xntricity

Your Vote Counts

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:49:55 PST

Right wing (read: GOP/Republican/Conservative) pundits (Limbaugh, Fox News, etc) always seem to be quick to point out the shortcomings & mistakes of their Left Wing (read: Democratic/Liberal) opposites. And lets be honest, the shortcomings & mistakes of people within the public eye should be pointed out. Yes they're human but because of their position in society, they are understandably held to a higher standard. However when the mistakes of Right Wing representatives are pointed out by Left Wing pundits the propensity to condemn the very same criticisms as politically motivated are all too often met with apologies from Democratic Liberals.

Why the difference in reactions? The bottom line is Liberal Democrats are nice. It takes a lot for a Democrat to criticize and when called out for it, the guilt complex kicks in and Liberal Dems quickly back down and apologize. This highlights the very weakness within the Democratic/Liberal/Left Wing psyche. Their sense of "fair play" is much too strong to allow them to compete effectively with the lack of scruples and dirty tricks so often played within a political campaign.

American voters have repeatedly said they don't like negative campaigns but then they turn right around and allow those very same negative campaign tactics to influence their vote. The American voter is fickle and generally does not put in the necessary research to make an informed decision when they go to the polls. As a result, we get election results that are disastrous. Case in point, the large number of "Tea Party" Republicans who gained a position in Congress during the last election. Americans wanted something, anything, to change but the change they voted for has proven to be disastrous for both the American Economy, the Rights of American Workers and last but not least Women's Health Care.

Attacks on these subjects have long been defended against by Democratic/Liberal politicians, Unions and even moderate Republican representatives. But when these 'roadblocks' were removed from office, the Radical Right quickly pounced and through Governors offices, decimated the rights of State Workers Unions; through the US Congress, crashed our American economy; and through the lack of opposition, have attacked Women's Reproductive and Health Care rights from all angles.

Your vote has a consequence. Your vote counts. Don't allow the mistakes of past elections continue. Correct the voting mistakes made, vote out the 'Tea Party' Republicans. Recall them where ever possible. And carry this hard learned lesson forward. Teach your child(ren) the importance of independent research when deciding on the election of a candidate whether for a local municipal office or a national position. Every Vote Counts and Every Vote has a Consequence.

FINALLY Penn State Students Step Up

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:11:30 PST

Hundreds of students held a candlelight vigil in memories of the victims..

The Shame of Penn State

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:09:54 PST

Seriously. The misguided & blatant wrongness of the Penn State student protests make me sick. How ANYONE in their right mind can put football, a GAME, over the harm brought to a child is beyond me. It's absolutely disgusting. The whole damned college needs to be sanctioned not only for its handling of (or lack thereof) these allegations but also for creating an atmosphere that encouraged God-like worship of its football coach. The college itself needs to step forward & discourage or prohibit these inappropriate student demonstrations. And in Joe Pa was half the man these students believe him to be he himself would stand up to the protesters & tell them to disburse & cease their misguided & disgusting demonstrations. The victims of these crimes have already been put thru enough.

Update! MN Sen Ingebrigtsen responds

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Wed, 25 May 2011 15:49:25 PDT

Sen Bill Ingebrigtsen:

"Yes indeed, its not easy to undo the 40 years of fiscal and moral damage, liberalism has created in our great state"

How nice of Senator Ingebrigtsen to respond to my email. Isn't it awful that the liberal programs of Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance, Food Stamps, etc have done so much damage to Minnesota and it's citizens to leave him so bitter? I hope no one in his family ever needs to rely on these programs. I'm certain with his negative attitude he would treat them very badly if he were to find out.

Congratulations to MN's GOP

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Tue, 24 May 2011 16:35:33 PDT

Dear Minnesota Republican House Representative:
Dear Minnesota Republican Senate Representative:

Congratulations MN GOP your dead eye focus on our state's fiscal health has averted the need for a costly special-session...Oh wait.. You ARE going to a special-session.

Well, congratulations on your un-wavering focus on the promised jobs creation you campaigned on... Wait... You didn't get that done either.

At least you can say you decreased the size of government. That was really important to you, you campaigned really hard for smaller government. And now, by voting to put an amendment to our constitution on the ballot, you've ensured that the government will stay out of our private business... Wait, how much more private can you get than marriage? But you're putting that to a vote of the people. You would NEVER try to override the will of the people by stepping in and taking control away from, say.. local school boards. You know, try to micro-manage local.. Wait just a minute, you tried to do that too!

So what exactly did you accomplish this legislative session?

*You've unnecessarily added to our state deficit by forcing a special session.
*You've actually created a situation where the state government may be peering into our private lives. (Can't get any more "Big Government" than that)
*You've attempted to take control away from local School Board members & micro-manage small, local government..

As I see it, you actually have accomplished a lot. Unfortunately, none of it fulfills the promises you made to us when campaigning for your office. So now, We, (your constituents) have a promise or you. BALANCE OUR BUDGET, RAISE TAXES ON THE WEALTHY MINNESOTANS WHO CAN AFFORD TO PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE, QUIT FOCUSING ON THINGS THAT DON'T CREATE JOBS OR INCREASE OUR STATE'S INCOME and STOP LYING! We The People put you into office and We The People can take you out of office.

Sincerely,

Your Employers,
We The People

Want to send this to Minnesota's House Republicans and/or Senate Republicans? Follow the link's below for email addresses:
MN House Representatives
MN Senate Representatives

#DumpTrump

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Sun, 01 May 2011 18:43:38 PDT

Donald Trump's continued insistence on questioning President Obama's birth certificate and subsequent questioning of our President's lineage and parentage is disgusting and clearly motivated by a deep seated racism that is, quite frankly, disturbing. Even worse is NBC's continued implied support of him by allowing his shows "The Apprentice" and "Celebrity Apprentice" to continue running. In addition the product brands sponsoring these shows imply their support for Trump and his opinions and by proxy they also imply their own racism and distrust for our American President.

I have begun contacting the sponsors of Trump's shows in the hope of pointing out to them the negativity and vile racism they are associating their products and brands with. If you feel the way I do about this and would like to see support for Trump pulled, please join me in contacting these companies. Ask them to remove their support for his shows and more importantly, for Trump.

Below is a list of product brands that sponsor Trump's shows "The Apprentice" and "Celebrity Apprentice". Contact each of them and express your distaste for their association with Trump. Ask the sponsors to stop advertising during Trump's shows. Tell them you will no longer purchase their products or support their brands if the continue to sponsor Trump and his shows. Post your results as comments, I will be very interested to read your success stories. And if there are sponsors that are missing from this list, post their names, I'll add them to my list.

NBC'S 24-HOUR VIEWER COMMENT LINE ~ 1-212-664-4444

7-UP
Contact

ONSTAR
Contact

AUSTRALIAN GOLD
Email address listed on their site is not deliverable. Searching for updated contact info.

CAMPING WORLD
Contact

OMAHA STEAKS
Contact

FAROUK HAIR SYSTEMS
Twitter Handle: @FaroukInc
Contact

PEPSI CO
Twitter Handle: @pepsico
Head of PR: Tim Cost
Contact

Warren Buffett, Wary of Apple's Stock

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:49:59 PDT

iClarified is reporting that Warren Buffett is Wary of Apple's Stock. This headline is misleading. What he actually said was "it's not easy for me to come to a conclusion about Apple." That is in actuality far from expressing any wariness of Apple or it's stock as iClarified is implying.

Mr Buffett's comments show his age & the time in which he grew up. To be certain he has been a historically brilliant investor & with these comments I don't believe he is casting doubt on Apple but rather showing his lack of understanding of the future of the computer/electronics industry. I believe there will be a new investment guru to whom Mr Buffet will inevitably willingly or unwillingly pass his baton to. Of course there will always be a place in the investment world for expertise in these historically solid investment prospects but it becomes more imperative as time goes on that an investment expert in the electronics market emerges. Until one does, speculation will remain little better than guessing. But that most certainly does NOT mean Apple as a company or a stock prospect is not a good risk, that must be determined by your own long or short-term investment goals.

I want to make clear that I am in no way claiming to be an investment expert nor am I recommending anyone invest in Apple. I am simply expressing my thoughts on an article of interest and the comments attributed to a person for whom I have a great deal of respect.

Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Sued for Legal Malpractice

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:37:25 PDT

Steven Hackbarth of Silver Lake Minnesota has filed a Legal Malpractice lawsuit against Republican Gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. Mr. Hackbarth was a former supporter of Emmer stating "I pulled floats for him in parades for years. I have a John Deere tractor. My daughter has a goat, and we'd put a sandwich board on the goat with Emmer signs," Hackbarth told the blog, Ripple in Stillwater. "And now all I got was kicked in the head."

I found this story on page 2A of my local newspaper, but I commend Karl Bremer of The Ripple in Stillwater Blog for breaking this story. Of course Mr. Emmer has denied any wrong doing and has even gone as far as to accuse Mr. Hackbarth of extortion. I didn't know filing a lawsuit was extortion... Careful Mr. Emmer, burning the bridges of your former supporters can come back to bite you.

Please follow the link in this entry to The Ripple in Stillwater Blog". His story is very well written and the comments left thus far make good observations.

GOP sponsored Gay bashing has consequences

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 16:37:45 PDT

It's been a while since I've posted to my blog. It's not that I haven't had anything to say. Health Care Reform was just so important to me that things coming up since haven't seemed worth talking about... until now.

All of the political advertisements being thrown at us from both side of the political isle are disturbingly negative. But these conservative political and "Christian" organizations must take responsibility for what happens as a result of their "free-speech" protected gay bashing. Political ads portraying gay & lesbian people in a negative light, as "sinful", "immoral" & even calling them "dangerous" & threatening to the sanctity of marriage go too far. These advertisements incite hate & violent acts toward the gay & lesbian community in general but even worse they inspire students in our Nation's schools to feel justified when they bully their fellow students over their sexuality. The result? Suicides.

Search the internet or watch your local & national news, you'll find a recent rash of suicides. The sentiment is generally the same, "bullying is wrong" or "if we'd known maybe we could have stopped it". Bull Shit. We, as a society, sit by and allow the GOP & "Christian" groups to bash people based on their sexual orientation & then act surprised & shocked when that bashing has consequences. It's time to STOP! It's time to THINK!

Of course the Political & Religious Conservatives will say I'm politicizing a tragic event, again I say Bull Shit. That's an easy way for them to wiggle out of taking responsibility for their words. They don't want to admit they are inciting hate. The truth is if Jesus were here today he would be appalled at the Religious & Political Conservatives & what they do in "His" name. He would compare them to the Pharisees & turn over their tables in anger at their perversion of his message. Jesus taught us to love our neighbors, not hate them. Jesus taught us to accept those who are different, not turn them away & condemn them. I challenge "Christians" & Conservative Politicians to take a good look in the mirror & then to really think hard. When they reach the gates of Heaven will they be allowed in? Have they lived in the manner Jesus taught? Or have they spent so much time trying to condemn others that all they've really accomplished is to condemn themselves... to Hell.

#GOP, Reconciliation is NOT "The Nuclear Option"

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:15:51 PST

Dear Republicans & Fox News:

Reconciliation & "The Nuclear Option" are not one in the same thing but two distinctly different legislative processes. Get your facts straight or Shut Up.

From Wikipedia:
In U.S. politics, the nuclear option is an attempt by a majority of the United States Senate to end a filibuster by invoking a point of order to essentially declare the filibuster unconstitutional which can be decided by a simple majority, rather than seeking formal cloture with a supermajority of 60 senators. Although it is not provided for in the formal rules of the Senate, the procedure is the subject of a 1957 parliamentary opinion and has been used on several occasions since. Senator Trent Lott (Republican of Mississippi) first called the option "nuclear" in March 2003;[1][2] prior to this it was known as the constitutional option.

Thank You Amy Klobuchar!

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:42:12 PST

Amy Klobuchar has committed her support to Reconciliation in Health Care Reform! As of today we have 30 signatures in support of Reconciliation, that's so awesome! Mrs. Klobuchar's statement is below:

AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN):

"I support the House bill version of the public option which is based on negotiated rates, and if that came up for a vote in reconciliation I would vote yes. I do not support a public option based on Medicare rates because it exacerbates geographic disparities that already hurt Minnesota."

This is a major milestone but the fight is not over! Please contact your legislator and encourage them to sign the letter to Harry Reid in support of Reconciliation! Follow this link to get started today!

Introducing... Lucky!

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:08:14 PST

Watch the Health Care Summit

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:41:54 PST

[UPDATED] Stop #Beck - Visa

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:44:19 PST

[Update] Here is the response I received to my email...

Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding Visa’s advertising.

As a brand that was built on the trust and respect of its consumers, Visa values input from the people who use our products every day. Feedback such as yours is vitally important to our business.

We have forwarded your comments regarding the Glen Beck Show to our media-buying team. You can be assured that your views - along with those of your fellow consumers - will be taken into account as we plan for the future.

Again, thank you for taking the time to let us know your thoughts on this important topic.

Regards,

Visa Webmaster

Today we are contacting Visa, here is my email...

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am writing to ask you to discontinue your sponsoring of Glenn Beck. He spreads hate, incites and encourages anti-government sentiment and encourages race baiting. These practices negatively impact your customers, Glenn Beck is bad for your business.

Do the best thing you can for your business and discontinue your sponsorship of Glenn Beck.

Thank you

Please contact Visa with me and help Stop Beck!

UPDATE:
You can also contact Visa directly at 415-932-2564. This number is monitored Monday - Friday 9am-8pm EST. Thank you to an Anonymous commenter for the information.

Contacting Sponsors of Glenn Beck's-Chattem Companies

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:32:54 PST

My email to Chattem Companies regarding their sponsorship of Glenn Beck's Fox News Network program.

Dear Consumer,

Let me start by telling you how much we appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts about our advertising. Chattem has been in business for over 125 years, and in that time, we have learned to listen to our consumers above everyone else. It is through feedback such as yours that we attain a real time understanding of the sensitivities and concerns of consumers. I will forward your comments to the appropriate department for review.

Again, thank you again for taking the time to contact us.

Sincerely,
Susan Shell
Consumer Affairs Representative

Sent: Monday, February 22, 2010 5:43 PM
To: Consumer Affairs
Subject: Your Sponsorship of Glenn Beck

I am contacting you to ask that you discontinue your company's
sponsorship of Glenn Beck on Fox News Network. Glenn Beck spreads hate
& bigotry against the very people who purchase your many products. It
is not good business to sponsor his vile hatred.

If you would like to join in our fight to stop the spread of bigotry and hatred br Glenn Beck, you can contact Chattem Consumer Affairs by following this link.

Thank You

Now Watching StopBeck.com

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 10:52:03 PST

Please visit and support StopBeck.com Free speech is one thing, but hate is quite another, lets put an end to Beck's hate. Contact his remaining sponsors and tell them to stop supporting hate and bigotry. Click on the post title or follow this link and start contacting sponsors!

Thank you for your support!

[UPDATED] Note to Senator Amy Klobuchar

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:39:48 PST

I composed this note to Senator Amy Klobuchar upon hearing that she had mailed a letter stating she does not intend to sign the letter to Harry Reid in support of Reconciliation and the Public Option. I'm sharing the contents of that letter in the hope it will inspire you to also compose a note to Senator Klobuchar encouraging her to sign the letter and support the Reconciliation and Public Option. Feel free to copy my note if you wish.

I have heard you will not sign the letter in support of the Public Option. I would like to ask you to reconsider. The Public Option is supported by a majority of Americans and its potential for cost savings is important. As you know the cost of health care for Minnesotans, as well as the rest of Americans, is skyrocketing. We need to revamp our health care system and that revamp needs to include a strong public option. Please take time to think about this issue again and reconsider your position. Join your fellow Senator Al Franken and sign the letter in support of the Public Option & Reconciliation.

Thank you for your time.

You can locate Senator Klobuchar's website by clicking on the header to this post or go straight to her email form by clicking here.

UPDATE 2/18/10:
This evening in my email I received a response from Senator Klobuchar, I have pasted it in its entirety below...

February 18, 2010

Thank you for contacting me about health care reform. Knowing your views is important to me as I work to ensure that Americans have affordable, high-quality health care choices. Many of you have written to me in the past and I want to take a moment to update you on the status of the health care reform legislation.

As you know, I am committed to enacting reform that will provide stable coverage and lower costs for Minnesota families, businesses, and individuals. Health spending in our country currently accounts for more than one-sixth of our economy. It is imperative that we act to make the system cost-effective, proactive and stable. As Congress works toward solutions to rising health care costs, I will continue to push for a bill that includes strong cost reforms, protections against insurance company abuses, comprehensive Medicare coverage and debt reduction.

This past fall health care reform legislation passed in the House of Representatives. The Senate passed its version of the health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, at the end of December. The Senate bill includes incentives to increase access to primary care doctors, especially in rural areas; provides extensive tax credits to small businesses to purchase health care plans for employees; bans insurance companies from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions; fixes the "donut hole" by giving seniors better coverage for their prescription drugs; and includes provisions to combat Medicare fraud. If enacted, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office indicates that the Senate bill would reduce the federal deficit by $132 billion and extend the solvency of Medicare by nine years.

Currently, procedural options for the bill include having the House of Representatives pass the Senate health reform bill with changes and send it back to the Senate for a vote, or begin work on passing a revised bill. Among the changes I would like to see are eliminating the "Nebraska deal," improved protection for middle-class taxpayers, and making sure there is more transparency as the process continues.

While we continue to consider this legislation, I will work to ensure any version ultimately passed by Congress includes measures to benefit our state. I fought hard to ensure that the Senate bill included specific provisions to provide better health care for Minnesotans. Minnesota has consistently provided higher quality care, yet our health care providers are reimbursed for their services at a disproportionately low rate. To address this problem I worked to make sure that my bill to create a "value index" within the Medicare reimbursement system was included in the Senate bill. This provision would reduce costs by rewarding high-quality, cost-effective results, rather than paying procedure-by-procedure.

I was also able to ensure that the Senate bill reduced the original fee on medical devices - an innovative industry critical to our state's economy - by $18 billion and I worked to secure additional Medicaid dollars for the state of Minnesota. The Senate bill also includes the EARLY Act, a bill that I introduced to provide increased support and awareness to young women about the risks of breast cancer.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. One of the most important parts of my job is listening to what the people of Minnesota have to say to me. I am here in our nation's capital to do the public's business and to serve the people of our state. I hope you will contact me again about matters of concern to you.

Sincerely,
Amy Klobuchar
United States Senator

The response doesn't actually address my concerns, in fact it really skirts my whole email and just tells me what Health Care Reform she supports. The question of the letter to Harry Reid isn't even addressed in her response. Perhaps YOU can get a better response from her. Please email Senator Klobuchar and ask her to sign the letter to Harry Reid in support of a Public Option and using Reconciliation to pass it. Hurry, email her today!

There's still time to save Health Care Reform

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:21:00 PST

Reconciliation in a legislative process is defined as follows:

A legislative process in the United States Senate intended to allow consideration of a contentious bill without the threat of filibuster.

Bold Democratic Representatives have authored a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid encouraging him to use reconciliation in passing Health Care Reform with a Public Option. But we still need your help. Contact your Representative and tell them you support a Strong Public Option. Follow the link, fill in your Name, Address & Zip Code then follow the instructions to call your Representative and voice your support!

You CAN make a difference, call your Representative today!

Winter Stock Photos

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:11:07 PST

Had some fresh snow today so I bundled up and got a few new Stock Photos from my backyard. I've uploaded them to my deviantART account and you can preview them in the slide show at the bottom of this page.

Hope someone can use them and please share with me, what you come up with!

Thanks for looking!

My iPhone Apps

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:23:53 PST

I've had my iPhone for about 2 months. Shorter than most but long enough to have accumulated a fair amount of "apps" along the way. I've decided to share with you some of the apps I have downloaded and tell you my thoughts on them. If you enjoy this article, please let me know in the comments and I will do more like it.

Best Buy Best Shopper
We were recently shopping around for a new LED television so I downloaded this little gem as an aid to watch prices at Best Buy, where we planned on making our purchase. The app let me know any time the prices on the televisions we were watching dropped or went up, as well as the lowest and highest those prices reached in a period of about the past couple months. What were my results? The app enabled me to purchase my new television at the lowest price in recent history so it's purpose was achieved. Were there any negatives to this app? We were also able to get a surround sound bar with our television in addition to getting it at the lowest historical price. How is this a con? We stumbled upon this deal because we had very good timing, the app did not list this additional purchase incentive. Not really much of a negative but maybe more like a way to improve it in future updates.

Twittelator
I tried many different Twitter apps when I got my iPhone. Many were good but one stood out to me and I now use it exclusively, Twittelator. I like Twittelator because in addition to letting me view the tweets of the people I follow as other common Twitter apps do, it also allows me to view tweets in which I am mentioned, Tweets that are directly and exclusively to me and, best of all, the new Twitter Re-tweets. What else do I like about Twittelator? Smileys. When communicating online and especially when you are limited to 140 characters, words can be easily misunderstood, smileys help communicate intention and emotion. Smileys are to the written word as body language is to verbal communication. I love smileys. Of course its got more options too, like it allows you to manually tweet what you are listening to in the iPod app. Even better, it also allows you to tweet a picture either from your media library or via an impromptu snapshot. Very cool feature. What are its cons? If it has any cons, I haven't found them yet. I love this app!

On the chance that you don't care for my app reviews, I'm going to limit these first reviews to two. If you enjoyed these reviews and want me to write more, please leave a comment and let me know. I know most people don't leave comments on the blogs they read but I do and would really like to hear what you think of my posts.

Thanks for visiting!

We MUST Pass Health Care Reform!

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:38:30 PST

Reconciliation in a legislative process is defined as follows:

A legislative process in the United States Senate intended to allow consideration of a contentious bill without the threat of filibuster.

Health Care Reform is in jeopardy. Although the Democrats have the largest majority in decades, they no longer have the magic filibuster proof 60 votes. But all is not lost. Representatives Jared Polis and Chellie Pingree have authored a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid encouraging him to use reconciliation in passing Health Care Reform with a Public Option. But we still need your help. Contact your Representative and tell them you support a Strong Public Option. Follow the link, fill in your Name, Address & Zip Code then follow the instructions to call your Representative and voice your support!

You CAN make a difference, call your Representative today!

How to Extract a Background

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:34:40 PST

I am a Photographer by passion but you can't be a photographer in todays digital world without knowing how to manipulate them. In my quest to learn Adobe's Photoshop, I've found more than a few helpful Photoshop Tutorials. Today I'm going to highlight a very helpful but basic tutorial on How to Extract an Images Background. It's hosted at my favorite artistic website, DeviantART. Follow the link and learn something new today! :-)

World Citizen or Sepratist Nation

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:46:56 PST

Recently the Supreme Court overturned limits on Corporate and Union campaign contributions. The actual opinion can be viewed here. This decision has the possibility of changing the political scene dramatically. No longer will the playing field be somewhat even between the small contributor, large special interest groups, Corporations and Unions. Large contributors may now have the opportunity to finance entire campaigns for politicians who may not have otherwise had the support of the majority of voters. Even worse, foreign corporations may now be free to influence our domestic politics, policies and politicians. How did this happen and what effect will it ultimately have on the United States?

Yes according to law Corporations are to be treated as individuals, I remember learning this in Business Law. If I remember correctly, the purpose of this was to protect business owners from being personally sued or held personally liable in court as well as giving the IRS a way to collect taxes from these large companies.

What will the eventual fallout be from this decision? Time will tell. Maybe things will work out so the American people will be able to see through the corporate sponsored advertisements that will soon be flooding their television and other media. Perhaps the average American voter will be able to distinguish between cleverly doctored political propaganda and political advertisements that are being influenced by off-shore Corporations. Or perhaps American politics will begin to behave more as World Citizens and Neighbors instead of behaving like the self-righteous Nation that knows what's best for the rest of the World even though it's the youngest of all the large Countries.

Which is the correct position to take? We'll have to wait for the future to reveal that answer.

Democratic vs Republican Psychie

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:06:43 PST

I had just composed and posted a tweet along this same line when a few minutes later I came across this article by BaxterBlogs.

My Tweet:
The diff tween Repubs & Dems: Repubs throw temper tantrums when they lose, Dems roll over and accept it. #Sad #Truth

The title of the BaxterBlogs post:
Are the Democrats better at FIGHTING the establishment than BEING the establishment?

The similarities are eerie, get outa my head Baxter! ;-) Seriously, I was going to compose a post for my blog along these same lines but Baxter said it so well, I'm just going to direct y'all over to her Blog. Please remember to leave some comment love for her and I'd appreciate it if you'd let her know you found her blog through mine. :-)

BaxterBlogs

The Political Carnival gets it right

noreply@blogger.com (xntricity) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:06:07 PST

As you may know, I follow The Political Carnival, this article stands out to me and warrents highlighting. Please follow the link to read the full post.

The L.A. Times had a splendid editorial today. However I have to take issue with one sentence: "People are smart enough to separate fictional morality tales from reality." Please contine to The Political Carnival to read the whole article.