Ninga
Ninga's JournalFall out from violence, has left me shaken.
I either have too much time on my hand, or just can't move on from the events of this week without trying to make sense of it all. I read about the NRA's activism and lobbying efforts to keep tracer (taggants) elements out of gun powder and bullets, etc. And wonder if the results of the gun lobby success has enabled those who would harm us.
So I wondered who actually funds the NRA so I went to their web page and read about the big groups that help fund the NRA. I wondered if foreign nationals give money, but so far haven't found anything.
But one little thing I did find, bothered me to no end. An essay contest for kids, on why the second amendment is important....good grief...
http://www.nradefensefund.org/contests-scholarships.aspx
http://www.nradefensefund.org/
I'm sorry, but I do not understand the game of chess.
I do not understand the goal or desired outcomes of chess.
I gather, that during the run-up to the Affordable Care Act, lots of chess was played to get it to pass.
I do know that voters in 2009 and 2010 were confused by the chess game playing and in Nov. 2010 many voters stayed home and/or supported the Tea guys. And we know how that turned out don't we.....mass gerrymandering...2010 was a big win for GOP.
So from what I am trying to read here on DU, lots of chess is going on with Bone-er, budgets, SS, chained CPI, and goodness knows what else.
If this keeps up, and voters once again are subjected to more chess playing talk and then the whole Chained CPI gets taken over by the headlines and screaming TV Heads, then 2014 suddenly doesn't look too good for our side.
In fact, it's started already.
Korea...just learned that a 3rd destroyer has been deployed...and
because this is the first time in history 3 such ships have been sent to an area....this feels so serious.
Each destroyer is accompanied by 30 smaller ships, which means 90 ships plus the big ones will soon be standing watch in the waters near Korea.
I learned this from a business conference call I was auditing today, as one of the members of the call was the wife of a sailor who was assigned to the 3rd destroyer now sailing for Korea, and not returning until Oct. 11th....in telling us, she became upset.
None of the folks on the conference call knew what to say or how to respond, because her remarks were out-of-the-blue and somewhat anti-Obama as she was asserting that he was mis-handling Korea.
Most of us on the call are associates that share the same politics. I was very grateful that the response was mostly silence, and thankfully, no one tried to "set her straight".... or paper over her concern. I quickly emailed one of the participants suggesting that a softly delivered comment about how we hope that "diplomatic work is being done around the clock and that sending 3 destroyers may be a part of the strategy we don't have the privilege of knowing"...might be reassuring to her....the remarks were made...but she was too far gone in her weeping to hear.
Oh man. I am now more nervous about Korea than before.......what a world.
President Carter - "Losing My Religion for Equality"
Nothing this man does, surprises me. He is a true "up-stander" in this "by-stander" world. Bless you President Carter.
"Women and girls have been discriminated against for too long in a twisted interpretation of the word of God.
I HAVE been a practicing Christian all my life and a deacon and Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world. So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention’s leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be “subservient” to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service."
-snip-
http://www.womenspress-slo.org/?p=11440
A passing thought: I wonder if the spirit of Camp Casey could help shine
the national spot light on the life and struggles of Tomas Young..A flash mob to cheer and sing to him outside his windows, to demonstrate he hasn't and won't be forgotten...that he is loved...
Changed sig-line from: "When Democrats vote, Democrats win" to....
a MLK, jr 1963 quote that seems more fitting to the frustration at watching the never-ending game playing and tap dancing the Congressional Democratic leadership engages in....is the dial on their moral compass broken?
While I love Chris Hayes, how will his roundtable style of disucssion
translate from a 2-hour format to 1 hour? The Sat morning program has a, well, morning feel to it. Relaxed and not rushed and organic in terms of how topics are allowed to debated and expanded on.
Typically a 1 hr. program has about 39 to 42 minutes of actual content.
If Chris talks on and off to a total of about 10, that leaves about 30 minutes more or less for 4 guests to divide equaling slightly over 7 minutes each.
I suppose if the panel sticks to one subject it can work out ok, but will the depth and detail of the 2-hr format fit in to a smaller 1hr shoe?
Ed Schultz: champion of unions and the working class, getting booted is one more
symptom of how the shrinking middle class is being left in the dust. I am not smart enough to know if his 8PM time slot was the best use of his voice, but damn it all, to marginalize and diminish his passion is a huge loss for working class issues.
Schultz needs to be used as a roving guest on Morning Schmo, to challenge the sockless, laid back ass kissers who do not give a shit about unions, teachers, safety forces, working poor and jobless.
Rendell, Harold Ford, and all the other hacks..need to be replaced.
It is incumbent on MSNBC to figure out a creative and visible way to keep his positions and passions in the mix.
What role, if any, do DU members have in shaping and influencing policy
that directly affects the greater good of Americans?
I am an activist in every sense. With my son in a stroller, I stepped off the curb to join a huge crowd demonstrating against the Vietnam war. I participated in many organized efforts during that time.
I was deeply moved by the feminist movement and when they took to the streets, I joined them. Once again, as in the anti-Vietnam era, I attended weekly meetings and joined discussion groups that also trained us how to lobby and do outreach. I actively worked for the passage of the ERA.
Etched in my mind, is one of the last times I took to the streets - ten years ago as Bush with the help of Democrats marched us toward war once again, this time Iraq.. It was a small group that marched...maybe 300 at the most...the organizer got the required permits, a scant few safety forces looked bored...while we marched through downtown Cleveland..led by a bullhorn and waving anti-war signs and chanting...
I will never forget how angry and fist waving drivers, flipped us off at having to wait for us to march through the intersection. There wasn't much support that day.
Do you ever foresee a time when masses of Americans are so united and moved over an issue, that they once again, take to the streets?
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Member since: Tue Sep 16, 2003, 10:34 AMNumber of posts: 8,277
