September 9, 2014

An apology to the DUers in the jury.

You know who you are and I apologize for wasting your time for a little comment. I will be careful of what to alert on.

September 8, 2014

Senate Votes 79-18 To Advance a Constitutional Amendment To Overturn Citizens United

Source: Politicus USA

By a vote of 79-18, Senate voted to advance a constitutional amendment that would overturn Citizens United.

The amendment read,

Section 1. To advance democratic self-government and political equality, and to protect the integrity of government and the electoral process, Congress and the States may regulate and set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections.

Section 2. Congress and the States shall have power to implement and enforce this article by appropriate legislation, and may distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections.

Section 3. Nothing in this article shall be construed to grant Congress or the States the power to abridge the freedom of the press.’

Yesterday, before the Senate vote, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said, “The major issue of our time is whether the United States of America retains its democratic foundation or whether we devolve into an oligarchic form of society where a handful of billionaires are able to control our political process by spending hundreds of millions of dollars to elect candidates who represent their interests.”

Read more: http://www.politicususa.com/2014/09/08/senate-votes-79-18-advance-constitutional-amendment-overturn-citizens-united.html

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Well this is good news, unfortunately has no chance of getting through the house.

Edit: apparently it has just one more hurdle in the senate and then it goes to the house. They just need to vote one more time and they say it won't pass.

September 4, 2014

Brand new atheist here!

After being so tiered of my very religious grandma begging me to go to church and get baptized I decided that enough is enough and believe that there is no god.

September 4, 2014

I can finally say that I am an atheist

I've been agnostic for a while but I believe that there is no god.

August 17, 2014

How America's Police Became an Army: The 1033 Program

As many have noted, Ferguson, Missouri, currently looks like a war zone. And its police—kitted out with Marine-issue camouflage and military-grade body armor, toting short-barreled assault rifles, and rolling around in armored vehicles—are indistinguishable from soldiers.

America has been quietly arming its police for battle since the early 1990s.

Faced with a bloated military and what it perceived as a worsening drug crisis, the 101st Congress in 1990 enacted the National Defense Authorization Act. Section 1208 of the NDAA allowed the Secretary of Defense to “transfer to Federal and State agencies personal property of the Department of Defense, including small arms and ammunition, that the Secretary determines is— (A) suitable for use by such agencies in counter-drug activities; and (B) excess to the needs of the Department of Defense.” It was called the 1208 Program. In 1996, Congress replaced Section 1208 with Section 1033.

The idea was that if the U.S. wanted its police to act like drug warriors, it should equip them like warriors, which it has—to the tune of around $4.3 billion in equipment, according to a report by the American Civil Liberties Union. The St. Louis County Police Department’s annual budget is around $160 million. By providing law enforcement agencies with surplus military equipment free of charge, the NDAA encourages police to employ military weapons and military tactics.
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1033 procurements are not matters of public record. And the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), which coordinates distribution of military surplus, refuses to reveal the names of agencies requesting “tactical” items, like assault rifles and MRAPs — for security reasons, a spokesperson for DLA told Newsweek via email. One can only trace “tactical” items as far the county of the requesting agency. In the case of Ferguson, that means St. Louis County.

St. Louis County law enforcement agencies have, through the 1033 Program, acquired the following “tactical” equipment, according to Mike O’Connell, Communications Director for the Missouri Department of Public Safety:





Despite the fact that police in Ferguson have been photographed with a matte black vehicle which appears to be a “Bearcat” MRAP, O’Connell told Newsweek that no St. Louis County law enforcement agencies have acquired any MRAPs through the 1033 program.

Ferguson_APC_8-13 Police officers ride an armored vehicle as they patrol a street in Ferguson Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

If the vehicle in the above Reuters photo is indeed an MRAP and not one of the nine “utility trucks” acquired by St. Louis County law enforcement, O’Connell said he does not know where it came from.

Police in Watertown, Connecticut, (population 22,514) recently acquired a mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicle (sticker price: $733,000), designed to protect soldiers from roadside bombs, for $2,800. There has never been a landmine reported in Watertown, Connecticut.

Police in small towns in Michigan and Indiana have used the 1033 Program to acquire “MRAP armored troop carriers, night-vision rifle scopes, camouflage fatigues, Humvees and dozens of M16 automatic rifles,” the South Bend Tribune reported.

And police in Bloomington, Georgia, (population: 2,713) acquired four grenade launchers through the program, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Given the proliferation of military weapons and military training among America’s police departments, the use of military force and military tactics is not surprising. When your only tool is a hammer, after all, every problem looks like a nail.

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Another example of congress screwing up.

August 10, 2014

Gas prices lately

Getting less expensive, $3.85 today in orange county, CA.

July 30, 2014

How come DU is so pessimistic about climate change?

Shouldn't we be taking steps to help stop it? Obviously our first step is to get rid of those wackos in congress in November. But we all should do small things to help. Instead of saying "Ah we're all gonna die!" we should say "We might die, but to make things better let's walk to work/school, recycle, turn off necessary lights, and vote in November."

July 24, 2014

I got in a fight with my parents today...

For my job I'm going to get a little over $8,000 a year, which I think is too little for a college student. While my parents think that it's fine. My parents are both democrats but I'm more liberal than they are, so while I was complaining on how bad the minimum wage is and high tuition, they started calling me a socialist. Since when did my parents become part of the right?

I tried telling them how it was easier for them back in the day, but they still didn't understand. I'm just frustrated with what happened and I'm almost crying right now. I want to move to Canada.

July 18, 2014

I finally got a job!

Yay! I got a job at my school's bookstore, I'm gonna get $9.00 per hour!

July 14, 2014

During the primaries...

I will vote for the most liberal person of them all. If Hilary wins I'll vote for her in 2016. She's still better than the maniacs on the far right. But that's not important, we have a little over 4 months to take back the house and win the senate. If the repoops win we'll have 2 more years of nothing. GOTV for 2014!