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Every so often I intrude TO/OT with a personal pick of a site that I find important that I feel needs to be shared and not lost in the shuffle of the constant flow of thoughts on The Planet.

And yet with globalization, we seem to have developed a strange apprehension about the efficacy of our ability to apply the innovation and hard work necessary to successfully compete in a complex security and economic environment. Further, we have misunderstood interdependence as a weakness rather than recognizing it as a strength. The key to sustaining our competitive edge, at home or on the world stage, is credibility — and credibility is a difficult capital to foster. It cannot be won through intimidation and threat, it cannot be sustained through protectionism or exclusion. Credibility requires engagement, strength, and reliability — imaginatively applied through the national tools of development, diplomacy, and defense.

The Y Article

A National Security Narrative

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

kesmarn says:

Working in a hospital tends to teach people to keep their emotions pretty much under control — at least while they’re on the job. But tonight I came about as close to losing it as I ever have.

I was admitting a patient who needed in-patient attention because she was so sick from the side effects of chemo that she was getting dehydrated. She was down to about 88 pounds and was so weak that walking the short distance to the bathroom was almost too much for her. In the process of the admission interview, we are required to ask patients whether they have any concerns about paying for medications or their hospitalization.

Her answer was: “Oh yes! The state just threw me off of Medicaid. I ended up on Medicare, but I have no Part D, so I have to pay for all my own meds.” (This included her chemo.) “I’ve tried and tried to call my case worker but the phone just rings and rings most times. If I am able to get through, all I can do is leave a voice mail. And the case worker never calls back.”

I assured her that the Social Service people would get on the case and advised her to let them fight the battle for her while she got some rest.

Inside, I was boiling.

This is not “austerity.” This is murder.

How Kasich and his Tea Party cronies could expect this frail, very ill woman to navigate through the systematic and deliberately neglectful maze they had set up is beyond me. I’m sure the medicaid case workers have ridiculously unrealistic caseloads. I doubt that they are intentionally refusing to return her calls. No. The blame for this horror story doesn’t fall on the patient, the case worker, the hospital, or the Department of Job and Family Services.

The blame for this belongs squarely on the shoulders of John Kasich, the Koch brothers who own him, and the RW in the State of Ohio.

There should be an especially hot corner of the Great Eternal E-Z Bake reserved for that crew, comes the REAL rapture.

EVIL!

~~~~~~

American Civic Knowledge Survey

Both the ancient Greeks and Romans valued wise and public-spirited citizens. Let’s see just how wise you really are? Are you a Barbarian, Philosopher King, or something in-between?

 

Mapping the Measure of America

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SallyT
Member

NO JUICE FOR YOU or ANYBODY!

http://news.yahoo.com/arsenic-detected-apple-grape-juice-samples-210406503.html

However, one of my favorite old movies is Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) with Cary Grant.

KQµårk 死神
Member

Wow this is bad.

Love old movies and “Arsenic and Old Lace” was one of my faves. The character actor rolls of Peter Lorre and Raymond Massey were priceless.

Did you ever see “Balls of Fire” (1941)? That was a great movie with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck.

SallyT
Member

KQ, I loved the Brewster sisters, too, in that movie. Yes, I love “Ball of Fire”. They promoted that as Snow White/not so white and seven professors. (I don’t remember if there really were 7 professors or not)

KQµårk 死神
Member

Hmmm… I didn’t notice that. I loved that seen when they drummer was drumming with match sticks and they were singing “Drum Boogie”. It really was super cool especially considering the time.

It’s at near the end of this video.

SallyT
Member

Thanks, KQ, I enjoyed that. Everytime I see Barbara Stanwyck, I think of what Edith Head/designer said about her. She said she hated to dress Stanwyck because she had no butt and what she had was so low on her torso. And, she was right because now I always look. KQ, you are going to look next time, too, now.

KQµårk 死神
Member

😆 never heard that story. Edith Head was absolutely amazing. It may sound sexist today but God I wish woman dressed like they did in the golden age of Hollywood. To redeem myself I wish men dressed the same as they did back then too.

But Barbara Stanwyck looked great in the jeans she wore in the show The Big Valley. Actually she aged phonemically well.

SallyT
Member

KQ, I agree with that. I love those tailored suits, hats and gloves. The men, too. And those loose flowing slacks that Hepburn and others wore. I have always found it sexy the more you have on when it is classy.

KQµårk 死神
Member

I think the tight fitting crap they push as high fashion today is a big reason even at a young age so many woman have body image problems. Back then a woman did not have to be a demon waif to look good.

SallyT
Member

Good morning, KQ! Do you also notice in the old movies how fit people look, I mean even the extras they get on the street shots. I tell you, it is all the processing crap in our food now a days. (You cant lose weight if you try and it all goes to the stomach,) Women were full figured then but still fit and a size 12 wasn’t fat! Now you have to be a size 0-1 to be considered attractive. You are so right t all that contributes to these young girls and eating disorders. Give me Jane Russell’s shape anyday.

KillgoreTrout
Member

And some in the GOP want to get rid of government regulatory agencies. The FDA anyone?

Yeah Sally, that’s a great film. Carry Grant at his comic best.

SallyT
Member

And to think I use to like Rocky Anderson…

New Party-Justice Party

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705395124/Rocky-Anderson-forms-Justice-Party-plans-to-run-for-president.html

Gee, Rocky, I don’t like you anymore!

KQµårk 死神
Member

Sounds like a vanity campaign to me. He probably knows he can’t win as a liberal Dem in Utah so he’s gonna take his ball and start a new game.

SallyT
Member

KQ, I don’t know. He was a pretty popular Governor in Utah and was elected as a Democrat. So, he won there before. I have no idea why he is doing this.

KQµårk 死神
Member

Respectfully, he was never governor of Utah. Like you said earlier the highest office he held in Utah was Salt Lake City Mayor. They haven’t had a Dem governor since the ’80s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_Utah

Anderson has had a chip on his shoulder since he was not supported by the Dems when he ran for a House seat and lost to a Republican. He attacked Obama even before he got into office.

SallyT
Member

You are very right! He was the mayor of SLC. I dont know why I said Governor. Brain freeze! It would only be possible for a Democrat to get elect in SLC as that is as close to having a liberal section as anywhere else in the state. He doesnt care for the Prez that is for sure. He has been really talking up Huntsman. I don’t think he cares for Romney that much. I just don’t like him even talking about another party and claiming to be a Democrat. I am sure it won’t go anywhere.

KQµårk 死神
Member

No problemo the other day I confused Naomi Klein with Naomi Wolf.

Having read his history on Wiki it seems like he’s doing this out of spite.

kesmarn
Admin

Ron Paul’s anti-Gingrich video. Impressive, Mr. Paul. And gracias, too, for saving us the time and money.

SallyT
Member

Gee, Kes, that was real nice of Ron Paul, wasn’t it?

Sabreen60
Member
Sabreen60
kesmarn
Admin

President Obama signed an executive order the day he took office to close Guantanamo. Since then, Congress has voted no less than four times to continue policies that keep Guantanamo open. Congress has voted unanimously against civilian trials for detainees, voted against funding the closure of Guantanamo, and voted for indefinite detention.

Thanks to Bob Cesca for clarifying. Again.

KQµårk 死神
Member

Cesca is about the only columnist I read on AOLHP anymore.

kesmarn
Admin

“Please don’t come in and disturb me no more. When I’m gone you all can come back and do whatever they want to.”

The words of a nearly 104 year old lady who was nearly evicted from her home — along with her 83 year old daughter. Deutsche Bank foreclosed on them. But the sheriff’s deputies and the movers couldn’t bring themselves to go through with it.

http://thinkprogress.org/special/2011/11/30/378565/moves-and-deputies-refuse-eviction/

SallyT
Member

Kes, there are good people in this world! Bless those men for walking away. She has lived there for 53 years! How much could she owe on that house? How much could that bank be out on it? They have been fighting the bank for years. There is more to this story, too, Kes.
We had a woman here in a wheelchair and a sign saying: “I am 88 years old. My house is paid for but I am going to lose it because I can’t pay the property taxes on it this year.”
Portland doesn’t have a sales tax but our property taxes are very high. With so many people moving up here from CA and paying way too much for houses (of course still less than in Calif) and the games the banks were playing with people and home loans, we passed a bill in 2008 that they could raise property taxes by just a certain percentage each year. The housing market was booming and people were getting hit with property tax increases in enormous amounts. (Ours went up $1000) So, they wanted to control the increases and spread them out. Well, now it has gone the opposite way and our houses are worth less but the taxes are still going according to the that bill. People are in an uproar! This poor woman has been caught in that trap. That damn housing game the banks played have affected us in many ways.

kesmarn
Admin

Sally, I remember seeing “Gone With the Wind” when I was a kid and wondering what was the deal with Scarlett and always paying those darn taxes on “Tara.” I was too little to realize that you could own your home free and clear and still lose it if the property taxes weren’t paid. I had never heard of that happening in real life.

And I suppose it didn’t happen all that often back when I was young.

Now, however, it’s a different story. There ought to be exceptions made for the elderly, wouldn’t you think?

SallyT
Member

Kes, there is help for the elderly but not if your house is worth more than you owe. If you have equity, you are suppose to borrow the money against your house and pay the taxes. Now, who is going to give you a loan if you are old and no one is making loans anyway?? They don’t forgive the tax but defer a portion.

kesmarn
Admin

Good question, Sally! Who’s going to lend to an 88 year old (or a 103 year old)!?

And the tax office assumes that she can repay a loan? If she were able to repay a loan, she wouldn’t be having trouble paying her damn taxes in the first place!

I think maybe we mere citizens are just a little too logical to be working for the county tax department. Just like those sheriff’s deputies in Atlanta.

SallyT
Member

Tax Collectors don’t care how you repay the loan to the bank. All they want is the money for the taxes that year. Of course the lady is on a fixed income so any payment is going to be hard. I am sure her taxes are $4000 for the year. They won’t lien your house until the 3rd year. If you pay atleast one of those years, they won’t lien until the next year and it being 3 years outstanding again. She is probably at that point.

kesmarn
Admin

Sally, sad but true. And in this housing market, I wonder if it’s even still possible to get those reverse mortgages that allow you to borrow against the house on the assumption that the bank will own it when you die. It’s hard to imagine that many banks want to own even more real estate right now.

SallyT
Member

Kes, on Lawrence Odonnel he just announced that Chase Bank has decided to let this 104 year woman stay in her home. They said they will work something out with her. Lawrence also added that Chase made 19 billion in profits this year. I think they could let this one pass don’t you?

kesmarn
Admin

Wow, Sally, how magnanimous of ’em! They’re not going to push the 104 year old lady out into the middle of the street in her bed on Christmas day!

Should we all send a thank you note to Ebenezer Dimon?

Sorry for all the snark, but good Lord…! What have we come to?

SueInCa
Member

NYC has it’s own megalomaniac in Bloomberg – NYPD is his army

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/11/bloomberg-the-nypd-is-my-own-army.php

SallyT
Member

Sue, I bet when Bloom was a little boy he loved playing with those toy soldiers, those green rubber ones. Does this mean that NY is a police state?

SueInCa
Member

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/part-v-right-wing-playbook-occupy-wall-street

Occupy Wall Street violates the tenets of Christianity…..but the Tea Party?

“In truth, these two movements have been intertwined since the dawn of the Tea Party movement in 2009, when Republicans with a religious-right constituency saw a way to seize greater power within their party by playing to the Tea Party crowd.”

http://67.192.238.60/rww-in-focus/the-tea-party-and-religious-right-movements-frenemies-with-benefits

KillgoreTrout
Member

This is my biggest complaint against organized religion. It is far too easy to manipulate in the hands of dishonest people. That’s why I flinch whenever religion is included in social and political narratives. One’s faith is a very personal matter and has absolutely no place in the public discussions, outside of one’s church, cathedral, temple or mosque.

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

A Confusing Story: Where’s the Truth?

It is being reported that the Senate voted Tuesday to keep a controversial provision to let the military detain terrorism suspects on U.S. soil and hold them indefinitely without trial — prompting White House officials to reissue a veto threat.

The measure, part of the massive National Defense Authorization Act, was also opposed by civil libertarians on the left and right. But 16 Democrats and an independent joined with Republicans to defeat an amendment by Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) that would have killed the provision, voting it down with 61 against, and 37 for it.

I spoke with legislative aides at both of my Senators’ offices and with an aide in Sen. Udall’s and Sen. Levin’s office. The linked statements below reflect their thinking.

Below please find three links. The first provides the exact wording of the provision with some comment pointing out the key lines; the second is Sen. Udall’s Amendment, the third is Sen. Levin’s response to the attacks on the Appropriations Bills, the fourth is a commentary that provides the best analysis I have found so far.

Bottom Line: It appears that Levin’s Bill is the one that respects citizens rights more than the Udall Amendment. And hardly anyone has spoken of the impact of the Supreme Court Hamdi Case which is very germane.

Here they are:

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread780914/pg1

http://www.scribd.com/doc/73053672/Udall-Amendment-to-National-Defense-Authorization-Act-Revising-detainee-provisions

http://levin.senate.gov/newsroom/speeches/speech/levin-floor-statement-on-detainee-provisions-of-ndaa

http://www.greeleygazette.com/press/?p=12076

DOES ANYONE HERE THINK SHE/HE HAS A GOOD HANDLE ON THIS?

SallyT
Member

If someone has already posted the following, sorry for doing it again. But Ellen Brown is one of my favorites when it comes to understanding national debt.

European Central Bank Fiddles While Rome Burns

http://www.truth-out.org/european-central-bank-fiddles-while-rome-burns/1322579407

SueInCa
Member

Sally
I love that website. If you like that, you will also like

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/

It will keep you up to date on what the religious right and GOP candidates are saying you might not catch in your surfing.

SallyT
Member

Sue, to be honest, I don’t really follow that website much but I just watch for articles by Ellen Brown. (she was also on HP today with the same article but I refused to look there even for Ellen) I did look at it closer today and found some interesting things. Thank you for the other site. I will add it to my favorites and check it out.

SueInCa
Member

Sally
I got it mixed up with truth2action, not truthout which I also read. So many websites to get info and I am running like the proverbial chicken

SueInCa
Member

http://lamorinda.patch.com/articles/funeral-for-slain-vallejo-police-officer-wednesday#photo-8575790

Funeral services for slain officer Capoot of Vallejo are being held today. We have helicopters flying all around Benicia and Vallejo right now. The Officer was killed in pursuit of an alledged suspect in the robbery of a local Bank Of America. They expect over 4000 to attend the funeral including the Governor and other state dignetaries as well as Police Departments around the country. Officer Capoot was well known and a favorite of the community who gave of his time to all kids in the community.

RIP Officer Capoot

SueInCa
Member

http://www.kentucky.com/2011/11/30/1977453/small-pike-county-church-votes.html

You can come to church in Pike county Kentucky but if you are a bi-racial couple you can only participate in funerals. Well thank god for funerals then.