http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylv...

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/...

House won't accept Gaddafi surrender without cuts to Medicare and Social Security, and no revenue increases.


Edited to add: I don't want to take credit for this. I saw it on FaceBook and I thought that the DU community would enjoy it.

Anyone remember Maxwell Smart?

He'd give one rationale and, when the obvious flaws in it were pointed out he'd say "Would you believe..." followed by some second rationale, making it obvious to everyone that he was full of it and fishing for explanations.

S&P acted exactly like that, making it obvious to everyone that they were simply looking for an excuse for the downgrade.

The whole debt ceiling debate is just one example. They took an essential act, something necessary for the continuation of our government and the world's economy, something that in the past was considered routine housekeeping, and turned it into a debate over taxes and entitlements.

Regardless of their goals (which I of course strongly disagree with) they have set a dangerous precedent. One that could lead to constant repeated threats to our economy, our infrastructure, and the well-being of the American people. They've decided that their ends justify any means.

And we let them do it. The problem is, how could we have stopped it? Certainly we could have tried harder for a better deal, but that really misses the point, doesn't it? We shouldn't have had to make a deal. This should have been the standard housekeeping bill it always was. The other issues should be debated separately. Otherwise we no longer have a representative government. We have a government of threats and coercion. "Do what we want on issue A or we'll crash the world's economy." "Do what we want on issue B or we'll put grandma on the street with no medical care." That's not good government, that's extortion.

Now they're holding the FAA hostage to their anti-union goals. Will they succeed with this blackmail also? If they do where does it end?

is there anything that can be done?

Can the citizens of PA have some kind of referendum to pass a recall law and then follow that with an actual recall or recalls?

Can municipalities work together to pressure the governor in some way to change his behavior?

Is there something we can do?

Currently a bunch of wealthy people (includeing some non-PA residents) are attacking our schools. They're running a smear campaign against my Democratic state Senator, including mailings accusing him of refusing to help kids "trapped in violent schools", as if their voucher program is the answer to "violent schools".

How do you fight rich assholes?

http://elections.wispolitics.com/2011/04/k...

Do we need a better illustration of this then what just happened in Wisconsoin? 1.5 million votes and a win by 204!

Remember this. GOTV counts. Voting rights count.

Volunteer.

Make phone calls.

Knock on doors.

Drive people to the polls.

ONE vote can make the difference!

Here's the TRO: (It's a PDF) http://tinyurl.com/4avunsu
From the last page.

"I do, therefore, restrain and enjoin the further implementation of 2011 Wisconsin Act 10."

I'm not a lawyer, but it seems like plain English to me. Judge Sumi restrained and enjoined further implementation. The next part appears to be there simply to underline and make clear that they are to proceed no further in the process of implementation.

In any case, there will be a hearing tomorrow, March 29, at which time there may be a preliminary injunction.

Do they have any idea how much they are inflaming the American people?

They are playing a dangerous game here. They are pushing people into a corner.

Are they really not able to see that? Are they that insulated? Are they that stupid?

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/03/05/davi... /

Wouldn't that be terrible? He'd end up being just like the other 99% of us who can never get a Senator on the line. What a horrible fate!

This was originally posted by nebenaube in the Wisconsin forum: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu...

http://kristenemery.com/2011/02/23/does-go...

Not that the bargaining rights aren't important. They are. They're very important.

But this has become about more than just that. It's about the right of people to run their own country and to not have to be servile to those who won the birth lottery.

It's about making people who were born into wealth understand that they should have no more power politically than any one of us. And it's about taking that power away if they refuse that understanding.

The kind of "freedom" the Koch's are fighting for is not freedom for you and I. What they are fighting for is the least possible government interference in the dealings of large businesses. That may sound good in principle to some people. The problem is what it leads too.

Without anti-trust laws you end up with single parties controlling multiple industries. And controlling whatever parts of our lives depend on those industries. That is not freedom for us.

Without estate taxes you end up with dynasties stretching over generations and controlling more and more wealth and power. Power over the little guy. That is not freedom for us.

Without safety nets we all end up at the mercy of raw capitalism, where we can suddenly find ourselves with no income through no fault of our own. That is not freedom for us.

Without health care we can end up at the mercy of diseases that are no fault of our own. Diseases which will either kill us or bankrupt us. That is not freedom for us.

Without pollution laws you end up with the destruction of our lands and the pollution of our air and water. The fouling of things that at one time were pure and free for everyone. That is not freedom for us.

Without campaign finance laws you end up with the few ruling over the many. That is not freedom for us.

Without unions you have no protection from capricious firings and unsafe, unbearable working conditions. That is not freedom for us.

The freedom that people like the Kochs want is the freedom for themselves to become royalty in America. The freedom to tell the rest of us the way it will be.

THAT IS NOT FREEDOM FOR US!!!

(With apologies to Buffalo Springfield) http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/forw...

"There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware
I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down"

I won't excerpt the entire song because of obvious copyright issues

I know that it's not 1967, and I know that the lyrics of that song could be interpreted as "don't rock the boat" rather than "head for the streets". In fact, it was meant to be a song against escalating unrest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_What_It%2...

Nevertheless, at the time it came to be known as a protest song rather than a "don't rock the boat" message. And the first two lines resonate with me in recent weeks. Something is happening. It isn't exactly clear what, but it's happening.

I think it started with the growth of the internet and the introduction of social media, along with cell phones and texting. At some point someone got the idea of "flash mobs". For the most part, flash mobs were used for basically frivolous stunts. Sometimes they created a public hazard and a minority of times they were done with a criminal intent.

Eventually someone, probably many someones at more or less the same time, started to get the idea that they could use these kinds of "insta-gatherings" for bigger things.

Marketing...
Political and social statements and protests...




Overthrowing governments...




Tunisia... Egypt... very likely Libya... possibly Bahrain and Yemen, and... what are the names of those other places... Wisconsin, Ohio, perhaps others?

There's something happening here. What is is ain't exactly clear.
Is it good? Maybe... sometimes.
Is it bad? Maybe... sometimes.
Is there bloodshed and death? Yes.
Is that acceptable? Ask the people who are bleeding and dying. Some of them seem willing to at least risk it. And there are certainly monsters willing to dole it out.

Do we have such monsters here at home? I hope not. But I'm not naive. I remember Kent State... Jackson State... Selma...

I don't think we'll be overthrowing government here in the U.S. I don't think we want to. I certainly don't. At least not in the sense that it's being done in other parts of the world. We may, however, be able to peacefully change the direction of government.

I hope we do it peacefully.
I hope that they respond peacefully.

But there is definitely something happening...