tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59427320322046459792024-03-12T17:03:16.762-07:00The Articles They Don't Want You to SeeThese are articles, old and new, that are under-reported, buried or just plain forgotten. The first entry was a Daily Kos Diary that really struck a chord...made it on to the Recommended List. So I realized this kind of thing was important to people. So here I am, making it a regular thing. This is the information about people and events you need to know.mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-49934302209639828632012-09-11T08:24:00.001-07:002012-09-11T08:24:39.038-07:00The Deeply Corrupt Brooklyn Democratic Party Machine<br />
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I am embarrassed by this diary. I live in a place where the DEMOCRATIC party is massively corrupt and that corruption is poised to continue far into the future. I fight REPUBLICAN corruption. How can I do that when I live in an area where the Democratic Party is so massively corrupt.</div>
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I grew up in Los Angeles. I remember a friend of mine from Chicago who was amazed that she couldn't find someone to bribe to hurry up her remodeling plans for her house. Los Angeles was the least corrupt place she had lived. That is my background.</div>
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I now live in Brooklyn. I am amazed that the national Democratic Party hasn't come to Brooklyn and kicked our asses because we are among the most corrupt party machines in America. We look like a third world country when it comes to corruption.</div>
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Our previous County Leader, Clarence Norman, served a full jail sentence for corruption. Our current County Leader, Vito Lopez, has done almost ALL of the same things Clarence Norman went to jail for, and is under active investigation by pretty much all levels of government for corruption. He ALSO recently was accused of sexual harassment by several women from his own staff...and apparently the NY State government settled some other sexual harassment suits against him at taxpayer's expense.</div>
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I spend a lot of time attacking Republicans for corruption. And nationally Republicans are FAR FAR FAR more corrupt than Democrats. But I find myself embarrassed by the local corruption in the Brooklyn Democratic Party.</div>
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Vito Lopez, due to health reasons and the sexual harassment suits, is on his way out. So now we are faced with a chance for reformers to make a difference. But I see the reformers acting disorganized and defeatist before our most important meeting. The anointed successor to Vito Lopez is disgraced Judge Seddio. More of the same corruption. Brooklyn is set to continue to be a corrupt blight within the Democratic Party.</div>
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Why is the national party allowing this corruption? And our local party machine is actually really bad at electing Democrats, so there is NO REASON WHY THE NATIONAL PARTY SHOULD TOLERATE THE KINGS COUNTY MACHINE!!!!</div>
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What is the role of a local Democratic County Committee?</div>
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It is to elect Democrats. Period. End of sentence.</div>
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Vito Lopez, our second County Committee Leader in a row to be disgraced (soon to be followed by ALREADY disgraced Seddio) actually AS DEMOCRATIC COUNTY LEADER endorsed a third party candidate (one of his cronies) against a DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE (someone who refused to agree to his corruption). Get that? The LEADER of the DEMOCRATIC PARTY endorsed a THIRD PARTY candidate AGAINST the DEMOCRATIC candidate for PERSONAL reasons. And the National Party let it slide.</div>
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Going more deeply into Brooklyn Politics, I am friends with many people who are head of several political organizations. Several of these people sought to find candidates and support candidates against Republican Marty Golden. Vito Lopez, the HEAD OF THE BROOKLYN DEMOCRATIC PARTY, supported Republican Marty Golden and discouraged ANY challenge to him by Democrats until VERY recently.</div>
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Furthermore, in two recent elections, we LOST Democratic seats to Republicans because Vito Lopez and the Democratic Party machine sat on their hands. David Weprin and Lew Fidler SHOULD have won. But Vito Lopez didn't care about Weprin and did NOTHING for him. Lew Fidler had recently stood up to Vito Lopez in a local primary so Vito publicly denounced Fidler. Vito officially endorsed Fidler, but did nothing at all to help him win. And this is the supposed LEADER of the Democratic Party in Brooklyn. Weprin and Fidler both lost to extremist teabagger Republicans thanks to the incompetence of the Kings County Democratic Party.</div>
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I plug Democrats across the country but I feel my local Democratic Party is an embarrassment. I am starting to feel like I have nothing to say politically because I can't make my own local Party better...despite almost a decade of trying.</div>
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I believe one of the main differences between the Republican and the Democratic Party is THEY stand by their most corrupt members while we oppose our most corrupt members. The Clarence Norman, Vito Lopez and soon to be Frank Seddio machine in Brooklyn looks a LOT like the Republican model of corruption, supported and perpetuated year after year.</div>
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Our local corruption has been tolerated on both the state and national levels. Our local incompetence at electing Democrats over Republicans has been tolerated on both the state and national levels. Why? The Kings County Democratic Party is both blatantly corrupt AND unable and unwilling to elect Democrats against Republicans in the few close races we have. Why are we tolerated?????</div>
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Our current County Leader, Vito Lopez, is on his way out because of sexual harassment charges. But he has anointed Seddio as his replacement and the reformers I am a part of can't do much about that. Seddio is an already disgraced judge. He is already PROVEN by LAW as corrupt. But the Democratic Party is going to accept him as leader in Brooklyn.</div>
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If I was a Republican this whole Clarence Norman, Vito Lopez, Frank Seddio corruption would be red meat to feed on. I would hold Brooklyn up as the most corrupt place in America and embarrass the Democratic Party with these corrupt assholes.</div>
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So far the reform movement (currently led by the likes of Chris Owens, Jo Anne Simon and Lincoln Restler) has been working hard but without support from the state or national party.</div>
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Now that we have a SECOND party leader facing major charges, can we get some help in reforming the Kings County Democratic Party??? And the next anointed Party Leader ALREADY has faced corruption charges.</div>
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Can I get some help from the NY State Democratic Party? Can I get some help from the national Party? What I have been trying to do is get my local Party to be LESS CORRUPT. Why is it so hard to get State and National help?</div>
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Clarence Norman, Vito Lopez and Frank Seddio are all corrupt scum. Why does the Democratic Party tolerate them as major power brokers? If we tolerate this level of corruption within our own party, how can we criticize the Republicans for their even greater corruption????</div>
mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-71310598577312593752012-08-11T11:22:00.001-07:002012-08-11T11:22:54.470-07:00Let's Embarrass Rom/Ry in November<br />
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So I long ago realized Obama will win. It may or may not be close. A good friend, Rock Hackshaw, a local blogger and politician, predicted "it won't even be close" some months ago. And he was one of the first people I know to have predicted an Obama win in 2008.</div>
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The Rom/Ry ticket advocates a return to the horribly failed Bush policies that gutted the American economy and created our largest deficits ever. America still is angry at the Greedy Oil Party for the stupid failures of the Bush years and they realize that Rom/Ry want to go back to those failed Bush policies. But we need to do more.</div>
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It is Congress I am worried about. We need to hold the Senate and make gains in both the Senate and the House. Ideally we would win big in both, but that will take a lot of work. But it is work worth doing.</div>
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But I also think we have a real shot of embarrassing the Republicans on their home ground, and this dovetails with gains I would like us to make in Congress and on local levels. Looking at the race for the presidency we have:</div>
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Mittens "1%" Rom, former governor of Massachusetts</div>
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Paul "teabagger elitist" Ry, congressman from Wisconsin</div>
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Barack "making history" Obama, former Senator from Illinois</div>
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and Joe "I don't plagiarize anymore" Biden, former Senator from Delaware.</div>
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Now I don't know of any close races in Delaware, but I do know that Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Illinois are states with some pretty darned critical races, and in addition to simply seeing Obama/Biden defeat Rom/Ry, I would love to see the Greedy Oil Party SLAMMED into defeat in the same states that these Pres and VP candidates come from.</div>
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I want to see us come as close to sweeping every close race possible in Wisconsin (a key battleground state for several years), Massachusetts, and Illinois. In the process we can help some really damned good Democrats win over really sleazy GOPers.</div>
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Here is my new (partial) strategy for November:</div>
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To donate to the following candidates, please <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/page/mawi">visit my Embarrass Romney/Ryan 2012 Act Blue website</a>. I will match at least partly the first three donations made. Our future hangs in the balance this year, so I am hoping you guys make me shell out a LOT of money on this. I can't afford it but I feel I can't afford NOT to.</div>
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If we win most of these races, we will be REALLY kicking ass this year.</div>
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NOTE: I base my choices partly on candidates I like, partly on Democracy for America, partly on Progressive Majority, and partly on a conservative-website-I-tend-to-follow's view of what they consider close races.</div>
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Let's begin with the Rom's own state of Massachusetts. He was Gov there, and not as bad as most Repubs, but not great. Now Romney won't win Mass even though he is a former Gov...but it will be so much more satisfying if he not only loses himself, but his party loses two close and key races for Congress: Senate and MA-6. Both are close races.</div>
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<strong>MA-SEN:</strong></div>
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This is one of our most important fights this year. It is a toss up race that is really neck and neck. Winning a major Senate seat race in Romney's own state would be really, really sweet.</div>
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Elizabeth Warren is a great candidate. <a href="http://www.democracyforamerica.com/campaigns/4266">Check out her profile on Democracy for America's website.</a></div>
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<strong>MA-6:</strong></div>
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This is a close House race in Massachusetts. Holding onto this seat helps us in Congress.</div>
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Now let's turn to one of the most important swing states in the country. We have been fighting anti-union extremism here for 2 years now, and we have been winning several recall elections on the state level. Paul Ryan comes from Wisconsin. Wisconsin has a strong progressive, pro-labor, pro-farmer background that could turn so solidly against the Republicans their heads would spin. Democrats haven't fought hard enough for this state's heart and soul. The Rom picked Ryan because they want to make us fight for Wisconsin. Well let's turn the tables. We WILL win Wisconsin for Obama. I have no doubt about that. But let's make our win go deeper. Let's win every close Congressional seat and let's defend our new lead in the state senate.</div>
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My family first moved to Wisconsin (Milwaukee) after coming from Europe. So I feel some personal, family connection to winning in Wisconsin. My visits to Wisconsin (pretty much Madison for conferences) have been very enjoyable experiences. I would love to see Wisconsin follow its strong progressive history right about now and solidly reject the Rom/Ry advocacy of returning to failed Bush policies. Here are the key races:</div>
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<strong>WI-SEN:</strong></div>
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The tea party is really aiming for this seat. We need to defend it if we want to hold onto the Senate. We also need to show Ryan that his greedy and cruel vision for Wisconsin and America is a failure and that his own state prefers the more progressive vision of Tammy Baldwin.</div>
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<a href="http://www.democracyforamerica.com/campaigns/4633">You can read more about Tammy Baldwin at Democracy for America.</a></div>
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<strong>WI-01:</strong></div>
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Rob Zerban is running for Paul Ryan's own seat. I say lets fight the right on their own territory. If we can give Ryan a run for his (ample) money right in his own district it will send a clear message how sick America is of his extremist views.</div>
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<strong>WI-07:</strong></div>
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This is a key House race. This is a real chance to pick up a seat from the Republicans.</div>
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Patrick Kreitlow has been endorsed by the Intl. Association of Firefighters, Steelworkers Union, National Farmers Union, NARAL Pro-Choice America Intl. Brotherhood of Teamsters, AFL-CIO, League of Conservation Voters, Planned Parenthood Action Fund Sierra Club, United Auto Workers, WI Federation of Nurses, and WI Alliance for Retired American, among others.</div>
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<strong>WI-08:</strong></div>
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This is another pick up opportunity for Democrats in the House.</div>
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Jamie Wall has been endorsed by Green Bay Firefighters, the Alliance of Retired Americans, the Teamsters, Human Rights Campaign, American Federation of Teachers- Wisconsin, American Nurses Association, United Auto Workers, and many others.</div>
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<strong>WI-SD-18:</strong></div>
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Jessica King is one of my favorite Democrats. And she has been for several years.</div>
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Jessica King is one of the best things to happen to the Wisconsin State Senate, winning one of the hard fought recall elections against the right wing extremist Republicans. Jessica King is intelligent and very capable and will make an excellent State Senator.</div>
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She has been endorsed by Progressive Majority and is one of America's best progressives. Let's make sure she wins re-election.</div>
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<strong>WI-SD-32:</strong></div>
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Jennifer Shilling is another Progressive Majority endorsed candidate who won one of the recall elections. And this is another seat worth defending.</div>
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<strong>WI-SD-22:</strong></div>
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Bob Wirch was one of the Democrats targeted by Republicans for recall...but we beat them, defending Bob's Senate seat. Let's show him we still have his back. Bib Wirch is also endorsed by Progressive Majority.</div>
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<strong>WI-SD-30:</strong></div>
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Dave Hansen was also one of the Democrats targeted by Republicans for recall...but again, we beat them. Let's show him we still have his back. Dave Hansen is also endorsed by Progressive Majority.</div>
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NOW I want to turn to the state that elected Obama to the Senate: Illinois. It would be great to sweep the close races in Rom's Massachusetts and Ry's Wisconsin. But it would ALSO be sweet to sweep the many close races in President Obama's Illinois. Here they are (sorry Biden...don't find close races in Delaware):</div>
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<strong>IL-17:</strong></div>
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This is a seat we can pick up from the Greedy Oil Party. But it's going to be close.</div>
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<strong>IL-11:</strong></div>
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This is a close race and one that we absolutely have to win to make gains in Congress...particularly if we want Congress to start accepting global warming as an issue we need to deal with.</div>
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Bill Foster is one of my favorite candidates. He was a renowned scientist turned businessman who has already served in Congress. It is time to send him back to Congress. We need more people with Bill's intelligence, practicality and scientific outlook.</div>
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Bill Foster has been endorsed by the Associated Firefighters of Illinois, AFL-CIO State Federation of Illinois, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Amalgamated Transit Union Local #308, and many others.</div>
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<strong>IL-13:</strong></div>
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This is another very close race and an important pick up opportunity for Democrats.</div>
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Dr. David Gill has been endorsed by the United Auto Workers, AFL-CIO, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Sierra Club, United Mine Workers of America, Democracy for America, Progressive Democrats of America, National Nurses United, and many others. He is a true progressive and would be VERY valuable to have in Congress.</div>
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<strong>IL-08:</strong></div>
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Captain Tammy Duckworth was a Black Hawk helicopter pilot fighting in Iraq. She lost both legs and part of the use of her right arm when her helicopter was shot down, and was awarded the Purple Heart for her combat injuries.</div>
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President Obama appointed Captain Duckworth to be Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs where she sought to improve the standard of care for Vets. She oversaw VA's effort to end Veteran homelessness and lead initiatives for female Vets and increased accessibility and accountability with the new Office of Online Communications.</div>
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We have a REALLY good shot at picking up this seat.</div>
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<strong>IL-12:</strong></div>
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This is a seat we could lose. If we want to make gains in the House, we need to defend it. The Greedy Oil Party is really trying to take this seat from us.</div>
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Bill Enyart is the former head of the Illinois National Guard. He is pro-labor and would be a committed Congressman.</div>
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<strong>IL-10:</strong></div>
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This is a close race but one we have a good shot of winning.</div>
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Brad Schneider has been endorsed by the Associated Firefighters of Illinois, United Auto Workers, League of Conservation Voters, NARAL, Human RIghts campaign, United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners, and many others.</div>
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Help me win these critical races and in the process embarrass the Greedy Oil Party.</div>
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Again, you can donate through my <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/page/mawi">visit my Embarrass Romney/Ryan 2012 Act Blue website</a>. And I will try to match at least partly the first three donations made.</div>
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</div>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-34318435039509833772012-08-02T16:47:00.001-07:002012-08-02T16:49:48.817-07:00Flashback to the depths of the Bush years...At the depths of the Bush years, when the economy was starting its nose dive, when censorship became common, when our freedoms were compromised routinely by Republicans, when Bush and Cheney let Osama bin Laden go free to dance on American graves...Eric Idle of Monty Python came up with this little number protesting Bush/Cheney attacks on American freedoms:<br />
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To anyone who complains about Barack Obama, let's remember how awful the Republicans are when they have power. Censorship, a ruined economy, failed foreign policy and self-righteous attacks on basic American freedoms are all Republicans have to offer us.<br />
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<br />mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-41807023291085971542012-07-30T07:25:00.000-07:002012-07-30T07:25:09.141-07:00Former Skeptic Now Believes in Anthropogenic Global Warming<br />
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I am sure it will take no time for the Greedy Oil Party and the Denial Lobby to attack this man, but one of the more highly respected anthropogenic global warming skeptics now is a believer. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19047501">From BBC News</a>:</div>
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In a US newspaper opinion piece, Prof Richard Muller says: "Call me a converted sceptic."</div>
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Muller leads the Berkeley Earth Project, which is using new methods and some new data to investigate the claims made by other climate researchers...</div>
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The project received funds from sources that back organisations lobbying against action on climate change.</div>
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Their <a href="http://berkeleyearth.org/pdf/results-paper-july-8.pdf">latest study</a>, released early on Monday (GMT), concludes that the average temperature of the Earth's land has risen by 1.5C (2.7F) over the past 250 years.</div>
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The team argues that the good correspondence between the new temperature record and historical data on CO2 emissions suggests human activity is "the most straightforward explanation" for the warming</div>
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This new study that SUPPORTS anthropogenic global warming was partly funded by the KOCH BROTHERS. It was clearly intended to find every opportunity to discredit anthropogenic global warming. 10 scientists were gathered for the study. Nine out of those 10 signed on to the conclusions that global warming is happening and is caused largely by human activity.</div>
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Will the Koch Brothers now attack their own study?</div>
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Here is the abstract from the KOCH BROTHERS FUNDED study:</div>
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Abstract:</div>
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We report an estimate of the Earth’s average land surface temperature for the period 1753 to 2011. To address issues of potential station selection bias, we used larger<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>sampling of stations than had prior studies. For the period post 1880, our estimate is<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>similar to those previously reported by other groups, although we report smaller error uncertainties. The land temperature rise from the 1950s decade to the 2000s decade is 0.87 ± 0.05 oC (95% confidence). Both maximum and minimum daily temperatures<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>have increased during the last century. Diurnal variations decreased from 1900 to<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1987, and then increased; this increase is significant but not understood. The period of 1753 to 1850 is marked by sudden drops in land surface temperature that are<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>coincident with known volcanism; the response function is approximately 1.5 ± 0.5 oC per 100 Tg of atmospheric sulfate. This volcanism, combined with a simple proxy for anthropogenic effects (logarithm of the CO2 concentration), can account for much of the variation in the land surface temperature record; the fit is not improved by the addition of a solar forcing term. Thus, for this very simple model, solar forcing does not appear to contribute to the observed global warming of the past 250 years; the entire change can be accounted for by a sum of volcanism and anthropogenic proxies. The residual variations include interannual and multi-decadal variability very similar to that of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO).</div>
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Let's look back a bit...for awhile Rush Limbaugh was touting an absurd theory that global warming was CAUSED by volcanism. His argument was that the carbon that Pinatubo put in the atmosphere was responsible for global warming...ignoring the fact that volcanism LOWERS temperatures. As far as I am aware Rush Limbaugh, perhaps due to drug induced amnesia, forgot to correct his error here.</div>
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There also was denialist "documentary" called the <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/03/12/310870/-The-Global-Warming-Swindle">Global Warming Swindle</a> where they try to use statements made by global warming skeptic Carl Wunsch to mean things Wunsch didn't intend. This led to the main scientist the "documentary" was quoting going public to angrily refute their claims. To quote from a statement skeptic Carl Wunsch made on <a href="http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2007/03/swindled-carl-wunsch-responds/">Real Climate</a>:</div>
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I believe that climate change is real, a major threat, and almost surely has a major human-induced component...</div>
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The science of climate change remains incomplete. Some elements are so firmly based on well-understood principles, or for which the observational record is so clear, that most scientists would agree that they are almost surely true (adding CO2 to the atmosphere is dangerous; sea level will continue to rise,...). Other elements remain more uncertain, but we as scientists in our roles as informed citizens believe society should be deeply concerned about their possibility: failure of US midwestern precipitation in 100 years in a mega-drought; melting of a large part of the Greenland ice sheet, among many other examples.</div>
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I am on record in a number of places complaining about the over-dramatization and unwarranted extrapolation of scientific facts. Thus the notion that the Gulf Stream would or could "shut off" or that with global warming Britain would go into a "new ice age" are either scientifically impossible or so unlikely as to threaten our credibility...They also are huge distractions from more immediate and realistic threats..</div>
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In the part of the "Swindle" film where I am describing the fact that the ocean tends to expel carbon dioxide where it is warm, and to absorb it where it is cold, my intent was to explain that warming the ocean could be dangerous---because it is such a gigantic reservoir of carbon. By its placement in the film, it appears that I am saying that since carbon dioxide exists in the ocean in such large quantities, human influence must not be very important --- diametrically opposite to the point I was making --- which is that global warming is both real and threatening in many different ways, some unexpected...</div>
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And this from the top scientist the denial lobby tried to quote to support their claims. And he ends up refuting them.</div>
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Let's make this clear: there is NO SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT for the Greedy Oil Party and the Denial Lobby's attacks on the scientific theory of Anthropogenic Global Warming.</div>
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Now can we move on from right wing denial and start DOING SOMETHING???</div>
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<a href="http://healthymole.blogspot.com/2011/10/alternative-energy-options-in-your.html">Here is a diary I wrote last year</a> on alternative energy, based on an IPCC report and including ways you can purchase alternative energy options for your home (my wife and I have been doing it for about a decade!)</div>
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<a href="http://healthymole.blogspot.com/2012/03/as-tipping-point-looms-we-have-to-act.html">Here is a diary on diet and the environment</a>, focusing mainly on carbon footprint of various foods.</div>
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We also need more scientists in Congress...check out the <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/22/1112662/-Full-Speed-Ahead-to-November">top two candidates in this diary</a>...an astronaut and a scientist. We really need folks like them in Congress! MANY more, but let's start with Jose Hernandez and Bill Foster.</div>
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</div>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-23177388859685913792012-06-16T13:36:00.002-07:002012-06-16T13:36:17.697-07:00Nydia Velazquez for Congress: Critical NY-7 Primary June 26thOn June 26th one of our best Congressional reps will face a primary against a corrupt lackey whose only claim to fame is being loyal to a local party boss who is being investigated by the FBI.<br><br>
The race is the primary for the new NY-7 Congressional district. It pits current liberal Congresswoman <a href="http://www.nydiamvelazquez.com/">Nydia Velazquez</a>, who I know personally, against corrupt machine lackey Erik Dilan.<br><br>
<a href="http://www.nydiamvelazquez.com/">Nydia Velazquez</a> has been endorsed by every liberal, progressive and reform organization in Brooklyn. Dilan has been endorsed by the Vito Lopez machine, one of the most corrupt political machines in the country. Problem is, the machine brings in money, which means it is quite possible that if we don't work hard in this primary we will see a good, honest progressive replaced by a corrupt, more conservative crony of one of the most corrupt politicians in America.<br><br>
I see a lot of this from the inside because I am a Democratic County Committee member in Brooklyn, so I see the Vito Lopez machine in action. And it isn't pretty. Vito Lopez backed Harold Ford against Gillibrand. Vito Lopez has refused to let Democrats run against Republicans in Brooklyn. Vito Lopez has several ongoing investigations focused on his corruption. And I know people who have experienced outright thuggish behavior from the machine directed at them.<br><br>
Nydia Velazquez is not only one of our most liberal members of Congress, but she is also among the most honest and has been a thorn in the side of Vito Lopez for years. He is gunning for her, using crony Dilan as his tool to get at her, and we need to defend her.<br><br>
The primary is June 26th. In a highly unusual move, President Obama has openly endorsed Nydia Velazquez in this primary. Usually he stays neutral. But the local party boss doesn't seem to be on Obama's good side, so Obama has endorsed Nydia.<br><br>
I have talked to Nydia many times. I talked to her in 2006 and 2008 when Democrats won big and her enthusiasm for her job was contagious. She was excited to get to work in Washington and push for small businesses and the working class. I also talked with her in 2010 when the Billionaire Koch Brothers funded teabagger "revolt" brought in a bunch of right wing extremists into Congress. Her enthusiasm for her job was dampened, but she was still determined to hold the line for small businesses and the working class as much as she could.<br><br>
Nydia has also been endorsed by the Communications Workers of America, Lambda Independent Democrats, Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (disclosure: my wife is on the board of CBID), United Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, Teamsters, 1199 SEIU and New Kings Democrats. She is wonderful and deserves re-election. Dilan is supported by corrupt Party Boss Vito Lopez.<br><br>
In a local primary very few voters show up. That means the machine starts with an advantage because if there is one thing Vito Lopez can do, it is get out his team in primaries. It is all he cares about. So even with Obama behind her, Nydia is at a disadvantage because the machine will get out their voters while the progressive and reform organizations are notoriously bad at getting out their people.<br><br>
Here is Nydia at the Sotomayor confirmation hearings:<br><br>
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Here is Nydia speaking out for marriage equality:<br><br>
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Here is Nydia questioning bank CEOs in Congress:<br><br>
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She sets them up then throws her hard ball around 3:20.<br><br>
Here is Nydia speaking out on the Public Health Option:<br><br>
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Read more about Nydia: <a href="http://cbidems.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Nydia-Velazquez.pdf">here are her answers to the very detailed questionnaire Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats sends to all candidates</a>. (PDF)<br><br>
Help me <a href="http://www.nydiamvelazquez.com/">support Nydia Velazquez</a> for Congress. She is kick ass, she is liberal, she is honest and she deserves our support.<br><br>
<a href="http://moleprogressive.blogspot.com/">BACK TO PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRAT NEWSLETTER MAIN PAGE</a>
<a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-63474536569438837402012-06-14T18:50:00.001-07:002012-06-14T18:50:31.431-07:00Cold Remidies: What Works and What Doesn't<iframe border="0" frameborder="0" height="250" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=moleshomepage&o=1&p=12&l=ur1&category=health&banner=006RHGVTDEY696MS9B02&f=ifr" style="border: none;" width="300"></iframe><br />
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Cold and flu season has begun yet again. And people take a whole slew of medications, some with nasty side effects, to try and get themselves through it. What works and what doesn't? As a biologist and as a parent, I have paid close attention to this topic and want to share some of my conclusions.<br />
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First of all beware of any "natural" or "homeopathic" remedies. It isn't that none of them are helpful...but there is absolutely no regulation of them and they have no obligation to back up their claims with facts. A lot of these remedies are basically based on nothing with no facts, no evidence and often just plain made up claims to see what used to be called "snake oil": basically a quack remedy.<br />
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An example is Echinacea. This was touted some years back as a hugely effective "natural" cold cure. But when people actually studied it they found it had no more effectiveness than a sugar pill. There is no evidence that Echinacea works. Back then I tried it and found it didn't help me at all. And when the scientific evidence came out I knew why...it didn't help me because it doesn't do anything for a cold.<br />
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But it isn't just "natural" remedies you need to be suspicious of. Many cold medicines have so-called "cough suppressants." Supposedly these calm your cough. Again I never found they worked that well, or at best inconsistently. Well, turns out actual scientific studies show these over-the-counter "cough suppressants" are about as effective as Echinacea...which means not at all. This was research published in a top scientific journal, and yet we are still being sold "cough suppressants" which are basically ineffective. PLUS they have nasty side effects. My advice is don't buy a cold medication that contains a supposed "cough suppressant."<br />
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So what does work?<br />
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Cold medication contain three basic ingredients that DO work: analgesics, decongestants and antihistamines.<br />
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Analgesics are basically pain relievers. Some can also reliever fever and inflammation. There are three basic types: aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen. All of them work. Aspirin has the side effect of irritating the stomach and so isn't used so much any more. Acetaminophen works well but has a major problem in that its effective dose is awfully close to its dangerous dose. Many people who overuse cold medication wind up overdosing on acetaminophen. This can destroy your liver. It is fine to take a medication with acetaminophen, but NEVER take more than the recommended dose. The best analgesic is ibuprofen. It is the most effective, relieves the most symptoms, and can be taken in relatively high doses. For any kind of pain relief or illness, ibuprofen should be part of your medication. Not only does it relieve pain, but it inhibits something called prostaglandins. These are chemicals your body makes that are part of the pain response and are one of the main reasons you just plain feel awful when you have a cold or flu. Taking ibuprofen won't cure your cold or flu but will make you feel much better. It also, like aspirin and acetaminophen, lowers fever. That is particularly critical in children. I remember once when my son had a fever. We had medicated him but we were out and it wore off before we could get home. He suddenly became very listless and miserable, and I felt his forehead and could tell his fever had shot up. We went right to the nearest store and bought some children's ibuprofen and gave it to him. Within an hour he was feeling much better and his fever came down. This isn't just about making him feel better either. Fevers, back before analgesics, could kill people, particularly children. In the old days, the level of fever my kid had that day would have been very dangerous. Today, with analgesics, fevers don't kill people anymore except in very rare cases.<br />
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So, ibuprofen is one of the best medications you can take when you have a cold or flu. Or, for that matter, almost any kind of pain. But you can even boost its effectiveness. If you take a regular or below recommended (NEVER above recommended) dose of acetaminophen along with a regular or even say 1 and a half dose of ibuprofen, the two do something called synergize. They work far far better together than apart. Together they relieve pain, fever and that general ill feeling amazingly well. Since most cold medicines for some reason use acetaminophen, then taking a regular dose of a cold remedy along with some ibuprofen can really help you. Just avoid the cold remedies with so-called "cough suppressants."<br />
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Decongestants are kind of a mixed blessing I feel. They basically dry you out. This means if you have a stuffy nose, that will go away for awhile. But it doesn't really clear you up permanently. It just dries you out temporarily. As long as you are still sick, that stuffiness will come back all the worse once the decongestant wears off. And while it is effective you feel dried out, which in itself can be irritating. Still, if I have something I really have to do that day, I take a decongestant. Furthermore, if you need to be awake, cold medicines with decongestants tend to make you slightly speedy and this can counteract the drowsy effects of the next medication: antihistamines.<br />
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I mentioned above prostaglandins above as one of the chemicals in your body that just plain make you feel awful. Histamines are another kind of "bad-feeling" chemical. That watery eyed, stuffy, allergic feeling is caused by histamines. Antihistamines inhibit this, making you feel better. They work well. But they also make you sleepy. This is great if you can stay home in bed. If you can, do so and take an antihistamine along with some ibuprofen and acetaminophen and go to bed. Do this for a day or two and your cold or flu will clear up MUCH faster because you are giving your body a chance to fight it off. That combination is your best bet for over the counter drugs. Check the packaging. If it has acetaminophen and an antihistamine, take it along with a separate dose of ibuprofen. By the way, for all of these go for generics. They are cheaper and just as effective. Just check the label for what the medication contains and what dose. Some generics are lower dosage, but most are the same medicine, same dosage, just cheaper than name brands.<br />
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Avoid antibiotics if you have a cold or flu. They don't do ANYTHING for cold or flu (which are caused by viruses, not bacteria) and can actually make you worse. That said, sometimes when you have a cold or flu you get what is called a "secondary infection." THESE can often be treated with antibiotics. But don't take an antibiotic UNLESS a doctor tells you specifically you have a secondary infection. One way you can tell if you have a bacterial infection (which would require an antibiotic) rather than a viral infection is if you are producing a greenish liquid. For example, an eye infection that oozes a clear or white liquid is probably viral. If the liquid is green it is probably bacterial. This has to do with what kind of white blood cells respond to the infection (a cell called a neutrophil produces the green color). In general though don't take an antibiotic unless there is evidence of a bacterial infection. It can actually make things worse. Antibiotics are way overused in America and it <a href="http://healthymole.blogspot.com/2011/08/your-health-antibiotic-resistant.html">leads to major problems</a>.<br />
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What else? Drink lots of water, tea, juice, etc. These mostly keep you hydrated. Your body gets dehydrated when sick because it is under so much stress and you probably aren't eating and drinking as much. So make an effort to drink these things.<br />
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What about zinc? Evidence I have seen suggests it works for colds (not flu?) if taken with the very early symptoms. It makes it harder for the virus to actually infect the next cell. Taking a medication with Zinc can help if taken at the right time.<br />
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Vitamin C? Evidence shows that taking vitamin C, particularly if you are taking it before infection, can reduce both severity and duration of a cold. It isn't a cure all, and don't take megadoses. But a regular dose of vitamin C can help you avoid and keep colds to a minimum.<br />
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I have found that the EmergenC Immune Defense packets, if I start taking one or two a day either at the FIRST sign I may be getting sick or when people around me are sick, helps to keep me from getting very sick. It has both vitamin C and Zinc and I think these are what do it...the rest of its ingredients may well be just window dressing. For example, the elderberry and hibiscus extracts in it probably do nothing at all. But it is a convenient way to not only get the vitamin C and Zinc that WILL help, but also, since it is taken in water, it can help to keep you hydrated. I am not so fond of the taste so I dilute it down a lot when I drink it, really making it a chance to hydrate. I think this combination of vitamin C, zinc and proper hydration help my body keep the cold at least partly at bay.<br />
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Another thing I think is important is controlling mold in your home. This may sound unrelated, but mold creates a constant irritation to your lungs. The combination of a cold or flu and the presence of mold in your apartment can create a situation where you get a persistent cough that won't really go away until you get away from the mold. It is like the combination of a cold or flu and mold puts your body's immune system into overdrive and it starts in a small way (sometimes large) hurting your own body. You almost become permanently sick. This is an oversimplification, but there is evidence that it is roughly true. I have experienced this personally. When my apartment was, over several years, experiencing leaks we had persistent mold problems. I considered it mostly cosmetic. But I also noticed that any time I got a cold it just would not go away completely until I visited a drier climate (which would mean less mold). Then it would go away until the next cold. By now we have dealt with all the leaks and the mold. Once those were dealt with I stopped getting the persistent coughs. It could be coincidence, but <a href="http://healthymole.blogspot.com/2011/07/asthma-and-allergy-epidemic.html">from what I have learned</a> it probably is connected. To find out how to combat mold in your home, <a href="http://healthymole.blogspot.com/2011/08/dealing-with-mold-and-mildew-in-your.html">read my article on mold and mildew</a>.<br />
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Colds and flu are a fact of life. They are viruses that evolve very quickly, so our immune responses grow ineffective against them. Antibiotics do nothing against them. So mostly what you are doing is relieving the symptoms of the illness so you feel better, keeping fever down because that can actually be dangerous, and giving your body a chance, through hydration, rest (that is one way antihistamines can help), vitamin C and zinc, to fight off the virus on its own.<br />
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Always remember that if a cold or flu lasts too long, or your fever gets really high, SEE A DOCTOR. When one illness hits you it can make you more susceptible to other, worse illnesses and those can be serious if not treated.<br />
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If you take nothing else away from this article always remember, NEVER take more than the recommended dose of acetaminophen, ibuprofen is the best analgesic, ibuprofen and acetaminophen taken together in modest doses work extra effectively, and don't bother ever with so-called "cough suppressants." Antibiotics don't help a cold or flu, though if the doctor finds evidence of a bacterial secondary infection, THEN it can help. Also antihistamines work well but they will put you to sleep unless also taken with a decongestant.<br />
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Also flu shots DO help. Not always, since the flu virus evolves quickly and the vaccine is designed based on the previous year's viruses, but it does help, sometimes quite a bit. I advise getting them.<br />
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<a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/2011/08/consumer-advice-page.html">Return to Mole's Consumer Advice Page.</a><br />
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<a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-67062085945037217612012-06-14T18:31:00.001-07:002012-06-14T18:44:53.510-07:00Fighting Harder than Ever in WisconsinJust recently got back from a great conference in Madison, Wisconsin. The conference coincidentally took place mere days after the recall elections we all were watching...so I kind of wondered how the results of the recalls would affect my mood on the trip.
The conference itself was great. Excellent science, good beer, and time between talks to relax on the terrace at the university overlooking the lake. Weather was perfect (and this is coming from someone who grew up in Southern California so has a high standard for perfect weather). And I have to say my work was amazingly well received by most of the people I talked to, though one person seemed to take quite a dislike to our work. But overall a great trip.
It was quite interesting to be there, in the very place where Walker has done so much damage to middle and working class Americans and where so many from so many backgrounds came out last year to protest his anti-American policies.
Below are some impressions and a call to action. Because Wisconsin is no different from any state out there. We all have our tea party right wing extremists (one just won a special State Senate election here in NYC!) and we all have our good progressives. What we need to do, as politically active, moderate to liberal leaning Democrats, is fight tooth an nail to defend each progressive out there and to defeat the worst right wing extremists we can.
And you know what? Wisconsin has been doing a pretty good job of it, has forged some great alliances in the process, and, if we keep our eyes on the ball, we can continue to push back to the progressive side in Wisconsin.
I flew into Madison from La Guardia airport. Always a depressing thing to fly through La Guardia. But the first cheery thing of the day came when I reached the TSA dude checking everyone's boarding pass and ID. He was clearly doing his best to be friendly to everyone, knowing full well how irritating the whole process was for everyone.
He looked at me, saw my "We are the 99%" T-shirt. He smiled and asked if I protested with Occupy Wall Street (showing his knowledge of the movement). I said no, but I was a supporter and knew people who were there. I also added I had been too busy to get down there. He smiled, nodded and passed me through. No sign of outright support, but very definitely no sign of hostility. I got the feeling he understood what OWS was all about and at least gave it some credence if not outright support.
A good start to the trip...or at least as good as you can expect flying through La Guardia!
Delta Airlines kind of sucks. Now it was the best flight I could find at a reasonable price. My airfare is covered by our grant because it is a conference and I was presenting, but I still try to find the cheapest reasonable airfare even though it isn't my money. I had been able to find the last reasonably priced, direct flight that got in before the conference started with a return flight that left after the conference was over. Most other people I talked to had a MUCH harder time getting in, some of them missing big chunks of the conference due to airline delays. One thing I noticed was that the result of the new rules where everyone had to pay for their first piece of checked luggage is everyone now tries to shove it all into carry on...which means carry on is now so overloaded they have to take extra time, delaying the flight, to get people to check luggage. Yet another example of the airlines making a stupid policy change that just makes matters worse.
But I got there in one piece and with less hassle than many others who went.
Then I had to get to my hotel. Normally I try taking public transportation. That's what I did both ways in NYC (hey...the Q train from Brooklyn to Queens, then the M60 bus to the airport...not really that tough I found out!). But I couldn't find a way to figure that out going from the Madison airport to Madison proper, so I grabbed a cab.
I am no fan of taxis. Now taxi drivers in NYC have a really tough time and I sympathize with them. But they also are among the rudest and most crazy drivers around, so I kind of steer away from them, no pun intended. But the cabbie that picked me up in Madison was just the right guy for me to meet at that moment.
We started talking. Turns out he works for <a href="http://www.unioncab.com/">Union Cab</a>, a worker owned taxi cooperative in Madison. I highly recommend them! Everyone I talked to who used Union Cab found them very friendly, quick and safe.
My driver was very eager to discuss the recalls. He was really depressed that Walker had won the recall election. He told me about the height of the protests when his taxi company was in the thick of it. He had already had quite a life. Coming from Alaska, working for the coast guard (including a stint on Governor's Island in NYC!), and winding up in Madison. But it was clear the height of the protests against Walker's anti-working class and anti-middle class extremist agenda had made an impression. He really thought they would win.
I pointed out that from my more distant perspective I had been amazed that over two recall elections they had flipped the Wisconsin state senate and and built quite a coalition to boot. He seemed pleased and said, "Yeah, I guess I always knew it wouldn't be easy and we'd have to keep fighting."
Precisely...it was never easy and WILL never be easy...and we have to always keep fighting.
I got to my hotel, checked in...then realized how starving I was. The conference schedule had been ambiguous about whether dinner that night was included, plus I needed a moment to get my bearings. So I decided to pay for a meal myself and headed for a pizza place that had done its best to feed as many protesters last year as possible: <a href="http://www.ianspizza.com/">Ian's Pizza</a>. I had ordered several pizzas for the protesters through Ian's and wanted to try them for myself.
Now I love thin crust pizza. And NYC is pretty arrogant about its thin crust pizza. But honestly most NYC pizza is soggy...though there are some excellent exceptions. I am okay with a slice of NYC pizza, but most places are just not that good. Cheap sauce, cheap cheese and saturated in grease (not completely a bad thing, mind you). Now when they are only charging a buck a slice I can accept it as a good deal. But when they are charging more like $2.50 a slice with no topping, forget it. Now I will admit there are some exceptions. Around the corner from me in Brooklyn is <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/south-brooklyn-pizza-brooklyn-3">South Brooklyn Pizza</a>...$4 a slice which is too much, but it is REALLY good pizza made with top ingredients and they usually have wonderful roasted garlic and marinated peppers for free to go on top. So sometimes I splurge. If they could just lower their price a bit I'd go more often.
Ian's Pizza in Madison had perfect thin crust. not at all soggy like most NYC pizza tends to be but really crispy. I like that. Most of the pizzas offered were pretty elaborate and mostly starch and cheese oriented...not much in the way of simple toppings. And the toppings were a bit over done: LOTS of cholesterol laden ingredients piled on top of each other. Good quality and pretty darned tasty for a decent price. Overall high marks. But I did wish they had at least SOME simpler toppings. I probably could have ordered something but I just wanted to try a couple of slices of what ever they had up front. Overall I definitely recommend them.
After two slices of excellent but a bit heavy and overwhelming pizza, I headed over to the conference. I had forgotten how great the University of Wisconsin terrace was in nice weather. Immediately struck by how calm and soothing (ignoring the not so good band down on the stage below) the whole place was. And there was of course some good beer being served.
Then I got down to business with the first night's science. Won't go much into the science except there was some real groundbreaking stuff coming out, including some amazing new stuff from an already Nobel Prize winning lab. And once you are sucked into a conference, often you don't have much more time to see the town you are in. Some friends of mine went out to a bar the second night of the conference after we had had a few pitchers with a couple of professors on the terrace at the university (believe it or not, some serious science was indeed discussed as well!), but I opted to go to bed at that point.
One thing that struck me was unlike almost any other conference I have been to, the morale was overall low. These are people doing cutting edge work on cancer, aging, reproduction, nutrition, etc. Yet I can't tell you how many people were demoralized by the massive budget cuts the Republicans have been inflicting and how many labs are faced with maybe having to pack up and give up the science. This is America, folks, and we aren't able to keep funding the good research? This really is a top conference, not something where crap is presented. But the Republican anti-science crusade has started taking its toll on the morale of our best scientists. If we want to keep up our competitive edge, that is a problem folks. Eisenhower would be absolutely horrified by the way the Republican Party has been gutting science.
And yet despite that the quality of the science and the intensity of the interaction did help to bolster the morale of even the most demoralized scientist I talked to. Now none of us can keep up our morale if Republicans keep cutting science funding. I gotta say I consider leaving science from time to time as it gets harder and harder to do the work we all LOVE doing. But at least briefly we were encouraged by the excellent work our colleagues were presenting. And let me tell you between the technological advances and the brilliant minds that are in this field, some really big jumps are being made...as long as the funding is there.
In the end I was sad to leave. Could have stayed a few more days if I'd had the time and my own funds to fund it. But I headed back to NYC and the awful humidity and the crowds.
Now, let's get back to the politics. Wisconsin IS and will REMAIN a key battleground for MANY reasons. When Walker took office it was a disaster for working and middle class Americans from coast to coast. And he has done his best to ruin the best America has to offer. But that is what the Republican Party has become! The Republican Party no longer has ANYTHING to do with the likes of Eisenhower who would slap Walker silly if he were alive today. Wisconsin is about how the Republicans are ruining America and how regular Americans, including students, taxi drivers, blue collar workers and farmers, are getting together to say "FUCK YOU" to the Republican extremists and their billionaire backers.
And we are part of that fight. Each and every one of us. Because what is happening in Wisconsin is happening everywhere, and if the Republicans have their way it will mean a ruined economy, lower salaries, reduced benefits, longer working hours, a ruined infrastructure, and the cutting edge of science moving overseas to places that actually VALUE progress.
Wisconsin saw what Walker was doing and an amazing cross section of the state stood up to him. And they formed a coalition that still exists to this day, if we don't start ignoring it. AND together they flipped the Wisconsin state senate.
Good for them. And I told that taxi driver how proud I was of them. And I think that made HIM more proud of himself than he had been.
It never was going to be easy and we HAVE to keep fighting.
Those who know my diaries know that I always push people to take the next step, to hold the next line, to take some action. So here is my current plug for what we can do to push back against the right wing extremists...because if we don't, well, they win. Period. And I for one will not sit back and let that happen.
First and foremost we have to remember the fights we DID win and hold on to that ground. There are four state senators I particularly wanted to highlight. All are incumbents BECAUSE we either defended them against right wing attacks or we won recall elections against right wing incumbents. All four of these candidates are endorsed by Progressive Majority and are really kick ass Democrats. First and foremost we have to have these folks' backs. From <a href="http://www.progressivemajority.org/candidates_list?field_state_value_many_to_one[]=Wisconsin&field_type_of_seat_value_many_to_one=All&field_under35_value_many_to_one=All&field_glbt_value_many_to_one=All&field_poc_value_many_to_one=All&field_woman_value_many_to_one=All">Progressive Majority</a>:
<blockquote><strong>Robert Wirch </strong>
Wisconsin
State Senate - District 22
2012
Incumbent
http://bobwirch.com/
State Senator Robert Wirch has served four terms in the Senate, representing District 22, which includes Kenosha and the surrounding communities. Earlier in his career, he served two terms as a state Representative. Prior to his election Bob was a factory worker and union steelworker and served on the Kenosha County Board of Supervisors. Bob has been a top advocate for working families during his time in the legislature. He authored legislation to prevent companies that receive state contracts from sending Wisconsin jobs overseas and defended workers in Wisconsin from Scott Walker's attacks. He defeated a Repbulican led recall in 2011 and it is vital that we reelect Senator Wirch in November
<strong>Dave Hansen</strong>
Wisconsin
State Senate - District 30
2012
Incumbent
http://hansenforsenate.com/
State Senator Dave Hansen has served three terms in the legislature, representing District 30, which includes Green Bay and surrounding communities. Prior to his election, Dave worked for Green Bay's Department of Public Works as a truck driver and was a Teamsters union steward. He also served on the Brown County Board from 1996-2002. Dave authored the pay equity legislation that requires businesses to pay women the same as men for the same work and led the fight to protect our natural resources by voting to reduce mercury pollution, preserve our wetlands, and prevent the diversion of water from the Great Lakes to other states. After defeating a Republican led recall in 2011, Senator Hansen is facing a conservative challenger that must be defeated to protect working families in Wisconsin.
<strong>Jessica King</strong>
Wisconsin
State Senate - District 18
2012
Incumbent
http://www.jessicakingforsenate.com/home
Jessica King was born and raised in Fond du Lac County. She put herself through college with hard work and scholarships, earning academic and leadership honors. Jessica opened her own small business and in 2006 she was elected to the Oshkosh City Council. In 2011, she defeated Randy Hopper in a recall election. Now she is up for reelection and we need to make sure she is reelected in November.
<strong>Jennifer Shilling </strong>
Wisconsin
State Senate - District 32
2012
Incumbent
http://www.jennifershilling.com/
Senator Jennifer Shilling has deep ties to her community. She was elected as a La Crosse County Supervisor in 1990 and to the State Assembly in 2000. Jennifer defeated incumbent Repblican Senator Dan Kapanke in a recall election and has continued to fight for Wisconsin's working families in the Senate. We need a majority in the State Senate to prevent Scott Walker and conservatives from passing anymore harmful laws. We need to support Senator Shilling in 2012.</blockquote>
These are great folks and we fought hard for each and every one of them last year and believe me the right wing Koch backed extremists will be aiming for them.
But I also believe in building infrastructure for winning. We need to remember elections are won often by local folks working their butts off in their local districts. I have an ActBlue site that I have used both to push for specific candidates, but also to help out some local county Dem organizations in key districts. This can be swing counties (always good to target) but also some redder counties that are still worth trying to get out the Dem vote because cutting the margin of loss in those counties will help win larger swing districts overall...and make it more likely we defeat Walker the next time. I believe in fighting in EVERY district. <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/page/prowi">Please help build the infrastructure Dems need in Wisconsin to stop and reverse the right wing extremist agenda that is killing America</a>.
Finally we can't forget that the right wing attacks on unions is much wider than Wisconsin. In particular I feel we need to fight back hard in four states: Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. I have another act blue page dedicated to defending unions across four states. <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/page/unionsolidarity">Join me in fighting the Koch brothers in those four states.</a>
And don't tell me we can't win because the ONLY way you are guaranteed to lose is if you don't fight. I grew up being told America would never be ready for a black President. Well, I never did believe everything I was told.
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<a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-19329404464865451452012-06-02T10:00:00.003-07:002012-06-02T10:00:53.779-07:00The Key Progressive Candidates of 2012<br />
I push pretty much every year for people to look beyond the high profile races. Some of the elections that MOST affect people directly are downticket races like judicial or school board races, state assessors and state and local reps. Yet these are almost universally ignored, so big money almost always wins them...and regular folks lose out. I try to help the best of those downticket races across the country.<br />
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Progressive Majority is our best resource for downticket races that are so critical. Now in key states these critical races are high priority, and Progressive Majority has pretty much consistently held a 50% win rate on average despite taking on some tough races. I always highlight their endorsed candidates because they are some of the best in the nation...and they represent TOMORROW'S Progressive leaders.<br />
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Below are the Progressive Majority endorsements for 2012. I urge you to do all you can for these candidates: donate, volunteer, vote, whatever you can because when you talk about more and better Democrats, THESE are the folks you should be thinking of.<br />
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And they have a good shot of winning...<br />
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<strong>OHIO ENDORSEMENTS:</strong><br />
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<strong>Donna O'Connor</strong><br />
<strong>State Representative - District 21</strong><br />
http://www.oconnorforohio.com<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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Donna has taught for 19 years in local school systems in Ohio. She has been involved in local and state politics for several years and fought hard against SB 5/Issue 2, the union-busting bill. Last year while standing on the steps of the state house, a friend gave her a button that said, “those that can, teach. Those that cannot, make laws about teaching.” Donna is running to make sure that those making the laws about education know what it’s like to work in the classroom.<br />
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<strong>Tanyce Addison</strong><br />
<strong>State Senate - District 26</strong><br />
http://Addisonforohio.com<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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Tanyce Addison is running for State Senate in District 26. Tanyce recently retired after teaching for 30 years in the public schools. She directed bands and choirs in the Ridgedale and Elgin school districts in Marion County. As a teacher, Tanyce saw the damage that severe cuts did to the arts and schools in general. Upset with cuts to education, she became active with her union and fought to protect schools. She served as the Education Association president, vice-president and secretary and negotiated four contracts. Tanyce was active in the fight against Issue 2 in 2011 and is now taking her activism one-step further by running to protect education and teachers as a state Senator.<br />
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<strong>Jeff Bunck</strong><br />
<strong>State Representative - District 47</strong><br />
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Jeff Bunck is running for State Representative in District 47. Jeff has worked in education since 1975 when he graduated from the University of Toledo. He is running because his current state Representative, Barbara Sears, does not listen to the people in her district, especially on educational issues. Sears voted for Senate Bill 5, which attacked middle-class workers and co-sponsored House Bill 136, which expands school voucher programs. Jeff testified in opposition to SB5 and decided that he could to do more to protect education by running for office and defeating Barbara Sears. Jeff taught for 27 years and served as an administrator for eight years. Most recently, he taught at Bowling Green State University and resigned from there in January of 2012 to run for the House.<br />
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<strong>Cheryl Johncox</strong><br />
<strong>State Representative - District 86</strong><br />
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Cheryl Johncox is running for State Representative in District 86. Cheryl has been an advocate for the environment, agriculture and rural living for many years. She has close ties to the agricultural community in her area and was raised on one of the last farms in Strongsville. Cheryl saw the attacks on women’s health, workers, the elderly and environment and knew that she had to do something. She decided to run for office to stand up to the Republicans in Columbus. She was chosen as a National Wildlife Federation Women for Sustainable Development Fellow and received the National Conservation Achievement Award in 2006. She worked for the Ohio Environmental Council as the Director of Ohio River Programs and is currently the Executive Director of the Buckeye Forest Council.<br />
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<strong>Teresa Scarmack</strong><br />
<strong>State Senate - District 20</strong><br />
http://www.teresaforohio.com<br />
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Teresa Scarmack is running for State Senate in District 20. Teresa taught for 23 years in the central Ohio area and tutored children with learning disabilities. She has been teaching kindergarten in the Logan- Hocking School District since 1999. Teresa became involved in politics because of the Senate Bill 5/Issue 2 campaign. She made phone calls and knocked on doors in neighborhoods across her county. She knew the drastic consequences that public employees faced if this bill became law. There was a call across Ohio for teachers to run for office, teachers understand how important quality education is for communities and would replace Republicans who kept cutting education while giving tax breaks to corporations, and Teresa answered that call and is running to protect education in Ohio.<br />
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<strong>Bill Young</strong><br />
<strong>State Representative - District 88</strong><br />
http://www.mohawkstudio.net/Bill%20young/Indexinfo/index.html<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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Bill Young is running for State Representative in District 88. Bill is in his 38th and final year of teaching. As a teacher, Bill stressed that one person can make a difference and was able to see first hand how a state Representative can make a difference in their constituents’ lives when a former state legislator worked with Bill’s students on a community service project. Bill is running because holding office is another way that he can serve and work for his community. He is a highly decorated teacher; his awards include Ohio Social Studies Teacher of the Year, Northwest Ohio Teacher of the Year, three-time Clyde-Green Springs Teacher of the Year, Ohio Education Association John F. Kennedy Scholarship Award winner, Martha Holden Jennings Scholar award and others. Bill was very involved locally in the fight to defeat SB 5.<br />
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<strong>PENNSYLVANIA ENDORSEMENTS:</strong><br />
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<strong>Beth Alois</strong><br />
<strong>State Representative - District 168</strong><br />
http://www.bethalois168.com/index.html<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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Beth Alois is running for State Representative in District 168. Beth saw the vicious attacks on education and women’s health in Pennsylvania and knew that people must stand up to Republicans and that is why she decided to run for state Representative. She is currently Vice-Chairperson of the Thornbury Township Democratic Committee and the elected Minority Inspector of Elections in Thornbury Township. For 25 years, she accompanied her Foreign Service husband on his overseas assignments in South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. She worked as the Community liaison Officer at several US Embassies.<br />
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<strong>Chris Dietz</strong><br />
<strong>State Representative - District 104</strong><br />
http://www.voteDietz.com<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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Chris Dietz is running for State Representative in District 104. Chris knows the hardships faced by the millions of Americans who have been unemployed during this recession. After graduating from Penn State University, he went to work at Manugraph DGM but, like many others, Chris was laid off in 2008 and was without steady employment for over a year before the same company rehired him. Chris knows how lucky he was to get his job back and is running to ensure that all Pennsylvanians have the opportunity to find quality employment. If elected in November, Chris would be the first openly elected gay legislator in Pennsylvania. Appointed to represent Ward 1 on the Millersburg Borough Council in 2006 and re-elected in 2007 and 2009, Chris was elected as Borough Council President twice, even with a Republican majority on the council.<br />
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<strong>Steve McCarter</strong><br />
<strong>State Representative - District 154</strong><br />
http://www.stevemccarter.com<br />
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As a former teacher, Steve McCarter knows how important education is. When children receive a quality education, they are more likely to get good jobs that pay a living wage, which improves the economy in their community. The attacks on Pennsylvania’s children and schools by Republicans must be stopped and Steve is standing up to Republican’s dangerous actions. He is dedicated to the preservation and improvement of Pennsylvania schools. Steve taught high school Social Studies for 35 years in Abington and Lower Merion, was an adjunct Professor of Education at the University of Pennsylvania and is a retired Captain in the U.S. Army Reserves.<br />
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<strong>FLORIDA ENDORSEMENT:</strong><br />
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<strong>Lisa Sprague</strong><br />
<strong>Leon County Sheriff</strong><br />
http://www.lisaforsheriff.com<br />
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Lisa Sprague is running for Leon County Sheriff. Lisa began her career in law enforcement 30 years ago and was one of only two women on the police force when she began. She survived pressure to quit when she got married and began a family. She served as Deputy Chief of Police for Florida State University, President of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administration from 2008- 2009 and owns her own consulting firm, Sprague Consulting Security. She’s running to bring progressive values to the sheriff’s office by increasing cooperation amongst law enforcement agencies, acting as an advocate for the community and increasing transparency. When she is elected, she will be the only woman at the command staff level in the Sheriff's office<br />
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<strong>WASHINGTON STATE ENDORSEMENTS:</strong><br />
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<strong>Helen Price Johnson</strong><br />
<strong>Island County Commissioner - District 1</strong><br />
http://www.helenpricejohnson.org<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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Helen Price Johnson is running for re-election as Island County Commissioner. In 2008 she became the first woman to be sworn in as Island County Commissioner. Helen is a longtime Island County resident with deep ties to the community. Helen has four children and has owned and operated a small home construction business since 1995. Helen served on the South Whidbey School Board from 2001-2007.<br />
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<strong>Tim Farrell</strong><br />
<strong>Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer</strong><br />
http://www.timfarrell.us<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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Tim Farrell is running for Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer. Tim is running to help homeowners by providing information on all potential tax advantages o help alleviate their tax burdens, improve customer service and streamline government. A two-term Pierce County Councilmember, Tim comes from a Snohomish County railroading family and spent his career working in Pierce County. Farrell has been active with the Eastside Women for Women’s Health, the Susan G. Komen Foundation and other civic groups in his community. Tim is a former chair of the Tacoma Planning Commission and a former member of the North End Neighborhood Council.<br />
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<strong>Bruce Lachney</strong><br />
<strong>State Senator - District 2</strong><br />
http://www.brucelachney.com<br />
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Bruce Lachney is a lifelong Pacific Northwest native and received his degree from the University of Washington in 1980. He will fight for better education, jobs and civil rights in Washington. Bruce was a Captain in the United States Marine Corps, serving as a jet pilot in two tours of duty in the Far East and one tour in Somalia. Last year, Bruce retired after serving more than 20 years as a domestic pilot for Delta Airlines flying the Boeing 737-800. Bruce is also one of only 850 Ocean Spray cranberry growers. His farm in Eastern Pierce County also produces rhubarb, cattle, timber and hay for local markets.<br />
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<strong>Bob Hasegawa</strong><br />
<strong>State Senate - District 11</strong><br />
http://www.bobhasegawa.com<br />
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After serving in the Washington State House since 2005, Bob is running for an open state Senate seat. As both a labor leader and social activist, Bob has worked to bring together members of the progressive community and advocate for social justice issues. He has spent the past eight years in the House of Representatives fighting to create jobs, protect seniors and education, help small businesses and expanding higher education opportunities. In the Senate, Bob will continue to fight for these issues and will be a strong advocate for the residents of his district.<br />
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<strong>Eric Choiniere</strong><br />
<strong>State Representative - District 28 (Position 1)</strong><br />
http://www.ericfor28th.com<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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Eric Choiniere, a military veteran and former member of Communication Workers of America Local 7800, has always been active in politics. Eric is running for State Representative to give workers a voice in Olympia. As an individual who experienced unemployment and economic insecurity during the Great Recession, Eric understands the struggles families face every day in his community. On the University Place City Council, Eric has championed a balanced budget and focus on essential services on the University Place Council—from law enforcement to filling potholes. He has also led efforts to protect parks and recreation, and assist small business. An Army veteran who works for a provider of military health care located in Tacoma, Choiniere will make service to those who have served a particular priority in the House of Representatives. He is personally committed to ensuring that every veteran and their family succeeds.<br />
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J<strong>eff Davis</strong><br />
<strong>State Representative - District 35 (Position 2)</strong><br />
http://www.electjeffdavis.com<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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Jeff Davis is running for House Position 2 in Washington’s 35th legislative district. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Jeff is a Port of Olympia Commissioner whose election gave progressives a majority on the commission. Jeff is running to help create jobs and protect education and natural resources. He places a high value on human rights, economic justice and reproductive freedom. Throughout his career, Jeff has been active in labor as a Longshoreman, including serving as President of the Longshoremen District Council and board member of the Washington State Labor Council’s Transportation and Economic Development committee. He has served on a school board, economic development council and chamber board, as well as several others.<br />
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<strong>Bud Sizemore</strong><br />
<strong>State Representative - District 47 (Position 1)</strong><br />
http://www.budsizemore.com<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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Bud Sizemore is challenging an incumbent Republican for House Position 1 in the 47th legislative district. Service has always been a priority for Bud who served in the U.S. Air Force for 10 years and has been a professional fire fighter for more than 18 years. As a firefighter, he has fought to prevent cuts to police officers and firefighters to make sure the citizens of Washington are protected. Bud has also served as a Covington city Council member and Mayor Pro-Tempore where he worked with citizens to keep the community safe, protected open space and help local businesses.<br />
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<strong>Cyrus Habib</strong><br />
<strong>State Representative - Distrct 48 (Position 2)</strong><br />
http://www.electcyrus.com<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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Cyrus is running for State Representative in the 48th legislative district. Cyrus is Iranian-American, grew up on King County’s Eastside, and graduated from Bellevue Public Schools. He is a Truman Scholar and a Rhodes Scholar, and a graduate of Columbia, Oxford, and Yale Law School. Cyrus currently works as a lawyer, providing legal assistance to technology start-ups. Having lost his eyesight at age 8 to a rare form of childhood cancer, Cyrus has spent years advocating for the rights of the disabled, first in college and then as a law student and a lawyer. A staunch advocate for quality education and equal opportunity, Cyrus serves a Trustee of the Bellevue College Foundation and a Human Rights Commissioner for the City of Bellevue.<br />
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<strong>OREGON ENDORSEMENT:</strong><br />
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<strong>Jennifer Williamson</strong><br />
<strong>State Representative - District 36</strong><br />
http://www.jenniferfororegon.com<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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Jennifer Williamson is running for State Representative in District 36. Jennifer is a 4th-Generation Oregonian, was born and raised on a farm in Washington County and was the first member of her family to graduate from college. Growing up in a union family as a reduced and free lunch kid, seeing her family rely on food stamps many times and having to put herself through college, Jennifer understands the challenges that families in Oregon are facing because she’s lived them. She became involved in politics early and by accident. While putting herself through the University of Oregon, proposed cuts in Pell Grants and work-study programs threatened her ability to stay in college. Not willing to go down without a fight, she became an education activist and which led her to work for Senator Mark Hatfield to ensure all Oregonians have access to higher education. The attacks on children and families living in poverty are what pushed Jennifer to run for office. When she’s elected, Jennifer will fight to make sure kids today have the same opportunities she did.<br />
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<strong>CALIFORNIA ENDORSEMENT:</strong><br />
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<strong>Walter Kawamoto</strong><br />
<strong>Twin Rivers Unified School District Trustee, Area 3</strong><br />
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Walter Kawamoto is running for Twin Rivers Unified School District Trustee, Area 3. From his first “paid” experience assisting grade school teachers when he was in high school to most recently serving as a foster parent with the American Indian Child Resource Center, Walter has always gravitated to opportunities in education. As a school trustee, Walter will be fighting to provide high-quality educational opportunities for children in the Twin Rivers Unified School District. Walter is a professor at American River College, the PAFC chair for the Los Rios College Federation of Teachers and Democratic Delegate for Assembly District 9.<br />
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<a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a><br />mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-60313291305209501732012-06-02T09:58:00.001-07:002012-06-02T09:58:42.157-07:00NYC Comptroller John LiuI want to present a somewhat biased, but carefully thought out, view of Comptroller John Liu and the accusations against him. I know John Liu personally, though not well. He and my son get along great. He is a brilliant mind and he is one of the few politicians I know who genuinely listens to people and learns from people he talks to. During his City Council years he consistently <a href="http://dailygotham.com/mole333/blog/2011newyorkcitycouncil_humanrightsreportcard">ranked highest amongst his peers on Human Rights issues</a>. He is solidly pro-union and has stood up to developers one behalf of communities more than most of the mayoral candidates. He is smart, progressive, energetic, and not afraid of taking difficult positions. I like him and I think he would make an excellent mayor. One of our best.<br /><br />He is being accused of violating campaign finance laws. As a reformer I very much support a full investigation into these accusations. I do not intend to be an apologist if the accusations prove to have merit.<br /><br />But I also look at these accusations in the context of what I know and have experienced about John Liu and also in the context of NYC politics in general. First off, I look at the accusations against John Liu in the context of the scandals that Christine Quinn and Bill de Blasio have been mired in. Both have, shall we say, very creatively shuffled money and have gotten huge quantities of developer money, clearly in exchange for the very pro-development, largely anti-community stands they take. In the context of NYC politics, what John Liu is accused of is minor compared with the slime surrounding <a href="http://dailygotham.com/mole333/blog/workingfamiliespartyscandalwfpandbilldeblasiosubpoenaed">Bill de Blasio</a> and <a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-04-22/news/the-half-billion-dollar-secret/">Christine Quinn</a>. In my mind if Liu is taken down by these accusations it is unfair if de Blasio and Quinn aren't put through just as much scrutiny and are held equally accountable for their scandals. So far that has not been the case. The media seems to be far easier on Quinn and de Blasio than they are on Liu.<br /><br />However, to me that is a weak argument. I have never believed that "well everyone does it" is an adequate excuse. If John Liu seems guilty of these accusations, even though I believe Quinn and de Blasio are far, far more corrupt, I would probably switch my support to Scott Stringer of no one better comes up. But I also have, on a very gut level, a sense that John Liu is largely innocent of the accusations made against him. Maybe his brilliance and his effectiveness as Comptroller are influencing my opinion, but I and people I know have worked side by side with his campaign and observed his campaign in action, and I want to emphasize that of ALL the campaigns we have worked with, John Liu's was by far the most careful and most transparent about money.<br /><br />I have donated to many campaigns and worked with many campaigns. John Liu's is the only one that seemed to check each signature, scrutinize every donation, and send back money if there was ANY question about the donation. I have personally seen this and I know others who had the exact same experience. We experienced this during is run for Comptroller and we have experienced it again during his run for mayor. People commented on his campaign's care and transparency LONG before the accusations started. I have never seen a campaign that was so careful about donations. I also found it telling that John Liu avoided the WFP scandal where WFP violated campaign finance laws and many candidates (including Bill de Blasio) had to scramble to correct the WFP-generated violations in order to avoid scandal. John Liu did not participate in the shady dealings of WFP. Now WFP denies wrongdoing, but the truth is the only reason no one was indicted was the judge allowed them to correct the violations to avoid indictment. But those violations were real, were massive, and were widespread. And WFP and the accused candidates never owned up to them but rather hid behind denial and excuses. John Liu did not participate in those violations despite being endorsed by WFP. I always wondered if this was good sense and care regarding campaign finance laws on his part.<br /><br />I have also found his campaign and John Liu himself very open and transparent about these accusations. Most politicians I talk to who face a scandal avoid talking about it and get angry and evasive when scandals are brought up. John Liu and his campaign have discussed it with me in a very open way unlike any other politician I have known. Not making excuses and not trying trying to deflect the discussion. I once made the statement that I thought if Bill de Blasio had done the same thing the press would have given him a pass...the people on his campaign I was talking to didn't even take that easy way out. They said they didn't agree with me and have always welcomed a fair investigation. Even when I handed them an easy excuse (and I still think I am right...de Blasio and Quinn get a pass from the media for their scandals when Liu does not) they refused to take it.<br /><br />This personal experience and the experiences of many I know who are very sensitive to any whiff of corruption do not fit with the accusations being made. This, more than anything, is the reason why I have a gut level feeling that the accusations against John Liu are false or exaggerated, are politically motivated, and standards are being applied unfairly given the very dubious and far less transparent campaigns of Christine Quinn and Bill de Blasio.<br /><br />I do think Oliver Pan may have violated campaign finance laws, though I have never worked with him as far as I am aware and can only say that the accusations seem plausible to me in a way that the accusations against John Liu do not. I feel like people like Oliver Pan skirt gray areas of finance laws and should never have become a common part of political fundraising. But they HAVE become a common part of political fundraising. We need better campaign finance laws. But that in itself is not John Liu's fault. Quinn and de Blasio use bundlers as well and I am willing to bet those bundlers use similar practices as Oliver Pan. Quinn's campaign has CERTAINLY had the exact same kind of scandal (bunlder Norman Hsu) but funny how THAT has not generated the same media attention as Liu's association with Oliver Pan.<br /><br />Bottom line is, I would welcome careful investigations into the campaign finances of Christine Quinn, Bill de Blasio, AND John Liu. Fair and unbiased investigations into any questionable practices are good things. But based on my experience and my conversations with John Liu and with his campaign, I have found them to be among the most honest and transparent campaigns I have found in politics. If HIS campaign is brought down by scandal despite what seems to be unusual care and transparency, then God help us all because I still think John Liu is at the more honest end of NYC politics. Maybe that is even more damning with faint praise than I realized, but I still think it is true.<br /><br /><a href="http://moleprogressive.blogspot.com/">RETURN TO MOLE'S PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRAT</a><br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">RETURN TO I HAD A THOUGHT</a>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-73540489420924142822012-06-02T09:53:00.002-07:002012-06-02T09:53:49.330-07:00Marriage Equality and the Sanctity of Marriage<br />
My wife and I applaud Barack Obama and Joe Biden finally embracing the righteousness of marriage equality. At LAST! It has taken way too long for marriage equality to be supported by the leaders of the FREE world. We are ALL more free now that they have done so.<br />
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My wife grew up in New York. I grew up in California. When we decided to get married (as a hetero couple, if that wasn't obvious) we had to agree on where to get married. Ultimately I convinced her (due to the venue I could offer for free) to get married in California. It was an amazing wedding. But we settled in New York. We visit my family in California about once a year. Ironically, my family in California has spent more time with our kids during our brief visits out West than our East Coast relatives have spent with them despite the fact they could see them any day they want.<br />
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During the brief period when marriage equality was legally accepted in California, my wife and I agreed we regretted we were already married because we were about to visit my family in California and we wished we could get married AGAIN, together with the same-sex couples who for that brief period in California had the FREEDOM to get married. We felt that their right to get married made our own existing heterosexual marriage THAT MUCH MORE SPECIAL.<br />
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Some people claim marriage equality is an attack on "traditional" marriage. HOW???? There is NO WAY that allowing same-sex couples to marry in ANY way threatens my marriage with my wife. If ANYTHING we feel prouder of our own marriage when we hear about instances when same-sex couples can marry. Anyone who thinks marriage equality is a threat to their marriage needs to wonder why they are so insecure about their own marriage!! My wife and I are a heterosexual couple married for many years who feels no threat whatsoever from seeing same-sex couples marrying.<br />
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When California reneged on its promise of freedom for LGBT and (in my mind un-Constitutionally) tried specifically banning same-sex marriage, I was embarrassed at the state I grew up in compared with New York, the state I have adopted and been adopted by which went the other way and accepted marriage equality. This all makes me feel more of a New Yorker than a Californian these days. One state made a clear step FORWARDS towards greater FREEDOM, and the other took a major step BACKWARDS towards greater intolerance. I prefer freedom to intolerance ANY day of the week.<br />
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When New York FINALLY accepted marriage equality (thanks to the down fall of some very corrupt and violent folks who felt that things like beating women was somehow better than gays marrying) my wife and I were proud and had tears of joy in our eyes when LGBT couples we knew could FINALLY share the joy we shared in marriage. Again, our own marriage was strengthened by the legal recognition of their right to marry.<br />
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Now our President and VP are catching up with New York State and are accepting marriage equality. THAT is about as historic as the very election of Barack Obama, our first black President. It is just as much a step forward for America as the electoral count that gave Obama the Presidency.<br />
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And, just like I was DAMNED proud to be voting for our first black President, I am DAMNED proud that the President I voted for just came out accepting of marriage equality. Will it help or hurt is re-election???? I don't know. But in the sweep of major historical events, it doesn't matter. Many times in history a LEADER chose to do what is the correct and progressive action rather then simply do what is politically expedient. Sometimes that historical and morally correct action lost them the next election. Sometimes it helped them win the next election. But the historical and morally correct action was still accomplished and would NOT have been accomplished had it not been for the bravery of that leader...Obama is exactly that kind of leader. Whether it benefits him or harms him in his re-election, he has now solidly moved American forward one notch in terms of overall freedom. And for that I thank him.<br />
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For those who want to support true marriage freedom, support the <a href="http://dailykos.com/story/2012/05/10/1090644/-The-Key-Progressive-Candidates-of-2012">solid progressive candidates endorsed by Progressive Majority</a>. They represent our next generation of progressive leaders and we need to nurture them NOW!<br />
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<a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-52670391788120499802012-06-02T09:11:00.003-07:002012-06-02T09:11:22.500-07:00Democrats Routinely Better for the Economy<br />
I have covered this before, but it seems it is always good to review the facts. From the <a href="http://dpc.senate.gov/docs/fs-111-1-139.html">Democratic Policy Committee</a>:<br />
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Since 1929:<br />
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· An investment of $10,000 in the S&P stock market index during only Republican administrations would have yielded a return of just $10,506 (this includes the abysmal 36.7 percent drop in returns over the eight years of the George W. Bush Administration).<br />
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· That same $10,000 invested during Democratic administrations would have grown to $389,320 (this includes the 29.5 percent increase in returns over the [first] 281 days under President Obama’s Administration).<br />
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[New York Times, Opinion, 10/14/08, updated by author Tommy McCall 10/28/09*]<br />
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This is a striking 37-fold difference in performance.<br />
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According to this analysis, annualized returns under Republican presidents through the end of the George W. Bush Administration, who presided over a 4.4 percent annualized drop in returns, were only 0.1 percent. By contrast, Democrats presided over a nine percent annualized gain for investors. </blockquote>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Stocks do better under Democrats.</span><br />
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The fact is that the economy has performed significantly better under Democratic administrations than Republican administrations. Between 1960 and 2008, Democratic presidents presided over stronger economic growth, larger increases in median family income and higher job creation, as well as lower federal spending, federal deficits, and inflation. [Slate, 9/16/08; New York Times, 8/30/08]<br />
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For example, over the past 48 years, Democrats have presided over:<br />
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· Stronger growth in the economy. From 1960 to 2008, real GDP grew faster under Democratic presidents (4.1 percent per year on average) than under Republican presidents (2.7 percent).<br />
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<img alt="" src="http://dpc.senate.gov/docs/fs-111-1-159_files/image002.gif" /><br />
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...<br />
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Better household incomes for all. Between 1948 and 2008, annual incomes grew for all income classes under Democratic Administrations. By contrast, under Republican Administrations, the richest Americans enjoyed a disproportionate share of income growth.<br />
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<img alt="" src="http://dpc.senate.gov/docs/fs-111-1-159_files/image003.gif" /> <br />
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Over this same period, real median income, representing the exact middle of American households, grew more under Democrats (2.2 percent) than under Republicans (0.6 percent). In fact, under President Bush, real median income actually fell $2,197. Looking back as far as we have data (back to President Kennedy), only two other Administrations have had a decline in real median household income.<br />
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· Largest decreases in poverty. Since the census began tracking the poverty rate in 1959, Democratic presidents have often produced the largest drops in poverty rates, while Republicans have seen the largest increases. As an example, during the eight years of William Jefferson Clinton Administration, the poverty rate decreased by 21.17 percent and the number of Americans living in poverty decreased by 19.57 percent. Unfortunately, those gains more than reversed in the George W. Bush Administration, when the poverty rate increased by 12.82 percent and the number of Americans living in poverty increased by 21.04 percent. More than numbers and percentages, these figures reflect that, while more than 7.6 million Americans rose out of poverty during the Clinton years, nearly 7 million fell into poverty during the Bush years.</blockquote>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Economic Growth is BETTER and more EQUITABLE under Democrats</span><br />
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<blockquote>
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Lower unemployment and more robust job growth. The unemployment rate has been lower under Democratic presidents (5.3 percent on average) than under Republicans (6.2 percent). <br />
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Moreover, in the eighty years between the start of the Hoover Administration and the end of the George W. Bush Administration, job growth was higher under all six Democratic Presidents than under any of the seven Republican Presidents. <br />
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<img alt="" src="http://dpc.senate.gov/docs/fs-111-1-159_files/image004.gif" /><br />
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The statistical probability of that happening through random chance is more than 1,700 to 1. </blockquote>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Democrats Create More Jobs</span><br />
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And let me add (not from the same source): Even in terms of fiscal responsibility, that thing Republicans like to harp on, it is really a Democratic value as proven by the numbers:<br />
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<img alt="" src="http://brual.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/national-debt-gdphalfsize.gif?w=517&h=317" /><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Republicans do FAR more deficit spending that Democrats.</span><br />
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The numbers don't lie. It is very clear that Democrats are better for ALL aspects of the economy.<br />
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<a href="http://moleprogressive.blogspot.com/">BACK TO PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRAT NEWSLETTER MAIN PAGE</a><br />
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<a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a><br />mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-712218516314484432012-06-02T09:10:00.001-07:002012-06-02T09:10:18.345-07:00History in the Making: The Nation of Malawi Goes Progressive<iframe border="0" frameborder="0" height="60" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=moleshomepage&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0GDEZK2MM2XGCEH7M202&f=ifr" style="border: medium none;" width="468"></iframe><br />
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A funny thing happened in Malawi. And it happened more by happenstance than by any plan.<br />
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You see a woman was elected Vice President of Malawi (putting them ahead of America where only men have been VP). I am sure people figured that woman would never get beyond VP because across the world, throughout history VP is kind of a useless position. In fact on my apartment building's co-op board I SOUGHT being VP because it was the least onerous office. I wound up with treasurer! Go figure.<br />
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So Joyce Banda, a woman, was elected VP of Malawi. Then came the death of 78-year-old President Bingu wa Mutharika...and suddenly Malawi, by accident, became the second nation in Africa to have a woman lead the country...the first being Liberia, but THAT is another story...one that can be found here:<br />
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Again let me be clear that Liberia and Malawi are ahead of America here in terms of having a woman lead their nation. We have only had men.<br />
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Today Joyce Banda, the second woman to lead an African nation, took a HUGE step and I a afraid many people missed it. The second woman to lead an African nation has just come out in support of legalizing homosexuality, something that VERY few African leaders have been willing to do. Joyce Banda deserves our support...and NEEDS our support.<br />
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Most of Africa considers homosexuality a crime. Some nations even are trying to institute the death penalty for homosexuality. In Uganda, as covered by Current TV, the push for the death penalty for homosexuality probably originated in the United States: (sorry, it starts with an ad)<br />
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But death penalty aside, there are few nations in Africa where homosexuality is legal. In Egypt, Morocco, Ethiopia, Tanzania and several others, all homosexual acts are illegal. In some other nations like Kenya and Zimbabwe male homosexual acts are illegal but female homosexual acts are legal. Even where homosexuality is technically legal, equality is far from a reality. South Africa is about the only African nation where homosexuals are given pretty much equal rights, beating America on many levels.<br />
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Malawi is one of the nations where male homosexual acts are illegal while female homosexual acts are legal. And there is no real equality.<br />
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Today Malawi President Joyce Banda has announced that she supports legalizing homosexuality in Malawi. This is, of course, just one step forward when it comes to a barbaric policy, but for the second women leader in Africa to take this step is a HUGE deal. I actually hope Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia (where homosexuality remains illegal) takes notice and follows suit.<br />
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From BBC News:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
President Joyce Banda has said she wants Malawi to overturn its ban on homosexual acts - the first African country to do so since 1994.<br />
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Two Malawian men were sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2010 after saying they were getting married...<br />
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Mrs Banda took power last month after her predecessor, Bingu wa Mutharika, died of a heart attack.<br />
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She has since reversed several of his policies, including devaluing the currency, in a bid to get donor funding restored...<br />
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In her first state of the nation address to parliament, Mrs Banda said: "Some laws which were duly passed by the august house... will be repealed as a matter of urgency... these include the provisions regarding indecent practices and unnatural acts."<br />
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The BBC's Raphael Tenthani in the main city, Blantyre, says the president has the support of a majority of MPs and so should be able to get parliament to overturn the law.<br />
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However, he says it will be an unpopular move with many church leaders, as well as the wider population in this conservative country...</blockquote>
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This is a brave move by an African leader whose hold on power may be tenuous. She deserves our support.<br />
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In honor of Joyce Banda and her move to legalize LGBT people in Malawi, I have donated to the <a href="http://www.boostmalawi.org.uk/index.asp">Boost Malawi Fund</a> (UK based) and the <a href="http://www.raisingmalawi.org/">Raising Malawi Fund</a> (US based). I ask you to give a small amount to one or both of these funds to help support a brave woman who is standing up for the LGBT community in Africa.<br />
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<a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/2011/07/history.html">Return to Mole's History Page.</a><br />
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<a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-35713259674992901692012-02-09T18:00:00.000-08:002012-02-09T19:14:34.631-08:00The Evolution of my Son's Musical TastesHighlights of my son's musical tastes over the years (Pokemon songs NOT included!)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Kodo Drummers of Japan "Iromori" and "Lion": (< 1-2 years old) </span><br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sSi7PyJMj3A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HVCziwV4Rps" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br />Okay...now one of his VERY first songs to actually sing (he couldn't do the words yet, but he got the tune) was...well, this: (< 1-2 years old)<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JKDtUzRIG6I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5 6 7 8's "Woo Hoo": </span> (< 1-2 years old) He was VERY into this every time a Vonage commercial came on, and ultimately got us interested in Vonage (which we finally switched to recently after MetTel screwed us three months in a row).<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7DJv0rx5g-c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Afia Mala (Royal Princess of Togo) singing Segne:</span> (2-3 years old)<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fs_ZWEiWCe4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bob Marley "Three Little Birds":</span> (3-4 years old)<br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kIjkW6iyXNo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Woodie Guthrie This Land is Your Land:</span> (3-5 years old)<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wxiMrvDbq3s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">"L'cha Dodi" sung by the Abayudaya, Jews of Uganda:</span><br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uKFGk2XNWME" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tom Lehrer The Elements:</span> (4-6 years old)<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DYW50F42ss8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />And my son singing the same song at the age of 5: (yes with some air guitar as well)<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xiB9mS1GrWY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Clash Lost in the Supermarket:</span> (4-5 years old) (sorry this one has an ad before the music)<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/adwgph7EVWQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here" and "Welcome to the Machine":</span> (4-5 years old)<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cN-72wAlw8U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/L5jRewnxSBY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Gogol Bordello "Immigraniada":</span> (6 years old)<br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BtLjyRq2waY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Matisyahu "Youth":</span> (6-7 years old)<br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/12qtTuvWQSI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">"Ode to Joy" by Beethoven</span>...okay this isn't the version he knows but I couldn't resist (he does like the song, though!)<br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xpcUxwpOQ_A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br />And his sister got him briefly into Bohemian Rhapsody...and I think THIS should be the canonical version:<br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sz9MXziI1U4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br />And, most strangely perhaps, his most recent favorite: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Mike Curb Congregation "Burning Bridges"</span> (which happens to come from one of my old favorite movie classics): (7 years old)<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WBr2Xh599ZI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br />I am amazed at the variety of what catches his attention and we seldom (with a few exceptions like the Elements Song, which came after he was already obsessed with Chemistry) can predict what he will latch on to.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/p/music.html">Return to my Music Page</a><br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-61156679504330667292012-02-01T19:52:00.000-08:002012-02-01T19:53:06.151-08:00Revisting: Preventing and Dealing With Bed Bugs<a href="http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-5403436-10813943" target="_top"><br /><img src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-5403436-10813943" width="125" height="125" alt="Best bed bug mattress cover for bedbug infestation" border="0"/></a><br /><br />The plague of bed bugs continues to spread in America, even though it is not THAT hard to prevent spread of these pests. But no one seems to be paying attention to the ways that bed bugs can be kept at bay. Every day I am seeing more and more mattresses, entire beds, and other furniture thrown away because of bed bugs. But people CAN limit their risk if they put their minds to it. With information you can save time, money and stress. But very few people are doing it.<br /><br />All of America is at risk of bed bug infestations. Many very fancy hotels are already infested. Many homes are infested. But your risk can be reduced and there are many things you can do to limit your chances of getting these pests.<br /><br />In 2006 I <a href="http://www.dailygotham.com/blog/mole333/bed_bugs_0">wrote an article</a> about a relatively new but spreading problem: bed bugs. Since I wrote that article the problem has gotten bad enough that it has sparked a whole industry of detection and extermination of bed bugs and has led to hundreds of articles all over the mainstream media reporting on this growing problem. But this has led to misunderstandings and some shady businesses as well. This article is designed to help you avoid bedbugs if possible, and get rid of them if you do get them. The problems continues to get worse. Every week I see sveral mattresses and couches wrapped in plastic laid out (<span style="font-weight:bold;">unnecessarily!</span>) on the street to be discarded, probably due to a bed bug scare or infestation. The last few weeks alone I saw some 20 mattresses as well as considerable amount of bedding and a couple of couches all tightly wrapped up and being needlessly thrown out. I assume most of these are due to bed bugs.<br /><br />In 2010 the building I live in had a bed bug scare. It seemed at first as if several apartments were affected with possibly two separate initial infections (at opposite ends of the building). Turns out that probably only one apartment ever had them, but had the building's managing board not acted rapidly it would have spread. As it was the managing board spent tens of thousands of dollars to pinpoint possibly affected apartments and proactively treat them. During that time we became quite informed about the pests. More recently we had another scare. That turned out to be nothing. But it reinforced our knowledge of the issue. More recently an alert shareholder saw a single bed bug in their apartment. They caught it and put it in a bag so it could be identified. So far it seems like that is the only bed bug to make it in, but the building is spending hundreds of dollars to make sure.<br /><br />The bad news is the problem continues to spread and a lot of what is being done about it is actually the wrong approach. For example, throwing away your mattress if it has bed bugs is unnecessary and it helps spread the problem because you have just put the bed bugs out on the street where they can get on people's shoes (including your own to re-infest your own home). The good news is there are some very simple things you can do that will prevent them from coming into your living space. Three relatively simple and inexpensive methods greatly reduce your chances of getting them: mattress covers, diatomaceous earth, and rubbing alcohol.<br /><br />First, the problem...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/vector/vector-faq1.shtml">From the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene website:</a><br /><br /><blockquote> Bed bugs are small insects that feed on the blood of mammals and birds. Adult bed bugs are oval, wingless and rusty red colored, and have flat bodies, antennae and small eyes. They are visible to the naked eye, but often hide in cracks and crevices. When bed bugs feed, their bodies swell and become a brighter red. In homes, bed bugs feed primarily on the blood of humans, usually at night when people are sleeping...<br /><br /> Typically, the bite is painless and rarely awakens a sleeping person. However, it can produce large, itchy welts on the skin. Welts from bed bug bites do not have a red spot in the center--those welts are more characteristic of flea bites...<br /><br /> Although bed bugs may be a nuisance to people, they are not known to spread disease.</blockquote><br /><br />That is also good news. Bed bugs are not disease vectors like mosquitoes. They are just irritating in the extreme...and they can really infest an apartment if not properly addressed. But no one gets sick or dies from bed bugs.<br /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=192890&u=531686&m=24102&urllink=&afftrack="><img src="http://www.shareasale.com/image/468x60-244.gif" alt="click Here to View Our Selection of Bed Bug Products" border="0"></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">WHY NOW?</span><br /><br />The problem first became wide spread in NYC in 2005...after a lull of about 60 years where there were few or no reportings of bed bugs in NYC, one of the current epicenters. Since then the epidemic has taken off. Now I have heard from one professional that one out of every eleven apartment units in NYC has bed bugs. Let me emphasize that I was sounding the alarm early on this one!<br /><br />Why the sudden epidemic? There are several possible reasons. Some have tried to blame it on immigrants. That is almost certainly not true since here in NYC we have a pretty constant influx of immigrants and the influx of bed bugs has never correlated with influx of immigrants. If this was going to be a major source of spread, there would not have been a 60 year lull. NYC has always been a major immigrant hub (I know my ancestors came through here) but the upswing in bed bugs seems to have only started around 2005 for NYC. But elsewhere in the country the upswing started more like 2000, according to a an article from <a href="http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1136937,00.html">Time Magazine</a> back when I first looked into this. Blaming immigrants is just plain unfounded.<br /><br />One aspect of the sudden rise of the bed bugs is simple evolution. I have often reported on how the <a href="http://healthymole.blogspot.com/2011/08/your-health-antibiotic-resistant.html">misuse and overuse of antibiotics, particularly in animal feed, has led to a huge emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria</a>. This has been a huge problem and is one reason why I now only buy meat and chicken raised without antibiotics. Well the same thing happens with insects. Overuse and misuse of pesticides in America and abroad has led to bed bugs that are resistant to most pesticides. For the record, same goes with lice. Those horribly toxic shampoos used for lice are mostly useless by now because the lice have evolved resistance against them. The proper use of a lice comb and careful removal of eggs is the only truly effective way to remove lice. And many treatments for bed bugs are ineffective for the same reason. In fact, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16010179">many scientists believe that over use of insecticides is exactly why we are having our current influx of bed bugs</a>.<br /><br />Another aspect that I suspect may be going on is global warming. Simple fact is that most insects prefer warmer temperatures. I want to emphasize that this is speculation. The evolution of pesticide resistance is not speculative but pretty much established fact. But global warming HAS been shown to be the cause for the spread of many pests, and it almost certainly will eventually be shown to play a role for many more. So I am betting that rising temperatures have helped the bed bug infestation spread.<br /><br />So what can you do? I'm going to work backwards, from treatment to detection to prevention. Why? Because if I give you an idea about how awful the treatment and expensive and potentially inaccurate the detection, prevention will sound much better to you. And honestly the more we all work to keep these things under control the more likely it will be we can limit them. Remember that if your neighbors get them, you will probably get them too if you aren't actively trying to prevent them (diatomaceous earth is the best way to prevent spread from a neighbor!).<br /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=250096&u=531686&m=24102&urllink=&afftrack="><img src="http://www.shareasale.com/image/24102/468x60.gif" alt="click here to learn more" border="0"></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">TREATMENT</span><br /><br />There seem to be three main treatments. All three are horrible to go through and hugely expensive. They are basically heating, freezing, and poisoning. I guess there is a fourth which you can use for any items that can't stand up to the other treatments: bag everything for 2 years. That is about how long it takes to kill bed bugs by starvation. I did notice that the more convinced exterminators were that we didn't actually have them, the more they backed off that number. Eventually they seemed to settle on 6 months. But there has been research that showed even after a year sealed in a bag with no food or water, the researchers could still find bed bugs not just living, but actually reproducing! They are tough SOBs. So sealing them off requires two years to be absolutely sure. One exterminator suggested adding moth balls to the bag you put things in can help speed up the process, but I have not confirmed that. Probably 6 months with mothballs in the bag is good enough, but not as certain as 2 years.<br /><br />Also, I notice many homes in NYC with mattresses thrown out. I suspect this sudden increase in mattresses being thrown out is due to bed bugs. But there is no need to throw out a mattress because mattress covers will seal them in, away from you, until they die. Mattress covers are necessary anyway (see below) so just put them on and keep the mattress. It saves money and keeps them from spreading to other parts of the neighborhood. Mattress covers are cheaper than a new mattress!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bedshield.com/products.php?PARTNER=#####"><img src="http://www.bedshield.com/images/banner4.gif" border="0"></a> <br /><br />Treatment usually involves bagging almost everything you own for months to years, punching 1 inch diameter holes in many of your walls, then either getting poison all over everything, including inside your walls (and it takes WEEKS to fully clean up), or raising the temperature in the whole apartment above what bed bugs can tolerate, or lowering the temperature in the whole apartment to below what they can tolerate. Only bathrooms and kitchens are largely left untouched (as long as you seal them off so the poison doesn't get in them). All of these treatments are horribly inconvenient, expensive and disruptive. Best to avoid them if you can by preventing bed bugs altogether!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">DETECTION</span><br /><br />Detection has issues as well. Usually what is first obvious is the itching from the bites. Then people will notice the bugs' very dark droppings (basically like dried up flakes of blood...yeah...your blood if you've got itching bites). By the time you are noticing them, it is likely that you have a pretty bad infestation. People won't always see them because they mostly come out at night, but a really bad infestation they will be everywhere, day and night. The earlier you catch the problem the easier it is to deal with.<br /><br />There are two expert methods of identifying them: trained people and trained dogs. The dogs have been getting a lot of press these days, and they CAN be very effective. The dog's nose is an amazing thing, and they really can be trained to sniff out anything and tell you about it. There are bomb sniffing dogs, drug sniffing dogs, and now bed bug sniffing dogs. The flaws are that they are extremely expensive and, though potentially extremely accurate, they are in practice sometimes very inaccurate. Dogs basically want food and attention. They don't care about accuracy...they just want to be rewarded, so they are easily distracted. We are pretty sure that our building had many false alarms because of a dog whose handler was less than professional. I am not saying it is a scam (though that can happen if the same company offers detection and treatment!) or the dog was poorly trained. It just has a built in inaccuracy which has to be kept in mind. The dogs are VERY accurate IF AND ONLY IF they are properly trained and handled and not distracted.<br /><br />When my building had a second scare I had the chance to better understand a good vs. bad use of a bed bug sniffing dog. I bet most of these dogs are almost as well trained as bomb or drug sniffing dogs, so have a lot of potential. But the handlers also have to be properly trained. The first time I personally witnessed a bed bug sniffing dog and handler team doing its thing I felt both dog and handler were performing for an audience and I felt they were giving false positive readings because of it. It seemed very unprofessional. Was the handler inexperienced? Or simply unprofessional? Or was it an outright scam to drum up business for his company? I don't know.<br /><br />The second year we had an issue a different dog and different handler came (though from the same company). This time they seemed MUCH more professional and the handler limited the number of people around the dog to limit distractions. He did not detect bed bugs in our building. The difference was very clear between a handler who was showing off and one who was doing his job.<br /><br />Bottom line is this: the dogs are potentially really accurate, but the handlers are variable, even from the same company. My advice is a.) get an inspection from a different company than you will hire to deal with any infestation and make that clear from the start. Otherwise the company you hire to detect a problem will be the same company that handles the problem, creating a conflict of interest. And b.) watch the dog and handler...if they seem to be playing to an audience there is a problem. If they seem to be open to one person observing but focused on keeping the dog from being distracted, then they are more trustworthy. Beware of show offs, whether dog or handler.<br /><br />What about human detection? People will miss the very beginning of an infestation that a dog could catch, but they do the inspection in a smarter manner and so can be more accurate overall once an infestation has gotten going beyond the first stages. Dogs are potentially more accurate but sometimes people do the inspection in a smarter way. So it's a toss up which to hire.<br /><br />But the bottom line is if either a dog or a person with training in detection tells you you have them, it is really hard not to say yes to the treatment because far, far better safe than sorry. The earlier you catch it the easier it is to stop, so if you want to wait and see if the dog or person is right, you may find yourself with an out of control infestation which will be even harder and more expensive to deal with.<br /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=280955&u=531686&m=24102&urllink=&afftrack="><img src="http://www.shareasale.com/image/24102/468x602.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">PREVENTION</span><br /><br />Oh, and is now a good time to mention bed bugs are ALL OVER THE CITY? One out of every 11 apartment units in NYC. Hotels. In the UN building. In places of work. In movie theaters. The good news is that they don't really move around so much except at night, so they aren't jumping from person to person much. Though the darkness in movie theaters is a concern...when you come back from a movie, be particularly careful about your shoes, coat and pants cuffs. Treatment with rubbing alcohol (mentioned below) will help.<br /><br />The main vector is bringing into your apartment items that have already got them living inside them...furniture, books, etc. But one exterminator I talked to believed people's shoes are a major vector. So they aren't spread so much directly from one person to another (like lice) but by bringing infested things into your building.<br /><br />So what can you do to prevent them from coming into your living space?<br /><br />First be really, really careful scrounging anything, particularly furniture. Now I have scrounged a lot of stuff in my time...still do from time to time, but now I am highly careful. If a book has bed bugs, it is pretty easy to detect...if you look. You will see the black specs that are their droppings. Furniture can be harder, but there are treatments if you really want to bring a scrounged piece of furniture into your apartment. Heating (if you can), rubbing alcohol, or diatomaceaous earth (see below). But my wife figures the safest is to not scrounge at all.<br /><br /><a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=jUiiRl5U*AQ&offerid=179320.10000049&subid=0&type=4"><IMG border="0" alt="Bed Bug Kit Banner" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=jUiiRl5U*AQ&bids=179320.10000049&subid=0&type=4&gridnum=1"></a><br /><br />Mattresses and pillows can be sealed up. This costs some money, but if you get good mattress and pillow covers, even if you have an infested mattress or bed you can just leave it in the cover and they will eventually die and you keep the bed from being their favorite habitat. These covers are the most recommended action you can take. When exterminators heard we already had them, they were 90% sure we couldn't have a problem. So covering your mattresses and pillows with high end versions of these covers will really protect you. This is a cost you probably don't want to skimp on. And a good cover shouldn't be uncomfortable. It also keeps you from having major dust mite problems, something almost all beds have and can make allergies worse. So the mattress and pillow covers are good all around, reducing chances of bed bug problems and reducing allergies.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bedshield.com/products.php?PARTNER=#####"><img src="http://www.bedshield.com/images/banner4.gif" border="0"></a> <br /><br />But shoes are an issue as well. One exterminator said you should always take your shoes off when you come in and if possible place them in a container with diatomaceous earth (again...see below). He believes that (scrounging an infested bed aside) this would prevent almost all spread of bed bugs. Not sure if that is true, but it certainly would help. Another exterminator I and others talked to suggested buying 90% or higher rubbing alcohol (a higher percent than the usual stuff you get, which is 70%) and putting some in a spray bottle in your entryway. Spraying your shoes every time you enter your home (particularly after being in a movie theater), your luggage when traveling (inside and out, before and after traveling), and any furniture you bring in can greatly limit the chances of bringing bed bugs into your home.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=moleshomepage&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B001B5JT8C&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><br />Now we come to some amazing stuff that I was dubious about but have seen in action. <a href="http://healthymole.blogspot.com/2011/08/pest-control-advice-diatomaceous-earth.html">Diatomaceous earth</a> is one of the best treatments to protect your home from ANY crawling bug, from ant to cockroach to bed bug, from entering. Diatoms are tiny animals that live in the ocean and create a silica shell. These shells are beautiful (if you have a microscope to look at them with), elaborate, and very sharp. These animals die, fall to the bottom of the sea, and form thick beds of diatom skeletons. When plate tectonics (earthquakes and continental drift) brings these deposits up above sea level, they can be mined. These deposits of tiny silica skeletons of long dead diatoms are called diatomaceous earth. It is a white powder of very tiny sharp skeletons. To us the sharpness, at worst, will irritate our skin a bit. It can't really harm us (in fact some people eat the stuff to cure or prevent intestinal parasites, but I am not sure this is okay!). But to something small like an insect, it is like the death of a thousand cuts. The coating around an insect that helps keep in moisture gets pierced and they dry out and die.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=moleshomepage&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00127Q860&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><br />You can get diatomaceous earth online or in a hardware store. It isn't that expensive. If you even get so-called "food grade" diatomaceous earth it can be used in a kitchen because it is considered so harmless.<br /><br />We got diatomaceous earth and I basically spread it around the entire perimeter of every room in our apartment, making sure to get it into every crevice. The problem is this stuff gets everywhere. I found it irritating to my lungs at first, but once most of it settled and we vacuumed up anything not around the edges of a room (this is also good for making sure your vacuum isn't infested!) that went away. Next time I use it so liberally I will wear a face mask. For months after I spread the stuff around, the diatomaceous earth was still visible in the crevices and corners around many of the rooms but isn't a problem in any way.<br /><br />And the effectiveness? Within one day of spreading it around every single crawling insect, including ants, confused flour beetles, and cockroaches, just disappeared from our apartment. And they didn't come back for about a year. We live in a basement apartment, so we get insects every year and always have a kind of on going war with them. Nothing major, but we have to be vigilant. But after spreading diatomaceous earth, all crawling insects disappeared for a full year.<br /><br />This year we started seeing some ants again and I spread diatomaceous earth next to the sliding glass door and our basement windows. And again all crawling insects just disappeared. I still see plenty of ants outside, but none have come inside. And no cockroaches for a more than year now! In NYC...almost unheard of. The stuff works.<br /><br />So if most of NYC put their mattresses and pillows into bed bug covers, took off their shoes and put them in containers of diatomaceous earth or sprayed them with 90% or higher rubbing alcohol when they got home, and spread diatomaceous earth around the edges of their apartment walls, I am betting they would find many pests would be greatly reduced from their apartments. Bed bugs, ants and flour beetles are hard to get rid of. Diatomaceous earth does it. And it isn't the kind of thing that is easy to evolve a resistance to so it won't lose its effectiveness over the years.<br /><br />So there you go. Together we can all fight bed bugs. Hope this helps!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/p/health-and-wellness.html">Return to the Health and Wellness Blog</a><br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-85097380322072156052012-01-25T20:26:00.000-08:002012-01-25T20:35:08.632-08:00Booze and Biofuels Meet: Making Whiskey and Fuel Side by Side<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=jUiiRl5U*AQ&offerid=208108.10001708&subid=0&type=4"><img border="0" alt="Gaiam logo_145X80" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=jUiiRl5U*AQ&bids=208108.10001708&subid=0&type=4&gridnum=0" /></a><br /><br />Now this is the kind of entrepreneural spirit of innovation that I wish we had more of in America. But it falls to Scotland to start the process. A Scottish company is setting up to use the waste products from the whiskey industry to make a biofuel that can be used in existing car engines with a far smaller carbon footprint than using petroleum based gasoline. Good for the environment, good for energy independence, good for the economy, and it creates jobs as well (see, THAT'S how it's done!). From <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-16701335">BBC News</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>A new company has been formed to commercialise a process for producing biofuel made from whisky by-products.<br /><br />Edinburgh Napier University's Celtic Renewables Ltd will initially focus on Scotland's £4bn malt whisky industry to develop biobutanol and other chemicals.<br /><br />The company said biobutanol could be used as a direct substitute for fossil-derived fuel...<br /><br />Celtic Renewables is now working with Scottish Enterprise to produce the biofuel from sustainable resources on an industrial scale.<br /><br />Its fermentation process uses the two main by-products of whisky production - 'pot ale', which is the residue left in copper stills, and 'draff', the spent grains...<br /><br />Research has suggested biobutanol provides 25% more power output than the traditional bioethanol.</blockquote><!--break--><br /><br />Hear that? Why aren't we doing this in America? You don't even have to have specially modified engines to use the stuff. It can directly substitute for the stuff OPEC and their Republican allies have addicted us to. The article does include a small dig at the rest of the world:<br /><br /><blockquote>Mr Ewing said: "Turning our whisky industry's by-products into raw materials for sustainable biofuels which can be used to power ordinary family cars is an example of the sort of innovative thinking Scotland excels in."</blockquote><br /><br />Yep...I really think America, led by the anti-education, anti-science, anti-small business Republicans, has lost the innovative spirit it had through most oft he 20th century. Republicans just want us to keep on being addicted to oil and want most of the profit to go into the pockets of the 1%. And they are willing to cut education and science to do it.<br /><br />But maybe Jack Daniels wants to sign up to be next in line. They can help the planet and create local jobs in Tennessee. I'd certainly drink to that!<br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/2011/08/consumer-advice-page.html">Return to Mole's Consumer Advice Page.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-51768099193800104532012-01-22T06:07:00.001-08:002012-01-22T06:07:14.828-08:00The Lesson South Carolina Taught UsNewt "traditional values, nudge nudge, wink wink" Gingrich's success in the South Carolina Republican Primary taught us that Southern Republicans hate traditional marriage. I expect them to finally endorse same sex marriage very soon.<br /><br />Either that or this whole Republican lip service to "traditional values" is nothing but a load of hypocritical bullshit. Then again their claims of "fiscal responsibility" are about as credible as Newt's support for "traditional values."<br /><br />Why would ANYONE trust a Republican anymore?mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-89385326367725495302012-01-18T14:34:00.001-08:002012-01-18T14:34:32.113-08:00THE Key NY Race of 2012: Lew Fidler for State SenateLew Fidler has finally officially announced his bid for the March 20 special election to replace the corrupt Carl Kruger. And let this be my official endorsement of Fidler and my call for my fellow reform and progressive Democrats to give him a hand.<br /><br />Current City Councilmemer and candidate for State Senate Lew Fidler has intrigued me for some time. He and I are often on the opposite side of some of the divides in the Brooklyn Democratic Party, but his ability at times to bridge those divides and at times be a better spokesperson for the reform side than I am has impressed me. At two County Committee meetings in a row he was one of the strongest reform voices and the one most critical of the machine despite his machine ties. Of course it put at risk his machine ties, but he had no fear of that risk and preferred standing on principle rather than take the easy route. Not sure he ALWAYS does that, but it is clear that he has little fear and does not care too much about the easy route.<br /><br />And the key thing for me was that he stood up to the machine, right in its face, several times and though this pissed off party boss Vito Lopez, Lew is too strong and too much of a fighter for Vito Lopez to take on. And I think that really is key: Lew Fidler doesn’t fear Vito Lopez and, if Vito fears anything after all he has been through, he may feel just a twinge of it when faced with Lew. I see Fidler as the only person who just might be able to bring Vito down (it would be a tough fight!) and Vito knows it, too. If nothing else, Lew has made clear to Vito’s face that Lew can and will stand up to a challenge from Vito. That is someone I want around. <br /><br />Here, thanks to my friend Raul Rothblatt, is footage of Lew reaming the machine he is often allied with for going too far:<br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Y1hjzqsKR98" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />And I would love to see Lew Fidler go up against Republicans with that same lack of fear and make them feel the slight twinge that Vito may feel in Lew’s presence these days. Make no mistake, even though Fidler is far from as progressive as I would like and is certainly a moderate, Republicans do NOT want to face him in the State Senate. I’d say between Diane Savino and Lew Fidler speaking their minds with no fear, with intelligence and with no nonsense, Republicans would have many a bad day in the State Senate. Well and good and the best reason to support Lew.<br /><br />But Lew Fidler has also always been open to discussing my criticisms and we have had many good discussions by email. Far more than many politicians he answers my emails and takes the time to discuss important issues. He doesn’t only listen to people who agree with him and THAT is also a quality I like.<br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/23KyuUUjbE0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />I went to Lew Fidler’s official announcement for State Senate to replace the disgraced and disgraceful Carl Kruger, who I think should have been ousted LONG ago. In discussions with Lew long before it was clear he would run once Kruger was out, but it is good to see it official. I could have done without his opening act and some of his supporting cast, but those are people I am rather infamous for opposing sometimes quite vocally to their face. Lew is much better than some of the supporters who showed up at the announcement, and there were a few prominent folks I respect. Again, since Lew and I have often been on opposite sides of the reform-machine divide, it can be expected I may find myself nauseated by some of his creepier supporters (Marty Markowitz, disgraced judge Seddio and Dominic Recchia to name the three hardest to stand near), it is clear to me that they are there on Lew’s terms, not the other way around.<br /><br />And for the record, here are my wife and me going up against disgraced judge Seddio of the Vito Lopez machine at the same meeting that Fidler did his thing in the video above:<br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pt8bMegJmWk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />Yeah...ain't my wife wonderful! AND she is a Karate teacher! So don't mess with me or she'll come after you!<br /><br />Lew Fidler’s opponent is Soviet born Republican David Storobin, who represents some of the worst the Republican Party has to offer. Besides being typical of Republican support of the richest 1% over middle class and working class Americans (hell, name ONE Republican who isn’t??), Storobin seems frighteningly sympathetic to white supremacists, specifically the Afrikaner Independence Movement. My wife wonders why a Russian Brooklynite would wind up so tied to the Afrikaner Independence Movement (and is rather surprised there could even BE something so lame and pathetic as an Afrikaner Independence Movement), and it does suggest that Storobin has gone somewhat out of his way to forge such a link. And many white supremacist groups (e.g. Stormfront) love Storobin, so any qualms I might have of a few of Lew Fidler’s supporters pales massively in comparison to the disgust I feel at many of Storobin’s supporters.<br /><br />Gatemouth has been the main person highlighting the links between Storobin and white supremacists, a sadly all too common link in the modern Republican Party (and that 100 years ago may be have more common among Democrats). See for example:<br /><br />http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/gatemouth_lays_down_the_gauntlet_a_challenge_for_david_storobin.html<br /><br />http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/david_stormfront_storobin_whitewashes_immigrant_bashers.html<br /><br />http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/the_lost_literary_legacy_of_david_storobin.html<br /><br />Many are comparing the special election to replace the disgraced and disgraceful Carl Kruger to the special election to replace the rather foolish Andrew Weiner. And the comparisons are worth looking at partly as a warning (so far unheeded!) to Democrats and to look at the key differences.<br /><br />The race to replace Anthony “step away from the keyboard” Weiner pitted Democrat David "Dry White Toast" Weprin (or should that be Dry Challah toast?) against Teabagger Bob “I never met a Billionaire I didn’t like” Turner. The race was a tough one because the district was trending fairly strongly Republican. Weprin was a weak candidate and fundamentally that is why he lost. But to outline the key reasons why Weprin lost and Weiner is replaced with a Teabagger are:<br /><br />1. Weprin was a weak candidate<br />2. Progressives and reformers did almost nothing to help beat a Teabagger<br />3. The Vito Lopez machine did almost nothing to actually do their job and defeat a Republican<br />4. Religious Jews in the district betrayed Weprin (an Orthodox Jew) because they (ignoring huge volumes of Jewish History) put their own homophobic bigotry before even their own self interest<br />5. Weprin was a weak candidate.<br /><br />Sadly, progressives and reformers in Brooklyn (and I consider myself part of both!) all too often get stuck in their own fantasies of finding the best progressive or reformer and will only too late realize that the consequences of their inaction mean another Teabagger screwing the 99% for the benefit of billionaires. That's what happened in last year's congressional race and I fear it will be a factor this year in the NY SD27 race.<br /><br />Sadly the supposedly "Democratic" (if very <a href="http://dailygotham.com/mole333/blog/vitolopez039sgripslipssomemorewhosethefidlerontheroof">undemocratic</a>) Vito Lopez machine puts its own self interest and desire for power and patronage over defeating Republicans.<br /><br />And also sadly, religious Jews often know more Torah than they do history and forget that when bigotry between minority groups divides those minotity groups, both groups wind up getting screwed. To borrow a phrase my wife often uses about Democrats, the religious Jews allowed themselves to be divided and conquered by the far more bigoted Republicans. I should note the one time I got troll rated to all hell was when I referred to this foolishness by religious Jews in their betrayal of Weprin, and it was largely my fault for various reasons. But the fact remains the religious Jewish community and their bigotries and their gradual shift to the right is something Democrats have been too long ignoring and we LOST A CONGRESSIONAL SEAT LAST YEAR because we were ignoring it.<br /><br />Overcoming any one, let alone all, of these requires a strong candidate. And therein is the massive difference between the race to replace Weiner and the race to replace Kruger.<br /><br />Lew Fidler is far from a weak candidate. Already the machine has shown they are not sitting this one out (despite Fidler's standing up to Vito Lopez to his face), so already Democratic turnout will be higher than for Weprin. Fidler also has been better able to navigate the Byzantine relationships within the highly divided and divisive religious Jewish community in Brooklyn than Weprin was, and so looks to do very well in the main group that defeated Weprin. I wonder if the reform and progressive Democrats will learn from last year's fiasco, but already most of the reasons why Weprin lost are swept aside by Fidler.<br /><br />Storobin’s main source of support (Afrikaner separatists aside) is the Russian community, which is strong. But whereas Weprin seemed either willing to cede territory to his opponent or unable to contest it whether willing or not, Fidler on day one fearlessly heads straight into enemy territory by challenging Storobin for the Russian votes. Fidler doesn’t have to WIN the Russian votes, just make it a lot harder for Storobin to lock it up and Fidler has already succeeded at least part way in doing that.<br /><br />I am by no means saying Fidler WILL win. On paper Fidler has an even tougher time than Weprin. But never underestimate the value of a strong candidate or the disadvantage of a weak candidate. Democrats tend to lose even against overwhelmingly good odds when they field weak candidates. They tend to win even against overwhelmingly bad odds when they field strong candidates. So I think this will be a hard fought race and Fidler is no shoe in, but my money is on Fidler. I supported Weprin (because honestly he would have made a good Congressman) but never thought he had a strong chance. With Fidler I think we have a good shot.<br /><br />And maybe I can look forward to a combined Diane Savino/Lew Fidler assault putting the fear of G_d into State Senate Republicans and maybe some backbone into the Democrats. <br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a><br /><br /><a href="http://moleprogressive.blogspot.com/">BACK TO PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRAT NEWSLETTER MAIN PAGE</a>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-4288720229312284792012-01-11T13:22:00.000-08:002012-01-11T13:24:02.281-08:002011 New York City Council Human Rights Report CardI found this buried in an email Rock Hackshaw sent around. This score card is from the <a href="http://www.hrpujc.org">Human Rights Project</a>. The score card (in PDF form) <a href="http://www.hrpujc.org/documents/2011ReportCardWeb.pdf">can be found here</a>.<br /><br />The scorecard is VERY detailed and I can't do it justice in a short post. They cover homeless issues, race issues, gender issues including LGBT issues, poverty, etc.<br /><br />Among the WORST rated council members is Chirstine Quinn. She gets a miserable 12% rating. Keep in mind this is the person who wants to be Tsarina...er, I mean MAYOR of NYC. She gets zero ratings for workers' rights, criminal/juvenile justice, disabled rights and voting rights and a very low score for housing rights. Is THIS what we want for mayor? Someone who is bad for workers, justice, disabled people, housing and voting rights?<br /><br />In fairness, I want to look into the past records of former city council members who are competing with Quinn for mayor. Both Bill de Blasio and John Liu moved on from the City Council in 2009, both having refused to participate in Bloomberg's Third Term Power Grab the way Lap Dog Quinn did. So de Blasio and Liu BOTH are already better than Quinn on that issue alone to me. But let's compare Quinn, de Blasio and Liu in the 2008 and 2009 score card: (ranking system presented a bit differently each year it seems)<br /><br /><strong>Christine Quinn: a mediocre 45% average score in 2008 and got a "C" for 2009.<br /><br />Bill de Blasio: a mediocre 58% average score in 2008 (ranked 11th highest scoring council member) and a 2009 rating of "B" (8th highest scoring council member so made the top 10 list that year).<br /><br />John Liu: an 61% score in 2008 (8th highest scoring council member so on the top ten list) and a 2009 rating of "A" (4th highest scoring council member, so also on the top ten list).</strong><br /><br />So Quinn is clearly the WRONG candidate for Human Rights. John Liu does BEST with Bill de Blasio coming in second. Note that Borough Presidents would not be rated on these score cards so I can't compare them.<br /><br />The top scoring City Council members in 2011 are:<br /><br /><blockquote> <strong>Melissa Mark-Viverito. Manhattan Council District # 8 – Democrat (Score: 90%)<br /><br /> Helen D. Foster. Bronx Council District # 16 – Democrat (Score: 88%)<br /><br /> Letitia James. Brooklyn Council District # 35 – Democrat (Score: 88%)<br /><br /> Jumaane D. Williams. Brooklyn Council District # 45 – Democrat (Score: 86%)<br /><br /> Charles Barron. Brooklyn Council District # 42 – Democrat (Score: 80%)<br /><br /> Brad Lander. Brooklyn Council District # 39 – Democrat (Score: 74%)<br /><br /> Gale Brewer. Manhattan Council District # 6 – Democrat (Score: 73%)<br /><br /> G. Oliver Koppell. Manhattan Council District #11- Democrat (Score 65%)<br /><br /> Jimmy Van Bramer. Queens Council District #26- Democrat (Score 65%)</strong></blockquote><br /><br />I want to note that included on this list are council members I have agreed with and ones that I have disagreed with in the past. I will say that I am happy that Tish James is among the top, and congrats to Brad Lander, who I have had many a run in with, for making the top.<br /><br />Let me emphasize a few things. First, one of the best parts of the score card is its analysis of the City Council process itself. It shows that basically a bill has little shot of even having a hearing let alone being voted on if it doesn't have either the support of the mayor or the speaker. This emphasizes something I have said MANY times: NYC has one of the weakest City Councils I have seen, almost 100% dominated by the mayor and his lap dog speaker, Quinn (hat tip to the attendees of my Eating Liberally group last night who used "Bloomberg's lap dog" to discuss Quinn). NYC is possibly the least democratic of cities. Now I have only seen it under Republicans like Giuliani and Bloomberg, so a don't know if it was different under a Democratic administration, but I somehow doubt it. Certainly it is clear Quinn, a Democrat, would be just as dictatorial as Tsar Bloomberg.<br /><br />Second I want to emphasize that this scorecard doesn't cover ALL important issues, so I would not use this as my only way to judge a council member, but it does cover some extremely important issues, particularly ones taken up by Occupy Wall Street, so politicians who got a low score should look to their record a bit.<!--break--><br /><br />In particular I found myself checking up on politicians I endorsed or who are running for other offices soon. I also checked some of the folks I generally have not liked to see how my choices fare.<br /><br />Margaret Chin, who I endorsed, got a 54% rating...not as high as I would have liked to see! Daniel Dromm is another one I endorsed (and recently saw at a fundraiser for John Liu) and he also got a not bad but not great 56%. I also endorsed Diana Reyna, and she gets a mediocre 30%. Debra Rose, who I endorsed but admit I came late to that race and was only weakly involved in her race, gets a 53%. Jimmy van Bramer I believe I at least initially endorsed gets a good 65% rating. Al Vann who I have criticized gets 59%.<br /><br />Mathieu Eugene, who was a mediocre, hand picked successor to Yvette Clarke best known for finding it very difficult to prove his claims to having an MD degree, gets a low 24%. Sadly, Lew Fidler, who I have gotten to know and like, got a low 26%, mainly doing poorly on Voting Rights and Workers' Rights. My own city council member Steve Levin got a mediocre 28%. Again Voting Rights was one of his weakest points but so was criminal/juvenile justice. Peter Vallone, jr. gets a miserable 12%, competing with Quinn for worst city council members on human rights.<br /><br />The horribly corrupt and nasty Dominic Recchia gets a mediocre 25% rating. Particularly bad on criminal/juvenile justice, voting rights and disabled rights.<br /><br />Peter Koo, a Republican who took over a previously Democratic seat in Queens, got a miserable 16% rating. He was particularly bad on disabled rights, voting rights, workers' rights and criminal/juvenile justice. In general the handful of Republicans on the City Council scored very poorly. The highest was only 22% (Halloran) and most were in the 10-15% range. To be fair, though there are no highly rated Republicans on the council, there are plenty of Democrats who score as poorly, Quinn herself being a prime example.<br /><br />These ratings aren't the only way we should judge candidates, but when someone gets consistently bad ratings (like Quinn, Recchia, etc) there is no way they deserve our support. Consistently good ratings (like John Liu and Tish James) should be taken into account when choosing candidates to support.<br /><br />BACKGROUND<br /><br />The Human Rights Project's mission is:<br /><br /><blockquote> The Human Rights Project (HRP) works to improve the lives of New Yorkers living in poverty with a particular focus on women and people of color. We do this by monitoring and advocating for government compliance with universal human rights standards, especially the human rights to employment, housing, health, food, education and other economic and social rights.<br /><br />HRP has been at the forefront of the U.S. human rights “movement” for the past several years, demonstrating new models of applying human rights in the U.S., and in particular in New York City, to effectively advocate for the City’s most vulnerable across a range of issues. The U.S. constitution falls short in guaranteeing the right to health, housing, education, standard of living and other rights necessary to live in dignity. In combination with a legacy of structural discrimination, particularly through race and gender, and limits on rights that are protected, those most vulnerable in society have little recourse. The human rights framework and tools bring new possibilities in the face of limited remedies, and hope where there is despair.</blockquote><br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a><br /><br /><a href="http://moleprogressive.blogspot.com/">Return to Mole's Progressive Democrat</a>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-83642925386425565142012-01-03T05:36:00.000-08:002012-01-03T07:21:51.888-08:00Silly Christian Brawls, History and the Crimean WarWhen my wife and I traveled through Greece, Turkey and Israel, we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This is one of the holiest places in Christianity, supposedly the site of Golgotha where Jesus was crucified. There is even a supposed post-hole where the cross was thought to be placed.<br /><br />We were told an odd story about this church. It seems that several Christian sects cooperate, if that is the right word to describe the rivalries that result, to take care of the church. We were told that these various sects actually sometimes get into physical fights over who gets to sweep what parts of the church. I always assumed this was an exaggeration, but it seems it is literal, since the exact same kind of rivalry, this time between the Greek and Armenian Orthodox churches, erupted into a very silly brawl this very Christmas season, 2011, and was caught on film. From the church where Jesus was supposed to have been born in Bethlehem:<br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5RnVfXFd5MU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />This isn't the first time, by ANY means that this has happened. From 2007:<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WjogvDivTRM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />Let me just say that this is the kind of thing that makes me so skeptical about organized religion...is THIS what Jesus was all about? Let me emphasize that THIS kind of crap makes organized religion (and it isn't just Christianity...brawls between Mitnagdim and Hasidic Jewish groups in the old country in the 19th Century were no different!) look outright stupid.<br /><br />But these stupid, broom battles between Christian clergy have at times been part of international struggles leading to outright war. Specifically, it strikes me that this kind of stupid broom battle is a distant echo of some of the issues that led to the Crimean War. The Crimean War represents an early stage to the lead up to WW I and is one of the first instances of Britain and France acting as allies rather than enemies, something that became critical for WW I and WW II. Prior to the Crimean War, France and Britain were rivals or outright enemies for centuries, with only occasional moments of cooperation. The Crimean War, partly sparked by these kinds of stupid broom battles between clergy in the "holy" land, was the moment where France and Britain became firm allies, initially against Russia, and later along with Russia against Prussia/Germany and Austria.<br /><br />The Crimean War was the result of the slow, steady decline of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was one of the longest living superpower of all history, spanning roughly 600 years. But that 600 years included about 250 years of strong, dominant expansion, some 100+ years of tenuous holding on to prestige as Europe caught up and surpassed the Turks, and then another 100+ years of clear decline. During the declining years of the Ottoman Empire, they were often kept alive by the fact that the European powers, generally Britain, France, Russia, Austria and Prussia/Germany, couldn't decide how the spoils would be divided if the Ottoman Empire actually collapsed. So rather than fight it out over the spoils, the European powers, in the last 100 or so years of the Ottoman Empire, preferred to prop up that failing Empire. So although various territories (like Wallachia, Serbia, Greece, etc.) might be detached from the Ottoman Empire and made part of another empire or made an independent state, the European powers refused to allow the entire Empire to fail simply because it would lead to a world war among the dominant superpowers over the remnants of the Ottoman territories.<br /><br />So at various times Austria and Russia, Germany and Russia, Britain and France, Britain and Russia, etc. discussed how the Ottoman Empire should be carved up, usually no solid agreement could be reached that would avoid war, so the Great Powers helped the Turks survive. This is not to say that the Turks themselves played no role in this diplomatic and military game. They at times were very skilled at playing the Great Powers against each other to secure their own existence. But there were times where they were unable to act effectively and were saved only by the actions of outsiders.<br /><br />Russia had long had designs on Turkish territory. Russia envisioned itself the rightful ruler of the Balkans (in opposition to both Austria and the Ottomans), the rightful protector of ALL Orthodox Christian sects (many of whom hated eachother, as the broom battle video above illustrates today), AND the rightful heir of the Roman Empire and thus of Constantinople/Istanbul itself. Peter the Great and Catherine the Great particularly articulated these claims and tried to carry them out, with only limited success. The Ottoman Empire was already declining at these times, so both Peter and Catherine the Greats could enforce some of their claims. But by no means all because the Ottomans still had some fight in them and no one else wanted Russia to be so powerful.<br /><br />Nicholas I was another Tsar who wanted to exert Russia's claims over the Balkans, over Orthodox Christians world wide, and over what was once the Byzantine Empire. He tried making deals with Britain (then ruled by Queen Victoria), his main ally against their mutual rival France (ruled by Napoleon III) to divide the slowly failing Ottoman Empire between them. Britain was not ready for this to happen, so no deal was made between these two Great Powers. Austria was another power that wanted to carve up the Ottoman Empire, but already at this time Russia and Austria were competing, in the name of Orthodox vs. Catholic, Slavic vs. Germanic rule, over who would dominated the Balkans. So Austria and Russia were already starting the collision course that would ultimately spark WW I. But where everyone else fell was not yet clear. France tended to side against Russia. Britain tended to side against France. Prussia tended to also side against France. So had WW I happened before the Crimean War, you might have had Britain, Russia and Prussia against France and Austria with Turkey and Italy falling where ever they had the temporary advantage. But in the 1850's this all began to change. Not that the alliances that fell into WW I were yet formed so early, but one key alliance was formed, first in opposition to Russia and in support of Turkey, that later became the key to WW I. France and Britain, whose rivalry formed the basis of most wars and diplomatic interactions up until then, started forming a firm alliance.<br /><br />The rivalry between France and Britain was initially a Medieval issue, where rulers from both sides had claims on the same territories due to competing feudal claims. The British royal family were originally the Dukes of Normandy, so had claims in France. The French royals also had ties to key noble families in England who had claims to the throne. So for centuries France and Britain were at odds. It was one of the dominant themes in European politics from roughly 1066 until the 1850's. Roughly for 800 years the British-French rivalry was THE key theme in Europe and beyond. Even the American Revolution was a sideshow of this rivalry and our independence is due to the intervention of France against Britain in their long rivalry.<br /><br />Tsar Nicholas I, whose main rival was France and whose main ally was Britain and whose main enemies were Austria and the Turks, tried to arrange with Britain a division of Turkey behind everyone else's backs. It was from this discussion that the famous term "Sick Man of Europe" was coined to describe the Ottoman Empire. Britain and Russia disagreed on what was needed. Russia felt that Turkey needed a surgeon to carve it up and Britain felt that it needed a physician to cure it. Russia's insistence on carving up Russia ultimately drove a wedge between it and the rest of Europe, and that wedge started to form the alliances that would lead to WW I even though those alliances evolved over the years between the Crimean War and WW I.<br /><br />The Russian view was that the end of the Ottoman Empire was inevitable, so why not plan in advance and carve it up. If Russia and Britain cooperated in this, then France and Austria could be excluded and Prussia would probably go along with the winners. This really was no different from what many other European leaders had seen for decades, including Napoleon I, Metternich, and many others. The decline of the Turks had gone on for a long time and the end was seen as inevitable for at least 100 years. So Russia was not unreasonable in their views, even if they were greedy. But no more greedy than Austria, Britain or France, all of whom wanted spoils from the Sick Man of Europe. Prussia was the only country that stayed SOMEWHAT peripheral to this interest in carving up the Ottoman Empire.<br /><br />But Britain was not willing to see ANYONE get the upper hand in the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, not even their ally Russia, so they opted for a continuation of the Sick Man. Tsar Nicholas I was not willing to see that happen, so did everything he could to force war on Turkey on Russia's terms. Overplaying his hand, he slowly forced Britain into an alliance with their arch-rival France against Russia. That Anglo-French alliance, inconceivable in the early 1800's, has essentially persisted until today and was a key factor in the Crimean War, WW I and WW II as well as the Cold War. Tsar Nicholas I and his desire for Russia's traditional claims against Turkey established one of the enduring and dominant alliances of the 20th century.<br /><br />But what was the main issue? France had traditionally claimed to protect, as a dominant Catholic force, the Christians within the Ottoman Empire. This was the basis of a long-standing alliance between the Ottoman Empire and France dating back to the expansionist days of Turkey. But Russia's very existence depended partly on its claim to be the protector of all Orthodox Christians in the world, particularly in the Ottoman domains. This claim had generally been at odds with what the Ottomans themselves thought as well as with the French claims. So when the Latin and Greek clergy in Bethlehem and Jerusalem got into a conflict over who had the right to sweep the floors and fix the facades of the Church of the Nativity and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Russia used this as a way to exert its dominance in Ottoman territories. Needless to say the Ottomans objected. France, which had kind of ignored its claims of protection over Christians in the Ottoman Empire, awoke to the Russian threat and started preparing for war. So Russia and France were ready to go to war over sweeping rights, as it were, within Christian Holy sites within the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans were desperately trying to claim sovereignty over their own territory despite their near collapse. And Britain was trying to preserve peace, prevent anyone from taking an unfair share of Ottoman territory, and so wanted to prop up the Ottoman Empire.<br /><br />When Russia clearly became the most belligerent power, using its naval force against Turkey, Britain felt compelled, against tradition, to side with France to preserve Turkey. From this came the Crimean War that embarrassed Russia, preserved Turkey, and cemented an alliance between France and Britain that was to dominate politics for the next century. So far the other alliances that initiated WW I (Germany and Austria, Germany and Turkey, France and Russia, Britain and Serbia) had not formed. But the French-British alliance that was to be critical to WW I and WW II and beyond was forged in the lead up to the Crimean War, in vague support of a traditional claim of France to protect the Catholic right to sweep floors in the churches in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. So those broom wars helped forge this key alliance.<br /><br />The fact that Russia's other key rival was Austria started to form the Central Powers of WW I. The Russia-Turkey and Russia-Austria rivalries, combined with the battles over who would dominate the Balkans (Austria, Turkey or Russia, with Serbia one of the main local players) set the stage for WW I. Between the Crimean War and WW I the French/Russian and the British/Serbian as well as the Prussian/Austrian alliances were yet to form. And it was only because Prussia was allying with Turkey against Russia that Austria accepted Turkey, its traditional enemy, as an ally in WWI. Russia, as a traditional supporter of the Serbs, was MORE of a threat to Austria than Turkey in its decline ever could be, so Austria sided with Germany and Turkey against Russia. The French-British alliance, forged initially AGAINST Russia in the Crimean War, sided with Serbia against Germany and Austria, formalizing the sides in WW I. Italy could have gone either way, siding with France and Britain almost last minute.<br /><br />Those alliances were NOT the same as in WW II, but they did set that stage. The French-British alliance continued and strengthened its ties with Russia despite the fall of the Tsars. The German/Austrian alliance became a key event in the lead up to WW II when Germany claimed not just Austria itself, but also some of Austria's German speaking territories (e.g. Czechoslovakia) for its own Empire. British protection of former Ottoman territories led to its ties with Greece, where the first Allied victories over the Axis occurred when the Greeks, with British weapons and uniforms, soundly defeated the Italian and Albanian allies of Germany. That Albanian-Greek fighting was something that was already occurring when various Albanian and Greek warlords were fighting for dominance as Ottoman control faltered.<br /><br />So the silly broom battles among rival Christian sects in churches in Bethlehem and Jerusalem were one of several conflicts (the rise of Balkan nationalism and the fights among Austria vs. Russia, Albanians vs. Greeks, Greeks vs Greeks, Russia vs. Turkey) that led directly from the lead up to the Crimean War to WW I and through WW I to WW II and the Cold War. The key alliance that linked them all turned out to be the unexpected and new alliance between once arch-rivals France and Britain.<br /><br />Among the sources for this article are:<br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=moleshomepage&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0688080936&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=moleshomepage&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0826430813&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=moleshomepage&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0375700455&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/2011/07/history.html">Return to Mole's History Page.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/p/books.html">Return to Mole's Book Page.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-1332438040449265852011-12-29T22:54:00.001-08:002011-12-29T22:54:46.914-08:00A Sad Note!One of my first and most brilliant readers has died and I want to honor her memory.<br /><br /><img src="http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/788/38136961.png" alt="" /><br /><br />Margaret was a Culture Kitchen blogger for awhile and, while there, was one of our best bloggers. She moved on long ago, and I always missed her presence at CK. But she went on to what she considered bigger and better things. In her 80's she discovered her public voice and I am proud I was one of the people who encouraged and helped her find that voice.<br /><br />This comes late because I mainly interacted with Margaret Bassett by email. So if I didn't hear from her, I didn't think much about it. But I knew she was over 80. She was a subscriber to my Progressive Democrat Newsletter from the beginning soon after the 2004 election. She had seen me as something of a hope for the future in messaging, something I think she overrated me on, but I was flattered and tried to live up to.<br /><br />Today I sent out a message to my subscribers that my writing of the Progressive Democrat Newsletter had clearly been on hold for over a month and I wasn't sure if/when it would come back.<br /><br />One email bounced. It was the first time Margaret's email bounced in all the time she read my stuff. So it caught my attention immediately. It sent a shiver down my spine. So I did a quick google search and discovered what I feared...<a href="http://www.opednews.com/Diary/R-I-P-OEN-Editor-Margaret-by-Rob-Kall-110830-286.html">Margaret had died, back in August, at the age of 89.</a> I cried.<br /><br />[NOTE: Damn! In the preview I realize that a lot of the old material I post has formatting problems, but it is midnight and I am sad at her passing, and I don't have the attention span to fix everything...Margaret's brilliance speaks for itself even with formatting errors!]<br /><br />Margaret was an original FDR progressive just like my grandmother. She was about 20 years younger than my grandmother, but clearly they had experienced many of the same things and their political lives had been very similar. Margaret somehow connected with my blogging and for a brief period I was her connection (from where she lived in Red Tennessee) to liberal politics. She wrote me often and we had long discussions by email from which she drew inspiration and I learned a lot. I quoted her in my writing, seemingly to her surprise and pride. She forwarded my newsletter to others, to my surprise and pride.<br /><br />Eventually her blogger presence developed beyond my newsletter, extending to MyLeftWing, Culture Kitchen and Political Cortex, and then to OpEdNews where she became something of a force of nature. Most of my writing that ended up at OpEdNews was thanks to her. And she sent me a lot of their stuff as well.<br /><br />But my favorite material from her was on the blog Culture Kitchen. I recruited her for Culture Kitchen. She was on it for only a brief period, but she participated in some amazing discussions about race in America that blew everyone away. I am sorry I can't link to these amazing discussions because Culture Kitchen is currently in limbo because of a conflict between our wonderful publisher and the (evil?) site host, but trust me, people of ALL races were moved by Margaret's comments on the history of race in America.<br /><br />She left Culture Kitchen, to our loss, when she became active with OpEdNews. From what I gather OpEdNews gained from our loss. From then on she would occasionally comment on my Progressive Democrat Newsletter, more occasionally post something from my newsletter to OpEdNEws, and also would send me info from OpEdNews. For some years if I didn't hear from her for awhile I would get worried. In fact she was one of two people I would worry about if I didn't hear from. Margaret I worried about because of her age, and another blogger I recruited for Culture Kitchen, Leo Igwe of Nigeria, I worried about because he was a Humanist activist fighting Christian and Muslim fanatics in Nigeria. Leo has been beaten, arrested, and generally attacked over the years I knew him, so I learned to check in with him from time to time. Margaret always seemed so alive and almost immortal, so I stopped worrying if I didn't hear from her.<br /><br />So it didn't even register that I had lost touch with her. I guess it doesn't matter, since she seems to have been alert and emailing up to the day before her death, so it isn't like I missed that she was dying. But somehow I wish I had caught on SOME time between now and last August. But I didn't and so today I found out. It hit me like a punch in the stomach.<br /><br />This is the last article Margaret shared with me in the very last email I got from her back in May: http://www.alternet.org/story/151101/how_our_government_has_merged_with_corporations<br /><br />But previous to that she had particularly thanked me for the intro I did to a December 2010 issue of the Progressive Democrat. She just commented on how much she liked it. <a href="http://moleprogressive.blogspot.com/2010/12/progressive-democrat-newsletter-281.html">This was the intro she liked</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>Last week this headline was overlooked by too many people:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.leftyblogs.com/cgi-bin/go.cgi?http://www.bloggingformichigan.com/diary/6204/auto-industry-bailout-saved-114-million-jobs">Auto Industry Bailout Saved 1.4 Million Jobs</a> <br /><br />Remember, Republicans OPPOSED this! Democrats passed the Auto Industry Bailout over Republican objections and THANK GOD they did because that saved 1.4 million American jobs. Now we need a Green Energy Stimulus, because that could CREATE a large number of American jobs, but of course Republicans tend to oppose ANYTHING that creates American jobs and instead support policies that help foreign oil companies, offshore banks and multi-nationals who outsource American jobs...<br /><br />We must never let the voters forget this fact.<br /><br />Democracy for America recently reminded me, in our of their fundraising letters, of a VERY important fact for all Democrats to keep in mind:<br /><br />Looking at Congressional races in 2010, <strong>96% of the Progressive Caucus won re-election while only 47% of the Blue Dogs won.</strong><br /><br />I happen to like some Blue Dogs, but the basic fact is that as a caucus they have made the dismal mistake of becoming too much like Republicans and when Democrats start to look too much like Republicans they eventually lose. Democrats win by clearly differentiating themselves from Republicans. Which leads me to another reminder...<br /><br />For those who have read this newsletter for some time you know that I have often plugged a book that in some ways should be required reading for ANY Democrat: Drew Westen's "<a href="http://www.culturekitchen.com/mole333/blog/book_review_the_political_mind">The Political Brain</a>." Simply put the book analyzes how people vote and why, and shows how Democrats too often campaign in away that does not appeal to most voters even when most voters agree with the Democrats more on issues. Republicans, even though they usually take unpopular stands that hurt middle class and working class Americans, can often win the voters over because they campaign in a way that works better at getting votes. Drew Westen then outlines how Democrats can better appeal to voters while still being true to their values. For any Democrat who wants to win, read this book...now more than ever. And pass the book on to any Democrat you know of running for office or working on a campaign.<br /><br />We're going to miss this guy:<br /><br /><object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mqQn1_x5C3I?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mqQn1_x5C3I?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object><br /><br />Alan Grayson was one of the VERY few Congressional Representatives who really was completely up front, honest and told it like it is. He didn't hide the truth even when it made him unpopular. As I recall Harry Truman was admired for the same quality, even though it hurt him politically. I am proud that it is usually Democrats who are willing to put truth before popularity. Popularity comes and goes. But the truth is far more valuable. We need more people like Alan Grayson in Congress!</blockquote><br /><br />To me this was a run of the mill, off the cuff intro to my usual newsletter of facts, links and organizations to get involved with. In retrospect it was the last time my writing inspired her. That means something to me.<br /><br />But looking back through our correspondence, I want to share a key email from 2007:<br /><br /><blockquote>Article published Aug 29, 2007<br /><br />We are all in this world together<br /><br />Dear Editor:<br /><br />Thank you for the editorial in the Aug. 22 issue, and also for the two thought_provoking letters you printed. Perhaps it is because the weather has been very hot and I spend time indoors reading, finding news online, and watching C_Span, but it seems to me that we are all more sensitive to a wider world with many troubles. Bridges fall. Hurricanes wreak havoc. Drought or floods destroy. And there’s war.<br /><br />So I’m glad you take pen to paper, so to speak, to point out that reporters track the making and selling of weapons. This is not what we think of when we proclaim that a person should have the right to bear arms.<br /><br />And through it all, we are talking about America in Iraq. I personally was adamantly against a pre_emptive strike into Iraq. I watched and listened as I heard how many months it would take to get the gear all in place for the invasion. What I wondered about was how difficult it would be to get the stuff back out. Of course, some would be used up. But how about explosives? Might they not be used for destructive reasons? The editorial, based on an AP report, gives numbers which make me think that guns multiply faster than rabbits.<br /><br />It’s our country, and all of us in it need to think of ways to put an end to the folly. Would impeachment help? Should we just ride it out and then let the Democrats take the heat if they win the next election? So many questions.<br /><br />To me, we must recognize that we are in this together. Let’s get real and waste no time in trying to shove the blame on someone else. Let’s think of positive solutions and expect our leaders to carry them out.<br /><br />So I hope you will continue to lay out facts. During these past six years it seems that the media has given us few solid facts and a lot of opinions. And I hope if you do give us the hard truth that no one will shoot the messenger.<br /><br />Yours truly,<br /><br />Margaret Bassett</blockquote><br /><br />That was one of her letters she was proud of and sent me to circulate, and I DID circulate it.<br /><br />Here is an email she sent me on immigration and a global perspective:<br /><br /><blockquote>As a school girl, I spent summer Sunday afternoons in our empty schoolhouse, wondering what the pastel countries around the old globe were like. And I would pick a country and study what I could find in the World Book. All the while, I thought that the change of colors did not mean a big wall. More confusing still was whether various colors of people were expected to stay in their designated nations. Perhaps I came to this quandary because I saw real life evidence contradicting the lines. We all were from other states. Homesteading in our part of Wyoming happened after World War I. Our neighbors were from other states–Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, mostly. I reasoned our parents pioneered because they were looking for a better place to live.<br /><br />In high school, I learned enough history to understand how religious freedom and better working conditions brought people across the oceans. They were largely the working poor and willing to become scullery maids and ditch diggers until they learned English and studied the Constitution. Then they could become citizens. Except—Orientals were discouraged and could work on railroads, but could not bring their families or gain citizenship.<br /><br />In college, I learned the details of the 1924 immigration law. It was necessary to make a change because women had become voters in the US. They could become citizens of another country by marrying an alien, but they would have to give up their American citizenship. As a matter of fact, it was generally believed that all persons lost their citizenship of another country when they were naturalized. One way for men (women were still not in the military) to gain citizenship was to join the army and serve honorably. There were a lot of "ifs" in common lore about US citizenship.<br /><br />After college and WWII, rules changed quickly to allow for those who sought relief from being displaced from earlier homes. They were generally referred to as DP’s, displaced persons. Prelude to that was the arrival of refugees during the war, if lucky enough to reach the other side of the Atlantic. My personal experience included weekends at Scattergood, the Quaker settlement at West Branch, Iowa which is the home of Herbert Hoover. Some of us students would spend time helping the Friends who were orienting recent arrivals of Jewish families. And there went my ditch digger analogy! Many of the men were doctors or professors. To polish their English was what they craved mostly, for they saw language as necessary to regain their former positions. It seemed incomprehensible to some that they would have to take refresher courses and pass new examinations to become licensed when they were well-established in their professions.<br /><br />The Cold War brought other refugees, usually referred to as dissidents. And then the tide turned when Cubans and Haitians and later Central Americans claimed refugee status. By that time we had to recall what we had learned in high school history. The Monroe Doctrine had clearly emphasized that the Americas were for the Americans. During WWII, under the Good Neighbor Policy, those south of the border were courted for the contributions they could make in fighting totalitarianism. It became more than just semantics when my Latin American friends reminded me that it was incorrect to refer to citizens of the United States of America as Americans. They were Americans, too.<br /><br />Fast forward to the demonstrations of the past few months. The rhetoric was heavy during the 2004 presidential campaign, but by 2006 there was action in the streets. I guess our country had a Latino problem.<br /><br />Latino has become a term to describe someone who lives in the Western Hemisphere in some place other than Canada and the United States. So those who speak Spanish, Portuguese and French have an inclusive adjective. It tells nothing about country of origin. The term Hispanic narrows citizenship to those nations where Spanish is the official language. And still there is little that the words tell about a group of people who live in America and want to come to the United States.<br /><br />The question of political importance at this time is how does the United States respond to a surge of population which comes from other countries, whether by legal or illegal means. They chance to make a living in our country better than in theirs, or else they wouldn’t uproot themselves from a culture they like. Their religion is universal. They may differ on who the next Pope should be, but they recognize that the Pope has a commanding presence in all parts of the world.<br /><br />But, oh, us Gringos! We don’t understand that for centuries we have sent in the Marines to do what James Monroe, Teddy Roosevelt, and others declared to be in the interest of ourselves. After all, we stole a good part of our territory from the Mexicans.<br /><br />And then there are the folks in places like Tennessee. Without Tennesseans perhaps the Panama Canal would not have been built, because that is where much of the labor came from. In that regard, I have an interesting story from my days of studying Constitutional Law in Iowa. One of my fellow students had a father from Tennessee and a mother from Panama. He was born in Panama, but not in the Zone. Did he have US citizenship? Should they have taken him to the Consulate when he was 21? (Never heard the end of the story, because by then 1945 had come and things were changing.)<br /><br />I’ve lived in Tennessee since 1977 and I never hear about how Tennesseans helped make the Panama Canal. We do celebrate how Sam Houston, who once taught school a few miles from here, fought in Texas. He was Tennessee governor and is a big name in history.<br /><br />But I’m hearing a lot about "those," "them people" or "Latinos." Folks who have lived here all their lives, worked hard, and enjoyed some success will speak about "the ones coming in" as though there is a threat. Largely it has to do with language. Why don’t they speak English? And why do they rent an apartment and then bring a whole bunch of others to live there too? It’s classic concern for "there goes the neighborhood." But the language makes a starting point for a debate over educating their children, providing welfare, and more classic gripes that have confronted other new groups of immigrants.<br /><br />For my part, I don’t worry about the language. In my young, innocent college days I was pretty good in Spanish, even to translating El Cid, not that it helps me anymore than it does others who complain about not understanding. I do have a slight ability to detect country of origin according to accent. But dialect! Those people who espeak Espanish can’t understand each other at times.<br /><br />So now we have to talk about a delicate issue. Is there animosity between Hispanics and African-Americans. In Chicago there were many Puerto Ricans when I lived there, and no love lost between them and blacks. After a couple of friendly attempts, I backed off from the explanation that Borrenquenos are US citizens, too. There was the reaction I have come to recognize as "hair standing on the back of neck." At some point in discussing generally how all people have good points and some a few strange ones, there comes a superstitious fear. And that will be what will accompany many voters to the booth this fall. I feel truly baffled about what politicians should and can do to make firm commitments on their position. We may decide that there was an ironic e1oquence in the Senate’s vain attempt.<br /><br />But all of this has been a digression from my first paragraph. Where my heart was in the 30's is where my moral values take me in this century. However, I long ago gave up on believing that nations solve real problems of people who decide to breach borders. Actually, it can be said that nationalism is itself the problem. At this time, the Bush administration is looking at the enemy as having no borders. Why not? We have journalists without borders. Doctors without borders. Why not banditos without borders? Manuel Noriega and Osama bin Laden are both enemies of our Nation.<br /><br />I get a little facetious about Nafta. Consider: now the textile industry moves its operation to Honduras; natives can no longer make a living in those factories so they go to Mexico; Mexicans are having a harder time of finding work so they cross the Rio Grande; and the "illegals" work for peanuts and make the Anglos mad for ruining the wages on their old jobs. And the irony is politicians talk about Nafta as needing a tune-up to see that labor is paid a decent wage and enjoys healthy working conditions. Duh!</blockquote><br /><br />I also want to post an email she sent me in Dec. 2005 that is interesting to review given what has happened since:<br /><br /><blockquote> Your newsletter this week was, in Christian-speak, almost an epiphany. It reminded me of how much I took Al Gore's book to heart before the 2000 campaign. To be good stewards, the three ingredients of living are sometimes referred to as giving of time, talent and treasure. When you think of it, there isn't enough money in the world to heal an injured planet. Some can get jollies by taking their excesses to the recycle bin. But really all we have is ourselves in whatever form. And for a lot of us these days it starts at the keyboard. As long as we don't buy everything on the pop-ups. <br /><br /> There is a stealth issue, which most don't care to address. Rampant consumerism is what is messing up the nation. Any time one-third of GDP is considered to come from production and twice that much from consumers, we are headed for a meltdown. Yet, should we all start living within our means while saving some for our old age (Money can be described as congealed energy.), it's not just WalMart's stock which will plummet. If Bernanke refuses to print money for spendthrifts, those with the least of it are hurt the most. Before they beatify Greenspan I hope I can say that he did us no favor by making a red hot housing market. My observation is that Boomers, those who worry most about their entitlements, were conned by low interest rates. They cashed in 401k money to put in real estate. From my perspective their peers are the wheelers and dealers in politics and finance. I hope someone learns how to make a soft landing. And, for those who are raising young families, they've got a lot to think about before they answer all the Christmas ads with their plastic. <br /><br /> Well, that's my Scrooge message of the day. Keep up the good work!</blockquote><br /><br />You can see she was a bright, thoughtful woman!<br /><br />Here is another fascinating email she sent me in 2005 while we were, over many months, still getting to know eachother:<br /><br /><blockquote>David: There’s more heat than light coming out of Washington these days, and I tune in c-spans and PBS and wonder where we’re headed. Then I log on to my favorite back fence sites and that doesn’t help much either. Jim Lehrer tonight featured a piece asking editors from other part of the country how their readers saw the filibuster question, to which they mostly replied only the activists cared and it hadn’t touched most of the folks. "Grassroots" came into my head and I wondered about the term. The Nashville paper (not the Tennessean) said "folks" just hadn’t got interested in it yet. And then there’s little old me!<br /><br />I’m a walking time warp. When my father homesteaded in Northeastern Wyoming in 1918 he was in his mid-thirties. My mother, whom he met out there was younger, but she too was 18 when WWI ended. My three siblings and I were all born before the stock market crash. When FDR declared a bank holiday I already knew about how some people in other states had lost their farms when the banks went out of business. By the time I was through high school, many of my men teachers had left for the service to get a better commission. Times were tough on the farms still. I worked my way through college for five years at the University of Iowa and got out just as VJ Day came. In Washington on my first real job, I saw government workers re-align their assignments because all returning veterans were given extra points when they applied for jobs. After that, I spent a maturing period in the City, with a year’s timeout in Copenhagen. I met my husband in 1952 when I took a trip out West for the summer. The sour taste of Joe McCarthy’s capers shoved me away from a future in international education. But I could always work. I was a good typist, and the first thing I learned in college was to be a good waitress. My husband and I followed resort restaurants in the beginning and then moved to Chicago in 1955 where we made a stake through 1977. Then we bought a fixer-upper in Maryville, TN. We had no company pensions, and I was too young for SS and Medicare for what seemed like a long time. We made it on the proceeds of a few investments and his Social Security check. I would be in deep trouble today except that in the 90's I was able to get ahead of the curve on inflation. It nearly flattened us during the 80's when double digit increases came for material to re-model the house. Now, I manage to pay fair market rent in the elder housing where I moved six years ago. I’ve been widowed 12 years (today, as a matter of fact) and could have moved easily, but I like it here. No family in the State but lots of friends.<br /><br />When I took up gardening and canning and making our everyday clothes again, just as we had done in Wyoming, I didn’t feel out of place. My neighbors were just like the people I grew up around. Many of them were a few years older than I and I learned the way to live on Social Security and to fight the Medicare rules. After my husband died, and there were new younger families with children, I became involved in the lives of the young. It was not easy for working class families in the 90s. I could supplement their scarce time by giving what I hope would be enrichment. The children had things, but little else in my view. I cancelled all but basic cable and ordered edutainment CD’s after my sister gifted me with a computer. It is what I consider to be my way of paying back for 21 years of Social Security checks.<br /><br />I lived in early life what can best be described as 19th Century. After formal schooling and some jobs I jumped to the 20th. I was just about ready to believe I was ready for Bill Clinton’s bridge to the 21st, when all of a sudden it feels like I’m somewhere after WWII. I mean everyone is hellbent on acquiring whatever has just been invented. Now, with credit cards, they don’t have to wait for payday. Many in the child-nurturing period are so busy trying to keep body and soul together that they don’t remember what they learned about the three branches of government. Some are anxious to get to the welfare office for supplemental help, as others are too proud to even let their neighbors know when they need food. It’s always been that way. I’m just talking about our county, which is surely not one of the poorest in the State.<br /><br />Through all these years I have only been able to become a little educated because of my husband, who grew up in San Francisco. Orphaned at 9, he knew the ways of city living and, in good paperboy fashion, was also well aware of the ways of the world. It took him a long time to realize that the depression was hard for us country people too. Actually, he didn’t really understand until we moved down here. Oh, yes, he fell out of love with the Republican party and read Howard Fast’s novels during that time. When he reached maturity he moved to LA and worked in a defense factory during WWII, the same kind of work he followed in Chicago. I became a bookkeeper there and changed over to computer programming in 1966. The greatest job I’ve ever had was teaching high school graduates to program or operate computers. The students were many of them directly from housing projects on student loans and grants. I can’t say enough for LBJ’s Great Society. It made some real changes. The problem was it was not carefully monitored. Of course, there are excesses and Clinton was right to help rein it in. I have a hunch that Bush shoots for FDR’s programs because if he mentions LBJ’s he’d lose his so-called base. John Edwards wants to talk disadvantaged, and he may just be making some traction with his poverty group. I could make a case for myself as well. But no one can outdo Johnson’s upbringing.<br /><br />What brought this on? It was when I wrote you about the Earth Day celebration in the Smokies and you replied that tourism is not a good economic base. Or something about like that. And I remembered that you said you were a city kid. Then I thought about the way the media learned to morph the map in red and blue. Sure enough, those states adjacent to water are bluer. Actually, they are wealthier because of global trade. The nation mimics the old tradition of town and country, meaning the people at the county seats ran the banks and sold the merchandise and elected the officials. Those in the country produced the goods (originally mostly food, but later industrial supplies) and climbed up the social ladder by sending the children to school and getting them jobs in town. Culturally, the rural folks knew they were superior because their kids worked hard and didn’t dance or gamble–or so the story goes. But those they called city slickers knew they had better homes and nicer clothes and could travel more. I recently read several of Sinclair Lewis’ novels, which are older than me. Whenever I re-read Elmer Gantry I realize how little things change.<br /><br />So here I sit, still a country bumpkin worrying over whether Section 8 housing will be cut even more, and how the children should learn to like to learn, and whether there will be any channel on TV that the tired, hard-working, underpaid parents will watch besides Fox. In my spare time I check out MSNBC’s articles about why Wal-Mart stock is down and the predictions aren’t rosy. That gets me to thinking about the many hours I’ve pounded away on the Wal-Mart predicament. Is it possible people in Peoria, or wherever, are going to have to listen to what happens in Washington? Best regards, Margaret</blockquote><br /><br />Now here is the first email I have a record of, though I know we must have connected before. It is from November 2004, so it was one of the first interactions we had. Again, much insight and background from someone who has been around for some time:<br /><br /><blockquote>The first tells about previous progressive movements which supplied candidates. I realize that Vermont has an existing party, and there is some movement around Madison, Wisconsin.<br /><br />The second is something with which I have little experience. It catches my eye because the working poor (hard-working poor) are certainly the forgotten man and woman as far as I can see.<br /><br />In the Teddy Roosevelt age, an economic shift to heavy industry created robber barons, and thus a need to come back to a sense of fairness. In the second phase, labor was becoming organized. World War I created more jobs, but more discontent with working conditions. To avoid the revolutionary trends in Europe, especially Russia, a more benign form of organization came about here through unions.<br /><br />The curious part of the aborted movement in 1948 with Henry Wallace produced the same kind of Bolshevik scare, but I believe that unanswered civil rights questions were what drove the scare to a frenzy. My experience at that time was that to be associated with rights for colored people put one in the same cubby hole as with communist and fellow-traveler groups.<br /><br />About the only advantage of being old is that one can see three waves, described by Toffler. The first, agrarian, required decent shipping facilities for livestock and crops as well as reasonable prices for farm implements. (I grew up on a homestead in Northeastern Wyoming, where we battled dust storms and the depression.) The second wave was the industrial age where a combination of machine and men mass produced a never-ending supply of labor saving devices. From the end of World War II to the advent of cybernetics, more and better planes, locomotives, trucks, etc. shortened distances and made goods accessible to more people. Workers were lured into corporate loyalty with the promise of retirement benefits and medical insurance. Not until the 70's did the price of company affiliation begin to backfire for both sides. We talked about the rust belt. Lifelong union members began to question the Democratic party and Reagan welcomed them to his shining hill. The third wave, incubated during World War II, became all important as soon as computers advanced past tubes to transistors to the current microchips. (I started programming computers in 1966 and worked on three generations of IBM equipment within the spate of a few years. The Olivetti ten-key adding machine I pounded 8 hours a day had over 50 precision springs in it. My husband worked in a plant making such parts. We escaped job crises only because we retired to East Tennessee from Chicago after 22 years.)<br /><br />By the last quarter of the 20th Century, the global village concept was real. And thus we come to what will have to be dealt with before a progressive movement can flourish again. Just as in the past, when Americans could not ignore people of the ghettoes and slums forever, so now no nationality can ignore the cry of other nationals for a share of the earth’s treasure. I recommend reading Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber’s The World Challenge (Simon & Schuster 1981) which tells about the Near East’s rising up to assert that technology as the price we pay for oil and other basic materials. And it’s not just oil (OPEC) but other raw materials, and it’s not just the Near East but many underdeveloped nations.<br /><br />Another author who has influenced me is Lester Thurow, an economist who in 1995 wrote a book on the future of capitalism. He outlined what he considered the main changes over the ensuing twenty-five years. Changes in demography (mature countries have a high percentage of mature citizens) and communication and transportation (commerce can cross national boundaries to grow wheat in Siberia as well as North Dakota) affect voters in real time. Globalization, which is here to stay, can be criticized but there is no way to stop it. Countries can help their nationals to adjust, but recognizing how to corral unbridled world commerce takes more than tweaking the safety net. With world wide business comes the need for world wide rules governing it. On a line stretched from competition to cooperation regarding this challenge, there must be very astute negotiation. The WTO and the IMF are acting from a position of weakness, which allows laissez faire to flourish.<br /><br />How a new facet of progressivism can come about is problematic. It espouses a mixture of innovation and conservatism. If the rest of the world wants to have goods, services and opportunities equal to what we Americans have learned to cherish, it goes without saying that super-consumerism should be nobody’s first goal.<br /><br />Under the surface I think citizens in this country realize the truth of sharing or fighting. Wars only use more of the precious resources. The twin realities of Iraq and economic well-being were debated in this campaign as though it were an either/or proposition. George W. Bush's assertion that both must be achieved–his recognition that people having a stake in their future will not have time to fight each other--has validity. That’s all well and good, but he’s trying to convince the Iraqis his war is different. Imperialism is the ultimate outcome from the way he goes about it. If we take a look at the article in The Nation, we can see that fighting each other is a recipe for decline of leadership. http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1124-10.htm<br /><br />With a long history of solving problems in the USA by going to a place farther away, it’s not surprising that Bush would like to get to the Moon and Mars.<br /><br />If you and I pursue this line of reasoning, I believe we must organize small groups of individuals, preferably online, who will help to shape the real issues for 2008. My summer was spent with a yahoogroup who answered the media when members perceived that it was giving false information. With a mixture of professional backgrounds and serious interaction we, and others doing similar work, probably did have some impact on the outcome of the election. Because Kerry lost, we have not known how to proceed. I suspect this group is not the only one which is essentially inactive but still so committed that it is trying to find a new approach to carry on.<br /><br />Finally, I suggest the article in the Nation about Paul Wellstone. Possibly his legacy has something to help us in progressing toward new insights.<br /><br />http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020527&s=nichols </blockquote><br /><br />I will end with the <a href="http://www.opednews.com/Diary/R-I-P-OEN-Editor-Margaret-by-Rob-Kall-110830-286.html">obituary from her beloved OpEdNews</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>The following obituary was provided to Opednews by Dr. Annabel Agee to be shared with Margaret's beloved online community: <br /><br />Margaret Ems Bassett<br /><br />02/14/1922 -- 8/21/2011<br />"Margaret Ems Bassett, age 89, quietly passed away at her residence in Maryville, TN, on Sunday, August 21, 2011. Born in Gillette, WY, on February 14, 1922, the eldest of four, Ms. Bassett is preceded in death by husband William John Bassett, parents James Edwin and Fanchon Rosenstiel Ems, sister Norma Agnes Ems Cotter, and brother Robert, and niece Roberta Ems Salley. She is survived by her brother Morris Ems, niece Janeth Cotter Hernandez, niece Connie Cotter Rasmussen, niece Colleen Ems Morrison.<br /><br />Ms. Bassett graduated from Campbell County High School in Gillette, WY (1940), received a BA degree in political science from State University of Iowa (1944), studied as a graduate student until August 1945, worked in international education until 1950, spent a year in Denmark, took numerous computer science classes, and completed an MS degree from Roosevelt University (1975). Ms. Bassett worked in Chicago from 1955 to 1977, at which time she and her husband retired to Tennessee. <br /><br />Her lifelong interest in political philosophy was reflected by her active role as editor for almost five years on OpEdNews (OEN), an online platform for which she wrote 68 articles and posted almost 4000 comments. Also to her credit, the content she generated for OEN was viewed over 700,000 times. Margaret's most recent OEN activity was logged on the Friday evening before her passing on Sunday. In her own biographical statement for OEN profile, she noted that her early introduction to computers (1966) has served her well in keeping up with "the requirements for modern communication." She said that she hoped to find "some good coming off her keyboard into the lives of those who come after her."<br /><br />She will be missed by many of the residents of Maryville Towers, a senior housing facility where she has resided since selling her home in 1999. Many of her neighbors and friends will remember Margaret as the long-time organizer/leader of the Reminiscing Writers Group at Maryville Towers." </blockquote><br /><br />I would like to remember this wonderful woman. I think a fitting tribute would be a contribution to <a href="http://www.wellstone.org/">Wellstone Action</a> or <a href="http://www.progressivemajority.org/">Progressive Majority</a>. I know these were groups we both discussed and admired a lot, though I think more because they were my favorites. I am not sure what she would say was her favorite tribute, but I know these would be good enough in an imperfect world she knew and loved so well. Please join me in donated to these groups in Margaret Bassett's name.mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-4356110377212045912011-10-26T20:24:00.001-07:002011-10-26T20:24:41.225-07:00Message to Bank of America CEO: Your stock has tanked, so don't lecture me!Bank of America CEO Brian T. Moynihan scolded us customers (for me, I am now mostly a FORMER customer), saying he was "incensed" at criticism of his bank.<br /><br />Well Mr. CEO Moynihan, sir...did you notice that your stock has dropped from over $50 a share to about $6 a share? To me that marks YOU as a failure. Meanwhile, TD Bank, which did NO predatory lending and took NO taxpayer funded bailout money, has stayed about $70 a share through the entire time Bank of America tanked.<br /><br />Seriously, Mr. CEO Moynihan, sir...do you have ANY right to be scolding ANYONE given the disgusting performance of your company?<br /><br />Come back to me when you no longer need my tax money to just stay afloat. In a TRUE free market you and your lousy company would already be bankrupt, with companies like TD Bank buying up the remains of your assets at bargain prices. That is what TRUE capitalism would look like. Mr. CEO Moynihan, sir, you would be out of a job in a real free market. So stop whining and stop scolding and start showing some humility given the failure you represent.<br /><br />Mr. CEO Moynihan, or should I say Mr. CEO $50 drops to $6 a share, has no business telling me I shouldn't complain about his lousy company.<!--break--><br /><br />I am an investor in the stock market. When the predatory lending scandal hit, and I saw banks like Bank of America tanking, I saw TD Bank as a buying opportunity because they avoided the whole predatory lending mess. My instincts were right...I made tons of money on that purchase. It was clear to me Bank of America made LOTS of mistakes. Their stock dropped and never recovered. Bank of America would be a penny stock or bankrupt if it hadn't been for the taxpayer funded bailout. So how dare Mr. CEO Moynihan show such arrogance. He is a loser, plain and simple. He failed his company and now he is blaming us??? We bailed him out and our anger at his poor business practices are fully justified. He should be THANKING us. Instead he scolds us...well to hell with that.<br /><br />I am also a mortgage holder. I never even considered Bank of America for my mortgage. They weren't even on my radar, Mr. CEO Moynihan. You had nothing to offer me. I was with Wells Fargo. Didn't really like them. So I tried Chase. they dicked me around until I told them to get lost. So I wound up with TD Bank who offered me a good deal and stuck with it. So now I pay my mortgage to TD Bank every single month and Bank of America and Chase can kiss my on time paying ass goodbye because they offered me NOTHING despite a solid credit rating and a consistently on time payment record. Again, Bank of America and Chase show what LOUSY business models they work with. And again, Mr. CEO Moynihan shows that he is a LOUSY businessman because HIS bank had nothing to offer me while their stock was plummeting.<br /><br />I also use credit cards. And here is where I was a big Bank of America customer. Somehow I wound up with most of my credit cards with Bank of America. But I didn't like them. And Mr. CEO Moynihan confirms that Bank of America does not deserve my business. So at this point I have switched almost all my credit card use to Discover and USAA. Bank of America has LOST MY BUSINESS. Got that Mr. CEO Moynihan? You have LOST MY BUSINESS. Losing people like me is why YOUR stock is at $6 a share and TD Bank is at over $70 a share. I am surprised you maintain such arrogance with your tiny $6 a share company!<br /><br />Smart businessmen know that making customers feel good is the whole trick to doing business. Bank of America, and particularly Mr. CEO Moynihan, have lost sight of that very basic rule of doing business. Without taxpayer bailouts Bank of America would be dead in the water. That is a plain fact. Mr. CEO Moynihan owes American taxpayers his very job. I see Bank of America as a toxic company at this point. They'd have to do a hell of a lot to convince me to patronize them ever again, and when Mr. CEO Moynihan, as CEO of a company, insults me, does he really think it inspires me to become their customer or investor again? Hell no!<br /><br />So Mr. CEO Moynihan, sir...you do NOT get my business. You do NOT get my investment. There are better banks out there. I am now mostly doing business with THEM and not with you. And I have some investment in at least one of them (and it doubled in value since I bought it!), but would never touch your toxic stock. <br /><br />So think about it. Mr. CEO Moynihan is CEO of a company that would be a penny stock or out of business if taxpayers hadn't bailed him out. So who gives a rat's ass if he is "incensed" at our anger? HE is the one who should be begging us for forgiveness. We owe him nothing. We already bailed him out and if we take our business elsewhere, that is his own fault, not ours. Personally I am happy with USAA and TD Bank. Others are switching to credit unions, with membership in credit unions BOOMING.<br /><br />I feel that Occupy Wall Street protesters should publicly cut up their Bank of America credit cards and switch to credit unions or banks who didn't do predatory lending or take a taxpayer bailout. Tell Mr. CEO Moynihan just what you think of his being "incensed" at us. He needs us. We don't need him. Cut up your Bank of America credit cards, close your Bank of America accounts, and refinance your mortgages to other banks or credit unions. Then Mr. CEO Moynihan can be "incensed" all he wants without our business.<br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/2011/08/consumer-advice-page.html">Return to Mole's Consumer Advice Page.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-49638216800101489332011-10-13T22:56:00.001-07:002011-10-13T22:56:46.330-07:00Oct. 14, 1943: Jewish Rebellion at Sobibor Death CampThere is an image of Jews going tamely to slaughter in the Holocaust. And it is true, for various reasons, this did happen all too often. But some Jews stood up and fought, even at times defeating the Nazis at least for a time. Throughout the Nazi era, there were always Jews who stood up and fought, and we should not forget those fights.<br /><br />Sobibor was one of the Nazi death camps. Not just a run of the mill, as it were, concentration camp. But a full out Death Camp whose sole purpose was the death of Jews.<br /><br />Jews so thoroughly trashed the place that the Nazis did all they could to eliminate every memory of the place. I want to REMEMBER Sobibor, just as much as the Nazis want us all to forget it. In honor of the Jews who rebelled at Sobibor, here is a song written by someone in the Vilna Ghetto, inspired by the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, honoring those who stood up and fought. It is sung in this case by Paul Robeson, who does it full justice:<br /><br /><iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qDE1vzJ3A7Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />In 1943 Jews were responsible for the destruction of one of the worst Nazi death camps. You probably haven't heard of Sobibor. Sobibor was designed specifically and solely to kill. It wasn't a camp where they worked people to death. It was a camp where they killed people. Mengele in Auschwitz, sorting who died and who lived for just awhile longer, was kind compared to the brutality of Sobibor.<br /><br />Two of the six Nazi death camps, Treblinka and Sobibor, were destroyed as a result of Jewish uprisings. These events were suppressed not only by the embarrassed Nazis, but also ironically by some Jews who felt ambivalent about resistance, and by some Israelis who, until the revelations of the Eichmann trial, felt those who remained in the Diaspora had, by not moving to Israel, been partly responsible for their fate. I think the memory of Jewish resistance against the Nazis is extremely important to keep alive. I think we all need to know in our gut that two Death Camps received fatal blows from Jewish rebels.<br /><br />Sobibor was almost the forgotten Nazi Death Camp. It was almost forgotten because the SS themselves tried to eradicate all traces of the camp. The camp had become an embarrassment after nearly half the Jews at the camp rebelled and escaped. Yeah...nearly half. So the SS tried to erase all memory of it...but they have failed.<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PIdlFayqzdY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />Some memories of Sobibor:<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aFoFQ-tuLKQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sB7wQFsEld8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />That rebellion happened October 14th, 1943.<br /><br />Most concentration camps focused on working the prisoners to death. The Nazis had two, sometimes conflicting, goals. Extermination of Jews and slave labor. By their own admission they focused more on extermination and later felt they should have saved more Jews for slave labor than they did. <br /><br />This confuses some people who expect all of the Nazi camps to be the same. Simply put the Nazis had different camps for different purposes. Some camps started early on as places to put political dissidents, mostly non-Jewish. Other camps, overlapping with this first set, were designed as work camps, turning everyone the Nazis didn't like into slaves. The "Death Camps" focused on killing people as fast as they could. There were six death camps, all located in Poland: Aucshwitz II, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor, and Treblinka. More than 250,000 people were murdered at Sobibor alone. Both Treblinka and Sobibor were destroyed thanks to Jewish uprisings.<br /><br />At 4 PM, Oct. 14th, 1943, rebels led by Alexander (Sasha) Pechersky started killing SS soldiers at Sobibor. The first to die was the camp's deputy commander, killed as he visited the tailor's shop to try on a new uniform. Here is an account of that first blow as <a href="http://www.sobibor.info/revolt.html">told by a survivor</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>October 14, 1943 was a warm, sunny day and nothing disrupted the routine. Only a very small group knew that this was to be the fateful day. The Nazis in the camp went about their business as usual. At precisely 4:00 P.M., the stage was set. Everything now depended on the nerves of the attackers, their faith in themselves and luck.<br /><br />Acting commander SS Untersturmfuehrer Niemann rode up on his horse and entered the tailor shop. Mundek was ready, holding the new uniform. The German without suspicion, unhooked his belt with its pistol in the holster and causally threw it on the table.<br /><br />As tailors have done for ages, he patted and turned Niemann at his will. Finally he told him to stand still while he marked the alterations with a crayon. Then the blow fell. The Nazi dropped like a fallen tree, his head split. Shubayev rushed to Sasha's quarters and delivered the first pistol. They embraced. Now, there was no turning back.</blockquote><br /><br />They killed 11 German and Ukrainian guards (more by some accounts), triggering a mass breakout. About half of the camp's prisoners escaped, though in the end only 50 survived the war. Some were killed by Germans...some by Poles. Here is the same survivor's account of the breakout:<br /><br /><blockquote>Someone was trying to cut an opening in the fence with a shovel. Within minutes, more Jews arrived. Not waiting in line to go through the opening under the hail of fire, they climbed the fence. Though we had planned to touch the mines off with bricks and wood, we did not do it. We couldn't wait; we preferred sudden death to a moment more in that hell.<br /><br />Corpses were everywhere. The noise of rifles, exploding mines, grenades and the chatter of machine guns assaulted the ears. The Nazis shot from a distance while in our hands were only primitive knives and hatchets.<br /><br />We ran through the exploded mine field holes, jumped over a single wire marking the end of the mine fields and we were outside the camp. Now to make it to the woods ahead of us. It was so close. I fell several times, each time thinking I was hit. And each time I got up and ran further...100 yards...50 yards... 20 more yards...and the forest at last. Behind us, blood and ashes. In the grayness of the approaching evening, the towers' machine guns shot their last victims." </blockquote><br /><br />Within days of this rebellion, SS chief Heinrich Himmler ordered the camp dismantled and all traces destroyed. Camp III, the actual extermination area, was immediately destroyed and hidden. The other facilities were used until July 1944.<br /><br />This was one example of Jewish resistance against the Nazis. And, although only 50 survived the war, their actions shut down one of the Nazi death camps. That is about as successful as half-starved, terrified, desperate people can be in the face of one of the most technologically advanced group of sociopaths in history.<br /><br />THIS is the kind of history we need to remember.<br /><br /><a href="http://moleprogressive.blogspot.com/">BACK TO PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRAT NEWSLETTER MAIN PAGE</a><br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/2011/07/history.html">Return to Mole's History Page.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-81675653806170485302011-10-05T17:50:00.001-07:002011-10-05T18:47:57.365-07:00Funding or Defunding the Doe Fund...Council Members Brad Lander and Daniel Dromm RespondA short time back <a href="http://dailygotham.com/mole333/blog/stevelevinandbradlanderletdownconstituents">I took City Councilmembers Steve Levin and Brad Lander to task for, what seemed at the time, a casual decision to defund the Doe Fund's clean up efforts in Park Slope</a>. I particularly took them to task for misleading statements and for denigrating the Doe Fund overall, which I found difficult to stomach because the Doe Fund is one of the most successful (among the ONLY successful) organizations for reducing recidivism among parolees.<br /><br />Steve Levin has shown no interest in this issue...or any issue in the district from what I can tell. I guess as long as he has the backing of corrupt Party Boss Vito Lopez (his mentor) he feels he can cruise along with no problem...particularly since he also managed to get the formerly decent Working Families Party backing him as well, creating a nasty and disgusting alliance between the Vito Lopez machine and a Working Families party that at BEST skirted the law, and in reality had to scramble to avoid prosecution after breaking some campaign finance laws for the likes of Steve Levin.<br /><br />But Brad Lander, who I have had some serious disagreements with, seems different than Steve "Vito's Kid" Levin. Brad Lander HAS been involved with the community, even if I disagree with him on the Doe Fund's role in the community, and he took the time to respond to my article taking him to task.<br /><br />Let me begin by reviewing what I wrote before, then quoting Councilmember Brad Lander responding to my article, then giving something of a rebuttal from myself and giving a different opinion from Councilmember Daniel Dromm.<br /><br />It all started with my building's resident Yenta asking me why 7th Ave is no longer being cleaned up. Until recently, she observed, men in blue outfits (a collaboration between the city and the Doe Fund aimed to help the homeless and parolees transition back into society and employment while cleaning up city streets not adequately cleaned by the city) would help the city empty the garbage and clean the streets. Recently those blue-uniformed men disappeared from 7th Avenue completely and in their place garbage piled up everywhere adding to what my wife already referred to as the "7th Ave. Stink."<br /><br />To me this is not, however, primarily about the cleanliness of our neighborhood. It is about a program that is one of the most successful in the nation in getting homeless and parolees back into society. Here is the <a href="http://www.doe.org/programs/?programID=1">description of the Doe Fund from their website</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>Ready, Willing & Able is The Doe Fund's holistic, residential, work and job skills training program which helps homeless individuals in their efforts to become self-sufficient, contributing members of society. Ready, Willing & Able has helped more than 4,500 men and women become drug-free, secure full-time employment, and obtain their own self-supported housing. The program targets the segment of the homeless population considered the hardest to serve: single, able-bodied adults, the majority of whom have histories of incarceration and substance abuse. Criteria for acceptance into the program is that the applicant be ready, willing and able, both physically and mentally, to work and maintain a drug-free lifestyle.</blockquote><br /><br />Folks, this kind of program saves taxpayers money in the long run. Like vaccinations and education, programs like this are one of the best investments society can make with taxpayer money. And, like cutting education, cutting this program is one of the dumbest moves a government can make because it will COST us all money in the long run. That is why I am interested in this issue, even though the 7th Ave Stink is also something I am concerned with. But the media articles that only focused on the garbage issue missed the main point. As did, I think, the initial response from Brad Lander and Steve Levin, though as I will quote below, Brad Lander has more depth to his stand than his initial statements indicated.<br /><br />Responding to the disgusting conditions on 7th Ave these days, my building's resident Yenta asked me who to talk to. I recommended several offices she could contact including city council reps Levin and Lander, who represent the area. Here is the letter she got from Brad Lander's office (Levin, who actually represents our building, never bothered to answer...says alot right there about Steve Levin!):<br /><br /><blockquote>Dear Ms. _____, Thank you for contacting me. Unfortunately, the blue-uniformed street cleaners on 7th Avenue were lost to budget cuts. Do you know any of the merchants on 7th Avenue? The merchants on 5th Avenue have formed a Business Improvement District, that maintains the avenue at a higher level of cleanliness that the Sanitation Department can do on its own. Maybe something similar is needed for 7th Avenue or merchants there could team up with the 5th Avenue merchants? Best,Alex </blockquote><br /><br />Now first off, I will agree with Lander's office that perhaps 7th Ave needs a merchant's association like 5th Ave has. That would help. But I also want to say Lander's office is misleading here. The blue-uniformed men form the Doe Fund who clean our streets are at least partly funded by discretionary funding (and some City Councilmembers, <a href="http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2011/07/07/queens/qns_dromm_funding_20110707.txt">like Daniel Dromm</a>, HAVE chosen to help fund it...more on that below). So it isn't really budget cuts that led to the loss of this service in our neighborhood, it is mainly that Brad Lander and Steve Leven CHOSE to cut this program. They are using their discretionary funding money somewhere else. Discretionary spending all too often goes to rewarding political supporters, and Steve Levin, at least, is part of a corrupt political machine that is infamous for funneling taxpayer money to reward political allies. As I will quote below, Lander is making some decisions that I may not agree with, but which have some reasoning behind it. Levin may well be simply following in the Vito Lopez machine tradition of rewarding cronies and not giving a rat's ass about the community, though I don't know because he answered no one in our building on the matter.<br /><br />I also should note that my building's Yenta had some very harsh statements about Lander after actually meeting him, though since I was not there I can't judge the interaction. She can be harsh, and Lander, in my experience, can fumble delicate interactions. I remain hopeful that Lander will prove a good Councilmember, but he failed to make a good initial impression on this issue...but after my original article, he took the time to respond and in that response showed a more thoughtful side that failed to come out when my building's Yenta was trying to get answers.<br /><br />Here is Brad Lander's response to my objections to his decision...and note that it differs from what his office sent to my building's Yenta: (I left out parts...if Brad feels I did so unfairly I will repost with those parts added, but they mostly deal with his response to another article that both he and I feel didn't address the real issues)<br /><br /><blockquote>First, thanks for your nice words on my support of community efforts in response to the awful string of sexual assaults in the area. <br /><br />I wanted to respond to your post on the cancellation of the City’s contract (funded previously by City Council discretionary member-item funding) with the Doe Fund to provide extra sidewalk cleaning on 7th Avenue...[Here is where I cut something Brad may want included and if so I will repost including it...but I feel it didn't address the main issues I was engaging him on]<br /><br />However, because you raised the issue of the Doe Fund in your blog post, I wanted to give you some additional background.<br /><br />I’ve spent much of my career working on homelessness and affordable housing, and in my time at the Fifth Avenue Committee also worked extensively on supporting successful community re-entry for former prisoners through FAC’s <a href="http://www.fifthave.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=612&nodeID=54">“Developing Justice” program</a>. If you take a look you’ll see that many of my member items go to organizations that try to help people get back on their feet, and address underlying causes. This summer, I helped Old First Church & the new Park Slope Interfaith Social Justice Network organize a new nightly respite shelter...[sentence fragment removed]<br /><br />Many of the people who I most respect in this field – from the Coalition for the Homeless, and the Legal Aid Society – are highly critical of the Doe Fund. They believe that they pay the men in their programs less-than-minimum-wage, and that their programs are paternalistic. <br /><br />As you may remember, it was the Doe Fund that bused homeless people to City Hall to support Bloomberg’s efforts to overturn the will of the voters & extend term limits so he could have a third term. And they were well-rewarded with increased funding afterward (maybe they could use some of the additional $10 million they got to keep the street-cleaning going on 7th Avenue):<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/07/nyregion/07doe.html?pagewanted=all<br /><br />Even before this, however, the Doe Fund was one of Mayor Giuliani’s most-favored-not-for-profit organizations, and founder/CEO George McDonald often defended Giuliani’s "approach" to dealing with homeless and poverty. You might also check out this article about McDonald keeping for himself $100,000 in prize money awarded to the organization:<br /><br />http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-11-05/local/27080283_1_doe-fund-prize-money-daniel-borochoff<br /><br />All that said, we honestly cut the program because we simply could not afford it. Member items have been cut back, as the Council has tried to protect other things from the Mayor’s budget axe – not only teachers, firefighters, etc … but also some of the most important programs that address criminal justice, re-entry, and recidivism. For example, one initiative that I fought hard to have the Council restore, over the Mayor’s cut, was a $3.5 <a href="http://www.ati-ny.org/">alternatives-to-incarceration & re-entry support initiative</a>, that funds the best groups doing that work – including CASES, Center for Community Alternatives, Center for Employment Opportunities, Fortune Society, Legal Action Center, Osborne Association, and Women's Prison Association. The mayor wanted to eliminate the program entirely, and we were able to restore it. I believe these programs are the best at addressing re-entry (and related criminal justice issues).<br /><br />But restoring cuts made by the Mayor leaves far less money for discretionary member items – in my case about 50% less. As a result, the Doe Fund cost about 25% of my total discretionary spending, for one street. Keeping it would have meant cutting another 10 not-for-profit organizations who rely on the small grants we are able to provide (like NYC Coalition Against Hunger, Brooklyn Housing & Family Services, CAMBA, Food for NYC, Center for Antiviolence Education, South Brooklyn Legal Services, etc). </blockquote><br /><br />Let me begin by emphasizing that Lander and Levin still were misleading in their response to constituents and the media, as I outlined in my last article. The cuts were THEIR choice and were not related to firehouses and teachers the way they implied. The explanation given by Lander in response to my article contains a good deal of thoughtful information, some of which I agree with some I do not. Had Brad been more up front rather than add his name to a claim about teachers and firehouses (whose funding is not really related to the Doe Fund getting discretionary funding) it would have looked better. Also, given the fact that the Doe Fund is viewed as having a very good record of reducing recidivism, Lander and Levin's claim that it is not cost-effective is suspect. A better analysis, and a more up front analysis, could have helped. I can point out a couple of instances where the Doe Fund's cost-effectiveness can be called into question (see below) but it also is one of the most successful programs at reducing recidivism (refer to numbers in original article). The benefit to the community of cleaner streets combined with one of the best records of reducing recidivism means it is a program that should not be easily dismissed. Brad Lander's thoughtful response gives some much needed background. The original misleading, glib answer was not helpful.<br /><br />Now to start, I will give my agreements with Brad's statement. I also have criticized the Doe Fund for their ties to Bloomberg and their push for his third term. But in a nation where prisons are a sadly booming big business, costing an increasing amount of taxpayer money just to keep more and more people behind bars in perpetuity, it seems to me that the cost effectiveness of the Doe Fund is hard to argue with. And there are so few programs that succeed at reducing recidivism that it seems terrible to defund one of the few that works. <br /><br />Let me review the cost effectiveness of the Doe Fund, even if they have their faults:<br /><br />The Doe Fund program always struck me as a win-win situation: neighborhoods got cleaned up beyond the minimal effort the city puts in, and parolees get a much better shot at making life outside prison work, reducing recidivism and hence saving the state money in the long run. Great, no? AND IT WORKS!<br /><br />From "<a href="http://nyunewsdoc.wordpress.com/rockefeller-drug-laws/a-solution-grows-in-brooklyn/">Women Out of Prison</a>:"<br /><br /><blockquote>Since taking office in 1989, District Attorney Charles Hynes remains an active proponent of reentry programs, like Ready, Willing, and Able, as a viable means to reduce recidivism.<br /><br />“Reentry is the most important criminal justice issue we face,” said Hynes at a Roundtable Reentry meeting last November. “Putting people back into prison is, simply, morally indefensible.”<br /><br />Unlike studies that show two-thirds of all incarcerated people reentering civilian life return to prison within three years, the success rates coming out of transitional employment programs tell a completely different story.<br /><br />“When we look at the graduates of our program, we are finding a recidivism rate of less than 4 percent, compared to a national average of 45 percent,” says Lee Alman, Director of Public Affairs at The Doe Fund. “They are staying out of the criminal justice system.”<br /><br />According to Hynes, joint programs overall that incorporate both treatment and employment for newly released prisoners have the effect of “reducing recidivism to mere fractions.” In 1999, Hynes created the city’s first significant prisoner reentry program, named “Community and Law Enforcement Resources Together,” and partnered with The Doe Fund to provide these employment opportunities.<br /><br />So far the Brooklyn model seems to be working. As the city has seen a huge rise in drug cases since Paterson’s historic reforms this past April, they have, in Hynes’ words, “hardly made a ripple in Brooklyn,” because of treatment programs like ComALERT that have been in place for several years now.<br /><br />And the savings have been significant. A study conducted by the Office of National Drug Control Policy in 2004 found that the economic cost of drug abuse nationwide is $180 billion, and roughly 60 percent are crime-related costs (i.e., court costs, law enforcement, etc.). Furthermore, it costs $187 a day to incarcerate someone in the New York penal system. According to Hynes, it costs New York taxpayers $10 a day to put an offender through treatment programs like ComALERT.</blockquote><br /><br />THIS IS WHAT IS BEING CUT. Not just a cosmetic makeover of a fancy neighborhood. It is a program that reduces recidivism and saves taxpayers money...it, based on District Attorney Hynes' numbers above, represents a net savings of $177 per day per person that goes through this program and does not re-enter prison. That is what good government is all about but it seems it is not a priority right now.<br /><br />That may be my main disagreement with Brad Lander. He portrays the program as not cost-effective. I can't agree with that. His other criticisms I think I agree with. But it is the most cost-effective program I have been able to find when it comes to reducing recidivism. And so far nothing Brad has said counters that impression. YES they may be flawed. They have been criticized for paying their top execs high salaries (can I get in on that...I could use the raise!)...and they have been rightly criticized for getting too involved politically in Bloomberg's power grab for a third term. AND the Doe Fund may well be paternalistic and pay their workers sub-minimum wage. BUT...and this is the key point for me, they remain one of the most effective programs when it comes to reducing recidivism, and I consider this a VERY important thing. Lander has not convinced me otherwise here. The Doe Fund remains one of the best programs, even if it has its own flaws. Lander has not convinced me that he is supporting anything better. YES I may like the politics of what Lander prefers over the Doe Fund...but I remain unconvinced that the bottom line in cost-effectiveness and overall benefit to the community is better served by Levin and Ladner defunding the Doe Fund.<br /><br />And I am not alone. Councilmember Daniel Dromm made a different decision about the Doe Fund. He chose to use his discretionary funding to support the Doe Fund in his district, continuing the clean up program for his constituents (the loss of which in Park Slope that led me into this issue) AND supporting the service given to parolees. I requested a statement from Dromm's office, asking some very specific questions partly based on Lander's comments to me. To give credit where credit is due, Lander went into detail. Dromm's office gave me a somewhat lame, canned answer. I happen to agree with the statement from Dromm's office, but it failed to address issues I specifically asked them based on Lander's statement. So, though I think Dromm has it right in many ways, Lander took more time addressing my concerns than Dromm did even though I asked Dromm's office very specific questions.<br /><br />Here is Daniel Dromm's rather canned (though I thinks accurate) statement on his choice, contrary to Levin and Lander's choice, to support the Doe Fund in his district:<br /><br /><blockquote>"The Doe Fund's Ready, Willing & Able program is a win-win situation for the community it serves and the individuals that are part of the program," said New York City Council Member Daniel Dromm (D-Queens). "It benefits our community by significantly improving our quality of life while giving the formerly homeless and incarcerated an opportunity to rehabilitate themselves and make positive contributions once they re-enter our society. The Doe Fund is one of a number of successful approaches to working with this group and helping them to re-enter as productive citizens. Our City needs more re-entry programs like the Doe Fund and The Fortune Society, which I am also proud to support."</blockquote><br /><br />I agree...but Dromm did not address the issues raised by Lander about the Doe Fund. Even though I continue to be critical of Lander (and even more so of Levin who doesn't seem to even care enough to respond to his constituents on the issue!) the issues he raises about the Doe Fund are valid. I asked Dromm's office about those issues and they failed to respond. Pity. I would have loved to hear how they address them.<br /><br />Bottom line is this. Levin has once again shown a lack of concern for Park Slope. Brad Lander does show considerable concern for Park Slope, though his initial responses were just as canned as Dromm's and less tied to the facts. But once challenged he gave a much better response than his initial comments, and raised legitimate issues about the Doe Fund, though I think his conclusions of the cost-effectiveness of the program have been proven wrong.<br /><br />I do hope that the businesses on 7th Ave take up the slack and clean up the streets better. I know I am not alone in somewhat avoiding 7th Ave during summer months when it stinks and the puddles are disgusting soups of rotting material. But the main focus of any business association will not be the homeless and parolees. They have no real reason to reduce recidivism. Any program they choose to fund to clean up Stinky 7th Ave will not necessarily do ANYTHING to reduce recidivism. THAT is where I think defunding the Doe Fund screws over New York. We lose our best program for getting people out of prison and back in society. Flaws and all, the Doe Fund is largely unsurpassed in that regard. So 7th Ave is getting stinkier and less pleasant to shop along, while prisoners lose yet another opportunity to turn their lives around.<br /><br />I thank Brad Lander for his response. Unlike Steve "Vito's Kid" Levin I feel both Lander and Dromm are interested in their respective communities. Both gave lame responses when first challenged on this issue. But I do feel both gave serious thought to the issue before coming to opposite conclusions. I happen to think Dromm came to the right conclusion while Lander did not.mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-63516991046171191102011-10-05T04:25:00.000-07:002011-10-05T04:54:51.020-07:00Taking on Wall Street Every DayI have personally been switching my money (credit cards, accounts, mortgage) away from the big bad mega-banks that screwed Americans with predatory lending and took taxpayer handouts with better banks and financial institution. And I invite you to join me. It is a way of moving your money at least a step away from the worst of Wall Street.<br /><br />In particular I pick four banks to target: Bank of America, Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo<br /><br />I base my recommendations on three things:<br /><br />1. Customer service complaints. The banks that get the most customer service complaints are as follows: (according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, I think these numbers are from 2009)<br /><br /> Bank of America: 7,230 complaints (25.5% of total)<br /> J.P. Morgan Chase: 4,890 complaints (17.3%)<br /> Citigroup: 3,742 complaints (13.2%)<br /> Wells Fargo: 2,695 complaints (9.5%)<br /> HSBC North America: 1,963 complaints (6.9%)<br /> Wachovia: 1,265 complaints (4.5%)<br /> U.S. Bancorp: 1,027 complaints (3.6%)<br /> National City: 586 complaints (2.1%)<br /> The Royal Bank of Scotland Group: 537 complaints (1.9 %)<br /> Key Corp: 343 complaints (1.2 %)<br /><br /> Total Top 10 complaints: 24,278 complaints (85.7%)<br /> Total complaints: 28,316 complaints (100%)<br /><br />Furthermore, the numbers of complaints are getting worse. <a href="http://www.mainstreet.com/article/money/investing/big-bank-complaints-increased-2010">Chase, Bank of America and Citicorp in particular declined seriously in terms of customer service in 2010</a>, according to the Comptroller of the Currency, the American Consumer Satisfaction Index, and Better Business Bureau. <br /><br />I advocate avoiding the banks that are around 10% or more of the total complaints (Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Chase and Bank of America). Why patronize companies that treat their customers like crap? Particularly since they have been giving even WORSE service since we bailed them out!<br /><br />2. Predatory lending. The same banks that rank highest in customer service complaints are among the worst offenders when it comes to predatory lending. That is strike two against them. Why patronize companies that have bad, greedy business practices that lead to national and international economic crises? <a href="http://www.theroot.com/views/more-money-more-problems">And furthermore the predatory lending was carried out by these same banks in a racist manner</a>, charging higher interest rates for blacks and Hispanics than for whites and Asians. And it is the SAME four banks that were the most racist in their predatory lending.<br /><br />3. Welfare Banks: The same banks are also ones that eagerly took taxpayer funded bailout money while also advocating for cuts to services for poor and middle class Americans as being "big government". They are selfish and hypocritical as well as lousy businesses.<br /><br />Also, I should note that two of these banks, Bank of America and Citigroup, also are two of the <a href="http://moleprogressive.blogspot.com/2011/08/top-ten-tax-dodging-companies.html">top ten tax dodging companies in America</a>. They love to take our tax money, but hate to pay their fair share.<br /><br />So I advocate boycotting at least Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Chase and Bank of America. However people need alternatives. I personally have switched to USAA and TD Bank, both of which are famous for customer service, did no predatory lending, and took no bail out money. But I am learning about even better options through Green America.<br /><br />Green America (which I have been associated with since they were Co-op America) has some resources:<br /><br /><br /> <a href="http://www.greenamerica.org/socialinvesting/whattoknow.cfm">* The basics about socially responsible investing</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.greenamerica.org/pubs/fph/retirement.cfm"> * How to retire with one million dollars in a just and sustainable world</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.greenamerica.org/socialinvesting/communityinvesting/index.cfm"> * How your savings and checking accounts can build healthy communities through community investing</a><br /><br />I personally have been divesting myself of these big bad banks like Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo and Citibank and instead switching my mortgage, accounts and credit cards to <a href="http://www.usaa.com/">USAA</a> (which only works with Veterans and their families) and <a href="http://www.tdbank.com/">TD Bank</a> (a large bank that actually has excellent customer service and did not engage in predatory lending). Other people I know have been switching to local credit unions. I have particularly liked TD Bank who refinanced my mortgage at a much better rate and much simpler than the big bad banks. By comparison, Chase dicked me around so much, constantly upping the interest rate every time I talked to them, that I finally told them where they could stuff their refinance. TD Bank offered me a better rate and stuck by it.<br /><br />But so far my wife and I still haven't been able to get rid of all our Chase and Bank of America credit cards. Paying off the debt is tough, but we are working on it. But I would like to find better credit cards to use.<br /><br />Well, <a href="http://www.greenamerica.org/pubs/realgreen/articles/ResponsibleCreditCards.cfm">Green America</a> has some suggestions I would like to pass on to you.<br /><br /><blockquote>Cards Connected to Better Banks <br />There are socially responsible banks and credit unions that exemplify responsible lending practices—as well as community investing institutions that take the social mission one step further by also investing in low-income populations. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.wainwrightbank.com/html/personal/cards.html">Wainwright Bank Visa Cards</a> (fees and rates vary): Wainwright, a Boston-based bank with a tradition of “socially progressive” banking, offers six different Visa credit cards with different rates and terms. All of these cards are issued and managed by Elan, a financial services company. Steven F. Young, senior vice president at Wainwright, says they “chose Elan because we felt their consumer practices were best.”<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pcuonline.org/services/pcu-visa">Permaculture Credit Union’s (PCU) Visa card</a> (13% apr, no annual fee): Based in New Mexico, PCU is committed to Earth-friendly and socially responsible loans and investments. PCU’s card is issued by the Illinois Credit Union League to anyone, whether or not they are a PCU account holder, though applicants should mention they are “affiliated” with Permaculture Credit Union.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.redirectguide.com/visa">ReDirect Visa</a> (15.15% apr, no annual fee): The ReDirect card is issued by Washington state’s ShoreBank Pacific.Depositors fuel the bank’s lending programs, which enable sustainable community development. ShoreBank Pacific issues the card by way of TCM, which is owned by ICBA Bancard, a subsidiary of the Independent Community Bankers of America. <br /><br />Your card fees support ShoreBank Pacific’s community investing mission, and half of the card’s proceeds go toward reducing CO2 emissions through Sustainable Travel International’s “MyClimate” high-quality offsets. In addition to a conventional rewards program, the card also earns cardholders discounts at the sustainable businesses listed in regional “ReDirect Guides” for Denver/Boulder/Fort Collins, CO; Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA; and Salt Lake City/Park City, UT. Those businesses that offer Internet purchasing will extend ReDirect discounts to any cardholder. There’s no need to have a ShoreBank Pacific account to apply.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.salmonnation.com/growsn/snvisa.html">Salmon Nation Visa</a> (15.15% apr, no annual fee): This card, also from ShoreBank Pacific, directs a percentage of its income to growing a community of citizens that practice environmental stewardship of “Salmon Nation,” a bio-region stretching from Alaska to Oregon where wild salmon live. Like the ReDirect card, Salmon Nation Visa isn’t benefiting a mega-bank, and you don’t need a ShoreBank Pacific account to apply.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.albinabank.com/">The Loop Card</a> (11.99% apr, no annual fee): A Visa from Albina Community Bank in Oregon. Profits from this Visa from Oregon’s Albina Community Bank not only support Albina, but one percent of every purchase goes to Portland’s neighborhoods, funding education, health, social services, environment, the arts, or economic development projects. You do not have to have an account with Albina to get the card, and it is not connected to a mega-bank.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sbk.com/">Shorebank’s Elan Visa Consumer Card</a> (variable apr, no annual fee): ShoreBank, in the Midwest, is a community development and environmental bank that issues a credit card available to anyone nationwide through Elan, the same company servicing Wainright Bank’s cards, at a rate determined by your credit history. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.self-help.org/">Self-Help credit union cards</a> (9.95–12.95% apr, no annual fee): Self-Help, headquartered in North Carolina, works in communities traditionally underserved by conventional financial institutions. It offers Classic and Platinum Visa credit cards to members, and through online banking, anyone nationwide can become an account holder and apply. The cards are issued by Self-Help, a community development bank. <br /><br />For those purchases you make by credit card, using one of these best-option cards can make your charges a force for good.</blockquote><br /><br />One of my goals once we can pay off most of our current credit card debt is to switch from my current credit cards, which are still mega-bank linked, to one or two of these cards. I hope you will all join my in making the switch.<br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/2011/08/consumer-advice-page.html">Return to Mole's Consumer Advice Page.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942732032204645979.post-18500269055399954842011-10-04T06:33:00.001-07:002011-10-04T06:33:32.698-07:00Preventing and Dealing With Bed Bugs<a href="http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-5403436-10813943" target="_top"><br /><img src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-5403436-10813943" width="125" height="125" alt="Best bed bug mattress cover for bedbug infestation" border="0"/></a><br /><br />This is a second update from an earlier article. (I try to keep things fresh!)<br /><br />In 2006 I <a href="http://www.dailygotham.com/blog/mole333/bed_bugs_0">wrote an article</a> about a relatively new but spreading problem: bed bugs. Since I wrote that article the problem has gotten bad enough that it has sparked a whole industry of detection and extermination of bed bugs and has led to hundreds of articles all over the mainstream media reporting on this growing problem. But this has led to misunderstandings and some shady businesses as well. This article is designed to help you avoid bedbugs if possible, and get rid of them if you do get them. The problems continues to get worse. Every week I see mattresses wrapped in plastic laid out (unnecessarily!) on the street to be discarded, probably due to a bed bug scare or infestation. The last two days alone I saw some 20 mattresses as well as considerable amount of bedding and a couple of couches all tightly wrapped up and being needlessly thrown out. I assume most of these are due to bed bugs.<br /><br />In 2010 the building I live in had a bed bug scare. It seemed at first as if several apartments were affected with possibly two separate initial infections (at opposite ends of the building). Turns out that probably only one apartment ever had them, but had the building's managing board not acted rapidly it would have spread. As it was the managing board spent tens of thousands of dollars to pinpoint possibly affected apartments and proactively treat them. During that time we became quite informed about the pests. More recently we had another scare. That turned out to be nothing. But it reinforced our knowledge of the issue.<br /><br />The bad news is the problem continues to spread and a lot of what is being done about it is the wrong approach. For example, throwing away your mattress if it has bed bugs is unnecessary and it helps spread the problem because you have just put the bed bugs out on the street where they can get on people's shows (including your own to re-infest your home). The good news is there are some very simple things you can do that will prevent them from coming into your living space. Three relatively simple and inexpensive methods greatly reduce your chances of getting them: mattress covers, diatomaceous earth, and rubbing alcohol.<br /><br />First, the problem...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/vector/vector-faq1.shtml">From the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene website:</a><br /><br /><blockquote> Bed bugs are small insects that feed on the blood of mammals and birds. Adult bed bugs are oval, wingless and rusty red colored, and have flat bodies, antennae and small eyes. They are visible to the naked eye, but often hide in cracks and crevices. When bed bugs feed, their bodies swell and become a brighter red. In homes, bed bugs feed primarily on the blood of humans, usually at night when people are sleeping...<br /><br /> Typically, the bite is painless and rarely awakens a sleeping person. However, it can produce large, itchy welts on the skin. Welts from bed bug bites do not have a red spot in the center--those welts are more characteristic of flea bites...<br /><br /> Although bed bugs may be a nuisance to people, they are not known to spread disease.</blockquote><br /><br />That is also good news. Bed bugs are not disease vectors like mosquitoes. They are just irritating in the extreme...and they can really infest an apartment if not properly addressed. But no one gets sick or dies from bed bugs.<br /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=192890&u=531686&m=24102&urllink=&afftrack="><img src="http://www.shareasale.com/image/468x60-244.gif" alt="click Here to View Our Selection of Bed Bug Products" border="0"></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">WHY NOW?</span><br /><br />The problem first became wide spread in NYC in 2005...after a lull of about 60 years where there were few or no reportings of bed bugs in NYC, one of the current epicenters. Since then the epidemic has taken off. Now I have heard from one professional that one out of every eleven apartment units in NYC has bed bugs. Let me emphasize that I was sounding the alarm early on this one!<br /><br />Why the sudden epidemic? There are several possible reasons. Some have tried to blame it on immigrants. That is almost certainly not true since here in NYC we have a pretty constant influx of immigrants and the influx of bed bugs has never correlated with influx of immigrants. If this was going to be a major source of spread, there would not have been a 60 year lull. NYC has always been a major immigrant hub (I know my ancestors came through here) but the upswing in bed bugs seems to have only started around 2005 for NYC. But elsewhere in the country the upswing started more like 2000, according to a an article from <a href="http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1136937,00.html">Time Magazine</a> back when I first looked into this. Blaming immigrants is just plain unfounded.<br /><br />One aspect of the sudden rise of the bed bugs is simple evolution. I have often reported on how the <a href="http://healthymole.blogspot.com/2011/08/your-health-antibiotic-resistant.html">misuse and overuse of antibiotics, particularly in animal feed, has led to a huge emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria</a>. This has been a huge problem and is one reason why I now only buy meat and chicken raised without antibiotics. Well the same thing happens with insects. Overuse and misuse of pesticides in America and abroad has led to bed bugs that are resistant to most pesticides. For the record, same goes with lice. Those horribly toxic shampoos used for lice are mostly useless by now because the lice have evolved resistance against them. The proper use of a lice comb and careful removal of eggs is the only truly effective way to remove lice. And many treatments for bed bugs are ineffective for the same reason.<br /><br />Another aspect that I suspect is going on is global warming. Simple fact is that most insects prefer warmer temperatures. I want to emphasize that this is speculation. The evolution of pesticide resistance is not speculative but pretty much established fact. But global warming HAS been shown to be the cause for the spread of many pests, and it almost certainly will eventually be shown to play a role for many more. So I am betting that rising temperatures have helped the bed bug infestation spread.<br /><br />So what can you do? I'm going to work backwards, from treatment to detection to prevention. Why? Because if I give you an idea about how awful the treatment and expensive and potentially inaccurate the detection, prevention will sound much better to you. And honestly the more we all work to keep these things under control the more likely it will be we can limit them. Remember that if your neighbors get them, you will probably get them too if you aren't actively trying to prevent them (diatomaceous earth is the best way to prevent spread from a neighbor!).<br /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=250096&u=531686&m=24102&urllink=&afftrack="><img src="http://www.shareasale.com/image/24102/468x60.gif" alt="click here to learn more" border="0"></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">TREATMENT</span><br /><br />There seem to be three main treatments. All three are horrible to go through and hugely expensive. They are basically heating, freezing, and poisoning. I guess there is a fourth which you can use for any items that can't stand up to the other treatments: bag everything for 2 years. That is about how long it takes to kill bed bugs by starvation. I did notice that the more convinced exterminators were that we didn't actually have them, the more they backed off that number. Eventually they seemed to settle on 6 months. But there has been research that showed even after a year sealed in a bag with no food or water, the researchers could still find bed bugs not just living, but actually reproducing! They are tough SOBs. So sealing them off requires two years to be absolutely sure. One exterminator suggested adding moth balls to the bag you put things in can help speed up the process, but I have not confirmed that. Probably 6 months with mothballs in the bag is good enough, but not as certain as 2 years.<br /><br />Also, I notice many homes in NYC with mattresses thrown out. I suspect this sudden increase in mattresses being thrown out is due to bed bugs. But there is no need to throw out a mattress because mattress covers will seal them in, away from you, until they die. Mattress covers are necessary anyway (see below) so just put them on and keep the mattress. It saves money and keeps them from spreading to other parts of the neighborhood. Mattress covers are cheaper than a new mattress!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bedshield.com/products.php?PARTNER=#####"><img src="http://www.bedshield.com/images/banner4.gif" border="0"></a> <br /><br />Treatment usually involves bagging almost everything you own for months to years, punching 1 inch diameter holes in many of your walls, then either getting poison all over everything, including inside your walls (and it takes WEEKS to fully clean up), or raising the temperature in the whole apartment above what bed bugs can tolerate, or lowering the temperature in the whole apartment to below what they can tolerate. Only bathrooms and kitchens are largely left untouched (as long as you seal them off so the poison doesn't get in them). All of these treatments are horribly inconvenient, expensive and disruptive. Best to avoid them if you can by preventing bed bugs altogether!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">DETECTION</span><br /><br />Detection has issues as well. Usually what is first obvious is the itching from the bites. Then people will notice the bugs' very dark droppings (basically like dried up flakes of blood...yeah...your blood if you've got itching bites). By the time you are noticing them, it is likely that you have a pretty bad infestation. People won't always see them because they mostly come out at night, but a really bad infestation they will be everywhere, day and night. The earlier you catch the problem the easier it is to deal with.<br /><br />There are two expert methods of identifying them: trained people and trained dogs. The dogs have been getting a lot of press these days, and they CAN be very effective. The dog's nose is an amazing thing, and they really can be trained to sniff out anything and tell you about it. There are bomb sniffing dogs, drug sniffing dogs, and now bed bug sniffing dogs. The flaws are that they are extremely expensive and, though potentially extremely accurate, they are in practice sometimes very inaccurate. Dogs basically want food and attention. They don't care about accuracy...they just want to be rewarded, so they are easily distracted. We are pretty sure that our building had many false alarms because of a dog whose handler was less than professional. I am not saying it is a scam (though that can happen if the same company offers detection and treatment!) or the dog was poorly trained. It just has a built in inaccuracy which has to be kept in mind. The dogs are VERY accurate IF AND ONLY IF they are properly trained and handled and not distracted.<br /><br />When my building had a second scare I had the chance to better understand a good vs. bad use of a bed bug sniffing dog. I bet most of these dogs are almost as well trained as bomb or drug sniffing dogs, so have a lot of potential. But the handlers also have to be properly trained. The first time I personally witnessed a bed bug sniffing dog and handler team doing its thing I felt both dog and handler were performing for an audience and I felt they were giving false positive readings because of it. It seemed very unprofessional. Was the handler inexperienced? Or simply unprofessional? Or was it an outright scam to drum up business for his company? I don't know.<br /><br />The second year we had an issue a different dog and different handler came (though from the same company). This time they seemed MUCH more professional and the handler limited the number of people around the dog to limit distractions. He did not detect bed bugs in our building. The difference was very clear between a handler who was showing off and one who was doing his job.<br /><br />Bottom line is this: the dogs are potentially really accurate, but the handlers are variable, even from the same company. My advice is a.) get an inspection from a different company than you will hire to deal with any infestation and make that clear from the start. Otherwise the company you hire to detect a problem will be the same company that handles the problem, creating a conflict of interest. And b.) watch the dog and handler...if they seem to be playing to an audience there is a problem. If they seem to be open to one person observing but focused on keeping the dog from being distracted, then they are more trustworthy. Beware of show offs, whether dog or handler.<br /><br />What about human detection? People will miss the very beginning of an infestation that a dog could catch, but they do the inspection in a smarter manner and so can be more accurate overall once an infestation has gotten going beyond the first stages. Dogs are potentially more accurate but sometimes people do the inspection in a smarter way. So it's a toss up which to hire.<br /><br />But the bottom line is if either a dog or a person with training in detection tells you you have them, it is really hard not to say yes to the treatment because far, far better safe than sorry. The earlier you catch it the easier it is to stop, so if you want to wait and see if the dog or person is right, you may find yourself with an out of control infestation which will be even harder and more expensive to deal with.<br /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=280955&u=531686&m=24102&urllink=&afftrack="><img src="http://www.shareasale.com/image/24102/468x602.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">PREVENTION</span><br /><br />Oh, and is now a good time to mention bed bugs are ALL OVER THE CITY? One out of every 11 apartment units in NYC. Hotels. In the UN building. In places of work. In movie theaters. The good news is that they don't really move around so much except at night, so they aren't jumping from person to person much. Though the darkness in movie theaters is a concern...when you come back from a movie, be particularly careful about your shoes, coat and pants cuffs. Treatment with rubbing alcohol (mentioned below) will help.<br /><br />The main vector is bringing into your apartment items that have already got them living inside them...furniture, books, etc. But one exterminator I talked to believed people's shoes are a major vector. So they aren't spread so much directly from one person to another (like lice) but by bringing infested things into your building.<br /><br />So what can you do to prevent them from coming into your living space?<br /><br />First be really, really careful scrounging anything, particularly furniture. Now I have scrounged a lot of stuff in my time...still do from time to time, but now I am highly careful. If a book has bed bugs, it is pretty easy to detect...if you look. You will see the black specs that are their droppings. Furniture can be harder, but there are treatments if you really want to bring a scrounged piece of furniture into your apartment. Heating (if you can), rubbing alcohol, or diatomaceaous earth (see below). But my wife figures the safest is to not scrounge at all.<br /><br /><a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=jUiiRl5U*AQ&offerid=179320.10000049&subid=0&type=4"><IMG border="0" alt="Bed Bug Kit Banner" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=jUiiRl5U*AQ&bids=179320.10000049&subid=0&type=4&gridnum=1"></a><br /><br />Mattresses and pillows can be sealed up. This costs some money, but if you get good mattress and pillow covers, even if you have an infested mattress or bed you can just leave it in the cover and they will eventually die and you keep the bed from being their favorite habitat. These covers are the most recommended action you can take. When exterminators heard we already had them, they were 90% sure we couldn't have a problem. So covering your mattresses and pillows with high end versions of these covers will really protect you. This is a cost you probably don't want to skimp on. And a good cover shouldn't be uncomfortable. It also keeps you from having major dust mite problems, something almost all beds have and can make allergies worse. So the mattress and pillow covers are good all around, reducing chances of bed bug problems and reducing allergies.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bedshield.com/products.php?PARTNER=#####"><img src="http://www.bedshield.com/images/banner4.gif" border="0"></a> <br /><br />But shoes are an issue as well. One exterminator said you should always take your shoes off when you come in and if possible place them in a container with diatomaceous earth (again...see below). He believes that (scrounging an infested bed aside) this would prevent almost all spread of bed bugs. Not sure if that is true, but it certainly would help. Another exterminator I and others talked to suggested buying 90% or higher rubbing alcohol (a higher percent than the usual stuff you get, which is 70%) and putting some in a spray bottle in your entryway. Spraying your shoes every time you enter your home (particularly after being in a movie theater), your luggage when traveling (inside and out, before and after traveling), and any furniture you bring in can greatly limit the chances of bringing bed bugs into your home.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=moleshomepage&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B001B5JT8C&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><br />Now we come to some amazing stuff that I was dubious about but have seen in action. <a href="http://healthymole.blogspot.com/2011/08/pest-control-advice-diatomaceous-earth.html">Diatomaceous earth</a> is one of the best treatments to protect your home from ANY crawling bug, from ant to cockroach to bed bug, from entering. Diatoms are tiny animals that live in the ocean and create a silica shell. These shells are beautiful (if you have a microscope to look at them with), elaborate, and very sharp. These animals die, fall to the bottom of the sea, and form thick beds of diatom skeletons. When plate tectonics (earthquakes and continental drift) brings these deposits up above sea level, they can be mined. These deposits of tiny silica skeletons of long dead diatoms are called diatomaceous earth. It is a white powder of very tiny sharp skeletons. To us the sharpness, at worst, will irritate our skin a bit. It can't really harm us (in fact some people eat the stuff to cure or prevent intestinal parasites, but I am not sure this is okay!). But to something small like an insect, it is like the death of a thousand cuts. The coating around an insect that helps keep in moisture gets pierced and they dry out and die.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=moleshomepage&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00127Q860&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><br />You can get diatomaceous earth online or in a hardware store. It isn't that expensive. If you even get so-called "food grade" diatomaceous earth it can be used in a kitchen because it is considered so harmless.<br /><br />We got diatomaceous earth and I basically spread it around the entire perimeter of every room in our apartment, making sure to get it into every crevice. The problem is this stuff gets everywhere. I found it irritating to my lungs at first, but once most of it settled and we vacuumed up anything not around the edges of a room (this is also good for making sure your vacuum isn't infested!) that went away. Next time I use it so liberally I will wear a face mask. For months after I spread the stuff around, the diatomaceous earth was still visible in the crevices and corners around many of the rooms but isn't a problem in any way.<br /><br />And the effectiveness? Within one day of spreading it around every single crawling insect, including ants, confused flour beetles, and cockroaches, just disappeared from our apartment. And they didn't come back for about a year. We live in a basement apartment, so we get insects every year and always have a kind of on going war with them. Nothing major, but we have to be vigilant. But after spreading diatomaceous earth, all crawling insects disappeared for a full year.<br /><br />This year we started seeing some ants again and I spread diatomaceous earth next to the sliding glass door and our basement windows. And again all crawling insects just disappeared. I still see plenty of ants outside, but none have come inside. And no cockroaches for a more than year now! In NYC...almost unheard of. The stuff works.<br /><br />So if most of NYC put their mattresses and pillows into bed bug covers, took off their shoes and put them in containers of diatomaceous earth or sprayed them with 90% or higher rubbing alcohol when they got home, and spread diatomaceous earth around the edges of their apartment walls, I am betting they would find many pests would be greatly reduced from their apartments. Bed bugs, ants and flour beetles are hard to get rid of. Diatomaceous earth does it. And it isn't the kind of thing that is easy to evolve a resistance to so it won't lose its effectiveness over the years.<br /><br />So there you go. Together we can all fight bed bugs. Hope this helps!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/p/health-and-wellness.html">Return to the Health and Wellness Blog</a><br /><br /><a href="http://thinkingmole.blogspot.com/">Return to I Had a Thought</a>mole333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11350258348093301297noreply@blogger.com1