Friday, April 02, 2010

I've been following the coverage CNN is giving the 'bullying' issues in American schools.

CNN likes their exposes'. They have a 'composition' style of journalism and it lends itself well to their form reporting. I am not going to beleaguer this point. The descriptions I have heard sound a great deal as if they are influenced by outside forces resulting in 'social pressure,' and not just 'peer pressure.'

If I may?

There was a straight A student that recently ended his own life. Some of the 'hazing' that occurred sounded as though it has come right out of movies and television scenes of 'tough guys.'

"His head was put in a toilet bowl."

Sure parental supervision of children could be blamed, but, it is more than that. It has been years since Columbine and now rather than 'mass murder' with guns in schools, there are misguided young people that are playing out images against their school mates and sending them into self destruction.



District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel, said nine teens had been charged in the 'unrelenting' bullying of Phoebe Prince. Photograph: Michael S. Gordon/AP

There needs to be better 'models' for school administrations to bring in authority, such as, police when hazing is an issue, no matter the grade. The students doing the 'hazing' might have to be removed from the environment where learning takes place in compassion of others. Maybe Bullies need their own schools. Like a 'Bully Magnet Academy,' where they focus on overachievement rather than their OWN insecurities and self-esteem issues when they find out they have some of the worst character flaws in society.

Some of the Principals and Superintendents might be intimidated by potential lawsuits by parents or by retaliation of violence by the students against them or increased intimidation or worse of the student being hazed.

At any rate, I believe they are at a loss to know what to do. Additionally, I believe it is grossly negligent of State governments NOT to outlaw 'social networking sites' from minors. They should NOT be allowed to recruit students under the age of 18.

At all.

Social networking sites provide a venue for the exploitation of young people and children. It provides too much access to 'personal' information without proper supervision. It is 'the wilds' of our society. A child and young person should not be exposed to 'the wild' until they are prepared to handle it.

There should not be violence allowed in commercials in venues where young minds meet. And the information provided to 'youth' cell phones should be strictly regulated with severe penalties for any victimization of American children and young people.

The youthful minds of the American society should not be saturated with violence in any venue, but, with learning and achievement in academics, social competency and athletic ability to some degree along with GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP.

I am appalled that young people and children are being prosecuted for pedophilia when they are exchanging nude pictures of themselves over their cell phones or any other means that is possible over the internet.

Placing 'adult' crimes in the lives of youth is NOT the answer to protecting them. That is further victimization of American youth by commercial technical venues.

The responsibility and the prosecution lies with the venue provider and their allowance of such a crime to occur. Our youth are not protected and that is plainly obvious. Our American children and young people are NOT 'for profit' entities within our society.

The American Violence Culture needs to be off limits to American youth and I don't care what form that takes, it is simply "W"rong.

If technology cannot protect young minds, then we don't need the technology. Where parents don't follow protection laws of the youth of the country, they need to be fined and ultimately jailed instead of their children.

It isn't easy being an elected official in the USA. The Governors are being threatened as the States are partnered with the Federal Government...

...on Health Care. Call out the National Guard to take care of the Governor if the State Police protection isn't enough or stretched to thin because of budget cut backs OR if the State Police just aren't armed the right way. I wouldn't hesitate for a minute.



Guardians of the free Republics sends extremist letters to governors, including Perdue, NC
Office of Governor Beverly Perdue

Nut Case militias. They kill abortion doctors and now they threaten Governors. Nice, real nice. And the FCC can't do anything about the propaganda that facilitates this mess. What doesn't the FCC understand about this? Maybe we need a few lynching or something. I just don't know.

It is called 'treason.' Maybe that might be helpful. When people call for the over throw of the government by hook or by crook, it is treason.


Guardians of the free Republics sends extremist letters to 30 governors, including Bev Perdue (click title to entry - thank you)

April 2, 6:18 PMRaleigh Headlines ExaminerThomas Wyatt

An extremist group called Guardians of the free Republics has sent menacing letters to over 30 state governors, demanding their resignations, over the last few days. The group intends to restore America by limiting the influence of the government.

Bev Perdue, governor of North Carolina was one of the recipients of the letters, which demanded that the governors step down within three days, or they will be removed from office. The FBI and DHS (Department of Homeland Security) do not suspect violent intentions, but, according to a report from CNN on the extremist letters, "law enforcement should be aware that this could be interpreted as a justification for violence or other criminal actions."

The letters are still under investigation, but Guardians of the free Republics openly opposes violent action. The group wants to make it clear that it also opposes many aspects of government, and that viewpoint was the subject of the letters sent to governors calling for their resignations.

Professor Phil Jones exonerated. When is the criminal 'e-mail' break-in going to be prosecuted?



The British Government's Science and Technology Committee (click title to entry - thank you) have today released their report into the disclosure of climate data from the University of East Anglia, largely exonerating Professor Phil Jones and the rest of the university's Climatic Research Unit (CRU). Professor Jones (pictured above), the director of the CRU, became the centre of a global media whirlwind late last year after the university's servers were hacked and several years worth of his team's personal email correspondence were released onto the internet. Climate sceptics used phrases from these emails to attack the CRU and Climate Science as a whole; however the committee today concluded that there is no evidence to challenge the "scientific consensus" that global warming is induced by human activities.

Much of the furore focused on two particular phrases in the emails - "trick" and "hiding the decline." However, today's report accepted that they were colloquial terms used in private e-mails and the "balance of evidence is that they were not part of a systematic attempt to mislead." The report also noted that Phil Jones and his workmates were scapegoats on whom the focus had been "largely misplaced." It went on to blame the university itself for its poor handling of freedom of information requests and a culture of non-disclosure....

The President is mislead in lifting the moritorim on offshore drilling.



Wry Heat (click here)

by Jonathan DuHamel, Economic Geologist

by wryheat on Apr.02, 2010, under energy

“Obama greatly expands drilling for oil, gas off American shores” read the front page headline in the April 1 edition of the Arizona Daily Star. This Associated Press story claimed that “President Obama threw open a huge swath of East Coast waters and other protected areas in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico to drilling Wednesday, widening the politically explosive hunt for more homegrown oil and gas.” “The president’s move allows drilling from Delaware to central Florida, plus the northern waters of Alaska, and exploration could begin 50 miles off the Virginia coast by 2012.”...

Besides all the other reasons I already stated, primarily safety of coastal communities and Haiti. It is morally "W"rong to break the moratorium.

If the USA has ONLY 2% of the oil in the world, that belongs to the military, no one else. It might be that future generations will need that oil to protect USA borders. It is wrong, completely wrong to allow not only offshore drilling, but, ANY drilling at all.

...The fundamental problem is this: there is a finite amount of fossil fuel....(click title to entry - thank you)

...The more of it we find and burn, the more carbon we put into the atmosphere, and the more severe the greenhouse effect becomes. Once the carbon is in the atmosphere, it stays there. If we want to limit climate change, what we have to do, one way or another, is to leave fuels in the ground wherever possible, not find and burn them....

March came in like a lion and left like a lion, but, with record double digit temperatures and floods, one would never know it according to ...

I am completely disillusioned with the FCC and their inability to take these liars and racists off the air. There is a gross difference between what Murdoch and Limbaugh do vs the KKK. With the KKK, one knows where they stand and they don't lie about where they stand. Calling themselves 'infotainment' is a gross distortion of Freedom of Speech.

One other thing. As Spring wears on into Summer, there will be sustained triple digit temperatures. Those without any way of coping with the heat and cities unaccustomed to helping citizens with heat related issues might want to prepare.

This is ONLY the beginning.


It may be the year that will realize nearly an iceless Arctic Ocean. That isn't a good thing. As there are occurrences of less and less ice in the Arctic Ocean for longer and longer periods of time, it will facilitate the heating of the oceans and terra firma.



April 2, 2010
10:45 GMT
USA Temperature Map

...the Right Wing media. Not cold enough for them?

Today, as Neil Boortz gets closer and closer to the goal of his April Rally in DC, the distortions and 'dream weaving' is more and more hideous.

His movement wants to instill "The Fair Tax" while dismantling the 16th and 17th Amendment in the Bill of Rights.

According to him when the ? Fair Tax ? is passed it will take effect after the 16th Amendment has been repealed.

Now the entire 'idea' that a Bill passed into Law could repeal a Ratified Amendment to the USA Constitution is unconstitutional. A bill can be passed to repeal an Amendment. At least there can be. But, at any rate, the circus these broadcast's cause is grossly misleading to the audience they have. I believe IF there was to be a repeal of any amendment to the USA Constitution it has to go through the same process as when it was ratified. To actually have people in the USA believe a Bill passed into Law can achieve all that is hideous. Quite frankly, the Boortz Fair Tax Bill could sit idle FOREVER, if the 16th Amendment was never repealed. Additionally, to think the USA would never face ANY set of circumstances where taxation of income wasn't necessary is only attempting to dismantle the military when we might need it most. None of it makes sense. The ? Fair ? Tax is a victimization of the people, both, in concept and in actual practice.

Amendment 16 - Status of Income Tax Clarified. Ratified 2/3/1913.

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

In 1895, in the Supreme Court case of Pollock v Farmer's Loan and Trust (157 U.S. 429), the Court disallowed a federal tax on income from real property. The tax was designed to be an indirect tax, which would mean that states need not contribute portions of a whole relative to its census figures. The Court, however, ruled that the tax was a direct tax and subject to apportionment. This was the last in a series of conflicting court decisions dating back to the Civil War. Between 1895 and 1909, when the amendment was passed by Congress, the Court began to back down on its position, as it became clear not only to accountants but to everyone that the solvency of the nation was in jeopardy. In a series of cases, the definition of "direct tax" was modified, bent, twisted, and coaxed to allow more taxation efforts that approached an income tax.

Finally, with the ratification of the 16th Amendment, any doubt was removed. The text of the Amendment makes it clear that though the categories of direct and indirect taxation still exist, any determination that income tax is a direct tax will be irrelevant, because taxes on incomes, from salary or from real estate, are explicitly to be treated as indirect. The Congress passed the Amendment on July 12, 1909, and it was ratified on February 3, 1913 (1,302 days).

Boortz and his listening audience wants to dismantle the USA Senate by claiming the States don't have representation in Washington, DC. Evidently, (P) Andora and Russia do, but, the States don't. Well, regardless the dream scape of this idiot the process would have to be the same. A bill would propose a repeal and in this case, I really don't see that bill passing ANY Senate vote, regardless, of its political composition.

- Senators Elected by Popular Vote. Ratified 4/8/1913.

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

The this afternoon's session of Rush Lamebaugh was nothing but pure unadulterated racism. According to Lamebaugh, the President hats White People because he hasn't gotten his feet wet in Rhode Island yet. Not only that but evidently President Obama has been speaking about USA Labor in Russia. According to Lamebaugh, President Obama has been using the words, 'worker,' 'factory,' and 'storefront' and they are all Marxist words. Funny, I always thought storefront was a small business word. But, alas that is only when "W" speaks it and not a freely elected Democratic President. Then again, maybe it is that 'hate for white people' that keeps bleeding through the Russian dialect that Lamebaugh is detecting.

I guess one could tell I just finished a long drive on the paved roads of the USA.

The "chronic" unemployment rate are in States with chronically contracted economies based on the "W" standard.

There is recovery happening, but, the Red States are dragging the recovery into the failure zone. When the Red States receive unemployment extentions it has to be to add disincentives to old infrastruture that is NOT recovering and actually lost jobs permanently. The "W" economy was based in construction while depriving education and conservation. The Red States are waiting for all that to return. It's not coming back, the construction 'bubble' accompanied the "investment bank" collapse and the investment banks have left the country. Okay? These States value systems are screwed up.

U.S. Adds 162,000 Jobs in March; Rate Remains 9.7% (click here)
By JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ
Published: April 2, 2010
The American economy added 162,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department reported Friday, while the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent....

Unenemployment Monthly Rates for States (click here)
Rankings
Seasonally Adjusted
Feb. 2010p

Of the top 11, there are three that are Blue States during the Obama election of 2008 and Number 10 is a tie with New Hampshire (blue) and Utah (red) are a tie. More traditionally, New Hampshire is a Red State with what's his name, Gregg as a Senator. So, given that reality, the "W" States are the ones with the greatest trouble in the recovery.

These states have little 'social' infrastructure. They don't provide their populations with monies to support the 'lag' in employment. They always have a lackluster economy. So, while the economic infrastructure is supported by Blue State policies and constitutions, the Red States will be the poorest performers of all. It is WHY the recovery has been exceptionally long at the rate of 9+%.

If I may?

These are the States that only recently had their legislatures meet. Their legislators are all 'OLD WORLD" legislators and believe in reducing the fiscal infrastructure rather than expanding it. Arizona is an interesting example of the 'drag' a State can create on the Federal Treasury and government. They have one of the lowest income tax rates in the country and their Governor is crying for National Guard help with their border issues.

These States shoot themselves in the foot and the House and Senate need to treat them differently. These states have to have incentive to 'change' the way they structure their infrastructure and handle their government presence in the economy. A good example of where North Carolina and South Carolina can improve their economic performance is to shift monies from Construction to Conservation and put all the people within those States to work doing what they love most.

Same is true in Arizona. Arizona is shutting down their State Park Systems with Spring and Summer coming when it should be hiring people to work in areas of their parks to increase their treasury income.

The Red States chronically work against their best interests because they have 'philosophies' that work against them.

In North Carolina, they have put to work some lunatic educational authorities that have removed 'The Civil War' from the High School History cirriculum due to the fact The South lost the war. The NC Educational lunatics now start their High School History education with Reconstruction and the victimization of the people of the South.

They are idiots that are acively seeking to change the course of history to 'fit' the way their electorate wants it to be rather than the way it actually occurred.

These States definately need PHILOSOPHICAL rehab and soon. It is why Democrats are either Blue or not elected.

This is insane. There is no such thing as 'close range' survival in nuclear weaponry.

This was back in the day when no one knew the long term effects and immediacy of the radiation sickness that follows such an explosion. Jihadists might not care, but, the people they would seek to liberate would be destroyed by their own attempts at war. Just think now what the neighborhood wars of the USA will look like, with Balloon Boy technology on the loose and the inspiration of Palin. Everyone load up on potassium iodide.



The Davy Crockett (click title to entry - thank you) was one of the smallest nuclear weapons ever made by the United States. Built in the late 1950s, and designed for the battlefields of Europe to stop a possible Warsaw Pact invasion, the warhead looked like a watermelon, being only 30 inches long and weighing about 76 pounds. From a portable tripod launcher, it could be fired at the enemy as close as 1,000 feet or up to 13,000 feet away. It was a weapon for nuclear war at close range.
Today, the Davy Crockett system has long since been retired, and is now a neat museum piece. You can see a
casing of the warhead at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in Albuquerque.
But the little nuclear watermelon is a reminder of the big work still to be done in arms control. The
just-completed strategic weapons treaty that U.S. President Barack Obama will sign in Prague next week with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev does not cover smaller nuclear warheads in both arsenals that are a legacy of the Cold War -- the so-called battlefield, or tactical weapons....