What’s interesting in the news today?
1. Not surprising. This has always been part of the liberal playbook/plan. This way it’s easy to override the will of the people without suffering for it at the polls.
From FoxNews “State-approved bans on same-sex marriage have been falling at a rapid clip since the Supreme Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act last year.
The changes — gay couples can now wed in 19 states and the District of Columbia — reflect shifting social and political attitudes toward same-sex marriage. But they also reflect, in several cases, the opinions of Democrat-appointed judges who single-handedly struck down state-approved bans.
In a testament to the influence of judicial appointments, most of the judges responsible for the decisions over the past year were appointed by either President Obama or, two decades ago, Bill Clinton.”
_____________________________________________
2. It’s also the reason for this.
From TheHill “The federal judiciary has swung to the left as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has confirmed President Obama’s judicial nominees at a torrid pace in recent weeks.
Reid has put his foot on the gas to ensure that Obama will leave his imprint on the courts even if Democrats lose control of the Senate in November, which some political handicappers say is probable.”
“At the start of Obama’s first term, 10 of the nation’s 13 circuit courts had a majority of judges appointed by Republican presidents and only one, the 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over California, had a majority of Democratic appointees. The 2nd and 3rd circuits were evenly split.
Currently, nine circuit courts have a majority of Democratic-appointed judges while only four have a majority of Republican picks. The data was compiled by the Alliance for Justice, a group that tracks the third branch.”
It will be years before they’re finished with their activism, and Obama’s true legacy is known. It won’t be pretty.
______________________________________________
3. Interesting question, and yes, they clearly are. Just ask the guys from Duck Dynasty, the Clippers owner, Mozilla’s former CEO, Paula Dean, those 2 Christian brothers with the TV show, etc., etc., etc……
From TheDailyCaller/ViaYahoo “Last week, Michelle Obama made headlines when she exhorted graduating high schoolers in a commencement address to monitor their families for politically incorrect thoughts and behaviors.
To one journalist, this was more than an off-hand comment made by the first lady. In the opinion of Cheryl Chumley, a reporter for The Washington Times and the author of “Police State USA,” Michelle Obama’s remark reflects a growing trend in America to target and attack individuals for committing “thought crime.”
“Michelle Obama’s push for kids around the nation to monitor their family members for perceived racist comments is just another way the government seeks to inject itself into an area it doesn’t really belong — the American home,” Chumley told The Daily Caller Monday.
“Having the first lady wag her finger at us and send America’s youth on some sort of quest to scour the homes and backyards of our nation’s families for any mention of a racist joke, slur or slight is nanny-governance run amok — something that belongs in a George Orwell novel, not the White House, Chumley said.”
_____________________________________________
4. This could get really interesting. This was the problem many had with the Patriot Act. They predicted that sooner or later it would be used against the population, instead of to protect them. The critics had that part right.
My question though, and I hope it’s answered, is this. Did they use this to target conservatives and their political enemies as I suspect they did? After all, it seems every other agency has, so why not this one too?
From RealClearPolitics “The man who helped bring about the most significant leak in American intelligence history is to reveal names of US citizens targeted by their own government in what he promises will be the “biggest” revelation from nearly 2m classified files.
Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who received the trove of documents from Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, told The Sunday Times that Snowden’s legacy would be “shaped in large part” by this “finishing piece” still to come.
“One of the big questions when it comes to domestic spying is, ‘Who have been the NSA’s specific targets?’,” he said. “Are they political critics and dissidents and activists? Are they genuinely people we’d regard as terrorists?
What are the metrics and calculations that go into choosing those targets and what is done with the surveillance that is conducted? Those are the kinds of questions that I want to still answer.”
______________________________________________
5. Hospitals are hiking costs on the poor thanks to ObamaCare.
From HotAir “There are multiple levels of irony in this New York Times report on the impact of ObamaCare on poor patients in the nation’s hospitals. Congress demanded the power to revamp the health-insurance industry and expand Medicaid in order to help the poor get better medical care for less money. In reality, the opposite appears to be happening, as hospitals attempt to force the poor into ObamaCare:
Hospital systems around the country have started scaling back financial assistance for lower- and middle-income people without health insurance, hoping to push them into signing up for coverage through the new online marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act.
The trend is troubling to advocates for the uninsured, who say raising fees will inevitably cause some to skip care rather than buy insurance that they consider unaffordable. Though the number of hospitals tightening access to free or discounted care appears limited so far, many say they are considering doing so, and experts predict that stricter policies will become increasingly common.
Why did this unintended consequence occur? In part, because ObamaCare penalizes hospitals for extending charitable assistance:”
Add this to the long list of lies and expired promises from Obama and Democrats.
______________________________________________
Wandering Views 
#3: When I was in high school, there was a movie out called “Hitler’s Children”. It told about how children were encouraged to tell on their families. I understand it happened under communism too, but I don’t have a source.
LikeLike
When I was in Romania four years ago, I asked a woman my age what happened to them in 1989 “When Capitalism came,” in her words. She said before Capitalism, their jobs were secure but the only people they could trust were their families. So, they were close to their families and closed-mouthed at work.
With Capitalism, they have to work so hard and don’t know if they’ll keep their jobs, that the don’t spend a lot of time with their families anymore. We agreed that was very sad.
“And,” she said, “the tomatoes don’t have any flavor.”
LikeLike
War on Women
There’s an article in today’s Times-Newes, titled, “Family kills Pakistani woman after marriage”
“Lahore, Pakistan – A pregneant woman was stoned to death Tuesday by her own family outside a courthouse in the Pakistani city of Lahore for marrying the man she loved”
The father didn’t approve the marriage. ……
“Arrangedd marriages are the norm among conservative Pakistanis and hundreds of women are merdered every year in so called honor killings carried out by husbands or relatives as punishment for alleged adultery or other illicit social behavior.
Stoings in public settings, however, are extremely rare.”
The father was arrested, but the article says that few are convicetd The father, accordingt to the woman’s husband, wanted money.
LikeLike
3. It took a little while to find what Michelle Obama actually said and when I did I really didn’t see where she was encouraging a police state. She never said anything about reporting on people, though I can see a politicians or other public figures having to watch what they say around family members. Paula Deen’s remark was made in the privacy of her own home to her husband.
LikeLike
What a dilemma! It seems the old myth (global warming) was a more powerful tool than the new myth (climate change) for liberals who want to tax, regulate and steal. Unfortunately it was also easier to disprove. Today, every new series of tornados or snow storms can be cited as further evidence of the dreaded “climate change”.
http://environment.yale.edu/climate-communication/article/global-warming-vs-climate-change/
LikeLike
Ricky,
You forgot one.
“the new myth (climate change) for liberals who want to tax, regulate and steal.”
the new myth (climate change) for liberals who want to tax, regulate, steal and destroy a productive portion (energy companies) of the economy.
And destroy jobs. Again, just like with ObamaCare.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-28/chamber-study-predicts-obama-climate-rule-will-kill-jobs.html
“The nation’s biggest business lobby says President Barack Obama’s plan to tackle climate change could cost the U.S. economy $50 billion a year. Supporters predict it will create jobs and lower power bills.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Natural Resources Defense Council are both releasing economic impact studies this week, signaling that the political battle over the president’s plan will be fought over dollars and cents. For Obama, the risk is the plan gets labeled a job-killer just as campaigns heat up for an election that could determine control of the U.S. Senate.
In an analysis released today — days before the Environmental Protection Agency unveils a proposal to cut carbon dioxide emissions from power plants — the Chamber said that an ambitious pollution-control effort could force more than a third of the coal-fired power capacity to close by 2030, resulting in economic losses of $50 billion a year and the elimination of 224,000 jobs.”
Which leads them to their goal. Expanding govt, and more people relying on them for handouts.
LikeLike
The Keystone pipeline is also part of the scam. The Obama admin delays it endlessly. Now the owner of the oil company, after waiting 5 years, is exploring rail options.
http://www.planetizen.com/node/68966
“Keystone XL pipeline builder TransCanada is in the business of transporting oil to its customers, preferably by pipelines, but it’s CEO has stated for the first time it will turn to “more costly and and controversial rail” to fill the pipeline gap.”
“But it’s not as simple as just loading oil into tanker cars and sending them to Nebraska. Crude-by-rail requires considerable infrastructure that must be built and operated. “Jarrett Zielinski, chief executive officer of TORQ Transloading, which is building Canada’s largest unit train terminal in Kerrobert, Saskatchewan, said TransCanada would need to load at least roughly nine unit trains per day to rival the takeaway capacity of Keystone XL (an initial capacity of 700,000 barrels a day, if they were to load raw bitumen.” [Pipeline transportation requires bitumen to be mixed with diluents for efficient flow, often referred to as ‘dilbit’]”
“In addition to dangers associated with rail transport, the sheer quantity of trains required could overwhelm the North American rail network, warned Zielinski. NPR ran a story on May 19 describing “(a) huge slowdown in rail service delaying deliveries of grain and other commodities as well, like corn, coal and cars. Many of those affected are blaming the booming domestic oil industry for tying up the rails.”
And who would benefit from that? All that infrastructure investment, and need for additional trains. Probably somebody with a 5 billion stake in the second largest railroad maybe? Yep, somebody like Warren Buffett. He says he’d vote yes for it, but he can, because the guy he supported won’t allow it anyway so he knows it won’t happen. Everything else is just a coincidence. 🙄
It’s OK though, he’s all about rich people paying their fair share like Obama, so it’s all good. He’ll pay his taxes on his new found windfall. The fact that he owes like a billion in back taxes already should be overlooked too. Soros is in on the scam too.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/11/30/buffetts-billions-cant-buy-him-exemption-from-his-tax-averse-past/
LikeLike
It isn’t only Buffet, but that too. Obama hates energy in all forms that are not “natural”. I told you at the beginning, years ago that Obama wasn’t going to approve the pipeline. Some say he’s waiting until after the mid-terms to approve it. He’s waiting to disapprove it. It isn’t the environment, it’s the principle. He hates oil.
He will not approve the pipeline.
The Canadians need to consider other options.
LikeLike
Ricky, following up on my mention on yesterday’s news thread about that book Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America, there’s a good interview with the author at this link:
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/22266-psychiatry-now-admits-its-been-wrong-in-big-ways-but-can-it-change#startOfPageId22266
“From an intellectual, scientific standpoint, I think psychiatry is facing a deep crisis. There is an understanding, within psychiatric research circles, that the DSM [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual] diagnoses haven’t, in fact, been validated. And, at the very least, there is a recognition that psychiatry’s drug treatments are inadequate. In 2009, Insel wrote an article stating: “For too many people, antipsychotics and antidepressants are not effective, and even when they are helpful, they reduce symptoms without eliciting recovery.” And I do think that my book Anatomy of an Epidemic has contributed to an awareness of the limitations of the drugs, and at least a discussion, in some psychiatric circles, that the drugs may be worsening long-term outcomes.”
LikeLike
1,2, judicial activism is a charge both sides can throw at each other. The simple fact each judge can identified by party is indicative. On the other hand, sometimes judges need to protect the right of the minority from the majority and thus override popular legislation especially in regards to civil rights.
4. Both the left and right made the same comments regarding the Patriot Act when it was first passed. An other indication of the similarities between the two parties is their mutual endorsement of security and fear over freedom.
Michelle — my eastern European friends say the same thing. They appreciate the materialism of capitalism but they missed the job security, peace of mind, close relationships, etc. They’re not sure if the trade off was worth it.
Chas — A Kosovar Albanian killed her daughter because she talked to a boy mom didn’t approve. Albanian families like most areas of Pakistan are honor based clan/tribal societies where a young woman’s purity is part of the family’s honor.
Chas/AJ — the Canadians are considering other options including a pipeline across the Rockies to a Pacific port and off to China. But the Conservatives failed to secure First Nations permission. Not unusual, since the Conservatives have ignored First Nations land rights since they took over the gov’t but the Supreme Court recognizes the treaties. A far better option would be to build our own refinery but many of the oil companies involved in teh tar sands are foreign and have their own refineries elsewhere including the state Chinese petrol company.
Regardless of what lobby groups say, gov’t has a choice between supporting one form of energy over an other. Currently, support both legislative and finiacially is tilted in favour of fossil fuels. If support tilts towards other fuel sources, gov’t doesn’t necessarily grow it merely switches support.
6 arrows — interesting. I continue to think mental illness has an organic or biological origin in which case prescription drugs, herbal remedies, etc are valid and necessary. They may not cure the malady but like insulin and diabetes they can control and treat the illness.
LikeLike
hwesseli,
About that judicial activism…
Everybody knew what “Eminent Domain” was until the SCOTUS changed the definition. That was Judicial Activism that was not well received by most Americans, no matter which party they are.
LikeLike