If you live in Florida and have kids or grandkids, you may want to read #1.......
1/ Mother Jones magazine has lifted up the Tallahassee rock, and look what's squirming and slithering in the unaccustomed sunlight - our new Governor's education plan. He is planning, with Jeb Bush's help, to privatise the school system with a voucher system leaving it open to fraud that his buddies can make millions on.......the plan is to give every family with a child a $5500 voucher that can be used at any school in the state including charter and online schools. Endless opportunities for fraud.....
Yes, gutting the public schools in favour of online and charter programs. Get the picture? Jeb and Rick, working together, making money....it's like Jeb never left....
So.....are you, dear citizens of Florida, ready for this? All public schools in Florida threatened, under pressure, tens of thousands of teachers fired, and worst of all
Florida's kids, already in the 49th worst school system in the country, doomed to certain failure.....
Some of you voted for him, and is this what you expected? I can hear them in The Villages now - have at it Ricky boy!!! Save us some money.....cut my taxes....
Florida's incoming governor Rick Scott is poised to light the fuse.
During his campaign, Scott pledged to overhaul the state's schools while simultaneously reducing school property taxes by $1.4 billion. How to accomplish both? Privatization, of course. His plan, which promotes online schooling along with other educational options, may actually pave the way for the elimination of such pesky budget busters as buses, cafeterias, teachers, and, well, school facilities themselves.
According to various news reports, Scott is cooking up an education proposal that would expand an existing voucher program designed for low-income and disabled kids, opening it to all students. The result would be that instead of public school funds filtering through the unionized public bureaucracy, it would go with the students, who could use the money to enroll in the school of their choice—public, private, charter, or virtual. If parents are wealthy enough to pay for their child's education with their own funds, they can use the voucher money for laptops or school supplies, or even sock it away in a college fund. The proposed voucher amount, about $5500, is only 85 percent of the annual cost of educating a child in Florida.
Florida's budget shortfall - now it's up to $3.5 billion......keep this in mind when the scum in Tallahassee announce tax breaks for large companies and agriculture, as we know they will as they are beyond corrupt....
TALLAHASSEE - Rick Scott's campaign promise to cut property and corporate-income taxes got a little tougher Tuesday when state economists forecast that anemic tax collections could punch a $3.5 billion hole in his first proposed budget.The big budget shortfall is at least $500 million more than recent estimates, and it could increase if Florida's economy worsens.
Cutting taxes would make the budget gap bigger. But Scott won't say just what he'll reduce in the budget - which he'll propose in February - to offset his tax cuts. Scott will be sworn in Jan. 4 as Florida's 45th governor.
When asked by reporters to provide budget-cut details and whether that will include employee layoffs, Scott repeated familiar refrains such as "streamlining government'' and ''looking at programs." He also said he "might'' privatize prisons.
2/ Five factual reasons the Tax Bill is terrible policy, and read them again just to refresh your memory. Perhaps the most insidious is the assault on Social Security.....but the hot button is TWO giveaways to the very rich....
It's interesting what power the oligarchs have over public opinion. Two weeks ago the polling was 60% against tax cuts for the rich - now it's 60% in favour of this bill, with Obama on every corporate media station and Fox News strangely silent, which is probably the key factor. When the right wing media and corporate media combine on an issue America's collective mind is made up for them.
So........as of today there is an outside chance some of the House members with integrity will hold out for changes to this disgusting Bill, but the pressure from the White House is relentless.....
Interestingly enough this has woken the Tea Party up and they are putting pressure on it from the right - not to cancel the tax cuts for the rich, but to avoid giving too much to the "lazy unemployed" ......what bastards they are.....
Everyone knows that the "deal" that President Obama agreed to with Republicans will extend George W. Bush's reckless millionaire tax bailout--but what a lot of folks don't realize is that there are lots of other terrible parts of it, too.
Unemployed Americans desperately need their benefits extended to get by in this economy—so Republicans held them hostage to force through a slew of horrible economic policies in this deal.
Please note the sources at the end so that we are dealing with FACTS, not OPINIONS.
Problem #1: The deal is a stealth attack on Social Security.
Please note the sources at the end so that we are dealing with FACTS, not OPINIONS.
Problem #1: The deal is a stealth attack on Social Security.
The deal will lower the payroll tax—the tax that funds the Social Security trust. This is a trap for Democrats. Republicans have been coming after Social Security for years and this cut is the biggest threat to the vital program in decades. It will cut one-third of Social Security's funding this year alone and when we need to restore the payroll tax back to its current level, Republicans will cry "tax increases" and could gut it permanently. 1
Problem #2: For nearly one in three workers, it's a tax increase.
Nearly 50 million working Americans—including all workers making less than $20,000 per year—and millions of federal, state, and municipal workers will see their taxes go up because of the deal.2
Problem #3: The deal has not one but TWO millionaire bailouts.
In addition to extending all the Bush income tax breaks for the top 2%, the deal will slash the estate tax. If Congress did nothing, next year the estate tax would be 55% and apply to everyone inheriting $1 million or more. But the deal reduces it to 35% and only people who inherit more than $5 million will have to pay. This second bailout will give a gigantic tax giveaway to a few thousand of the richest families in the country and add hundreds of billions to the national debt.3
Problem #4: Unemployment help is insufficient and inadequate.
While the deal extends unemployment benefits for another 13 months for people currently receiving it, millions of unemployed workers who've struggled the most and been out of work more than 99 weeks—since the giant Wall Street banks wrecked the economy—will get no help at all under the deal.4 It's a gamble that there will be jobs in the next 13 months when the insurance runs out, but the tax cuts will go well beyond that. Better to just pass a stand-alone unemployment extension to help all struggling Americans.
Problem #5: Tax giveaways to the rich are a terrible way to create jobs.
Tax breaks for the rich are the least efficient way to create jobs and help the economy grow. In fact the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says extending all tax cuts would lower unemployment only 0.1% to 0.3% over the next year5 and that the cost of the tax deal would be $900 billion over the next five years.
3/ You really have to give the Chinese credit - they are ruthless and smart. This article is about a Spanish company that wanted to go into the wind farm business in China, and what they went through. Now the Chinese have the technology and the knowledge and will lead the world in this green industry.....
But Gamesa has learned the hard way, as other foreign manufacturers have, that competing for China’s lucrative business means playing by strict house rules that are often stacked in Beijing’s favor.
Nearly all the components that Gamesa assembles into million-dollar turbines here, for example, are made by local suppliers — companies Gamesa trained to meet onerous local content requirements. And these same suppliers undermine Gamesa by selling parts to its Chinese competitors — wind turbine makers that barely existed in 2005, when Gamesa controlled more than a third of the Chinese market.
But in the five years since, the upstarts have grabbed more than 85 percent of the wind turbine market, aided by low-interest loans and cheap land from the government, as well as preferential contracts from the state-owned power companies that are the main buyers of the equipment. Gamesa’s market share now is only 3 percent.
With their government-bestowed blessings, Chinese companies have flourished and now control almost half of the $45 billion global market for wind turbines.
4/ Which leads into this prophetic video from Onion News, about one of our possible futures.....make that probable....very cleverly done, love their humour......2 minutes...
5/ Fox News - back in 2009 a memo was issued to cast doubt on climate change whenever this was mentioned....official Fox News policy.....keep the global warming "debate" going at all costs because as long as the oil and coal boys can say there is a debate, the energy industries win.
If 98% of the worlds scientists say climate change is man made, and 2% say it's cyclical, there's a "debate". Of course the 2% are on the payroll of an oil company.....
A top Fox News editor sent an email to staffers and journalists questioning the science behind global warming and directing them to always point out on air that the theory has its skeptics.
Media Matters obtained the memo. It is the second such email the organization has released in as many weeks. Like the last one, the global warming memo came from Bill Sammon, Fox News' Washington managing editor. Sammon was also the author of an email directing journalists to use the phrase "government option" instead of "public option."
Media Matters reports that the email was issued December 8, 2009, just fifteen minutes after Wendell Goler, currently the network's White House correspondent, said on air that the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization had announced that the decade of 2000-2009 was "on track to be the warmest on record."
http://www.huffingtonpost.
6/ The intelligence community is at odds with the Army and General Petraeus - the CIA etc. say the war in Afghanistan isn't going well, but the military says "everything's getting better".
Hmmmm.....wonder who's making money from this and wants to keep it going [answer - the military-industrial complex]......lucky they can count on President Weenie to not make a decision......
The reports, one on Afghanistan and one on Pakistan, say that although there have been gains for the United States and NATO in the war, the unwillingness of Pakistan to shut down militant sanctuaries in its lawless tribal region remains a serious obstacle. American military commanders say insurgents freely cross from Pakistan into Afghanistan to plant bombs and fight American troops and then return to Pakistan for rest and resupply.
The findings in the reports, calledNational Intelligence Estimates, represent the consensus view of the United States’ 16 intelligence agencies, as opposed to the military, and were provided last week to some members of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees.
7/ Jon Stewart is back on form - yeay - here's a 4 minute segment, not overtly political, just funny.....it's to do with letting Bill Clinton back in the White House.....
8/ If Save the Children fund was on your list of "good" charities, better take it off. Rare to see such blatant corruption of an otherwise fine charity....
They have caved to Coke and Pepsi on the anti-soda [sugar and obesity] in schools campaign in exchange for $5 million from Pepsi, and more from Coke. Blatant indeed.....
The talks with Coke are still going on. But the soda tax work has been stopped. In October, Save the Children surprised activists around the country with an e-mail message announcing that it would no longer support efforts to tax soft drinks.
In interviews this month, Carolyn Miles, chief operating officer of Save the Children, said there was no connection between the group’s about-face on soda taxes and the discussions with Coke. A $5 million grant from PepsiCo also had no influence on the decision, she said. Both companies fiercely oppose soda taxes.
Ms. Miles said that after Save the Children took a prominent role in several soda tax campaigns, executives reviewed the issue and decided it was too controversial to continue.
9/ Panama School Board shootings - this is the full 6 minute video of the gunman taking the school board hostage - he's broke, his wife was just fired from a school, and he's full of inarticulate rage......this happens every day in every state....it's just rare to have such detailed video.
The system broke him, and "he's gonna die today"......raw stuff....
10/ A DDD favourite
BT - "The Emergency"....I love this video for a number of reasons....
- You can choose 1080p HD
- It's ultra widescreen
- The girl's face has the most stunning profile
- The setting sun scene towards the end had to be shot in about 5 minutes - the sun goes down fast over Lake Dora!
- It's a really really good song
Todays Sicilian joke
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Todays Detroit joke
Who's your baby's Daddy?
The following are all replies that Detroit women have written on Child Support Agency Forms in the section for listing 'Father's Details,' or putting it another way... Who's your baby's Daddy? These are genuine excerpts from the forms. Be sure to check out #11, it takes 1st prize and #3 is runner up. (I LIKE #5, TOO)
1. Regarding the identity of the father of my twins, Makeeshia was fathered by Maclearndon McKinley I am unsure as to the identity of the father of Marlinda, but I believe that she was conceived on the same night.
2... I am unsure, as to the identity of the father of my child as I was being sick out of a window when taken unexpectedly from behind. I can provide you with a list of names of men that I think were at the party if this helps.
3. I do not know the name of the father of my little girl. She was conceived at a party at 3600 East Grand Boulevard where I had sex with a man I met that night. I do remember that the sex was so good that I fainted. If you do manage to track down the father, can you please send me his phone number? Thanks...
4. I don't know the identity of the father of my daughter. He drives a BMW that now has a hole made by my stiletto in one of the door panels. Perhaps you can contact BMW service stations in this area and see if he's had it replaced.
5. I have never had sex with a man. I am still a Virginian. I am awaiting a letter from the Pope confirming that my son's conception was ejaculate and that he is the Saver risen again.
6. I cannot tell you the name of Alleshia's dad as he informs me that to do so would blow his cover and that would have cataclysmic implications for the economy I am torn between doing right by you and right by the country.. Please advise.
7. I do not know who the father of my child was as they all look the same to me.
8. Tyrone Hairston is the father of child A. If you do catch up with him, can you axe him what he did with my AC/DC CDs? Child B who was also borned at the same time..... well, I don't have clue..
9. From the dates it seems that my daughter was conceived at Disney World. Maybe it really is the Magic Kingdom .
10. So much about that night is a blur. The only thing that I remember for sure is Delia Smith did a program about eggs earlier in the evening. If I had stayed in and watched more TV rather than going to the party at 8956 Miller Ave , mine might have remained unfertilized.
11. I am unsure as to the identity of the father of my baby, after all, like when you eat a can of beans you can't be sure which one made you fart.
Todays loonie joke
How I learned to mind my own business :
I was walking past the mental hospital the other day,
And all the patients were shouting, '13....13....13'.
The fence was too high to see over, but I saw a
little gap in the planks, so I looked through to see
what was going on.....
Some idiot poked me in the eye with a stick!
Then they all started shouting '14....14....14'...
I was walking past the mental hospital the other day,
And all the patients were shouting, '13....13....13'.
The fence was too high to see over, but I saw a
little gap in the planks, so I looked through to see
what was going on.....
Some idiot poked me in the eye with a stick!
Then they all started shouting '14....14....14'...
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