Vox Populi is coming right up tonight at 7:00pm PDT! Chat live about the week’s events and try our new iMartiniBar! It’s virtually intoxicating!
adlib 7 days ago
hi guys!
Harleigh

7 days ago
Hey Harliegh!
adlib 7 days ago
Harleigh, Ad, Hi
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
An iMartini anyone?
adlib 7 days ago
Hi all
sillylittleme

7 days ago
Hey slm!
adlib 7 days ago
I’ll take a dirty iMartini
sillylittleme

7 days ago
Hey folks, the Irish President had a few pithy words for the Tea Party favorite Michael graham. worth a listen:

pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
btw, he wasn’t President when they did this debate.
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
slm, Since our iMartinis are anonymous, that’s the way they come, dirty.
adlib 7 days ago
Ad – smiley
sillylittleme

7 days ago
Pink – faint praise indeed
sillylittleme

7 days ago
Hey B
sillylittleme

7 days ago
I got a cleaned pipe going!
Harleigh

7 days ago
Hey Folks!
Beatlex

7 days ago
Mine’s a Shamrock! take 1 Pint of yellow beer, tip in 1 measure Vok Blue Curacao. you get a brilliant green pint with a white foam, tastes like lemonade and has a kick like a Mule.. Limit 2 only!
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
PPO – That clip is fantastic!
adlib 7 days ago
Harleigh – pass it this way and I’ll fill it
sillylittleme

7 days ago
Hey Beatlex!
adlib 7 days ago
it’s getting dirty as we type!
Harleigh

7 days ago
ppo – I’m saving that recipe.
adlib 7 days ago
Ad, there’s also the full debate on YouTube.
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
Pink – me too
sillylittleme

7 days ago
Thanks SLM!!
Harleigh

7 days ago
ppo – I will check it out, great clip from it.
adlib 7 days ago
Topic ad?
Beatlex

7 days ago
Ad, the Dems need an O’Higgins type to clobber the GOP/TP
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
it is high time that the world joins Progressives in calling the Tea Partiers on their transparent game. The MSM has given them and their opinions way too much credibility.
adlib 7 days ago
Agree with you both
sillylittleme

7 days ago
here in the worlrd is Hillary’s old server and who gives a shit?
Harleigh

7 days ago
MSM sucks ad
Beatlex

7 days ago
MSM has too much 1% influence on it to ever be fair, beat.
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
ppo – Absolutely! The days of making reasonable statements about how crazy the TPs are should be over. It’s time now to stomp their small minded hatreds masquerading as political views.
adlib 7 days ago
Indeed adlib,it can’t be trusted
Beatlex

7 days ago
Harleigh – I bought Hillary’s old server, 5 TB of blank space, very useful indeed!
adlib 7 days ago
LOL!
Beatlex

7 days ago
LOL
Harleigh

7 days ago
Beat – and that’s the huge problem. Where do you go, apart from this august site, to get the truth? Not Fux Newts anyway!
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
Ad, so THAT’s why we’ve been haing probs signing in!
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
Harleigh – despite what Ad thinks, it is with Mitt’s hard drives from his governorship of MA
sillylittleme

7 days ago
Beatlex – Yep, this masquerade has gotten really tired. The RW/TP/GOP are so obviously going through the motions of politics when what they really want is oligarchy. Why should we keep playing their game and acting like they’re something they’re not?
adlib 7 days ago
brb – smoko
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
The truth is out there Oz,intelligent people know. Unfortunately,a vast amount of Americans don’t even pay attention
Beatlex

7 days ago
B – so true
sillylittleme

7 days ago
ppo – Exactly. Once we added Hillary’s server to ours, folks had trouble accessing any relevant info.
adlib 7 days ago
slm – Actually 47% of Mitt’s hard drives are inaccessable.
adlib 7 days ago
Well I believe Snowden, therefore the dirty little secret is about to get out that the NSA has a copy of every email she EVER semt or recieved DUH!
Harleigh

7 days ago
Ad –
sillylittleme

7 days ago
lol
sillylittleme

7 days ago
What do folks here think about all the MSM trumpeting of Ted Cruz being a force to deal with? Does it seem manufactured just to whip up ad revenue on slow news days or do you think Cruz is a legit threat?
adlib 7 days ago
Ad – who besides Fox is taking this seriously?
sillylittleme

7 days ago
cruz has No chance at all even getting a rep nomination
Harleigh

7 days ago
Maybe the NSA will run for President, they should be able to scare all other candidates out of the race with threats to expose their emails and web viewing habits.
adlib 7 days ago
All the stuff going on in the Middle East can be traced back to GWB’S illegal war.But the R’s are already blaming the President.We can’t let that un truth take root.
Beatlex

7 days ago
Evening all – lots going on here because lots is going on everywhere. How are you all?
choicelady

7 days ago
hi cl
Harleigh

7 days ago
Hi Harleigh!
choicelady

7 days ago
Good CL,and you?
Beatlex

7 days ago
Beatlex – good to see you.
choicelady

7 days ago
Hey Choice
sillylittleme

7 days ago
Howdy, SLM – lovely to see you.
choicelady

7 days ago
Choice – you as well, all is well here
sillylittleme

7 days ago
Good to know, SLM. Are the snows gone yet there?
choicelady

7 days ago
Choice – getting a couple inches tomorrow
sillylittleme

7 days ago
SLM – how utterly ridiculous. I’m sorry!
choicelady

7 days ago
And then Obama had to go fly a plane into a mountain! What’s up with that? Must have took flying lessons from Mclame.
Harleigh

7 days ago
Harleigh! Seriously – are people blaming Obma for the plane crash??? I’d not be surprised. And yes – I’d expect that from McC.
choicelady

7 days ago
We must give credit where credit is do.There was actually a moment of cooperation this week with those spending bills.Why didn’t the R’s fight it tooth and nail? anyone?
Beatlex

7 days ago
Choice – it is pathetic, but yes most of the piles are gone some have turned to coal colored ice
sillylittleme

7 days ago
SLM – I’m overly familiar with black snow, the harbinger of…more snow.
choicelady

7 days ago
Give it a few minute to go viral on the RWNJ sites since I just made it up. LMAO
Harleigh

7 days ago
Choice – when it gets too gross Mother Nature covers it up
sillylittleme

7 days ago
Beatlex – that one moment was to me amazing. Keeping Mediare rates up and CHIP for kids!!!
choicelady

7 days ago
SLM – that is the benefit of new snow!
choicelady

7 days ago
Hey CL!
adlib 7 days ago
Harleigh – see what you started? Now we’ll have to love with THAT forever!
choicelady

7 days ago
hahaha I know CL
Harleigh

7 days ago
Hey AdLib – and no, overall, I do NOT think Cruz can endure. He’s disliked everywhere, has little money. He’s just a flash in the pan. And the sooner the smoke clears, the better.
choicelady

7 days ago
Personally I think Cruz will flame out a la McCarthy
sillylittleme

7 days ago
SLM – I live in hope that you’re correct!
choicelady

7 days ago
Palin – Bachmann 2016 for Jebus! Glaory and come n git yer screech on baby!
Harleigh

7 days ago
Beatlex

7 days ago
Harleigh! LOL!!! Now that’s a catfight I’d love to see. I’ll bring the popcorn!
choicelady

7 days ago
Harleigh – I know you’re a plant for them
sillylittleme

7 days ago
CL – I’ve read how the RW Fundies are trying to coalesce behind a single candidate to avoid splitting the vote and letting Bush win the nom. They like Cruz but their fave so far is of course Huckabee.
adlib 7 days ago
AdLib – I think the Huckster does have more staying power.
choicelady

7 days ago
Hello Planeteers. I hope everyone is well.
sabreen60

7 days ago
hey, Sabreen
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
Sabreen!!! So good to see you! How are you?
choicelady

7 days ago
PPO – lovely to see you, too.
choicelady

7 days ago
Hi, CL!
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
Hey Sabreen
sillylittleme

7 days ago
Ted Cruz? C’mon,this Joe McCarthy wanna be doesn’t have a prayer,so to speak.Maybe he will get a miracle from the god he professes to love so much
Beatlex

7 days ago
Hey Sabreen!
adlib 7 days ago
Beatlex – I think once you get anointed as “God’s chosen” then God, if such exists, smacks you down for hubris. No notarized memo from God? You should worry.
choicelady

7 days ago
CL – I’ve calmed down. I was really angry about Fortune Magazine snubbing PBO.
sabreen60

7 days ago
Sabreen – and you were so correct to do that. Fortune was the mag that said he was the best economic president ever. Apparently they don’t read their own articles.
choicelady

7 days ago
CL – I could imagine Huckabee winning the Repub nom if the RW finally gets a candidate this time.
adlib 7 days ago
AdLib – the extremist Dominionists are on the wane. Single biggest movement in the US is ‘walkaways’ leaving those horrid churches.
choicelady

7 days ago
All those assholes in the klown kar that think they hear jesus… well they DON’T. It’s the sound of the bats in their haids, snoring!… and filling their heads with guano!
Harleigh

7 days ago
Harleigh – I really do think they’re deluded. Met an anti-abortion activist years ago who said she knew she would never die. And she meant LITERALLY not just in ‘heaven ever after’.
choicelady

7 days ago
Harleigh – scary but true
sillylittleme

7 days ago
CL – What a relief to hear that! Finally! Meanwhile, the GOP base is predominantly those Fundie types so they could elect a Huckabee.
adlib 7 days ago
Oh, by the Way, I find I need a new Gulfstream to tool down to the Supermarket. Please all club in for my 65Mil.!
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
God wants me to have a car elevator.
adlib 7 days ago
AdLib – I’m thinking we should ‘follow the money’ and keep our eyes on bushie the threep.
choicelady

7 days ago
AdLib – you got a note from God on that?
choicelady

7 days ago
PPO just use my unlim amex!
Harleigh

7 days ago
Harleigh, OK!
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
Okay,we have talked about the R’s field. What about the Dems? I don’t want to see a coronation. But who can challenge her? open Q for you gus and girls
Beatlex

7 days ago
If you guys get the goodies, I’m converting.
choicelady

7 days ago
Beatlex – I’m seeing more and more from people I do NOT know about O’Malley.
choicelady

7 days ago
nobody…. VP will be interesting.
Harleigh

7 days ago
I want Sherrod Brown for president. He doesn’t WANT to be president. But I still want him for president.
choicelady

7 days ago
And of course there is the petition to get Elizabeth Warren to run
sillylittleme

7 days ago
CL – Of course, Bush is the main rodent to watch out for but I think he’s going to have a very tough time getting through the GOP primary, the base hates him.
adlib 7 days ago
Imagine the scrambling if Hillary decides NOT to run! Headless chickens come to mind
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
Beatlex – Not exactly on your subject, but I was going to mention Reid retiring and the “news” saying the Senate Dems want Schumer to take his place.
sabreen60

7 days ago
SLM – I’m going right off Warren for hype and over-reach on issues she knows much better than she says. She’s playing to the emos.
choicelady

7 days ago
Ad, the GOP sheep will vote for whoever Fox tells them to vote for.
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
Sabreen – i know Schumer. He’s OK, but he’s way too Zionist for me.
choicelady

7 days ago
She should take Warren for VP! just a thought….
Beatlex

7 days ago
Beatlex – maybe, but I don’t think she has much breadth of interests. She’s really good where she is. At least when she’s not hyperventillating.
choicelady

7 days ago
CL – I’m having a brain fart, but there have been a few issues I’ve had with Schumer. I’ll have to try and remember.
sabreen60

7 days ago
Sabreen – cuddling up to Wall Street for one. But as minority leader that may be less worrisome than if he were to pretend he’s qualified to run for prez.
choicelady

7 days ago
CL – I’m still a big supporter of Warren, she’s right on the money for me the majority of the time and not shy about speaking truth to power. Just today she attacked Wall Street for trying to use withholding contributions to scare Dems into suporting their agenda.
adlib 7 days ago
Sabreen,he is a good choice,a little to cozy with wall street,but he is second in line.That’s the system!
Beatlex

7 days ago
AdLib – when she’s right she’s fine, but she knows better than to call what PBO did a ‘bailout’ since he imposed the money as a LOAN that was repaid with interest. She’s falling into the hair on fire school.
choicelady

7 days ago
Beatlex – yup. So he’ll likely get it.
choicelady

7 days ago
CL – I don’t really like Schumer, he is the stereotypical pol, goes out in front of the cameras to beat the drum as a liberal but when the cameras are turned off, he hurries over for drinks with the worst of Wall Street.
adlib 7 days ago
CL,upon further thought,of course you are right,she would be wasted as VP,maybe in 4 years++
Beatlex

7 days ago
AdLib – but he has got a decent voting record on 90% of the issues. And a consummate pol is who you need as Senate leader.
choicelady

7 days ago
AdLib – Warren is stabbing PBO in the back, big time. She’s sending out emails and tweeting that he wants to harm the middle class and the poor with the TPP. Spandan over at The Peoples View has taken her to the woodshed.
sabreen60

7 days ago
CL – I don’t trust Schumer.
adlib 7 days ago
Sabreen – I’m right there with you. I cannot abide the lies about TPP based on 4 year old non information. Until we get the bill or do the kinds of research Spandan has done, we do NOT know what’s going on. I followed Spandan’s trail on COOL and the lawsuite, and damn if we did not win!
choicelady

7 days ago
AdLib – whom do we trust? I like Jan Schakowsky, but I want a real politician because whipping the Senate into line to vote is the issue for the Senate leader which, I hope, will soon again be a Dem.
choicelady

7 days ago
Sabreen – There have been many artcles opposing the TPP that explain how multinational corporations will gain new and superior powers over the US, they can sue the US for imposing good policies that aren’t gd financially for them. It’s a very dangerous deal and precedent. SHould Dems not stand up against it if they truly believe that like NAFTA, it will harm Americans?
adlib 7 days ago
I nominate Bernie Sanders for senate minority leader
sillylittleme

7 days ago
I would like to see Bernie Sanders get in to shake things up! Get progressive issues talked about
Beatlex

7 days ago
slm – I believe Sanders has only had one billed passed since being in the Senate. He doesn’t have a good track record.
sabreen60

7 days ago
AdLib – until you’ve read the bill – and you can get the older version which is S. 1900, do not trust ANYTHING being said unless it backs it up with data. Spandan showed the assertion that we have no contol over Country of Origin Labels was absolutely false. I read the court case – we WON that. We HAVE those – and every anti TPP person is claiming they are dead.
choicelady

7 days ago
Beatlex – Bernie is just a gadfly. He is NOT a good Senator from a leadership point of view.
choicelady

7 days ago
First, I agree with Ad on all of the above. Second – Sabreen he’s exactly what this country needs
sillylittleme

7 days ago
Really CL?
Beatlex

7 days ago
AdLib – do not read “about” TPP. READ IT. S. 1900 two years ago and whatever comes out as a bill soon.
choicelady

7 days ago
Beatlex – Harleigh noted he’s passed ONE bill in all his time. Sanders has no following, very little power. That’s not what we need.
choicelady

7 days ago
AdLib – I really suggest you read Spandan. He’s doing a series on TPP. And he’ll respond to any question you ask him.
sabreen60

7 days ago
Why would the President want to have this TPP treaty one of his last acts as President?It’s a bad deal
Beatlex

7 days ago
Beatlex – sorry, Sabreen said that. AdLib – I’m with Sabreen on this. Spandan’s series is impeccably written from real research, NOT just secondary sources. The so called “Wikileaks’ data is a joke – wikileaks stuff is YEARS old and utterly not what came out of negotiations.
choicelady

7 days ago
Beatlex – how do you KNOW it’s a bad deal? The WH is talking about it soon WITH labor, enviros, etc. because it has been fought for over three years to UNDO the harm of NAFTA. Canada and Mexico are part of the negotiations precisely for those reasons.
choicelady

7 days ago
sabreen notedBeries 1 bill. I’m not much of a fan of Bernie.
Harleigh

7 days ago
CL,He is still a progressive,too much so to get a bill passed
Beatlex

7 days ago
Beatlex – That is the 64,000 question that the naysayers won’t or can’t answer. After fighting for the middle class and poor people for 6 years, why would President Obama promote a deal to do damage to the people? Would he want that as his legacy? It makes no sense whatsoever.
sabreen60

7 days ago
Harleigh – I AM a fan of Bernie’s – but in the right place and time. Beatlex – he’s voted for some rather conservative bills though I can’t recall them. I was surprised.
choicelady

7 days ago
JUst spit-balling folks,You guys are living it
Beatlex

7 days ago
From the NYT this week: Trans-Pacific Partnership Seen as Door for Foreign Suits Against U.S. By JONATHAN WEISMANMARCH 25, 2015 – An ambitious 12-nation trade accord pushed by President Obama would allow foreign corporations to sue the United States government for actions that undermine their investment “expectations” and hurt their business, according to a classified document. The Trans-Pacific Partnership — a cornerstone of Mr. Obama’s remaining economic agenda — would grant broad powers to multinational companies operating in North America, South America and Asia. Under the accord, still under negotiation but nearing completion, companies and investors would be empowered to challenge regulations, rules, government actions and court rulings — federal, state or local — before tribunals organized under the World Bank or the United Nations. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/business/trans-pacific-partnership-seen-as-door-for-foreign-suits-against-us.html?_r=0
adlib 7 days ago
Sabreen – exactly! I read a lot of S.1900, and it was outrageously better than ANY of the naysayers were spewing forth. The original set of ideas may have been awful. But you do’t come OUT of negotiations exactly as you went in.
choicelady

7 days ago
Does that sound like a good or bad idea?
adlib 7 days ago
AdLib – that’s exactly what we now have, and we have never lost our national rights in ANY court decision for the past decade plus.
choicelady

7 days ago
Then I’ll follow you CL but maybe I can just take more notice of Bernie… pay him some attention to his deeds.
Harleigh

7 days ago
AdLib – read the bill. Go to thomas.loc.gov and put in 2012 then S. 1900 and read it. It’s NOT what is being said. We submit all trade to those courts now and have always won.
choicelady

7 days ago
adlib,do you like the deal or not?
Beatlex

7 days ago
AdLib – If you are intent on placing your belief in a NYT article rather than reading for yourself or reading the research Spandan has done then, I guess that’s that. But I tell you NYT has been wrong about a lot of things just like the rest of corporate media.
sabreen60

7 days ago
B – I think it stinks, too much to the corporations
sillylittleme

7 days ago
CL – Really? Can you name a tribunal from the World Bank or UN that has ever interceded with US domestic policy because it financially harmed a multinational corporation.
adlib 7 days ago
Beatlex – we don’t know what the deal IS. What worries me is that the GOP may screw things up in their version of the bill. Then it’s dead. Then we keep NAFTA.
choicelady

7 days ago
AdLib – go take a look at Spandan’s citations. He has the links to the courts. I just mentioned the COOL issue that NYT and those upset by the idea of a world court (which IS a lefty idea BTW) to show we won COOL on appeal and still have it. They claim we lost – but we did NOT.
choicelady

7 days ago
Sabreen Just like we do not know what the deal is with Iran,But the right is in line with Bibi,to change the subject!
Beatlex

7 days ago
We judge ALL trade issues via these courts now, and the US has put INTO the S.1900 the preservation of national sovereignty above all other issues. I read that.
choicelady

7 days ago
CL – We do all agree that the language hasn’t been finalized so we don
adlib 7 days ago
AdLib – no, and if the GOP screws it up, it will be terminal for TPP because it has to have multilateral agreement.
choicelady

7 days ago
…we don’t know what the deal really says so how can I read the bill?
adlib 7 days ago
First take a look at S. 1900. That would be the closest to the all over agreement. Then you’ll know if the GOP has screwed it up or not.
choicelady

7 days ago
CL – As you say, this is a multilateral agreement that is cloaked in secrecy, how can I read what the details are?
adlib 7 days ago
That’s S. 1900 from 2012 when the Dems controlled the Senate. It was put into play by Dems based on the agreement. What the GOP try to do to change things won’t work. You cannot stray from the agreement.
choicelady

7 days ago
You READ it as your nation votes on it. That’s how every trade agreement and treaty has always been. This is not new.
choicelady

7 days ago
And either you believe President Obama is “weak” and has no moral compass or you trust him to do the right thing or throw the bill in the garbage. BTW, the bill has to go before Congress and they get 90 days to vote it UP or DOWN. So this whole secret thing is bullshit. It may not be made public before it goes to Congress, but then it is public. Once again people are setting their hair on fire BEFORE the evidence is even out there. And of course, just like Fortune Magagine not giving PBO any credit, the left won’t give him the benefit of the doubt to do the right thing. Even after 6 years.
sabreen60

7 days ago
I’d like some evidence that multinationals actually got their toe in the door with the negotiators since outsiders are barred. There is so much hype and so many lies about TPP that you have no choice but to read the bill – the Dem version, S. 1900 and whatever comes out from the GOP.
choicelady

7 days ago
Sabreen – exactly. Why would PBO undermine all his work to date with a lousy trade agreement?
choicelady

7 days ago
CL – My issue is that there is such and adament expression that what is in the bill is good for Americans but that’s really jumping the gun since we agree that we don’t know yet what the final terms are. I always start from a position of skepticism when it comes to global trade deals.
adlib 7 days ago
Because of TPP lies, one really wonderful labor guy I know calls PBO a ‘disappointment’. The strongest labor pres in decades!
choicelady

7 days ago
AdLib – I have faith in PBO, I read the site of the US Trade Representative which has given me some insights such as our getting, for the first time, the right to sell autos in Japan. It’s an interesting if rather dry site where you can read a lot about TPP issues. Of course busines – GM, Ford, etc. – want this. It gives themEXPORTS that will help US labor. And ALL labor standards in ALL of the nations now are being held to ILO standards – we’ve wanted that since the 1960s!!!
choicelady

7 days ago
Obama is the best pres ever,
Harleigh

7 days ago
This is why you HAVE to read the S. 1900 version from 2012. We have to keep an eye on the GOP who will PLOTZ over the ILO – it will make exploitation of low wage workers impossible.
choicelady

7 days ago
Sabreen – I don’t believe that such a characterization is accurate, that you either support the President or you are concerned about the TPP. I support Obama a majority of the time but I oppose his stand on NSA spying, keeping so much secret from the public, going after whistleblowers and trying to jail journalists for not revealing their sources and a number of other things. I don’t see it as a zero sum thing to support a President, most of his policies and agend I strongly support but I haven’t given up my own personal opinions because I support him and like everyone else, there will always be disagreements between people.
adlib 7 days ago
agreed
Harleigh

7 days ago
AdLib – can you cite ONE instance of journalists being jailed? The whistleblower cases originated under Bush but what was the oucome? I have asked repeatedly when people insist there is still US sponsored torture – to whom? Where? I have been asking for YEARS and have received no answer. None. To any of these questions.
choicelady

7 days ago
CL and Sabreen, I’m interested in your views on why the TPP will be a good thing for Americans.
adlib 7 days ago
i gotta get to bed guys. Have a great night and week.
Harleigh

7 days ago
Night Harleigh!
adlib 7 days ago
Good night Harleigh – sleep well!
choicelady

7 days ago
Harleigh – I’m right behind you. Nite all
sillylittleme

7 days ago
AdLib – at what point did either Sabreen or I say it would be good? We’re still studying the individual issues to see.
choicelady

7 days ago
SLM – good night! Hope to see you soon!
choicelady

7 days ago
AdLib – we’re trying to approach this with research, reading, data not with hype and predetermined judgments.
choicelady

7 days ago
Ad, The TPP will do one thing for Australia, but it’s not good for us. It allows the Pharma Monopolies to charge US prices for meds. HUGE increases. we are not amused!
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
PPO – are you sure because I think Spandan is taking that up soon. I’m not yet sure.
choicelady

7 days ago
CL – “Obama’s DOJ Relentless in Efforts to Force NYT Journalist to Reveal Confidential Source ‘This administration has an atrocious record for prosecuting whistleblowers. Can it really get away with jailing the reporters who talk to them, too?’ As the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington reports Tuesday: The Department of Justice has filed a legal argument with the US appeals court for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia, in which it strongly opposes any further consideration of Risen’s petition. Risen’s lawyers have asked the court to convene a full session of the 15-member court to decide whether the journalist should be granted First Amendment protection that would spare him from having to reveal the identity of his source to whom he promised confidentiality. A three-member panel of the same court last month issued a 2-1 majority ruling in which they found that reporters had no privilege that would safeguard the confidentiality of their sources in a criminal trial. The judgement leaves Risen, a prominent investigative reporter specialising in national security issues, facing the prospect of having to break his promise to his source or go to jail.

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2013/08/27/obamas-doj-relentless-efforts-force-nyt-journalist-reveal-confidential-source
Obama’s DOJ Relentless in Efforts to Force NYT Journalist to Reveal Confidential Source
US federal prosecutors in Obama’s Justice Department remain committed in their attempts to force James Risen, the national security reporter for the New York Times, to betray his confidential source and testify in the trial of former CIA analyst James Sterling who remains a key character in the president’s unprecedented legal assault on government whistelblowers. As the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington reports Tuesday:

adlib 7 days ago
AdLib – I never said it was a zero sum game. I’m saying before you condemn the man wait of the evidence. And the whistleblower thing to TPP is apples to oranges, IMO. Where you seel whisleblowers I see traitors who didn’t just inform American people, but told the whole world, including our enemies. But that’s a whole other topic. wink
sabreen60

7 days ago
The trial is of a CIA operative not a journalist. And the gov’t ALWAYS demands the evidence and rarely if ever get it. This is not novel on PBO’s part!!!
choicelady

7 days ago
CL, have a peek:

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/trans-pacific-partnership-will-push-medicine-prices-up-review-finds-20150303-13sxty.html
Trans Pacific Partnership will push medicine prices up, review finds
The proposed Trans Pacific Partnership is likely to push up the price of medicines, stop some Australians from taking their medicines and make it harder to restrict the sale of tobacco and alcohol, a comprehensive review has found.

pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
Nite Har!
sabreen60

7 days ago
PPO – that’s “likely” to push up. Maybe yes, maybe no. Let’s see the actual language. Australia is NOT REQUIRED to import US meds.
choicelady

7 days ago
CL – Then I think you’re making the mistake of grouping in people who are skeptical of the TPP with people who are attacking Obama, they are not the same. I do not expect the TPP to be a good thing but nowhere have I said anything derogatory about Obama. I think it’s misguided to equate the two,
adlib 7 days ago
Sabreen – Where did I condemn Obama for the TPP? I didn’t. As I mentioned to CL, it’s not accurate to try and equate suspicion of the TPP not turning out to be a good thing with condemning Obama, it’s just not the case.
adlib 7 days ago
AdLib – I lump everyone who relies on secondary assessments in one pot. I also think it’s counterintuitive to think we’d undo all PBO has done with a lousy agreement. But I READ THE BILL. It’s the same as the ACA _ I READ THE BILL so I knew what I was supporting and why. I opposed Arnold’s health care plan and because I had READ THE BILL I single handedly got it shot down – we were the ONLY organization to oppose it, and Darrell Steinberg gave me a shout out for my work. It matters what the language IS. Now I do not put it over on the GOP to screw it up, so I’m waiting to see. But S. 1900 was not as reported in the media.
choicelady

7 days ago
CL – Why do you keep referring to a bill? Isn’t the TPP a secretively negotiated agreement right now?
adlib 7 days ago
AdLib – I thought we were talking to YOU and others here. Not to nameless people who simply parrot what they’ve heard from other people. All I’m saying to you is do your own research. Spandan has helped a lot. He’s done a lot of work. And yeah, AdLib, IMO you have yet to say that there is a chance that maybe you can further inform yourself and you would at least give PBO the benefit of the doubt until you do so. You linked to an article in the NYT in order to justify your opinion with their opinion. CL and I are simply saying do the research yourself.
sabreen60

7 days ago
AdLib – you would be the only one saying it’s not condemning PBO! I do take your point, but READ THE BILL. I cannot stress that enough. Same with NDAA – the hair on fire people said US citizens would be rounded up and imprisoned without attorneys. Well- four years later… There was language against that very thing. I am saying READ THE BILL because it came up two years ago, Harry Reid quashed the fast track (fine with me) and it went nowhere. It now has to come BACK but is not yet submitted. I look about once per week – nothing. So you can read the very NON secret original bill from 2012.
choicelady

7 days ago
AdLib – when you’re up against wonks such as Sabreen and me, it’s always going to come down to ‘do your research’ don’t rely on secondary sources.
choicelady

7 days ago
CL and Sabreen – Wow…this is a litmus test? If I disagree with both of you on what the TPP will probably be when it’s finalized then I’m not a supporter of Obama? Wow…
adlib 7 days ago
AdLib – nope, not a litmus test at all. We’re encouraging you to use your best research and judgement not to rely on other secondary sources. I even freaking fact check Spandan!
choicelady

7 days ago
CL – How do you fact check an agreement that is being kept secret?
adlib 7 days ago
AdLib – neither of us said that about PBO but that IS a meme out there. We are trying to give you the tools to make a seriously informed assessment of TPP. It horrifies me that people IN the US Senate have not done that. Even Schakowsky said it was secret – and I was freaking LOOKING at it when she said that. I printed it out and have it on my desk.
choicelady

7 days ago
Chidren, settle down or you’ll be sent to the corner!
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
AdLib – HOW can you disagree with what something will PROBABLY be when it’s finalized. If TPP is bad when it’s finalized, I’ll be the first to say it’s a bad bill.
sabreen60

7 days ago
ppo – This is good stuff. I love a good debate!
sabreen60

7 days ago
PPO – LOL!!! Sabreen – right there with you, dear sister o’ my heart. If it sucks in the GOP version, I’ll kill it with my own two hands!
choicelady

7 days ago
Well, however this deal is couched, it is sure to favor the US and disadvantage the others. It wouldn’t be done if it were the opposite. We’re worried here.
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
Just a little from Spandan: “If it’s so good, why is it all hush-hush?” A dumber question I have never heard. When was the last time international negotiations of any kind were conducted on C-Span? That’s right, never. This idea that unless all the meetings are being live-streamed and every piece of email and notes by the negotiators is being tweeted the whole thing is a secretive campaign to usher in corporatocracy and penetrate the average person with a hard object in the rectum is plain stupid. While Congress is regularly informed, the agreement isn’t public because it isn’t yet signed. Period, dot, end of story. One also wishes that the detractors were spending as much time reading the official information that is available as they are whining that not enough is. You know, there is this whole section on the US Trade Representative’s website about the official position of the United States and what the US seeking in the TPP, for example. It details everything from an issue-by-issue coverage to an outline of the agreement to stakeholder engagement events. But hey, who has time to read when you have flammable hair to torch and cash to raise?
sabreen60

7 days ago
AdLib – I just went through this in reverse yesterday. There is a horrible bill on worker coops here that has the support of a very young and impressionable staffer who is in love with the young and impressionable sponsors. However, that bill- which the staffer HAS NOT READ is fatally dangerous to worker coops. He was furious with me for saying so and insisting he READS THE BILL that he is working for the author.
choicelady

7 days ago
The thing is, this is not the 2012 bill. This is a new agreement. Who knows what’s in it for sure? We’ve heard leaks and that’s what the NYT and other sources have been writing about. Of course they may be wrong about what they’re saying is in the agreement but from my perspective, the best place to start with a global trade agreement, considering that their track record is pretty destructive to workers in America, is to start from a position of skepticism and see if one could be won over.
adlib 7 days ago
I’d like to see the incentives for US companies to re-import jobs back to America. But I won’t hold my breath. Too much profit in outsourcing the work overseas to slave and/or cheap labor.
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
AdLib – Would you at least read the first article in the series:

http://www.thepeoplesview.net/main/2015/3/17/the-tpp-education-project-preface-fast-track-secret-deal-nafta
The TPP Education Project, Preface: Questions of “Fast Track”, “Secret Deal” and NAFTA
This article begins a multi-part education series seeking to shed light, not heat, on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and its progressive nature. At the outset, however, it is important to address some popular myths and misguidance being spread around by its ideological opponents. Today’s preface will focus on those and conclude with a provocative question.

sabreen60

7 days ago
AdLib – because this has become an agreement multilaterally, supposedly the new bill cannot be that much different from S. 1900. The GOP can screw up anything, yes, but these hair on fire screechings were all over the map 2 years ago. I told people then about the bill- and the US Trade Rep’s site – and no one ever read anything. THAT is what bothers me, and i wnat you to do that.
choicelady

7 days ago
PPO – reimportation is already happening in the US. Part of it is the loss of some incentives under TPP possibilities, and some because it just doesn’t work. Canada started reimporting jobs about 8 years ago. the late Jane Jacobs wrote about it for the survey she did around Toronto.
choicelady

7 days ago
Cl, good news. hope more happens.
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
AdLIb – I really wish you would post on ThePeoplesView.com. I would love to read a dialogue between you and Spandan. As I said he will engage with you on a rational level.
sabreen60

7 days ago
PPO – to hasten that, we are working on plant ownership conversions. Next Friday I am meeting with Bob King, former head of the UAW to talk about that.
choicelady

7 days ago
Sabreen – Appreciate Spandan’s point but it is different than the point I was making. I’m not attributing bad or good to its secrecy, that’s how big deals have to be in the negotiating phase. And I find the official positions of the US on this irrelevant because to make any deal, the parties involved will be required to compromise. The US simply won’t get everything it wants nor will it be able to demand that everything it doesn’t like is removed. Look at the continuing budget resolution that was passed and signed earlier in the year, Obamacare wasn’t defunded but Wall Street got to destroy regulations. Trade offs, that’s how deals are made and big deals require bigger trade offs. We don’t know what they are for sure but there will be some. That’s real world negotiation.
adlib 7 days ago
AdLib – that is incorrect about the CR. Wall Street did NOT get to destroy regulations.
choicelady

7 days ago
AdLib – if there are compromises, then they will be obvious in the bill. Again – see where we stood as of 2013 and S. 1900.
choicelady

7 days ago
Y’all keep at it. BRB smiley
sabreen60

7 days ago
All true ad
Beatlex

7 days ago
Well, I haven’t read the bill, so I’m going to be shtumm. You guys can duke it out ! blush
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
In the CR – one very small derivative offering got a break, and it’s very minor and all of Dodd-Frank otherwise remained. It was done with the agreement of BERNIE SANDERS tho I can’t remember about Warrne.
choicelady

7 days ago
Uh – Warren.
choicelady

7 days ago
PPO – You CAN read the bill. It’s at thomas.loc.gov then pull down 2013 and put in S 1900.
choicelady

7 days ago
PPO – are you headed for bigger and better things today? Have a great weekend then!
choicelady

7 days ago
CL – You’re mistaken: So, what was the provision that cromnibus gutted? Here’s how Michael Greenberger explained it at Mother Jones: This provision guts the so-called push-out rule created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform act. This rule forbids banks from trading certain derivatives—complicated financial instruments with values derived from underlying variables, such as crop prices or interest rates. Instead, banks would have to shift these high-risk trades into separate nonbank affiliates that aren’t insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and are less likely to receive taxpayer bailouts. If the Citi-written measure becomes law, the largest FDIC-insured banks in the country will be able to make a wider range of these risky trades.
adlib 7 days ago
Yes. That is correct. AND IT IS A MINOR ISSUE. It is a tiny part of trading. And notice – they cannot be covered by FDIC which is EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT. It is’likely’ to get bailouts? Where is the evidence? You do not want these types of deals under FDIC because that is what makes banking failures a liability on us. They have to rise or fall without insurance and without our money (volcker rule) which is GREAT. The ‘likely to get bailouts’ is total hype. No. They will be allowed to fail – that IS the success of Dodd Frank and the Volcker Rule.
choicelady

7 days ago
Sorry – she’s into hype and has outright started to lie about this. It IS one
choicelady

7 days ago
CL and Sabreen, of course I will read Spandan’s articles on this, I’m surprised that you’d assume anything other. He does great work as does TPV and I’m most interested in getting to the truth on matters. I would say though, I’d bet you and CL $1 that the TPP turns out to have some pretty negative aspects to it.
adlib 7 days ago
Sorry – it is ONE bank friendly issue since they don’t have to uphold the capital level, but they are cut adrift here.
choicelady

7 days ago
AdLib – we don’t know what the GOP version will be, but the S. 1900 was NOT a bad deal for the US (which, PPO, is all I DO know at this point.)
choicelady

7 days ago
All the hype about the derivative issue comes from the continuing assertion that PBO ‘bailed out the banks’. He did NOT. He forced them to borrow and they paid it all back with interest becaue he banned all bonuses until it was. To assert that it is ‘likely’ these small derivative trades will fail and be bailed out is pure hype based on non truthful assertions of what happened in 2009.
choicelady

7 days ago
I’m not a betting person, AdLib. But if I were, I would not place a bet on something that is going to happen in the future. I will say this, though. I have confidence that the GOP will do everything in their power to eff it up. And if they do, I certainly hope Congress will vote it down. Of course, then we’ll still be stuck with NAFTA.
sabreen60

7 days ago
CL – You’re missing the point and many economists would strongly disagree with you, this is what contributed greatly to the economic crash, derivatives that were guaranteed to be covered by taxpayer money, thus encouraging WS to make risky trades since they had nothing to lose. Did Obama’s Admin have a policy completely opposed to letting Wall Street have derivatives insured by the US Gov’t? Yes but to get the budget passed, they compromised. That’s what’s required to get things done, I’m not saying he should never compromise, just that there are always compromises by anyone who wants to make a deal.
adlib 7 days ago
Sabren – THAT is my worry, and as Spandan said, since for PBO the goal is to undo the destructive aspects of NAFTA via the TPP, I think they may well try to killit.
choicelady

7 days ago
CL, AdLiB – I’m not touching that banking stuff with a 10 foot poll. I know when I don’t have a clue.
sabreen60

7 days ago
pole
sabreen60

7 days ago
AdLib – post hoc ergo propter hoc? You cannot reason on this from ONE derivative that is a drop in the bucket. NO OTHERS have been set free. What killed us in 2007-08 was the loss of Glass-Steagall which has been REPLACED by the Volcker Rule that keeps OUR deposits and CDs etc. totally separate. Before all money was under FDIC, and the collapse was SO great FDIC could not cover it. Now, this small uninsured derivative has to float on its own. This is GOOD because they are totally on the ‘free market’. And this is the ONLY one.
choicelady

7 days ago
Sabreen, unfortunately, we are already stuck with NAFTA. The question is, if we are seeking an international agreement that allows aligned nations to compete with China and its aligned nations, will the result be something that in the end benefits Americans? Every other nation involved in the agreement want the benefits to flow their way, no single country is going to get everything they want.
adlib 7 days ago
AdLib – NAFTA will die if the TPP passes. That IS the point.
choicelady

7 days ago
The other point is to have a balanced trade agreement to hold the line against China. There is, by the way, an identical negotiation going on with Europe to improve our trade there. I don’t recall its name – Spandan talks about it- that will help all nations involved to have far more fair trade as TPP is to promote fair trade.
choicelady

7 days ago
CL – You took the words out my mouth.
sabreen60

7 days ago
CL – My reading of the Cromnibus is that derivatives are indeed going to be FDIC insured in many cases and that is what gave Wall Street the confidence to make suicidally risky investments, because they knew that they could never lose. This new law opens that door wide open again. That’s a big deal and a big step down the path of a repeat performance.
adlib 7 days ago
CL -The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)
sabreen60

7 days ago
AdLib – what is wrong with nations not getting it all. That’s GOOD. The CR decision is NOT as you are insisting. That’s the ‘push out’ from FDIC. It is limited to this ONE derivative NOT all of them by a long shot. It does NOT open the door so long as this administration is in office.
choicelady

7 days ago
Sabreen – thanks! TTIP. (I won’t remember – can I call on you please?)
choicelady

7 days ago
We’re all on the same page on that, NAFTA needs to be buried in a deep grave. The challenge is to make sure that we’re not trading the getting rid of NAFTA for different economic and trade problems that may not appear so but could end up being even worse.
adlib 7 days ago
Anytime, CL. I remember because someone made the point that all the fuss is about Asian Trade deal but not about the European deal.
sabreen60

7 days ago
AdLib – it is precisely to keep in place the Dodd Frank and Volcker Rule regulatins that make selection of the next president so important. But it won’t be given up under THIS administration.
choicelady

7 days ago
AdLib – we all agree. We want something MUCH better than NAFTA.
choicelady

7 days ago
CL – It is a deterioration of the anti-derivative rule and you’re right, as that article describes, it doesn’t apply to most derivatives but it takes a bite out of restrictions for commodity derivatives. That isn’t nominal and the trend is going in the wrong direction on that. However, that’s not my point, my point is, Obama and his Admin opposed that but had to compromise and accept it to get the budget passed without anti-Obamacare sections. That’s how all deals are made, compromise.
adlib 7 days ago
On a note of grace, I think I’m heading to bed. After fightint with a whippersnapper Assembly staffer yesterday who said my letter was “bombastic” (read ‘angry’ which, of course we older women should never be) I’ve had my fill of discord. I hope you will take Sabreen’s and my directions on issues as wanting you to feel better about things and not thumping on you, AdLib. We love you. We’re just wanting good information to prevail. See y’all in two weeks.
choicelady

7 days ago
AdLib – it was very, very small and inconsequential. It was a stand alone and NOT a trend. So I ask why the reasoning from the particular to the general when since the election PBO has mopped the floor with the GOP?
choicelady

7 days ago
Good night all! Happy Easter to those who celebrate it. Have a great weekend next week if you don’t!
choicelady

7 days ago
CL – Have a good night. And have a great two weeks!
sabreen60

7 days ago
CL – I always enjoy a healthy debate, nothing is ever taken personally from you, Sabreen or any of our Planeteers. I remember having some real wild debates with KQuark and Bito on various issues but it never changed our friendships, as it will never for me and my friends here. Night!
adlib 7 days ago
Ciao, CL, Happy easter to you as well.
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
Planeteers I
sabreen60

7 days ago
Oops. Hit the enter key. Everyone have a good night and a great week. And AdLib – luv ya!
sabreen60

7 days ago
Yep!
adlib 7 days ago
Well, I’ve gotta go get stuff for dinner. The only thing my lady makes when she’s hungry are reservations! ‘Night all.
pinkpantheroz

7 days ago
Same here Sabreen! Have a wonderful weekend!
adlib 7 days ago
Night!
adlib 7 days ago

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