Saturday, January 24, 2009

For My Norman

A Break from Politics to Speak of Humanity

BAILOUT ACCOUNTABILITY NOW!


Arn Pearson at Common Cause


Sends out this Appeal on January 23, 2009.


"If you got a bonus from work, you would have to report it to the government. But when our nation's banks get a bailout from the federal government, bank CEOs are allowed to spend it as they see fit.

Does that seem fair to you?

Next week, the House Financial Services Committee is planning to hold a hearing to question CEOs from the nation's nine biggest banks about how bailout funds are being used.

Take action now to demand accountability from bank CEOs who receive bailout funds!

These funds were intended to stop the foreclosure crisis, yet so far there is no evidence the banks that helped get us into this mess are doing anything to help struggling Americans weather the storm.

As nine of the biggest beneficiaries of the bailout, these CEOs have an obligation to use taxpayer dollars in an open and transparent manner.

If you've been turned down for a loan by a bailed-out bank or haven't been able to get the financial help you need, this is your chance to get some answers.

But you must act now, there's only a few days left until the hearing!

With your input, Congress will pressure the top bank CEOs to disclose how funds have helped Americans struggling in a tough economy.

Thanks for all you do,

Arn Pearson "

Common Cause is a national nonpartisan organization with chapters in 38 states. Our mailing address is 1133 19th Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20036. Our phone number is (202) 833-1200.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Bush War Crimes? It ain't over 'til it's Over.




Crapaud borrows unashamedly
from
Raw Story:
The specter many want to forget

"The UN's special torture rapporteur called on the US Tuesday to pursue former president George W. Bush and defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld for torture and bad treatment of Guantanamo prisoners.

"Judicially speaking, the United States has a clear obligation" to bring proceedings against Bush and Rumsfeld, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak said, in remarks to be broadcast on Germany's ZDF television Tuesday evening.

He noted Washington had ratified the UN convention on torture which required "all means, particularly penal law" to be used to bring proceedings against those violating it.

"We have all these documents that are now publicly available that prove that these methods of interrogation were intentionally ordered by Rumsfeld," against detainees at the US prison facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Nowak said.

"But obviously the highest authorities in the United States were aware of this," added Nowak, who authored a UN investigation report on the Guantanamo prison.

Bush stepped down from power Tuesday, with Barack Obama becoming the 44th president of the United States.

Asked about chances to bring legal action against Bush and Rumsfeld, Nowak said: "In principle yes. I think the evidence is on the table."

At issue, however, is whether "American law will recognise these forms of torture."

A bipartisan Senate report released last month found Rumsfeld and other top administration officials responsible for abuse of Guantanamo detainees in US custody.

It said Rumsfeld authorized harsh interrogation techniques on December 2, 2002 at the Guantanamo prison, although he ruled them out a month later.

The coercive measures were based on a document signed by Bush in February, 2002.

French, German and US rights groups have previously said they wanted to bring legal action against Rumsfeld.

This video is from MSNBC's Countdown, broadcast Jan. 21, 2009."


Thursday, January 22, 2009

WHY SINGLE PAYER HEALTH BEST

Stark Health Care Reform

A recent exhaustive comparison of various health reform proposals projected that the number of uninsured in the United States will rise to 48.9 million people in 2010 out of a total estimated population of 306.9 million; 15.9 percent of the total population will be uninsured. Among the plans analyzed, the study estimates that up to 48.9 million uninsured could be covered—under a bill proposed by Representative Pete Stark (D–Calif.).

Representative Pete Stark's (D–Calif.) "AmeriCare Health Care Act of 2007" (H.R. 1841) and Senator Edward Kennedy (D–Mass.) and Representative John Dingell's (D–Mich.) "Medicare for All Act" (S. 1218 and H.R. 2034)

Creates a new public health insurance program administered by the federal government to provide everyone with multiple choices for health coverage. Under the Stark bill (H.R. 1841), employers would either offer their employees coverage or pay into a fund to cover their employees through the new public program. Under the Kennedy and Dingell bills (S. 1218 and H.R. 2034), employers and their employees would help finance the expansion through new payroll taxes.

Estimates of Coverage and Costs in 2010 (Rep. Stark's bill)

Number of uninsured covered

48.9 million

Remaining uninsured

0

Total health spending

($58.1 billion) savings

Federal

$188.5 billion

State and local

($83.6 billion) savings

Employers

$61.5 billion

Household

($224.5 billion) savings



The comparison of all the major plans before Congress

shows the STARK approach covers the most people

for the least money.





If this is socialism, GET OVER IT!!


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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

A Welcome and Refreshing Example

Crapaud steals shamelessly from SilentPatriot today, 'cause I got dee inaugural hangover!

President Obama freezes WH staff salaries

In a symbolic and unprecedented move, President Obama today announced that he would be freezing the pay of White House employees who make over $100k a year.

CBS13:

President Barack Obama announced on his first day in office Wednesday that he is freezing the pay of the about a hundred White House employees who make over $100,000 a year.

The freeze would hold salaries at their current levels. It is part of a presidential memorandum being issued Wednesday when Obama attends a swearing-in for staff at the White House.

In a statement, Obama said "families are tightening their belts, and so should Washington."

Aides making above $100,00 include the high-profile jobs of White House chief of staff, national security adviser and press secretary. Other aides who work in relative anonymity also fit into that cap, if Obama follows a structure similar to the one George W. Bush set up.

This is pretty cool. I probably wouldn't find it as cool if I were Rahm Emanuel, Robert Gibbs or General Jones, but it's sending an important message either way. After eight years of Bush-rule, this quote is a welcome change.

"Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this administration," Obama said in a statement to reporters.

Music to my ears.

And Music to All Ears of all Crapauds Everywhere
Finally, Leadership by Example once again!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Monday, January 19, 2009

Bush' s Departure

He is gone, it is a good riddance. Il est parti en voilà heureusement défaits.

Bienvenue, M. Le President! Soyez Le Change!

Welcome, Mr. President ! BE the Change !
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THE FINAL DAY OF BUSH TORTURE


AND GO §*&%œµ¢¿ (Saddleback)*YOURSELF, DUBYA

*Definition "Saddlebacking"----
the phenomenon of Christian teens engaging in unprotected anal sex in order to preserve their virginities. 'After attending the Purity Ball, Heather and Bill saddlebacked all night because she's saving herself for marriage.'

Even the Talibangelicals and Christianists kick him in the arse on his way out the door. View another surprising screed HERE.

Here's your farewell song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phyrx3VuwcM


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+++++++The Legacy of Dr. King: +++++++ Is "Letter from Birmingham Jail" Instructive for the LGBT Struggle for Marriage Equality?

On January 19, 2009, we formally celebrate our national observance of the the birth date of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He would be 80 years old today, had he not been assassinated. The Crapaud family ponders what position he might take on the rights struggles of gender and sexual orientation, marriage equality and other issues so critical to our family--we can only surmise. Herewith some poignant words about the role of the church in rights' struggles.

“... The contemporary church is often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent and often vocal sanction of things as they are…
....But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. I am meeting young people every day whose disappointment with the church has risen to outright disgust..”
Excerpts from Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Sunday, January 18, 2009

Why Was THE Invocation not broadcast??

Why Did HBO Censor Bishop Robinson’s Invocation?

Did you enjoy seeing the Rev. Gene Robinson at the inaugural invocation at the Washington Mall today? Oh, what’s that? You don’t recall seeing Rev. Gene Robinson?

Well, that’s because HBO, who Obama sold the exclusive televised rights to the broadcast events, chose to censor the openly gay Bishop from the televised feed.

An unfortunate accident? Maybe. But after the fracas following Obama inviting the wildly homophobic Rev. Rick Warren to perform the inaugural invocation on Tuesday, one might think the president-elect and his team would be a bit more mindful about how this looks.

One thing’s for certain. Don’t expect HBO to censor out Rick Warren from the festivities this Tuesday. HBO has stated that it was the decision of the Obama naugural Committee to have the invocation well before the televised broadcast. Whatever excuse the Obama people will choose, exactly ZERO Americans saw Bishop Robinson on TV welcoming America to a day celebrating a president who is supposedly, to quote Colin Powell, a transformational figure. And a billion people will see Rick Warren do his "thing" on Tuesday. Some transformation.

SEE the You Tube vid by Christianity Today by clicking HERE.

Herewith for posterity, is the printed form of the good man's words:

By The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire
Opening Inaugural Event
Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC
January 18, 2009


" ...pausing for a moment, to ask God’s blessing upon our nation and our next president.

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will...

Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.
Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.
Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe.

Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.

AMEN.

Cheney: The Black Hole of Decency




Day # 1 in the Countdown to


the Exodus of Bush on 1.20.09



Visit THE BEAST buffalobeast.com.nyud.net /134/50mostloathsome2008-full.html



for the 50 Top most

Loathsome People in America


Here’s THE BEAST’s take on its Indictment of Cheney, DICK


#7. Dick Cheney

Charges: Still alive. The amount of medical resources devoted to keeping this black hole of decency operational could have cured cancer by now, but if they had, Cheney would make sure to keep it a secret. Since Watergate, Cheney’s been fighting to rehab Nixon’s image, and he has succeeded in a way, by showing us all just how much worse a presidency can be.

Exhibit A: “It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.”

Sentence: Eaten alive by baboons.

The WHOLE family of CRAPAUDS says

GOOD RIDDANCE!