From http://www.thomhartmann.com/blog/2012/01/republicans-dont-care-about-voter-fraud

Iowa Republicans are trying to dismiss claims that the vote count in Tuesday’s Iowa Caucus was wrong. An Iowa voter told a local TV station yesterday that he noticed a 20-vote discrepancy in the count – and that Rick Santorum was the real winner of the Caucuses. Republican Party officials, though, are sticking to their first count – showing Mitt Romney as the winner by 8-votes - and there will be no recount. The Republican Party has launched a war on voters around the nation this year with strict new laws that will disenfranchise over 5 million Americans. They claim these laws are necessary to combat so-called voter fraud. Yet in Iowa – where there are no such laws – and where a very, very close and questionable election was just held – Republicans don’t seem to care at all about getting it right. Clearly – the war on voters isn’t about making sure the people’s voices are represented accurately – it’s about making sure poor people, young people, and minorities who tend to vote for Democrats – can’t vote at all.

A worthy cause - Help me get to Carnegie Hall!

As several of you know, I'm part of a mass choir (300+ voices) that will be performing at world-famous Carnegie Hall on Feb 19th. By going to this site, you can help us get there. For a sample of what we sound like, look HERE.

Prayer in School?

Big thanks to my friend Steve Woodward for this. Dear John, As you know, We've been working real hard in our town to get prayer back in our schools. Finally, the school board approved a plan of teacher-led prayer with the children participating at their own option. Children not wishing to participate were to be allowed to stand out in the hallway during prayer time. We hoped someone would sue us so we could go all the way to the Supreme Court and get the old devil-inspired ruling reversed. Naturally, we were all excited by the school board action. As you know, our own little Billy (not so little, any more though) is now in the second grade. Of course, Margaret and I explained to him no matter what the other kids did, he was going to stay in the classroom and participate. After the first day of school, I asked him "How did the prayer time go?" "Fine." "Did many kids go out into the hallway?" "Two". "Excellent. How did you like your teacher's prayer?" "It was different, Dad. Real different from the way you pray." "Oh? Like how?" "She said, 'Hail Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners...'" The next day I talked with the principal. I politely explained I wasn't prejudiced against Catholics but I would appreciate Billy being transferred to a non-Catholic teacher. The principal said it would be done right away. At supper that evening I asked Billy to say the blessings. He slipped out of his chair, sat cross- legged, closed his eyes, raised his hand palms up in the air and began to hum. You'd better believe I was at the principal's office at eight o'clock the next morning. "Look," I said. 'I don't really know much about these Transcendental Meditationists, but I would feel a lot more comfortable If you could move Billy to a room where the teacher practices an older, more established religion." That afternoon I met Billy as soon as he walked in the door after school. "I don't think you're going to like Mrs. Nakasone's prayer either, Dad." "Out with it." "She kept chanting Namu Amida Butsu..." The following morning I was waiting for the principal in the school parking lot. "Look, I don't want my son praying to the Eternal Spirit of whatever to Buddha. I want him to have a teacher who prays in Jesus' name!" "What about Bertha Smith?" "Excellent." I could hardly wait to hear about Mrs. Smith's prayer. I was standing on the front steps of the school when the final bell rang. "Well?" I asked Billy as we walked towards the car. "Okay." "Okay what?" "Mrs. Smith asked God to bless us and ended her prayer in Jesus' name, amen just like you." I breathed a sigh of relief. "Now we're getting some place." "She even taught us a verse of scripture about prayer," said Billy. I beamed. "Wonderful. What was the verse?" "Lets see..." he mused for a moment. "And behold, they began to pray; and they did pray unto Jesus, calling him their Lord and their God." We had reached the car. "Fantastic," I said reaching for the door handle. Then paused. I couldn't place the scripture. "Billy, did Mrs. Smith say what book that verse was from?" "Third Nephi, chapter 19, verse 18." "Nephi what?" "Nephi," he said. "It's in the Book of Mormon. The school board doesn't meet for a month. I've given Billy very definite instructions that at prayer time each day he's to go out into the hallway. I plan to be at that board meeting. If they don't do something about this situation, I'll sue. I'll take it all the way to the Supreme Court if I have to. I don't need schools or anybody else teaching my son about religion. We can take care of that ourselves at home and at church, thank you very much. Best Wishes Always, Dan

When Did Liberals Become So Unreasonable?

When Did Liberals Become So Unreasonable?

Capitalism, Socialism, "Job Creators", and what Conservatives miss about ALL of them

Conservatives have shown their off-kilter view of the world by refashioning definitions of words and terms in order to create entirely new connotations. Socialism is now defined as a "government take over"; Capitalism is now completely and utterly patriotic, and the wealthy are now defined as "job creators". But you can redefine all you want - it's not going to change the true meaning of these terms one whit. CONSERVATIVE-ESE:Socialism = Government takeover of all industries. ACTUAL FACT: Socialism does not mean the abolition of a free market society, nor does Socialism call for a government takeover of all industry. That would atcually be Communism, and we owe a debt of gratitude to the former Soviet Union for clearly demonstrating how monstrously unworkable it is. The Socialist acknowledges that the free market is good, but limited, and believes that some industries should not be run for profit. Police protection, fire protection, prisons, education, health care, parks, electricity, water supplies, waste and sewage removal, and roadways are just a few examples of industries which should not be run for profit. Why? When these industries are operating for profit, not only will prices rise, but corresponding services would then be reserved only for those who can afford them. Or more succinctly, no one person should be able to profit over running services from which everyone benefits. One excellent example of how Socialism can at times beat the free market can be found in our banking industry. While most banks operate for the profits of their stockholders (most of whom are not customers of the bank) and CEOs (paying said CEOs GINORMOUS amounts of money), credit unions are owned and operated by their members. The money that ISN'T paid to CEOs are reflected back to the customer in higher interest rates for investments, lower interest rates on loans, and a nominal dividend to the member/customer, which usually gets reinvested right back into the credit union as a deposit. It's worth pointing out that credit unions did not run the same risks as banks when our financial bubble burst, and thus did not request nor receive any TARP bailout money. Nor have the credit unions contributed to the morass of fraudulent foreclosures that the banks have. Another example: health care. The free market creates for-profit businesses ranging from medications, medical testing, medical treatments, medical research, to hospitals. None of these have lowered the cost of health care through innovation or through competition. This is because the demand for health care is a basic necessity; it's non-negotiable. Like clean water & air, humans cannot survive without such products or services. The demand for these is a constant, therefore they are not subjected to the law of supply and demand. When prices go up, demand does not lessen beyond a certain threshold. Where the free market brings economic ups and downs which effects everyone, Socialism believes that there is a limit on the protections a free market provides for everyday citizens. And quite simply, some things should not be run for profit, especially at the expense of everyone else. CONSERVATIVE-ESE: Capitalism is pure good, and if you oppose it in any way, you are Un-American. FACT:Capitalism is an economic term for the free market system which is structured upon the accumulation of money, where the means of production are privately owned and operates for profit. Capitalism is neither right nor wrong, it is simply an economic term. Nor is Capitalism patriotic! A system which encourages the accumulation of wealth does not salute a flag, nor is it loyal to a native country. This market system crosses state and national borders in order to provide larger profits for business owners. If labor costs are cheaper overseas, then it is capitalism which will drive businesses out of our country. If a company finds it cheaper to produce a dangerous product than it is to produce a safe one, it is capitalism which will produce the most profitable option without consideration of customer safety. Capitalism only seeks profits and will by nature migrate operations towards areas which promotes greater profits. Capitalism has no allegiance to any one country as it operates in a global economy. Again, capitalism has no allegiance with patriotism. Where would a business find themselves most profitable? Would they find a country with extremely lower labor costs to be more profitable for manufacturing than a country with higher labor costs? Would they find a lower taxed area more profitable than an area with high demand for their products? But most of all, wouldn’t it be more patriotic for an American business to spark demand in order to operate, manufacture and sell their goods or services inside America, as opposed to overseas? CONSERVATIVE-ESE:The wealthiest among us are the Job Creators. FACT: The wealthy are not necessarily the job creators. Poor and desperate innovators have sparked many new business ventures despite their lack of wealth. Many small businesses began out of practically nothing, but only an idea executed inside of their garages. (Anybody ever hear of Apple? Hewlett-Packard?) The fact of the matter is that neither wealth nor lower taxes create jobs; only demand creates jobs, as I have stated elsewhere. This little tidbit of truth is lost in translation when the wealthy are deemed as “Job Creators”. All this is is a ploy designed to promote additional tax breaks for those who have more than enough while at the same time promoting cuts in public services for those who do not have enough. Another tidbit of truth which is diluted in this argument is the inequality of income between the workers and the owners. A CEO today typically earns 343 times more than an average employee - up from 30 times more in the 1950s - when top tax rates were around 90%! Did CEOs become THAT much more valuable? And while 88% of domestic profits go to corporate bank accounts and CEO bonuses, only 1% of these profits gets applied towards labor. The business owner shoulders no responsibility for producing any product or service. Rather the business owner invested their money (and in most cases time) into a business which is productive. Productivity is a result of the balance between the investors, the managers, and the workers. It is a symbiotic relationship, which many Americans cannot conceive of. For where would any business be without any one of these three elements? Despite conservative talking points, even the lowest of employees is an invaluable asset to a business. In a restaurant, an effective business owner knows that the dishwasher and busboys are just as important to their operation as their managers and customers. If you remove the dishwasher and/or busboys from the equation, the business suffers. Yet an effective manager can be absent from their responsibilities and the operation may not not suffer. So which employee should be valued more than the other, the laborer, the manager, or the investor? The answer is neither of the three. For without one, the other two would not have a business operate or a job to tend to. Yet the argument goes that only the wealthy create jobs. Without enough demand, even these jobs won’t last very long. Conservatives are actually correct that we should not tax our job creators in a time of economic recession. But they've BADLY misidentified exactly who these job creators are. When our recession is being prolonged out of a lack of demand, it is not the business owner who can create jobs; rather it is consumers who create jobs by spurring demand. So let’s not overburden our true job creator, the consumer. In order to spark higher demand, we must effect the largest target market we have at our disposal. It’s not the wealthy who can spark this demand; they only constitute up to 2% of our populace. Rather, we should focus our attention on the other 98% of our populace, our struggling middle class and poor. Henry Ford understood this well - he believed that his product meant nothing unless he had customers who could afford to purchase it. In order to ensure his company’s success, he paid his laborers more than other businesses, so they could buy his cars. This enabled his employees to comfortably afford to buy Ford products. This sparked higher demand, which in turn produced higher job growth, which led to Ford’s success story. Henry Ford did not believe in paying the least amount possible for labor, eliminating the minimum wage, or acquiring higher profits at the expense of his workforce. Instead he realized the symbiosis between business and labor and between business and customer. And not only did Ford boost his OWN business - by paying his own workers more, he forced other businesses to boost worker pay lest they lose their employees. This increase in salaries boosted consumer demand across the board, beginning the economic boom that culminated in the Roaring '20s.

Jim Hightower | Rising public anger explained in daily headlines

Jim Hightower | Rising public anger explained in daily headlines

A VERY worthy cause (NOT political for once!)

Hey, guys. Something VERY worthwhile that my friend Randy Blair is doing up in Michigan, raising money to help fight ALS - Lou Gehrig's disease. Check it out here, and donate if you can - spread the word if you can't.
http://bit.ly/alsdesmond