"Right after Sept. 11, 2001, as thousands gathered in parks around New York City, holding impromptu candlelit vigils, a sticker appeared on signs, placards and benches. It read, 'Our grief is not a cry for war.'

"This Sept. 11, that message is still-painfully, regrettably-timely.

"Let's make Sept. 11 a day without war."

…and then it hit me:

Of course! Dwight Schrute addresses his fellow salesman…

The reproduction quality is not good, but NBC has becomne quite insisten on chasing down show clips…so I also offer this “A-HA” type video of the same speech-so you get the full audio impact:

Yeah, apparently this candidate for office in Ohio has been getting media/communication assistance from a special speaker at Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, PA…

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In a Whistleblower suit, a private citizen can sue on behalf of the US government with and allegation of Fraud. If successful, the private citizen gets 30% of the reward. The government can intervene and either take over the suit or quash it if it wishes.

The question I have is quite simple. Has Landis-whom crushed my heart when his 2006 TdeF title was stripped due to failing drug tests-had a legitimate change of heart in his approach to and acceptance of drug testing? Or is this another scam being pulled by a guy who got over $1,000,000.00 from fans to fund his defense fund as he tried to fight off doping charges…only to confess to doping?

Time will tell…

"9500 Liberty'' captures the impassioned town hall debate leading up to the vote, and the fear that animates the pro-mandate citizens is heartbreakingly apparent. They tremble as they describe a coming tidal wave of criminal brown people washing over them and destroying their schools and hospitals (no matter that the crime-rate has actually plummeted in the previous decade). They want us to know that the 9/11 terrorists were illegals; you do the math.

"9500 Liberty'' understands that what moves these people is the idealized America they see vanishing before their eyes, one in which everyone looks and talks like them. Stated reasons for "probable cause'' include speaking Spanish, playing Latin music, owning a chicken, and growing corn.

The movie also understands the melting pot that America actually is and always has been (since we kicked the Indians aside, anyway). The filmmakers follow the resistance of the legal immigrant community - the title comes from the street address of a huge anti-mandate banner mounted by Gaudencio Fernandez, a US citizen since the 1980s - and charts the growing realization of many that, legal or not, they'd best move elsewhere if they don't want to be stopped by the cops every day.

When we talk about the impressive ability of the United States to transfer political power every four/eight years, we call it impressive because we presume it involves introducing some change that the exiting party opposes.  And the entire point of elections is to provide an opportunity to introduce that change.  So, in that context, I ask – how in the hell did we end up here?

On issues ranging from the government’s detention authority to a program to kill al Qaeda terrorist suspects, even if they are American citizens, Mr. Obama has consolidated much of the power President George W. Bush asserted after Sept. 11 in the waging of the U.S. war against terror.

[ . . . ]

Overall, [former CIA Director and Bush appointee] Mr. Hayden said, there is more continuity than divergence between the Bush and Obama administrations’ approaches to the war on terror.

“You’ve got state secrets, targeted killings, indefinite detention, renditions, the opposition to extending the right of habeas corpus to prisoners at Bagram [in Afghanistan],” Mr. Hayden said, listing the continuities. “And although it is slightly different, Obama has been as aggressive as President Bush in defending prerogatives about who he has to inform in Congress for executive covert action.”

I never thought that Obama (or any president) would willingly give up the expanded state surveillance powers, but I have to admit to being surprised that he’s put so much effort into protecting torturers:

In a 6-5 ruling issued this afternoon, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals handed the Obama administration a major victory in its efforts to shield Bush crimes from judicial review, when the court upheld the Obama DOJ’s argument that Bush’s rendition program, used to send victims to be tortured, are “state secrets” and its legality thus cannot be adjudicated by courts.

[ . . . ]

The distorted, radical use of the state secret privilege — as a broad-based immunity weapon for compelling the dismissal of entire cases alleging Executive lawbreaking, rather than a narrow discovery tool for suppressing the use of specific classified documents — is exactly what the Bush administration did to such extreme controversy.

This is exactly what Candidate Obama decried.  And now President Obama has completely embraced it.  This isn’t some small matter of little interest to those outside of the legal or political worlds.   The ACLU’s Ben Wizner, who argued the case, said:

This is a sad day not only for the torture victims whose attempt to seek justice has been extinguished, but for all Americans who care about the rule of law and our nation’s reputation in the world. To date, not a single victim of the Bush administration’s torture program has had his day in court. If today’s decision is allowed to stand, the United States will have closed its courtroom doors to torture victims while providing complete immunity to their torturers.

I’d like some of that Change We Can Believe In, please.

(Be sure to click through to the Washington Times (yes, Washington Times) story at the first link, if for no other reason than to behold the amazing agreement of parties from across the full political spectrum on the continuity between Bush and Obama).

There was a time not too long ago when data on inventories was a leading economic indicator. It isn't discussed a lot anymore. It really doesn't portend so much for the American economy today. In those good old days, low inventories meant that orders were on the horizon and that meant firing up production in the United States, putting the un- and under-employed back to work. That was when the products being sold at retail were substantially domestically produced. Today, low inventories in the United States are good news overseas. The lag in and the magnitude of a response to economic stimuli have been compromised by globalization.

This means that if we want to have anything to show for all these deficits, after all the crying is over, we had best direct the spending toward something enduring, like infrastructure; something that puts the most Americans back on payrolls paying taxes. If we want to rely on supply side side-effects to revive the economy, just be aware that our supply side is turning into service at the retail counter. If supply side voodoo worked, it would be working in China and elsewhere and a lag would follow before it had any impact here.  
While the multiplier effect of private spending is significantly greater than that of public spending, that result occurs in a closed system. The United States no longer qualifies as that microcosm; it may have only been so during early industrialization and then during World War II. There is no good method to measure how much of the private multiplier washes back to the United States (it probably still is 5, while public spending hovers at 1), but in a global environment most of that is absorbed as growth in the producing economies.

That is why tax cuts creating deficits are not as effective as deficit spending directed at infrastructure. Increasing the discretionary income in the American economy results in purchases of goods and services that do not add to the capital structure of the United States. In fact, an argument can be made that purchasing a service may result in a lower multiplier than public spending. After all, many services have no, or even a negative, residual value after they have been consumed (as in any black market, thus untaxed transaction).

At least when government builds a road (in the United States, not Afghanistan) or high speed rail, there is evidence of economic activity and a residual capital asset; a resource. Or when a bail-out of an American industry keeps production in the United States, there's a chance that domestic purchases may cause an immediate ripple in our own economy. One of the wacko wing talk show hosts constantly argues that the wealthy need the tax cuts so that they can eat out and leave good tips to stimulate the economy. I would argue that that kind of transaction results in no better multiplier than public spending and less when they go un- or under-reported (which they often do).

But the voodoo-economists of the portray-a-patriot set are not invested in the United States. They are proudly invested in their own self-interests (a misrepresentation of Ayn Rand's philosophy). And unfortunately (because I enjoy paying taxes as much as anyone) tax cuts (particularly for the wealthy) are going to stimulate the black market and overseas economies, not so much, America's.  ]]> http://vapoliticalblogs.com/2010/09/10/another-little-neocon-reality/feed/ 0 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheGreenMiles/~3/ddSfp5Wskjw/silent-all-these-beers-step-up-to-save.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheGreenMiles/~3/ddSfp5Wskjw/silent-all-these-beers-step-up-to-save.html#comments Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:30:00 +0000 Miles Grant Save Westover Market Beer Garden Facebook group:

Due to complaints from neighbors about excessive noise from the outdoor area..., Arlington County zoning inspectors are investigating zoning violations brought against Westover Market. Westover Market has appropriate approvals for seasonal outdoor seating for nine people. The purpose of this seating is outdoor dining.

The space is being used for more than nine people and live bands are entertaining clientele. Having live, musical entertainment requires a public hearing before the Arlington County Board. Should Westover Market choose to apply for a Live Entertainment Use Permit, the County Board will weigh measures that will minimize the adverse impacts of its use on its neighbors.

All Arlington County residents and businesses are expected to comply with the requirements of local ordinances.

• Cite business for seating more than 9 people
• When said business applies to seat more, deny it
• When people complain about you harassing a business for doing well, say they don't have the right permit, which you denied
• Repeat

Daniel Weir, another patron of the garden, wrote to us to say that the garden is part of the reason he’s considering settling down in Westover. “[The beer garden] is a piece of what makes Westover magic — the combination of a truly residential neighborhood that has a spice of urban vitality. Without it and the atmosphere that it helps create, Westover would be like a slightly older, less wealthy McLean,” he says.

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You are detail oriented and focused. You enjoy keeping your life in order.

You are a perfectionist, and you tend to take your time with tasks. Anything worth doing is worth doing right.

It’s hard for you to deal with dramatic, flippant, and silly people. You value maturity.

You are a good listener and you expect others to be the same. You expect to be taken seriously.

Pretty darn close What color is your personality?

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips granted a request for an injunction halting the government’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for gays in the military.

Phillips said the policy doesn’t help military readiness and instead has a “direct and deleterious effect” on the armed services.

In a statement, the Log Cabin Republicans celebrated the ruling.

“As an American, a veteran and an Army reserve officer, I am proud the court ruled that the arcane Don’t Ask Don’t Tell statute violates the Constitution,” said Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director R. Clarke Cooper.  “Today, the ruling is not just a win for Log Cabin Republican servicemembers, but all American servicemembers.”

Some other reactions to the ruling can be found here.

With this ruling (here), the ball is clearly in the court of the Obama administration. Will the U.S. Justice Department appeal – and run the risk of (further) angering the LGBT community? If I had to guess, I’d have to answer that question in the affirmative.

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Where:  Blacksburg, Virginia

When:  6pm Reception and Silent Auction, 7:30 PM Dinner

Dear Friend,

Today marks 39 days until October 18th - the day the summary judgment hearing will be held in the healthcare case.  These 39 days mark the buildup to one of the most important court cases this decade.

Make no mistake: so far, Virginia is winning.  

It is no coincidence that I have been under constant attack from left wing bloggers, "Jouro-listas," and pundits from across the country.

From Rachael Maddow to Keith Olbermann, liberal activists who daylight as 'political commentators' have spent hours of TV time attempting to demonize my efforts to restore constitutional principles to government.  Not too long ago, Olbermann even made me his "worster person of the week," ... what an honor.

But the attacks are only going to get worse.

Virginia has a real shot at overturning the individual mandate, and the healthcare bill with it.  If we accomplish this it will be one of the most significant setbacks to the anti-freedom agenda in my lifetime.  

The Washington Times agrees - and after the decision was announced August 2nd, here's what they had to say: "On one side lies federal tyranny. On the other side is freedom. Yesterday, federal district Judge Henry E. Hudson favored freedom by keeping alive Virginia's suit to invalidate the law that created Obamacare." That's putting it simply!                      

The Washington Times concluded by saying, "Ultimately, it is the people's own individual sovereignty that is threatened by Obamacare. It's that sovereignty that Mr. Cuccinelli is defending against federal tyranny."

Well, I'm honored by those words - but the reality is, we need help in spreading that message.  And that's where you come in.  

As a supporter who has been with me since day one in this fight - I need you to take one step further in supporting my efforts.

Will you help me stand against these negative attacks by making your most generous contribution today?

Your funds will go right to the frontlines to battle against the attacks that are already being hurled my way.  We need support from donors across the country if we are to fight this battle head on and come out victorious.

So, will you join with me today?  If so... PLEASE click here to make a contribution to my campaign today.

With your help, I'll be able to fight back against the left's attacks and 'live to fight another day' as I continue to take the fight to the federal government - until liberty, as it was understood by our Founding Fathers, is restored.

For America and for liberty,  

Ken Cuccinelli, II
Attorney General of Virginia

P.S. This fight to push back against unconstitutional encroachments by the federal government, like the individual mandate, is an uphill battle - and the (so-called) main stream media and left-wing activists are out to take me down. I need your help today by clicking HERE to make your most generous contribution today.

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