Tuesday, December 4, 2012

YOU can help stop coal export terminals being built in Washington state USA

Dear Interested individual –

This notice corrects the location and date of one of the public scoping meetings listed in the Determination of Significance Whatcom County & Request for Comments on Scope of EIS for Gateway Pacific Terminal / Custer Spur (dated September 24, 2012).  The venue for the Seattle public scoping meeting previously scheduled for November 13, 2012 has been changed.

Just a reminder that the Seattle public scoping meeting will be held at the Washington State Convention Center, Ballroom 6F, 800 Convention Place, Seattle, WA 98101 on Thursday, December 13, 2012, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

All other information shown on the Determination of Significance & Request for Comments on Scope of EIS remains unchanged. You can submit scoping comments through January 21, 2013 for consideration in the proposed scope of the EIS.  Comments may be made:

Please send any questions about the scoping process or logistics to comments@eisgatewaypacificwa.gov or call 360-398-5087.

Sincerely,
Tyler Schroeder
Whatcom County

To ensure equal access, the Co-Lead Agencies will provide auxiliary aids/services to persons with disabilities. Please call the project hotline at 360-398-5087 with any requests. Persons with hearing loss can call 711 for Washington Relay Service. Persons with a speech disability can call 877-833-6341. All meeting-related requests must be received 72 hours in advance.
Si usted requiere este documento en un formato alternativo, favor de comunicarse a la siguiente línea directa: 360-398-5087

Saturday, October 20, 2012

IN WASHINGTON THERE IS A BIG KERFUFFLE OVER WHETHER OR NOT TO BUILD/ALLOW COAL SHIPMENT PORTS

IN MY MIND, THE QUESTION IS WHY WOULD WE BE CLOSING OUR OWN COAL BURNING POWER PLANTS BECAUSE OF THE DEADLY POLLUTION FROM THEM, ALL THE WHILE EXPORTING COAL TO CHINA SO THAT SAME POLLUTION X 10,000 CAN COME BACK TO US ON THE JET STREAM?

story #1
Pro-coal export business alliance launches in Northwest

story #2
Gregoire signs bill to phase out coal power

See the problem?  We are well aware of the pollution, of the major contribution to climate change from such plants, but for PROFIT and JOBS, are we willing to continue to burn coal on our garden planet?  Out of sight - our of mind.  Sad, short sighted uneducated profit mongers use the desperate worker bees...

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Why Not Release Those Tax Returns Sir Romney?

SMUG SON OF A BITCH 1% ASSHOLE...


Monday, July 2, 2012

Why are Obama trade negotiators pushing the extreme Trans-Pacific Partnership, and why is it being negotiated in such an untransparent manner?

THIS STORY IS SORT OF A LONG SLOG, BUT MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT STORY YOU READ THIS YEAR - BY A LONG SHOT!

I have copy/pasted here some small examples from this well written story:

CLICK HERE TO READ IT

A Stealth Attack on Democratic Governance

  • It takes quite a “trade” agreement to undermine financial regulation, increase drug prices, flood us with unsafe imported food and products, ban Buy America policies aimed at recovery and redevelopment, and empower corporations to attack our environmental and health safeguards before tribunals of corporate lawyers. Trade, in fact, is the least of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Investor Rules to Facilitate Offshoring and Undermine Domestic Law

  • Backdoor deregulation and imposition of new corporate investor and patent rights via trade negotiation began in the 1990s with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). But the TPP now threatens a slow-motion stealth attack against a century of progressive domestic policy. At stake is nothing less than a democratic society’s ability to regulate a market economy in the broad public interest

  •  Not surprisingly, the idea for a Pacific region NAFTA-on-steroids originated in the alliance between the George W. Bush administration and U.S.–based multinationals eager to increase offshoring while rolling back domestic consumer—safety, financial, environmental, and other safeguards. After a pause (ostensibly premised on Obama’s establishing his own trade policy), the new administration renewed negotiations. The operating text, though, is the one drafted by Bush official

  • Avoiding domestic courts not only eliminates major risks for firms seeking to relocate but inclusion of this regime in past pacts is establishing an alarming two-track system of justice. Chevron is now asking one of these corporate tribunals to invalidate 18 years of U.S. and Ecuadorian court judgments that resulted in the company being ordered to pay for the cleanup of horrific Amazonian toxic contamination.

THIS STORY IS SORT OF A LONG SLOG, BUT MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT STORY YOU READ THIS YEAR - BY A LONG SHOT!

CLICK HERE TO READ IT

If true, this clearly shows that we HAVE NO ALLIES IN WASHINGTON DC OR ELSEWHERE IN GOVERNMENT.  That we are well and truly fucked.

 

Thursday, June 28, 2012

WHAT THE SUPREMES RULING ON THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT MEANS FOR YOU:

 
What the Supreme Court's ruling means for your health care
Today, the Supreme Court issued a historic ruling: They upheld the Affordable Care Act and ensured that millions of American families will have access to health care and protection from the worst abuses of the insurance industry.
Lots of people have questions about the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court's decision, and their health care coverage. We've pulled together the most useful information -- including President Obama's remarks after the announcement -- at WhiteHouse.gov:
Because the law has an impact on so many Americans, it's important to understand its basic parts. We've also put together a list of facts about the Affordable Care Act. Will you give it a read, and then pass it on?

Ready for Independence Day parade!

My art car dressed in it's 4th of July parade livery!








click to biggify!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

It's a meaningless amount of money to him...

Joe,

“It’s a meaningless amount of money to him.”

That’s how someone who knows Sheldon Adelson characterized the amount of money the billionaire casino magnate may spend manipulating this fall’s elections.

How much is “meaningless”?

Just $100 million — you know, pocket change.

Let’s try to put this in perspective.

During the first quarter of this year, Adelson’s company, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, raked in profits of $100 million every 19 days.

If a family with the median American household net worth of $66,740 (for 2010) committed the same proportion of its income as Adelson to a political candidate, that amount would be $268.

By signing a few checks, Sheldon Adelson could decide our next president for — relatively speaking — what you might spend on a new cell phone.

This is why Public Citizen’s Democracy Is For People campaign to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s ridiculous ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is so important. Read on for an update on the latest progress and exciting next steps in our campaign for a constitutional amendment to preserve democracy for We the People.

Here’s just some of the good work Public Citizen is getting done of late:
  • Resolutions Week, the nationwide days of action we coordinated, saw events held from coast to coast, in cities and towns such as Bellingham, Washington; Huntsville, Alabama; Irvine, California; Providence, Rhode Island; and Wichita, Kansas.
  • So far, at least 250 local resolutions calling for a constitutional amendment have passed — with the rate ticking up to almost one a day since we launched our local resolutions campaign in early March.
  • More than 85 national organizations have joined the call for a constitutional amendment, 17 of which partnered with us to help make Resolutions Week such a success.
  • Well over 100 members of Congress have backed a constitutional amendment, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. President Barack Obama also has voiced support for a constitutional amendment.
  • Public Citizen and our partners are gaining substantial ground in efforts to pass statewide resolutions in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina. This follows resolutions we and allies already have helped pass in Hawaii, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont.
And here’s what’s on tap for the campaign in the coming weeks and months:
  • We’re gearing up to take our case to Congress. Millions have spoken out in favor of an amendment, and lawmakers are listening. We’ll be helping to organize rallies, meetings and other events where people can directly engage their members of Congress, as well as other lawmakers, to make sure our public officials know that saving democracy from a corporate takeover is job one.
  • Although Resolutions Week has come and gone, dozens of resolutions are poised for passage over the summer, and resolution efforts in other towns are just getting started. Whether it’s for a city council resolution or a local ballot initiative, we’ll continue working with activists across the country to build the foundation for an even bigger movement.
  • State lawmakers are getting the message — speaking out against the Citizens United ruling is something the public is expecting form local officials. We’ll be working with activists and allies to build networks capable of getting resolutions and other measures passed at the state level through the remainder of 2012 and into 2013.
Public Citizen was loudly and proudly calling for an amendment within moments of the Supreme Court issuing its disastrous decision on that fateful day back in January of 2010.

At that time, more people than not thought we were being foolish or naïve.

But now the threat of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is mainstream news, and millions have joined the movement for a constitutional amendment — a movement that simply wouldn’t look the same without Public Citizen.

And with the very future of our nation on the line, we will do nothing less than everything we can to continue building that movement and winning back democracy for We the People.

Stay tuned.

photograph of Robert Weissman
Onward,
Robert Weissman's signature
Robert Weissman
President, Public Citize

Senate defeats proposal to trim food stamp program

GO.READ

Want to GUESS what will happen to this when the House gets hold of it?

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Six (6) Corporation own 90% of all American print, broadcast, and digital media outlets

What could be more important than an awareness of the sources of our families’ daily info and entertainment diets? And today, most of our media is controlled by one of six companies. Check out Frugaldad’s infographic on the state of media consolidation in the U.S

Media Consolidation Infographic
Source: Frugal dad





copied from Frugal Dad

Friday, June 15, 2012

Trans Pacific Partnership agreement to GUARANTEE corporate rights and deals and privelges

WATCH THIS VID ABOUT THIS HORRIBLE TRADE AGREEMENT THEN CLICK HERE TO ENTER YOUR ZIP CODE AND WRITE TO CONGRESS!

“... It’s been branded as a trade agreement, but really it is enforceable corporate global governance,”
“This isn’t just a bad trade agreement. This is a 1-percenter power tool that could rip up our basic needs and rights,”



Thursday, June 14, 2012

Demand to know why someone on the House Armed Services Committee received a $500,000 “bonus” from a weapons manufacturer

Our investigative news team at Republic Report broke this story late last week. The giant defense manufacturer Northrop Grumman gave one of its lobbyists a half-million dollar bonus right before he left to serve on the congressional committee that oversees defense budgets.
In fact, it was Republic Report’s research that got Senator Blumenthal riled up. He’s demanding answers and making national headlines. Now it’s our job to follow up on their great work and put some muscle behind this effort. We’re sending signatures from thousands of Americans to Blumenthal’s office, supporting the inquisition.

Add your name and then share this page with as many people as you can.

Together, we can get Tom MacKenzie fired. This is a clear conflict of interest and it should be stopped.

Thom Hartmann: The Root of Romney's Comfort with Lying

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Republicans want to keep hiding government contractors money

Public Citizen

Here we go again.

Recently, I wrote to you about the crazy “Keeping Politics Out of Federal Contracting Act” (KPOFCA), which would keep secret political spending by federal contractors like Northrop Grumman and Academi (formerly Blackwater) in the dark.

Now Congressional Republicans are fighting transparency on another front. On a party-line vote, the House GOP stuck language in a must-pass appropriations bill that, unless the Senate takes it out, will block significant new transparency requirements for political ads.

Don’t let corporate cronies block political spending transparency.

Urge your senators to remove the House GOP’s dark money language and to oppose KPOFCA (S. 1100).

What are the transparency requirements that corporations are so afraid of?

Well, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently created a new rule that requires TV stations to make the information they collect about political ad spending available on the Internet.

This is information the TV stations are already collecting, and the data is already public. However, right now it’s only accessible by physically going to a TV station and requesting the files.

The new rule is just a modernizing update to how things work in the 21st Century. If the data is truly public, it should be posted online.

The House GOP’s anti-disclosure language in the appropriations bill specifically strips the FCC’s funding to implement the rule.

Tell your senators to support the FCC rule and to oppose secret political spending by federal contractors.

KPOFCA, meanwhile, has already passed out of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Backed by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), whose top campaign contributor is General Dynamics (a military contractor that makes fighter jets) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) whose top contributor is Northrop Grumman (another military contractor), KPOFCA would prevent the government from requiring federal contractors to disclose money they’re spending to influence elections.

According to proponents of the bill, keeping political spending by government contractors secret somehow protects the integrity of the contracting process. If this information is not public, their “logic” goes, then politicians won’t know if a corporation receiving government funds for contracts helped get them elected.

Here’s how things work in the real world: If a federal contractor’s CEO pours millions into electing a candidate the CEO thinks will reward the corporation with government contracts, then the CEO will find a way to make sure that the candidate knows.

All KPOFCA does is keep the public, not politicians, in the dark.

Tell your senators to oppose this bill that would keep secret political spending by federal contractors in the dark and to support the FCC’s transparency update.

thumbnail photo of Rick Claypool
Thanks for all you do,

Rick Claypool
Public Citizen’s Online Action Team
action@citizen.org

P.S. For a limited time, a group of longtime Public Citizen supporters will match any contribution, dollar-for-dollar, up to $500,000. Donate now and your gift will go twice as far in support of the work we’re doing together to challenge corporate power.
Visit our Government Reform page to learn more about Public Citizen’s work to rein in the influence of money in politics. Go to http://action.citizen.org/unsubscribe.jsp if you do not want to receive future emails from Public Citizen.
© 2012 Public Citizen • 1600 20th Street, NW / Washington, D.C. 20009 • www.citizen.org

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

THE ONLY GRAPHIC YOU NEED TO EXPLAIN THE IMPORTANCE OF THE UPCOMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION:

RIGHT CLICK AND SAVE - STICK IT IN EMAILS, BLOG IT, POST ON FACEBOOK AND ANYWHERE ELSE YOU HAPPEN TO THINK OF.  I AM GOING TO MAKE STICKERS AND STICK EM UP ALL AROUND...











CLICK TO ENLARGE

Monday, May 28, 2012

Dept. of Homeland Security Forced to Release List of Keywords Used to Monitor Social Networking Sites

via FORBES MAGAZINE

If you click the link to read the story, be sure to investigate the additional information at the end of the story.  Sure sounds like the inmates are running the asylum...

The list was posted by the Electronic Privacy Information Center who filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act, before suing to obtain the release of the documents. The documents were part of the department’s 2011 ’Analyst’s Desktop Binder‘ used by workers at their National Operations Center which instructs workers to identify ‘media reports that reflect adversely on DHS and response activities’.

GO.READ


Friday, May 25, 2012

Tell Your Senators to Block the Corporate Corruption Loophole

Disclosure is the Solution, Not the Problem

Tell Your Senators to Block the Corporate Corruption Loophole

Should war-profiteering corporations like drone manufacturer Northrop Grumman be permitted to secretly fund political campaigns?
Of course not. But that’s just one of the scarier implications of S. 1100, an appalling bill that the Senate’s Homeland Security committee recently approved.
S. 1100, misleadingly titled the “Keeping Politics Out of Federal Contracting Act,” would prevent the government from requiring federal contractors to disclose money they’re spending to influence elections.
In other words, it would open a corporate corruption loophole that would tremendously weaken reforms that can strengthen disclosure in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC.
Military corporations are just one example. Other federal contractors include huge companies like GE, Verizon, AT&T and others that would welcome a guarantee that their dark money will stay secret even as they are awarded taxpayer dollars from federal contracts.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Cut Your Strings, Stop Being Puppets!


Here's a little snippet from PCTC BLOG that I thought worth sharing if we are to ever mature as Democrats and actually get the work done:


"...Because so many liberals seem to think we have a solemn duty to go ballistic every time someone says the wrong thing, the right wing knows we'll call for the heads of everyone who would even think of proposing something we don't like, so that's what we do. And we never disappoint; we always react exactly as they expect. Karl Rove and Roger Ailes are sitting in their chairs grinning, and we’re so busy being indignant, and massing to fight something with all of our might, that we don’t even notice the grin.
Yes, folks. We are the marionettes, and Republican strategists are the puppeteers.
Let me tell you why this hurts us.
  1. The right wing voters become energized. They love anything that makes us pissed off, and nothing makes them happier than hurting us. They see wounding liberals as their main purpose in life. Think about it; if you know any right wingers, you have never seen them happier than when they think they have us over a barrel. The more pissed off WE are, the more motivated they are to come out and cram the knife in deeper. When we react to every disgusting thing they propose, right wing voters actually get excited.
  2. The #1 strategy of the Republican Party in any election is to depress turnout. Nationally, and in most states, Republicans are a significant minority, so they can’t win simply by motivating their own people to come out. They do their best to make people not want to come out and vote at all. When they scream, that has the effect of turning some voters away from the polls. But when we scream their message back at them, we further help them in their main goal. The people who decide elections are not from the left or right, they’re in the middle, and they want to vote for someone who’ll make their lives better. 
  3. The "boy who cried wolf" effect kicked in a long time ago. Let's be real; if we treat everything as a crisis, then there are no crises. When we complain about absolutely everything, our complaints come to mean nothing. And when our indignation is complete on every single issue, indignation becomes meaningless. And that leads us to…
  4. The most important reason why this hurts us -- It keeps our message from getting out there. Once again, I use this example; if you’re sitting in a park, quietly eating lunch, and two people start screaming at each other, are you more likely to listen closely to what each one is saying, and decide which one is right, or do you ignore both of them, move to another bench and turn up your iPod? If you choose the former, you should know; you’re not normal. No one listens to anyone else who screams. Right wingers don’t win, we lose. And we lose precisely because the right wing message floats out there to depress everyone, and e fail to deliver an alternate message. So, when swing voters are left with a choice of a load of right wing crap on one side and nothing on the other, why would we expect them to put on a heavy coat, travel to the precinct and stand in line for an hour to choose.

Let's tell Ben Bernanke and Wall Street to close the J.P. Morgan loophole. Banks that are insured by taxpayer money should not gamble on high-risk trades.

IYCMI: Wyden Statement Introducing "Congressional Oversight Over Trade Negotiations Act" | Blog | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden

THIS IS A BIG DEAL!

MR. PRESIDENT, THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION SAYS THESE TRADE NEGOTIATIONS ARE TO BE OPEN AND PUBLIC.

In which Senator Ron Wyden (D-Or) attempts to get Obama admin to lift veil of secrecy surrounding newest Asian trade negotiations.   WHY, INDEED, MUST THIS BE SECRET?  WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON MR. OBAMA??

IYCMI: Wyden Statement Introducing "Congressional Oversight Over Trade Negotiations Act" | Blog | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden

A one-sided secrecy which has reportedly allowed about 600 corporate advisors (or the "A-Team of corporate lobby groups") to review and comment on the details being negotated while elected representatives for the public, as well as unions, environmental or public health groups, have not had such access has been criticized as being undemocratic and contrary to the public's best interest.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-robertson/trans-pacific-partnership_b_1476261.html

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

I am returning to Left Edge North

after taking some time away.  Facebook is not the place for the things I need to say and share.  This is the best place I have for political activism...see ya real soon!
If you get bored, you can always click over to INFORMIORIUM
to see what's going on in my art world...

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Occupy D.C. remains in parks despite eviction threat

Despite the threat of arrest, the protesters still plan to hold their general assembly at 6 p.m. tonight, as they have every day since the demonstration began in October.

click picture or above for the story with vid

Saturday, January 21, 2012

AMERICA'S COMING BACK - I'M TELLIN' YA. - PRESIDENT OBAMA

maybe you could lissen up and behave accordingly (not that yer not doing outstanding).

DieselPunk American made of American found objects - 
Not to worry - it's not finished.  In a few days....watch-a-you-step.

We comin' back all right.  
We got some bad shit.

The Lazy Day Farm ray gun truck is number 2 of a series. 


Sunday, January 15, 2012

CALLING MITT ROMNEY AND BAIN CAPITAL VULTURES IS AN INSULT TO VULTURES


HERE IS A BIT OF AN EXCERPT FROM A GREAT ARTICLE EXPLAINING JUST WHAT BAD VENTURE CAPITALISM REALLY IS AND WHAT MIT ROMNEY AND HIS PALS AT BAIN CAPITAL WERE REALLY DOING (FOR THEIR OWN PROFIT) TO WORKING CLASS PEOPLE...

"...Vultures take meat that is already dead and complete the final loop in the cycle of life.

Bain took a company that had already been restructured and was surging in profits and cash. There was never any interest by Bain to restructure KB Toys, that had already been done.

Bain purchased KB Toys simply to raid its cash, and they did so during a time when the rest of the country was undergoing a period of reviewing the founding principles of the country.

To call what Bain did to KB Toys as 'Vulture' Capitalism is an insult to Vultures..."


GO.READ

Saturday, January 7, 2012

IOWA REPUBLICAN HEADQUARTERS STAFFED BY CHEATS AND LIARS:



If We Believe the Official Numbers Published on the night of Iowa Caucus 2012 by Iowa GOP State HQ --
This Affidavit Changes the
Winner from Romney To Santorum

Saturday, December 24, 2011

SOME NEWS:

 

 Keystone XL Back on Obama’s Desk

Bill McKibben, Op-Ed: “You have patiently and firmly explained to the president for the last six months why this pipeline is a bad idea—and by ‘you’ I mean the twenty top scientists who sent a letter explaining the climate impacts, the ten Nobel Peace Prize laureates, the dozens of tribal leaders who signed the Mother Earth Accord, the 1253 people who got arrested, the 12,000 who circled the White House, the 500,000 who filed public comments on the plan, the many many more who sent letters and emails and made phone calls to the White House and Congress.” READ  |  DISCUSS  |  SHARE

Economy

Children Face the Recession

As her mother sat in a homeless shelter in downtown Miami, 3-year-old Aeisha Touray blurted out what sounded like a new slogan for the Occupy Wall Street protest movement.

Special Coverage: As we enter Day 97 of the Occupy movements the protests have spread not only across the country but all over the globe. Thousands of activists have descended on Wall Street these past weeks as part of the #OccupyWallStreet protest organized by several action groups. What follows is a live video stream and live Twitter feed of this event. READ  |  DISCUSS  |  SHARE

Richard D. Wolff, Op-Ed: “Europe’s debts — and social tensions swirling around them — are clearly problems. Governments collapsing in Greece, Italy, and Spain show that, among other signs of the obvious. The rating companies’ downgrades of European debt are rather like downgrading the likelihood of good weather while the rest of us are already rushing to close the windows against pouring rain. Still worse are the usual media reports and discussions of the Fitch action.” READ  |  DISCUSS  |  SHARE

Teachers Struggle to Feed Hungry Students in Order to Teach

Aisha Fukushima, Op-Ed: “When students are hungry, they come to class agitated and unable to focus. Often it is hard to complete even the most basic academic exercise or follow classroom directions. Other students get extremely sleepy or might refuse to do the work entirely. Although hunger is one of many factors that plays into this behavior, it has become obvious to many of my colleagues that students without proper nutrition can pose very real challenges to our ability to create a functional learning environment.” READ  |  DISCUSS  |  SHARE
As Jim Hightower explains it, is that “the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans possess more net worth today than the bottom 90 percent of us combined. Worse, these privileged few and their political henchmen have structured a new economic ‘normal’ of long-term joblessness, low wages, no benefits or worker rights, miserly public services, and a steadily widening chasm between the rich and the rest of us.” We must restore sanity to this nation.