The WAWG Blog

Mr. President,

Thank you for authorizing the release of the CIA torture guidelines from the previous administration.   This is another step toward undoing the wrongs of the past.

I also agree that the hands-on implementers of those guidelines are not the ones that should be prosecuted.   Punishing them is not the solution to the problem any more than was the prosecution of low level enlisted personnel was the solution for the torture at Abu Ghraib.  Is the problem a few bad apples or a bad barrel that confines the apples? Who is ultimately responsible?    (Refer to The Lucifer Effect by Philip G. Zimbardo.)

I can also agree somewhat with looking forward and not to the past, when it is appropriate.  Trouble is no one knows what the future will bring and we all know about the vision acuity of hindsight.

I’m an engineer.   I use historical information to help plan the future, meet customer requirements and make a profit.   I use lessons learned to update procedures and minimize the possibility of repeating the mistakes of the past.  How else are we going to get to the moon again or maintain the sovereignty of a nation?

But when I look forward to the next time a person with an authoritarian personality is elected president of the United States and wonder if the recent wrongful Bush II administration policies are still in place, I see a very probable end to our democracy.    We came as close as ever to a dictatorship under Bush II.  We need to trash his wrongful policies and the sooner the better.

What else will you do to protect the future of our nation?  May I suggest you consider reversing one particular  Bush signing statement.   

G. Bush wrote the following when he signed the National Defense Authorization Act for FY08, H.R. 4986, with which the Democrat Congress tried to restore the Insurrection Act to its original language which had be changed in 2006:

“Provisions of the Act, including sections 841, 846, 1079, and 1222, purport to impose requirements that could inhibit the President’s ability to carry out his constitutional obligations to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, to protect national security, to supervise the executive branch, and to execute his authority as Commander in Chief. The executive branch shall construe such provisions in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President.”

Thank you for any consideration you might give to my thoughts.

Want to get steamed on tax day? Well, here are some things to get steamed about, and it’s not that junk being pushed at those goofy tea parties.

More CEOs Got Pay Hikes Than Cuts Last Year – Eleven million people lost their jobs and the government spent billions of taxpayer dollars to bail out companies — but CEOs still made a killing in 2008. More captains of industry got pay raises than had their pay cut in 2008. Of 946 companies in the Russell 3000 index that the labor group surveyed, 480 execs got pay raises, while 463 took a cut. Not bad for one of the worst economic climates since the Great Depression.

U. S. Losing Billions to Offshore Tax Havens – A Senate report estimated in 2008 that the United States loses up to $100 billion a year in tax revenue to offshore tax havens (PDF). In a report released Wednesday, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group offers a state-by-state breakdown of the cost to taxpayers of tax revenue lost to “shell companies and sham headquarters” in places like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.

The practice soaks dutiful taxpayers in every state for hundreds of millions of dollars, according to U.S. PIRG. The citizens of New York and Texas shoulder over $8 billion a year, and the good people of California are on the hook for an extra $11 billion.

Tea Party Protests Being Orchestrated by the Rich – It’s the rich and out-of-power Republicans who are organizing these events, and it’s not an accident. They are trying to kick-start a broken conservative movement by making a huge effort to tap into the 25% of people who hate President Obama. Roger Ailes (Fox News Chief) has gone “all in” and is waiting for the river card as he uses Beck, Cavuto and his merry band of disenfranchised conservatives to lead them on their disingenuous mission.

Despite these attempts to make the “movement” appear organic, the principle organizers of the local events are actually the lobbyist-run think tanks Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Works. The two groups are heavily staffed and well funded, and are providing all the logistical and public relations work necessary for planning coast-to-coast protests:

• Freedom Works staffers coordinate conference calls among protesters, contacting conservative activists to give them “sign ideas, sample press releases, and a map of events around the country.”
• Freedom Works staffers apparently moved to “take over” the planning of local events in Florida.
• Freedom Works provides how-to guides for delivering a “clear message” to the public and media.
• Freedom Works has several domain addresses — some of them made to look like they were set up by amateurs — to promote the protests.
• Americans for Prosperity is writing press releases and planning the events in New Jersey, Arizona, New Hampshire, Missouri, Kansas, and several other states.

This type of corporate ‘astroturfing‘ is nothing new to either organization. While working to promote Social Security privatization, Freedom Works was caught planting one of its operatives as a “single mom” to ask questions to President Bush in a town hall on the subject. Last year, the Wall Street Journal exposed Freedom Works for similarly building “amateur-looking” websites to promote the lobbying interests of Dick Armey, the former Republican Majority Leader who now leads Freedom Works and is a lobbyist for the firm DLA Piper.

Americans for Prosperity is run by Tim Phillips, who was Ralph Reed’s former partner in the lobbying firm Century Strategies. The group is funded by Koch family foundations — a family whose wealth is derived from the oil industry. Indeed Americans for Prosperity has coordinated pro-drilling ‘grassroots‘ events around the country.

(Yes, rich people are getting poor people to protest about raising taxes on the super-rich. Have you checked your withholding on your paycheck recently? Unless you’re making over a quarter-million dollars per year, your taxes just went down. Most of these people at these tea parties just got a tax break and yet they are protesting. How dumb are they to let themselves be used by the rich? – JLV)

Regards,

Jim

Right-Wing Extremism is a Growing Threat to America According to Dept. of Homeland Security – A new report issued by the Department of Homeland Security that says right-wing extremism is on the rise throughout the country. DHS had no specific information about pending violence.

Sarah Palin’s AG Pick Defended KKK Statue, Mocked Offended Student – Sarah Palin’s choice for attorney general once wrote a column defending the statue of a KKK figure as an expression of free speech and mocked the psychology of a college student who protested the display.

Wayne Anthony Ross has come under intense scrutiny since the Alaska Governor and former vice presidential candidate announced his nomination. His resume includes derogatory remarks about homosexuals, accusations of sexism, and bizarre comments downplaying the fallout of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. But his most controversial incident may have come in December 1991, when he penned an op-ed for the Anchorage Times, a copy of which was obtained by the Huffington Post (see below), entitled “KKK ‘art’ project gets ‘A’ for courage.”

Sean Hannity Going Too Far In Obama Attacks – Even his conservative guest tells him he is wrong to attack everything the President does.

Regards,

Jim

Goodbye Maple Syrup: Climate Change Pushing Sugar Maple Out of Northeast U.S. – For some places in the Northeast, the sugar-tapping season is getting shorter and shorter, sometimes lasting only a week, as it did in Quebec last year. Warmer weather has also translated to problems with pests such as the pear thrip, and the non-native Asian longhorn beetle destroying maple trees. Deer populations have also exploded in some places, meaning that more maple shoots are eaten before making it to maturity. It requires a mature tree of 40 to 50 years old to make maple syrup safely. Chemical pollutants from acid clouds are also a factor of stress.

Texas Republican Legislator Tells Asian-Descent Voters To Adopt Names That Are “Easier for Americans to Deal With.” – During House testimony on voter identification legislation, a North Texas legislator, Rep. Betty Brown, (R-Terrell) said Asian-descent voters should adopt names that are “easier for Americans to deal with.” Brown suggested that Asian-Americans should find a way to make their names more accessible. “Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” Brown said. Ramey Ko, a representative of the Organization of Chinese Americans, told the committee that people of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent often have problems voting and other forms of identification because they may have a legal transliterated name and then a common English name that is used on their driver’s license on school registrations.

Newt Gingrich Accuses Former Methodist Pastor of Being “Anti-Religious” – In an interview with FOX News, Gingrich said he strongly disagreed with Obama’s choice of Harry Knox — an outspoken activist for gay rights — to the White House advisory council on faith-based initiatives. Gingrich said, “Why wouldn’t you put an anti-religious, left-wing zealot on a faith-based group? It’s a perfect pattern for this administration.” Knox is a former Methodist pastor.

Congressman Luis Gutierrez Pushes Payday Lending Bill Legalizing 391% Interest – A House subcommittee wants to legalize payday loans with interest rates of up to 391%. Lobbyists from the payday industry bought Congress’ support by showering influential members, including Chairman Luiz Gutierrez, the top Democrat on the Financial Services subcommittee in charge of consumer credit issues, with campaign cash. The Congressman is now playing good cop, bad cop with the payday industry, which is pretending to oppose his generous gift of a bill.

Eric Cantor’s Secret Plan to Ambush Freshman Democrats so They Can be Humiliated on YouTube – House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has put together a team of Republican members to create embarrassing, YouTube-worthy moments for vulnerable Democratic freshmen. Cantor’s floor staff has created a photo album to help identify the 42 most vulnerable Democrats. The aides send daily e-mails to the members of the attack team and alert lawmakers when these targeted members are speaking on the floor. They even draft quick scripts to help focus the questioning.

Democrats are now hip to the scam and rarely take the bait. A top aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) quickly ushers most junior members out of the chamber whenever Republicans launch an attack — even if the member is controlling debate. But the guerrilla tactics — which are just about all the Republicans have — are sure to continue as long as Democratic leaders, in a time-honored bid to help junior members look productive, keep encouraging them to offer amendments and bills.

Rush Limbaugh Tells Caller That Talking Against Torture is Not Being a Real Republican – A caller to Limbaugh’s radio show, Charles, identified himself as a Republican and a veteran, who “really didn’t want to see Obama get in office.” From there, he let loose, especially on the torture issue, telling Limbaugh, “We’re not supposed to be torturing these people. This is not Nazi Germany, Red China, or North Korea.” Limbaugh shot back with, “Charles, Barack Obama is president of the United States today because of stupid, ignorant people who think like you do. You pose — you and your ignorance are the most expensive commodity this country has. … But it doesn’t surprise me that you’re the kind of Republican that our last candidate attracted. Because you’re no Republican at all based on what the hell you just said right here.”

Oil Companies Talk Green, Do Otherwise – Even as Washington goes into a frenzy over energy, many of the oil companies are staying on the sidelines, balking at investing in new technologies favored by the president, or even straying from commitments they had already made.

Michele Bachmann Tries to Scare Us About ‘Politically Correct Re-education Camps for Young People’ – U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann says she fears the Obama administration will create “re-education camps for young people, where young people have to go and get trained in a philosophy that the government puts forward and then they have to go to work in some of these politically correct forums.” Bachmann is soooo entertaining.

Focus on the Family Bible Narrator Tried to Lure 15-Year-Old for Sex According to Police – A Colorado man who works for Evangelical group Focus on the Family has been arrested after he solicited sex online from an investigator posing as a teenage girl, police have said. Juan Alberto Ovalle, 42, thought he was corresponding with a girl under the age of 15, but instead it was undercover officers with the Jefferson County district attorney’s office, according to court documents,” reported the Denver Post.

How Will History Remember George W. Bush?
Overheard from narrator in the U. S. Hall of Presidents, 100 years from now, “And here we have George W. Bush, the last Republican President.”

Regards,

Jim

The Texas State Board of Education has just issued a new decision to require the teaching of arguments against the existence of global warming.

That’s right — global warming deniers on the SBOE are peddling their anti-science propaganda to our children.

Enough is enough.

Let’s be very clear: There is no real debate on the science of global warming. There is only a political debate about how to solve the crisis.

As part of that political debate, those who oppose global warming action — and stand to gain financially by continued dependence on fossil fuels — have vigorously pursued a propaganda campaign to manufacture public doubt.

And our kids are now caught in the middle.

It is an outrage that the SBOE is playing into the propaganda campaign and exposing our children to junk science. This is not fair to our kids, who will be forced to compete in a world where the study of real science is taken seriously.

It’s time for the SBOE to acknowledge that the earth is round, Elvis is dead, and, yes, global warming is real.

Please sign the petition today.

Regards,

Jim

Fifty-Seven Percent (57%) of U.S. Voters Favor a Military Response to North Korea’s Missile Test – Fifty-seven percent (57%) of U.S. voters nationwide favor a military response if North Korea tested a long-range missile. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 15% of voters oppose a military response while 28% are not sure. (Are we still in a shoot-first mentality? Isn’t a military response to this like punching someone for shadow-boxing? – JLV)

Pittsburgh Shooter Was Fan of Online Conspiracy Theories – The man who shot three Pittsburgh police officers and wounded two others in a four-hour shootout on Saturday morning was “convinced the nation was secretly controlled by a cabal that would eradicate freedom of speech, take away his guns and use the military to enslave the citizenry. … He appeared to share a belief that the government was controlled from unseen forces, that troops were being shipped home from the Mideast to police the citizenry here, and that Jews secretly ran the country.”

Some of Poplawski’s beliefs are fairly commonplace among conservatives. For example, fears that the Obama administration intends to ban gun ownership have recently become a staple on such relatively mainstream outlets as Glenn Beck’s program on Fox News.

However, many of his ideas appear to have come from more obscure sources. Poplawski’s best friend, Edward Perkovic, told the Post-Gazette, “He was really into politics and really into the First and Second amendment. … We recently discovered that 30 states had declared sovereignty. One of his concerns was why were these major events in America not being reported to the public.” Perkovic was apparently referring to the so-called “sovereign state movement,” promoted by the Tenth Amendment Center, which presents secession as a reasonable response to federal gun laws and the power of the Federal Reserve and has recently encouraged legislators in a number of states to introduce resolutions reaffirming states rights.

Regards,

Jim

Glenn Beck Mocks Obama’s Aunt – So, President Barack Obama’s aunt was recently granted a reprieve from an immigration judge in her asylum case, which has been ongoing since 2002. Time for a substantive discussion on immigration policy? NO! This is the Glenn Beck Show, where, instead, we get Beck, holding a cane, jibbering in the voice of Tiny Tim, making fun of people who have limps. You see, to conservatives, if you have a disability, you are weak and need to be culled from the healthy heard. See the disgusting video at the link.

Republican Party Leader Limbaugh Warns Believers About “Slobbering” – Limbaugh went way over the top in insulting Gordon Brown with a mental image that one must work at to un-think about, warning that if the British Prime Minister keeps “slobbering” over President Barack Obama, he’ll “come down with anal poisoning and may die from it.”

Regards,

Jim

In late March, I received the following response from Congressman Ron Paul to my request to support the EFCA:

Dear Mr. Hailey:

Thank you for contacting my office regarding my position on collective bargaining. Please be assured, I do support the right of all Americans to join the collective bargainingorganizations of their choice. However, the federal government has no constitutional authority to dictate to employers the circumstances under which their employees can, and cannot, join a union. Furthermore, legislation such as the Employee Free Choice Act forces all workers to accept union representation even if they do not want union representation. Therefore, I could not support the Employee Free Choice Act.

Thank you again for contacting my office. Please feel free to do so in the future with any other questions, comments, or suggestions.

Sincerely,

Ron Paul

I responded with the following:

Congressman Paul,

As you know, a key element of our American democracy and society is checks and balances. Checks and balances are critical for protecting citizens from abuse by some institutions and some individuals who have let excessive wealth and power rob them of their ability to empathize as they strive to maximize self gain.

My experience as an engineer for the aerospace industry in the NASA area and as a union rep for tens years has proved to me that businesses can abuse their power over employees and that it is the responsibility of the government to empower employees so they can protect themselves against such abuse.

The way the law works now it leaves the election up to the company. They always decide for it, even if the ‘show of interest’ cards submitted represents a majority of a class of employees. This gives management the upper hand in the process and reduces the employee’s ability to organize against abuse.

The current law reduces check and balances and must be changed to rebuild the check and balance of the original, post depression, law. If necessary the government must step in to rewrite the laws they already have on the books.

This country is not about me. It’s about we the people and we need checks and balances over those who abuse their powers.

We the people are ultimate check and balance on the government and we asked for change last November. Were you listening to what the nation said?

P.S.   The EFCA does not, as you state, force “all workers to accept union representation even if they do not want union representation.”    This happens now with every election since a 100% vote for representation is highly unlikely.  

Using your logic, you should be opposed to your own election to Congress, since you represent me even though I didn’t choose you.  

Caught on Tape: Bribes, Public Corruption – In one brazen crime in Tennessee, cameras caught then-Hamilton County Sheriff William Horace “Billy” Long taking thousands in bribes and embracing corruption to the core. Upon taking a wad of cash from an FBI informant, Long gave his blessing to the man’s money-laundering operation.

“They can get all the drugs they want…. they need me to get the money out” of the country, the informant, funeral home operator Rev. Clarence Eugene Overstreet, told the sheriff. The men also share a laugh about rolling in the cash. The Lord is my shepherd; he make me to lay down in green pastures,” the informant says, rubbing his fingers together and emphasizing the word “green” to indicate he’s talking about cash. In another video clip, Overstreet cautions Long about cash, saying, “Now, it’s dope money, so you know, it might be all over the place.”

And the sheriff was even willing to give a gun to a man he knew was a convicted felon, ineligible to own one. “I got you a present, here, a Christmas present,” Long said, unzipping his bag to get out the gun. “I’ll put it in my Bible,” Overstreet said. “Now it’s loaded, ready to go, ok?” Long said, handing over the firearm. “You didn’t get that from me, Rev. I don’t know nothin’ about it,” he added, as Overstreet admired the weapon.

Dallas Police Detained NFL Player Who Was On His Way to See a Dying Relative – Dallas police officer is under investigation after he detained a NFL player who had been on his way to see a dying relative. Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats was rushing to the hospital to see his dying wife’s mother. Dallas Officer Robert Powell refused to let Moats go into the hospital after running a red light. The relative died while Moats was held in the Hospital parking lot.

Shoddy Wiring ‘Everywhere’ on Iraq Bases, Army Inspector Says – Thousands of buildings at U.S. bases in Iraq and Afghanistan have such poorly installed wiring that American troops face life-threatening risks, a top inspector for the Army says. “It was horrible — some of the worst electrical work I’ve ever seen,” said Jim Childs, a master electrician and the top civilian expert in an Army safety survey. Of the nearly 30,000 buildings the Army’s “Task Force Safe” has examined so far, Childs said more than half “failed miserably.” And 8,527 had such serious problems that inspectors gave them a “flash” warning, meaning repairs had to be completed in four hours or the facility evacuated. He said the majority of those buildings were wired by contractor KBR, based in Houston, Texas (with former CEO Dick Cheney).

Medical Care in Foreign Countries Can Cost as Little as 10 Percent of Comparable Care in the United States – Next year alone, an estimated 6 million Americans will travel abroad for surgery, according to a 2008 Deloitte study. “Medical care in countries such as India, Thailand and Singapore can cost as little as 10 percent of the cost of comparable care in the United States,” the report found. Companies such as Los Angeles-based Planet Hospital are creating a niche in the service industry as medical travel planners. One guidebook says that more than 200 have sprung up in the last few years. “We find the best possible surgeons and deliver their service to patients safely, affordably and immediately,” said Rudy Rupak, president of Planet Hospital. “No one should have to choose between an operation to save their life or going bankrupt.”

IBM Wants Stimulus Money While Outsourcing Jobs Out of the U. S. – IBM’s reported plans to lay off thousands of U.S. workers and outsource many of those jobs to India, even as the company angles for billions in stimulus money, doesn’t sit well with employee rights advocates. IBM wants a share of the money in President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for projects updating power grids, creating electronic health care records and furthering the use of broadband. According to Business Week, IBM has indeed been shifting jobs. The magazine reported that the company’s workforce went up from 386,558 at the end of 2007 to 398,000 at the end of 2008. But U.S. employment fell from 121,000 to 115,000 during the same time.

Conservatives [Without Conscience] Attack President Obama With What Conservatives Have Been Doing – The far-right’s staggering disregard for the significant flaws of the former Republican president confounds logic when measured against their ridiculous attacks on the current president. It’s the same thing that Bill O’Reilly does every night: Accuse others of doing what you yourself are guilty of.

ATTACK: President Obama took a vacation to Hawaii.
REALITY: President Bush set a record for presidential vacations during two wars and a major hurricane.

ATTACK: President Obama’s budget could double the national debt.
REALITY: President Bush’s spending actually did.

ATTACK: President Obama is “shredding the Constitution.”
REALITY: You mean there’s any Constitution left to be shredded?

ATTACK: President Obama chuckled while talking about bailing out the auto industry.
REALITY: President Bush routinely smirked and grinned while talking about the significantly more serious issues of war and military casualties.

ATTACK: President Obama is incompetent.
REALITY: Do I even need to do the list?

ATTACK: President Obama is presiding over a one-party fascist government.
REALITY: Didn’t the Republicans say they were going to have a permanent one-party majority? Now go look up fascism and compare that to the actions of the Republicans.

ATTACK: President Obama uses a teleprompter.
REALITY: President Bush couldn’t speak English when he used a teleprompter.

Alternative Budget From Republicans: Not Really! Boehner Lies About Having Budget Ready – “Two nights ago, the president said, ‘We haven’t seen a budget yet out of Republicans.’ Well, it’s just not true, because here it is, Mr. President,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), waving a blue document in the air… Other than the tax proposal [to cut the top marginal rate for the super rich from 35% to 25%], however, the plan was absent any details. Instead, it hammered the Democratic budget as too expensive.

Reporters — mainstream, liberal and conservative — greeted the Republican document with a collective scoff.

“Are you going to have any further details on this today?” the first asked.
“On what?” asked Boehner.

“There’s no detail in here,” noted the reporter.

Answered Boehner: “This is a blueprint for where we’re going. Are you asking about some other document?”

How About Some Charts and Graphs in That Republican Budget? Not Really! – An anonymous official quoted in Politico’s story on the House GOP budget plans said, “We need to hold something up and say, ‘Here are our charts. Here are our graphs. It’s real.” Here’s one of the Republican charts:

(What a joke!) There are a few charts but only three graphs in the plan, all of them CBO estimates about Democratic budget proposals — none of them scoring Republican proposals.

Limbaugh Attacks “Barack Ogabe” And His “Angry” Wife – Rush Limbaugh was at it again on Tuesday, “confusing” Barack Obama with Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe, and referring to the president as “one angry guy — his wife is angry as well.” Limbaugh went on to “accidentally” refer to Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, as “Barack Ogabe.”

Norm Coleman Donor Ordered Payments To Wife’s Company According to Testimony – The former finance chief of a Texas company controlled by Nasser Kazeminy, a close friend of former Sen. Norm Coleman, said in a deposition last week that Kazeminy ordered $100,000 in fees be paid to a Minneapolis insurance agency where Coleman’s wife was employed.

B.J. Thomas, who was chief financial officer of Deep Marine Technology Inc., said that $75,000 of that sum was paid to Hays Companies even though he saw no evidence of Deep Marine receiving any consulting services from Hays.
Thomas’ deposition, taken under oath on March 19 and obtained by the Star Tribune, is the first corroboration from an official at Deep Marine of allegations made by company founder Paul McKim in a lawsuit filed last year against the company.

Senator Gets Nasty: Responds to “You Are Good” With “Your Wife Said The Same Thing” – Buried within the hours of debate in the Senate on Thursday is an exchange you’d be more likely to hear in a locker room than a congressional hearing.

Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) was on the receiving end of this one, after telling Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), “Oh, you are good.”
“Well, your wife said the same thing,” Grassley responded.

Corporate Billions Kept Offshore – According to the Government Accountability Office, nearly all of America’s top 100 corporations maintain subsidiaries in countries identified as tax havens. Goldman Sachs Group set up three subsidiaries in Bermuda, five in Mauritius, and 15 in the Cayman Islands? Why did Countrywide Financial need two subsidiaries in Guernsey? Why did Wachovia need 18 subsidiaries in Bermuda, three in the British Virgin Islands, and 16 in the Caymans? Why did Lehman Brothers need 31 subsidiaries in the Caymans? What do Bank of America’s 59 subsidiaries in the Caymans actually do? Why does Citigroup need 427 separate subsidiaries in tax havens, including 12 in the Channel Islands, 21 in Jersey, 91 in Luxembourg, 19 in Bermuda and 90 in the Caymans? What exactly is going on at Morgan Stanley’s 19 subs in Jersey, 29 subs in Luxembourg, 14 subs in the Marshall Islands, and its amazing 158 subs in the Caymans? And speaking of AIG, why does it have 18 subs in tax-haven countries? (Don’t expect to find out from Fox News Channel or the New York Post, because News Corp. has its own constellation of strange subsidiaries, including 33 in the Caymans alone.)

FDA is Considering Allowing Unregulated Ingredient in Yogurt – Never heard of Milk Protein Concentrates? You’re not alone. But ask any U.S. dairy farmer about this processed food ingredient and you’ll get an earful. Unregulated imports of cheap milk protein concentrates are driving down the price of domestically produced milk and putting American dairy farmers out of business. No one in the government is checking to make sure that they’re safe to eat, and now FDA is thinking about letting them be used to make yogurt. MPCs have never been tested enough to make the list of food ingredients FDA considers to be safe – and they are not allowed in some dairy products that have regulations on how they are made. Tell FDA you don’t want MPCs in your yogurt at the link.

Regards,

Jim

Rep. Michele Bachmann Said She Wants Residents of Her State “Armed and Dangerous” over President Barack Obama’s Plan to Reduce Global Warming – Controversial Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said this weekend that she wants residents of her state “armed and dangerous” over President Barack Obama’s plan to reduce global warming “because we need to fight back.”

Conservative Radio Host Tammy Bruce Calls The Obamas “Trash In The White House” – Tammy Bruce, guest host for Laura Ingram’s radio show, had some harsh words for First Lady Michelle Obama. Discussing the first lady’s visit to a Washington D.C. classroom last week, Bruce incredulously recalled Obama’s story about wanting to get A’s in school and called out her use of a “weird, fake accent.”

“That’s what he’s married to,” Bruce said. “…You know what we’ve got? We’ve got trash in the White House. Trash is a thing that is colorblind, it can cross all eco-socionomic…categories. You can work on Wall Street, or you can work at the Wal-Mart. Trash, are people who use other people to get things, who patronize others, who consider you bitter and clingy…”

Volcano Erupts In Alaska Weeks After Jindal Mocked Funding For Volcano Monitoring – With Monday’s massive volcano eruption in Alaska likely to leave Anchorage and Gov. Sarah Palin’s hometown covered in ash, a Democratic strategist sends over the reminder that just a month and a half ago, another up-and-coming Republican star, Gov. Bobby Jindal, mocked the very notion of volcano monitoring.

Speaking in the non-State of the Union rebuttal, the Louisiana Republican said that instead of spending $140 million “for something called ‘volcano monitoring,'” Congress “should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, D.C.”

(Why do volcanoes hate America? – JLV)

Regards,

Jim