Taxes in a Time of Taxes

It's April 15th, and depending where you are, you still have time to file your taxes here in the United States. (Either on your computer or by dropping it off at an open post office.) And not to worry if you've somehow forgotten about tax seasons end. You can still file tomorrow. As long as you don't owe you shouldn't have to worry about penalties, otherwise...

But it is our annual process. We balance out the books. We had the government withhold some of our income, and it now learns how much of that it should keep to pay into supporting our society, and how much it should return to us. Unless you didn't do withholding on your wages, and then you get to pay in now. (But really it is a matter of taste. You can either put the money at the start, or you can plan a year ahead and save the money to pay in. Whatever works best for you.) W-4's matter.


Sadly people have a visceral hate for our system to handle the funding of our country. Love the armed forces, fixed roads, border protection. Hate actually having to pay for these things. Hating on the IRS is an easy way to get some cheers. It's an honest reaction. But it's not altogether a rational one. It can be tragically irrational.

So...This what you do when you owe money?

A collection of accountants and bureaucrats, that some how get painted as evil for doing vital work, The IRS is given a function. Make sure people pay in what we as a society agree to do. Sure not everyone does pay in...But we all need to make changes to get billionaires, corporations, and ministries to get with it. (How is it that the powerful who skip out on taxes aren't painted as the villains?)

Fighting for America by moving profits overseas, and living
the good life (while having it's workforce live on Medicaid
and Food Snap).

How Not to Stay Neutral on Net Neutrality

Net Neutrality has been an issue of great concern to people who work online. The end of it may likely mean an end to those smaller operations, or new ideas looking for a place to blossom. It has also been of great concern to corporate interests and the Telecomms, who all look to cement their control on what we see and use. It all comes down to how neutral we will see information and services online treated.

FCC after Dark - from College Humor

But the FCC (Federal Trade Commission) is eyeing an end to neutrality. Not surprising from a collective largely made up of former and future executives of the Telecomm Industry. And the head of the FCC thinks it makes perfect sense to end neutrality, but make a caveat that all access must be kept at least at the levels they currently are at.

That would be great if time and technology stood still. But that's the point of the statement from the FCC. Sound good, mean nothing. Throw out a platitude while handing the power, wealth making potential, and speed to their corporate friends.

These Assholes - By College Humor

After that, we are all left to the whims of Internet Service Providers, and to the select online services that have paid up large sums to run suitably. And for many in power, that is how the world should work. You shouldn't have things if you can't pay up a nice size fee for it. Schooling. Water. Knowledge.

Well, that is garbage. The Internet is supposed to be a marketplace of ideas, amusement, and disappointment.


Among those trying to advocate for no neutrality think that not all sites deserve to be treated equal. Money should buy access. The Internet should operate like many other areas of business where the barriers to entry should be high. For many of them, Net Neutrality is a regulation. And that means taxes. And, "The government will control the Internet!!!".

The attitude is that they fear/hate the government, but tolerate/respect the old boy network of corporate elite making decision on this.

I don't, obviously, trust the people at the FCC. We need a better quality of regulator there. But if I have to choose between the power being in the FCC's and the Telecomms grasp, I pick the FCC. Whipping the FCC into shape is easier. And, once industry has it's way with the Internet, we'll have to wait a decade or more to right things.

We rely on regulation by government for a good reason. Industry rarely does a fair to decent job of watching over itself.

Trailers in Short: From Frank to Reich

Time for some more trailers. Frankenstein fights...something. Keanu Reeves leaves me troubled. Tarzan finds a new dimension. Mr. Peabody should ground Sherman, for the sake of time. And, Robert Reich has something to say.


I, Frankenstein

What...? Bat/Bird people. Fancy blades. And an Eckhart Monster?

But I don't want to judge on his appearance. And I've seen reserved takes on Frankenstein's Monster before. But I see this ad and think, "What am I looking at?"

What is this? It looks like one of those movies that has the odds on of being really bad. But, it could be ridiculously good. It could even be a competent fantasy tale. But...what? Is this some angel/demon war? ...What?

Now I do know that this is based on a comic book story. But this trailer...Everything about this trailers has me thinking that this movie has to start with a long string of text setting things up, or a long bit of narration. So much to lay out.

But, hey, you get some Miranda Otto. Always a plus.


47 Ronin

Oh, good. Keanu Reaves is playing a savior again. This time he's saving Japan.

That's a bit factitious. But he's playing "the half breed", who is needed to help the Ronin in their quest to save their land (..Japan, part of Japan...eh.). And, it isn't necessarily a historic land, it's magical, with strange creatures, and witches, and other beings...That make it more palatable?

Now, I don't know if Reeves is partly Japanese, but the movie stretched here is to justify his part. And it means bypassing all the Japanese (or actors from other parts of Asia) actors that could have fulfilled the role. And the hurdle the movie makers have given me is making me struggle with even the trailer.

The 47 Ronin come from a great legendary tale of Japan. It's sad that it seems so hard to bring a version, even a fantastical one, to US audiences. ...Of course, the movie could also be a huge mess. I just couldn't get passed Reeves to consider that.


Tarzan 3D

A Tarzan animated movie. Well, the first thing that pops into my head when that's said is the Disney one. It just sticks with you. Still, that doesn't seem like an argument against this. The animation in it might. Being this realistic looking is tricky (the whole realism curve), and in a movie full of action it's very tricky.

The one thing that almost interests me is the magic meteor rock. That brings a feel of the old pulp stories of Tarzan. But it stays on the more mundane side. It's an animated movie. Just go all in. Meteor rocks. Ancient immortal lizard species. Lost civilization. Go crazy...Not like they'll get to make another Tarzan movie.

(I will say though, that having him found by apes at an older age makes some sense. An infant would not have survived...Is being more realistic a plus with Tarzan?)


Mr. Peabody and Sherman

By all rights I should instantly hate this movie. Mr. Peabody and Sherman come from a world of short and simple cartoons, meant to fill out "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show". Those types of concepts are tricky to expand out into a movie. And many cartoons don't get translated well to modern designs or writing. The path to the cinema is scattered with failed ideas and movie bombs.

BUT, of the different shorts from Bullwinkle, this one has the best shot. I mean, would we want a movie following that Victorian era elderly racist explorer? No.

This could be fun...It just has all those bad movies it follows...Maybe I'll catch when it's on TV someday.


Inequality For All

Robert Reich is always interesting to listen to. And this movie follows him and the issues in the economy. The topic is important. It seems like an interesting movie, and I do need to catch.

Giving Everyday - Giving to good causes

Today is called by some Giving Tuesday, a counter to the consumerism, and just a reminder to invest in bettering the world around you. There are many places you can give money. Or time. Or moral support.

One such choice is the Salvation Army, a Christian organization. They spread out earlier and earlier each year. Ringing bells. Giving you expectant looks. And they do some good work. They can and do help people. And, people out there ringing away, are people that get hired for the season for a small wage.

But they are also not friendly to gay people. It's part of their religious tenets. Workers have been turned away for being gay. And there are stories of gay people being refused shelter. It isn't a representation of the whole group. But there are question marks in their policy. They say they are trying to do better, but how much is yet to be seen.

They have also run into other issues. Past treatment of union families. A large number of child abuse cases in Australia. And questions of mismanagement in some areas.

And, as it is, I would prefer to give to organizations that will not be funding religious efforts or antigay efforts. I like to find groups that are apart from that messiness.

So, as an alternative, let me suggest some of the numerous organizations out there that are more secularly focused, and not limiting where or how they aid.

Groups to support:

• Amnesty International - They campaign for the human rights of people around the world.
• Direct Relief - This organization works to improve health and lives of people affected by poverty, or emergency situations.
• Doctors Without Borders - Made up primarily of health care facilitators, they operate in 60 countries, helping people dealing with disasters and violence. 
• Engineers Without Borders - Support local efforts to work on development projects.They work on projects including, drinking water access, sanitation, and roads.
• Feed America - The organization works to help feed those in need of food. They do this with food banks. (And with the cuts to SNAP, they are in desperate need.)
• Goodwill - This organization works to give job training, employment, and other services for the disabled.
• Humanist Charities - Tied to the American Humanist Association, it offers aid in matters of health and welfare via a humanist approach.
• Madre - An international women's human rights group that addresses the wide range of issues affecting women in local communities.
• Planned Parenthood - Health care providers, educators, and advocates for health care access and knowledge. They work to guarantee a right to make one's own informed reproductive decisions. Also, to ensure those in poverty to have access to support. They also are at work on a global level.
• Red Cross - A well known organization, it does good work on disaster relief, producing almost half of the United States' blood supply, and offering training on health.
• UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund - They focus on children's interest around the globe. They work in many areas, including immunization, education, and emergency relief.

Not as direct, but important, the fighters for free speech and privacy.

More groups:

• American Civil Liberties Union - The organization works to preserve First Amendment rights.
• Electronic Frontiers Foundation - An organization that works to preserve digital rights. Among it's focuses are privacy, free speech, and consumer rights.
• Comic Book Legal Defense Fund - An organization focused on preserving First Amendment rights in the comic field, for artists to produce and readers to access.

REBLOGGING: Thanksgiving. More than thanks, giving.

It's Thanksgiving again...Or as the stores call it, Pre-Christmas.

And I'm reblogging a previous Thanksgiving post looking at issues people face. If only those issues weren't ever present.

And they grow. As annoying as people find getting people to race out the next day to "sales". Business has decided that this was too generous. Yeah. Apparently they take the first part of "The Christmas Carol", throw away the rest, and pass it around Wall Street. It's like they take being called misers as a compliment.

So, this year, many stores will be opening in just hours.

This means many couldn't travel to visit family. In fact, they likely are getting ready to head into work to prep for 6 o'clock openings. And some are actually open right now! Thanksgiving used to be sacrosanct, like Christmas. You just didn't force workers to come in on this day. It was a societal promise. Not now. You are expected to work, take your meager wages, lose time with family, and make rich people even richer.

I have nothing against choosing to have a place open on Thanksgiving. It can be necessary. But the idea was supposed to be extraordinary. And usually the boss would make the sacrifice, or workers would get extra money in recognition.

Worse, the one way this could be fought against, people just refusing to go to the stores...That isn't going to happen. We'll see, but I expect a rush come the end of Thanksgiving Dinner. Everyone racing off; I would like to be proved wrong.

These workers are paid amounts that leave them in poverty. They are pushed onto food stamps and mediaid, AND NOW, they have to work today, and not have time to be with family and friends. More hours of subpar pay, and a chance to be cursed out by a line of people pissed off that the last of the "doorbuster" was sold. It's such a wonderful day, huh?

What can you do to help? What can you give to make things better?

Thanksgiving. More than thanks, giving.

Thanksgiving is upon us...in the Americans...North America...United States. Okay, we Americans are having our Thanksgiving holiday.

And you know what that means. Having a good meals before we head out later that day to line up to shop. Sadly, no joke there.

That is what it is for many of us. Others like to get some time off (unless you work retail, and you're resting before going to work Thanksgiving night -- or afternoon, at Wal-Mart) Or, to complain about Thanksgiving being horrific.

Now, it is true that the relationship between Europeans colonizers and native peoples in the Americas tended to be less than ideal...Okay. They tended to be dark passages in the annals of history. And we can never let what resulted be forgotten, despite some wanting to brush it over.

But there are some positive lessons to learn from those early years. Even today.


But first...



Okay. Back to my point.

Giving thanks is an old tradition. For the US, we draw back to the Plymouth colony for the holiday. From the start, the English settlement of Plymouth struggled. They were out of there depths. They couldn't get the crops to grow. They were getting sick, or dying. Some local tribes didn't care for the colonial interlopers. And the colonist stole from the food stores of some of locals. Not a good start. A bad lot. You can imagine what modern conservatives would say of them and call them if they could see them as they were.

We too often get a nice weird image of guys in big hats, all in black, with lots of buckles. They seem to all be tall and barrel-chested. And then they invite the Indians over for a party, because that's just how awesome they were. No. The colonist didn't dress like that. And they weren't clean, healthy, and hearty. It was a tense and dark time. Things were grim.

But...They were helped. The Wampanoag tribe gave them food during the first rough winter. They were taught fishing techniques, and which crops grow best in the local ground. Plymouth was struggling and dying. Many colonies before had been attempted. some died out, some were abandoned. Their fate was not certain. But the local society around them lent a hand to them. It fed them. It trained them. It bolstered them at the point of greatest need. They got their asses saved.


So now, as we gorge ourselves and prep to show in this time of Thanks Giving, let's remember and learn from the aid and support given to our national ancestors (the white ones) by those natives (also out national ancestors) 400 some years ago.

No, they didn't just build it.

No, they weren't lazy because they needed a leg up.

Now though, we can continue the good that was done that year. We can consider and plan today how we will continue to pay forward the good spirit and intentions of that time. How can we feed those in need? How can we teach those in need? How can we bolster and aid those in need?

We can ensure the Affordable Care Act moves forward. We can ensure a social safety remains intact (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, SNAP, and on down the line). We can pull back from war. And we can remember those in need, acting to be sure they have a chance to succeed.

AMERICANS TO PAY FOR THANKSGIVING DINNER WITH FOOD STAMPS IN RECORD NUMBERS

... 

The latest data from the US Department of Agriculture shows that 47.1 million Americans relied on food stamps in August – the highest number yet. 

Since 2007, participation in the food stamp program has skyrocketed, increasing by 70 percent. The cost of feeding the approximately 44.7 million Americans who relied on food stamps last year cost the US government a record $72 billion. 

...

Also, in the wake of the first Thanksgiving, on reservations, poverty approaches 1/3, and 4% of food stamps go to Native Americans.

 More SNAP data.

Infographic: The face of the food stamp recipient

But it is a joke to some.

Fox Pundit Jokes Food Stamps Could Be A Diet Plan

Sadly, for some, helping out your neighbors is ridiculous. From conservatives that see much of the country as lazy or looking for hand outs, to wealthy people eager to avoid any investment in society.

Or, investing in the well-being of their employees.
Restaurant chain experiments with more part-time work to avoid Obamacare costs

And they do this despite the positives for the economy and the business that will come from this investment.

RETAIL'S HIDDEN POTENTIAL: HOW RAISING WAGES WOULD BENEFIT WORKERS, THE INDUSTRY AND THE OVERALL ECONOMY

Take time to appreciate the good things you have in your life. Thank those that helped you, and were their for you.

Then think about giving, how we can all give to those in need.


Some more thinking on Thanksgiving with John Fugelsang, hosting The Point:

Conservatives and their cold contempt for the poor, the sick, and the young.

Should we help the hungry? Should we help the poor? Should we help the jobless? Should we help children?

For generations these were easy questions to address. Of course we should be doing all these things.

Yes, when the Great Depression hit, there was often a coldness towards those in need. But that changed as the magnitude of suffering was understood. And this ethic and lesson stayed with us. And while conservatives resisted the change in the American viewpoint, they did slowly (oh so slowly) come around.

But then came the Reagan era of Conservatism. Suddenly it became complicated. Conservatives found they could sneer more freely at the poor. They could look at the question of feeding children, and think about ways to cut corners. Even the mentally ill were an easy target.

Carolyn Kaster/AP

The complacency of poverty. How do conservatives come up with this stuff?

They couch cruelty, incivility, and avarice in weasel words. They rely on everyone to keep the civil discourse going as they push on. And, over time, it has given them success. Sequestration. What cuts they have made to the social safety net of this country.

And the ease with which conservatives attack the poor and sick has only grown. They don't even need to rely on measured tones, they can let the wolves out to howl. The eager glee of the attacks is so common now. The welfare queens. The lazy. The leeches. The criminals. Conservatives have so many names that they've spent decades building up and storing for the days they could let loose their contempt.

And that contempt is astonishing...No. It's sickening. The argument is made that it is a matter of budgeting. But the actual economics tell a different story. The investment in helping the poor, the sick, and kids only strengthens the country and enriches our economy. But this is not acknowledged. Why acknowledge economic facts, when conservative ideology is giving them the answers that they desire? So, we are left with the weak gruel of their contempt as their answers to our serious problems. They find it so easy to just smirk and tell the poor to get a job already, and stop using up tax dollars. They don't even need to intellectually engage.

And that is convenient for them. The Congressional offices of the Republicans are full of men and women who have been full recipients of subsidies or medicare or medicaid or social security or food stamps at some point (or presently) and then, they turn to the country and tell us that it is best if the rest of us do without aid. They, apparently, are wise enough to not overuse it, or become complacent.

But for the rest of us?

Well, Republicans thinks it's best if they just cut it, shift the money to defense, and we'll all be fine. These Republicans sadly continue to persist in pushing their failed policies from decades past. Sometimes they do us the small dignity of renaming or rebinding their ideas. But usually they don't bother, as to many of their supporters aren't actually paying enough attention to notice what they are getting peddled. Or if they are living in a state that is relying heavily on federal support.

And inroads continue. Into Social Security. Into Medicaid. Into SNAP.

What can be worse is how many Liberals slowly begin buying into the myths. Let's make a bargain. It is a sad state when these dangerous myths are treated as truths. They should be revealed for what they are.

And they should finally be discarded.

Taking away a kid's meal, with a SNAP! *UPDATED*

November has arrived. And with it money from the 2009 stimulus, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is being withdrawn in certain areas. In particular, money that was going to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), or food stamps. $5 BILLION. (This is on top of the sequester cuts already in place on SNAP.) This is the equivalent amount to all the charity that goes into the Food Bank (to aid those in poverty get food) system over an entire year. What more can charities do, as they are already strained before the cuts are factored in?

This is a troubling situation. As it is, many families using SNAP struggle to afford meals past the third week in every month. Now, $36 a month will be taken from families, on average. For some of us, $36 is nothing. But when you are living in poverty, when you are stretching your budget to just sustain you and your kids, when you have to send your kids to school hungry, it's everything.

Sadly, conservatives don't see this. As it is, if you are in poverty, and have ANYTHING (a phone, a computer, a car, microwave) you are judged cruelly. You are mocked. Ir is a vain disinterest in the needs and troubles of your fellow citizens.

If you listen to these people trying to survive, you will hear about the jobs they aren't hired for, or the disabled kid they are spending their days nursing, or the fact they are working at a place like McDonald or Walmart and are expected by bosses to survive on SNAP and Medicaid support.

The end of this stimulus aid will hurt so many. And it will mean money that won't get spent on commerce. 47 million are now being affected by these cuts. And as the economic conditions in this country continue to be rough, more may needs it. But everyone is expected to do with less...Well, everyone poor (or in the middle class) is. This seems like a horrible time to cut this investment in this country's future.

We can be sure Republicans in the Congress will not be acting to help them people. Because it doesn't stop there. In the Senate they are working on ways to CUT another $4 BILLION from SNAP. And in the House, they are eager to cut $39 BILLION.

Here's a map of how the November cuts will hit states. Feel free to imagine what another $4-$39 billion will hit your state, and the whole country.

Republicans sneer and call the people using SNAP lazy. They call them leeches. They call them freeloaders. 1 in 7 Americans?

Is that what this looks like to you? I can't help but remember the condescending and low brow piece Tucker Carlson had done for his website, where he had an intern "live on" SNAP benefits. He didn't really, but it was an excuse to mock people like those above. Republicans have gotten very use to punching down at those without power.

Some Republicans even have called SNAP (funds to help people in poverty pay for food) is a cruel abuse of the poor...Imagine that? Imagine the mindset that embraces that thinking, and then goes on TV to declare it?

And they get enough votes to go to Congress.

The crassness towards the poor is not new from conservatives. It's just gotten louder and more effective at leave those in need out in the cold.


Here's Chris Hayes look at this dire problem.



I am at a lost of patience with the GOP's cold indifference to these people.


_________
UPDATE:

A reminder about the economic impact of SNAP.

Every $1 returns $1.79 to the economy. How can this not sound like a good investment to the GOP? It helps feed kids and others in poverty and funnels money right into the businesses on Main Street and around your neighborhood. Is it because it isn't going straight to the top of the largest corporations to be trickled down? (The way all is born and blessed to travel. So sayeth the Board.)

It makes economic sense AND helps those in need. The GOP response? Where's the punishment? Where's the humiliation?

Get to know your Obamacare.

Healthcare Triage is a new YouTube show, looking at medicine.

For their first show, Obamacare and October 1st.

Shutdowns and default, the path that the GOP wants to shove us down.

Beware of snakes...and elephants.

There are some dangerous places to tread. They offer risk to the individual that enters. Or, it has repercussions for everyone else that can be hard to estimate.

Government shutdowns are these, to an extent. But debt default are in a whole other league of intractable paths. And people don't seek that path, if they are responsible, or sensible.

Yet, in the United States we've seen ourselves facing this path twice now, in less than 5 years. Not as an act of the will of the government. Not by the will of the people. But as the machinations and plotting of a small minority in this country. And Ted Cruz has eagerly taken on the role of the drum major for this lot. He led the spectacle in the Senate and has repeatedly encouraged and met with Republicans in the House, urging no deals. On down the path! On to the brink!

But Cruz isn't alone, Conservatives have eagerly rallied to shutdown government, they've declared it no big deal, and a debt default? Pfft! And then when the government shutdowns? They then turn and cry out, "Why has this happen?" It's so disingenuous.

And he's not the only powerful voice. Paul Ryan has jumped into this. The last Vice Presidential candidate is hip deep in this (AND do I even have to bring up what their last VP candidate has been doing the last week?) This Is The Party.

Not to worry, the party is working. Various Republicans have a plan. Impeach the president. Glad they're helping. The idea is that if they won't let government pay it's debts, the president has failed to pay the nations debts. and that means he has grievously failed. Now that may not make ANY sense to you, but if you don't think about it...It's still stupid.

But this is what we are getting from the GOP now. You have some, slowly, trying to talk sense (as the minutes to default evaporate away), but for far too many, madness reigns (or, for many, they stay silent for hear of the nutters). And through the nutters, we're being kept from financial safety, and access to basic government services. They battle on, fighting, with the solvency of the nation in the balance, for:

• Delaying Obamacare roll out.
• Making Capitol Hill workers health insurance more expensive.
• On the question of medical equipment taxation.
• NOW, cutting medicaid!
• Denying women access to preventative health.

We've gotten to the point that even Representative Peter King, of New York, is freaking out and angry at his party. That is quite a move, but he's been left sputtering to understand how they've gone so far, risking so much. Joe Scarborough is in such pain about why his party is acting in such a dysfunctional manner.

But you know why this happened? Conservative politics. This is all about the ideas conservatives have been espousing for decades now. Remember when Reagan was mocking the usefulness of the federal government, to win votes? Remember when you wanted more and more power ceded from the federal government to states and businesses? This is the reality of that rhetoric.

The Heritage Foundation has been helping lead and formulate these plans. Over at the Heritage Action group, they are bragging about how all of this still means they can kill Obamacare (and anyone or thing that gets in the way of Conservatives). They are at war with the US government. And the House Republicans, and Ted Cruz, are their allies. From Rush Limbaugh to Sean Hannity, the conservative media voices have been championing the shutdown of the government. They have goaded Republicans on.

This has been the agenda of Conservatism since President Obama won the presidency. So many candidates and representatives, dreamed of shutdowns. And they were open about this! They wanted this battleground. This is their endgame. It's not happenstance or mistake. It's an agenda

And John Boehner has been key to this agenda. The Senate Republicans have given up the ghost on these matters for now, beyond Ted Cruz and his tailcoat riders. But in the House, Boehner has tens of members who yell, and he flinches. It has been in his power since before the shutdown to end this. But he won't. He even had a plan earlier this week to move things, but he dumped it when everyone wasn't happy. (Worse he allowed the rules of the House to be changed so only he and Cantor bring in a solution.) It's such as sign of weakness, I'm shocked that the carrion eaters aren't sitting in the doors of the House licking their lips. He's not a leader. He's a puppet. While his suffering isn't going to end, he can end it for the country.


But, even then, what happens next? When the next discussion of debt or budget comes, will they try and threaten shutdown and default? YES!!! And that is the problem. This is now how Republicans govern now.

We have to put an end to it. I don't know how we do that short of voting Republicans out of power. And keeping them out where they aren't in control. And that's at the federal, state, and local levels.

In various places in the country they are feeling the impact of the Republicans efforts. In Houston, the Houston Chronicle has recalled it's endorsement of Ted Cruz. Wall Street has had it's fill of this instability being forced on their markets.

Closed for business, like much of
government.

I refrained from some of the picture of strewn carnage.

And in places like South Dakota, people are being buffeted hard by the reality of the federal government not being there to help (Take that Ronald Reagan!). Last week the west of the state was hit hard, very hard, by a nasty blizzard. It knocked out power. It trapped people. It shutdown business. And in the wake, they found the 10's of thousands of dead cattle littered across the region, in fields, in ditches, on the highways. And by the next weekend, a torrent of rain and flooding. People were hurt, financially. It is bad. And all the federal support they usually can turn to is gone. Shuttered. All for the sake of GOP gamesmanship.

The question is, what lessons will voters learn. Is all of Houston sick of Cruz? Do businesses realize how dangerous a bet the GOP is now (Is anything this last few weeks Pro-Business?)? And Red States? Is this what you wanted? Are you happy with what Republican and Tea Party agenda has given? What do you think of no dissent being allowed?

This is the face of the GOP now. It isn't moving towards any form of sanity. It's shambling into the darkness to the Right. And it's shunning reality and genuine governance. They are harmful.

So, do you have any polls open today where you are? Or soon? Would be good for you to know.

The fate of the country is in the balance.

Why are some conservatives crying about getting what they wanted?

AP Photo

Republicans continue to keep the United States government in shutdown. It means that nearly a million people are out of work. A million more are working without pay. And the dominoes continue fall from there, as business that works with government is impacted.

And this leads to a loss of services. Cut off access to health care, parks, basic nutrition, and regulation.

Republicans has tried to play angry and frustrated at what happen. They act like they haven't brought this bought. They act like they don't want this state of governance.

But they can restart government, with one vote in the House, right now. They tell us they need to do this to us, that it's bad, horrible, and needs to stop, but...

But the conservative mindset that caused this shutdown is still on display with what is being yelled out by the conservative media faces.

Stuart Varney, over at FOX News, is so excited at all the federal workers that are out of work, or not getting paid. It is a grand day to him.

He wants "them" all punished. They are living large. They are taking his money, and have a better life than people like Varney.

It's really delusional, dishonest, or he knows nothing but his personal rhetoric. He does live in a bubble, where he constantly laments how bad business has it in America, victims of a bid mean government. It is so far outside the realm of reality that he belongs on FOX News...Hence his job.

Rush Limbaugh is enjoying it as well. It gives him an excuse (like he needs one) to be a foul racist. He is eager to mock the poor. Those in need help are his favorite victims, because his audience embraces the contempt.

Some representatives might want to say that these people don't represent them.

But then we have the simple truth that the people harping on how "those liberals" want and caused this shutdown, have been planning and talking about this shutdown for years now.




This has been there cause for years now.

As Robert Reich noted, this is everything the far right of the Republican party has wanted for years now. The EPA is down. OSHA is down. The SEC is down. It's like Christmas for libertarians AND the far right.

Some are saying this is just because of the Tea Party, but isn't this stuff the GOP has wanted to go after since at least the last time they did this 20 years ago?

And this is on top of sequestration. That is already slashing into support. But now government is largely on standby mode. Just the may conservatives say it should be (except when it's needed to go after women, gays, and black people).


So maybe this is all about seriously addressing budgets, from a far right perspective (as dumb and dangerous and damning as it is).

Then there's the Tea Party Republicans who think government should close, that government should stop wasting taxes, and, as they don't work, they should get their full pay checks.

Renee Ellmers of North Carolina. She just needs it.

“I need my paycheck. That’s the bottom line.”

AP PHOTO/J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE

That is so deep. It's a need she has. And she has to have that money. All the people that usually work at the Capitol who aren't now getting paid, who are now struggling in the same city as Ellmers? Screw them.

Sure things are serious and this is a battle of principles...But she has got to get paid!

Lee Terry of Nebraska. He just needs to get paid:

"Whatever gets them good press. That's all that it's going to be. God bless them. But you know what? I've got a nice house and a kid in college, and I'll tell you we cannot handle it. Giving our paycheck away when you still worked and earned it? That's just not going to fly."

He's earned it. But all those other government workers (doctors, rangers, security, accountants, secretaries, etc.)? Waste.

He's representing the Omaha area! That is one of the more liberal parts of Nebraska. Let's get rid of this guy, and get in someone better.

What is going on?

An ill-formed philosophy is at work in Washington. It's infected the GOP. And, seeing as a path to power, they fostered it. Now they fear resisting it's call to doom, for fear of loosing power. So men and women like Boehner, choose shutdown fights, theatrics, and empty rhetoric, in hope of appeasing, for just a few days, the worst aspects of their party. To stay in office, to stay in authority, they cede that authority and reasoned governance.

Like the deal with a devil or genie, they have taken a rotten deal, and just choose to ignore the horrific repercussions. After all, they were promised a cushy spot at a law firm to ride out those.

COMING SOON! Republicans Shutdown The Government...I hate tired retread sequels. *UPDATED*

UPDATED:

It is official now. The Federal Government is closed.

...Unfortunately, we do not have a clear indication that Congress will act in time for the President to sign a Continuing Resolution before the end of the day tomorrow, October 1, 2013. Therefore, agencies should now execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations....

____

Also I should note that while 800,000 are being sent home today. Another 1,000,000 will be asked to stay on the job and receive no pay (The Republican dream.).

Also the House GOP last night, in the closing minutes of government started pushing to go to a conference committee. There they would fight/"negotiate" out the House and Senate bill.

This could sound good. The trouble is that the Democrats have been pushing for this on this matter for months now (It's been on the table since April.). But Republicans wanted to push to a late night showdown. But at the end, they wanted the conference.

And Reid said no. This is because a last minute conference where Republicans will continue to push ancillary issues, like the "Conscious Clause" on to Democrats as the government sits in shut down is just unacceptable. They can't win an election on their bad ideas, so they want a budget crisis to force their ideas on the country instead.

Republicans seems eager to disable government until they get all their wants. And they aren't getting their way.

GOP needs to grow up.

____

So we quickly race to a government shutdown, and Republicans are hard at work, getting on Twitter, getting on TV, making speeches they hope will make great campaign ads...You know, the important things.

So what is some of the impact of these efforts by Republicans to kill the Obamacare, block access to birth control, etc?

• Small Business Administration stops loaning to business.
• Student loans slow down.
• Home loans slow down.
• Clinical trials by National Health Institute will stop.
• EPA and other regulators slow down or just stop.
• Slowdown in passport processing.
• National Guard will hold off in aiding in disaster relief.
• Women, Infants, and Children nutrition program stops.
• The quick service at airports via E-Verify stops. (I imagine this will be quickly restarted. As last time.)

And along this, it will impact our economy. Because, despite the Republican mantra, government/public jobs ARE REAL JOBS. They may like to pretend otherwise, but all these people not working, not getting paid, and all the services out of function will hurt the country. We will look at 800,000 people going to work tomorrow morning to be told to go home, without pay.

Shutdowns remind us how much we rely on and need government. Republican never learn this lesson. So it is up to us voters to teach it to them at the ballot box.

Be pissed. Be registered.  Be ready to vote.

If it was a Conscious Clause, the GOP would be embarrassed by themselves.

As we've seen this weekend, the House Republicans introduced a "conscious clause" into the ongoing budget debate.

This isn't a matter where they want to address a budgetary expense, to claim something, like the ACA, is a fiscal burden for the country. No. This is just an addendum on their other crazy ideas, to take away access to birth control from as many women as they can.

The idea is that if you, the business owner, decide that preventative health care for women is morally or religiously objectionable, you get to opt out. So you, as a business owner, have an out to slash your health care expenses...while taking a religious/moral stand...of course.

But even if you are taking some stand, call this a conscious clause or a matter of Religious Freedom, it is the same thing. This is putting women in a separate and inferior category. This is saying that the preventative health needs of women do not stack up as worthwhile or acceptable as those of men. Sexual health issues of men are clean. The sexual health issues of women aren't clean, and actually troubling. So when someone wants to boot out women's access to The Pill, or other contraception, we'll allow it. I mean, they have "moral objections". How can we not acquiesce to someone having a moral objection. Sure, contraception is medically valid...but I know a church that doesn't like it.

Their are a number of religions opposed to blood transfusions. There are people who morally object to vaccination. No one cares. No one will take access to this stuff away.


Already we've seen a ridiculous exemption given to religious institutions to not have to have any cover even allowed in their health care coverage. Many don't only hire people of their faith. They can't directly control what they do on their own time (have unacceptable relationships, dress unacceptably, say unacceptable things), but they can control this. And the government gave them that power over people.

The Koch Brothers want to be sure they have that power. So does Hobby Lobby, Chick Fil-A, and many others.

The end result that conservatives hope for in this is a stigmatization of birth control. To convince us that birth control or abortion it's all evil.  They want women to struggle. They want society to look in fear at sex.


Did I mention this was a budget battle?

Because we are currently looking at a budget battle, and the risk that the government will shut down.

And the House GOP decided to lob this into the strife we are already besot by. Unbelievable.

No. Unacceptable.

And the Right Wing clowns cheer this on, even lauding a debt default by the United States. They are fools giddily dancing their way through a raging fire.

Conservative callousness towards the low income worker. *UPDATED*

Saw this quote noted on a post:

But, why should every job pay enough to live on? The whole idea of a diverse economy is that there are many, many, many jobs on which you can make a living, and there are many jobs which are not intended — they’re at the bottom of the scale — they’re not jobs you’re supposed to be able to live on. … When you’re unskilled, you should not expect to be able to make a living off of your ordinary day’s labor.

And this is just a taste of the attitude we see. Some jobs are just "those jobs". And, some people are...you know.

It's a confident callousness towards those that struggle with acquiring a good paying job, with personal problems, with illnesses, with family they take care of, and a whole range of issues and factors. It's an assurance that those you aren't well off, or economically stable are being punished (by God, by fate, by society, by that damn Invisible Hand). Or, you are one of them (the good lot), and one of those type (foreigner, union, atheist, teacher, liberal) screwed you over.

It all fits together to them. If you are getting minimum wage, you are clearly a teenager. You have to be. Otherwise, you'd...you can't be receiving minimum wage, cause that just doesn't happen. Yet, we can see that those getting minimum wage are around 50% people over 25. And if you are a part time worker (which more and more of us are being pushed into) you are more likely to be pushed towards minimum wages. And the trend over the last few decades has been a growth of those with more education and age finding themselves working in lower wage jobs.

I suppose conservatives feel people are being silly taking these jobs. Don't they know better? Just take that high paying job instead!

The reality is people who can't find work in their fields are struggling and looking for work in other areas to sustain them, and what they often find is part time offers.

Sure, if you are at a major news network it probably not too bad to move jobs. Nor if you're at a major think tank. But for the rest of us, it is rough.

Which is why things like food stamps or Obamacare are so desperately needed (Also various government services in dire peril this week.). Yet conservatives are eager to slash at these. It'd be nice if conservatives were helping out. (No. Ending the minimum wage isn't helping.) Not to worry they are sending cash to corporate farming, the military, and military contractors. I'm sure that will...trickle down to us before long.

__________
UPDATED:

Okay. started seeing typos. Had to step in, and stop hitting my head on my desk.

Good News! Even if the fall does kill you, Ted Cruz will be fine.

There's a classic line from Douglas Adams:

"It's not the fall that kills you; it's the sudden stop at the end."

In the last several years, the Republican Party has proven itself eager to engage in a scientific study to see if this is true. They've cut aid and support, leaving vital funding often plummeting. And, as we seen already, Republicans are all too ready to bring the government, country, and economy to a grinding stop.

Following on the conservative experimentation of last week, the effort to take away funding from Obamacare in the House, we now move to the Senate. In the House there was a line of Republicans eager to crow and call out for ending the program and shutting down government. Those voices are far less loud or numerous in the Senate. So does the deadly game change?

In the Senate, we have Ted Cruz, of Texas. He’s been in office for 9 months. And comes from Texas, where is crazy rhetoric already won him office. So he’s been revving up for a fight for awhile.

He’s the bargain lawyer from your late night TV watching. Really he is. If you watch enough TV, you've probably seen his ads come on again and again. And like so many of these ads, he’s been selling a lousy and dubious product, the idea that Obamacare should be defunded.

"Call in the next 10 minutes and receive a free Brazilian Power Crystal."

But while he is a sort of slick TV lawyer, he shouldn't be underestimated. He is a lawyer who has argued before the Supreme Court. He isn't a small town kid new to the bright lights of the big city. He has been around. He just talks to his audience usually, angry hostile Tea Party conservatives.

To do this work and stir up his audience, he’s needed more than the president for a baddie in his pantomime play. He’s been also hitting the House Republicans. For awhile he’s been mocking the House for not putting out a serious enough effort to defund Obamacare. He’s tried to turn conservative ire on them.

So, finally, the House acted and is throwing him just what he wants. Which means he’ll either have to lead a losing fight against changing the House bill, or shut up. A possibility a number of Republicans would enjoy.

But he’s hoping to throw this back again on to House Republicans. He wants the House to respond to a blocking of the House plan with a new strategy. First, refuse to pass a complete continuing resolution to fund the government. Then, pass small parts of it, to send to the Senate. That way Republicans can just fund the parts of government they value. (You’ll remember this was their approach to the Farm Bill, where they funded corporate farms, but later cut food stamp funding.)

And what I am interested in with Cruz is that he thinks if they send the Senate just the military funding, the Senate will have to fund it, or take all the blame for the shutdown.

I know FOX News will try to sell this. I know Right Wing radio and Murdoch will peddle it. But, as history suggests, the country never buys it.

But it seems clear that Cruz is uninterested in the impact these little experiments have on his party, his country, his economy, or his fellow citizens. So what is he out for?

It boggles the mind.

Eric Cantor vows to drink the poor's milkshake, and then take candy from a baby.

Today the US House of Representatives finally got around to addressing the funding of food stamps, or as they've been renamed, SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional…Mobile Army Strike…Surgical Hospital…Logistics Division…)…food stamps, okay?

Earlier this year the Farm Bill, dealing with the production of food on farms AND aid to those in poverty came through Congress. But in the fight that conservatives have made Congress day to day, there was contention. Already, there was a push to slash out $20 billion from aid to those in poverty, which is harsh, and I oppose. But conservatives pondered, “Is this all there is? Couldn't I do more?” Oh, well, we know they didn't ponder it. They raced to enact a doubling of the harmful cuts to food stamps.

But, alas, they faced stiff Democrat resistance on this. So, the Farm Bill got split up. And, now, food stamps are on the chopping block.

Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images

The Republican plan, giddily put forward by Eric Cantor, will cut $40 billion over the next 4 years. And by next year 3.8 million will be kicked out of the SNAP program (And more and more will be hit as the decade passes).  As well, access will be tightened to access food stamps, and many state waivers will be cancelled. Where all these people end up, how they get fed, that isn't Eric Cantors problem. You should have thought about it before you chose to be poor.

And, finally, getting to the floor, the message was clear. The vote was 217 to 210. All but 15 Republicans voted for these cuts. The Republicans are clear, food stamps aren't a priority. And, now with the economic trouble we are having in this country. Food stamps are instrumental for millions. But this is yet another investment in the country Republicans are not just unwilling to make, they are hostile to it.

And it isn't just Congressional Republicans at work. Kaisch, in Ohio, is eager to ramp up pressure on the poor as well. He wants to be sure there are stringent work requirements, if you want to eat. Trouble is that in Ohio (47^th in job creation); there isn't exactly a surplus of jobs to give these people living in such poverty (Its part of the issue.).

But the implication is clear; you have to force people that are struggling and hungry to work. To Republicans, they are lazy and dishonest. The contempt is clear.

And it is a stunningly ill-conceived plan. Even if there is some job, they have to spend money to get to the job. Then, if they have kids, pay for someone to take care of them. And, let’s face it; these jobs won’t be well playing ones. Will this just put them deeper in the hope? All just to allow conservatives to feel they've won and economic and moral victory over those in poverty? Really?

This effort will hurt so many. There is a troubling level of food insecurity in the country now. One in seven families struggle with having consistent access to enough food to be healthy. This comes to around 49 million, a fifth of them kids. These numbers are growing.

This many are already struggling. And where will they and others be when the Republicans are done? What happens to them? What happens to this country when we struggle like this, and turn our backs on millions?

For now this time wasting is meaningless. It shouldn't pass through the Senate. And it won’t be signed into law by the president. But it is dragging out the legislative process, which is par for the course with Eric Cantor. And with the fights over budgets and debts to come, those in poverty will be targeted more by House Republicans.

But this isn't the only trouble facing those relying on food stamps to get by, week by week. Since 2009, the Recovery Act has been enhancing the SNAP program. But, come November 1^st, this support will be ending. And, at that point, a family of three will see their monthly support drop by $29 a month.

The struggle for those in poverty is continuing. And Eric Cantor just toys with them. Being poor shouldn't make you an easy target for politics.

Walmart? Stop being evil! ...Or at least be less creepy. *UPDATED*

The executive board of Walmart...What?
Should I be subtle? They aren't.

Hopefully by now we have all heard about how nastily Walmart is run.

If not, here's a fact sheet, including:

• Work at Walmart, live in poverty.
• Destroys higher paying jobs in communities.

Walmart drives down wages, and not to stay in business, it's already immensely profitable. And that isn't a bad thing. Businesses making profits is fine. But the focus on immediate profits, instead of investing in workers, only negatively impacts future viability. Common sense should tells us usually that theirs more to running a business then immediate profitability. (Sadly too many business thinkers today think only in the short term.) Investing in the community and workforce is what a responsible and sound business does.

What Walmart does is squeeze out every last bit of profitability, which it shunts right to the Walton family and the executives. That's just damn miserly.

Add to this the troubling impact of their pull on groceries and the food supply chain.

But now they are looking at another idea. I'd call it an amazing idea, or a shocking one, but this is Walmart. How can they shock us at this point?

Walmart now think it's time for Walmart customers to work for Walmart as it's personal delivery system.

Imagine it. You can be a delivery boy for WALMART. How awesome!

Yup. You can sign up, give them your home address, and then get discounts up to the cost of gas mileage. How awesome! Right?

Sign me up!

And I appreciate Daily Kos's list of how this plan could end horrifically for someone. Free labor for Walmart. And, a chance to serve a company that is eager to help...drive out it's competition in town.

They make stunning profits. They pay their workers a pittance. And, now you can work for them, for no money.

Walmart? Way to be a Walmart.

__________
UPDATED:

Wanted to add some graphics that remind just how backwards Walmart, and a lot business is today. To do that, look at some businesses that are trying to do things right.

Source

Source

Source

Triangle Fire anniversary. Let's not forget.

Triangle Wait Company Building
Front

Almost slipped passed me, but it's the anniversary of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, which killed 146 workers, 129 of them women. It was the second largest fatality in a disaster at the time.

It came about due to, first, a fire. The factory was placed on the top 3 floors of the building. On March 25th, a fire broke out in a linen bin on the bottom most of these floors. When people realized what was happening, the top floor was contacted, but they couldn't call the middle floor. So word to the middle floor came slowly. People that were warned began descending open stairways. But these quickly became inaccessible. More exits were available, but kept locked to control worker movement and prevent theft. And the people with keys fled early, leaving those left trapped.

Then when the fire service arrived, they could not stop the fire. And they had no ladders that could reach up to those trapped.

The factory employed 500, so nearly one third of the workforce was killed in this fire. The owners escaped criminal responsibility, but were made to pay in civil action. But they showed no sign of learning from this.

Still many horrible lessons were taught that day. It rallied many workers to stand together, and demand better treatment by business. Unions already existed, but this reinforced their need for many. New interest in oversight of factories pushed government to investigate what was actually happening in New York factories. They discovered many reason to doubt the safety of workers. And this lead to new labor law and building codes. It was a horrible moment that stayed with people and tilted interest to those poor people treated too much like chattel, and not human beings.

The deaths of that day cannot be forgotten now, more than one hundred years on. Some like to talk down workers coordinating for their wages, benefits, and safety. They attack regulations, which are key to enforcing safety. They see the profits of the managers and owners as the paramount concern. And they have power in many states, diminish rights and security.

So let's be sure to not forget those that died.

MLK and the danger of normalcy.

It's the anniversary of Martin Luther King's speech at the end of the Selma to Montgomery march.

It's worth a read.

I liked this reminder that still stays as relevant today. On normalcy:

... 

But I have a message that I would like to leave with Alabama this evening. (Tell it) That is exactly what we don’t want, and we will not allow it to happen, (Yes, sir) for we know that it was normalcy in Marion (Yes, sir) that led to the brutal murder of Jimmy Lee Jackson. (Speak) It was normalcy in Birmingham (Yes) that led to the murder on Sunday morning of four beautiful, unoffending, innocent girls. It was normalcy on Highway 80 (Yes, sir) that led state troopers to use tear gas and horses and billy clubs against unarmed human beings who were simply marching for justice. (Speak, sir) It was normalcy by a cafe in Selma, Alabama, that led to the brutal beating of Reverend James Reeb. 

It is normalcy all over our country (Yes, sir) which leaves the Negro perishing on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of vast ocean of material prosperity. It is normalcy all over Alabama (Yeah) that prevents the Negro from becoming a registered voter. (Yes) No, we will not allow Alabama (Go ahead) to return to normalcy. [Applause] 

The only normalcy that we will settle for (Yes, sir) is the normalcy that recognizes the dignity and worth of all of God’s children. The only normalcy that we will settle for is the normalcy that allows judgment to run down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream. (Yes, sir) The only normalcy that we will settle for is the normalcy of brotherhood, the normalcy of true peace, the normalcy of justice. 

...

Normalcy. Conservatives continue the fight to maintain their vision of the normal. Their normal is gay people hidden away, or driven away. Their normal is women quieted, shamed, and shunned for their choices, and denied many of them. Their normal is all so white and all so old. And their normal is the wealth always rising up to those that already have so much.

Brotherhood. Peace. Justice. These are things we still need to strive for.

We have progressed a lot. The world, and this country, have changed. But the work goes on. We have the first black president. But we also have active movements to strip away the Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act. Many fields are open now to those that aren't white men. But wealth inequality grows, and the black community is still so often the target of law enforcement.

Yes. Theirs still a distance to go.