or $364 for a family of four.

Those who test positive for drugs are ineligible for the cash assistance for one year, though passing a drug course can cut that period in half. If they fail a second time, they are ineligible for three years.

Lebron, who is the sole caretaker of his 4-year-old son, said he's "happy that the judge stood up for me and my rights and said the state can't act without a reason or suspicion."

The ACLU says Florida was the first to enact such a law since Michigan tried more than a decade ago. Michigan's random drug testing program for welfare recipients lasted five weeks in 1999 before it was halted by a judge, kicking off a four-year legal battle that ended with an appeals court ruling it unconstitutional.

Anti-Latino Hate Crimes Rise As Immigration Debate Intensifies

2011-10-18T11:27:00.002-04:00

Juan Varela was shot in the neck in his front yard in Phoenix, Ariz., last May by his neighbor Gary Kelley. Moments before killing Varela in front of his mother and brother, Kelley yelled, "Go back to Mexico or die!" Varela was not an illegal immigrant, but a fifth generation American of Mexican descent, said Carlos Galindo, the family's spokesperson in a phone interview.

In May 2009, 9-year-old Brisenia Flores and her father Raul Flores were murdered by members of a Minuteman vigilante group. The child and her father were both American-born U.S. citizens. Leader Shawna Forde broke into the Flores home in Arivaca, Ariz., with two men she recruited to help her fund her splinter Minuteman organization. After the group shot and killed her father, Brisenia pleaded with the Forde and her accomplices, saying, "Please don't shoot me." One of the masked figures then shot her in the face at point blank range, her mother, the lone survivor, said in her testimony. Forde was convicted of first degree murder in February of 2011 and sentenced to death.

Last November, two Mexican nationals, cousins Alex Cauich and Jose Omar Cauich, were brutally assaulted by a group of white men while standing in front of a bar in San Francisco. Witnesses on the scene heard the assailants yelling "run like you ran across the border" during the incident. Last week, three men with connection to a white supremacist group were convicted in the assault. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, who worked as a police officer in Arizona and California for more than twenty years, told The Huffington Post that he perceives this crime and others like it to be part of rising anti-Latino sentiments around the country.

Recent studies conducted by the National Institute of Justice, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the FBI and the Pew Research Center seem to show that these incidents were not isolated hate events, but part of a greater trend.

The preliminary findings of a congressionally-mandated study by the National Institute of Justice suggest that anti-Latino hate crimes rose disproportionally to other hate crimes between 2004 and 2008. The study estimates that in 2003 there were 426 hate crimes against Latinos, while in 2007 there were 595 nationally.

According to the same study, California and Texas saw the most anti-Latino hate crimes, as well as more dramatic increases of such incidents than other states. Data collected by the FBI also indicates a steady rise in anti-Latino hate crimes across the country from 2003 to 2007.

A report by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a nonprofit civil rights organization based in Montgomery, contends that the number of "radical right groups" in America -- including hate groups, "Patriot" groups and nativist groups -- increased in 2010 for the second year in a row.

Although recent studies indicate anti-Latino hate crimes have been on the rise over the last decade, many believe their numbers are even greater than those reported. Mark Potok, a spokesperson for the SPLC, said in an interview with The Huffington Post that, "one thing to understand is that Latinos, and in particular undocumented immigrants, are among the least likely to report hate crimes because they fear deportation."

RACE AND POLICY DEBATES

Many, including the family members of victims, associate a rise in anti-Latino hate crime and an increase in anti-Latino sentiments with the on-going, virulent immigration debate around the country.

Varela's family in Phoenix told The Huffington Post that they believe his murder was provoked by the heated controversy surrounding the passage of Arizona's S.B. 1070 law two weeks prior. According to Carlos Galindo, the family's spokesperson, Kelley's attorney admitted in court that his client was going to the Varela home on the day of Juan's murder in order to discuss the the family's attendance at an S.B. 1070 protest. Galindo also said the immigration debate created a dangerous environment for Latinos in his state.

"It's gone from a frustration with the federal government not doing their job, to a frustration with the immigrants and with Latinos in general," said Galindo. "People are encouraging this kind of demonization and this culture of hatred which results in violence," he added.

In 9-year old Brisenia's murder, the Associated Press reported that Shawna Forde was motivated to break into the Flores home because she "considered Raul Flores a drug smuggler and wanted to use his drug proceeds for a paramilitary organization to seal off the border to immigrants." According to CNN reports, no drugs were found in the Flores home.

Raul "Junior" and Brisenia Flores were killed by a minuteman group with ties to the White Nationalist Movement.

George Gascón, the San Francisco district attorney, said in an interview with The Huffington Post that he associates the brutal assault of the Cauich cousins and a "recent surge of anti-Latino hate crimes" in his city, with economic factors and the immigration debate. Gascón believes that immigration debates in Arizona, Utah, Georgia, South Carolina and now Alabama have been "fueled by race-based sentiments."

"It's going to take a lot of good people with a lot of good intentions on both sides of the debate to shift the dialogue away from race, and back to policy," Gascón said.

Mark Potok, the SPLC spokesman, believes that reporting around the immigration debate has led directly to a more hostile environment for Latinos in America because it "focuses a lot of negative attention around Latinos." He explained, "When leaders and politicians get press and promote stereotypes, it encourages others to hate Latinos as well -- so it helps to spread the poison... There are ways of having a debate about immigration without demonizing one group of people."

But while Potok also blames "nativist" groups like Minuteman organizations for spurring hatred against Latinos and immigrants, Howie Morgan, the national political director of the Minuteman Project said in a phone interview with The Huffington Post that his organization has never framed the debate in racial terms.

Shawna Forde, a former prostitute, beautician who has ties to a white supremacist group. Her involvement in a minuteman group that killed Raul "Junior" and Brisenia Flores. Forde is currently sitting on death row for the murder.

"We have never demonized Latinos. In fact, we have been demonized as racists by 'La Raza' -- which means 'The Race' by the way... When we have come across organizations in the Minuteman movement that align themselves with racism, we've thrown them out and repudiated their statements. We continue to make sure this not about race, but about policy. We are a pro-immigrant organization, and calling us racist is simply inaccurate," he told HuffPost. Morgan was referring to the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) which considers itself the "largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization" in the country.

But Gascón, thinks the Minutemen are ignoring an "elephant in the room."

"I'm glad the [Minuteman Project's] official stance is that it shouldn't be a race-based conversation," Gascon said in a phone intervew. "But the elephant in the room when you talk about immigration is that a very large number of immigrants come from Latin America. If you start talking about illegal immigration, what comes to mind? Do you think of someone from Eastern Europe or Asia or do you think of a Latino?"

According to a 2009 study, more Americans think that Hispanics are the targets of discrimination in American society than say the same about any other major racial or ethnic group. According to Mark Hugo Lopez, the associate director of the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research organization that seeks to improve understanding of the U.S. Hispanic population, the PHC's studies found that, prior to 2009, African Americans were perceived to be the group most discriminated against.

Lopez also said that on average, Latinos are thinking about discrimination and immigration as bigger issues for their community than they did just a few years ago. In 2010, 61 percent of Latinos believed that discrimination against Hispanics is a "major problem," up from 54 percent in 2007. And in 2010, when asked to state the most important factor leading to discrimination, a "plurality of 36 percent cited immigration status as most important, up from a minority of 23 percent who said the same in 2007," reported Lopez.

In an interview with a local paper, Gilberto Esquivel, a member of the Riverside Human Relations Commission, said that the 50 percent increase in hate crimes against Latinos in California in 2010 was directly tied to the passage of the S.B. 1070 immigration law in Arizona. In Esquivel's county alone, the FBI documented 21 hate crimes in 2010, up from 12 in 2009.

Esquivel believes "anti-Latino and anti-immigrant remarks became more numerous and hateful on conservative talk radio, in newspaper letters to editors and on the Internet."

"The hate is there," Esquivel said. "[S.B. 1070] gives it legitimacy."

Jury Finds Aggravating Factor in Neighbor's Murder: MyFoxPHOENIX.com

Newsflash: There Is No Obama Mania Media, Conservative Assholes!

2011-10-17T21:15:00.003-04:00

Only 9% Of President Obama’s News Coverage Positive

TPM lets people know that this wasn't a free ride for President Barack Obama and the media. I can hear Sean Hannity say the "Obama Mania Mainstream Media" once again!

Benjy Sarlin October 17, 2011, 2:16 PM

It isn’t easy being the guy in charge. A new study from Pew Research Center of campaign coverage finds that only 9% of news reports on President Obama have been “positive,” easily the lowest number of any of the major candidates. Surprisingly, Rick Perry fares the best with 32% positive coverage and non-candidate Sarah Palin is right behind him at 31%. Take a look:

Study finds harsh media coverage for Obama

By Brian Montopoli, CBS News

President Obama "has suffered the most unrelentingly negative treatment" of all presidential candidates over the past five months, according to a study released Monday from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Pew found that Mr. Obama was the subject of negative assessments nearly four times as often as he was the subject of positive assessments. It found he received "positive" coverage nine percent of the time, "neutral" coverage 57 percent of the time and "negative" coverage 34 percent of the time.

The study, which was conducted using a combination of "traditional media research methods [and] computer algorithms to track the level and tone of coverage," cuts against the widespread conservative claim that the "liberal media" aides Mr. Obama and other Democrats while attacking Republicans.

Pew says it looked at coverage from more than 11,500 news outlets, including local and national broadcasts, news websites and blogs.

Mr. Obama's negative coverage could be explained in part by the fact that he is "covered largely as president rather than a candidate," Pew said - and coverage of him is linked to the struggling economy.

Among the Republican presidential candidates, Pew found that Rick Perry has received the most positive coverage of all the candidates, with 32 percent positive coverage. He was followed by Sarah Palin (31 percent), Michele Bachmann (31 percent), Herman Cain (28 percent) and Mitt Romney (26 percent.) Palin, a vocal critic of the media, ultimately decided not to seek the GOP nomination.

Perry had the best ratio of any candidate, with 32 percent positive coverage to 20 percent negative coverage, a 12 percent net positive ratings in terms of coverage. He was followed by Palin (with 9 percent net positive coverage), Bachmann (8 percent net positive), Cain (5 percent net positive), Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman (both with 4 percent net positive coverage.) Pew found that Cain surged in positive coverage starting in late August - even before he did so in the polls.

The only candidate who received more negative coverage than Mr. Obama was Newt Gingrich, whom Pew found was the subject of negative coverage 35 percent of the time. That can be attrubited in part to his early stumbles, including his criticism of the House GOP Medicare plan and the decision by top staffers to abandom Gingrich's campaign. While Pew found that Mr. Obama received just nine percent positive coverage, however, Gingrich received 15 percent positive coverage.

The candidates with the worst coverage ratio were Mr. Obama (25 percent net negative coverage), Gingrich (20 percent net negative), Rick Santorum (3 percent net negative) and Mitt Romney (1 percent net negative.)

As Politico's Keach Hagey notes, Pew found that Mr. Obama had widely positive media coverage during his first 100 days in office, with 42 percent positive coverage and 20 percent negative coverage.

Here's how Pew in part explains its meathodology - more can be found here:

To assess the tone of coverage, PEJ researchers then employed computer algorithmic software from Crimson Hexagon. Researchers conducted a tone analysis and then "trained" the algorithm to follow the same rules as they had themselves. PEJ also conducted inter-coder tests to ensure the computer coding was replicable and valid by comparing human coding to the results derived by the algorithm. The project also had different people build the algorithms separately to ensure that they were achieving consistent results. Each computer algorithm was then additionally tested for reliability by having multiple researchers review the content assessed and the results. The tone analysis was conducted on two different samples. The first was of the coverage and commentary on more than 11,500 news outlets, based on their RSS feeds. While the content is text based, the material on various television news sites often closely resembled the stories that had aired on television, and in some cases were exact transcripts. The second was from hundreds of thousands of blogs. (Facebook and Twitter feeds were not included after researchers found that the political assessment offered there was typically quite brief or referred to blog or news content.)

Yeah, We Have A Jobs Plan! We Have Pictures! | The Republican Culture War

2011-10-14T10:08:00.002-04:00

Republicans are opposing the American's Jobs Act that President Barack Obama presented to the Congress. The plan calls for $448 billion in job creation, infrastructure and spending cuts for the middle class. The president's plan calls for tax increases on the high end earners. The Republicans oppose the tax increases and just about everything the president wants. We're in gridlock right now and people are suffering. The overall job approval is 15% and Americans are really fed up with the way Congress is acting.

The America's Job Creator Plan is a ten page plan in which includes tax cuts, deregulation and the repeal of the Affordable Health Care for America Act (Obamacare).

Key Republicans want to pass a clearly partisan bill in which they know President Obama will reject upon its passage. Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Texas) once again prove that even if they wanted to try they fail at doing so!

President Barack Obama jobs plan is 200 pages. The Republicans have ten pages. There's something wrong here!

Opinion: The job crisis: Solved in 10 pages?

GOP’s Plan for America’s Job Creators is empty of any real solutions

By Michael Veldman

STAFF COLUMNIST

June 3, 2011

House Republicans, led by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), recently released their Plan for America’s Job Creators. The document, as well as a shortened summary version, can be accessed from http://majorityleader.gov.

When I first opened the full document, I thought I had chosen the summary by mistake. As Paul Krugman notes, it “has to rely on extra-large type and lots of pointless pictures to bulk it out even to 10 pages.” Indeed, the equivalent of four pages of the document consists of images of cars at the gas station, scissors cutting red tape, and the like. Another page is a platitude-ridden introduction that could be substituted by manic repetition of the phrases “common-sense,” “pro-growth,” “job creators,” and “remove Washington” to the same effect.

But what of the other five pages? Surely there is some substance in there! Let us explore the House

Republican eight-pronged approach to job creation.

First we must deal with the problem of “burdensome regulations.” (I only use quotes because “burden” is mentioned no less than five times in half a page.) House Republicans offer the sensible first step of passing “legislation that requires a congressional review and approval of any proposed federal government regulation that will have a significant impact on the economy.” If you are as impressed as I initially was, take note of which regulations House Republicans have singled out for the chopping block: EPA-mandated limits on greenhouse gas emissions, the FCC’s net neutrality proposal, and restrictions on pesticide use. Of course.

Next on the agenda is the quixotic yet admirable task of fixing the tax code once and for all. Their proposal is a flat federal tax rate of 25 percent for businesses and individuals. If this proposal sounds ridiculous to anyone with concern for the poor and the working class, be comforted by the fact that Republicans only want to “ensure that everyone pays their fair share.” Never mind the fact that such a change would actually raise the effective income tax rate for the vast majority of Americans. As a benchmark for comparison, a married couple filing jointly with a taxable income of $282,000 currently pays about 25 percent income tax. House Republicans’ goal to cut taxes solely for the wealthiest Americans is abundantly clear.

The third proposal — to pass free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea — has apparently been blocked by Democrats’ posturing for three years. Well, one politician’s posturing is another politician’s attention to human rights abuses in Colombia or the well-being of auto workers in America.

The fourth step is fostering entrepreneurship by reforming the U.S. patent system. This proposal has received broad bipartisan support and collaboration. The House Patent Reform Act of 2011 was passed in the House Judiciary Committee by a vote of 32-3 on April 14. In short, it is not a solely Republican solution as the document declares.

The next two opportunities for improvement are visa reform and the reauthorization of the FDA user fee programs, through which the FDA collects money from companies seeking drug or medical device approval in order to test said products. I don’t have much to say about these proposals, mostly because they are hardly even proposals. House Republicans do not make plain exactly what they plan to do, but they do make it apparent that they will be Creating American Jobs. Indeed, I’m not sure what the purpose is of the page allotted to these two topics. I wonder whether Eric Cantor and his ilk are hoping that if they repeat the phrases “job creation,” “job creators,” “create American jobs,” etc. — which they did 31 times in the 86-sentence document — they will ingrain in the reader a subconscious association between Republicans and job creation.

Now, what do House Republicans have to say about energy? They first make it clear that the problem is rising energy costs and point out that, since President Obama took office, the price of a gallon of gas has doubled. This is a facile and erroneous observation and an obvious attempt to falsely pin blame to Obama.

Gas prices fell dramatically after the record-setting summer of 2008 because of the global economic meltdown.

The fact that they started to rise afterward has nothing to do with the president.

To suggest that we should prefer an economy in shambles over $4-per-gallon gasoline is ridiculous. What’s more, the primary method that Republicans have suggested to lower gas prices is “Drill, baby, drill.” They don’t seem to realize that feeding an addiction is nothing more than a short-term solution.

And House Republicans don’t stop there. They go on to fault Obama and congressional Democrats for our largest-ever budget deficits. As ignorant of history as ever, they overlook the budget surpluses of a decade ago and the catastrophic effects of the global financial collapse.

With the way they continue to insult the American people with these so-called “solutions,” it’s obvious House Republicans do not take us seriously, and we have every reason to respond in kind.

Case tests Ohio's guns-in-bars law | The Republican Culture War

2011-10-13T09:28:00.000-04:00

I own a conceal carry permit to own a firearm.

The Ohio Republican legislature passed a open firearm in bar bill in 2011. The governor John Kasich, first term has been marred in controversy. The SB 5 bill which strips public sector unions of collective bargaining, calling the Upper Arlington police officer who stopped him "an idiot", partisan redistricting to favor Republicans, and his golf outing with Ohio House Speaker John Boehner, Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama has sunk job approval to low 40s.

Governor Kasich, the former host of Fox News program Heartland also has ties to NewsCorporation, Incorporated. The media network is involved in a major scandal over here and in the United Kingdom.

Here's an example of putting water on a grease fire:

Chad O’Reilly / Provided

Written by

Dan Horn

Facts about Ohio’s new gun law

• The law allows people with concealed-carry permits to keep their guns with them when they enter one of the state’s 17,000 bars, restaurants or nightclubs where alcohol is served. The law also allows a permit holder to have a loaded handgun in a vehicle even if the gun is not secured in a holster or container.

• Businesses still can ban guns on their premises by posting a sign stating guns are not permitted.

• No one is allowed to drink alcohol while carrying a gun. Doing so is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

• Eight other states specifically allow people with proper permits to carry guns into bars. A dozen other states prohibit guns in bars.

A Deer Park man became the first in Greater Cincinnati to face charges under Ohio’s “guns in bars” law Wednesday when he was arrested for threatening to kill a fellow bar patron.

Chad O’Reilly’s arrest came two weeks after the law took effect and immediately reignited debate between gun-rights activists and those who wanted to continue a statewide ban on guns in bars.

“This law is so absurd,” said Toby Hoover, director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence. “Without this law, maybe some fists would have flied. Instead, he’s waving a gun around.”

Supporters of the new law say it worked as intended in this case. They say O’Reilly will lose his concealed-carry permit and could face up to five years in jail if he is convicted of violating the new gun law – stiffer penalties than he would have faced under the old law.

“This fellow made a serious mistake,” said state Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Green Township, who supported changing the law. “Nothing in the law allows you to do anything other than carry a gun into an establishment if you have a permit.

“It does not give you license to brandish a gun and wave it around.”

Police say the incident occurred around 2 a.m. Wednesday when O’Reilly, who has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, got into a heated argument with another man at the H&H Tavern on Ohio Avenue in Deer Park.

They say O’Reilly, 25, walked out of the bar and returned a short time later with a .40-caliber semiautomatic Glock pistol in his hand.

According to the arrest report, O’Reilly shouted a racial slur at the man, who is Hispanic, and said, “I’m going to kill you.”

Deer Park police say O’Reilly’s friends ushered him out of the bar and police arrested him at gunpoint a few minutes later. He did not resist and no one was hurt.

O’Reilly, who police said had been drinking, was charged with aggravated menacing, ethnic intimidation, possession of a controlled substance (injectable testosterone) and illegal possession of a firearm in a liquor establishment.

The latter charge is related to Ohio’s new law, which allows concealed-carry permit holders to bring weapons into bars, restaurants, nightclubs and other places that serve liquor as long as they do not drink alcohol.

Ohio law previously had forbidden guns in those businesses, with or without a concealed-carry permit.

Because O’Reilly had been drinking, police say, he violated the new gun law. The other charges relate to the threats he is accused of making while brandishing the gun.

Ohio is one of several states to adopt some version of the guns in bars law, with gun-rights advocates arguing it makes sense to allow law-abiding citizens to carry their weapons rather than keep them at home or locked in a car when they go out.

The law does not allow drinking while carrying a gun and gives bar owners the option of putting up a sign banning guns on their premises.

The H&H Tavern had no such sign, but owner Dave Anderson said it soon will. He said his bar never had a problem with gun-toting patrons before and blames the new law for the incident Wednesday morning.

“I believe in the right to bear arms, but I believe that law was made in bad judgment,” Anderson said. “It’s not good for any small business to have people carrying firearms in.”

Deer Park police Lt. Daniel McCormack said O’Reilly told police he tucked his gun into his waistband, without a holster, before entering the tavern. The bartender told police he served O’Reilly two beers before the incident.

“I’m a shooter and I believe in concealed carry,” McCormack said. “But any time you have alcohol and guns, it’s just not a good mix.”

The same argument was made often when legislators debated the new law earlier this year. The Ohio Restaurant Association, with more than 2,400 members, opposed the law on grounds that alcohol and guns are a bad combination.

Seitz and others, however, have said the nearly 250,000 Ohioans with concealed-carry permits are law-abiding citizens who should be allowed to keep their firearms with them.

To obtain a concealed-carry permit, a person must complete at least 12 hours of training, including two hours on a firing range, pass a criminal background check and pay various fees.

Seitz said the potential penalties O’Reilly faces for violating the law should discourage other permit holders from drinking while carrying a gun.

“The draconian sanctions on those who violate this law will act as a deterrent on those who would do something foolish in the future,” Seitz said.

Anderson, the bar owner, said he just doesn’t want a repeat of what happened Wednesday morning.

“We’ve been in business 21 years,” he said. “We’ve never had a thing like this happen before.”

Weapons Of Mass Distraction: Republicans Worried About Gun Scandal Instead Of Jobs!

2011-10-11T07:47:00.000-04:00

This issue has circulated through the conservative blogs and media for the last three months.

Operation Fast and Furious was a sting run by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) between 2009 and 2010 as part of Project Gunrunner in its investigations into illegal gun trafficking. The stated purpose of the operation was to permit otherwise-suspected straw purchasers to complete the weapon's purchase and transit to Mexico, in order to build a bigger case against Mexican criminal organizations suspected of being the ultimate buyer.

During the operation, the sale of at least 2,000 guns were facilitated by ATF knowing most would be trafficked to Mexico. By June 2011, the guns have been linked (through eTrace, ATF's electronic tracing program) to some 179 crime scenes in Mexico.

Of the 2,000 guns knowingly released by ATF agents, only 600 are reported as recovered by officials. The remaining 1,400 guns have not been recovered.

Congressman Darrell Issa (R-California) is heavily involved in the Operation Fast & Furious scandal. The Republicans and conservatives call for Attorney General Eric Holder to resign. Republicans once again have their asses wrapped around the American flag in defense of another "culture" war. Instead of worrying about what they were elected for, we see the Republicans wasting time, money and patience.

Herman Cain: 'Racism In This Country Today' Doesn't Hold 'Anybody Back In A Big Way'

2011-10-10T08:51:00.001-04:00

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain can say whatever he wants!

It doesn't stop police officers from racial profiling Blacks and Latinos in neighborhoods!

It doesn't stop the dog whistle politics that his fellow conservative allies on television, radio, and the blogs!

It doesn't stop the unequivocal wealth gap between hites, Blacks, Latinos, Asians and Native Americans.

Some of the comments today reflect on a society that is totally stupid! Stupid when it comes to race, gender, sexuality, nationality, religion, political and economic standings.

Herman Cain would love to speak his mind if he can get away with it! But this is a presidential election and the more you hear from this guy, the less you're going like.

I mean Republicans still have trouble trying to court Blacks. He's one of the few Blacks that reside in the Republican Party.

For every time I hear someone on the right say that "Democrats hold Blacks back with.....", it assures that Blacks will continue to support the Democrats.

Why?

Cause the Republicans have policies Blacks will never support!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dayton, Ohio Welcomes Immigrants! I'll Bet You: Bill O'Reilly Will Create A Stir!

2011-10-09T03:29:00.000-04:00

Dayton, Ohio Welcomes Immigrants! I'll Bet You Bill O'Reilly Will Cause A Stir!

I see that my community okays a charter to allow immigrants (assuming illegal) to live and work in Dayton, Ohio.

Let's see! A town that allows immigrants (probably Hispanic decent) to live in the community. Probably some being illegal! A "concern citizen" gets the word to either Bill O'Reilly, Neal Boortz, Michael Savage, The Drudge Report or Michelle Malkin.

I'll bet you that the noise will travel and then you'll hear chants of a "librul gubmint" trying to be a "sanscery city" and the left wants our borders to be open for all the browner people to come and steal away the "privilege of our peoples!"

You know what I mean!

Against the grain, Dayton, Ohio, embraces immigrants
By Mariano Castillo, CNN

* Dayton wants to become a nationally recognized immigrant-friendly city
* The initiative comes at a time when states are passing tough immigration laws
* Immigrants are more likely to start businesses and create jobs, the city says

(CNN) -- At a time when the trend among state legislatures is to create tough immigration laws, one Ohio city is pinning its ambitions on an opposite track.

Dayton, with a population of about 140,000, wants to become the friendliest place for immigrants.

Immigrants, officials say, have opened businesses and created jobs in the city's economy, and they hope to reverse the region's economic slowdown by betting on immigrants.

The Dayton City Commission this week accepted the so-called "Welcome Dayton" plan, a framework for policies that could be implemented to make the city a more welcoming place.

The pro-immigrant sentiment in Dayton stands in contrast to a number of high profile laws at the state level targeting illegal immigrants, but it is not a perfect comparison.

The state laws are focused on combating illegal immigration. The city plan has nothing to do with illegal immigration, officials say, but rather with welcoming immigrants and treating all residents with respect.

"Critics conveniently connect the word 'immigrant' with the word 'illegal' when talking about the Welcome Dayton plan, but that's not what this initiative is all about," City Manager Tim Riordan said in a news release. "We have many good people from all nationalities coming here to invest in the community and to build a better life."

But at least a couple of the recommendations made in the Welcome Dayton plan appear to take undocumented immigrants into consideration.

The plan suggests the creation of a municipal identification card for Dayton residents who don't have any other form of ID. Such a card could presumably help undocumented residents who need identification to open bank accounts or apply for driver's licenses and other services.

Another item that could have an impact on those who are in the country illegally is a recommendation that police emphasize immigration status checks only for suspects of serious crimes. Such a policy could protect undocumented immigrants stopped for minor offenses from fearing deportation. It is an opposite approach from those states with laws that seek to have police check the immigration status of everyone they stop.

Other Dayton recommendations include improving the interpreter capabilities offered by the city and creating hiring incentives for government employees to learn a foreign language.

The Welcome Dayton plan also advocates seeking federal grants for English study for immigrants. It also recommends using city lobbyists to advocate for pro-immigrant laws at the state and federal level.

Many of these proposals would be controversial at the federal level, but opposition appeared to be minor in Dayton. At the public hearing where the plan was discussed, 10 members of the public stood up to address the commissioners about it. Nine of the 10 spoke in support of the measure, and the lone dissenter wasn't from Dayton, but from nearby Columbus.

The plan was approved unanimously.

Dayton Mayor Gary Leitzell declined to speak to CNN Saturday, and referred to a statement posted on his blog, which he read at the commission meeting.

"This plan is designed to enhance the potential of Dayton as a competitor in the global economy by attracting immigrants who bring new ideas, new perspective, and new talent to our work force," Leitzell said in the statement. "In order to reverse the decades-long trend of economic decline in this city, we need to think globally and recruit the very best from around the world."

Welcome Dayton was hatched from a study of housing conditions for Hispanic residents, which ultimately led to a multiagency, communitywide effort to draft the plan.

When the city asked its residents about the impact of immigrants, they learned that businesses had been started by immigrants. Houses were rehabilitated and underused buildings were reused and rejuvenated, the report found.

According to the city, immigrants are two times more likely than others to become entrepreneurs.

"History proves that closed minds and resistance to change only results in failure," Leitzell said. "To those citizens who are against the Welcome Dayton plan — instead of condemning something that you didn't participate in, volunteer to help us make it better."

Eric Holder Hits Back At Rep. Who Called Obama Administration 'Accessory' To 'Murder'

2011-10-07T23:18:00.001-04:00

The Republicans aren't worried about jobs and the economy!

They once again wrap their asses around the American flag in the name of another "culture war"!

I mean what does this have to do with putting people back to work?

This is an example of why Congress job approval low!

I understand there's no way to bring back the U.S. border guard killed by the drug lords! However, why isn't there any talk about how the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms being seriously in need of employees. The government workers took a freeze in pay, work extra harder to make sure our federal services are open and they never get a "thank you for a job well done!"

If Attorney General Eric Holder wanted to be a partisan, why don't he look into why former Vice President Dick Cheney shooting a man in the face? Why don't Holder invest time to investigate the missing emails from former Attorney Generals Alberto Gonzalez or Michael Murkasey?

This is another example of the witch hunts from Republicans in an attempt to defeat President Barack Obama.

Congressman Darrell Issa better worry about serious issues like the rising militia groups, the contamination of our foods.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Lawrence O'Donnell, Herman Cain Argue About The Civil Rights Movement (VIDEO)

2011-10-07T17:02:00.002-04:00

Way to go, Lawrence! You just gave the right wing something to whine about on radio, television and the blogs.

If one is to believe that interview was out of line, then you're not the only one!

For one thing, Republican candidate Herman Cain was a stand up guy for appearing on a clearly partisan show! It shows that the candidate is at least willing to take on a political enemy as the right put it in the network MSNBC.

Second, if Lawrence O'Donnell would have stayed focus on interviewing Cain on his policies and then focus on his controversial statements, this wouldn't be the talk in the right wing media.

Third, Cain now is a established front runner. After this Florida Straw Poll, and a CBS poll putting him in a statistic tie with former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, Cain is riding in the limelight.

After scandals affected Rick Perry's campaign, Herman Cain quietly came into the focus.

O'Donnell should have not went into the "culture war". That's like picking with a hornets nest!

The right will drive this issue for weeks to come!

Are You Ready For Your Pink Slip? Redneck Singer Gets Canned From ESPN After Obama Rant!

2011-10-06T11:01:00.003-04:00

Let's go back to the days of Don Imus.

I remember that one in particular Sean Hannity didn't have a problem with Imus' controversial rants of the female basketball players at Rutgers University. MSNBC pulled the plug on that show.

And within a few months, Imus talked to Roger Ailes about reviving his career and there you have it. The controversial talker is on Fox Business Network at the assistance of Sean Hannity pleading to Roger Ailes to hire "this guy on!"

Now onto this tobacco chewing, Jack Daniels breath smelling, douchebag!

Listening to how he's a frequent contributor to Fox News. His often blunt comments never got that much attention! It was the one time that he managed to throw a racial slur (i.e. Hitler). Then compare the analogy to an ally of the Fox News Channel like Benjamin Netanyahu, probably got the Jewish community upset.

So Sean Hannity will once again go on the defense of this guy! Expect Hannity to have him on his show and use his bumper music.

Then Roger Ailes will hire him on to contribute to pop culture.

Hank Williams, Jr. was either a drunk fool or a dumb fool! He was canned from ESPN's Monday Night Football after he went on a rant about President Obama.

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

How To Ruin An Already Lacklaster Campaign: Ron Paul Weighs In On President Obama Order To Kill Anwar Al-Awlaki

2011-10-02T11:11:00.004-04:00

Presidential candidate Ron Paul weighs in the killing of Anwar Al-Awlaki.

He's complaining that the U.S. born cleric who has ties to al-Qaeda wasn't given his due process. He slams President Barack Obama for advocating a "target kill" on the spiritual adviser who inspired a young man attempt to blow up a commercial airplane and then a military officer who attacked his own members in Fort Hood, Texas.

That's funny, Paul didn't complain about President George W. Bush's 2002 target killing of Kamal Derwish, an American who was killed in Yemen.

What Paul says will not to appeal to Republicans! Especially the ones he wants to court for the Republican nomination. This becomes an issue as well as a big setback to his stance on how to defend the United States from domestic and international terrorism.

Sure his core base of fanatics will flock to comments pages like this one and say that's he's always right and every other comment is irrelevant. Ron Paul can't do wrong, his followers say!

Anyways, Paul will not get the nomination, and his core fanatics will troll the internet for comments attacking the congressman's stances.

They'll get into trivial debates over how the media never covers him, make claims that it's people like me that are uninformed or dependent on some perceived government handouts.

Ron Paul is an establishment candidate who's "KOOKY" ideas appeal to the broad coalition of drug users, disengaged conservatives and liberals, extremists (the ones who appear on anti-government and White Supremacists websites) and people who "read the Constitution all the ways!" They're chances of liberty, freedom, prosperity will result in another empty rhetoric candidate who appeals to one fringe base instead of working to appeal to the rest of the broad society.

People are awaken to the extremist rhetoric this man and his son Rand Paul say on television, radio and the blogs.

Could Chris Christie Be The "New Flavor Of The Month"? Could He Inspire An Already Weak Field Of Clowns?

2011-10-02T10:46:00.002-04:00

Bigger drags continue.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie would be the new "flavor of the month".

I mean how bad is the field if they allocate the attention on the controversial governor.

President Barack Obama is vulnerable and can be defeated. But if [the GOP] continue to run candidates who are too polarized, they'll lose.

Some of the most unpopular positions from the Republican governors, the House of Representatives, and Tea Party movement created a stalled economy. And yet, it's President Barack Obama taking the blows for an ineffective government. An ineffective leadership and not confronting the Republicans made him weak.

I don't know Christie could change the dynamics of a "PRETTY WEAK" field of candidates, but let him bask in the limelight!

I rank this 112th Congress, a "Do Nothing Congress".

And should a Republican win the White House, assured that the activists on the left will make the new president suffer and we'll repeat the cycle of extremism yet again.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

President Obama: Stop Complainin' And Fight

2011-09-25T08:38:00.000-04:00

WASHINGTON — In a fiery summons to an important voting bloc, President Barack Obama told blacks on Saturday to quit crying and complaining and "put on your marching shoes" to follow him into battle for jobs and opportunity.

And though he didn't say it directly, for a second term, too.

Obama's speech to the annual awards dinner of the Congressional Black Caucus was his answer to increasingly vocal griping from black leaders that he's been giving away too much in talks with Republicans -- and not doing enough to fight black unemployment, which is nearly double the national average at 16.7 percent.

"It gets folks discouraged. I know. I listen to some of y'all," Obama told an audience of some 3,000 in a darkened Washington convention center.

But he said blacks need to have faith in the future -- and understand that the fight won't be won if they don't rally to his side.

"I need your help," Obama said.

The president will need black turnout to match its historic 2008 levels if he's to have a shot at winning a second term, and Saturday's speech was a chance to speak directly to inner-city concerns.

He acknowledged blacks have suffered mightily because of the recession, and are frustrated that the downturn is taking so long to reverse. "So many people are still hurting. So many people are barely hanging on," he said, then added: "And so many people in this city are fighting us every step of the way."

But Obama said blacks know all too well from the civil rights struggle that the fight for what is right is never easy.

"Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes," he said, his voice rising as applause and cheers mounted. "Shake it off. Stop complainin'. Stop grumblin'. Stop cryin'. We are going to press on. We have work to do."

Topping the to-do list, he said, is getting Congress to the pass jobs bill he sent to Capitol Hill two weeks ago.

Obama said the package of payroll tax cuts, business tax breaks and infrastructure spending will benefit 100,000 black-owned businesses and 20 million African-American workers. Republicans have indicated they're open to some of the tax measures -- but oppose his means of paying for it: hiking taxes on top income-earners and big business.

But at times, Obama also sounded like he was discussing his own embattled tenure.

"The future rewards those who press on," He said. "I don't have time to feel sorry for myself. I don't have time to complain. I'm going to press on."

Caucus leaders remain fiercely protective of the nation's first African-American president, but in recent weeks they've been increasingly vocal in their discontent -- especially over black joblessness.

"If Bill Clinton had been in the White House and had failed to address this problem, we probably would be marching on the White House," the caucus chairman, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, recently told McClatchy Newspapers.

Like many Democratic lawmakers, caucus members were dismayed by Obama's concessions to the GOP during the summer's talks on raising the government's borrowing limit.

Cleaver famously called the compromise deal a "sugar-coated Satan sandwich."

But Cleaver said his members also are keeping their gripes in check because "nobody wants to do anything that would empower the people who hate the president."

Still, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., caused a stir last month by complaining that Obama's Midwest bus tour had bypassed black districts. She told a largely black audience in Detroit that the caucus is "supportive of the president, but we're getting tired."

Last year, Obama addressed the same dinner and implored blacks to get out the vote in the midterm elections because Republicans were preparing to "turn back the clock."

What followed was a Democratic rout that Obama acknowledged as a "shellacking."

Where blacks had turned out in droves to help elect him in 2008, there was a sharp drop-off two years later.

Some 65 percent of eligible blacks voted in 2008, compared with a 2010 level that polls estimate at between 37 percent and 40 percent. Final census figures for 2010 are not yet available, and it's worth noting off-year elections typically draw far fewer voters.

This year's caucus speech came as Obama began cranking up grass-roots efforts across the Democratic spectrum.

It also fell on the eve of a trip to the West Coast that will combine salesmanship for the jobs plan he sent to Congress this month and re-election fundraising.

Obama was leaving Sunday morning for Seattle, where two money receptions were planned, with two more to follow in the San Francisco area.

On Monday, Obama is holding a town meeting at the California headquarters of LinkedIn, the business networking website, before going on to fundraisers in San Diego and Los Angeles and a visit Tuesday to a Denver-area high school to highlight the school renovation component of the jobs package.