Rippin off military widows is criminal.

MetLife, Prudential and six other insurance companies have really screwed the pooch...and themselves if Andrew Cuomo knows wtf he is talking about. The following quote from Robert Gates...

"Until today, I actually believed that the families of our fallen heroes got a check for the full amount of their benefit,"

...Should really piss-the-fuck-off every single person that breathes.  If NY AG Andy Cuomo is correct, this shit should be criminal:

The attorney general's office said it appears some insurers tell families of fallen military personnel that policy payouts will be placed in an interest-bearing account. But the bulk of the interest benefits the insurers, and the cash is not placed in banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Cuomo's office said.

 "It is shocking and just plain wrong for these multinational life insurance companies to pocket hundreds of millions in profits that really belong to those who have lost family members and have already suffered immensely," Cuomo said.

His office said insurers place cash in their corporate accounts, reportedly earning up to 4.8 percent interest while paying families as little as 0.5 percent interest.(emphasis mine)

Subpoenas have been served on eight insurance companies -- Prudential Financial Inc., MetLife Inc., Genworth Financial Inc., UnumProvident Corp., Northwestern Mutual, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York Life Insurance Co., and the MONY Life Insurance Co. -- though the entire life insurance industry is under investigation, according to the attorney general's office.

I am hoping this isn't a bullshit political move by Cuomo, who is running for NY Governor. I hope to hell he is being honest on this....so he can fuck the living shit out of these smarmy insurance bastards.

The devastation is horrific. Kernville and Tehachapi fires

I live in the south-end of the San Joaquin Valley. I am surrounded on three sides by magnificent mountain ranges. One of the most beautiful places I like to go, that is wonderfully close to my home is the mountains northeast of here, the Kern River Valley, which is the beginning of the Sequoia National Forest. The Kern River provides water to the fuckwits of Los Angeles, it's that big Its stunning and so magnificent...and it will be again.

But it will take years for the area to come back after the ravaging fire that ran through that area the last few days, the fire is called "The Bull Fire". Kernville is a small, very rural,friendly  town up there in the mountains, the welcoming area as it were, of the Sequoia National Forest. Some People lost their homes, their animals, basically everything. The damage to wildlife is unknown at this time...but surely it is huge. From Channel 29's writeup and photo page:

KERNVILLE, Calif. -- Evacuation orders were lifted Wednesday for residents of Riverkern and the Camp Owens juvenile probation facility as more than 1,100 firefighters battled the 16,000-acre "Bull Fire."

Two people have been injured, eight homes have been destroyed and six outbuildings have burned, but crews appear to be making headway on the fire that has ravaged the Kern River Valley. The fire was 12 percent contained Wednesday night.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also declared a state of emergency for Kern County as another wildfire burns 10 miles south of Tehachapi.

The 'West Fire" as the Tehachapi fire is known, is up in the mountains to the east of Bakersfield, and I have been through that awesome area hundreds of times, mostly on my way to Vegas and all points east. That fire started Tuesday, the day I did a 7 hour round trip drive to San Diego to have a 'come to jesus' meeting with my father. It didn't go well to say the least...but digress...When I came over 'The Grapevine' a 4100 ft mountain I must cross to get home to Bakersfield, I saw the huge smoke plume and I got a shiver down my spine..I knew where it was and that it was a new fire. It has so far, been the most devastating, although both fires are devastating for different reasons.

The Windmill Farm, which I have photographed a hundred times, and provides natural energy to the thousands of residents of Mojave an surrounding areas is also threatened. If the fires reaches that area the devastation will be calculated in the billions of dollars folks.

A total of 17,000 acres have been burned total from both fires. Again, from Channel 29's Tehachapi fire photo page:

Firefighters say they've partially surrounded a wildfire near Tehachapi that has burned at least 30 homes and is threatening about 150 others.
The blaze 10 miles south of the city in the Old West Ranch community is one of two in Kern County that have forced about 2,300 people to evacuate homes.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency Tuesday night in Kern County as a result of the "Bull Fire" in the Kernville area and the "West Fire" near Tehachapi.

I am sad today, so much of natures beauty has been destroyed.  The Tehachapi fire happened in mid-day,while people were at work, and they lost their pets, horses and homes...everything. As an animal lover this devastated me. You can see both these fires from space they are so huge. A few photos below, courtesy of the victims that live in both areas.

Drawing water from the Kern River

Kernville Fire Above

Tehachapi fire above

Trying to save the windmill farm in Tehachapi Pass

Both fires are still burning folks...and its breaking my heart.

WikiLeaks can be this war's Pentagon Papers...If we let them.

Some folks feel that since the journalists of the world, and the readers of said words, ignored Wikileaks release of the Iraq footage showing our soldiers using civilians as practice fodder for their heat-seeking missiles, there isn't a snowballs chance in hell that this current release of over 90k of war doc's known as the Afghan War Diary,will do squat to change the Afghan war. 

But it doesn't have to be that way. The Pentagon Papers changed the entire Vietnam War. They changed the entire perspective of our nation towards the Vietnam War. The Afghan War Diary on WikiLeaks can do the same....its just up to the press. ...and we the people, to keep this shit front and center in the national conversation.

We need to keep this information out there.,shock and awe the fuckers, such as...that thousands more civilians were killed than publicly reported just for fucking starters. That Pakistan loves and harbors the Taliban yet takes our millions of tax payer dollars...with smirks on their friggin faces. And like Iraq's Fallujah which was a massacre of massive proportion, just for starters our government is doing the same fucking thing in Afghanistan.

I remember how the Ellsberg Papers, aka The Pentagon Papers, changed the entire Vietnam war...maybe your ass doesn't.... but mutha fucka..I do. From The Rachel Maddow Show:



There is so much we can learn from the WikiLeaks Afghan War diary...we just have to open our eyes, our mouths...and light up our keyboards.. and ignore the Obama administrations attempt to minimize this information. Just...fucking...DO..IT!

WikiLeaks gives us the truth Obama's administration won't...

WikiLeaks has struck again!! The Obama administration responded with the following from the whores at Politico:

The White House responded swiftly and sharply to publication Sunday evening of more than 91,000 secret documents painting a bleak picture of the Afghanistan war, calling the leak “irresponsible” and saying that the source – the whistleblower website WikiLeaks -- “opposes U.S. policy in Afghanistan.” WikiLeaks said its "Afghan War Diary" consists mostly of reports "written by soldiers and intelligence officers ... describing lethal military actions involving the United States military." WikiLeaks gave three news organizations – The New York Times, The (British) Guardian and Germany’s Der Spiegel – advance access to the "war logs" trove.

They oppose the Afghan War? Who the fuck doesn't? Oh boo-fucking-hoo you lying, covering-up, war mongering bastards! Meanwhile...the NYT has run an article, entitled the War Log which they explain and validate here, based on Wikileak's info. From the WikiLeak writeup:

25th July 2010 5:00 PM EST WikiLeaks has released a document set called the Afghan War Diary (AWD), an extraordinary compendium of over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010.

The reports, while written by soldiers and intelligence officers mainly describing lethal military actions involving the United States military, also include intelligence information, reports of meetings with political figures, and related detail.

The document collection will shortly be available on a dedicated webpage. 

The reports cover most units from the US Army with the exception of most US Special Forces' activities. The reports do not generally cover top-secret operations or European and other ISAF Forces operations.

We have delayed the release of some 15,000 reports from the total archive as part of a harm minimization process demanded by our source. After further review, these reports will be released, with occasional redactions, and eventually, in full, as the security situation in Afghanistan permits.

The data is provided in CSV and SQL formats, sorted by months, and also was rendered into KML mapping data.

It's gonna be a doozie folks you can wade thorough it all HERE...fasten your friggin seatbelts, its gonna be a bumpy, horrendous ride. And Team Obama ain't gonna like it and neither will the Bushies. Fuck em all I say..warmongering bags of shit.

Charles Sherrod- Civil Rights Hero

That jackass Breitbart obviously did not do his homework when he chose Shirley Sherrod to screw with. NO ONE has more civil rights cred than Shirley's husband Charles Sherrod. From Joan Walsh's Salon piece:

People who care about civil rights and racial reconciliation may eventually thank Andrew Breitbart for bringing Shirley Sherrod the global attention she deserves. Really. Her message of racial healing, her insight that the forces of wealth and injustice have always pit "the haves and the have-nots" against each other, whatever their race, is exactly what's missing in today's Beltway debates about race. What's even more amazing, but almost completely unexplored in this controversy, is the historic civil rights leadership role of her husband, Charles Sherrod, an early leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, who served on the front lines of the nonviolent civil rights movement in the early 1960s.
*snip*
Sherrod was SNCC's first field secretary, and he co-founded the Albany movement after a student sit-in at the local bus station (to test a recently enacted desegregation law) led to a years-long campaign that ultimately involved Martin Luther King Jr. and the intervention of President John F. Kennedy. He traveled to the historic (and almost all-white) 1964 Democratic National Convention, when the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party fought for more black representation. He was jailed several times and stayed with SNCC until 1966, when Stokely Carmichael became chair and whites were expelled, but he'd already become more focused on his work in southwest Georgia than SNCC politics. Sherrod got his doctor of divinity degree from New York's Union Theological Seminary, then returned to Albany to found the Southwest Georgia Independent Voters Project, then the agricultural cooperative New Communities Inc. He served 14 years on the Albany City Council, and he still lives there, known to civil rights movement veterans but obscure to the wider world, until his wife was attacked by the ignorant bullies of the right.

"We tend to think of civil rights workers as people who, it was an episode in their life before they went on and did something else," says Clayborne Carson, SNCC historian and director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford. "But Sherrod is an exemplar of those people who didn't leave the movement. They stayed, and they're still fighting, to this day." (I tried to reach Sherrod for this story, but not surprisingly, the voice-mail boxes I got to were full.)

It's a wonderful writeup of Mr. Sherrod's accomplishments and fucking damn hard work.  Joan interviews many of the writers that authored books about the times and the people that led the civil rights movement. Please take the time to read it.

Photo is Charles Sherrod and  Carl Braden, circa 1963, from here at Wisconsin History.org.

Oh and Andy Breitbart...fuck off and die you scum-sucking, lying piece of shit.

Obama Admin backs another Bush Admin position.

Holy-fuckamoly...when will the Obama Administration stop supporting many of the bullshit moves and beliefs of the Bush Administration? From an Editor & Publisher article:

In a surprise move, the Democrat-controlled Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Wednesday defended changes to media cross-ownership rules adopted in the George W. Bush administration that loosened somewhat the ban on same-market common ownership of a newspaper and broadcast station.

Under Chairman Julius Genachowski and with a 3-2 Democratic majority, the commission had been expected to take a hard line on media cross-ownership policy.

But in a filing with the U.S. appeals court that had put those rules on hold, the FCC affirmed agency’s 2007 decision under former Chairman Kevin Martin and the Republican majority on the agency that modified the 35-year-old ban to allow newspapers in the biggest markets to own either one radio station or one television broadcast station, but not the top-rated outlets.

But Michael Copps, an FCC member and Democrat was none to happy with this latest fuckery:

“Rather than bemoan what has happened today, however, I intend to redouble my efforts to move this issue to the commission’s front burner where it deserves to be,” Copps said.  “We should have changed our media policy by now.  We change it in the months just ahead,” he added in the statement, which put the word “must” in bold italics.

Three cheers for Mr. Copps...get em dude! Hold them accountable!  Read the entire article here at E&P.

DOJ says US Atty firings not illegal...You don't say!

Somehow, I really thought Holder and Company might tackle the fuckery committed by Bush and his Bushies went it came to shitcanning David Iglesias and the eight other US Attorneys in 2006. From the RSN writeup:

The Bush administration's Justice Department's actions were inappropriately political, but not criminal, when it fired a U.S. attorney in 2006, prosecutors said Wednesday in closing a two-year investigation without filing charges.

The decision closes the books on one of the lingering political disputes of the Bush administration, one that Democrats said was evidence of GOP politics run amok and that Republicans have always said was a manufactured controversy.

Investigators looked into whether the Bush administration improperly dismissed nine U.S. attorneys, and in particular New Mexico U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, as a way to influence criminal cases. The scandal added to mounting criticism that the administration had politicized the Justice Department, a charge that contributed to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

In 2008, the Justice Department assigned Nora Dannehy, a career prosecutor from Connecticut with a history of rooting out government wrongdoing, to investigate the firings.

"Evidence did not demonstrate that any prosecutable criminal offense was committed with regard to the removal of David Iglesias," the Justice Department said in a letter to lawmakers Wednesday. "The investigative team also determined that the evidence did not warrant expanding the scope of the investigation beyond the removal of Iglesias."

Just shows you what an ass I am eh? Politicizing the Justice Department isn't criminal...yeah right, and I will win the lotto this weekend.  Expecting justice from the Obama /Holder justice department is just plain fuckwitted I guess..

News headlines that will piss you off...

At least they did me. Here we go:

Bart Stupak is grinning like a fool over this one, DHHS limits abortion funding for new high-risk insurance pools.

I realize Politico is a rightwing rag for the most part...but this is Fox News-like yellow journalism at it's best. What the Politico Web site deletes from its articles without telling anyone.

If you have ever lost a loved-one to this shit or suffer from it's deadly consequences yourself, I am quite sure this article will really jerk your chain. Lobbyists push use of deadly asbestos in developing nations.

If none of those articles get to you...then you must be a rightwing nutter and a Batshit Bachmann/Teabagger supporter. 

The first and third ones really, really piss-me-the-fuck-off. That they still manufacture asbestos is criminal to me. That they want to use that friggin shit in countries already suffering is outrageous. They want the poor and high-risk people to pay for their own legal medical procedures is fuckwitted, selfish, innane and disgusting. They preach and preach about forgiveness...but when people make mistakes and try to fix them...wtf assholes? See Alex Trebek and buy a fucking clue you jerkwads.

Grayson: May God have mercy on your souls.

I got chills when I listened to his speech on the floor. From the Orlando Sentinel:

U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson of Orlando, the Democrat that Republicans love to hate, took aim last night at the GOP’s opposition to legislation that would extend unemployment benefits.

In a speech before a largely empty House chamber, Grayson slammed Republicans for “taking food out of the mouths of children.”

Noting that his grandfather scoured the garbage dump for things he could sell to support his family in the 1930s, Grayson said, “That is the America the Republicans are trying to revive — the America of desperate straits and cheap labor.”

“I know what [Republicans] are  thinking: ‘Why don’t they just sell some stock? If they’re in really dire straits, maybe they could take some of their art collection and send it off to the auctioneer. And if they’re in deep, deep trouble, maybe the unemployed can sell one of their yachts.’ That’s what the Republicans are thinking,” Grayson said.

That prompted Dan Gainor, vice president of the conservative Media Research Center, to tweet, “I’ll give $100 to first Rep. who punches smary [sic] idiot Alan Grayson in nose. He’s a caricature of a congressman.”

Which, in turn, prompted Grayson’s office to accuse the Republican establishment of encouraging violence against him. The liberal Media Matters for America spread Gainor’s tweet around. Gainor later tweeted that he was joking.

Those fucks on the other side of the aisle can kiss my brown ass...both cheeks. They are so friggin in the pockets of the uber-rich and the corporations, it makes me physically ill to think of the idiots that continue to vote them into office. They are the party that vows to provide cheap labor to the corporations and it makes me so angry I want to punch someone..or something.

Listen to it all folks...its short and to the fucking point. I love this man. 

Goldline being investigated. Glenn Beck must be depressed.

Since Beck is their biggest shill, this news can not make him happy. From the original MotherJones article:

Well, it's about time. Today, ABC News reports that the city attorney of Santa Monica, Ca., in conjunction with the Los Angeles District Attorney's office, has launched an investigation into Goldline International, the gold company that sponsors and is heavily promoted on Glenn Beck's TV and radio shows. Apparently, California authorities discovered what Mother Jones readers likely already knew, which is that Goldline misleads customers into buying overpriced gold coins that they weren't necessarily in the market for:

"There are two main types of complaints we're seeing," said Adam Radinsky of the Santa Monica City Attorney's office, which has launched what it described as a joint investigation with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office. "One is that customers say that they were lied to and misled in entering into their purchases of gold coins," he said. "And the other group is saying that they received something different from what they had ordered."

Radinsky says that the investigation is in the preliminary stages but that it involves more than 100 consumer complaints about Goldline and the Superior Gold Group, which are both based in Santa Monica.

This news of course puts a smile on my face.  Beck shills for these fucks on both his Fox TV show and his radio show. The fuckwits at Goldline are saying this is a politically-motivated investigation by people that hate Glen Beck. Oh horseshit you assholes! Becky has no involvement in the investigation, nor he is being investigated. The DA's office now has a website set up for people with complaints about Goldline www.gold.smconsumer.org.

UPDATE: on Dylan Ratigan's show today Rep. Anthony Weiner stated he wants congress to investigate these fucks.

Added bonus: Media Matters has a piece up on how many times Becky uses Nazi references on his show, from a piece by Dana Milbank's WaPo column:

Consider these tallies from Glenn Beck's show on Fox News since Obama's inauguration: 202 mentions of Nazis or Nazism, according to transcripts, 147 mentions of Hitler, 193 mentions of fascism or fascist, and another 24 bonus mentions of Joseph Goebbels. Most of these were directed in some form at Obama -- as were the majority of the 802 mentions of socialist or socialism on Beck's nightly "report." 

Ain't that friggin lovely? The nutters/teabaggers obviously eat it up.  

It's leaking its seeping..it ain't working folks!

Just a short note...that I knew this shit was gonna happen. Mostly because the corporate media has covered BP's ass when it comes to the possibility of an ocean floor leak and of course the whole horrific mess that will kill off the environment for decades and the toxic chemicals they spray from the sky on all living things. From the WaPo writeup:

 A seep would be a serious setback if it indicated oil or gas escaping from the capped well and burbling up through the seafloor.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad W. Allen released a letter Sunday night that he had written to BP, noting a "detected seep a distance from the well and undetermined anomalies at the well head."

He gave permission to keep the well shut but said BP must keep him abreast of any potential problems at the well and prepare to release oil if a serious leak appears. "When seeps are detected, you are directed to marshal resources, quickly investigate, and report findings to the government in no more than four hours," Allen wrote. 

Wonder if their fucking stock will dive again with this 'setback'. Mutha Fuckas..

About my Dad...and the YSFH

First I need to tell you that I love my Yuppie Sista from Hell (YSFH), who has stepped up to the plate as never before when it comes to Dad and his problems lately. She has done more get his life back together and taken more shit from the 'old man" than I ever have or could. She is getting him into a senior apt complex which is no picnic with a jackass like him. She is replacing all his lost furniture, clothing and all the other things that go with 'having a life'.

I tip my hat to her...and everyone else should as well. I have blogged, in the past, that she is self-centered, but this time..when the shit totally hit the fan, when he was burned out of his apartment...she has walked a mile and more in my flip flops (no one else has btw) and for that.... I love and adore her.

If it wasn't for her...my dad would be living with that grifter whackjob from hell who has been milking him for years out of his monthly retirement income..her and her two adult kids, who sponged off my father for a year when they lived with him rent-free.

So hats off to the YSFH...I love her and appreciate her like never before...because she is working a full-time job, mostly out-of-town in LA and commuting back to San Diego daily, and taking care of that cranky pain in the ass who, if left to his own resources, would be drunk by noon and never eat an ounce of real food.

I am sending her the link to this post...she deserves someone paying homage to her work for the last week and believe me when I say none of our other sisters or our brother have done shit...or offered to help in any way.

I love you sista woman.

Manchin finally gets off his ass and appoints Byrd's replacement

Jesus this sumbitch has pissed me off...self-serving asshole that he is. From the dipshit's at Politico:

Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin is choosing his former chief counsel, Carte Goodwin, to be the next senator from West Virginia, POLITICO has learned.

Manchin has scheduled a 2 p.m. news conference Friday to announce the appointment of Goodwin to succeed the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) until a special election is held later this year, according to two sources familiar with his decision. A spokeswoman for the governor did not immediately return a request for comment.

Manchin has said he is “highly” interested in running for the Senate seat, and Goodwin, who is from a well-connected family in West Virginia Democratic circles, is not expected to run in the special election to fill the remaining two years of Byrd’s term. State lawmakers are meeting in special session to determine when the special election will be held. There will be an election for a full term in November 2012.

I haven't researched Carte Goodwin...so..We can only hope this guy isn't a full-fledged Blue Dog... We have enough of those fuckers...take Ben Nelson for a long walk on a very short pier...anyone! Please!

Army suicides spike in June..but the Wars go on.

CNN has historically kept the heat on this issue, which I follow as well, specifically in the video I created for the Iraq War Blogswarm in 2008. From CNN's latest on this horrific issue, a short blurb(emphasis mine of course):

More U.S. soldiers killed themselves last month than in recent Army history, according to Army statistics released Thursday, confounding officials trying to reverse the grim trend.

The statistics show that 32 soldiers killed themselves in June, the highest number in a single month since the Vietnam era. Twenty-one of them were on active duty, while 11 were in the National Guard or Army Reserve in an inactive status.

Seven of those soldiers killed themselves while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the Army numbers.

        *snip*

 Including the June numbers, 145 soldiers have killed themselves this year, more than half of the total number for all of 2009, according to Army statistics.

In 2009, a record-breaking year for suicides in the service, 245 soldiers killed themselves.

These numbers even beat out the highest recorded number of suicides during the height of the Iraq War.

First, the families have to deal with loved ones being in harm's way in these fucking wars created by the Bush Administration and the boys in the PNAC....then...they get the news that their loved one couldn't take it anymore and ended his or her life.

Second, the numbers of permanently injured both mentally and physically are off the fucking charts...as is the numbers of deaths in action...Holy fuckamoly people, when will this bullshit stop? - That's a rhetorical question as Obama shows no sign of abating this carnage which affects an entire generation of young adults.

It stopped...but for how long?

I ain't buying BP's newest bs that they stopped the leak. First off, if the pipe under the ocean floor now explodes, the Gulf of Mexico will become another Dead Sea.

Second, their stock prices went up at least 7% today, and frankly...that is all they give a shit about...who is kidding who here?

Third...the corporate media is covering BP's ass to the hilt...which is why they aren't talking about the possibility of the BP pipeline under the ocean floor now taking a huge shit. No need to worry the common folks...or as BP likes to refer to us...the little people.

Fourth...the wetlands, the people who live there and the 10,000 birds that are dying off the coast of Louisiana, not to mention my friend RJS's post on the toxic dispersants permanent effects on all living things...  What-the-fuck will BP do to 'make them whole' again? Yeah right...

Enough on BP and their victory..The Obama/Dodd/ Frank Financial Reform bill has passed..whoopee-fuck. That watered down horseshit won't change most of the casino-style bullshit the Wall Streeter's pulled to get us into this mess. From Dean Baker's statement, someone I usually listen to on financial shit:

"The final bill passed by the Senate today and already approved by the House of Representatives will improve regulation in the financial sector. However, given the severity of the economic crisis caused by past regulatory failures, the public had the right to expect much more extensive reform.(emphasis mine)

"The requirement that most derivatives be either exchange-traded or passed through clearinghouses is also an important improvement in regulation. However, important exceptions remain, which the industry will no doubt exploit to their limit.

"The creation of resolution authority for large non-bank financial institutions is also a positive step, although the fact that no pre-funding mechanism was put in place is a serious problem. Also, the audit of the Federal Reserve's special lending facilities, as well as the ongoing audits of its open market operations and discount window loans, is a big step towards increased Fed openness.

"On the negative side, there is little in this legislation that will fundamentally change the way that Wall Street does business. The rules on derivative trading will still allow the bulk of derivatives to be traded directly out of banks rather than separately capitalized divisions of the holding company. The Volcker rule was substantially weakened by a provision that will still allow banks to risk substantial sums in proprietary trading.

"More importantly, there is probably no economist who believes that this bill will end the risks of too-big-to-fail financial institutions. The six largest banks will still enjoy the enormous implicit subsidy that results from the expectation that the federal government will bail them out in the event of a crisis.

"Also, the fact that no regulators, most obviously Ben Bernanke at the Fed, were fired for failing to prevent the crisis leaves in place serious doubts about the structure of incentives for regulators. Cracking down on reckless behavior by politically powerful financial institutions will always be difficult for regulators. On the other hand, if regulators know that failing to crack down carries no consequences, even when it leads to disastrous outcomes, we can expect that regulators will have a strong bias toward ignoring reckless behavior.

Yes, we had every right to expect more from those fuckers..so don't expect me to get giddy over this horseshit ok boys?

On the homefront...yuppie sista is going crazy with Dad at her house...welcome to my world for the last two months chica. She is still giving me orders although we did have a huge come to jesus-type headbutting yesterday...and I came out on top. But, all in all...it's still a fucking mess. I am talking to the Escondido Director of the Humane Society (Her name withheld by me since it took me forever to work my way up to her level) in an effort to figure out what the fuck to do with Dad's wonderful grey cat that is still in that fucked up complex with a fucking money-grubbing whackjob hopefully feeding him.

Hugs to all that read my bs...fuck the rest of ya. ;)

Cheney, who has no heart, gets new mechanical one.

Not that I give a shit, but with the crap I have dealt with lately... I actually got a smile on my face when MSNBC reported this a few minutes ago:

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has had a pump assistance device implanted in his heart.

Here's a statement from Cheney:

    As many of you know, I have dealt with coronary artery disease for decades, suffering my first heart attack in 1978 at age 37. Over the years, excellent care from my doctors and advances in medicine and technology have allowed me to live a full and active life, for which I am very grateful.

    A few weeks ago, it became clear that I was entering a new phase of the disease when I began to experience increasing congestive heart failure. After a series of recent tests and discussions with my doctors, I decided to take advantage of one of the new technologies available and have a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) implanted. The LVAD is a small implantable pump that improves heart function and will enable me to resume an active life.

    Last week I underwent surgery at Inova Fairfax Heart and Vascular Institute and had an LVAD implanted. The operation went very well and I am now recuperating.

    I am grateful for the wonderful care that I have received over the years at George Washington University Hospital, and that I am currently receiving at Inova Fairfax Heart and Vascular Institute.

    I also want to thank all of you who have included my family and me in your thoughts and prayers.

Actually, you fucking bag of shit...I have prayed for your demise for years...I want your ass in hell..which is where you belong.

UPDATE: On the Maddow Show tonight Dr. Allan Stewart, cardiac surgeon, New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia confirms Cheney has no pulse...no shit dude...what was your first clue?  Of course he used the word now during his discussion with Rachel but I submit to you, m'dear reader, that he never has had one.

NOLA's Danziger Bridge Incident: Has justice finally been done?

In a word...NO. Not yet anyway, the federal court system will now decide, thanks to Eric Holder and the Justice Dept, whether the NOLA police officers should be jailed for the rest of their lives or put to death.

This is about the murders and subsequent cover-up, by a total of eleven NOLA police officers, of two unarmed individuals and the shootings of four of their unarmed friends on the Danziger Bridge in the days and hours, Sept 4, 2005 to be exact, after Katrina hit and the levee's failed. I wrote about these murders here. ProPublica, the Pulitzer prize-winning online news organization, has never let this story drop and for that I love them. You can read the history of this heinous crime, and others by the NOLA PD after Katrina on their website here on the left sidebar.

To his credit today, Eric Holder announced the 27-count indictment of the six remaining police officers involved in this incident. The others have confessed and/or plead guilty to an assortment of crimes (charges of conspiring to obstruct justice and failure to report a felony) connected with these cold-blooded murders of unarmed men just looking to escape the carnage and death that was New Orleans after the levee's failed and all state, local and federal government authorities failed to help and/or protect them.

The five years of cover-ups started to unravel in 2008 when the state dismissed all charges against the police officers and the feds picked up the case as a civil rights violation case. The remaining six murderers, all current or former NOLA police officers, are being charged with the following:

The officers are charged with deprivation of civil rights under color of law, as well as other charges, including conspiracy, obstruction of justice, making false statements and the use of a weapon during the commission of a crime of violence.

The charges break down this way:

* Bowen, Gisevius, Faulcon and Villavaso are all charged with a civil rights violation for shooting James Brissette, a 17-year-old killed on the eastern side of the bridge, as well as for injuring members of the Bartholomew family.
   
* Faulcon is charged with a civil rights violation for killing Ronald Madison, a mentally disabled man who was shot in the back with a shotgun. Bowen is also charged with a civil rights violation for kicking and stomping Madison after he had already been fatally wounded by Faulcon.
   
* All six men are charged with the cover-up, accused of conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements to investigators.

Their fate is now in the hands of the federal court system. As someone who has a long, proud family history of law enforcement, I feel no mercy for these men. The names of these men, all current or former police officers, are:

Michael Hunter, Robert Barrios, Ignatius Hills,Kenneth Bowen, Anthony Villavaso, Robert Gisevius, Robert Faulcon, Arthur Kaufman, Gerard Dugue, Michael Lohman and Jeffrey Lehrmann

I hope the juries show them no mercy. Mercy is up to God for these men, and I hope he has none for them either, because they showed no mercy to James Brissette and Ronald Madison when they killed those unarmed men in cold calculated blood.

Oakland police chief announces crimes dept will not respond to.

Oh my friends, this is rich. In a press release the jackhole, Police Chief Anthony Batts, has announced which crimes they do not plan to respond to IF the planned cuts in staffing (laying off 80 officers) is made. From Jonathan Turley's blog:

Oakland’s police chief Anthony Batts has announced that Oakland Police will not responded to 44 different crimes if planned layoffs occur at midnight. It was useful for Batts to announce the categories in advance for criminals to chose from a criminal dim sum list of free crimes including grand theft, burglary, vehicle collision, identity theft and vandalism.

If you are the victim of burglary, you will be told to make a report online and not to expect police to respond.

Here the list of free crimes in Oakland:

    burglary
    theft
    embezzlement
    grand theft
    grand theft:dog
    identity theft
    false information to peace officer
    required to register as sex or arson offender
    dump waste or offensive matter
    discard appliance with lock
    loud music
    possess forged notes
    pass fictitious check
    obtain money by false voucher
    fraudulent use of access cards
    stolen license plate
    embezzlement by an employee (over $ 400)
    extortion
    attempted extortion
    false personification of other
    injure telephone/ power line
    interfere with power line
    unauthorized cable tv connection
    vandalism
    administer/expose poison to another’s

That allows ample room for most criminals to plan a life of crime without the risk of police interference.

Jesus H Christ, is the police chief playing with a full deck? Come on....of course he is upset, naturally he wants the public to realize the impact of such a large staffing cut. But releasing a friggin list? Give me an effin break...the guy has the IQ and compassion of a dandelion. Bet gun sales soar in Oakland...

Our Fu*kwit of the Week: Jon Kyl

Evidently Jon Kyl believes there are more rich folks than unemployed folks...who vote. For me, that is the only possible explanation for why this fuckwit has used the following bullshit logic to back up his position:

Senator Jon Kyl, a Republican whip from Arizona, was against an extension of unemployment benefits. As a matter of fact Kyl believes that giving people their unemployment benefits will make them lazy and not want to work. He says it “doesn’t create new jobs. In fact, if anything, continuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek new work.” (source)

Kyl also wanted to make sure that the unemployment benefits would be paid for with the money the government has. Kyl doesn’t think that war should be paid for with the money the government takes in. He is more than happy to go in debt for trillions for unnecessary Empire wars. (emphasis mine)

What these comfortable mutha fucka's like Jon Kyle want, is million's more under-employed individuals. Oh, hell yeah...you are a lazy sumbitch if you refuse to take a job that doesn't pay enough to cover your rent, feed your kids, make a car payment and keep the lights on. If that's a problem, well fuck...then just get another shit job and work 16 hours a day dude!

Jon Kyl's reported net worth in 2008 was around 700k, and roughly the same for 2009. Of course that doesn't tell us what his wife, Caryll L. Collins,  is worth. They don't have to report that information I guess because I friggin looked all over for it.

So Jonny boy is 'comfortable'. He isn't rich by most standards but the fuckwit IS comfortable. That might help explain why he supports tax cuts that benefit the comfortable to the uber-rich....you know what I mean...those Bush Tax Cuts. The ones that decrease the federal governments coffers by...ready for this number...$678 million dollars annually.

Yes, that is what I said...$678 Large.....

Yet Kyl is demanding that any extension to unemployment benefits simply must be paid for by the federal government, yet he has no such feeling for those fucking Bush Tax Cuts For The Rich. Here is that quote:

"Surely Congress has the authority -- and it would be right -- if we decide we want to cut taxes to spur the economy, not to have to raise taxes in order to offset those costs. You do need to offset the cost of increased spending. And that’s what Republicans object to. But you should never have to offset the cost of a deliberate decision to reduce tax rates on Americans."

His, and other republican's, logic on this is total and complete bullshit of course because unemployment compensation and other stimulus spending puts more money into the economy (and the government coffers) than those friggin tax cuts for the rich bastards among us.  Check out the following graphic from a report by one of my favorite people at Moody's Mark Zandi:

Notice extending unemployment benefits vs Bush Income tax cuts in the Bang For the Buck column. $1.63 vs a paltry $1.38. And thats giving those effin' bastards total credit against just the damn unemployment benefits. If you extrapolate the spending increases out completely...its a huge-ass difference: $6.33 vs $1.38.

So a hearty fuck you asshole to Jon Kyl. This sumbitch rightfully deserves our fuckwit of the week...possibly the whole month, award. Not only is he a fuckwit..he's a damn idiot too.

Please explain this to your republican/neocon friends and/or family in this manner...hell, use the damn graphic if they are real thick...ok? I know I will because half my friggin family haven't got a fucking clue when it comes to this shit. Also, none of them make enough money to qualify for the fucking Bush Tax Cuts anyway...assholes.

But Jonny Kyl and his compadres will continue to sell this shit day in and day out in the same manner....and people will begin to think it's true...that's how these friggin grifters work ya know.

Did I miss anything important?

I am back at the humble abode as Yuppie sista finally came home from her little Vegas trip. Dad is at her house in San Diego and his beautiful cat is staying w/the whack job neighbor. This isn't the best place for him, but its the only place for him as he wouldn't make it through the four hour trip to my place, plus he is an outdoor cat who has never known the world outside that complex.

Dad was a royal pain in the ass, wanting to keep all his blackened, soot-filled, water-logged stuff...most of it can be replaced, his memorabilia (pictures, war medals, commendations etc) were fine and intact...and to me, that is what counted the most. Arguments ensued and everyone in the family....none of which actually came to Escondido to help, think I am a real bitch with a cold heart.

I have no idea what has gone on in the real world, could you guys fill me in on the important stuff? Did BP go bankrupt or actually do something right, did Obama rent a set of balls and kick some Republican ass? Did the Dem's call out the rightwing nutters who refuse to help those A LOT less fortunate than themselves and give them their paltry unemployment?

I haven't slept in 48 hours, I ate once in those 48 hours and I have never felt this beat down...but a little sleep and a bowl or two of medicinal herb might do wonders for me.

I have Olbermann on the telly and Rachel will follow...hopefully I will fall asleep soon and miss all the ugly details of how rotten life is here in the US of A for a lot of folks...

Oh, they id'd the meth freak...he was burnt beyond recognition. Seeing as how he burnt four families out of their homes..it's hard to drum up sympathy for him...they did find some kind of torch thingy that meth and crack folks use in the dining room...how they found anything intact in that place amazes me. Fire investigators have been crawling all over the place....which BTW..will be completely condemned as the roof is falling in on the two middle units. No fire walls between the units...so damage is from end to end.

The guy was a squatter in a foreclosed condo...the bank will be handing out checks soon we hope...but we aren't holding our breath.

Dad had NO renters insurance. Thank heaven we do...  

you know its going to be a bad day when....

My fathers neighbor called me at 6am Sat morning. My father had been burned out of his home by the crack heads next door. One of the crack heads didn't make it out alive, so the entire building was a crime scene by the time I got to Escondido.

The entire building is uninhabitable. He is staying with the neighbor that called me, I am staying with a friend at the other end of the complex.

My dads cat made it out alive...we weren't sure for about 10 hours, as they wouldn't let us in his apartment.

It's gonna be a busy few days as I have to rent him a storage spot and then round up friends to help load a trailer with his smoke and water damaged furniture.

I have no idea what to do with his beautiful grey cat who has never known any place but this complex and he roams it daily...he is an outdoor cat.

Wish me luck...we really will need it.

TakeOurJobs.Org- put your $ where your mouth is nutters!

This action was started here in my little burgh of Bakersfield, CA or more specifically Keene, CA which is home to the UFW headquarters. The United Farm Workers (UFW) created this website and now Steven Colbert is doing a piece on it...which as most know...has a humor slant but it's always based in reality.

This morning, it was reported on our local news, Channel 29 KBAK, that over 5,000 people have 'signed up' on the website as of today...BUT:

Only three have actually followed through to actually apply for employment as a field worker...aka a farm worker, harvesting fruits and veggies. I have performed this type of work as a teenager, so I ain't no bleeding heart liberal whining about how hard the farm workers have it. But I am of course a bleeding heart liberal. ;)

From their website, some facts:

There are two issues facing our nation--high unemployment and undocumented people in the workforce--that many Americans believe are related.


Missing from the debate on both issues is an honest recognition that the food we all eat - at home, in restaurants and workplace cafeterias (including those in the Capitol) - comes to us from the labor of undocumented farm workers.

Agriculture in the United States is dependent on an immigrant workforce. Three-quarters of all crop workers working in American agriculture were born outside the United States. According to government statistics, since the late 1990s, at least 50% of the crop workers have not been authorized to work legally in the United States.

We are a nation in denial about our food supply. As a result the UFW has initiated the "Take Our Jobs" campaign.

Farm workers are ready to welcome citizens and legal residents who wish to replace them in the field. We will use our knowledge and staff to help connect the unemployed with farm employers. Just fill out the form to the right and continue on to the request for job application.

** Job may include using hand tools such as knives, hoes, shovels, etc. Duties may include tilling the soil, transplanting, weeding, thinning, picking, cutting, sorting & packing of harvested produce. May set up & operate irrigation equip. Work is performed outside in all weather conditions (Summertime 90+ degree weather) & is physically demanding requiring workers to bend, stoop, lift & carry up to 50 lbs on a regular basis.(emphasis mine)

I have blogged and publicly spoke out, ad nauseum, about the plight of the farm worker, undocumented or not. I have done this for decades as a native Californian and Hispanic woman. How they work ten hours or more a day (without overtime), in 100+ degree heat. How the labor laws always have special 'rules' that usually make the farm workers a class of worker that isn't covered by the basic human rights or wage sections of said laws. This is no bullshit folks....farm workers are usually exempt from many if not most of the protections offered the rest of us as employees.

Most of the responses they have gotten on their website are disgusting, evil, hate-filled comments from rightwing nutters who have no fucking clue.

Every summer here there are dozens of deaths recorded of farm workers that die from heat exhaustion or because a farmer knowingly had a field sprayed with pesticides while humans were working in it. No one is ever prosecuted for these deaths. No ONE.

Spread the word and watch Colbert's report please....they need all the help and press they can get. If all farm workers who were undocumented left tomorrow...we would start paying 10 bucks a head for iceberg lettuce and who knows what for other produce that we all as Americans, take for granted.

Photo is by the great photographer Ansel Adams

Holder says criminal investigation still ongoing re: Gusher in the Gulf

Politico evidently filched a story from CBS's Bob Schieffer during his taping of this Sunday's Face the Nation, which they published this evening:

Attorney General Eric Holder signaled here that the Justice Department may be conducting a sweeping criminal investigation into the Gulf Coast oil spill, saying that its suspected targets may cover more than just BP.


"There are a variety of entities and a variety of people who are the subjects of that investigation," Holder told CBS' Bob Schieffer at the Aspen Ideas Festival. "For people to conclude that BP is the focus of this investigation might not be correct."

Holder said he wouldn't go "any further" when Schieffer asked if it might be correct to assume BP could still be the main target, and he "wouldn't put a timetable" on when any indictments might come down.

*snip*

On Thursday, Holder said the investigation was "ongoing," adding that federal officials were reviewing documents, collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses in both of the probes. He added that there has been a "certain commonality of the way oil companies had been operating" in the Gulf when asked if BP was doing anything different than others in the industry – though he didn't go into specifics.

 Hang 'em High Eric..bust all their balls dude....every last friggin company who cut corners in order to save a couple of bucks and/or wanted to get the drill operational asap, regardless of safety regulations or concerns. What is happening to the ecosystem and the wildlife in the Gulf is nothing short of criminal.

Oh what in the blue hell is THIS SH*T?

Ok, I realize that King James...aka the NBA's Lebron James, is probably the most important and sought after free agent in the last decade or so, maybe longer. The man, who went straight from highschool to the NBA, is a wonder to behold on the court. He is, without a doubt, one of the best players to ever step foot on the hardwood floors of professional basketball. As far as I know...the following teams are in contention for his services:

New York Knicks

New Jersey Nets

Chicago Bulls

Cav's (his current and only team)

Miami Heat

Giving him a fucking ONE HOUR (on ESPN, not the NBA network) show to announce which team he is going to sign with is friggin ridiculous and downright disgusting. Disgusting in the fact that King James is supposed to announce his decision within the first 10-15 minutes of the show...wtf are they going to do with the other 45-50 minutes? Show the riots and carnage in Cleveland when they go batshit bonkers over losing Lebron? Show grown men weeping at the thought that Lebron will be playing for a rival team? A few words of wisdom via the NYT, from Jackie MacMullan, an ESPN reporter below:

Jackie MacMullan, an ESPN.com basketball columnist pointed out Wednesday on ESPNews the absurdity of “The Decision.” “I’m a big fan of LeBron James but really, a one-hour special for a guy that hasn’t really done anything?” she said on a network that became JamesNews for the day. “Truly, it’s just unbelievable. It’s unfathomable, yet we’re all part of feeding the beast. We created this monster, and he’s just playing along.”


She added: “An hour special? How long does it take to say, ‘I’m going here.’ I think it only takes 10 seconds.”I don't know and I don't care at this point. I just think the hype on this is over the fucking top. 

 Lebron's agent came up with this stupid idea...it figures, as only a money-grubbing sports agent would think this shit will fly. ESPN will probably get huge ratings and the  commercial spots are probably going for SuperBowl type money.

Even the fucking President has weighed in on this decision that Lebron has to make...I shit you not people. We have soldiers dying in Afghanistan daily now and the Gusher in the Gulf is probably killing off entire species of turtles and pelicans. We have an elected body of assholes that are cutting off unemployment benefits for millions of Americans just trying to make ends meet and feed their families...the list of important issues is  fucking endless.

So, to that end...I give you a little bit o' brevity from Keith Olbermann and Harry Shearer on this horseshit of a show that will be blasting on my tv tomorrow night at 6pm Cali time...at least it will be until he tells us who the lucky city is that he will bless with his talents. Then, I will change the channel and check out Rachel Maddows show and the repeat of Countdown.

 

BP refuses govt scientist access to Gusher in the Gulf.

 Dr. Ira Leifer was appointed, by the federal government, to the Flow Rate Technical Group. Since BP is still lying through their collective teeth about how much oil is actually gushing from their screw up, and which parts of the ecosystem (including animals) are being destroyed, this is an important study. From DemocracyNow, via CrooksandLiars:

Congressman Ed Markey wrote a letter to BP last month requesting that the corporation provide safe access to the well site and full financial support, but there’s been no response from BP. Dr. Ira Leifer is the scientist leading the proposed research mission known as "Deep Spill 2." He’s also on the federally appointed Flow Rate Technical Group. He’s a researcher in the Marine Science Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara, joining us now on the phone. Dr. Leifer, Welcome to Democracy Now!. Explain what you are requesting and what you are not getting.


DR. IRA LEIFER: Well, Amy, about 10 years ago, almost to the day, there was an experiment in frigid Arctic Norwegian waters to try to learn where the oil would go and because it was a small release, it was artificial. We didn’t learn from that what we need to know now to try to understand where the oil’s going from the Macondo spill. We don’t know, we’re searching in the dark. Deep Spill 2, this experiment that I proposed and created and brought together a team of scientists to research, is trying to understand hypothesis driven science where the oil goes in the water column so that we can actually go and respond to it. And in part it’s for now, to know what it’s effect on the ecosystem is, but a big part of this is for the future and for the next generation, so that in a future oil spill, we actually are not searching blindly for where the oil goes but we have a good idea and we can actually respond to it appropriately.

AMY GOODMAN: What has BP said?

DR. IRA LEIFER: It’s been silent. We put together this experiment, we have literally centuries of field experience from world-class researchers like Miriam Kastner and Rick Koff and Vern Asper, and we’ve heard nothing from BP, as well as other scientists I know who are doing and trying to do research, find themselves blocked at every turn from actually learning what we need to know so we can address this spill safely.

AMY GOODMAN: What is your sense of how much oil is flowing out of this well?

DR. IRA LEIFER: The flow rate team is going to come up with its numbers within, I think, later this week and they’ll be sort of, mine tend towards the top side. But the real problem is not what the amount of oil is flowing out, but where its going, what parts of the ecosystem it’s attacking. Its like a cancer that is metastasizing the patient. The ecosystem may not be dead yet, but its at great risk and patients sometimes die of pneumonia. In this case, a hurricane could come through and my big worry is that if we don’t know where the oil is going and where it’s going to be, then this interwoven network and fabric that is the life of the Gulf of Mexico could be taken out. For example, eagles that never get oiled, if their fish disappear, they too will die. We really need to understand what’s happening and the science is not being done, because in my view and that of many of my colleges, BP is blocking it.

AMY GOODMAN: Why do you have to ask BP for permission? Who is in charge here? You’re working for the government. You’re working with them.

DR. IRA LEIFER: As far as I understand, BP is still in charge of access to the well site, as well, it’s unclear in terms of financing and support for science to understand what happens. BP caused this accident and so there’s a certain strong sense that they should in fact support strong efforts to try to understand it, to minimize the damage. And instead, they seem to be worrying about their long-term profits and not the long-term health of the environment.

AMY GOODMAN: You’re not getting permission to do this study but this, it seems to me, this is an indictment not only of BP, but of the U.S. government that allows this to go on. But also reporters, journalists, photographers who are attempting to document this will now be charged with felonies if they come within 65 feet of any site, even to try to photograph an oiled bird?

DR. IRA LEIFER: I don’t really understand that, it makes no sense to me. Where there’s clear safety issues, of course, there’s some issue. But here in Santa Barbara, we have oil, and people work around it and photograph it, and so on. As a scientist, my concern is that if we do science, everyone wins but if we don’t, we’re actually doing a disservice to humanity. That is just inexcusable, in that, if we don’t do the science and nobody learns from this horrible catastrophe to try to be ready for the future one— to myself that is inexcusable—so I and my scientific colleges, are trying to do everything we can to make sure we can learn as much about that. And I would include that the free and fair flow of information, reporters having access is part of the learning process as a society, so that when there are accidents in the future, we actually can respond intelligently and not with a lot of unknown assumptions and just waving our arms and trying to hope we get things right.

AMY GOODMAN: So BP does not want you to study them, but how high up have you gone in the U.S. government—since you work with the U.S. government—to demand access?

DR. IRA LEIFER: What I have done is, I have put together this experiment and I have shared it with members of the Technical Flow Rate Team and other people within the government, hoping to get the go-ahead on being able to do this experiment. As a scientist, I can only make proposals for what to do and try to share what our efforts are with the public through venues like "Democracy Now!"

 This is also an indictment of the Federal Government who BTW.. has also restricted access to the area for all members of the press. From the C&L writeup:

The Coast Guard has announced new rules keeping the public, including photographers and reporters covering the spill, from coming within 65 feet of any response vessels or booms on the water or on beaches. Violators could face a fine of up to $40,000 and felony charges. In order to get within the 65 foot limit, media must get direct permission from the Coast Guard Captain of the Port of New Orleans. (emphasis mine)

Bureaucracy and bullshit at it's finest folks!! Thanks Obama...so much for transparency eh dude? Obama's really heading to the top of my shit list lately in record time.

The DOJ's suit against AZ: A BLT perspective

The DOJ's 25-page complaint can be read here (PDF). From the BLT (Blog of the Legal Times) comes this explanation of the suit:

The lawsuit makes sweeping claims about the federal government’s power to develop immigration policy. It cites the federal government’s power under the Constitution to establish a “uniform Rule of Naturalization” — translating, it says, to the regulation of aliens within U.S. boundaries and to the terms and conditions for entry and continued presence.


With the State Department joining as a plaintiff, the lawsuit also cites the president’s authority over foreign affairs. “Immigration law, policy, and enforcement priorities are affected by and have impacts on U.S. foreign policy, and are themselves the subject of diplomatic arrangements,” it says.

Together with the complaint, the department is filing a 58-page motion (PDF) for a preliminary injunction. The law is scheduled to go into effect July 29.

*snip*

The DOJ lawsuit does not seek to invalidate the entire Arizona immigration law, known as S.B. 1070. It targets sections 1 through 6 of the law (PDF), leaving alone sections about employment and the impounding of vehicles. By contrast, the complaint (PDF) filed by in May by the ACLU and others asks to have the law struck down in its entirety.

The BLT is a great resource for breaking down legal mumbo-jumbo for non-legal minded folks. I get their daily breaking newsletter.

So, Holder and Company, unlike the coalition of rights groups (ACLU,the NAACP, and the National Immigration Law Center) are not seeking to kill the entire bill....interesting. As for who is representing whom...here is the list, also from the BLT article:

To defend the state, Brewer has hired John Bouma, chairman of Snell & Wilmer in Phoeniz, because Arizona’s attorney general, Terry Goddard III (D), has removed himself.


Five DOJ lawyers have their names on the complaint: Assistant Attorney General Tony West, who heads the Civil Division; U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke; Arthur Goldberg, an assistant director in the Federal Programs Branch; and trial attorneys Varu Chilakamarri and Joshua Wilkenfeld.

Bouma is a big gun, according to his bio at Snell & Wilmer. He is also a conservationist I noticed. AZ's Attorney General Goddard, didn't have a whole lot of nice things to say about Governor Brewer in the AZ Central article linked above. Gov Brewer threatened to shit-can AG Goddard over this entire fiasco. Quite telling I think, don't you?

How lobbyists influenced the Dodd financial reform bill.

Daniel Indiviglio is a former investment banker and consultant who now writes about that industry for The Atlantic. His recent article explains how the lobbyists influenced, or as I call it, wrote the financial reform bill that Dodd and Frank pushed like crack dealers. From his writeup:

 There are easily dozens of sections where their persuasion can be felt, but here are several striking examples.

Auto Dealer Exclusion
Perhaps one of the most egregious lobbyist influences was a key exclusion from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. When you think about consumer credit, a few products immediately come to mind: mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. But wait! Car loans -- one of the most prevalent types of consumer loan -- are excluded entirely from the Bureau's reach. While it isn't likely that auto loans will ever cause a financial crisis, neither will credit cards. Yet there are certainly auto loan shops that could use dastardly tactics worthy of as much attention as the regulator pays to credit card companies.

Derivative Spin-Off Provision
To see a truly strange legislative effort, check out how one of the more controversial derivatives provisions in the bill turned out. Initially, all banks would be forced to put their derivatives business in a separately capitalized subsidiary. That is, until lobbyists got their hands on it. Now, banks can create certain sorts of derivatives, but not other sorts. Foreign exchange and interest rate swaps, for example, are okay. But commodities and energy swaps aren't. Is corn riskier than the euro? Probably not. So what's the explanation? One industry source I spoke with theorized that futures exchanges may have pushed for the ban on commodity and energy derivatives created by banks. The over-the-counter derivatives (a market run by banks) market ate away at exchanges' market share once banks started getting into the business. Now banks are out of the picture regarding these products.

Volcker Rule
Another extraordinarily watered-down provision compared to the original conception is the so-called "Volcker Rule," meant to limit proprietary trading by banks. The final bill limits the amount of money dedicated to this function to 3% of a bank's Tier 1 Capital. That should allow all but a few banks to proprietary trade in the same way they have in the past. Moreover, the rule inexplicitly limits the amount of a private equity venture or hedge fund that a bank can own to 3%. This ultimately benefits banks, because they need less skin in the game to convince outside investors to participate in a venture or fund.

It's a good read, so I suggest you click the link and read his entire piece.  He talks about 'too big to fail' and Frannie and Freddie as well. For a nitwit like myself, it's well written and easy for me to comprehend. This...cough...bill...is weaker than my bladder after an evening of boozing it up.