Bullshit Protector – I NEED some of these!

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From the National Post: Bill Moyer, 73, wears a “Bullshit Protector” flap over his ear while President George W. Bush addresses the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Bullshit Protector

** EDS NOTE OBSCENITY – CORRECTS MOYER’S SERVICE IN WWII AS POST-WAR OCCUPATION OF GERMANY, NOT IN THE WAR ITSELF ** Bill Moyer, 73, wears a “Bullshit Protector” flap over his ear while President George W. Bush, on screen at rear, addresses the Veterans of Foreign Wars at their 106th convention Monday, Aug. 22, 2005, in Salt Lake City. Moyer served in Korea and Vietnam, and in the post- WWII occupation of Germany. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)

That’s the coolest thing ever, no doubt. And kudos to the the dude wearing them, too. Although, if I were making them, I’d call them a “Bullshit Deflector.”

2022-03-15 Update:
Original news story from the AP long gone, but Snopes.com covered this story later when the same photo was deceptively circulated by right-wing nuts as “veterans against Obama.”
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Difference between civil rights and civil liberties

Author: Sheila Suess Kennedy

Quick — what’s the difference between civil liberties and civil rights?

If you aren’t quite certain, you have a lot of company. The distinction is lost on most of my students, and — far more troubling — on a good number of city and state legislators.

Civil liberties are rights that individuals have against government. Citizens of the new United States refused to ratify the Constitution unless a Bill of Rights was added, specifically protecting them against official infringements of their “inalienable rights.” Among our civil liberties are the right to free expression, the right to worship (or not) as we choose, and the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

After the civil war, the 14th Amendment added the Equal Protection Clause, prohibiting government from treating equally situated citizens unequally. The 14th Amendment also applied the provisions of the Bill of Rights to all levels of government — not just the federal government, as was originally the case, but also to state and local government agencies.

Only the government can violate your civil liberties.

Civil rights took a lot longer and were a lot more controversial.

It was 1964 before Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. Civil rights laws protect people against private acts of discrimination — discrimination in employment, in housing or education. The original Civil Rights Act applied to businesses engaged in interstate commerce — businesses that held themselves out to be “public accommodations” but were, shall we say, “selective” about which segments of the public they were willing to accommodate.

State and local civil rights acts followed. Civil rights laws generally include a list of characteristics that cannot be used to favor some people over others: race, religion, gender and so forth.

There was a lot of resistance to civil rights laws, and there is still a widespread, if covert, attitude of “What business does government have telling me I can’t discriminate?” That resentment has redoubled as new groups have lobbied for protection.
The fiercest resistance has come from people opposed to extending civil rights to gays and lesbians. Those opponents have taken advantage of the widespread confusion of civil liberties with civil rights to argue that the 14th Amendment already protects gays, so amending Indiana’s civil rights law, or Marion County’s Human Relations Ordinance is unnecessary. (After all, that’s easier than taking a public position that “those people” don’t deserve equal civil rights.)

I remember the astonishment of one of my African-American students when she realized that, in Indiana, people can be fired just because they are gay.

“There is still a lot of discrimination against black people,” she said, “but at least there are laws on the books! They may not always work, but they’re something.”

A few months ago, the Indianapolis City-County Council failed to pass a measure that would have made discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation a violation of the city’s Human Relations Ordinance. Several of those voting against it said it was “unnecessary” because the 14th Amendment already protected gays.

They knew better.

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We’re not critical to the evolution of democracy?

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In a discussion of the Iraqi attempts to write a constitution that occurred on Meet the Press, guest Reuel Marc Gerecht, former Middle Eastern specialist with the CIA and author of “The Islamic Paradox” had this to say:

MR. GERECHT: Actually, I’m not terribly worried about this. I mean, one hopes that the Iraqis protect women’s social rights as much as possible. It certainly seems clear that in protecting the political rights, there’s no discussion of women not having the right to vote. I think it’s important to remember that in the year 1900, for example, in the United States, it was a democracy then. In 1900, women did not have the right to vote. If Iraqis could develop a democracy that resembled America in the 1900s, I think we’d all be thrilled. I mean, women’s social rights are not critical to the evolution of democracy. We hope they’re there. I think they will be there. But I think we need to put this into perspective.

Sounds like Mr. Gerecht would like to be a candidate for getting his ass kicked.

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21 Bush Admin Officials who should see criminal charges

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An excellent article on the 21 white house officials who were involved in the illegal leaking of a CIA agent’s identity to the public, and the details of how they were involved. If you want to sort out the details and see who this generations version of “The Watergate 5” are, here’s your article.

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“Fair” Tax is only fair to the Rich

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Read this great threat at TMPCafe for information about why — including the most enlightening comments. Also, for all Democrats who desperately need to brush up on this issue before the GOP blitz, here’s a great site: TaxWisdom.org

Paper towels: One roll for 99 cents, 3 for $2.50. If you can buy three rolls right now, you get 50% off the third roll. If you only have money for one roll, you don’t get that discount.
Credit: The less you need the credit, the less of a risk you are to the lender. Say you keep a credit card “for emergencies.” Say you’re honest about that, you really don’t buy dinner out on the thing, you really don’t even use it. A poor person can expect, of course, to pay a higher interest rate on carried balances. But, also… they can expect to pay a $6 a month “membership fee” or some such nonsense.
Services you don’t think about: Say you’re well off, you bought a new car recently, and it breaks. It’s got a warranty. You take it the dealer. The apologize profusely. They fix the thing. While they’re fixing it, they get you a rental car. You’re a AAA member and AAA gave you a free tow to the garage. You’re inconvenienced, but not out much but time. Same thing happens to a poorer person: You drive a used car, no warranty. Nobody comps you a rental car. There’s no spare car at home for you to use. You just shelled out for a tow. Maybe, you’ll pay extra for a rush job on your car, you need it to get to work. Oh, did I mention it’s a used car? The mechanic says he hasn’t seen one like this in awhile. And that means he needs to order parts….

and this

A consumption tax creates an incentive to save. This is generally good, but what happens when the wealthy actually start saving more? Tax receipts drop (at least temporarily). So how does the government meet it’s obligations? Either it borrows more (god forbid) or it raises taxes. And who pays the raised taxes under a consumption tax? People who are spending–i.e., the people living paycheck to paycheck. For all the theoretical reasons a consumption tax might be good, I think in practice it will simply result in the tax burden being transfered to the poor.

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Editor and Publisher’s take on Rove Scandal

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Reporter Malpractice, Texas Hold-em & the Plame Game. Exactly. That’s what I was trying to write, except that I couldn’t sort out my thoughts on it adequately.

When Bob Whitehouse dropped Plame’s identity on Miller, he immediately breached his contract with her. An agreement of confidentiality binds both parties, not just the reporter. When the source swears the journalist to secrecy, he/she incurs an obligation to behave ethically, as well. A reporter’s good faith oath isn’t a license of indenture, and it may not be played in bad faith to place a reporter in undue jeopardy. If Whitehouse breaks that trust, the reporter is no longer under any obligation whatsoever to protect his name.
Miller needed to step back and say “thanks Bob, but no thanks — you’re the story now.” Reporters are obligated to the truth, and allowing themselves to be pimped by those who would use them as tools against the truth is a crime against the profession and the society it serves. Protecting that which you are bound to expose is malpractice.

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London bombing the result of Bush Admin info leak

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Two years ago, a man named Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan was captured by Pakistani authorities. He was an Al Qaeda operative responsible for planning an attack on the London Underground and other attacks. On his laptop, which was recovered by intelligence officials, he had information about the plans, and about Al Qaeda operatives in London. The intelligence officials got him to agree to send info to his fellow terrorists so they could be captured, but before he could do so, Tom Ridge leaked his name to the media to justify their raising the terror alert level. Kahn’s fellow operatives were able to evade capture due to the leak. They are now suspected of being some of the same men who planned or carried out last week’s bombing in London.

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Happy 4th of July!!!

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“You can support the troops but not the president”
-Representative Tom Delay (R-TX)
“[The] President…is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation’s armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy.”
-Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)
“American foreign policy is now one huge big mystery. Simply put, the administration is trying to lead the world with a feel-good foreign policy.”
-Representative Tom Delay (R-TX)
“If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain they have a clear mission, an achievable goal and an exit strategy.”
-Karen Hughes, speaking on behalf of George W. Bush
“Well, I just think it’s a bad idea. What’s going to happen is they’re going to be over there for 10, 15, maybe 20 years”
-Joe Scarborough (R-FL)
“Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?”
-Sean Hannity, Fox News, 4/6/99
“Victory means exit strategy, and it’s important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is.”
-Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)
“Bombing a sovereign nation for ill-defined reasons with vague objectives undermines the American stature in the world. The international respect and trust for America has diminished every time we casually let the bombs fly.”
-Representative Tom Delay (R-TX)
These were, of course, all spewed out in 1999, leveled at the NATO campaign in Kosovo against the human rights atrocities by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic (not a fake search for WMDs) – which was under Clinton’s watch.

Continue ReadingHappy 4th of July!!!