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He who has the gold makes the rules, chapter 341

gaspricemap

The above is proof that 1)the world is not full of angels, 2) as a result, government regulation is needed, and 3) because corporate greedheads are everywhere.

You wanna know why North Dakota and the northern half of Minnesota have the highest gas prices in the nation? It’s because two local refineries, and three of the four regional gasoline refineries, did their usual spring shutdown for maintenance and formulation changing for summer driving — at the same time.

The average price of gas in April was $3.46; today it’s $4.16.

Was this a calculated move? Did businesses with dollar signs in their eyes plan this?  Does a bear shit in the Minnesota Boundry Waters regularly?

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Republican public policy in a nutshell

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You can’t buy this level of irony. From Senator Rand Paul (R-KY):

…Sen. Rand Paul claimed Sunday there was a “written policy” floating around the agency that said IRS officials were “targeting people who were opposed to the president.

When CNN pressed Senator Paul on details, his response was:

“Well, we keep hearing the reports and we have several specifically worded items saying who was being targeted. In fact, one of the bullet points says those who are critical of the president. So I don’t know if that comes from a policy, but that’s what’s being reported in the press and reported orally. I haven’t seen a policy statement, but I think we need to see that.”

It is said that the most chilling three-word phrase used at Faux News isn’t “fair and balanced”, it’s “Some people say…“

As in, “Some people say the administration knew about the Benghazi attacks before they happened, and did nothing“. Or “Some people say that Obamacare will wipe out health care for the poor“. Or “Some people say that human-instigated climate change is a complete hoax.“

Never let it be said that individuals can’t make a difference in this world

Goodness and Truth Marriage equality supporters have won another victory over the Forces of Darkness the dinosaurs.

The Minnesota senate has passed its marriage equality bill 37-30. Gay marriage begins in the Great Frozen North on August 1.

That’s two victories for this fine state, and we’re the 12th state to outlaw yet another form of discrimination.

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Repeat anything often enough, and it seems to become truth

monopolyAnyone curious as to the small print on that story about the IRS targeting applications by political organizations transparently disguised as tax-exempt 501(c)4 organizations that mostly turned out to be started by conservative causes?

Remember the recent Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court? the decision that removed any sane financial cap on donations for political campaigns? the decision that has pushed our country far along the spectrum to a plutocratic oligarchy?

Yeah, that decision.

It seems that as a result of Citizens United, there was a doubling of the usual rate of applications to create tax-exempt organizations between 2010 and 2012. Such a change in the number of requests naturally sparked suspicion within the IRS, and some IRS offices began using keywords to single out certain requests.

The IRS has apologized for the issue. No organization was denied a request as a result of this profiling. No damage was done, the hoorah raised by dozens of conservative pundits and self-righteous politicians notwithstanding. However, those nabobs of negativism are demanding rolling heads and a presidential apology from That Skeery Black Man in the White House.

Gone for now, folks

I haven’t posted in weeks, and I finally put my finger on why.

I’m preaching to the choir, and while that can be satisfying in its way, it isn’t enough.

I appreciate those folk who came to visit, and to participate in the community. Thanks so much for that.

“Marco Rubio es un pañuelo rosa!”

Let Montgomery Burns explain it all to you:

 

Great Internet Truth #7

If anything preserves true representative government anywhere in this world during the 21st century, it will be transparency in the media and in government enforced by use of the internet.

From the Sunlight Foundation:

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We know that at the heart of the open, transparent government we seek is ‘open’ government data that is available online and in real-time.

Government information should be as accessible to us as information about the weather, sports scores or knowing what’s going on in the stock market — and we need it to be this way so we can both hold government accountable and create new enterprise with what is made available to us.

Read the essay. It’s well worth your time.

It’s four years from 2016, and he’s already stepped in it

One of the young bucks in the wingnut bullpen, Senator Marco Rubio, gets an early start on his 2016 debacle with a GQ interview:

How old do you think the Earth is?

I’m not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that’s a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States. I think the age of the universe has zero to do with how our economy is going to grow. I’m not a scientist. I don’t think I’m qualified to answer a question like that. At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all…

(Emphasis mine.)

So, in less than one question’s answer, Rubio has

  • sidestepped the question in order to talk about what he wants to talk about
  • ignored mountains of verifiable scientific facts
  • paid homage to his billionaire conservative controllers donors
  • backed the notion of teaching creationism in science classes
  • shuffled off any responsibility for the non-answer he gave

Oh, aside from his wife, Rubio’s best friend is  Jim DeMint.

Did Rubio and Rmoney change bodies sometime over the weekend? And would you want someone who’s not qualified to read a high-school geology text running your country?

“…and now, the *rest* of the story.”

As Paul Harvey reminded us, there is always several sides to a story.

The anti-union waterheads are cartwheeling over their notion that the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers Union brought about the demise of Hostess Bakeries.

Before they get too excited, however, they need a little history lesson:

As a side note, Saputo of Canada owns several of the Hostess labels. We might just see Ho-Ho smugglers before long.

Wanna know where your Catholic tithes go?

Look no further.

Per NOM Exposed, the Roman Catholic Church and its minions in the Knights of Columbus spent $2 million to discriminate against your gay friends and neighbors. NOM itself, who gets great big checks from the Church, spent another $5 million.

That’s 7 million of your donated dollars,  American Catholics. This money should have been spent on the charities and worthy causes for which it was intended. Instead it was spent by a gang of homophobic haters who are supposedly looking after your spiritual well-being. As if.

American Catholics, why are you putting up with this? Are you afraid of the Church and what it might do…

…like this? (Here’s a hint, Lennon. It’s not just the priest — it’s the whole goddam Church.)

UPDATE 16 November: And then there’s legal defense of repeat pedophiles in Australia:

…at least two Catholic orders have continued to fund the legal defences of some of their religious members as they went to trial for the second, third and even fourth time for the sexual abuse of children.
This includes the funding of multiple appeals, hiring top barristers who charge thousands of dollars a day, and hiring private investigators.

What I did during my break from blog writing

I haven’t written on this blog since November 2. Here’s what I’ve been up to.

  1. On Tuesday 11/6, the 2012 U.S. election cycle is over (Боже мой!), and I was happy to see the end of it. Obama won (yay!), the attempt to codify “traditional marriage” in our state’s constitution was defeated (yayyay!), and it would seem that billionaire conservative donors didn’t make much headway. (Every candidate funded by Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS was defeated.)
  2. On Thursday 11/8, we went to pick up our crockpot from the Shoreview office for Minnesotans United for All Families. The Spouse and the Horsemen (her boys) all worked like dogs on this campaign; we were all determined that legal discrimination against gays was not to be borne — certainly not in any state we live in! Now we’re all thinking about how to get the anti-gay-marriage law repealed and make Minnesota the 11th American jurisdiction to recognize true marriage equality.
  3. On Saturday 11/10, I took a tumble going down a steep and slippery hill, got my foot turned under me, and ended up with a very badly dislocated foot (the talus bone of my left foot was rotated 30° to the outside). I also got three cracks at the end of my tibia. Reduction took care of the dislocation, and surgery next week will deal with the cracks. Horseman #4′s reaction to watching the reduction was “Cool!”

What cool things have you folks been up to lately?

Perspective requires the desire to see properly, don’tcha know?

Found this on Facebook tonight:

Along with the documentation:

  • June 14, 2002, Karachi, Pakistan: Bomb explodes outside American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 12. Linked to al-Qaeda.
  • May 12, 2003, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Suicide bombers kill 34, including 8 Americans, at housing compounds for Westerners. Al-aeda suspected.
  • May 29–31, 2004, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Terrorists attack the offices of a Saudi oil company in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, take foreign oil workers hostage in a nearby residential compound, leaving 22 people dead, including one American.
  • June 11–19, 2004, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Terrorists kidnap and execute Paul Johnson Jr., an American, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Two other Americans and a BBC cameraman are killed by gun attacks.
  • Dec. 6, 2004, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Terrorists storm the U.S. consulate, killing 5 consulate employees. Four terrorists were killed by Saudi security.
  • Nov. 9, 2005, Amman, Jordan: Suicide bombers hit 3 American hotels, Radisson, Grand Hyatt, and Days Inn, in Amman, Jordan, killing 57. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility.
  • Sept. 13, 2006, Damascus, Syria: An attack by four gunman on the American embassy is foiled after two security guards are wounded.
  • Jan. 12, 2007, Athens, Greece: The U.S. embassy is fired on by an anti-tank missile, causing damage but no injuries.
  • Dec. 11, 2007, Algeria: More than 60 people are killed, including 11 United Nations staff members, when Al Qaeda terrorists detonate two car bombs near Algeria’s Constitutional Council and the United Nations offices.
  • Sept. 16, 2008, Yemen: A car bomb and a rocket strike the U.S. embassy in Yemen as staff arrived to work, killing 16 people, including 4 civilians. At least 25 suspected al-Qaeda militants are arrested for the attack.
  • Nov. 26, 2008, India: In a series of attacks on several of Mumbai’s landmarks and commercial hubs that are popular with Americans and other foreign tourists, including at least two five-star hotels, a hospital, a train station, and a cinema. About 300 people are wounded and nearly 190 people die, including at least 5 Americans.

So, the next time Willard, Glenn, Rush, or a Teahaddist starts bleating about the attack in Libya, ask them what happened to their outrage at the  administration’s apparent security lapses during the Bush administration.

Or is it all because Obama is a skeery black man?